Chapter 204

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: none

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Ian gestured to Lucy, who was sitting in a daze.

"Lucy?"

"Huh... yeah?"

Lately, Lucy seemed to be spending a lot of time deep in thought, as if troubled by something.

Ian found this new side of Lucy fresh and surprising.

So even Lucy... had things to worry about!

"What are you thinking about now?"

Ian had asked Lucy several times, but each time she gave an answer that skirted the core issue.

"Just... worrying about the future."

Every time he asked, she said she was worried about what's to come.

But whether it was concern about the dragon, the domain, or something else, she never said till the end.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it!"

Lucy smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong.

When she was so reluctant to talk about it, Ian couldn't force her to spill the beans.

Salvador and Belenka rode their horses up beside Ian.

"The situation's turning out to be quite amusing."

"Amusing, you say?"

The Knights of Santiago were busily gathering information.

Thanks to them, Ian could also obtain well-organized, up-to-date information.

"It seems Duke Araz has handled this matter quite roughly."

"..."

Well, that was.

You could tell just by looking at how he eagerly set off dragon hunting while ignoring the barons suffering from the dragon.

"Ian, my boy. Who do you think has the right to hunt the dragon?"

"???"

Taken aback by Salvador's sudden question, Ian was momentarily flustered.

Then he answered honestly.

"I'd like to ask who's hunting who."

"Haha. You really are an odd one."

Salvador laughed, thinking Ian was joking, and moved on.

Ian felt slightly wronged.

No, he was serious...

No matter how injured the dragon might be, a dragon was still a dragon.

Without thorough preparation, it was obvious that humans would be swept away in droves.

They didn't even know how badly the dragon was injured yet.

Here they were, squabbling among themselves about who had what share~ Would the dragon really fall to such a ragtag bunch?

"The Margrave of Haltramm claimed he had the right."

"... Because he inflicted a fatal wound?"

"Exactly right."

That was the Margrave of Haltramm's logic.

Since I was the first to wound the dragon, the dragon's head is mine! That was his argument.

"But Count Edward thought differently."

"Count Edward?"

That name sounded familiar...

Ian easily recalled who Count Edward was.

Count Edward was the noble who had a vassal contract with the nobles of Ian's homeland.

"The Golden Mountains are Count Edward's territory."

Count Edward's logic went like this:

Since the dragon is staying in the Golden Mountains, it's my prey, like the wild boars or deer in my land!

"... So?"

Ian felt such deep exasperation at the nobles' squabble that he didn't know how to react.

It was indeed an important issue among the power players.

Who gets to keep the dragon's corpse was a major matter directly related to the development of their domains.

But Ian was a wizard.

He wasn't without desire for spoils, but he didn't want to argue about a dragon they hadn't even killed yet.

"Count Edward took his knights to find the Duke. He intends to lodge a formal protest with the Duke."

"Wait, if he thought the dragon was his prey, shouldn't he at least pretend to be hunting it?"

"Before, he would have been scared stiff, I'd wager. How many would be brave enough to enter treacherous mountains to hunt a perfectly healthy dragon?"

So, Count Edward had also slunk out after hearing rumors that the dragon was badly hurt.

"The noble lords are truly wise beyond measure."

"Haha. When I do it, it's wisdom; when others do it, it's cunning, isn't it?"

Salvador made a good point.

This was the medieval era where everyone fended for themselves, and lords only needed to focus on developing their own domains.

You could tell by how the Knights of Santiago, who served others and didn't shy away from threats, were treated as admirable lunatics.

'The quarrel itself doesn't matter.'

Whether Count Edward won or the Margrave of Haltramm won.

As long as they took down the dragon, it would benefit Ian.

All he needed was to get his hands on the Mountain King's treasure that the black dragon had supposedly stolen.

Lucy also had a good chance of getting what she wanted.

For those participating in the dragon raid, it was more advantageous to have fewer nobles involved when it came to dividing the spoils.

