Chapter 67 - Troublesome

"I want to buy as much grain as you are willing to sell to me."

I snort a little at her bluntness. Many merchants who come to me usually use their silver tongue to either fool me or buy our goods at an outrageous price. Not only did this princess speak bluntly, but the lie detector around my neck also did not vibrate. She also decided to do it directly without coating her intention with a sweet word.

"I like you. You will become a great individual in the north with that attitude."

I chuckle a little before looking at the princess's eyes and saying.

"While I like your bluntness, I must ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Why did you come to me? You already know there is a crop failure across the kingdom. What makes you think we did not have a crop failure as well?"

The princess looks at me as if expecting me to be joking before a second later, she says.

"The first clue is your fellow noble. I don't want to say this, but true to your first explanation about the merchant, it is also true that the northern nobles need them to sell you some food at a lower price than usual. However, instead of all noble lords coming here, only four noble families come here. Meaning that they already have enough food in their storehouse and silo. I also heard a rumor there is a merchant company from the Eastern Continent coming to the north to buy food and also sell their leather and other items."

Huh, I never thought the news would reach here that fast or the southern noble would care about that information. I guess I'm wrong.

"The only reason you come here is that you want to search for the merchant that was invited into the palace but for a different reason. You want to sell the excess food you have, right?"

I smile at the princess before saying.

"Yup. The reason why I came here is because of what you are saying. However, I already get what I'm looking for, Lord Tobias over there willing to buy my food."

"... Is there nothing left from your deal? I only want to buy enough food for this city to survive. I already use my own land to make private farmland to try to feed this city's population."

"Not the rest of the kingdom?"

"If I can, I will. Sadly, reality sucks. There is no way I could feed the entire kingdom with my small piece of land that just began to be cultivated. I'm not that naive. As long as I can help the people in this city, I'm satisfied."

I nod at her explanation. I agree with her view. You cannot save everyone. As long as you try your hardest, that is enough.

"Come to the north with all your money. I will sell my grain to YOU, not the other. I will not sell it to the Vulux family, but I will sell it to Elizabeth Anworth von Vulux."

"Thank you, Thank you very much. If there is something you need, I will help you with all my strength."

"Heh, Think nothing of it. Just don't come to the north alone. There are too many monsters for you to handle alone."

"I'm not that stupid."

"Heh. Just want to make sure."

We laugh at her pouting face and decide to enjoy the party with the princess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know this is not what I mean by never coming to the north alone."

Right in front of me is the princess herself and behind her is a few dozen or so knights wearing their full armor. I know they are the Palace Knight. The knight that protects the royal palace. They are under the command of the King's Guard, and they have four divisions.

The first division is called the Horse Division. Unlike its name, this division does not consist of cavalry, but rather this division is called this because of their job that needs to move around the capital. This division is the patrol division and also the one that kills the monsters around the capital city.

The next one is called the Snake Division. This division is like its name. They are the knights that protect the capital city like a snake hiding behind the bushes before they strike at the enemy's weakness.

The turtle division is the one that maintains the city's stability. They are the one that manages the city guard division and also the one that trains them. This division is the one that has the least core members, but they have the biggest underling under their management.

The last one is the Dragon Division. This division is the one that protects the Royal Family members like the Queen, Princes, and Princess. This Division is the one that has a chance to be promoted into the King's Guard if they qualify.

And the knights in front of me are the knights from the Dragon Division. I know about this because there is a dragon symbol on their armor, indicating that they are members of the Dragon Division.

I hear a rumor from Richard that the knights in the capital city get weaker because of corruption, but I know not to underestimate them.

"This is more efficient. I have permission from my Grandmother to go with you. Sadly I cannot bring fewer people with me. I hope you don't mind bringing another thirty people to your territory."

"Meh. As long as they don't cause any trouble or break any law, I don't mind."

"I promise you that they will behave."

"Good. Now let's go. We will begin the journey. We will take a break for lunch and supper. After supper, we will make a camp and sleep for the night. Are you okay with that?"

"Sure."

"Good. Now let's go."

I sigh a little after I walk inside my carriage. I know that this will become a problem in the future. I just know it. I just can't take back my word to the princess after asking for permission from Queen Dowager.

While asking for permission from Queen Dowager is good, I'm afraid the King will get offended by his daughter's behavior.

"Haaaaaaa"

I really hope the Trouble Magnet (The Princess) will not attract more trouble than I can handle.