CH 205

The next morning, while having breakfast, I think about the future. From now on, I have to do troublesome negotiations with Lubek. I have no idea how many days it will take. Since there are other parties’ interests, there is no guarantee that negotiations will be carried out as expected, and there is no telling how long it will take until a decision is made.

More than a month has already passed since I entered the long vacation, and more than 3 weeks have passed since I returned to my territory. I have nearly a month left, but I have to leave for the royal capital 10 days before. I have less than 20 days left to spend freely here.

However, since the piracy subjugation was resolved earlier than expected, I wonder if it could be said that it was better than expected. No, it’s just that the number of days it took to subdue the pirates has changed to negotiating with Lubek, so the schedule and planning have become easier… before the pirate subjugation, I never imagined that this would happen in the aftermath…

“Floto, are you alright?”

“Claudia?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

After finishing breakfast with everyone, Claudia called out to me. It seems that she wants us to talk alone, so we head to another room. She has an expression that looks quite overwhelmed, but what in the hell is going on?

“Floto… I don’t have the power that everyone else has,” Claudia said, her expression serious.

“Huh?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

Claudia is a Knight of the Royal Guard a noble lady who can wield a sword. I think she’s strong enough politically and physically…

“If it’s as high-ranking noble, I can’t help you, Floto,” Claudia said. “If it’s as a magician, I can’t help you, Floto. Also, my sword skills are lacking. Last time, if you didn’t help me, Floto, I wouldn’t have been able to protect His Highness, and I’d be killed by that monster, as well…”

Hmmm… did Claudia care about that? I don’t think she’s like that at all… even a knight is a formal noble and a privileged class. Just having Claudia helping out as a knight would be a tremendous help. Well, she hasn’t been knighted just yet, so at the moment, she’s the daughter of a knight…

Besides, her skill with a sword is sufficient, and I think that Claudia’s ability is quite strong even in the Royal Guard Division. In terms of pure physical strength, she is no match for adult male knights, but in terms of ability based on swordsmanship, she probably won’t fall behind.

It can’t be helped that she can’t use magic. There is also the issue of aptitude, and special training from an early age is also important. If you start studying magic and special training now, you may be able to acquire it, but in general, the spells, buff magic, and boosting that you normally imagine are incompatible with her. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone other than me who mastered both spell casting and physical amplification.

If Claudia wanted to serve as a knight, it would be better to learn buff magic and boosts rather than learn spell casting from now on.

“That’s why I want you to train me! Not just while we’re here, but forever!” Claudia cried.

“I don’t mind, but…” I said.

Does she want to join me for my morning training? That would be impossible. No matter what, it’s unreasonable to suddenly ask her to join in. Even I’m at my current level after more than 10 years. If you mix normal people in, they’ll probably be torn apart without a trace at Mother’s first blow.

“Okay then, let’s have you go through some special training after my morning routine is over, Claudia,” I said.

“Really? Thank you!” Claudia said.

Oh? Claudia’s hugging me. Her moderately bulging and toned limbs are soft enough to make one forget that she is a knight. Why is she so soft and pleasant to the touch as a lady?

As Claudia was hugging me, I also wrapped my arms around her waist. Claudia, who is taller than me, presses my face against her chest and neck and I enjoy her scent. She used to smell a little sweaty, but lately, she’s been taking baths at my house, so she still smells faintly of floral soap.

“AHEM! Miss Floto? I think it’s time for you to get ready to go out, but…” Katharina said as she opened the door.

“Ah, right…” I said.

I silently obeyed after. I can’t go against Katharina at times like this.

“Tch, and things were already getting good,” Claudia said.

“No running wild allowed,” Katharina said.

I pretended that I hadn’t heard the conversation behind me and headed to my room. Today we have to head to the Lubek Council.

After completing the preparations, we board the transport ship prepared by Lubek. Only Katharina, Isabella, and Helmut are boarding this ship besides Lubek’s Chairman, Ferdinand, and me. My parents are irrelevant, so they won’t come to Lubek and Victoria won’t accompany me, either.

It was probably a sign that Victoria would stop lending a hand. From here on, I think it means that I should try to overcome it on my own.

Victoria and Kruck Trading Firm aren’t unconditionally helping me with anything, nor are they just granting my requests. It’s not like we’re hostile to each other, but it’s not like a grandmother will do anything for her favorite grandchild.

I may be misunderstanding, but I feel that Victoria is trying to raise me. She’s not just unconditionally indulging me, and she’s not just trying to take advantage of me and make a profit. She treats me as an equal and supports me so that I can overcome difficulties on my own, but ultimately leaves the execution to me. It’s just like my parents raising me strictly.

This time too, the support is up to this point, and the rest should be overcome on my own. I don’t know if Victoria and Kruck Trading Firm will give up on me and Caanza if I don’t live up to their expectations, or if they will follow up and help me out.

Just because we have the backing of Victoria and Kruck Trading Firm, let’s do our best and get the best results. When you fail on that, it’s time to fail. At that time, even if Victoria abandoned me and cut ties with me, I shouldn’t hold a grudge against her. And if she still helps me, I won’t forget her generosity, but I have to stand up and walk on my own again without becoming spoiled.

“Lubek seems to have had a lot of trouble with the recent piracy incidents,” I said as I looked at the ship I was to be board.

