Chapter 77 - 77 Baron Warner
Steve had received a summons from Aurora and was visiting her residence. Normally, a lower-ranking Aurora should visit Steve, but there are no inns in Archibalt Territory where nobles can stay. It is too far for a day trip, and if we were to put Aurora up at the House Archibalt, it would be troublesome in various ways, so Steve visiting her remains unchanged from before.
As usual, Harry stood by Aurora's side, and it became a private talk among the three of them.
"Your beauty, Lord Sowell, seems to have been polished by the passing years; it has increased even more than when I last had the pleasure of meeting you."
"Is that so. The only thing that has increased is wrinkles. Can't you erase the wrinkles with your magic?"
"My mother said the same thing to me. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do."
The desire to always remain young is women's eternal theme. Even Abigail hopes that if she has an unreasonable son, he might defy the common sense of the passage of time, but for now, there is no such magic.
"So, you didn't call me here to remove wrinkles, did you?"
"Of course. I have a request for you, Your Excellency. You know Baron Warner of the Western Faction, don't you?"
"Yes. I have met him several times at ceremonies and meetings."
Baron Warner is a noble belonging to the Western Faction. His territory is in the northwest, bordering not the Kingdom of Forest but a country called the Kingdom of Pinebay. Steve had met Baron Warner several times and knew him. His age is about the same as Brian's, and he has two sisters. His age is said to be a little older than Sherry's.
When I last spoke with the Baron, he was still single with no marriage partner decided, and he asked Steve about it. Of course, Steve declined.
"That is good. If you said you didn't know, I would have had to explain from there, and as a member of the Western Faction, I needed to create an opportunity for you to know more about other nobles."
"No need to worry. My father attends such events, so even if I don't remember the faces of nobles, there should be no problem."
"There is a big problem, but let's leave that for now. So, that Baron Warner has two daughters, and the older one is a mage."
"That is news to me."
Steve had no information that the daughter was a mage in his conversations with Baron Warner.
"It is natural you don't know, as she is someone who cannot appear on the public stage."
"May I ask the circumstances that prevent her from appearing on the public stage?"
"Yes, of course. That is the request this time."
"You're not asking me to fix that with some kind of curse, are you?"
Steve said that as a joke, but Aurora nodded.
"You understand well. That is exactly it."
"Eh, really?"
"Yes. It is not a curse, but for her, it is like a curse. Her magic goes out of control and hurts others. So, she gets scared of herself and stays indoors. It is like a curse, isn't it. I want you to do something about it."
Aurora's request was to do something about Erica, Baron Warner's eldest daughter, whose magic goes out of control and cannot appear in public.
Erica was an ice mage, in a troublesome situation where things she touched would freeze.
Baron Warner thought it would be fine if his younger sister Ashley married and inherited the territory, but even in that case, he had to deal with the existence of the older sister who stays indoors. When he consulted Aurora on how to make it work, Aurora proposed requesting Steve.
The reason was simply the thought that Steve is also a mage, so he might be able to do something about it.
The reason Aurora heard Baron Warner's consultation was because it was a succession issue in the Western region. If there is no heir to Baron Warner's territory, there is a possibility of trouble targeting that, and she wanted to nip that possibility in the bud beforehand.
"This sounds like a very difficult matter, but shall we ask about the deadline and remuneration? My family does not have the leeway to move for free, so depending on the remuneration, I might decline."
"How about a deadline of about half a year after seeing the situation? How about the construction of a railway connecting the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Merda and the only port town? I will ask you for the materials and land preparation, but we will prepare the people to lay the rails."
"What do you intend to do about the Steam Locomotive?"
"That is impossible, so it will be manual labor."
What Aurora proposed was railway construction in the Kingdom of Merda.
Currently, there is a railway connecting from the port owned by Margrave Remington -- the port Steve first subdued -- to the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Merda. Steam Locomotives were running there. For now, it is for the purpose of transporting goods, but if the Kingdom of Merda intends to rebel, it will be used to send a large number of soldiers from the port.
It is currently used for transporting goods, mainly generating wealth for the Kingdom of Cascade. Therefore, Aurora's plan is to create a railway connecting the only remaining port and the Royal Capital left in the Kingdom of Merda, and have it transported by trolley.
Of course, there was a reason for making such a proposal, which was that it would bring profit to Aurora as well. The country proved that development around stations is profitable, so she intends to create a railway network in the Kingdom of Merda where the Kingdom of Cascade's interests do not yet exist, and gain profit herself.
