Chapter 73 - Chapter 72: After the Banquet ①
"Thank you for waiting. Here is the seasonal fruit tart."
At a terrace seat of a cafe facing the main street of Bechtoria, the clerk spoke as they placed a tart on the table—one topped with several kinds of fruit, with butter and sugar used lavishly in the crust.
"Wow~, this is amazing~!"
The one who let out a voice of admiration upon seeing it was Rosetta.
"I can't believe you can pay so much money for a mere sweet."
On the opposite side of the table, Pence looked at the tart and Rosetta with an exasperated expression. Only tea sat before him.
Sweets were expensive. Even more so if they used precious fruits, butter, and sugar. This tart, too, was a considerable luxury for Rosetta, who was a perfectly ordinary maid of a rural territory.
"But~, a luxurious sweet like this, I'm sure you'd hardly see it even in Retovik~. Unlike Pence-san, I rarely get to leave the capital city of Noeina, so I have to splurge my wages at times like this."
As she spoke, Rosetta began munching on the lavish tart, while Pence sipped his tea, muttering, "Well, do as you like."
The attendants who had accompanied Noein on his journey, as well as the maid Rosetta, had been given the day off today.
Since it was dangerous for Rosetta—a young woman and moreover one unaccustomed to the city—to act alone, Pence had been ordered to be her guard... or rather, her chaperone, leading to this situation.
By now, Radley and Bart were likely touring the shopping district of Bechtoria, perhaps buying souvenirs for their wives.
"Pence-san, I'm sorry for my sake. You actually wanted to tour the city with Radley-san and the others, didn't you~?"
"Don't worry about it. Those guys are probably agonizing over what to get as souvenirs for their wives. I'd hate to be dragged along for such tedious shopping, so this is fine."
"...Pence-san, you're so kind~."
Thinking she had been shown consideration by Pence, Rosetta said this with a beaming smile.
"Since you're so kind, why is it that Pence-san doesn't have a wife~?"
"Y-you... bringing up the thing I care about most... If you ask others, they say I'm too clever for my own good, so I lack charm. Apparently, I'm not worth taking care of."
While his heart was being gouged by Rosetta's words, Pence replied with a sullen face.
"Is that so~? But doesn't that mean, conversely, that you can do anything and are reliable~? If it were me, I'd think that's actually wonderful~."
"I see, thanks..."
"I'm not just flattering you~? I can only do housework, and people around me always tell me I'm too laid-back, so I think it would be great if a reliable person like Pence-san became my husband~."
"Hahaha, that's a flattering thing to say. If you had been born five years earlier, I might have taken those words seriously."
Compared to Rosetta, who had just reached the age of adulthood, Pence was already nearly thirty. Depending on the case, it was an age gap that wouldn't be strange for a parent and child.
Thus, Pence brushed Rosetta off lightly and gazed at the bustling main street while sipping his tea.
Pence did not notice that Rosetta, having been treated like a child, was puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
.....
While the attendants and maids were enjoying their vacation, their master, Noein, was working today as well.
"I am grateful to you for arranging a meeting for the contract so soon after yesterday, Lord Arqvist."
"I am honored, Your Excellency. I also wish to spread effective weapons and materials for the development of the Northwestern Faction as quickly as possible, so I am pleased to be able to enter into a contract with Your Excellency so promptly."
The afternoon following the banquet. Noein exchanged these words and shook hands with the head of a certain Baron's house belonging to the Northwestern Faction.
This man was the 24th person Noein had met today. While he kept a smile plastered on his face, in his heart he was thinking, Greetings are fine, so please just go home quickly.
Originally, he had planned to return to the Arqvist territory, have each lord send an envoy, and sell the Crossbows and potatoes after the contracts had been sent back and forth.
However, the demonstration at the banquet had caused such a massive stir that requests saying "I want to contract immediately" followed one after another, and thus he was meeting with every noble of the Northwestern Faction in order the very next day.
As for Noein, he was immensely grateful to Marquis Bechtolsheim, who had provided the drawing room of his mansion and even lent his own civil officials as manpower to draft the contracts.
"...Who is next?"
After seeing the Baron leave the room, Noein spoke, removing his smile.
"Viscount Alzent is scheduled, Noein-sama."
"I see, thank you, Matilda... Viscount Alzent, huh. If I recall, his territory was on the south side of Count Marcel's territory."
As he spoke, Noein opened the notes containing information on each noble.
The one serving as his guard behind him, and further supporting the contract procedures, was Matilda.
Originally, Noein had wanted to give a vacation to everyone who accompanied him, but since he was entering into contracts with nobles, he couldn't have no attendants by his side. Basically, nobles do not act alone.
