Chapter 185

“Wait… How…”

“You’ve been acting weird from the beginning.”

“…”

I replied to the stammering Trisha with a surprised look in my eyes.

In fact, the main reason I recruited Trisha as an agent in the game was because she was friendly towards Carsein, but thinking about it the other way around, it raised questions.

“Why do all the residents of this territory see me as their enemy or someone they hate? They see me as the worst lord who ruined their land. But why didn’t you say such things to me?”

It started with her being friendly towards Carsein.

Why does she have a white box instead of a gray one, and why does she have basic affinity towards him?

“Next, Pherdi gathers information by running around on two legs. She’s known for her stealth and speed, which makes her very good at collecting information. But you, you knew the exact trading price of Shatren Strawberries and Shatren Grapes, including reservation fees, from the places where nobles trade. How did you get that information? What tricks did you use?”

Then there’s Trisha’s ability as an information gatherer.

Pherdi, as a B-Rank information gatherer, uses her skills by physically running around to collect information. It made sense that she was good at collecting information due to her stealth and speed.

But unlike Pherdi, how Trisha obtained information remained a mystery. How did she become a C-Rank information gatherer?

“Lastly, Trisha, you came looking for me and Pherdi at night. You weren’t brought by Pherdi; you found us yourself. No one knows where Pherdi lives among the residents of the Shatren Territory, and no one knows where I am staying. Only one person knows this.”

The fact that she knew where Pherdi was and where I was staying.

This information could only belong to one person.

“Village Chief Brem. Since Shatren became a target of the Symposium Territory, he’s the only person who would receive this information. Considering his age fits perfectly, it proves that you are the granddaughter of the Village Chief, doesn’t it?”

“…Oh my god.”

Trisha muttered this and looked shocked.

Meanwhile, a window appeared before my eyes.

“Ding!”

▶ Information received from an Agent! ◀

[Trisha is the granddaughter of Village Chief Brem and knows that Shatren is going downhill.]

Indeed, it makes sense.

“This is also part of the hidden game setting, right?”

The game settings were already decided.

“Bip-bop.”

“Of course, Young Master can change our territory. Right?”

“…?”

“Trisha!”

Trisha, who had been astonished for a while, grabbed my clothes tightly with both hands and pleaded.

“Please let me help you. I am Village Chief Brem’s granddaughter. If there’s anything I can sneak in, I can bring it! Anything!”

“…”

“As long as I can do something, you can treat me however you want! Just like Pherdi!”

To save her own territory, to protect the hometown she has lived in, and to turn people’s hearts back on track.

Even if Village Chief Brem was secretly rotten, his granddaughter Trisha had just as much love for Shatren.

Surely, this would be helpful to me, who has no one to give direct orders.

But…

▶ Can recruit Trisha as an Agent. ◀

▶ Shall I accept this NPC as an Agent? ◀

[1. Yes.]

[2. No.]

“If I accept you, I won’t be able to proceed with my plan.”

Unfortunately, the maximum number of agents is three, so I had to reject her for now.

“I’m sorry, I—”

“Even planting strawberries would be fine!”

“…What?”

“You said our farming method is wrong. Our farming method is flawed. If proving that is what it takes, I can tell you about our farming method!”

Seeing Trisha pinpoint the problem with the farming method, I wondered if I really needed to make her an agent.

“Accepting an agent is only possible when I accept them. But if I don’t accept her and just let her stay with Pherdi, what happens then?”

I immediately turned my gaze to the status window.

▶ Can recruit Trisha as an Agent. ◀

▶ Shall I accept this NPC as an Agent? ◀

[1. Yes.]

[2. No.]

Although this window still popped up, just like with Pherdi and Daike, there were no conditions stated for acceptance.

This is purely my intuition, but maybe an agent is registered only when I choose to accept them and they respond positively.

“There’s a possibility. If simply helping out meant becoming an agent, then Tasha and Camila should have become agents from the start.”

However, those two were not listed as agents.

Even though they should have been the first to be registered.

So, perhaps they were accepted as general helpers, not agents.

It’s not confirmed, but it’s worth trying.

“I understand your feelings, Trisha. But will you be satisfied if I teach you instead of involving you directly?”

“Teach you? Instead of me doing it myself…?”

“Yes.”

Trisha answered abruptly.

“That’s enough for me!”

A positive response came back.

But the status window remained silent.

As I thought, an agent must be someone who can directly influence me through their abilities. Indirect influence means they’re just a character with high affinity, like Camila.

Despite its unreasonable aspects, this game doesn’t interfere with player freedom.

Due to this free play, every choice is split, and even my smallest movements can trigger reactions.

That’s why there’s a gap between characters with high affinity and agents. It’s about whether to make them directly helpful in managing the territory.

I decided to accept Trisha as a helper with high affinity and prepare accordingly.

Still, I need to ask her something.

“It might be dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yes. Even if no one knows you’re helping me now, things will change once they find out.”

