Chapter 161

Translator: Willia

A little over two months had passed since Ricardt left. It was the span from the beginning of summer to the beginning of autumn.

A little over two months was also enough time for seeds to sprout where they had been sown and for crops to grow to a certain extent.

The seeds Ricardt had planted in his own way while traveling back and forth to Beringen before his departure had also begun to sprout, bringing about changes of their own.

Adelivari, once the king's resort town, was bustling with outsiders. Nord mercenaries and peddlers, large war merchants, suppliers who furnished them with goods, day laborers.

War meant tremendous amounts of money and manpower were set in motion. And because that inevitably brought disorder, maintaining order and harmony was extremely important.

Conflicts between townspeople and farmers, locals and outsiders, countless contracts and their fulfillment, the problems that arose between them, differences in legal sensibilities born of different cultures, complicated and subtle interests.

Marie was the one who soothed all that chaos, resolved it, and held everything together. Of course, her friends and colleagues helped her, but in the end, she was the one who had to take responsibility and make the final decisions.

It was by no means easy. For example, if a Nord mercenary got into a fight with someone from a merchant company and one of them was badly injured, there was no simple judgment she could hand down.

What that meant was that one side would insist fairness demanded the aggressor be beheaded, while the other would insist he had done nothing wrong at all.

No matter how reasonable her ruling was, one side might decide she had taken the other's side and simply leave altogether.

This was a society where the individual barely existed and everything revolved around the community. And communities meant more than villages. There were combat communities like the Nordmen, guilds such as blacksmiths' associations, merchant companies, blood clans, and all sorts of others.

Feudalism looked like a very simple tiered structure from the outside, but once one peered within, communities divided by every manner of class, occupation, and social status were tangled together in a complicated web.

So handling matters rationally and sensibly was important, but even more important was the charisma to make people follow her lead.

She could neither threaten to kill everyone who disobeyed nor let herself be pushed around while pleading with them.

Ironically, what gave Marie the greatest strength here was her bloodline. The imperial blood she had once regarded as such a curse lent at least some weight to her words.

Being a Sword Master was certainly an extraordinary and remarkable distinction, but that alone was not enough to make people follow her. Without her bloodline, they might have dismissed her simply because she was a woman.

Perhaps bringing people together was even more important than fighting with real blades on a battlefield.

To put it rather harshly, maintaining harmony and order steadily was so complicated, maddening, and stressful that risking her life in battle almost seemed preferable.

If the fighting force was merely the tip of the iceberg, beneath the surface was an enormous mass of money, people, desires, and energy supporting it.

The leaves had turned red and yellow, and fallen leaves were beginning to pile upon the ground. It was just before Ricardt's confrontation with the Second Prince.

“The Nordmen are cutting down trees in the surrounding area without permission and building huts. We need to start stockpiling firewood now if we're going to prepare for winter. If this keeps up, the people outside the city may freeze to death.”

Mayor Markwin spoke from his seat at the large table.

Several others sat around the table with him in the meeting room, where a soft white light easy on the eyes streamed in.

Bremen, who had once served as their guide, was there, as was Bori, who acted as something like Marie's secretary. Harbert was there too, formerly of Adeloron's northwestern frontier forces and now the commander of something akin to a peacekeeping force, along with Lester, captain of the rangers.

Each of them had their own duties and helped Marie accordingly, but at the same time, they also represented various interest groups, or rather, communities.

Markwin, for instance, naturally served as the one who conveyed the complaints and demands of the locals. No one had deliberately appointed him to that role. It had simply fallen to him naturally.

And whether she was proposing solutions or mediating conflicts, one of Marie's most important duties was listening to what people had to say. But that was far more painful than she had expected.

Not that she showed it outwardly.

With her hair neatly swept up, Marie spoke with an unwavering gaze.

“I promised them the right to live here and housing in exchange for reduced pay. If we want to build proper houses, we'd have to buy more construction materials, and you know as well as I do that we can't afford that, Mayor. Them cutting down trees to build huts is practically part of what I promised them, so please explain that to the residents.”

By the standards of Nord mercenaries, they had already shown remarkable patience. Marie had made them a promise before. She could hardly tell them now that they weren't allowed to cut down trees.

And surprisingly enough, Roy was the one who relayed her words to them and persuaded them.

