CH 317

Karl von Reingen looks at the town where he had lived for the last two months. He also looked at the mansion of his son-in-law, the one that wasn’t even inheriting the title of viscount, a home that surpassed Duke Bayen’s mansion despite Bayen being a Faction Head, much less Manor Reingen as it was just a marquis’ house…

No matter how much land is left over in the countryside, this mansion cannot exist. It’s not just spacious. The building, the interior, the facilities, and the people who work there are all top-notch. You would believe it if you were told it was a palace where royalty lived.

Even if Karl’s daughter’s fiance is the third son of a viscount without any inheritance, even if the Master said son-in-law serves is a lower-ranking noble, a viscount, there is no longer any hesitation in marrying her off. Far from having no future, his daughter’s future is so promising that he’s looking forward to it.

He hates to say it, but his son-in-law has far more talent and potential than Karl’s biological sons. On top of that, Helmut’s Lord, Viscount Floto von Caan, will also rise to the top in the future. It would be better for his daughter to be with Helmut than to stay in the middle of the sinking Bayen Faction.

“It’s farewell to this mansion,” Karl said.

“Indeed…” his wife, Marianne said, as she hugged his shoulder and nodded at his words.

At first, Karl was puzzled by the size of the mansion and couldn’t relax, but it was so comfortable that once he started living there, he wouldn’t be able to live anywhere else. If he is told to go back to the royal capital and live his previous life again, he will be disappointed.

“In that case, Lord Reingen, let’s live together here as soon as possible, shall we?” a third voice said.

“Clementine… please don’t push so stubbornly,” Viscount Royce said as he approached with his wife. “Lord Reingen will also be troubled, won’t he?”

Viscount Royce’s mansion was a mansion worthy of a viscount, but if you’re tired of living in this luxury, you’ll feel just right being there. Karl was able to spend these two months comfortably by going back and forth between Manor Royce and Helmut’s mansion.

To be honest… he wants to flee the capital to here. Karl’s title is already set to be inherited by his son. He has no regrets about his life in the royal capital. His daughter will still attend school there, but his son-in-law Helmut will take good care of her even when Karl and Marianne are no longer around. So for them, it was no problem. It was just one issue…if that one problem wasn’t there…

“I really want to live here… but I’m still on trial…” Karl said. “Besides, I don’t know what kind of punishment I’ll receive. Maybe this will be the last time I see you, Lord Royce…”

“It’ll be fine~,” Clementine said. “You worry too much, Lord Reingen.”

Karl and Heinrich make expressions that are neither exasperated nor resigned to Clementine’s overly optimistic words. But Clementine and Marianne were different.

“Because Helmut is serving Lord Caan, right~?” Clementine said.

“Indeed… If it’s Lord Caan, then…” Marianne said.

Their wives were smiling at each other. Seeing that, Karl and Heinrich shrugged their shoulders.

If you think about it normally… Karl’s sin is quite heavy. They wouldn’t go as far as slaughtering the whole family, but it’s quite possible that they would be compelled to return the stolen money, imprison Karl, and destroy their House.

However, as the wives say, Viscount Caan would not abandon the in-laws of her top vassal. Karl won’t be acquitted. Besides, Karl is willing to make amends for his crimes. But… maybe… if it’s that person, won’t she do something that surprises them? They had much precedent, for such expectations.

“Fuu… It seems that our wives know better,” Karl said, shaking his head.

“I agree……” Heinrich said, doing the same before the men faced each other properly.

“Well then… I’ll visit you again after I atone for my sins in the royal capital. Please wait until then, Heinrich.”

“Aah, I’ll be waiting! Be sure to come back, Karl.”

The two exchanged a firm handshake and spoke so casually.

Karl and Heinrich became friends during this 2-month stay. Of course, soon their children will get married and they’ll become in-laws. But rather than mere in-laws, Karl and Heinrich transcended status and position and they became friends.

They were swayed by Flora, Floto’s insanity, they were surprised, and they were able to understand each other. The wives easily adapted to Flora, Floto’s insanity. But it was not so easy for the men. They’ve gotten used to living like royalty now, but they still think Floto is a concentrated mass of madness.

