99 B. Territorial Visit (1/2)

The uncle's words before leaving the castle scared me, so I wore Anna and asked him to watch my surroundings while I read the documents given to the emperor in the carriage.

(Hey, are there really any suspicious people or demons around?)

(Yes . . so far, no such person or demon has been found.)

(Right: .......) (Please continue to monitor)

Okay. I'll let you know if there's anything else.

Yes, please.

It took us a couple of hours of conversations like this, but I finally managed to read the document the emperor gave me.

”Finally, I finished it.

Good night . You looked worried, but what did it say?

'What?　Do I look worried?　I didn't mean to do that!

It was in your face. .......

What am I going to do? ...... I don't want to make you both uncomfortable and .......

'That reaction is suspicious . So what kind of territory was it? Is there a problem by any chance?

The quintessential Lina ...... is hard to hide. Well, how shall I cover it up .

It seems that the previous lord of ...... was stripped of his land for embezzlement about fifty years ago and is no longer with us. It's been in the hands of the state ever since. For what it's worth, it's a super-important place for the Filibert and Baudrell families, so it seems that only an impartial empire was able to run it .

I see. ...... That's a lot of hard work you've been given a lot of space to do.

That's right: ....... Maybe you could get caught up in a power struggle. .......

'Well, we don't have to worry about that much . That's the only thing I'm worried about, and it's a nice, well-managed place that was run by the Empire . It seems to be a city with such a high level of commerce that it is said that all of the world's goods are gathered in Mladin, because it is where all of the goods imported from the Church and Kingdom are gathered.

'Really?　That would be fun.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Okay, we fooled him.

After two days of horse-drawn carriage rides, we finally arrived at our destination, the city of Muldain.

It was a beautiful city, and it looked like they had money to spare. The most amazing thing is that there are as many people and carriages coming and going as there are in the commercial district of the imperial capital.

There were many adventurers as well as merchants who came and went.

They were probably adventurers who crossed the country to fulfill their requests.

I've been given the same information about the city ...... that was given to me earlier, and that was my impression of my territory from inside the carriage.

It's a beautiful city. Will you live here in the future? ......

Yes, it was. We'll be living here in a few years, won't we?

Yeah. I'll have the city looking a lot better by then.

It'll probably be after I graduate from magic school, so it'll be about six years after .......

I'd like to do as much as I can before then.

That'll be fun. So where will you be staying today?　Quite simply, we don't have a home for Leo-kun yet, do we?

Oh, I don't remember telling you this.

Oh, I can see it. That's the one.

I said that and pointed out to them, and they turned to face you.

Huh?

When they saw the direction I was pointing in, they couldn't help but squeal in surprise.

It would be: ......

You're lying, right?　Because that one: ......

There's a great castle standing in the direction I pointed.

Yes, there's a castle here. Apparently the former lord was so stupid that he spent all the money he had left over and turned his house into a castle. Isn't this one of the reasons why they couldn't give this land to a nobleman?

If the nobles who are rebellious to the emperor were to take this territory, it would be a good base to fight against the empire .

For that reason, I'm guessing that since I'm supposed to marry Sherry, I'm like a family member, so I'm guessing that they were able to get this land .

'If I'm spending so much money, I'll be exposed for embezzlement, won't I?

On the contrary, I'm wondering how you left it all alone.

'It was just the time of year when the Demon King was making a lot of noise with his appearance, so maybe it wasn't worth it.

Even in such an era, a fiefdom that would allow the lord to spread out so much money is now mine, but .

''I see ... ....... Well, as it turns out, we should be grateful that we got to use it.

Sure, that's gratifying.

Then we arrived at the castle and the carriage door opened.

It was opened by the butler the emperor had arranged earlier.

How do you do. You're the head butler?

”Yes, sir. My name is Edwin, head steward. It will be a pleasure to meet you.

Yeah, nice to meet you. More importantly, do you need more people?　This castle is so big, it must be hard to manage, right?

The butler and maidservant are all right for now. But they could use a couple more cooks.

All right. I'll bring him back later from the Imperial City home. Is there anything else that's troubling you?

Can the cook use the transference to get him here today.

You have Sam to choose him.

No, I don't think so.

Okay. Okay, I'm going to have to take a look around.

Yes. I'd like to take you to them.