Like usual, agents won’t be treated well once they’re seen with me. Although I’ve experienced retries, in the worst case, an agent might be hurt or driven out of the territory.

Considering the reality, it’s natural. That’s why I’m warning her.

“People might despise you. The bakery owner you were close to, the uncle who runs the bar, and even your grandfather might say bad things about you. You might even get seriously hurt. Even if you are Village Chief Brem’s granddaughter.”

“…”

“Can you still help me despite the danger?”

Trisha flinched at my blunt and heavy words.

But her reply was immediate.

“Yes!”

“Really?”

“I want to protect this territory too. I see the people I grew up with going astray!”

Trisha placed her hand on her chest and firmly responded.

“Pherdi is doing bad things to tarnish Shatren’s reputation and is seeking external help. I don’t want to just stand by while you reach out to him!”

“Is that so?”

What a great girl.

“Alright, Trisha. Then you’ll stay with Pherdi for now.”

“With Pherdi… together?”

“As I said, I won’t allow direct involvement from you.”

Hearing this, Trisha looked startled, and Pherdi quickly stepped forward.

“Hey, bro! Don’t tell me you want us to live in the same hut…?”

“That’s not it.”

“Ugh!”

Pherdi glanced nervously at Trisha, and Trisha covered her mouth with both hands, peeking at Pherdi.

What’s wrong with staying together?

“It’s just to avoid danger. Why is that strange?”

“That’s…”

“Bro…”

When their eyes met, both looked away in opposite directions.

For some reason, both of their faces turned red.

What’s going on? Did I say something wrong?

***

▶ Second Agent, Daike, has been recruited. ◀

▶ To progress to the next Episode, recruit a third Agent. ◀

With two agents recruited, it’s time for the third.

Once all three agents are recruited, I can proceed to the next episode.

But from now on, I shouldn’t act rashly.

▶ Warning! Entered a restricted field with a danger level above permitted. ◀

▶ Combat may occur! ◜

As system messages appeared before me, the low affinity of the residents indicated that they were filled with complaints against me.

Some of them even took extreme actions. Throwing objects at me or setting traps whenever Carsein got hurt, thinking they wouldn’t give up on the Symposium.

“Clang!”

From the right side, a voice sighed with disappointment. Thanks to mana amplification, I could almost tell which direction the footsteps came from.

But chasing them down now would only deepen their resentment.

“Being threatened by the residents as a temporary lord…”

Unreasonably, Carsein couldn’t escape the swamp of the past.

▶ Danger level decreased due to sufficient stat points. ◜

▶ Danger level in this field has been adjusted to warning. ◜

“Warning level. This is a place I can operate in.”

Forbidden areas where combat doesn’t occur due to high danger levels are truly off-limits, while dangerous areas might have unexpected traps.

In contrast, warning and restricted areas allow movement.

I entered a well-managed seed warehouse.

“Let’s see, there’s a blue box over here… Is this it?”

“Click.”

“Oh, it’s real!”

Opening the box Trisha showed me revealed a bunch of improved strawberry seeds and grape seeds.

◆ Improved Strawberry Seeds

[Seeds of Shatren Strawberries cultivated by the residents of Shatren Territory. Can be planted in fields to grow crops. Harvest cycle is relatively long.]

◆ Improved Grape Seeds

[Seeds of Shatren Grapes cultivated by the residents of Shatren Territory. Can be planted in fields to grow crops. Harvest cycle is relatively long.]

“Wow, I used to break sub-episodes to get these.”

As expected, the granddaughter of the village chief.

She was quite helpful in many ways.

▶ To take seeds, pour them into the bucket on the right. ◜

Following instructions, I poured the seeds into a bucket on the right.

After filling the bucket with enough seeds and leaving the warehouse, residents were waiting outside.

“What are you doing in this warehouse?”

“Are you saying there are seeds inside?”

“Ding!”

▶ Residents witnessed entering and exiting the warehouse. How should I respond?

[1. (Holding up the bucket) Yes. These are strawberries, and these are grapes.]

[2. (Pushing past a resident) Move aside, don’t block the path.]

[3. (Shrugging shoulders) Can’t I take some seeds?]

…

…

It wasn’t easy after all.

Well, I expected it. With hostile residents openly threatening me in this field, it would be strange if nothing happened. And with a warning danger level, it makes sense.

This scene seems perfect for me to be mistaken for a thief stealing seeds.

“A temporary lord or not, we can’t tolerate this. Taking our seeds like this?”

“This is ridiculous! Put them down! This is theft!”

Like this.

But I have plenty to say from my perspective.

I used the new option without missing a word.

[5. Shatren Strawberries and Shatren Grapes grow from the seeds by consuming mana periodically. Regular thinning is beneficial. Some seeds need to be removed during this process. Is removing seeds wrong?]

“Shatren Strawberries and Shatren Grapes grow from the seeds by consuming mana periodically. Regular thinning is beneficial. Some seeds need to be removed during this process. Is removing seeds wrong?”

“…”

Sorry, but I’ve already gotten a thorough explanation from Trisha.