The Duke would probably promise food aid to send Lucy home before she could become a nuisance.

Well... because those ignorant bastards were the ones holding the sword!

Brifford held a tribal council according to barbarian procedures.

As a result of the vote, Brifford was naturally elected emperor.

The tribal chiefs swore allegiance to Brifford and became vassals with voting rights, namely [Prince-electors].

Emperor Brifford I gave each tribal chief a piece of land and ordered them to guard and live on that land.

They changed their names from tribal chiefs to [Imperial Dukes].

The dukes gave land to their retainers, and those retainers gave land to their knights...

That's how the feudal system of the Holy Empire began.

As a result, the empire's feudal system tended to be much more independent than that of other countries.

In a country where even the emperor was elected, respect for individual nobles was exceptional.

That's why Lucy, coming from the rural Talian barony, wasn't turned away at the door.

Duke Araz didn't spout nonsense like "What? A baron? Just a low-ranking noble! Hmph!"

"Welcome, Baron of Talian."

"Uh..."

"Baron? Who is this? Your husband?"

Ian's brain short-circuited for a moment when he saw Duke Araz in person.

Duke Araz was... a stunningly beautiful woman...!

She appeared to be in her mid to late 30s.

She wore the 'cone hat' that Lucy was crazy about on her head, but her dress was a design that clung tightly to her body.

A beautiful mature woman who could be described as a MILF.

"This is Ian, disciple of the wizard Eredith."

"A wizard?"

Duke Araz narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ian.

She thought there was something suspicious about him, but to think he was a wizard?

Duke Araz naturally offered Ian a seat.

"Please, sit down."

"?"

Ian felt a slight novelty.

Good heavens. To see a strange wizard and not perform [Calling a Wizard]!

Is this the composure of a duke!

"You look surprised that I'm not performing the Calling of a Wizard."

"Was it that obvious?"

Duke Araz took a sip of tea with a gentle smile.

"Don't take offense, wizard Ian. First of all, my court has many wizards."

That made sense.

As one of the five prince-electors and imperial dukes, Duke Araz surely knew at least one wizard.

"Even without inviting you specifically, we have no trouble with magic."

"I see."

In short, the duke had no intention of drawing Ian to her side, so she skipped the process of Calling a Wizard.

"Also, this isn't an appropriate place for Calling a Wizard."

This was outdoors, in Duke Araz's tent quarters.

It meant she was skipping the formalities since it was difficult to properly observe etiquette here.

"Of course, that doesn't mean you're not welcome."

Duke Araz said this while her eyes flashed slightly.

The duke calmly waited for Ian's reaction.

Soon, Ian opened his mouth.

"This is truly... the first time I've received such treatment in my life."

"Hm. Even if you're disappointed, there's nothing-"

"You are truly a wise person, Your Grace!"

"???"

Duke Araz looked at Ian in shock.

She had openly said she was skipping the Calling of a Wizard... and he was happy about this?!

A young and talented wizard like Ian would naturally have high pride.

It wouldn't have been strange at all if he had been offended when a noble arbitrarily skipped the Calling of a Wizard!

'... He doesn't seem to be an ordinary person.'

Duke Araz scrutinized Ian up and down calmly.

It was one of two things.

Either he was a wizard so insignificant as to be pathetic...

Or a young man wise enough to deserve the name of wizard!

"Why do you think I'm wise?"

To the duke's question, Ian answered nonchalantly.

"Well, because you're someone who isn't bound by empty formalities. What's the big deal about Calling a Wizard? It just makes wizards act like clowns. Tsk tsk."

"..."

Ian calmly criticized the old custom while simultaneously praising Duke Araz's wisdom.

Duke Araz judged that all of Ian's actions were calculated results.

She thought there was no way this could be his honest opinion!

'Skipping the clown act is awesome~'

But contrary to the duke's expectations, Ian was genuinely pleased with her decision.

Ian had always loathed emotional labor.

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