Chapter 72. If other people’s land goes well, it’s a law that makes my stomach hurt. (6) Not only paper, but the products I’ve been developing and selling from before must be the cause.
If only one paper was an issue, the Empire alone would have fought the battle.
However, two other countries also joined in.
And I guess there are quite a few countries that are silent on this fact.
To that extent, foreign countries felt a considerable sense of crisis in the current situation.
It’s like holding hands with people who were awkward before in the face of a mighty enemy.
I’ll cooperate just this time. That’s until I defeat him.
…. No, when I say this, I must say that my country is… I’m like the axis of evil.
what. It would be painful enough from their point of view.
Because the money keeps flowing.
‘Even so, it’s too blatant.’
I didn’t just optimistically judged that there would be no problems.
It was expected that only a certain amount of conflict would break out.
Of course, if you suddenly accumulate wealth, there is a law to keep it in check.
If you don’t listen to them by diplomatically conciliating or threatening them, they’ll try to stab you next time.
It was a situation where a war card would be sufficient.
But at best, I expected either the Empire or the Kingdom to push in alone.
Even after 5 years?
Because by that time, the economy will lean towards us in earnest.
War is the only way out.
However, the war has already been brought up.
It means that no matter who it is, there is a person who predicted the situation five years later and argued that there was no other way than war.
Well, it’s not that there aren’t talented people there, so it must mean that there are enough people out there.
I’m not surprised it’s going to happen anyway.
I just feel a little bit silly.
It always has been.
It’s a situation I’ve been through many times.
That’s why there was almost even a dejected laugh.
Indeed, the human world does not change that easily.
‘I am Is it a universal theory of war?’
If this is a little bit closer to the modern era, the larger the country, the less easily it will be able to pull out the war card for this cause.
If the media had developed even a little bit, you would have been beaten with criticism for pushing out like this.
However, for the people here, dying is not a matter worth considering.
You can fabricate enough justifications there.
It felt annoying once again that war could be a valid card in this era.
“Arel?”
As I am lost in my thoughts, my older sister looks at me anxiously.
It seemed that he thought that I was worried about the past.
“ah. I’m not worried or anything like that.
I thought a little bit about why it happened.”
I can’t make my sister or other people worry about me by setting the mood seriously.
The reason I am talking about this today is just to warn you about the possibilities.
“Because it is not yet certain that a war will break out. We just have to wait while preparing as usual.
…. But what will your sister do?”
“huh? Why me?”
I guess you didn’t even think about it.
In fact, besides the official letter, I also received a letter from my father.
Because I have one thing to tell you about this matter.
Of course it is about my sister.
“Since there was a story about how it would be to go back to the palace temporarily.”
“.. why?”
My older sister tilted her head, very puzzled when she suddenly returned home.
“Because it might be dangerous.”
In any case, the situation of the current sister is that in case of an emergency, the status of a princess takes precedence over a knight.
On that point, my older sister frowns as if she doesn’t like it, but she can’t help it.
Being born doesn’t change all at once.
If a war breaks out, there is a possibility that we may have to participate in our territory as well.
Of course, unless the situation worsens to some extent, the mobilization order will not fall on our side.
But if that happens, my sister will have to go to the battlefield with me.
Of course, no father wants his daughter to go to the battlefield.
“One way is to stay in the palace, at least until the threat is gone.”
Even before, my father asked me to convince my sister somehow.
And still worried, he sent me a letter asking me to persuade my sister to return to the palace, even temporarily.
is your son okay? I want to ask, but I have no complaints because I think I will too.
I think I’d be more concerned about my daughter-in-law than a mean boy.
In addition, since I am now the lord, I have some obligations.
And for me, it’s not bad for my sister to go back to the palace, even temporarily.
Because there is also a mother in the palace.
I thought it was not a bad way to consider the case.
It doesn’t matter to me whether a war breaks out or a meteorite falls from the sky anyway.
That’s why I invited my sister to go home temporarily.
“Ughhhh? no. Won’t you tell your father that you won’t go?”
However, my sister rejected it at once without showing any signs of worrying for a moment.
I thought so.
“I don’t know if I have to go to the real battlefield.”
I warned you once.
Of course, when that time comes, I will care, but even so, war is not a child’s play, and we need to pay attention.
“are you okay.”
It’s not that my sister doesn’t understand my worries or my father’s concerns.
Even though she is an older sister, she is not that immature.
Just a sword fool.
My sister smiled and said as if she was trying to convince me.
“I have already sworn to protect Arell. And now I don’t want to run away to the safety of a princess or anything.”
