episode_0189

“Ugh. As expected, this meeting is the same. Why is the feeling of rejection against Westerners so severe?”

The subordinate next to Pollux shook his head.

“Let’s stop and stand up. What kind of anticipation is freezing? It will take hundreds of years, not decades, for the people of the empire to see us differently.”

“…”

“Chief? Won’t you wake up? If we continue like this, we will be captured by the people of the empire.”

Even when I asked him if he would wake up right next to me, Pollux still folded his arms and did not wake up.

He mutters to himself as his gaze wanders into empty space.

“If that’s really true… it might be an opportunity.”

“Chief? What did you just say? I didn’t hear it.”

“Farkan. Most of our land on the Western Front has been cleared now, right?”

“Yes? Yeah, whatever. After reinforcing the walls with concrete and all, we have preserved our strength and are moving forward.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing those words, Pollux remembered the guest who visited him a few days ago.

She came with her pink hair neatly organized.

Claire Bagland.

-I heard that Marquis Ipherus has a fairly high position in the west. I came here because I needed their help to talk about that with Count Lilpeten.

Relations between Westerners and Imperials are not good.

The extent to which they are reluctant to each other can be clearly seen just by looking at their treatment in the bar where Pollux visits while hiding.

Barbarians.

Westerners were still called by those nasty nicknames.

It is truly surprising to visit such a Westerner. It was even more surprising because it came from the Bagland Duke family, not any other family.

‘Originally I would have refused…’

That last word was sincere.

-I… I caught Karssein’s ankle. That’s why I can’t help you directly.

The attitude of biting one’s lips and somehow reproaching oneself.

I could vaguely sense that the direction of the rebuke was none other than herself.

“Farkan.”

“Yes. Chief.”

“I had to go to Lilpeten. I have to leave right now.”

“En? Suddenly?”

“That happens.”

Pollux went out immediately and mounted his horse.

***

When it comes to Karssein’s allies, there is no one who immediately comes to mind.

Maybe I have friends or not.

If you ask whether there are any people among the nobles of his age who are close friends, there is no one.

Rather, they were the ones who had been watching Karssein all along, harassing him and causing him to have accidents.

There were also quite a few people who plotted or plotted to get him punished, and most of them were those who shamefully framed Karssein.

I wondered if there was someone among those people who could stand by Karssein’s side and help him…

After searching and finding, I found the correct answer.

One territory stands out clearly.

Not long ago, it was treated as an abandoned land with nothing but stony mountains in the wasteland, but it has risen to prominence and has become the center of transportation for the empire.

Ruthmeyer was giving the answer.

There is someone who will become an ally by interacting with Karssein, who provided the aggregate.

However, even if a candidate was found, it was not easy.

-I’m sorry, but I can’t help Karssein.

-Why?

-I don’t know what it’s like in other western regions, but we are attempting to regain our original land as our defense has become stronger through collaboration with Ruthmire.

With Ruthmire’s dazzling flight, the Marquis of Iferos was trying to regain the land previously owned by the Yarik tribe.

In the meantime, they can’t help Karssein right now, except for the Rusmire territory, which has an aggregate trade with them.

It was a disaster.

It’s a situation where Karssein’s allies, who he found over and over again, can’t really help.

At this point, it was necessary to look for a new person again.

But Claire did not give up and asked.

-You mean you can’t help the Marquis of Aiferus, but that’s not the case with the Counts of Lilpeten?

Since Marquis Ipherus could no longer intervene, there was no way back, so Claire honestly confessed her true feelings. They want to make contact with the Count of Lilpeten, citing the high position of the Marquis of Aiferos in the west.

-I hope you give me time to think.

I brought out all the facts without exception, but the Marquis of Iferos did not respond right away.

-Westerners have a strong antipathy toward the imperial nobility. And I am no different. Since we have been treated that way, we need time to think about it even if we receive a request. Also, there is no guarantee that things will work out well.

In the past, Lilpeten received a warning from the Duke of Bagland and returned some of its territory to the empire. He also added that it would not be easy to break through the double antipathy towards Count Lilpeten.

The time for conclusion is until the second week meeting report is made.

He said that if he gave me the answer, I would give it in there, but until then, I told him not to talk to me or come visit me.

However, Pollux did not come even after the meeting was over.

Claire lowered her head.

“…I thought I could help a little. Even this doesn’t work?”

I thought I finally found someone who could help Karssein.

Right then.

– Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of a horse running is coming closer.

Claire, who had lowered her head in despair, raises her head again with her eyes wide open.

Within her walls, there was a warrior on horseback.

-Hee hee hee!

Pollux’s horse stopped near Claire.

Pollux, who has stopped speaking, extends his hand to Claire.

“Get on the horse.”

“Go up? Why…?”

“If you ask his subordinate, Tal… No, Count Lilpeton says that his hatred for nobles has grown stronger. He has now turned his back and said he will no longer receive letters from the imperial family.”

“…!”

“So this is all I can do. What should I do? Would you even try this? Or will you give up?”

Are you going to give up?

Nonsense…!

-Tup!

“Heh. That’s how it should be.”

As Claire held her hand, Pollux used his strength to put Claire on the horse.

***

“Hmph. Are you sending another letter like this? Those abominable empires.”

-Ik!

“Captain. Are you tearing this up?”

A man waving his hands.

When the subordinate heard that, he tore the letter into pieces.

Then, he lights a bonfire using magic and inserts the letter into the flame.

-Tap, thud!

“You ride well!”

Sparks flew and the imperial letter was instantly reduced to ashes.

As if they were still not satisfied, the residents of Lilpeten used their magic power to grow the flame again and again. I hope that not even ashes remain of that letter. I hope no smell of any kind emanates from here.

