zChapter 62 - Arc 3, Waxing Moon Chapter 5 (1/2)

They rested overnight at the town’s inn, and in the morning, Ernst changed out of his traveling clothes to meet with the Lord of Linz fief.

When they had arrived in town late last night, Ernst had sent Mage to carry his message to the Lord. Yet even so, Ernst was made to wait as a guest until the afternoon.

Served only a single pot of tea and without being presented with any form of lunch, Ernst and Targes waited on and on as time passed by.

“Just how long are they going to make us wait… . Lord Ernst, do we really have to meet with them even when they they treat you this way?” Annoyed, Targes tapped his fingers on the table.

“If we wish to develop the Linz Valley, we cannot proceed without the Lord of Linz’s cooperation. Even if we were to bring our discussion to the Senate, the first thing they would request would be the approval of the Lord of Linz fief.”

Ernst had somewhat predicted that he would be made to wait like this.

Ernst had left Meissen twenty days after Targes had returned with the ministry’s response. This was enough time for the ministry to send word to the Senate, and for the nobles comprising the Senate who were close to the Lord of Linz to whisper into his ear.

However, that he left Ernst waiting for this long may be a sign that even as of now, he had not yet settled on a decision.

Yesterday, when Ernst had sent Mage to announce his arrival, he hadn’t presented the reason behind his visit. What Mage had informed them was that since Linz fief was on the way to the capital, they were simply paying a visit to the neighboring Lord.

Thus, this meant that since Ernst had been left waiting for this long, there was no doubt that the Lord of Linz knew the true reason behind Ernst coming to visit him, and that the discussion with his administrative officials over what kind of manner he ought to meet Ernst with must be continuing even now.

In the case that the kingdom wouldn’t fund the valley’s development, it would be very desirable for Meissen if the cost could be split with Linz fief.

Of course, if by any chance neither Linz fief nor the kingdom were willing to provide any funding, Ernst had every intention to carry it out by himself.

He had to go through with these negotiations, however, to avoid that kind of worst-case scenario where the others meddled and interfered without putting in any money for the trouble.

Unused to being left waiting for this long, Targes paced around the room, and he restlessly drummed his fingers on the table.

Ernst himself merely kept silent as he watched Targes’ behavior, the thoughts within his mind continuing to turn.

Going by how long Ernst had been made to wait, as well as some previous information he had obtained, Ernst was able to predict the temperament of the Lord of Linz.

Ernst pondered over various responses he could exchange with the Lord of Linz. The road Ernst traveled hinged upon the Lord’s reply. Ernst thought over the various paths which branched from here.

After he had pondered over twenty paths, a smile slowly formed in the depths of Ernst’s heart.

The Lord of Linz was easy to defeat.

After concluding this, Ernst’s heart quickly turned toward the Senate.

In the end, Ernst and Targes left the Lord’s mansion and returned to the inn deep into the night, when the rest of town was already completely asleep.

Ganche and the others were still awake, waiting for them.

The long period of waiting had pushed Targes’ anger to its limits. In the blink of an eye, he devoured the meal prepared by the inn to satisfy the ravenous hunger he felt from not eating for an entire day.

Ernst’s hands quickly paused, and without saying a word, he held out his own plate full of meat.

Targes reached for it for a moment, then stopped himself, saying, “No, no–”, but Ernst just set the plate in front of him.

Ernst was already plentifully full from the bread and hearty soup, and more than anything, his heart was also full from the satisfaction of a job well done.

The Lord of Linz, with his character being as Ernst had guessed, narrated the words Ernst had predicted he would say, proceeding along the path Ernst had hypothesized and toward the agreement Ernst lead him into.

When the Lord met with Ernst, he first said that Linz fief didn’t have the money for developing the Linz Valley, and moreover, he was hesitant to move onto this project without the understanding of his people; after Ernst had spoke with him for half a day, however, his attitude had undergone a complete change.

The development of the Linz Valley has always been the dearest wish of the people of Linz, and no matter how much time and money we must spend, we will absolutely see this done, he had said whilst tightly gripping Ernst’s hand, tears even springing into his eyes.

Of course, it was Ernst who had softly pulled the man’s hand to guide him into these thoughts, but the Lord of Linz did not realize this at all.

Even the people who sat with the Lord of Linz – his administrative officials, chief butler, and even the captain of the Linz militia – did not realize this fact.

However, Targes, seated next to Ernst, looked over with a meaningful glance, showing that the militia captain of Meissen had caught wind of his plans.

He was heartened with such savvy people by his side, Ernst thought.

It was because even while Ernst had been discussing with the Lord of Linz, his eyes firmly capturing the Lord in his sights, he had used all of his senses to perceive the other people of Linz fief – and as Ernst lead the Lord along, he did the same with the others.

Even if someone on the same level as Ernst visited Meissen and tried to lead Ernst’s people in the same way, if there were people as discerning as Targes, then it would be no easy task.

On their way back, when Targes had indirectly asked about what Ernst had been doing, Ernst had relayed this thought to him, making Targes huff a breath of laughter. Then, Targes said something that Ernst couldn’t comprehend: If there were another person in this country who has a mind like Lord Ernst’s, I’ll walk on my hands from one end of Meissen to the other.

In any case, the pending issue of Linz fief had been resolved.

When a group of people were of one mind, there was a high probability of their decision becoming much stronger.

Tomorrow, too, as well as the following days in the future, they would discuss the development of the Linz Valley; through this, it truly would become the greatest goal of the fief of Linz.

Targes hungrily gobbled down his food as he explained what happened that day from beginning to end, and when the soldiers cheered for the success of Ernst’s persuasion, Ernst raised a toast to celebrate passing through the second barrier of their mission.

They purchased horses and a carriage from Linz fief, then proceeded on the main road.

Brez drove the carriage while Targes took up position on the carriage’s right, Mage and Minaha on the left, and Ganche guarding the rear.

Ernst was alone, and as he was rocked in the carriage, he felt the tension from the troops thick in the air.

The main road was dotted with small dwellings which Ernst hadn’t seen the last time he has passed through here, as well as the figures of the Kingdom’s soldiers.

It would seem that of the various main roads which connected to the royal capital, this road, which ran from Linz fief to the fiefs of Gris and Mutica, had few sightings of bandits.