It was easy for two people who shared such feelings to become friends.

After shaking hands at the end, the two parted ways, Viscount Royce and his wife headed to their home in Carruzan, and Marquis and Marquis Reingen boarded a carriage and headed for the town of Cien to board a ship bound for Steltin.

After coming to a port town called Cien, Kanbee was at a loss for words.

“The-They’re huge…” he muttered.

He’d never seen ships this gigantic before in the Yamato Empire, and here they were at a port that they were setting off from to head to the royal capital of Ploiss. It’s not just a matter of one or two ships. Many huge ships are lined up in the harbor.

It doesn’t mean that if you think about war, you should just send them out. A big ship is slow and a good target. If you shoot flaming arrows at them, they will all burn up. And because it’s so big, just sinking one ship has a significant effect in battle. If you think that you can dispose of the loaded supplies and soldiers all at once, if it’s a big, moving target, it’s suitable prey.

But no fool would do that. If there are many such huge ships, even a small ship could capsize or sink just by colliding with them. If you attack it, you can reduce the number of cargo and sailors at once, but in terms of mass transportation, it will be extremely effective.

If there is a way to protect such a huge ship, if it is operated centrally, the maintenance of provisions and logistics will be beyond normal. The time before provisions shortages and the invasion limit of logistics are greatly extended. If that happens, they can easily invade deep into Yamato, if they pleased.

Wasn’t the Kingdom of Ploiss a continental country with a navy of little importance…?

Kanbee was confused in front of the many large ships that lined up here.

“Oh, my? Didn’t I meet you at the party last night…” someone behind Kanbee said.

“Muh? Ah, Marquis Reingen, was it?” Kanbee said as he turned around and then guessed his name.

Kanbee has a good memory. He especially doesn’t want people to think he’s an idiot with a bad memory, so he tries to memorize things all at once. Whatever your motive, remembering people’s names and other things makes a good impression on them. And Karl admires Kanbee for remembering his name.

“Sir Kanbee, are you going to board the ship, too?” Karl asked.

“Yes,” Kanbee said. “If my master is going to the royal capital, it’s only natural that I will go with her as I am her assistant… will you be riding as well, Marquis Reingen?”

Kanbee is still young. He sounds arrogant to Karl, who is both older and of a higher position than him, but that is partly due to his country’s customs. It can’t be helped because the way they speak there compared to here is so different.

“I was only here because Lord Caan invited us to her estate,” Karl said. “We can’t just stay here and relax while Lord Caan returns to the capital,” he said, laughing lightly.

It’s not just because Floto will return to the capital, but also because Karl can’t leave the trial forever and stay shut up here. If he’s accused of running away from trial, of being a fugitive from the law, it could cause trouble for House Caan.

He doesn’t know if Kanbee is aware of his circumstances, but as Karl said so, Kanbee shrugged his shoulders.

“Moving on from that…” Kanbee said. “I have never seen a ship like this in my country, is it normal here?”

Karl knows that Kanbee is a foreigner, judging by his name. He just wore a wig to mask the color of his hair. Mikoto, Kanbee, and Musashi usually use magic or wigs to hide their natural hair color.

Kanbee doesn’t call himself a member of the Yamato Empire either, and Floto forbids him from telling Karl that he’s from there. However, others will soon find out that he is a foreigner, and they will use that to get information.

“No, no,” Karl said. “My territory is inland, so I’m unfamiliar with the sea, but I’ve never seen a ship like this. This is a special one that only Lord Caan has.”

“So I see,” Kanbee said, feeling a little relieved.

If such ships were used in large numbers as a matter of course, it would be a ridiculous amount of naval power.

Although Kanbee is already a loyal servant to Floto, he still hasn’t completely abandoned the Yamato Empire. It is only natural to confirm the situation of military force that exist in the same sphere of influence as the Kamaal Alliance, an ally of the Yamato Empire.

In the unlikely event that this gigantic ship becomes an enemy, it will be a great threat if they come out in numbers. As someone who stands between these two powers, Kanbee’s role is to take steps to prevent conflicts between them, but even so… you can’t say conflict will never occur.

