episode_0072

“The article’s… … You mean a corpse? By any chance, are you trying to make a skeleton? … ?”

“First of all, yes. Is it difficult?”

Seeing Viscount Deputy hesitate a little, I thought that it might be difficult to receive the knight’s body. Well, it wouldn’t be easy since the knight was also a person of semi-aristocratic status.

And, just as I thought, Viscount Defuty nodded slowly.

“You can use as many horse corpses as you want… … . It would be difficult because there could be many problems if the corpse of a knight who died during the war were raised as a skeleton. Even if the knight is from a hostile family, the morale of the knights can be low, and there are legal problems.”

Viscount Defuty explained why it was difficult to give up the knight’s body. In addition to low morale and legal issues, the reason was the custom of handing over the body to the other family in exchange for compensation.

“In that case, there is nothing we can do. I also asked just in case.”

Looking at the Viscount euphemistically refusing, I also nodded. If it doesn’t work out, there’s nothing we can do. You can’t force someone to do something they can’t do. Besides, my goal from the beginning wasn’t the knight’s corpse. It was almost like I just saw it and took a stab at it. It’s good if it happens, and it can’t be helped if it doesn’t happen.

No, it was closer to a good thing even if it didn’t happen. Even just now, Viscount Defuty seemed to be sorry for not being able to repay the support. This situation was a little more pleasant to me, who had wanted something else in the first place. Even if it were a fairly modest request, it would be less burdensome than asking for the corpse of a knight.

“Then, we will open our own franchise store and run a blood collection business on the Viscount’s territory. Are both possible?”

“I would rather ask for a franchise, but if you say it is a blood collection business… … ?”

“I plan to purchase blood from the residents of the territory.”

The compensation I was originally thinking of was to open a franchise store and increase the supply of blood essence by collecting blood here as well as Father Thomas does.

There was an affiliation contract with Baron Farmer, and talk of deals with other nobles was starting to emerge little by little, so there was a need to quickly increase dark magic. More dark magic allowed more skeletons to be operated, and more skeletons could produce more items.

However, as soon as I finished speaking, I heard a murmur around me. As expected, people seemed to have misunderstood what I said, considering they heard me talking about a warlock or something.

“… … Just for your information, I’m not doing this myself. It is a project carried out in connection with a temple.”

“Temple… … Are you talking about the temple of the Romina Church?”

“Yes. Priests from the Romina Church temple will come out and collect blood. You make a small wound, collect a glass of blood, and the priests heal the wound and rejuvenate you. I only take the blood collected that way.”

When I told them that all blood collection procedures were done at the temple and that they were not done to an excessive level, people seemed quite surprised.

Even if he was a certified warlock, he rarely had a good relationship with the temple, so it seemed like that was the case. It was a natural reaction since the temple was the place that took the lead in publicly designating and subduing the guilty warlocks. What’s more, I was even more surprised that a warlock who was said to be crazy about blood was so restrained.

Seeing their surprised looks, I decided to appeal once again that I was harmless. This was something I really wanted, so I wanted to obtain the business rights if possible.

“In another city, a blood collection business is already in full swing. Since blood is purchased at a reasonable price, some say it helps relieve the poor.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. What can I do by tricking you with something like this?”

When it was said that it would also help relieve the poor, Viscount Defuty seemed quite interested. It was a while ago that I reacted suspiciously, but when I heard that it was connected to a temple, I felt like my wariness had eased a lot.

Moreover, several nobles who were listening to my story nearby also reacted.

“Look at this. Isn’t that the story Count Crossred told you last year? I think they said that in one of the cities they owned, priests suddenly started selling blood and the number of poor people drastically decreased.”

“I think I heard that too. I never thought that would be true… … .”

I don’t know where I heard about Father Thomas’ city, but I felt like the other nobles were becoming less wary.

In the end, Viscount Deputy, who decided that there was no particular problem as his vigilance faded, nodded slowly.

“You said you would draw blood through a temple… … . Yes, I will allow you to do business in my territory. However, how about we post-process the detailed story before sharing?”

“Of course.”

Since the opening of a franchise store and blood collection business were approved, there was no need to worry too much about needing a little more time to stay.

Viscount Deputy, who was the first to finish talking about the compensation for the support I had provided, immediately began talking to others as well. Of course, in the meantime, he was giving various instructions to the knights and soldiers.

As I was sitting and resting in a suitable place, Count Carbon came up to me.

“Baron Steel.”

“Ah, Count. Would you like to sit down?”

“It’s okay. More than that, I was quite surprised by the story you told me earlier. I never thought they’d suddenly ask for the knight’s body there.”

“Hahaha… … . Is this a warlock’s occupational disease? … . When I saw a corpse suitable for becoming a skeleton, it suddenly occurred to me and I spoke reflexively.”

“I understand. Every time I see a talented person who can become a knight, I want to recruit him.”

Count Carbon waved his hand, probably trying to scold me for asking for the knight’s body. However, as if he had something else to say, he stood next to me and opened his mouth.