“Huh? … Yes, well…?” Ferdinand answered vaguely as if he didn’t understand what I meant.

And since it seems to be the case, I’ll explain.

“I can understand the difficulty of only preparing this much for a ship carrying an emissary,” I said. “It’s alright. I don’t mind. I know that your ships have been attacked and your finances are tight and the circumstances have been unavoidable.”

“Gngh…!” Ferdinand grunted.

He finally understood what I said, his face twisted and turned bright red. I was pointing out that he had used such a ragged boat to transport the person they had cried out to save them from pirates.

If the other person treats me with the utmost respect, even I’ll forgive if the ship is a little shabby. If the other person treats you with the utmost respect, then you shouldn’t be rude questioning what level of luxury they treat you with. But it’s a different story if the other party despises us and thinks it’s okay to treat us like this. Reply to such a person accordingly.

I have already instructed Schwartz about what to do after this. Without any worries, I boarded the cog ship prepared by Lubek’s Council and headed to Lubek itself.

It doesn’t take long from Cien to Lubek. After a short voyage, we landed at the port of Lubek.

“As one might expect, the port is not quite as lively as it had been before,” Ferdinand said.

Long under blockade, the town of Lubek was dead. Ferdinand will have announced that we have defeated the pirates yesterday, but it hasn’t spread yet. Maybe they’ve received the information but don’t fully trust it yet.

It would be a great loss if they were easily misled by the information and set sail thinking that the pirates had been killed, but the information was incorrect and the pirates attacked them. In that case, I can understand the psychology of trying to stay calm until their safety is totally assured.

“I think the Council is currently in session. Please wait here until we are ready,” Ferdinand said as he guided me to a small waiting room in Lubek’s Council Hall.

Yeah. They’re completely looking down on us.

This is not the place to keep guests waiting. It is a waiting room where witnesses and experts called into the Council are kept waiting. It is neither a place to wait for heroes who subdued pirates, nor a place to entertain neighboring Lords. It was an attitude that said they thought very little of us.

Ferdinand said that the Council was now in session. That would be true. Ferdinand informed Lubek that the pirates had been killed yesterday, and they are now discussing how to respond to it. That’s why he’s making me wait and giving priority to that discussion.

I’d imagine they’re discussing how they can trick us, persuade us, threaten and coerce us, and get away with it without paying us money or concessions. So of course, I can’t listen in. If that’s the case, you should make me wait in a place like this for their half-baked pride and vanity. I can’t think of what kind of result such idiotic pride will bring.

Haa……. I thought I was doing pretty well with Lubek, but…

I intend to purchase the silica sand dredged from the river mouth, operate regular routes, and encourage exchanges to benefit both sides. I didn’t try to take advantage of the other party and snatch away their profits, but I intended to make various conveniences so that it would be a win-win.

But from their point of view, that means that I, of House Caan, was nothing more than an easy-going dupe to take advantage of through Caanza…

I guess they’re going to discuss the pirate subjugation, then use all manner of means to try and convince me to go along, like tears and intimidation, threats and soothes, anything to make me come around to them.

“Floto von Caan, this way,” someone said.

After being kept waiting since this morning, I was finally called past noon. Moreover, they even had a servant call me. I don’t usually get angry, I think. But this really angered me. If I’m being underestimated and mocked, it means that House Caan and everyone who works hard at Caanza is being despised, too. I’m not so open-minded enough to smile and forgive that.

Following the guide, I entered the assembly hall and was surrounded by members of the Council sitting on high steps, standing in a place like a defendant’s box. Not even a chair. This would be the place where the Council would call witnesses and interrogate any accused. It’s not even a place to let the neighboring Lord stand, nor a place to stand the one who subjugated the pirates.

“Well done, Floto von Caan,” Ferdinand said as he stood before me on the highest seat. “Your work this time is truly splendid. In honor of your achievements, let us send you a letter of appreciation from the Free City of Lubek.”

I don’t even have time to open my mouth. A normal child my age might shrink in this place, even if she’s a noble.

The surroundings are completely enclosed and a large number of adults overlook me. I am called out without even giving them an introduction, and they arrogantly proclaim that as if I were their servant and they were my masters.

A free city certainly does not belong to any aristocratic territory. That’s why the people who have been sitting in such a place for many years must have forgotten. Even if he is a member of a Council in a free city, he is not a nobleman. No matter how long you continue to be a member of the Free City Council, you cannot become a noble, and there is a wall that you can never overcome.

Yet those who have sat in power in a closed, small world like this have long accustomed themselves to this feeling of superiority and forgotten about it.

Ah, so I’ll forgive them. They just don’t know the ocean beyond them. They just forget about the world outside their walls.

I usually don’t have the taste to go into detail about being a noble, a privileged class, or social differences. However, there is an absolute governing mechanism that must not be forgotten. The Kingdom of Ploiss recognizes privileges for nobles, imposes obligations in return, and they shoulder duties and pride as rulers. The rights of the free city are guaranteed by the kingdom, but that doesn’t mean that the rights of the nobles can be violated at will by them.

These guys are just idiots who can’t understand that. So no need to get angry. Just tell the ignorant fools. Why are rulers, rulers? It would be nice to remind them of that.