The Nordmen were taciturn and difficult to deal with because one never knew when they might turn violent, but strangely enough, they listened well to Roy.

“Wouldn't it be better to buy firewood from outside? We can't very well bring in stone, after all.”

Bremen spoke in support of Marie. Markwin replied.

“Ah, I seem to have phrased that in a misleading way. The residents aren't the problem. The merchants are. We're already seeing signs that they'll raise the price of firewood. I suspect it's because of what happened last time, when......”

Markwin let the rest trail off. But everyone in the meeting room knew what he meant without him having to say it.

He was referring to the incident where a Nord mercenary had beaten up the head of a merchant company. In that dispute, Marie had sided with the Nordmen.

Looking into the incident, both sides had been at fault to some degree, but Marie had ruled in favor of the Nordmen because they were an irreplaceable military asset.

Securing goods at good prices from reliable suppliers was important too, but merchants could be replaced if necessary.

Of course, that did not mean the merchants had no grievances, nor could the resulting friction simply disappear.

“Are they holding a grudge against Marie?”

Bori asked.

“You could call it a grudge, but merchants aren't that simple. They may be acting purely for profit.”

“Come on. Weren't they acting like they'd bend over backward for us just because we came from the same hometown?”

The merchants who primarily supplied Adelivari with necessities and food came from merchant companies based in the Kelbron region, Marie's own homeland.

“They probably expected favorable treatment because you came from the same place. Since things turned out differently from what they imagined, they may feel betrayed.”

“Haa......”

Marie, who had maintained an unshaken front until then, finally sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead.

Bori glanced at her worriedly, then asked again in an effort to find some way through the problem.

“What happened with finding other suppliers?”

“Ernburg is too far away, and tensions are already rising elsewhere, so prices went up early. They'll be no better than the Kelbron merchants, and likely worse. They won't offer us favorable rates.”

It was suffocating. She couldn't exactly kill them all just because they were infuriating.

Merchants existed in a kind of symbiotic relationship with them. Without merchants, they could not bring in goods from outside.

If she killed them all, their immediate ability to feed themselves could be threatened. And if her reputation among merchants worsened, finding anyone willing to supply them at all might become difficult.

Marie agonized over the problem for quite some time before something occurred to her.

“What happened with the Benicio Trading Company? The people who delivered that letter to me from Tyujis. Didn't they say they wanted to meet me sometime soon?”

“Well, ‘sometime soon’ isn't exactly a precise date...... And doesn't the old saying go that you should never do business with southern merchants? That you can never tell what they're thinking.”

“This isn't the time to be bound by old sayings. Send word to them. I'm not saying we'll change suppliers immediately, but we need a card we can use to weigh our options. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to let the others lead us around by the nose.”

“Before that, why not establish a proper channel of communication?”

By a channel of communication, he meant someone who could connect Marie to the merchants, just as Mayor Markwin conveyed the voices of the local residents to her and, in turn, communicated Marie's intentions back to them.

At present, Marie had no one like that. No one who could coordinate opinions with the merchants or help bring their positions into line.

“We talked about that before, but we couldn't find anyone suitable. Above all, they need to be someone we can trust, and we simply can't trust anyone......”

She had a decent amount of support from the peacekeeping force, the mercenaries, and the local residents. The problem was the merchants. And the more fundamental problem was that they were desperately short on money.

They had borrowed money from Beringen Academy and even from the Viola Clan. Both had helped as much as they could for old times' sake, yet even those funds were rapidly running dry.

“I'm no expert, so perhaps I'm missing something, but isn't the most urgent problem right now your husband, Sir Ricardt, rather than the merchants?”

Lester, who had spent the entire meeting blankly occupying a seat, finally spoke up.

By then, they had already received word that Prince Rotarius had blocked the bridge and was preventing Ricardt from returning.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment. Because Lester was right. If Ricardt failed to return, all of this would mean nothing.

For things to come to this at the very end left everyone feeling as though they had a thorn lodged in their throats. He really had come back leading a Knight Order. He had accomplished something that enormous in only two months.

“If they enter negotiations, I expect it will take quite some time.”

Markwin spoke cautiously. It was the commonsense view. If a river separated them and the bridge had been blocked, negotiation was the only obvious way forward.

Even those with little knowledge of military matters thought the same.