“Should I give you some advice or advice? … . I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“Increase your strength to protect yourself and gather those who can protect you. Since you don’t have a territory yet, it would be a good idea to get a territory and form a knighthood.”

“… … Did something big happen?”

Count Carbon’s words made me nervous for no reason.

“There won’t be any major problems right now. However, there may be people targeting you sooner or later. The items you made played a big role in this territory war. Also, I heard that your ability to sell weapons in large quantities is limited to royalists?”

“Uh… … . You mean the noble faction could be targeting me?”

“It’s not certain yet, but I can’t say there’s no possibility. They don’t want our royalists to become stronger. If they think that the power of the royalists will become stronger because of you, they may commit petty acts.”

At Count Carbon’s words, the thought suddenly occurred to me whether it was a good thing to purchase the title of great nobleman and become a member of the royalist faction. However, if I had not done so, it was obvious that I would have been influenced by the lord due to issues with raw material supply, so I did not feel that it was a wrong choice.

Moreover, as my influence grew and grew, it was inevitable that there would be people who became jealous or clashed with me. Moreover, since it was based on steel, which is absolutely inseparable from civilization, it was natural for conflicts to occur. Even if I had belonged to the aristocratic faction rather than the royalist faction, it was clear that I would have clashed with someone the same way.

Of course, I wasn’t happy about the possibility that someone could attack me.

“Hu… … . I guess I should make some preparations in advance.”

“Do that. If you’re prepared, wouldn’t it be possible to respond no matter how sudden the situation may be?”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Thank you, it just feels sorry. I need to hide and protect you more, but I can’t… … .”

Count Carbon took a deep sigh, as if he was disappointed that the power of the royalists was weak. At the same time, they were looking at me with eyes full of anticipation, as if they saw me as someone who would greatly increase the royalist faction.

I smiled shyly at the slightly burdensome look in my eyes and slowly turned my head. It is true that if I continue with my current stance, the influence of the royalists will increase, but it was a bit burdensome to look at them with such anticipation.

“Okay, wasn’t there something called the blood collection business in the conversation you were having with Viscount Defuty earlier? I think we are proceeding because you need it, but if necessary, proceed with the project in my territory as well.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Of course, the expectations of providing a reasonable level of support were not burdensome at all.

Considering the population of Carbone, it was clear that a considerable amount of blood essence could be made just by collecting the blood obtained there. If so, it is not impossible to strengthen the power of the royalists. By investing the enormous amount of black magic obtained from a large amount of blood to the limit, even ordinary skeletons were able to produce tremendous power.

In addition, if I could increase my dark magic by making a large amount of blood essence, it could also serve as a means of protecting me from those who could threaten me, so the burden was even less.

After finishing work at Viscount Deputy’s estate, I quickly returned to the village and decided to meet Father Thomas first. Since the amount of money sold for the weapons provided by the royalists was quite large, all necessary preparations could be completed using them. No, since there would be more than enough preparations, it seemed possible to use the money to buy monster corpses and make more skeletons.

“I hope you will be a great help to the royalists. Baron Steel.”

Count Carbon, who lightly tapped my shoulder, smiled lightly as he looked at the post-processing of the territory battle that was almost over.

And, as we chatted a little more about the future with Count Carbon, the post-processing of the Territory Battle was completely completed. The corpses that were spread out on the plain were put on a cart and taken somewhere, and the weapons they had, etc., were also collected separately and moved somewhere. But there was also something left there.

“The horse carcasses that Baron Steele first requested are of no use to us anyway, so we will give them to the Baron.”

That was one of the first things I asked for: a horse carcass. As horses were used on the battlefield, most of them were battle horses or the corpses of powerful pack horses. I thought that by using them, I could move a greater number of cart skeletons, which would be sufficient to handle the logistics of moving between the Viscounty of Defuty and Barony of Farmer.

Anyway, the post-processing of the territory was completed with some harvest, and we headed to Viscount Deputy’s territory again. All we had to do was discuss additional matters that needed to be discussed there and then go our separate ways.

However, while some nobles set out to find their own way, in my case the process was a bit long. This was not simply because additional consultation with Viscount Defuty was necessary. Rather, the discussion with Viscount Defuty was without any problems and consisted of just nodding a few times. It was immediately agreed that I would not accompany him and would only send a skeleton mage.

The reason the process took so long was entirely the fault of other nobles. As Viscount Defuty did not hold back in his praise, other nobles also confirmed the quality of the weapons I created. Those who were hesitant about attracting franchises were now clamoring to open franchises in their territory.

“There are nobles next to our territory! In order to protect our territory from those guys, Baron Steel’s weapon is a must! I think I need it urgently!”

“Hehe, we are more in a hurry. These days, the nobles keep exploiting the people of their territory, so there are a lot of thieves over there.”

“Monsters are appearing excessively these days… … .”

Of course, we couldn’t give franchises to all of them right away, so we had to prioritize. This was entirely the reason it took so long. Since everyone asked us to prioritize ourselves, it was bound to take a long time.

Still, somehow the discussion went well, and I headed toward the village with more compensation than I expected.