episode_0148

[Owner. We overpowered the robber and took him to prison. At the same time, taxes are being collected.]

“Uh, yes. Good job.”

I lay down comfortably on the sofa in the living room of the mansion and listened to the report from the hive mind.

Since the situation was resolved and reported at the same time as it occurred, there was nothing for me to worry about. Taxes were also being steadily collected based on information from the territory residents that had been recalled not long ago.

Although there were some who opposed the newly established industry-specific taxes, they were able to enforce them because the lord’s word was law in the fiefdom. This is because those who opposed it realized that even if they had to pay more taxes, they would still benefit.

Anyway, thanks to the Hive Mind’s activities, the work I had to do was drastically reduced, and the free time I gained made me feel sluggish.

“Ugh… … .”

Normally, I would have been doing research or taking care of things that happened at businesses or on the estate, but I enjoyed my time lying down on the sofa.

Of course, it wasn’t just about lying down and resting. I thought it would be nice to just lie down and rest, but that only lasted for a day or two. After lying down for more than three days, I couldn’t stand the pain.

But that didn’t mean I was looking for a job in particular. I still wanted to enjoy this leisure a little more.

So the break I chose was to hang out with my wives, Gienna and Amy.

Of course, in Jiena’s case, she couldn’t spend a lot of time flirting because she had the title of manager who had to manage the store. Still, it was possible to spend time with me because there were hard-working employees.

“Boss, you can’t plant it like that. You have to plant it gently and very carefully. It is a plant with weak roots, so if you strengthen it too much, it will wither.”

“Like when you touch Ziena?”

As she made a gesture as if she was massaging something voluptuous in the air, Jienna’s face turned red.

Even though I thought it was a manly thing to do, Jiena didn’t seem to particularly dislike it. On the contrary, because he was slightly watching her, he even had a good time with Jiena for a while during the day.

And, just like Gienna, Amy also had a great time. Since Amy didn’t have any hobbies, such as gardening, the things I did with her were usually reminiscing. As I looked around the place where I used to play as a child, I realized that it has changed a lot now.

We went to a small stream where we used to play in the water, had fun splashing around with our feet in the water, and even had a drink with friends we hadn’t seen in a while.

I had a great time with Zienna and Amy for a while. To the point where the two women now don’t want to spend time with me, saying they have a lot to do.

“Hmm… … . Should I at least practice black magic?”

In the end, the moment the two women became busy at the same time, I wondered if I should at least practice black magic, even though I didn’t really need it.

That’s how long the break became.

“Master… … . A letter has arrived from the owner… … .”

And, just as I was struggling with boredom, the skeleton mage who served as my butler appeared with a letter.

“Letter? Who sent it?”

“It is said to be the Count Arth family… … .”

When I heard about Count Art, I thought that was someone. However, I was soon able to realize who Count Arth was.

It was a count who came to sell me two very important elixirs used in the blacksmith shop: elixir of strengthening steel and elixir of iron mana. At the same time, she was also a female wizard who was a member of the magic tower alchemy school established by the royal family.

When I heard that such a person had sent a letter, I immediately accepted the letter held by the butler.

As befits a letter from a nobleman, the letter looked quite expensive. The outer wrapping paper to simply seal and protect the letter was expensive. It was more like a pouch made of thin leather, and the stitches that secured the edges were sewn in a certain pattern.

Of course, like the wrapping paper, the letter paper inside was also made of quite expensive paper. It was colored paper, and there was even thin gold leaf on the bottom.

Anyway, the content written on that expensive letterhead was quite long. However, most of the content was rhetoric, and the content itself was very simple. So much so that I can summarize it in one line.

“You are asking me to come to the Magic Tower once.”

What Count Art said, wrapped in a long sentence, was simply to come to the Magic Tower. It seemed like they were invited because they were important sponsors and excellent customers who purchased large quantities of elixirs sold at the Magic Tower.

And, after checking the letter with such contents, I felt interested. Even though I didn’t have anything to do and was bored, I couldn’t help but feel interested.

In addition, since I needed to check the progress of the research I wanted to do at least once, I decided to go to the Magic Tower.

There is no guarantee that I will have as much free time as I have now, so I was thinking of going now.

“Ahh… … ! So you won’t be able to see the boss for over a month?”

