episode_0049

The next day.

As always, Merhen came to our family.

“You’re here again.”

“They say you have to be busy to open up a social circle. And wouldn’t it be okay if you came over sometimes?”

“I remember going there every time before.”

“That’s because you didn’t invite me… No, I didn’t invite you, Kane, you came on your own!”

Was that so? Well… I guess it’s not like you have to be invited to go.

“So what happened?”

“I’m going to show you a rough idea of how many people I’m going to invite. Take a look.”

Merhen handed me a stack of documents filled with family names.

After taking a quick look, it seems like they’re organized by faction.

The more people I invite, the better, so I’m thinking about not rejecting them as much as possible.

“And… I left this aside just in case.”

Merhen took out another document from her bosom.

“What is this?”

“A family that your family would dislike. For example… Theranos family or… Goldwyn family.”

The Theranos family, one of the five great families, is a swordsman family like Calderon.

The Theranos family and the Calderon family are enemies because they often clash with each other as they wield swords.

With the long Calderon as the head of the family, relations between the heads of the families improved considerably, but the Senate was different.

However, now that the Calderon family’s Senate has lost its function, wouldn’t it be a good time to improve relations?

There’s Ruina Theranos. I’m on pretty good terms with her, too.

Because we have a connection that has been passed down from the academy.

However, the Goldwyn family is the problem.

Lois Goldwyn. He is currently engaged in a political feud with Merchen.

Should I call him that? I’m still not sure about this part.

“The Theranos family is not invited. But what do you think of the Goldwyn family?”

“Well, I guess it’s better not to call Goldwin. But are you okay? You don’t have any friends to begin with.”

“What does that matter?”

“As your family opens up social circles, families that are not invited despite having a certain level of status may think differently.”

I have a different opinion.

In simple terms, does this mean that there will be a family that gets upset because they weren’t invited?

The social world is a small political arena.

Even if it is a meaningless action, you still have to be careful.

Unless the families are openly hostile, it is better not to express any regrets on the surface.

But… I don’t think it’s right to invite Goldwin.

However, he also needs to know what is happening here, so he plans to send invitations to his subordinate families.

“Let’s leave out Goldwin.”

“Oh… Have you decided on a route?”

“There is no need to write your name on a sinking ship.”

The Goldwyn family will slowly sink.

It won’t collapse in an instant. It’s too big of a family for that to happen.

However, it will surely collapse at some point, as it will lose a significant portion of its support base due to the failure of its current owner, Royce Goldwyn.

“Are the party preparations going well?”

“This time, it’s scheduled to be open for about 5 days, right? So, in addition to your family, I’ve asked for help from our Eildarin family and Tierniel family.”

“Is that so.”

“But… I’m not the only one preparing this… … ?”

Merchen has been asking fundamental questions.

But what can I do? I don’t know anything about social circles.

“Merhen. Thank you for your dedication.”

“… … Ugh. Okay, since you decided the route this time, I’ll do this much. ”

“You seem to be mistaken. I never said I would take your side.”

“What? You said you didn’t send an invitation to the Goldwin family.”

“That’s a different story from standing on your family’s side.”

“… … Are you really going to do that?”

Merhen, who was slightly offended, kept her mouth shut and gave a sullen look.

As I looked at that sight, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“… Cain, are you laughing at me now?”

“Just kidding.”

“… … Are you kidding?”

“Okay. I’ll follow you around for a while.”

“Ahem… Well, then what? But what is it for a while?”

“You never know what the future holds. Who knows. You might lose to Goldwin.”

“That won’t happen. He must have done a lot of bad things. Well… It seems like his subordinates have done a lot of things on their own. You should blame yourself for not being able to judge people. After all, it’s Royce Goldwyn, he’s the boss.”

“Is that so.”

As she says, Lois Goldwyn will probably never win.

He sacrificed too much to bring over to his side those who were in collusion with the devil worshippers.

Perhaps it was because he was impatient with Merchen’s rise that his choice turned out to be a big mistake.

It wasn’t originally going to be this easy, but it might be the snowball that took down the evil worshippers and the Belmagor cult in the early stages.

The day I first met Libra. If I hadn’t met her at the entrance and entered the forest, I would have had quite a headache because of them.

“Social gatherings are happening in a month?”

“Yes. However, if you don’t have enough time to prepare, you can postpone it further.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s at a level where you can pull it off, but… Since we’ve just started sending out invitations, it’d be better to give it about a month.”

I should have sent out the invitations a little earlier, but a month or so would be fine.

Anyway, aren’t most people just playing and eating at home?

After the Great War, 50 years of peace began.

The busy ones are the heads of high-ranking families, and those below them are the ones who spend money lavishly.