“Marquis Reingen,” someone said as they came over.

“Oh! Lord Caan,” Karl said.

Floto has arrived. After the loading is finished, it is time to leave the port. Kanbee follows her as he overhears Floto talking to the Reingens. Kanbee now knows his place and does not interrupt the conversation of his master and her guests.

They board the ship, and soon it leaves shore. When it came out of the huge, well-maintained harbor and out to sea, it spread the sails to the fullest.

“Oooh! I, I can’t believe it!” Kanbee yelled. “How fast is this giant ship?!”

“Indeed… This is an amazing ship, isn’t it?” Musashi said casually.

Kanbee found himself annoyed. “Did you really understand it?” he thinks. With this much speed, even Yamato’s ships can’t catch up unless they are fairly small and fast. And he didn’t think that their ships would be able to deal effective damage to this one due to their lack of offensive power.

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Any ship that could damage this ship is too slow to keep up with it. A ship that can catch up with them doesn’t have enough offensive power. In other words, there is no way to beat it. If a fleet of ships like this were to attack anyone, Caan would be completely invincible at sea.

Luckily, the number of these ships seems to be small, so large-scale fleet actions will not be possible, but even so, even if there are only a few of them, it could affect the war situation. Thinking of such ships running rampant in the Hulk Sea as if it belongs to them, even Kanbee realizes that hostilities with House Caan were unwise.

If Kanbee continued to be hostile to House Caan as originally planned… even if there were only a few ships of the same type in Cien’s port, the Kamaal Alliance ships would have suffered a lot of damage. Even if the fundamental national power of the Yamato Empire and the Kamaal Alliance surpasses Caan’s, as the Alliance relies on maritime transportation, it may end up suffering from a naval blockade.

Of course, Kanbee has already pledged his absolute loyalty to House Caan, to Floto von Caan, but even so, he doesn’t want Yamato and Caan to fight. If that happens, he will have to deal with his compatriots under the leadership of Lord Caan…

Such a surprising boat trip ended in a blink of an eye, and they arrived at our destination, the Port of Steltin, in less than a day.

“Is this… a standard port of the Kingdom of Ploiss?” Kanbee said, greatly disappointed as they came close enough to see in detail.

When he saw Cien’s harbor, he was surprised that it far surpassed the Yamato Empire’s harbors. He feared that it was their normal harbor and dreaded a fight there. But… the Port of Steltin is kind of… very ordinary. He was wrapped in a strange feeling of relief and disappointment both that it was not to his imagination.

“Oh, I see,” Karl said. “I suppose you experienced the opposite of what I had, Sir Kanbee,” he goes quite casually and friendly.

“Haa…” Kanbee muttered half-heartedly, unable to understand it.

“I saw this port first,” Karl said. “And I thought it was quite great. Then, they took me to the Port of Cien. Do you understand now?”

“………… Ah~,” Kanbee went, nodding. “Yes, I do… my sympathies…”

Marquis Reingen already said he had inland territory and is ignorant of the sea. This port is normal, but it’s certainly enough for those who aren’t used to them yet. And yet, if it was Cien’s port that he was taken to next… the surprise is too much to imagine.

“It seems that they will head to the royal capital within the day. Well then, let’s go,” Karl said.

They landed at the Port of Steltin, the group immediately boarded a special-shaped carriage that did not shake and flew across the roads. It runs along a big river and ships come and go. Kanbee thinks they could have gone further by boat, but why did they change to a carriage immediately? He asks Floto for an answer.

“Ah… that’s because horse-drawn carriages are more flexible and faster,” Flora said. “Before the advent of this carriage, it would have been better to go across the river by boat, but now boats are not suitable for mass transportation. In turn, these horse-drawn carriages are superior in terms of movement speed and their tight turning radius.”

Before, boats seemed better, but rivers with limited widths make it difficult for large ships to pass through, and speed and passage restrictions are imposed. They can’t sail freely and it takes significant effort and time.

Compared to that, this carriage moves incredibly fast but hardly shakes, can make small turns, and move quickly as long as you have a change of horses as needed.

And the group arrived at the royal capital that day, as planned.