My sister said firmly.
“No, especially as a member of the royal family, shouldn’t it be even more absurd to run away at a time like this?”
“???? sister.”
I stared at my sister’s face who insisted so, and pretended to whimper.
“Sniff. You’ve finally grown up.”
“…Do I really have to say this in this situation?”
Well, this person is also twenty this year in terms of age.
It’s natural behavior.
All in all, it was my older sister who said this, so I was just weirdly salty.
I say this, but I can’t just oppose it to the end.
It is my wish to avoid dangerous situations if possible, but it would be better to tell them to stay within my territory until the end.
And because I had already guessed that my sister would not return.
“all right. I will tell my father what you mean.”
Now… then how do I convince that muscle father?
I laughed as if I was embarrassed and prepared to send a reply.
* * *
In the castle where Arel is staying, there are still a few rooms left.
Arel, who insisted that it would be cool to leave it anyway, made some of them available as a resting room for the servants staying here.
The interior is nicely decorated, so you can drink as much as you like while relaxing in moderation.
In particular, Arel’s aides are always busy, so it’s not easy to even go out.
It was Arel’s consideration for such people.
… is a plausible reason for Arel to stock up on alcohol here, and the original purpose is to drink properly and play leisurely with her aides someday.
No one has noticed it yet.
It’s still a word.
And now, late at night, the two knights and even Dia were gathered in the break room.
It can’t be a rare combination except for work.
Especially in the case of Dia, whose top priority was serving Arell, it was rare to see her with others.
“Is it a war? It’s such a big deal.”
Seina said with a smile that she was in trouble.
It was none other than Seina who brought them here tonight.
‘Will I not be able to drink even if I want to drink for the time being anyway?’
This morning, Arel called them in turn and told them about the possibility of war.
It wasn’t just what they had to do in the future, but they also asked each of them what they would do in the future.
“What are you guys going to do?”
Originally, there was no need to ask the vassal such a question.
It is a common lord’s appearance to simply give orders to be loyal, whether it be war or more disaster.
The intention was clearly understood.
Be determined.
It is the small consideration of the owner.
Of course, they are not foolish enough to scare and worry the owner for asking such a question.
“by the way…. You drink that well.”
Asha looked at Seina’s glass filled with alcohol and said it as if it were absurd.
It was a distilled liquor commonly familiar to the locals.
Because it is a cold region, the alcohol content is extremely high.
It was openly revealed that Seina and the locals also thought that they were drinking that kind of thing.
“I would like to say that this is normal, but I also learned it when I was assigned here before.”
As it is a cold region, most of the soldiers who hold out in places like this can drink lightly.
No, I can’t stand it unless I drink it.
Even the most docile soldier could be turned into a dwarf of reversal after spending a year here.
Seina jokingly said that.
“Rather, from my point of view, Dia is unexpected.”
When Seina turned her head, there Dia was drinking the same drink, her complexion unchanged.
When his name suddenly came up, he had a clue why.
“ah. I agree.”
Asha also nodded.
Even Seina’s bronzed skin turned even redder, but Dia’s complexion did not change at all.
“It’s prejudice that wizards can’t drink in the first place.”
Putting down the empty glass, Dia continued as if it was nothing special.
“Even my self-appointed teacher siphoned off support funds and kept drinking all kinds of alcohol, so I and my classmates had to suffer a bit.”
“… that’s another story that can’t be said.”
But what does that have to do with her current drinking?
“I was starving all the time, so I made a living by stealing and secretly drinking or selling the alcohol that the human had hidden, so it increased.”
Now, I say it casually with the feeling that that is also a past memory, but when I listen to it, I don’t even laugh.
“Come to think of it, Arel-nim is not coming today.”
Normally, when the girls are drinking for a while in their free time, they will intrude at a plausible timing, as if Arel had been waiting for them.
It couldn’t be otherwise, as if the timing had waited for them to get drunk.
“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be okay for Arel-nim to drink this much too?”
“Not yet.”
I don’t know about wine mixed with water, but the people who were still against drinking strong alcohol were Asharang Dia, who was here, and Kania, who was not here.
Most of my aides are already against it.
“I can’t because it’s still harmful to my growth.”
Even if you are treated as an adult in the aristocratic society after the age of 14, it is difficult to drink strong alcohol in earnest until you have grown up.
Kania is also strictly prohibited for similar reasons, but the reason is that the perception that it is not so good is embedded in the person’s head after drinking it in the past and going through an uproar.
“… I agree with you.”
Even Dia is ruthless about this.
Therefore, the day Arel will officially enter this position is still far away.