Right then.

The hand that was trying to put firewood into the bonfire stops.

“Are you a guest?”

Talpon, Earl of Lilpeten, muttered as he heard the sound of horses coming from afar.

There is no way a foreigner would set foot in Lilpeten, the most remote place in the West.

It was safe to say that there were virtually no guests, and due to his growing disgust, he replied that he would not even receive letters from the imperial family.

Therefore, the person riding that horse was definitely a westerner.

“Everyone, please step back for a moment.”

Talpon, who had bitten his tribesmen, put firewood in front of the bonfire and burned the corpses of the beasts again.

Soon the talking stopped.

A man with a familiar face approaches.

“It’s been a while. Pollux.”

“Okay. Nice to see you after a long time. Talpon.”

Fist fight.

Greetings from the blunt Westerners followed.

“What is happening? The Marquis of Aiferus came to visit us.”

“Hmm. I came here a while ago because of that story.”

“In the past?”

“I sent a telegram.”

A wicked smile appeared on Talpon’s lips.

“Ah. Is this the book that suggested changing the perception of westerners by adding the power of Lilpeten to Ruthmeier?”

“…”

“If you came here to say that, get out of there right away. Because I’m sick of the empire guys.”

Speaking of war books, my memory is vague as the nobles and the imperial family have burned them all recently, but I clearly remember who the lord of Ruthmire is.

Karssein Bagland.

I thought it was a good idea and accepted the offer. What came back was the pressure from the Vagrand duchy.

I couldn’t forget the name of the guy who broke his promise to Lilpeten and ended up sending the rotten Lohea seeds.

“I have already responded by reclaiming some of the territory I received from the empire. We no longer have any expectations for the people of the Empire. If you don’t want to be seen as a stooge, I hope you’ll stop leaving.”

“I did not act like a stooge.”

“Are you bringing that imperialist behind you and saying something like that to me?”

When Pollux sat down.

I could feel the anger of the imperial noblewomen being painted. The scented oil from their clothes was spread, and the unique smell of mana, unique to the imperial people, was also evident.

From those smells, he vaguely recognized that the person Pollux had brought was an imperial citizen.

“There is a reason for bringing that imperialist.”

“Haha. Bring me that woman, not anyone else. I don’t know what this means. Pollux. Are you bringing back the second princess of the Bagland duchy? Why would you bring that woman here?”

They are not even just imperial people.

Count Lilpeten, the one who made Talpon withdraw by giving up the territory he had received from the empire.

It was Claire Bagland, called the second princess of Bagland.

Talphon, who deduced all these facts, glared at Pollux even though he was a fellow westerner.

But Pollux answered calmly.

“That imperial woman came to ask for forgiveness from you and Lilpeten.”

“What?”

Talpon frowned as if that was nonsense.

“In the past, you made a promise to a boy. Talpon.”

“What does that mean?”

“What if that woman was the one who broke that promise, and she came to apologize?”

Talpon’s head turned back.

It was in the direction where Claire was.

Looking closely, there are no other escorts around her. It meant that he came alone. In this west.

In the past, soldiers were brought in and put pressure on them openly. I can still see the intimidation he made by threatening with magic.

But, you came here alone? In a place where you might face retaliation?

“I also thought there were no such people among the people of the empire anymore. To put that thought to shame, I recently met a nice person. He is the boy who made a promise to you, and he is the one who built a strong wall in Apheros through a deal with me.”

“…”

“If it’s a misunderstanding, you can resolve it and kick it out if it’s a misunderstanding. How about listening to the story just once?”

After a while, Talpon put down the firewood.

“…I’m going to listen to you just once because I see you. If you do anything suspicious or say something absurd, you will be kicked out immediately.”

“Okay.”

Did he come to apologize or to threaten again?

You’ll know that when you hear it.

***

After the reporting date passed, I tried my hand at traditional farming methods and planted strawberries and grapes.

In fact, it is not strange to see it as a confrontation.

The same crops are planted on the same land, but the method is different.

And the result is.

▶C-grade chatelaine strawberries have been harvested!◀

It was my victory.

“Wow… I think this really is the best quality among the recent crops.”

“It’s just as Ferdi said. Looking at the color, it feels similar to something I grew in the past…?”

The village chief’s granddaughter would say that, so I’ve said it all.

The status window already shows the rating, so now I have a justification.

▶You can proceed with the Clue and Prove event.◀

‘Of course, we can hold the event now by pointing out the farming method. But, you can’t do that right now.’

I chuckled as I saw a guy swallowing his saliva from afar.

Then I picked up a strawberry I had picked myself and threw it at him.

“Wow!”

“Take it.”

“Trigram, are you okay? If you sell this… you’ll make a lot of money.”

Here, the original option appeared, but perhaps because it was part of territory management, the option did not appear.

‘Well… I’m just doing it hoping for a reward.’

Still, I want to say this.

“There is nothing more important than human life. Dyke.”

“…!”

“Helqueta I The cure time for the disease is only one day. I’ll give you two days off, so you can use it to watch your younger brother recover.”

Dyke repeatedly lowered his head on the spot.

“Really… thank you so much.”

▶We provided the necessary items to the agent.◀

▶Intimacy increases!◀

[Target: Dyke]

[Current figure: 15%]

▶The number of times the agent ability has been used has been charged.◀

▶Territory control

[You can control access to the Chatelaine Territory for a period of time proportional to your rank. External attacks disappear or are attenuated, and the higher the rank, the higher the effect and the longer it lasts. ]

…By the way, that guy.

Did you originally say pani mani?

From what I remember… I think he just bowed his head without saying anything like that in the original game.