“Shouldn't we at least send word? I'll go.”

Bori said to Marie. But Marie shook her head.

“The best way for us to help Ricky is to handle things properly here. And right now, I need you.”

Hearing that from the person who must have wanted to see him most, Bori couldn't really argue.

More importantly, Marie's judgment had not become clouded. That mattered.

“He won't get hurt, right? I guess that's enough.”

“Yeah.”

There really wasn't anything else they could do. Marie wanted at least to tell him that they were fine, that he shouldn't rush and could take his time coming back, but there was no point risking someone merely to deliver that message.

Like most meetings, it ended without a real conclusion, leaving behind only a sense of frustration.

But just as the meeting ended, Roy's younger sister Beka entered. She was Marie's disciple, though attending to Marie was also part of her duties.

“Master, a man named Paolo from the Benicio Trading Company has come to see you. I've shown him to the reception room for now. What would you like me to do?”

The Benicio Trading Company was the very group Marie had just told them to contact. And as soon as the meeting ended, someone from the company had arrived.

Paolo was none other than the merchant who had dealt with Ricardt in Tyujis. He was originally the branch manager in charge of trade in Tyujis, and held a very high position within the Benicio Trading Company.

“I'll see him right away. Help me straighten myself up.”

There was hardly anything that needed fixing, but Beka adjusted Marie's clothes and tidied her hair.

Then Marie headed straight for the reception room. She wore a sword at her waist and was dressed more like a duelist than a noblewoman.

She observed the formalities her station demanded, but had not forgotten what she was at heart. A swordfighter.

When she entered the reception room, a large, imposing man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, examining the room. His loose, foreign-style silk clothes looked extremely expensive, and he wore thick rings, one or two on nearly every finger joint.

Sensing her presence, he turned toward Marie with a faint smile. Perhaps because he had spent so long working beneath an intense sun, his complexion was almost indistinguishable from that of a Salaman.

Just as Marie found him exotic, Paolo found Marie remarkably unusual as well.

Unlike the women of most noble houses, her clothing openly proclaimed that she herself was an accomplished Swordsman.

More than anything, she was a rare beauty. Her blond hair was like morning sunlight, and her straight brows, large eyes, sapphire-blue irises, nose, lips, ears, and the shape of her face all came together without a single feature out of place.

Her only jewelry was the necklace Ricardt had given her and her wedding ring. She wore nothing else.

She herself looked like a jewel. A finely polished one.

“It is an honor to meet you, Princess.”

“It's good to meet you, Paolo. But if possible, please call me madam.”

“As you wish, madam.”

“Please, have a seat. Beka, bring us tea and cookies.”

“Yes.”

Though Marie had told him to sit first, Paolo waited. Only after Marie took her seat did he sit down.

“Do you happen to know who I am, madam?”

“I know that you work for the trading company kind enough to deliver me a letter.”

“I was the one your husband personally asked to deliver that letter in Tyujis. I had the pleasure of doing good business with him before and hoped to see him again, but given the present circumstances, I suppose it would be best for me to wait here for him. Would you permit it?”

“We can certainly spare you a room. But I doubt you came here solely for that.”

“Correct. I came to request your protection.”

The answer was somewhat unexpected, and Marie looked puzzled. She had assumed he would make some sort of business proposal, perhaps offer to supply them with goods at better prices.

“......Protection?”

“Yes. Until now, most of our trade with the south has been conducted by sea, but we're looking to expand our business farther inland.”

“Are you sure you should be telling me that so openly? I'm a little surprised.”

“Ha ha ha...... Hiding one's intentions and dancing around the point is something amateurs do. Like the merchants of the north and central regions. I have no wish to be rude to your husband or to you, madam, nor do I wish for these talks to drag on.”

“Very well. Since you're being frank with me, I'll be frank with you. In my current situation, I don't have the resources to offer anyone protection. And isn't the Benicio Trading Company based rather far from here?”

“The greater the distance, the greater our profit margin. That's our concern. All we want is your word. Just one word. ‘In my husband's name, the Benicio Trading Company's safety is guaranteed.’ That's all.”

“......That sounds almost like a royal decree.”

Paolo's head was as large as his massive build suggested. His smile was just as broad. He merely grinned and added nothing.

“Fine. What can you give me in return?”

