CH 201

“Hey, you bastard! That’s a box of mana stones! Be careful with it unless you want to return ten years’ worth of your salary!”

“Sir! Sir~! Please come to the Dawn Moon Lighthouse! It’s the specialty of Belmaron Hill! Our hostess is undoubtedly the best cook in the harbor!”

“Here comes Sir Galapa! You bastards, get out of the way! Move!”

The sun had just disappeared to make way for the veil of darkness over the sea, but the harbor remained noisy and crowded. There were workers carrying various containers and boxes with their sweaty tops exposed, touts clinging to those who were deboarding from ships, proud condescending nobles and their entourages, as well as members of foreign races constantly looking around the city with shock and admiration.

However, one area of the port was strangely quiet. Perhaps it was only natural because there were ten burly, hooded figures standing in the area. Moreover, armor could be seen underneath their thick robes. It was obvious that they were a group of knights who had just returned from Brantia.

In the first place, the knights who participated in the Brantian expedition were all highly skilled figures with a plethora of experience. Moreover, such skilled knights had returned after experiencing numerous battles and killing many enemies to help the new king’s ascension to the throne. The people of the harbor were well aware of this fact, and they knew that poking around the knights could easily result in the separation of their heads from their bodies. As such, they steered clear of the group of knights.

Tap, tap, tap.

The people of the harbor whispered as they watched the knights lead their horses down from the ships.

“Aren’t they the knights returning from Brantia?”

“That’s right. But I’ve heard that most of them had been sworn in and had received their own land over there. Why did they return?”

“Isn’t that because they missed their hometown? Even if the new King of Brantia has a close relationship with our City of Maren, it’s still a foreign country, right?”

“Tsk, tsk! You idiots. How could you be so blind to the truth?”

“What?” The laborers turned their heads at the voice of the cargo-working guild leader.

“It’s right in front of your eyes. It’s obvious! They returned because of the current mess in the kingdom,” the guild leader explained.

“Is that it?” the workers asked.

“Of course! Who do you think those knights fought under when they were in Brantia? Hmm? The one who became the Duke of Batla! That’s right! They served Sir Eugene! And who is His Excellency the Duke? The champion of the tournament! Troll Slayer and Wyvern Slayer! He is the pride of Maren! Do you really think someone like that will simply stand by and watch the situation from the sidelines?” the guild leader exclaimed.

Oohh…!

Everyone around him burst into admiration. There were many knights based in Maren and the surrounding areas, but the most famous and special among all the knights was none other than Sir Jan Eugene. Everyone knew that he had fought against and defeated orcs in the mountain range for the city's sake, and he had achieved great and spectacular feats in the other regions as well.

Was that all?

After becoming the Duke of Batla, he opened the port of Mungard and brought Maren tremendous profits. There was even a rumor that the city’s budget had a two-fold increase compared to the previous year.

In other words, Duke Jan Eugene Batla was Maren’s pride and a legend.

“Kyah! Now that you mention it, it’s true. If it’s Sir Eugene, he will send knights to help us.”

“Of course! Sir Eugene is someone like that.”

Everyone threw in their praise for Eugene. One of the workers looked around carefully before speaking, “But… I heard stories that Sir Eugene is a vampire.”

“…!”

The workers turned their gaze toward the man. Faced with dozens of pairs of frightening eyes, the worker hurriedly waved his hands with a scowl. “O-oh no, I was just saying that there are stories.”

“Hey, you little bastard. Even if that’s true, had Sir Eugene sucked the blood of our city’s people? Or had he killed an innocent?”

“That’s right! You little punk, it’s all thanks to Sir Eugene that someone like you gets to work and live a better life. You dare utter such bullshit?”

“I’ve never seen such an ungrateful fellow.”

“You’re a royalist, aren’t you? You’re a spy sent by the king.”

The atmosphere became increasingly fierce, and the other workers started calling him names. At least in the City of Maren, being labeled as a royalist and a spy was no different from being called a murderer.

“N-no! That’s not it! I’m not, I swear!” the worker exclaimed while hurriedly shaking his head.

“This will not do. We can’t leave this bastard alone. How dare you slander Sir Eugene?”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a vampire or an orc. If he’s shown you grace, you should shut your trap and praise him!”

The workers were enraged.

“Hey, you little bastard. Come over here!”

“You crazy little punk!”

“Me too! I’m going to beat him up too!”

