Chapter 140

am i weird?

Cognitive dissonance came because the person who threw the bombshell statement was so calm. As I was watching Duke Lesrom, who burst into a short laugh, whether my reaction was funny, I unconsciously reached for the teacup placed in front of me.

Yes, tea brews well enough to take pride in.

“Oh. Are you drinking this time?”

“I heard a story that made my throat burn, so I’m going to take care of myself.”

“It’s okay not to be so nervous. I don’t have the hobby of insisting that we boarded the same boat after unilaterally notifying them.”

“I would have thought otherwise, but honestly, I don’t believe it.”

I’ve heard stories that could shake the foundations of the kingdom’s politics, but it’s strange that you’re calm. He glared at Duke Lesrom with open disbelief, but he remained unchangingly relaxed.

“I’ll tell His Majesty the King himself later. He said it’s okay to talk about it, so I just did it.”

“It’s too irresponsible for someone like His Excellency to pass the blame on.”

“Isn’t that the name? A servant, you must follow him.”

Duke Lesrom, smiling to himself as if exchanging a funny joke, put down the teacup and continued.

“Anyway. It won’t hurt us if you find out about this, so I’m just saying it. It’s also a reason to help you with the boar hunt. Tell me.”

“...His Excellency...”

“If you’re going to tell me that it might be nothing more than a lie to help your Majesty in order to get me off guard, I did ask you to show me a personal letter written by His Majesty. Would you like to see it?”

“...I don’t think there’s any reason to cheat, so I politely decline.”

It’s the king’s kinsman. It’s not that close. My head hurts enough with the problems I already have right now. Even before he took out his personal letter, he hurriedly handed him the document he had received from Zicmel, and decided to change the subject.

“I’m sure you’re aware of this, but it seems that wild boars are secretly stealing enlisted soldiers and increasing their size. Since the training camp seems to be operated legally, it doesn’t seem like an area for me to step in, but the mercenary corps that are being operated with the enlisted soldiers don’t seem to be like that, so I’m trying to get out of hand. I’m thinking of putting it on.”

“Hmm? Sounds like a bit of a strange story. I’ll take a quick look.”

Judging by the fact that he doesn’t squint even when he receives and reads documents, he must have corrected his eyesight compared to his age. When this happened, I was just waiting comfortably drinking tea, and then Duke Lesrom slowly nodded and opened his mouth.

“We must have missed out on the mercenary corps. It was definitely a training center prepared to compensate for the deterioration in the quality of enlisted soldiers due to the protracted war... but I had no idea that it was being stolen like this. I might have to change the water once.”

“I kind of expected it. And I acted outrageously to stay away from it. And yet I’m on the scarecrow hero list?”

“It’s not such an insignificant achievement that you can say that you killed some people for honor in the capital.”

“It’s true that he retaliated too much to be called a hero.”

“Even quelling and distorting such rumors is part of politics.”

My throat is burning today. I had no choice but to sigh inwardly as I refilled the empty teacup before I knew it and quenched my thirst.

What came to my mind in an instant was, ‘Do I really have to ask Esmuer to go into exile in the Empire?’ It was the same idea. If you are swayed by chess in the political arena, you will not be able to do what you can. Even now, I have already entered deep enough to help Ragnis.

The reason why he acted like this was because he was thinking about leaving the capital and heading to the front after winning the title of Wandering Knight in a few months. It’s a world where it’s hard to tackle customs and customs, so once I leave like that, I can’t hold on to it for any reason until I voluntarily return.

In my opinion, it was a perfect plan. It’s a problem because it doesn’t look perfect anymore.

It is a future that should be avoided and seen as much as possible, as it becomes impossible to even guess how far it will interfere if it is further involved with the royal family. Even Ragnis, who had just returned from losing everything, was treated harshly in this way, so what can you believe?

I don’t know if my distrust was revealed or not, but Duke Lesrom’s explanation continued.

“This proposal is not intended to use you as the royal family wants. If necessary, I can leave it as an official document for that part, so I hope you don’t take it too negatively.”

“I’ve been taught to always be vigilant about goodwill without a price. That’s how it feels in this case.”

“There is a price to pay. Just having you as a person under the protection of the royal family gives you a secondary benefit. On the contrary, if you are taken away by a foreign country while playing a trick to oppress you halfway, you will be in more than one troublesome situation. isn’t it pretty predictable?”

Can you not predict People in politics always find something that exceeds expectations, so I want to stay away from them altogether.

“I don’t know what the impression the royal family has given you so far, but you’re not incompetent, as you can see from the fact that you didn’t lose the kingdom and power while maintaining the seven-year war with the Demon King’s army. You know how to make rational choices and contracts. Right away. It’s not a matter that has been decided, and it’s not a story about making a decision. It’s just a story that I want you to think about it seriously when you have a chance to take a breather.”

It was something I didn’t like, but it’s really not easy to shout against the death in front of an elderly person who treats you with infinite goodwill from the first meeting. Even if that senior is engaged in an industry that calculates profit and loss with a meticulous plan.

It’s even harder to get a high-quality tea that I brewed myself and even listen to a request for help unilaterally.

“I’m worried... I’ll try.”

“That’s enough for now. As soon as things are sorted out, there will be a place where we can talk calmly.”

Duke Lesrom smiled as if he was satisfied with my short answer.

Really, it would be more comfortable to deal with hundreds of people who fight all over and wield swords first.