“I’m going with you too!”

When I informed Gienna and Amy of my decision, they responded immediately.

Jienna was very disappointed that I had to be away for a long time, and Amy said she would go with me and didn’t want to leave.

“It won’t take until a month. Because I’m going to push the skeletal horse to its limit and come back. If you make the cart as light as possible and move it quickly, the round trip will take about three to four weeks, right?”

“It still takes a long time.”

No matter how quickly I got there, it was bound to take a long time because the distance was so long. Jienna pouted her lips as if she was very disappointed about that. Seeing that even his ears were drooping, he seemed quite disappointed.

Still, since I wasn’t going out to play alone, Jiena quickly seemed to understand. The store even left a message telling him to trust himself and not to worry.

However, now the problem was Amy. I needed to get away from Amy, who grabbed my arm and refused to let me go, saying she would go with me. He didn’t take Gienna either, so it was obvious that Gienna would be very disappointed if he took Amy. Moreover, Amy could not be taken with her because she had to manage the mercenaries in the city.

“I have someone to meet separately this time. Let’s all go on a trip together later.”

“You promise?”

Amy seemed like she would never let go, but after we made a promise to go on a trip next time, she slowly released her hold on my arm.

After informing the two women that I was going to the magic tower in the capital, I gathered the things I needed to move and immediately started moving. Since the travel time is not short, I planned to leave as early as possible.

Of course, the time spent traveling was very boring. There were boring times when I was at the mansion, but the time I was moving was even more boring.

Fortunately, it was possible to endure the boredom because Gienna and Amy were able to talk a little bit as they got used to the stigma. When I was bored, the best thing was to chat and talk about various things.

“Ha… … . How could something like a dead dragon not appear somewhere?”

Thanks to this, I sometimes had vain imaginations. I imagined that if I could get something like a dragon corpse, I wouldn’t have to travel for a long time on a cart pulled by a skeletal horse while flying through the sky.

“I wish at least a wyvern would appear. I guess there are enough wyverns to catch.”

I also thought that dragons were impossible, but how could it be possible to hunt wyverns?

I spent a lot of time thinking about various things, receiving reports on the city’s situation through the hive mind, and talking about various things with the two women. On a cart that moves for 24 hours without stopping for even a second.

Day and night, so much time passed that I was confused as to whether I had been moving for several days, and then I finally arrived at my destination. The tall walls of the capital city were visible from afar.

The walls of the capital city that I approached were not much different from when I visited to become a certified warlock. Several soldiers with bows were patrolling on top of the high walls, and there was a long line of people waiting to be inspected to enter the capital.

Of course, I didn’t have to stand in that long line. After all, I was also a nobleman.

I approached the checkpoint exclusively for nobles, which was created separately next to the checkpoint where numerous people were lined up.

Some soldiers must have seen me riding a skeletal horse from afar and tried to stop me at first. Of course, as soon as he presented his certificate proving that he was a noble, the soldiers spread out left and right, clearing the way.

“Welcome to the capital, Barka! Viscount Steele!”

Leaving behind the soldiers who welcomed us, we entered the capital. Of course, I passed the checkpoint and entered the capital, but I was unable to get my bearings and move right away.

Although I had visited the capital in the past to become a certified warlock, I left after only obtaining the qualifications as a certified warlock, so I knew nothing about the capital.

Still, since he had the authority of being a noble, there was no need to go through the trouble of finding his way. When I stopped by a passing soldier and asked him, he kindly guided me to my destination.

Although the word ‘top’ was attached to the magic tower, the appearance of the magic tower was a bit far from a tower. Unlike my previous life, construction technology was not very developed, so I could not build a tall tower.

However, by the standards of this world, it could be considered a tower. It has a height of four stories, something that cannot be seen in most places. It was built up to that level because it had the power of magic.

“Baron Steel? Oh, is it your own home now?”

As I was looking at the exterior of the high magic tower, a person who pretended to know me approached me. I thought it was someone, but it was Count Art who invited me here.

Count Art, who still exudes the air of a noble lady, welcomed me and said I had come to visit.

And, he led me inside the magic tower, saying he would show me around the magic tower. Following Count Art, who was leading the way, I suddenly went on a tour of the Magic Tower.