“I guess I should go now. I won’t be back for a while. If you have anything to say, say it now.”

“Nothing in particular. If something urgent comes up, send a letter.”

“Isn’t it a bit strange to say that you’re sending a letter in an emergency? It’ll take half a day.”

“Merhen. Did you finally realize it?”

“… … Huh? What?”

I can’t believe you even thought about this part.

Of course, if you exchange letters, it takes a long time.

But that doesn’t mean you can always go and look for the other person.

Therefore, what is most needed in this situation is a shape memory tablet.

If you don’t usually think this way, it’s difficult to recognize the discomfort.

Perhaps because we had talked about this before, Merhen seemed to be reminded of the inconvenience of communicating through letters.

“As you said, letters take a long time. But that’s why we need the shape memory slate.”

“Shape… Is that the one I mentioned last time? The one that ripped off our family mine?”

“I didn’t steal it. I just paid a fair price.”

“I paid that price for you too… First of all, yes. If it’s as you say, the image? The stone tablet? If that’s made, then there’s no need to write letters, right?”

“Yes. The spatial constraints will also disappear to a significant extent.”

“Well… That would be convenient. I’m a bit busy. Coming here takes up quite a bit of time, right?”

“Would you like to invest now?”

“Is it still possible? Wasn’t it quite a while ago that you took the mine?”

It’s been quite some time since I received the mine from Merhen, but the production of the shape memory stone tablet hasn’t even begun.

The most important one is Eri Astranor. Because the wizard broke his three-year silence and began researching his own original magic.

The creation of the shape memory tablet will probably be impossible until her magical research is complete.

However, if magical research is finished, the story is different.

Her unique magic will… solve the biggest problem with the current shape memory tablets.

If she creates her own magic there, she too will become the head of the household in no time.

Eri Astranor, like Merhen, has also developed a positive relationship with me, so her presence will be of great help to me politically.

“Eri Astranor, who was in charge of production, is currently working on something else.”

“Ah, magic crafting… You heard about it too. ”

“She should become the head of the household too. I decided to postpone my work until the research is finished.”

“Really? Well, that’s more important. So is it possible to invest? Let’s talk again next time. Eri should listen too.”

“Okay.”

—

“Go. I have a question.”

After meeting Merhen and returning to the office, Libra spoke to me with a very serious expression.

“Why but.”

“Given… Royce Goldwyn? No revenge on him?”

“… What are you talking about?”

“Assassin. Didn’t he send you?”

“That’s just a guess. And… I think you only sent it once.”

“… Actually, there were a few more times. When the owner was sleeping. But… I’m not sure who sent it. ”

hmm?

This is the first time I’ve heard of this.

“Why didn’t you report it?”

“… … I’m afraid the owner will move.”

Should I move?

“I don’t know what you mean, but… I will get revenge. His position is getting worse day by day.”

“That’s not it.”

Libra shook her head and continued speaking.

“They sent an assassin over there. Not even one of the eight villains… … . They didn’t send the head of the household?”

“Are you coming recently?”

“… That’s not it.”

“Then I don’t need to send it. The more I do that, the more likely I am to be politically caught. And you should just protect it.”

“… … .”

I secretly appealed to Libra.

It’s not a very pleasant feeling to be ambushed by someone while you’re sleeping…

From what I heard, it seemed like she was watching over him at night too.

“If you want to say that you should pay back what was done to you, I agree. However, now is the time to endure. The downfall of Royce Goldwyn is not far away, so it is not too late to think about it later.”

“… … Yeah.”

Libra lowered her face and indicated that she understood what I said.

“Do you believe in the day you give?”

“I believe in you.”

“What if I betray you?”

“Are you going to betray me?”

“… It’s a family story.”

Libra induces a strange sound.

I looked at her face, wondering if she was joking, but her expression was quite serious.

… I guess it’s okay to provide this level of service.

“Betrayal is only done when there is something to gain. Do you think you can gain more by betraying me?”

“… Foot. How arrogant.”

“I don’t care.”

Because the rumors are already spreading like wildfire.

It’s pointless to try to fix it now.

“Go. Then lastly… Why are the eyes of dawn spreading rumors?”

“For the sake of topicality.”

“That’s true, but… aren’t you trying to call the Shadow Thieves?”

Libra immediately guessed the correct answer.

“Did you know?”

“… There are also 8 great villains there. Gaju, we’ve been chasing the 8 great villains lately.”

“I’ll do it both ways. I’ll hunt them and add some buzz to my first social party.”

“Then… I want you to leave dealing with them to me.”

“Of course I need your help too.”

“No.”

Libra spoke again with a serious face.

“I wish you would leave everything to me.”