Chapter 281

Originally, nobles ranked Count and above in the Empire had an obligation to create and operate a wyvern landing site on the outskirts of their territory.

However, in the past two weeks, aside from next to the Lord’s castle, we hadn’t seen a landing site for wyverns.

Today, we were preparing to roast a wild boar we had caught while riding a wyvern, seasoning it with salt and pepper we had brought along.

In fact, staying overnight at the Count’s castle was the most comfortable option.

After sharing a few pleasantries, we could enjoy a warm bed and abundant meat, which was a very profitable trade.

But that meant we had to deal with the Count’s family, who wanted to align with the royal family and the Platinum Knight, and since we had received hospitality, we had to also flex a bit with the Count of the neighboring territory who we weren’t on good terms with.

When we had a drink or two at night, setting off early the next day would be difficult.

On the way back, we might end up leisurely spending a few days in one of the provinces.

But right now, we needed to hurry east.

We had to travel as far as we could that day, and when the wyvern got tired, we had to rest wherever that was.

Thus, the first in the line of succession, the Elder Brother in the Imperial Family, and the Platinum Knight were in a situation close to camping out in the woods, no, it was almost like we were homeless.

“Lady Trentia, it’s about time you come over and eat. By now, everyone should be back to their senses.”

I called to Lady Trentia and handed her a front leg of the wild boar, perfectly roasted, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

She had already dispatched all the leaders and enforcers of the bandit gang, and had given the younger ones a good beating to knock some sense into them.

In this world, failing to recognize your opponent was a capital offense.

The young thieves, now the protagonists of dragon horror stories, were trembling and crawling away on all fours, while Lady Trentia chuckled as she tore into the boar leg.

“Your Highness, I didn’t know you were such a good cook.”

I conjured flames from my palm and smiled.

“I might not know much, but I’m confident in my fire control. Well, the taste is thanks to the spices Rudi provided.”

“If I had known this, I would have set up right next to the wyvern. Then those ruffians wouldn’t have dared to come close.”

“Then we would have to fall asleep to the smell of the blood and entrails of the beasts the wyvern consumed. I wouldn’t like that; I’m quite delicate, you see.”

“It doesn’t seem fitting for someone who incinerated the bandit leader without leaving behind a trace.”

“Uninformed! I did burn him without a trace. The smell of char is better than the smell of blood, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

Lady Trentia shifted the topic.

“I understand that the Empire is quite vast and that administrative reach often doesn’t extend to the provinces.”

“If the Imperial Governor’s province is being ceded to nearby nobles as territories, that says it all.”

“But the sheer number of bandits is strange. This place must ultimately be the territory of some knight or baron, and knights or barons are either Sword Experts or Mages, so there’s no way they could not deal with mere bandits, right?”

Lady Trentia was correct.

The central authority was enforced in Solentalouon, the trading and port cities owned by the royal family, and in the directly governed areas of Central region.

However, that did not mean that other territories were lawless wastelands without a master.

If a lord could not manage his territory well, it would provide grounds for intervention from vassals, other lords, churches, or the imperial family.

Thus, lords had killed off the monsters that bothered the common people—like wild dogs, wolves, greenskins, undead, bandits, and highway robbers—and burned suspicious third-rate Mages and shamans that brought about corruption. They also donated to the church to train Priests and Holy Knights.

Of course, it was impossible for knights to ensure that every settlement or small village was protected from raids.

Lady Trentia’s father, Sir Jester, governed a city with a population of 5,000 and numerous small villages.

Though he was called a knight, in foreign standards, he was a feudal lord of slightly lesser rank than a Count.

He couldn’t be involved in every little thing that happened in his territory, nor should he be.

It was akin to a guildmaster of a construction guild carrying bricks on his back.

However, even if they couldn’t protect it, they could seek revenge.

“Right. They shouldn’t be unable to handle it. But what does it mean that it has come to this?”

Lady Trentia grimaced, as if asking why I was posing such a difficult question.

“……There must be a war. The remnants of defeated soldiers and unpaid mercenaries have all turned to banditry.”

“Not a bad line of thinking. Anything else?”

“I don’t…… know.”

“The eastern interior was too peaceful. The population must have grown too much, leading to a shortage of land.”

Lady Trentia’s lips quivered.

Her surprised eyes fluttered slightly.

“I heard that recently tens of thousands died in a large-scale corruption incident.”

“Cities may have high population densities, but there’s relatively little land under cultivation. It has nothing to do with farmland shortages.”

“Didn’t we see plenty of mountains and forests on the way here?”

“Those are likely places too challenging to be cultivated or areas deliberately left untouched to protect forest resources. The eastern interior is like this.”

I smiled and let my words trail off.

“The eastern coast, of course, is different. The people there are all hardy sailors. They risk their lives to go out and catch fish, fighting against Undersea People and pirates. It’s only natural that those who couldn’t make it end up dead, leaving no heirs. But this inland area they protect…”

Lady Trentia let out a deep sigh and leaned against a massive tree.

“This lord’s domain must also be a vassal of Duke Cariosa, right?”

I nodded.

“That would be the case. We’re almost halfway.”

“I think I understand why Duke Cariosa sought to bring them to heel. While she’s fighting, risking the lives of her people, if she hears complaints about the population growing too large from behind, I would also get irritated.”

“That’s why this expedition is important to her.”

“If it’s about land reclamation… then it’s a colonization project.”

“It means she intends to move all the overflowing serfs from the eastern interior to the islands. Establish new vassals, deplete their strength, solve the population problem, and expand her territory. How enticing is that? She must succeed.”

Lady Trentia smiled, as if looking forward to it.

“Now I understand why you lent Duke Valencius at such a high price.”

