Chapter 147 – Grand Duke’s Council (8)

No matter how much I think about it, my opinion is that Liv is pervert.
Liv’s protest, blaming me for the changes in her body.
It was Liv who first calmed down the conflict that had been going on in parallel.

“… “I don’t know why I’m telling such a stupid story.”

She looked through the documents I was holding and roughly placed them on the desk.

“In the first place, these are things I already heard from the princess.”
“Then…”
“Even if you touch my stomach! “It’s no use!”
“…”

I can’t think of any other persuasion method.
When I took my mouth again and took my hand away from her, Liv stood up as if she was frustrated.
Then she asked in a grumpy voice.

“President. “Do you remember that you agreed to go on a date with me earlier?”
“Date?”
“We were supposed to have dinner together.”

Looking back on her memory, I saw that she had said something like that quite a long time ago.
I unilaterally refused because I was angry that the store was destroyed after visiting Sandalphonia.

“It was clearly just a dinner date, but since when does a date become…” …”
“I will agree if you will hang out with me today.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Instead… “There are conditions.”

***

The condition Liv wanted was for me to be her servant for a day.
To be precise, it seemed like he wanted to change things a bit in the relationship between the boss and the employees.
I don’t know if it was part of her idea, but now I have come down to her floating island to run her errands with the money I received from her.
Liv, like Adela, would have no longer needed to make money and work at her store.

“Let’s see… Scarf, parchment, seafood… I don’t think there will be any. Also…”

Small letters written at the very bottom that say contraceptive.
I laughed lightly when I saw that and started buying the items on the list one by one.
Maybe it’s because of my mood, but my route seems to overlap a lot with when I was walking around the market with Esther.
After purchasing some fruit and cigarettes at a small stand in the commercial district, I caught sight of today’s morning newspaper.

“This…”

On the front page of the newspaper, there was a bold message: “Diplomatic dispute with Monarch intensifies!” The headline read, “What is the reason for the disappearance of a saint?”
At the same time, an article was published saying that several magic towers have now begun to lock their doors.

It seems that the outside situation became chaotic while on the floating island.
The archdukes, who seemed to be killing time with nothing to do, were not just sitting still.

‘It means that you are confident this time too.’

In summary, the purpose of the Grand Communist Conference is to proclaim the ‘Wartime General Mobilization Order.’
However, the Seven Magic Towers did not suffer much damage even during the Great War.

The reason was very simple.
From the Demon King’s point of view, the Magic Tower is like a beehive filled with wizards.
If you touch them when they do not come out on their own, not only will the loss of troops be great, but it will also be impossible to collapse the entire tower.
Like the Batudis region where ‘Baldur’s Nightmare’ unfolded, each of the seven magic towers had a means to protect themselves.

In fact, their lukewarm attitude is largely due to the lack of information.
This is an expression of the belief that the war with Monarch will be at the level of a ‘small war’ despite the military conflict that is slowly emerging to the surface.
The Demon King is no longer there, and even the royal family is still unaware of the existence of demons and heroes.
Since they simply suspect a connection between the Holy Kingdom and black magic, it would seem unfair to ask them to mobilize all of the Seven Magic Towers to help them.

‘Then how do you persuade the remaining people in this situation… ?’

In particular, the five-color ball and the gourmet ball are a problem.
Since I have no contact with them, I have to rely solely on Erzsebet’s efforts.
So, is the archduke we should look for after Adela also Lehel?
She’s so cooperative that she gives in to everything I ask for, so it’s not that difficult——

“Uh? Boss~!!!”
“Chairman?”

At that moment, Lehel came running from the other side, waving her hand.
I was worried that her old robes would drag on her feet and cause her to fall.
There is no need to even go looking for it, it is truly the lowest level of difficulty.
Maybe it would be easier to persuade than Adela, who was sulking now.

“What were you doing?”
“I was just buying this and that. “What about the Chairman?”
“Well, I just…” … I was bored so I thought I’d play a card game… Haha.”

Now that you think about it, isn’t there a gambling place here?
Although it is a famous tourist destination, it may be because it is not large.
In addition to cards, Lehel was holding various tools such as dice and dice.
It seemed so special that he let out a clumsy smile when he felt my gaze.

“Would you like to have a meal together?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. “I have an appointment today.”
“With whom?”
“Baron Liv.”
“Ah… I see.”

We walked and talked trivially.
I stopped by the store for a while and bought some necessary items.
As she entered one of her general stores, the corners of Lehel’s mouth went up when she saw the Rubik’s Cube on the shelf.
She seemed to be in a good mood so I asked her outright.

“What do you think about this agenda, Chairman?”
“Yes? What am I…”

Judging by the way she trailed off, it seemed like she didn’t really feel like it.
As expected, Lehel gave a fairly negative answer.

“I was there when Caroline’s identity was revealed, right? Of course, I understand the royal family’s position, but I do not like it when our power is used politically. “A wizard is a scholar, not a weapon of war.”

This was precisely the purpose of the founding of the Parencia Academy.
The goal is to teach magic as a study, not as a means of killing, to the generation after the end of the Great War.
As it was a statement from Lehel, who was standing at the top of the academy, it had a special weight.

