Chapter 241 – #240 Holding the Nobles by Their Leashes

It feels perfect to see the bewildered expressions of the nobles.

I guess I was in a good mood until I had breakfast this morning.

I did something like that yesterday, and unless something special happened, you would have seen my crumpled face after kicking me out.

But the result is the opposite.

No, rather, one confidence appeared on their faces.

This means that the owner of Halstenberg was decided.

Is that why?

-The expressions on their faces are a sight to behold. They say it’s like a dog chasing a chicken. It’s perfect. Tsk tsk.

They flopped down in their seats, abandoning all dignity, as if they had forgotten that they were nobles.

A feeling of futility appeared on their faces.

But that wasn’t what they were supposed to feel. I moved my hand and tapped the heads of the masked people behind me.

“Welcome. It’s a very good morning. But do you know who these people are?”

Only then did the nobles take their eyes off the Marquis and look at the masked people. The expression gradually begins to change.

“Well, they…”

“I don’t know. Who are they?”

“How dare you bring such lowly people and ask them if they know each other! That’s rude!”

When a noble casts a spell, everyone rejects it, saying they don’t know.

However, when I grabbed the head of one masked person, he trembled and said the following.

“Well, I was paid. To assassinate the believers of the Temple of Light… Ah, by agreement of all the nobles over there…”

“You guy! What nonsense!”

“I will tear your damn snout off right now!”

The nobles, impatient with the assassin’s confession, came running with their swords drawn. This probably means that they are trying to silence him somehow. However, there were people who raised swords against them…

“Lord Corman! Get out of the way!”

“Lord Eren! Are you pulling your sword at me now?!”

The imperial knights block my path as if protecting me. They raised their chins and aimed the tips of their swords at the nobles who came running.

“These are people who have committed serious crimes.”

“That’s right! How dare you disparage our honor, let us be held accountable right away…”

“Shut up!”

When Eren shouted, about half of the nobles fell backwards. It was a glimpse of how great his spirit was.

In the past, when I was a guard of Freyr, I probably just treated it without knowing what was going on. But things are different now. To him, today’s nobles were criminals for whom summary execution was not enough.

“You will surely remember what His Majesty said. I will never let anyone who stands in the way of resolving this matter. These are witnesses to punish those who committed it. No one can touch you until you bring me before your Majesty.”

Peek puk kuk.

The nobles move their mouths, but no voice comes out.

I felt the seriousness of the situation.

Disobeying the emperor’s orders is absolutely a serious crime. A situation where there is nothing to say even if the family is exterminated or executed depending on the emperor’s mood.

“Oh, we don’t know. I have nothing to do with it.”

“I-I don’t know. You’re interfering with this…! I never did anything like that!”

However, the nobles who encountered my smile quickly lowered their heads or turned them to the side.

“You will find out when you stand before His Majesty. I have promised to confess to all six masked people here.”

“Huh, bullshit. It must be a false confession! Wasn’t this planned to get rid of us, our rivals, through torture?”

– All. Are you smart?

It is true that torture occurred.

When Naiad left the captured fish in the care of Perez for about 4 hours, all six came out and said they would actively cooperate.

I shrugged.

“You can say that in front of Your Majesty as well. I will report to Your Majesty exactly how I caught them and the story I heard.”

The faces of the nobles became contemplative.

It wasn’t something that could be done by shouting, throwing a tantrum, or making threats. It was a serious matter that could have resulted in the head being blown off.

In the end, this was the choice the nobles made after looking at each other.

“Oh, Earl of Cranberry. Would you like to talk to me for a moment? I gave you silk at your coronation ceremony…”

“Have you had breakfast? Among my acquaintances here, there is someone who used to work in the imperial kitchen…”

– Wow. Look at the attitude change.

The nobles come up to me, put their hands together, and bow down. The way he farts is very blatant.

“Count Crinberry. Congratulations on your great achievement of being a demon summoner. With this, you have become the lord of Halstenberg… What do you think? Why not give me a chance to congratulate you on this?”

Even the high-ranking nobles who represented them approached and bowed their heads.

It has to be that way.

He is one of the top five powerful people on the side of the First Empress. The emperor also dismissed the Marquis Barnos, who had been appointed as the lord of Halstenberg.

If the uncomfortable emperor finds out about this, what will he do? As if just imagining it was terrifying, their faces all contained desperation.

“I’m sorry, but right now, settling things here comes first.”

“Well, don’t do that…”

“If you are busy, leave it to us. We will help!”

Then, I looked at them with a straight face and raised my index finger as they rolled up their sleeves. The nobles who saw my face stepped back with embarrassed expressions.

On my own, it seems like he was just trying to increase his score, but if you look at it another way, it can also be seen as an act to take away my achievements.