The Steam Locomotive's engine part is still state secret, so even Aurora cannot use it on a railway she lays herself in the Kingdom of Merda. So she intends to use trolleys.
And, regarding the rails, trolleys, and land preparation, she intends to request Steve and pay money.
"Doesn't that mean it is the same even if I don't go to Baron Warner's place?"
"No. There is a possibility of deficit in the railway business, so it becomes a gamble for us as well. In the Kingdom of Merda, banks and securities companies are generating sufficient profit, so it is fine without railways. The deficit will all be borne by us, though."
As Aurora said, the railway business does not necessarily become profitable. However, since Steve can receive payment from Aurora for the parts he makes with magic, there is no deficit.
It is not a bad story for Steve.
"Come to think of it, that is true. If Lord Sowell takes the risk, it is not a bad story. But there is no guarantee I can solve it."
"That cannot be helped. I will tell Baron Warner about that as well."
"Please do. Then let's visit next week."
"Please, do not do anything other than the request."
"Doesn't it seem like I am doing extra things every time?"
"That is why."
Aurora thought Steve was the only one who could solve this matter this time, but since he gets involved in some unexpected trouble every time, she had a premonition that it would be so this time as well. However, it does not turn in a bad direction, and the opportunity to use one's head increases, so she is not really unhappy.
This time, she decided to request Steve with a slight expectation of what would happen.
Thus, Steve decided to accept Aurora's request.
It was decided that Steve would accept the request, and a letter from Aurora conveying that to Baron Warner arrived. Baron Warner and his wife were happy, thinking they might be able to do something about their daughter who stays indoors.
"Finally, Lord Archibalt of the Dragon Head Medal is coming to see Erica."
"Your Excellency, will this child find relief with this?"
"Yes. Lord Archibalt is a rare mage. He will surely solve Erica's matter as well."
The one listening to this couple's conversation through the door was the younger sister Ashley.
Ashley misunderstood that Steve came to her house to finish off Erica. At this time, if she had argued with her parents, she could have realized it was a misunderstanding, but thinking she could not persuade her parents who requested to finish off Erica, she ran to Erica's room where she stays indoors.
"Erica, I heard Father say Lord Archibalt is coming to kill Erica. Escape from this mansion quickly."
"Ashley, is that true?"
"It is true. He said he would make Erica comfortable. So escape and hide in the mountains. When Lord Archibalt gives up and returns, I will come to contact you."
"Understood."
Upon hearing Ashley's words, Erica secretly slipped out of the mansion that night and fled to the mountains along the border. Walking mountain paths in the middle of the night was impossible, so she spent time around the mountain until the sun rose. Then, with the sunrise, she entered the mountain.
Baron Warner's territory was land separated from the Kingdom of Pinebay by mountains, and to prepare for enemy invasion, there was a mansion between the town and the mountain. Therefore, Erica was able to enter the mountain without being found by the townspeople.
Before she stayed indoors, Erica often played in this mountain with Ashley. She came for the first time in a while, but the mountain had not changed from the past.
"Did Ashley cry because she climbed this tree and could not come down?"
Touching the trunk of the tree she climbed, she remembered the past and chuckled. At that time, Erica made ice stairs with magic, and Ashley came down using them.
After that, Erica's magic began to go out of control, and there was an incident where Ashley, who was playing together, nearly died from ice magic, so Erica ended up staying indoors.
Even now, Erica wants to play with Ashley, but she does not want to have such scary experiences again, so she had been enduring it.
She cannot just keep remembering such old things. Since she will live in this mountain for a while, she must make a base for living. Erica went further into the mountain and reached a place completely invisible from the mansion.
"First, I must build a house."
Saying that, Erica created an Ice Castle with magic.
An Ice Castle was completed before her eyes. Erica had a large amount of magical power and could create a large amount of ice.
The Ice Castle reflected sunlight and sparkled. Erica was satisfied with the castle's completion. She reproduced the luxurious castle where princesses in picture books live with ice. Feeling like a princess herself, she walked around inside the castle.
"Next is the soldiers."
Saying that, this time she created a golem with ice. During her stay indoors, Erica had completed the magic to create golems. The reason was wanting a playmate, but she had independently mastered the Lost Magic called Golem.
She herself did not intend to have mastered Lost Magic. First of all, she did not know golems were Lost Magic, and since she had not shown anyone, there was no one to notice.
"Now, go gather nuts. I am getting hungry."
The golem received Erica's order and went to search for nuts.
While watching the golem's back as it went outside the castle to search for nuts, Erica murmured quietly.
"I wonder if I can live here with Ashley."