The city had become richer, but it was also facing a time of increased tension and anxiety due to the looming clouds of war. The men of the port firmly believed that the honorable Sir Eugene would defend Maren with his life. They kicked the poor worker on the ground as if to relieve their anxious hearts.

“Uaggh?! Uhagghh!”

The worker made the mistake of saying the wrong thing, and Eugene quietly headed to his destination along with the prince’s group while listening to the sad, pained groans of the worker.

***

“The city’s quarterly income has reached an all-time high.”

“Good. What about the fluctuations in the prices of mana stones and monster by-products? It’ll be problematic if they fall dramatically.”

“Haha! Don’t worry, mister mayor. The guild is definitely controlling the prices. Although the prices are down about ten percent from last year, the purchasing price of raw mana stones has fallen, and the sales of refined mana stones have nearly doubled,” the man reported. He was the leader of Maren’s merchant guild and the master of the Palin Association.

The mayor smiled and turned his head before speaking, “And what about the products made from the monsters’ materials?”

“More than half were sold to merchants of the Spellen Duchy, the Kingdom of Rubiana, and the Roman Empire. We are also exporting a lot of raw materials as well, so there won’t be any problems with our prices.”

“Good. Very good,” the mayor responded, nodding.

The mayor of Maren and the guild leaders were extremely satisfied. As a result of the huge influx of mana stones and monster by-products from Mungard and Brantia, Maren was enjoying an economic revival. It was slightly worrying that the prices of the goods were dropping due to the huge supply, but it was also accompanied by an increase in sales, so it didn’t pose a huge problem.

“Well, all is good, but…” the mayor spoke in a quieter voice, and the guild leaders turned their eyes toward one person. Everyone already knew what the mayor wanted to talk about, and who was in charge of the issue.

The mayor continued, “Why are we failing to recruit more troops? We’ve already been recruiting for a month, but we only have three hundred people? Moreover, fewer than twenty knights?”

The mayor’s words were a reprimand disguised as a question aimed at Trevik, the city’s recruiter and the leader of the mercenary guild. Trevik responded with a frown, “How is that my fault? What do you want me to do with all the useful troops in Brantia?”

“Even so, aren’t you the city’s recruiter? Even if that’s the case, you should put more effort into recruiting soldiers,” the mayor said.

“Huh! Didn’t I warn you back then? I told them that we might get into trouble if we sent all the troops to Brantia. Who were the ones that insisted on sending all the troops, saying we had to help Sir Eugene?” Trevik exclaimed.

“Ehem! Hmm!”

“Well…”

The guild leaders and the mayor hurriedly turned their gazes elsewhere. Maren was a large, populated city, but it only had a fixed number of mercenaries. There would never be a shortage of mercenaries in usual times, but right now, hundreds of them were currently abroad in Brantia, and the king had openly declared war. The current situation was proving to be a massive headache.

“So, did you send a letter to Sir Eugene, or rather, Duke Batla, for help?” Trevik asked.

“I did send it, but we don’t know whether he will agree or not. Moreover, it will take some time for them to arrive even if they do agree to help,” the mayor replied with a sigh.

Trevik shook his head. “We must resolve this within the month. Duke Batla must come.”

“Why don’t we rally the neighboring nobles first? The Count of Evergrove has been quite supportive towards us as well,” the mayor suggested.

“My, my. Mister mayor, and respected guild leaders, this isn’t the City of Moffern, and it isn’t the Carls Baggins Peninsula either. Our situation is different from theirs. The lords of the peninsula have their own standing armies and are uniting around Margrave Archivold. The Count of Evergrove is already completely occupied trying to protect and preserve his own territory. Moreover, he has no reason to lend his hand to help protect our city. And if I were Count Evergrove, I would stick with Count Winslon rather than Maren,” Trevik explained.

“Hmm.”

It certainly made sense. The Winslon County was a great nobility that reigned as the lord of the nation’s central region. Moreover, the prestigious noble families were connected through blood ties. In the end, if a real war broke out, it made sense to join forces with the Winslon County, as it was advantageous to be part of a more powerful union of nobles in negotiating with the royal family. Right now, Maren was nothing more than just a fragile port city with a lot of money.

“Why don’t we ask for cooperation from the Winslon County? It seems like they’ll be the ones to battle against the royal family first, so why don’t we send them supplies and funds?”

“That’s right. Let’s give them thousands of gold coins to feed a thousand people for a couple of months. Since they’re going to fight anyway, we can ask them to fight for us as well. I think the count would be satisfied with receiving that much compensation.”

