Chapter 112

Here’s the English translation in a comedic anime style:

“Having finished meeting with Marquis Aiferos, I got on the horse with Harnier and headed towards Rusmaier.

Soon after, a status window popped up.

▶Sub Episode Cleared! Commotion at the Tavern!◀

▶Yarik Tribe, Recognition of Aiferos Marquis House increased!◀

▶Affinity with Pollux Tootlum increased!◀

[Current value: 12%]

I only realized this sub-episode was cleared when I saw these messages.

Marquis Aiferos was just another NPC in the episode. Who knew we’d meet him first and boost our affinity like this.

And it wasn’t just any increase in affinity.

Seeing his real name, Pollux Tootlum, instead of Marquis Aiferos, clearly made a difference.

As the Lord of Rusmaier, I need to revive my territory by trading with the House of Aiferos.

But their trade isn’t going smoothly.

To trade with the closed-off House of Aiferos, I must pass one test.

“The deal is decided after clashing swords. Come on, prove yourself.”

As you can see from this dialogue, it’s about clashing swords.

After clashing swords, you can tell if the other party is genuine and understand who they really are. But…

The Marquis won’t approve the deal unless you meet a certain standard.

In other words, to trade with the House of Aiferos, you must first prove your strength.

If you don’t meet the standard, you might hear things like:

“We don’t deal with people with impure intentions. Take him away!”

“Hmph. Anyone holding that kind of sword is obvious. Cut him down before he even moves.”

“We don’t waste words on weaklings!”

These lines don’t mean much.

They’re just a dead flag showing they won’t deal with weak Carsein.

So, lacking stats, and rushing this episode, I had to gather more stats.

“This works out nicely. Meeting Marquis Aiferos, aka Pollux Tootlum.”

It would probably be easier dealing with him as the Lord of Rusmaier.

And…

I should thank the person who set this situation up.

“Thank you, Harnier.”

“What?! What are you talking about all of a sudden?!”

“Just. Thanking you privately.”

Thanks to you, I could meet Marquis Aiferos.

That’s more than enough gratitude.

Harnier then bonked me in the chest.

“Wha-what are you saying all of a sudden!”

Seeing her nagging about holding the reins properly, I realized it’s too early to speak freely.

“…But there’s no need to fall off.”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“But what did I do wrong…?”

“DON’T TALK TO ME!”

She seemed easy to understand, but not in this situation.

Deciding to stay quiet until the spikes on her back disappeared, suddenly a minor incident happened.

Since the Gelgetten Viscount’s villa is in the nobles’ district, riding to Rusmaier took quite some distance.

With Waglwu Mountain blocking the way, the sun started setting.

“Ugh…”

Harnier started nodding off.

*thud*

Her head leaned towards me, unable to fight sleep.

Her purple hair tickled my skin, and warm breath came from her light head.

“There shouldn’t be any dangerous places left, so it’s not a big problem…”

It’s rude to disturb someone’s sleep like this.

I slowed the horse down a bit.

She was far from me a moment ago, now she could sleep better.

***

Warm and cozy.

Lying somewhere, feeling sleepy.

Harnier finally realized she fell asleep again and opened her eyes wide.

“Gasp!”

Seeing Carsein smiling, she said,

“You woke up?”

*Blink blink.*

Blinking her eyes, hoping it was a dream.

But it wasn’t.

The person in front of her was Carsein.

She fell asleep on the horse, and now she was leaning on his chest.

Harnier covered her face with both hands.

“How did this happen again!”

Not once, but twice?

It’s embarrassing. Too embarrassing.

Usually, she wouldn’t show such a messy side in front of servants, yet she’s shown this twice to him.

Once might be overlooked, but twice is different.

“You still have time to reach Rusmaier. You could sleep more.”

Hearing that, her hair stood on end.

“Forget it.”

“What?”

“I said FORGET IT! The stuff that happened just now! Or do you need payment to forget it?”

Carsein replied, puzzled.

“Why bother…? It’s fine if I just think my fiancée was tired from work and slept.”

Besides, no one else saw it, so it doesn’t matter. Even if they did, seeing lovers is nothing unusual.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Logically speaking.

Oddly enough, Harnier felt persuaded.

“Or do you think I’m some pervert touching you?”

“What? No, that’s not it…”

“Then don’t worry about it. Your body is heavy anyway.”

Heat rushed to her face, but now a cool breeze blew in.

Still, warmth remained.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“Not really. Actually, being held feels safer than not being held. This is better.”

“Is that so?”

She didn’t know that.

Feeling guilty, she wanted to say something.

But by then, they had arrived at Rusmaier.

“We’re here. Get down.”

Carsein got off first and offered his hand, helping her down flawlessly.

This is part of noble etiquette. I was planning to teach her someday, but she had already mastered it.

“Didn’t I teach you this?”

“A few practice runs.”

“Practice?”

“Yeah.”

Practicing meant lifting and lowering other women on and off the horse.

Yeah. There’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s a noble etiquette, so it makes sense he learned it.

But it felt weird.

So, I kept asking.

“Who did you practice with? Your sisters?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

If they were family, it would be understandable.