“And… Anyway, I won’t be able to help even if there is a war. You know. As for my remaining time…”
“Yes.”

The number of times you can use unique magic is once more.
If you’re lucky, they say twice.
The rest of her life is already limited.
You don’t want to spend that time on the battlefield again.

“…”
“…”

The conversation stopped for a moment.
Since Lehel was there to reveal that she was the godfather of the royal family, she would not be unaware of my intention in coming here.
In the coming war, the cooperation of the archdukes was essential.
This was because I did not have the strength to stop the warriors summoned by the Holy Kingdom and even deal with the demons.

“Hmm…”

I thought for a moment.
Is it really right to ignore Lehel’s wishes and force her to agree, as we thought before?
In fact, she had never felt so immense before.
They treated me too well to be worth the price of shooting a meteor at me in the early days of building the academy.
There is also a way to make up for the lack of troops with Adella’s Ice Duck…

“Hey, boss…”
“Yes?”

At that time, Lehel asked me as I finished paying the cashier and handed her a gold coin.

“How did you convince Ice Snowmaker?”
“I listened to what she wanted.”
“What do you want?”
“Yes. “We drank together and gave gifts.”
“So you showed up after a few days?”
“Yes. “We’ve been together all this time.”

Perhaps she was satisfied enough.
Because I became more attached to the Rochear family than anything else.

“What you want…”

But Lehel’s face became increasingly red as she heard what I said.
More and more when I saw the contraceptive the clerk pulled out from under the counter.

“Well, then, the other archdukes who are opposed…”
“We have to convince everyone.”
“Everyone, everyone!?”
“Yes. “Everything.”
“Persuade…”

Did I say something strange?
Lehel lowers her head more and more, and the clerk clicks her tongue with her eyes looking at her trash for some reason.
When she came out after buying everything she had been asked to do, Lehel tugged at my sleeve and said,

“… “I, too, am against it.”

No, I know that.

***

With a few books floating in the air, Liv was watching the Milky Way stream outside her window.
The black iris swaying back and forth was looking for another mystery in the clear space presented by the winter sky.
As if digging for gold, all the rules of nature, the birth of life, and the flow of mana came into my mind.

After awakening to her unique magic power, she became more likely to spend time alone and meditate.
The intelligent mind demanded more and more knowledge, and now this island was the sum of her enlightenment.
Being caught in an illusion.
Liv seemed to know what that meant now.

In order to guard against this disease that all illusionists have suffered from, something else was needed.
Those with unique magic see the world from their own perspective.
There was only one person who was exempt from the law and was respected by all wizards.
It was Terra Ernesten.

— Baron? I’m here.

When he heard Louis’ voice, Liv drew the curtains on the window and cut off his train of thought.
She greeted him as if nothing had happened.

“Are you here?”
“Yes. I’m a little late waiting for the airship. “What about dinner?”
“I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s eat together.”
“Of course.”

With a flick of her finger, the room widened slightly, and lamps filled with cozy scarlet flames sprang up everywhere.
This entire space is her magic.
She was able to materialize food with imagery magic, but she was advised not to get too caught up in the fantasy.

Even while eating the food that Louis had brought, Liv rarely messed with the utensils.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste?”
“No, that’s not it…”

In fact, there was something she had wanted for a very long time.
It’s about clearing up the old nicknames between each other.
She swallowed her saliva and looked at Lewis.
And I carefully called his name.

“I… Louis.”
“Cough!! Baron… !?”

He coughed repeatedly and his eyes widened in disbelief.
In response to a stronger reaction than expected, Liv made an excuse without realizing it.

“Why, why! “I’m your employer today, so you can call me by your first name!”
“No matter what, there are things called courtesy and law…”
“It’s normal for nobles to treat commoners poorly… ? “The princess and Viscount Ruhilen are like that too!”
“The Baron is not originally from a historic noble family.”
“You’re a grand duke now, and soon you’ll be a count?”
“…”
“Well, I’m going to call you by your name. “If you think about it, they only changed their titles, but the honorifics remain.”

He grumbled as if he didn’t like it, but eventually agreed.

“Well, do whatever you want.”
“Then call me by my name too.”
“Yes?”
“Yes? What is it? “You’ve always called me Baron, but now when you go back to Farencia, you’re going to call me Count?”

Yes, this is correct.
Didn’t she tell Lewis to call her by her name from the beginning?
The titles he used to make fun of, “Baron” And “Baron,” Have stuck.

“Quickly. “Come on.”
“Umm… It’s a bit unfamiliar now…”
“This is a very important issue.”

Liv remembered.
What the Sentai Phantom Fighter advised.

Create a reason for you to exist in reality.
She lost everything in her war, except her magic, and from the beginning she had only one reason to live.

“Give me a reason to be by your side.”
“…”

Although he seemed not to understand, Lewis returned with a slightly serious expression.
Then she hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth.

“Live.”
“Tsk… !”

At that moment, her lower abdomen trembled and a strange sensation shook her whole body.

“Are you done now?”
“Yes yes… ! “Hurry up and eat.”

This clearly means my stomach was rumbling because I didn’t eat anything.
Promising herself this several times, Liv quickly reached for her pasta and reached for it.