Seeing him make mistakes he wouldn’t normally make, he seems like he’s really in trouble.

I lowered my head and opened my arms to them.

“Well, that’s good. The work is almost finished, so I’ll meet with you one by one as time allows.”

“Thank you!”

“Thank you for your time, Count!”

“Then, please leave the room until the work is finished.”

When I waved my hand as if to shoo away flying insects, the nobles bowed and returned with bright smiles.

And from a distance, they started bickering among themselves. When I heard the sound through magic, it was as follows.

“My, I’m number 17!”

“Then I’m number 18!”

“Why is someone so low in rank shouting number 18? Fall back!”

The turn-taking that had previously taken place in front of Freire’s carriage was being realized again.

It was a truly strange feeling.

***

“Giggle, giggle. Ah, it was fun.”

“I’m glad you had fun.”

A month ago.

Kshanberg Capital Imperial Academy.

Two boys and a girl smiled brightly on a roof covered in white snow. Underneath the roof, three students from the academy, completely buried in snow, were struggling to get out.

[It’s month. Let’s go back now.]

“Yes. I’ll go now.”

The girl jumps up from her seat, and the boy Rechardo follows suit and bows.

Wol-i, who was about to leave, looked back at him as if he had forgotten.

“And I’m not here anymore. Today is the last day.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Rechardo’s eyes widened when he heard the sudden departure.

A girl named Wol that I met by chance while playing around at the academy.

When they first met, she had her head ripped off, but after that, they became friends with her.

He didn’t know where she was from, but he didn’t know anything about the capital. As he drove her around and played with her, Rechardo developed special feelings for her.

She was thinking that she would have to confess these feelings to him at some point… Today is the last day?

Wol-i smiled brightly at Rechardo’s question.

“I’m going on a trip to Halstenberg with my dad.”

“When are you coming back?”

“I don’t know! Anyway, I had fun so far. Have a good time!”

With that answer, the girl turned her body around. She waved her hand once and soon disappeared with the wind.

“Ah…”

Rechardo stared blankly at the spot where Wally left for a while. Her blue hair swayed to and fro in the wind.

***

Halstenberg’s work went smoothly.

The annoying interference from the nobles disappeared, but the strong protests from the residents they caused were quite a problem…

“I heard that the reason the Icecrown people have been going south since the year before last was to find the bodies of those who were lost.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Isn’t that true of the timing? The river hasn’t completely frozen yet, and the winter animals haven’t even come down. But the Icecrown people have already crossed the river.”

After telling the story of the Ice Crown and later revealing the demon summoning circle, the torture chamber, and the bodies of those who sacrificed there, public opinion immediately subsided.

“How…”

“As a fellow human being, I would do something like this…”

The dead soldiers’ colleagues, bereaved families, and even hunters. They covered their mouths and stood in silence over this shocking fact.

It was revealed to the extent of provoking a sense of guilt, but instead they sent a vote of sympathy to the Icecrown people.

I didn’t even know if I could sympathize with someone who had also lost an acquaintance.

– The Halstenberg side has been resolved, and now I wonder what happens to the Ice Crown side.

‘That’s right.’

It cannot be seen that they completely overlook this fact.

The problems from last year were replaced by food, so we can’t worry about them, but this year’s problems still remain.

Since it has now been determined that the cause of the outbreak of this conflict lies with the Empire rather than the Icecrown side, future negotiations do not seem to be easy at all.

In that respect, Belius was truly a person worthy of respect.

“Earl Cranberry. I think it is right to tell the truth about this to Icecrown.”

“Then the problem may escalate. Maybe we will have to give up 4 and a half Hanil’s worth of food.”

“Still… Halstenberg is the border area of ​​the empire, but on the other hand, it is a place where the Icecrown people coexist. It may be a loss for now, but I think it is right if you think about the future.”

Belius is a soldier and a knight. His righteousness is not limited to one nation.

However, it did not mean that he had no patriotism.

He saw exactly the relationship between Halstenberg and Icecrown. His actions were to look to the future rather than stay in the present.

‘Well, now we can’t hide the fact that all the village residents have already heard.’

When I nodded, the nobles followed suit without saying a word. There were about 80 nobles who were tightly put on a leash by me for this incident.

Belius immediately sat down with the Marquis Pamonto and apologized.

Then, it was the Marquis Pamonteau who was in trouble.

“Belius. It would have been better if you had hidden that fact. If they were so honest… Wouldn’t it be difficult to make unreasonable demands on this side as well?”

“As someone with a family, I just did what I had to do.”

“… I guess so. Anyway, thank you.”

There was no reply from Icecrown, which received the bodies, for a while.

It seemed like there would be no easy negotiations regarding this matter even within the country.