In Bargrand, he’s the only male, so escorting his sisters or cousins would be normal.

But…

When told it was a maid, the questions kept coming.

“Really? Who did you practice with?”

“Well… Just a maid.”

“A maid? The maid named Camila?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Harnier narrowed her eyes.

“Hmm. Practically like riding with a noble lady. Deol House is a noble house too.”

“That’s true, but… She’s just a maid now… Wait, why are you asking? Did I do something wrong…?”

“No. It’s not wrong. It’s praise. You learned well without me teaching.”

“Really? But… are you upset about something…?”

“Me? What could upset me?”

“…”

Carsein couldn’t honestly answer Harnier.

He was clearly upset, but he didn’t know why. So, he had to give an excuse.

“The reason I rode with Camila was only when buying supplies. Don’t worry about any doubts regarding our engagement.”

He added that he didn’t see her as anything but a master to Camila.

“You don’t care?! If you keep saying that, it sounds like you think I’m cheating on you!”

“What? Isn’t that what it means?”

“No! Have you forgotten? We’re only bound by a contract, so why worry about it!”

Harnier pushed Carsein’s back toward Rusmaier.

“Let’s drop this topic. Show me around your territory.”

“Yeah… Okay.”

“And stop talking! Forget what Pollux said earlier!”

“Uh… Yeah, understood.”

Carsein kept looking puzzled as he headed to Rusmaier.

Watching him, Harnier muttered to herself.

“Why did I do that?”

Really, why did she?

Looking back, it was strange.

***

Upon entering Rusmaier, many eyes turned towards them.

Of course, attention would be drawn to the Lord’s visit.

But today, more attention was drawn. For a different reason.

“People are staring.”

“Yes. They’re staring at you.”

I had expected something like this.

Rusmaier was under pressure from nearby territories and nobles.

Given how determined they were to ruin a party hall, the nobles’ gaze couldn’t be friendly.

Considering their reaction when Carsein entered, it wasn’t odd that they looked at her that way too.

“I’ll try to ease their worries. Let me handle this for a moment—”

Before Carsein could whisper to Harnier,

A little girl ran over.

“Big brother! Who’s this pretty lady? Is she your girlfriend?!”

“…What?”

“Um…?”

Seeing Carsein and Harnier’s stunned reactions, other children gathered.

“Is the lord seeing this lady?”

“Stupid! He’s not seeing her, he’s dating her.”

“Yeah. See the ring? They match.”

“Ooh! They’re dating!”

The children cheered enthusiastically, unlike Carsein’s concerns.

“Hey kids!”

“That’s not allowed! You can’t write about the lord like that!”

Adults rushed over, alarmed by the children’s behavior.

The children, who had crowded around, bowed and apologized to their parents.

“It seems there was no need to worry.”

“What?”

Confused, Carsein looked at Barak, who had arrived.

“I apologize for the children’s mistake. Please forgive us.”

“No, it’s not a big deal… But why are they acting like this? Aren’t they supposed to dislike nobles?”

“If it’s someone brought by Lord, it’s different.”

Only then did Carsein realize.

“Wait. That’s why?”

Now, the townspeople’s gazes weren’t hostile.

Even though he brought a stranger, especially a noble.

“The townspeople’s absolute trust in the lord is rare.”

“Heh. There must be a reason.”

“He’s a great man, Lord Carsein.”

“Hey.”

Carsein hinted for them to stop.

More meaningless conversations were exchanged.

Since they wouldn’t tell him anyway, it’s better to move on to business.

“Speaking of which, Barak. How’s the task I assigned?”

“Oh, yes. About that…”

Barak answered with a deflated voice.

“We can break through. But our current techniques can’t clear the mountain in time.”

“Why?”

“It’s the cost. While we know how to break and dig, this is a stone mountain. Without proper equipment, it’s impossible.”

The cost of equipment.

That’s the problem.

Most mountains yield loot upon investigation. Whether it’s minerals, gems, or valuable herbs, there’s always a way to secure funds.

But not Rusmaier.

Waglwu Mountain is just stone, making it impossible to fund the project.

Especially in an isolated territory, supplies run out in three weeks.

Even if they collected tolls, the nearby territories would crush Rusmaier, making the market unstable.

The tighter the timeline, the harder it gets for Rusmaier.

“Waglwu Mountain had nothing but trees and stones. Inside, just a few monsters. Of course.”

Barak turned to look at a pile of rocks and continued.

“As Lord instructed, we didn’t discard any rocks. We piled them up, but…”

Carsein chuckled and replied.

“They’re your loot. The most valuable loot in this mountain.”

“Really? But I heard these rocks are useless.”

“Yeah. That’s why they’re important.”

“So that’s what you were talking about.”

Harnier smiled along.

“Exactly. Rocks are important. Trees and soil alone have limits. But right now, there’s a place where rocks are desperately needed.”

“Where? Where can we sell them?!”

Smiling, Harnier locked eyes with Carsein.

This answer is yours.

“To build a sturdy wall, you need solid gravel, right?”

At that moment, Barak charged towards the townspeople like Archimedes shouting “Eureka!”