I nodded.

“Indeed. On our way back, we should be able to bring back an immense fortune and something even greater.”

The farther east we went, the more stable the territory became.

From the sky, everything was visible at a glance.

The balance of forest, cultivated land, and pastures was harmonized. At Wyvernfit, a steward appeared with sheep and tents, and sometimes the lord or their deputy would wait to greet us.

Naturally, there were no bandit gangs or highway robbers, greenskins, or ancient monsters to be found.

“Duke Cariosa is eagerly awaiting His Highness Duke Valencius.”

“Let’s make sure we fly faster than the letters.”

Thus, about a month after departing from Solentalouon.

The scent of the sea began to mix with the wind.

* * *

That day, the sky was exceptionally clear.

A breeze carried moisture, a hint of saltiness, and the warm essence typical of coastal areas.

“Your Highness!”

“Yes. We’re almost there.”

In the distance, a blue expanse sparkled like a jewel, and a prosperous large city came into view.

The port city of Ketusione, where the sea monster resembling a white shark, Summerlin, had fallen in love with a man from the land.

“Being the largest port in the east, it’s enormous.”

“It seems to be much wider than Solentalouon.”

Ketusione was a crescent-shaped city flanked by three huge bays.

From the sky, it appeared as if the sea monster had taken three bites from the inner crescent.

All the buildings were stone constructions of four or more stories, with several towering towers reaching for the sky.

In contrast to being refined, they appeared somewhat crude, possibly due to their design to withstand the sea winds, and the buildings were much wider than those in Solentalouon.

Perhaps due to the taste of the past Asenortas, all the walls were a white color like sandy beaches, while the roofs were a deep blue like the ocean.

In front of us was a sea of blue, and I wondered why it was necessary to paint the buildings blue as well.

In the city center, there was a massive river flowing into the sea, creating a brackish area, and using this river, the entire city had canal systems etched like a chessboard.

This allowed merchant ships to directly dock without having to unload baggage on the beach and transfer it onto carriages, enabling access deep into the city.

“They trade with the entire eastern region through that river.”

“Would it be limited to just the east? Recently, His Majesty opened another canal, so now they will also connect to the central and northern regions.”

Among the three ports installed in the three bays, the central port situated along the river was clearly a trading port.

Massive ships, boasting 60-meter hulls and displacing up to 1,000 tons, were lined up with large sails.

The ships bore flags from countless families, even flying the flags of the Eastern Continent and the Amir Dukedom of the Southern Continent.

“Isn’t that… illegal?”

“Hmm. For now, all judicial rights up to two weeks by wyvern from here belong to the House of Asenorta.”

Of course, the best docking spots in that port belonged to the commercial vessels of the House of Asenorta.

In front of ships flying the White Shark flag, other vessels bowed their heads like wolves before a tiger or a fish before a shark.

Turning my gaze to the right, I found the smallest of the three ports.

However, being the smallest only meant compared to the central port; it was still among the largest in the other port cities of the east.

Surprisingly, all the vessels there were fishing boats, large and small.

“I had no idea they would leave fishing in such a gigantic port.”

Lady Trentia lifted an eyebrow and murmured.

“Cariosa is a warrior. She knows she can’t fight on gold coins alone.”

In reality, contrary to the sense of freedom felt in such a ‘tremendously large trading port,’ Ketusione was a well-fortified city.

Every few intervals throughout the city, walls over 20 meters tall were built, effectively segregating areas, and massive towers were each equipped with oversized ballistae, complete with heavy portcullises and shutters that could be used to completely seal the canals.

And the atmosphere of a warrior peaked at the left port.

“Is that a military port?”

“Yes. They say they command seven fleets.”

Even the vessels in that port didn’t look too different at first glance from the merchant ships.

However, Lady Trentia and I could vividly feel the multitude of spells woven into those ships.

“Those must be for sturdiness, acceleration, and lightweight….”

“Of course, they must also have fire resistance.”

“They seem smaller than I thought. I was under the impression that warships were enormous.”

The largest vessel in the military port was only about 10 meters different from the merchant ships.

Rather, most military vessels were around 50 meters, making them appear smaller instead.

I shook my head lightly.

“Lady, those ships are all transport, escort, landing ships, or fast reconnaissance vessels. The stout ones are transport ships, the ones that look durable are escort ships, the flat ones are landing ships, and the narrow ones are the fast vessels.”

“Eh?”

“The true warships made of gigantic lumber are too big to enter the port. They are assembled at sea, and all supplies are received via transport ships. Warships are born in the sea and die in the sea.”

Lady Trentia gasped softly.

“That sounds rather impressive.”

At that moment, a headwind blew, causing two wyverns to desperately spread their wings and catch the wind, and Lady Trentia’s red hair fluttered magnificently.

In that instant, I caught a glimpse of her mouthing something.

“Born in battle, die in battle.”

Truly, she was a knight to the bone.

As we circled the city, we descended towards the wyvern fit near the military port.

It wasn’t a lie that Cariosa was waiting for us; a considerable crowd had gathered near the wyvern fit.

As we landed inside the dome, I looked up at the grand fortress standing tall on the rocky hillside at the far left side of the city.

Whiiiii-oo.

The fortress, having faced the sea winds for hundreds of years, appeared closer to a stronghold than the Imperial Palace.

Once I dismounted from the wyvern, gathered the gifts for Cariosa, loosened my stiff body from the long flight, and entered the private reception room of the wyvern fit, I made my final adjustments to my attire and hair.

At that moment, a familiar face appeared behind the mirror I was looking at.

“Duke Valencius.”

With sea-colored hair, skin shimmering like scales, and shark-like teeth.

Before I could even turn around to greet her, she bit my nape.