The next meeting took place exactly 5 days later, and as expected, the conditions were not easy.

“I’m sorry. Currently, the people of our country want to receive full compensation for this incident. Even if we try to lower the amount, it will be difficult because public opinion here is also strong.”

“I understand. But 4 and a half is too much. Please reconsider.”

The commanders-in-chief of both sides look troubled.

4If the story of Van Hanil was brought up, the current sympathetic atmosphere toward Ice Crown could be instantly broken.

However, it was a situation that Icecrown could not ignore as it had accumulated over many years.

In the end, without reaching any conclusion, the two countries postponed the decision to a later date.

“Whoa.”

“Aslan, thank you for your hard work. Here’s the water.”

“Ah. Thank you, Freyr.”

After the meeting was over, I sighed deeply and Freyr looked at me from the side.

If I just solve this problem, I will get all the credit here. However, on the other hand, if you fail to complete the work in this situation, you could face a backlash.

This is because they did not hide this situation from Icecrown and told the truth.

In such a situation, his people keep asking about this incident… It’s frustrating even for Freyr.

“Should I just appeal to the people of my country?”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I’ll give it a try. I can do anything for Aslan!”

“Thank you, but I’ll decline. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

“Aslan…”

Freyr was so moved that he started crying and fell into my arms, and Riel was next to me, playing with my dick with a happy face.

Doing something like that with a warm smile is shaking your dick.

I learned sex late… No, her habits are scary. Now, whenever people leave, she naturally puts her hand in my pants.

– Still, don’t you think there will be a solution if you touch your dick?

‘… Is that so?’

– It just relieves stress!

Stress is definitely relieved. Instead, it didn’t help that her mind went blank.

I let go of Freyr, took Riel’s hand away, and stood up from her seat.

“Where is Aslan going?”

“Don’t you have sex?”

“Ah. I’m going to get some air for a moment and think about whether there’s a way.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“We’ll prepare right away too!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll go and come back alone.”

He leaves Freyr and Riel, who are puffing out their cheeks and venting their displeasure, and comes out.

I silently moved my feet and entered the street.

– If there is no way, let’s do it our way!

‘This is our way?’

– Let’s move on to Ice Crown and shake off all the dissatisfied people. Hehe.

‘… It seems like it would be quite effective. If there is no other way, let’s go with that.’

– Oh yeah. It was good!

Anyway, seeing people buying food on the street reminds me of the value of 4 Banhanil.

Food that can feed all residents of one territory for 4 months.

‘This is truly an absurd amount. I can’t believe you’re asking for something like that.’

But a deal is a deal.

I actually have the money to buy that much food. All I had to do was steal the money I had or ask my women for a little bit.

In any case, she is a member of the imperial family, the daughter of the most prosperous duke, and a countess.

However, food itself was more of a problem than money.

The only place around here that had that much food stockpiled was the military.

‘But that doesn’t mean we can’t use military rations… Ha. How do I do it?’

It was a moment of deep thought.

I saw two children in my eyes.

“Wol?”

“Huh? Dad!”

Her eldest daughter, Wol-i, runs to me and hugs me, and a boy with blue hair follows behind her and nods.

I stared at him blankly.

It was a face I had seen before. I think he was a student at the academy.

“Ah, hello, Associate Professor. I… My name is Rechardo, a second year student at the Imperial Academy.”

Also… I remember taking a class last year while I was in Aslan’s body.

It definitely looked pretty ordinary at the time.

“But what is your relationship with my daughter?”

“Huh? Oh, that… That’s…”

A boy who hesitates and cannot speak.

He can’t meet my gaze and lowers his head. Wol-i, who saw that, giggled next to her and answered on her behalf.

“Dad. Well, he says he likes me. He proposed to me yesterday?”

“What? Marriage proposal?”

“Ah, father. That’s… Actually…”

When I look at the boy’s confused face, my mind becomes confused. I came here to get some fresh air, but the Halstenberg problem was already gone.

That’s right…

– Oh my god. I think Wol is attractive because she resembles me and Themis. Furthermore, I received a marriage proposal from a ‘dragon’.

It was like that.

The boy in front of me right now with a bright red face and not knowing what to do was definitely a dragon.

Although it was my first encounter in my life, the status of a demi-god that I received through Themis made me realize that fact.

So I couldn’t help but ask.

“… What is your mother’s name? If you want permission to have a relationship with Wol-i, tell the truth.”

Glancing. When he saw my serious expression, he spoke in a voice as loud as a mosquito.

“Ah, it’s Avantash.”

“Ha? What?”

In response to my question, the boy stuttered and recited his mother’s name.

“My mother is Avantash, a blue dragon who lives in the southern sea.”

– Omg. Awesome.

Blue Dragon Avantash is this child’s mother?