The guild leaders voiced their opinions regarding the matter. Trevik, the only military expert present, responded with a sigh, “Phew! Everyone, the king and the royalists are not fools. If you were them, would you choose to engage in a battle against Count Winslon, knowing that you could bleed hard, or would you rather fight against our city, which is overflowing with money but weak?”

“Uh…”

“Well.”

The guild leaders were forced to close their mouths. Only fools would choose the former. In addition, war wasn’t just about the number and quality of troops. Money and supplies played a critical part in wars. If the king’s army could rearm themselves after occupying Maren, even Count Winslon and his union of nobles would have no choice but to concede.

“Tsk. So we have no choice but to cling to Duke Batla?” the mayor asked.

“We will do our best to recruit troops, but we need Duke Batla and his men as well. Please try your best,” Trevik responded.

“I understand. I will send a letter with a ship returning to Mungard, as well as a token of our appreciation,” the mayor stated.

“Yes. However, you know that we cannot simply send hundreds of silver coins or a set of armor like we did in the past, right? We can’t simply appeal to his loyalty and honor,” Trevik said.

“That’s a problem...”

When Eugene first arrived in Maren, he had been a young, inexperienced knight. It had been relatively easy to handle him. But now, he had massively outgrown his past self. The City of Maren would need to provide at least ten times compared to what they had done in the past, or even more, to entice him.

***

“Oh, my~! The pride of Maren! The pride of the Palin Association! My pride! Your Excellency Eugene, you’re finally here!” Priscilla exclaimed with excitement while running toward Eugene as if she wanted to hug him.

“You’ve become rather noisy since the last time we’ve met, Vice Executive,” Eugene responded while sidestepping to avoid her.

“Oh, not at all! How could you say such a sad thing?! It’s not anyone else either, but Your Excellency!” Priscila couldn’t hide her overwhelming excitement.

Naturally, Eugene was the Palin Association’s patron and top customer. The number of mana stones and by-products imported from Mungard every month was truly enormous, and Palin’s share was the largest among the associations belonging to Maren’s merchant guild. The profit they had reaped over the last six months through importing from Mungard had already become greater than their total profit from the previous year, and all of it was thanks to Eugene. Priscilla was willing to even hand over her liver if Eugene asked for it.

Furthermore…

“Your Excellency! I really don’t know how to thank you for coming back to us at such a time,” Priscilla said, half-exclaiming.

“Stop with the formalities and address me like you used to,” Eugene responded.

“Ah… C-can I?” Priscilla asked cautiously. Brantia was just an island country on the periphery, but it was still a kingdom, and Eugene was its duke.

“If you don’t want to, then treat me like a real duke and show proper etiquette. But it might be more complicated than you think. Are you fine with that?” Eugene asked.

“People should just live the way they’re accustomed to, right? I will do what you asked, sir.” Priscilla quickly bowed. She had no previous experience dealing with a duke, but she knew how tricky it was to conduct business with prestigious nobles.

“Good choice. Anyway, what did you mean at such a time?” Eugene asked.

“What? Naturally, I’m talking about how the king and the royalists are trying to invade us after labeling the city as being traitorous. The mayor and the guild leaders have been looking forward to your arrival,” Priscilla explained. She wasn’t particularly excited to see Eugene just because he was the Palin Association’s top customer. Eugene had relied on his unparalleled skill with the blade alone to become a lord and even a great noble. What reason would he have to return to Maren? Priscilla was certain that he had returned to take Maren’s side in fighting against the king and the royalists. It wasn’t only her either. The whole city firmly believed that to be the case as well.

“I see,” Eugene answered bluntly. He had become smarter than before, so he quickly mulled over the situation. Indeed, he had returned to teach the king and the royalists a lesson, but from Priscilla’s attitude, it was apparent that Maren’s situation was more urgent than he had expected.

So what?

“Well, I have had a good relationship with the City of Maren until now. However, I didn’t return for that reason,” Eugene said while turning his head.

“Uh…” Priscilla’s gaze naturally followed along.

“Give your greetings. This is His Highness Localope, the heir to the glorious golden blood of the Roman Empire,” Eugene announced.

“…!”

“…?!”

Priscilla’s eyes filled with shock and disbelief at the unexpected appearance of an imperial prince, and the prince’s group looked similarly shocked as well. Why was Eugene announcing the prince’s identity immediately after arriving on the continent?