“Anything material. High-quality goods, as cheaply as we can provide them.”

It was so good an offer that it was absurd. No, it was difficult to believe. It felt as though he were simply throwing out wild promises. What does this man take me for? Is he joking?

When discomfort showed on Marie's face, Paolo continued.

“Your husband's word is worth that much. Though the greenhorns playing games with firewood prices wouldn't understand.”

At the mention of firewood prices, Marie wondered whether he had come after learning about her current predicament.

“......Have you been investigating me?”

“There was no need. They're scouring the region and buying every bit of firewood they can get their hands on. How could anyone fail to notice? The merchants around here haven't changed much from the old days. Though I suppose inland merchants are all much the same.”

“Even so, that doesn't solve my immediate problem, nor does it mean I can simply trust your word. And my husband is in a difficult situation at the moment as well. I can't make a promise on such uncertain grounds.”

“You are remarkably straightforward, as one would expect of a renowned Swordsman. Very well. Then I will be equally straightforward and tell you how to escape your predicament. Every piece of firewood those inland merchants have bought will end up in your hands. Without you spending a single coin.”

“......?”

“How much do you trust your husband, madam?”

“What is that supposed to mean? Depending on what you mean, that's rather rude.”

“My apologies. I meant no disrespect. If your husband fights Prince Rotarius, will he win or lose?”

“He'll win.”

“When do you think he'll win?”

“......That, I can't say.”

“Do you think it will take a month? Several months? A year?”

“I can't know that. A year sounds far too long.”

“I think he'll win within a week.”

“I heard there's a river between them and that the Second Prince's army already controls the bridge. I don't know much about warfare, but surely winning that quickly is impossible.”

“Everyone will think the same. So, madam, bet on him winning within a week. Right now, buy the firewood at whatever price the merchants demand. Pay those inflated prices in full. Spend every last coin you have saved. And let them see you struggling because of it. Then, when your husband returns within the week, those merchants will return your money of their own accord and hand over all the firewood as well.”

“......I trust my husband. But I can't gamble.”

“Do I look like a gambler to you?”

“Give me a reason. Something I can believe.”

“My reason is what I have seen and heard. His battle against Sultan Yusuf in Sinatria, the fall of the royal castle of Basque, the operation to subjugate Snake-Eye Ashtad.”

Marie had heard of Ricardt's battles as well. Unlike Paolo, however, she did not know the details of how they had unfolded.

If all one heard were the results, it was natural to fill in the details according to common sense. He defeated an enemy force three times as large? He must have made good use of the terrain. He captured the royal castle? He probably disguised himself and slipped inside. Bandits like that should have been easy enough to subdue.

Paolo, on the other hand, had informants scattered all across the world and knew exactly what had happened. And once one knew the details, it also became clear that Ricardt himself existed outside the bounds of common sense.

He had crushed an enemy force three times as large in a straight-up pitched battle, completely seized the royal capital in a little over an hour, and annihilated around a hundred bandits with a group of only about ten people.

That was the basis for Paolo's certainty. And the reason he wanted Ricardt's ‘word’.

“I don't know much about warfare either. But from what I've seen, Prince Rotarius simply does not have the ability to hold out against your husband for long. If anything, a week is being generous. True business isn't about selling what is already in front of you. It's about buying and selling the future. Madam, all you need to do is buy the future.”

“......”

Marie was a Swordsman, and Paolo was a merchant. Their fields were different. But for some reason, Marie found herself thinking that if Paolo were a Swordsman, he might possess skill at least comparable to a Sword Master.

Even so, after everything she had done to manage their finances so carefully, it was difficult to readily plunge into something so reckless.

So Marie ended the conversation for the time being and sank into thought. When she consulted Bori, he said this.

“We're Swordsmen. When it's time to stake everything on one move, that's what we do. I'm for it.”

His words gave Marie a great deal of courage. Even then, she agonized over it all night. At first light the next morning, she released the funds she had managed so tightly and began buying firewood at inflated prices. She even sold off every last bit of her meager personal property.

The merchants, delighted by the profit before their eyes, happily sold her their firewood. Marie deliberately shed tears and put on a show of how hard things were, and the people were deeply moved, thinking, Marie is going this far for us.

That was exactly when Ricardt was crossing the river.

****

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