Because Matilda had said, "I cannot take a holiday while Noein-sama is working, and there would be no meaning if I couldn't enjoy the vacation together with Noein-sama," she was accompanying him today.
Before long, the 25th contracting party... Viscount Alzent arrived, and they entered into a contract briefly.
Next was a certain Baron, then a Knight, then another Baron, then a Baronet, then a Viscount... and after that, he entered into contracts with more than ten more nobles, exchanging words with so many Excellencies that his head became confused as to who which Excellency belonged to where, and finally, by evening, Noein finished all the contract procedures.
"Daa... I'm... exhausted..."
"You truly worked hard, Noein-sama."
Forgetting that he was in someone else's house, Noein sank his body into the sofa of the drawing room, and Matilda offered words of appreciation from the bottom of her heart.
"Thank you, I'm reaaaally tired... After all, I've entered into more contracts in this one day than I have in my entire life up until now..."
As he said this, he reached both hands out to Matilda as if seeking affection, and just as Matilda's expression softened and she approached Noein in response—
"Lord Arqvist, it seems the contract work has finally ended."
Marquis Bechtolsheim entered the room while speaking.
Since this was Marquis Bechtolsheim's mansion, it was utterly impossible to reprimand him for suddenly entering.
Noein hurriedly withdrew his hands and stood up, and Matilda instantaneously tightened her expression and stood by Noein's side.
Whether he hadn't noticed or was pretending not to notice, it was unclear, but Marquis Bechtolsheim said nothing in particular, sat opposite Noein, and urged Noein to sit as well.
"Thank you for today, Excellency Bechtolsheim. Not only the drawing room, but lending me your civil officials as well, I don't know how to express my gratitude..."
"It is no matter. It is a joyful thing that the nobles of the Northwestern Faction seek to strengthen their territories by obtaining Crossbows and potatoes as quickly as possible. Lending a place for contracts is simply the caliber of a leader."
Marquis Bechtolsheim, who nodded magnanimously to the thanking Noein, kept his expression smiling, but suddenly tightened his focus.
Noein could tell that the air surrounding him had changed.
"...Now then, Knight Arqvist. Let us talk for a bit."
"Yes, what is it?"
While vaguely predicting what kind of talk it would be, Noein asked.
"It has been a long time since I became the head of the Marquis house. I have met many nobles until now. Among them, you are an anomaly."
"I believe I understand my own eccentricity."
"Hahaha! I see, then this will be quick... I am the leader of the Northwestern Faction. While it is joyful that a talented youth has joined the faction, I must know the reason why that youth provides new technology and knowledge so unsparingly."
His tone was gentle, but Marquis Bechtolsheim's voice possessed an abnormal pressure. It was a voice imbued with the will to drag out the truth without allowing for any refusal.
"When you joined the Northwestern Faction, the results of the bandit subjugation alone should have sufficed as a greeting gift. To put it bluntly, the Crossbows and potatoes you brought are too large as greeting gifts. As the side that received such gifts, I need to discern the true intention behind them. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"I see. Then, reveal your true intention... Normally, once one establishes groundbreaking technology or knowledge in their own territory, they do not easily hand it over to other territories. Because if one keeps the information, it becomes a powerful weapon for one's own house. Despite that, why did you reveal them to us?"
The eyes of Marquis Bechtolsheim as he asked this were sharp.
"...That lies in my origin as a noble. With all due respect, Excellency, do you know of my origin?"
"I have heard from Viscount Koenitz. You are the result of 'Maximilian's youthful indiscretion,' are you not?"
Hearing the name of his hated father for the first time in a while, Noein involuntarily let a wicked smile float onto his face. Seeing that face, Marquis Bechtolsheim raised an eyebrow slightly.
The 'Maximilian's youthful indiscretion' mentioned by the Marquis was a popular phrase at the time, mocking Count Kivileft, who had laid hands on a servant, gotten her pregnant, and ended up having a concubine while remaining unmarried.
"It is as you say. I was the child of a concubine, cast out of the Count's house and given a piece of the Bezel Great Forest, which had originally been an exclave of the Count Kivileft house, in a manner of being forced upon me, and thus I obtained the rank of Knight Arqvist. For Count Kivileft, it was likely a good opportunity to dispose of a troublesome illegitimate child and an exclave at the same time."
"You do not call him father, I see."
"I have already severed my ties with Count Kivileft. Now that my surname has changed to Arqvist, few people know of the connection between that person and me, and I cannot simply call him father. Besides, I hate that person."
To Noein, who spoke with a composed appearance, Marquis Bechtolsheim directed a slightly sympathetic gaze. However, Noein, who was remembering his grudge against Maximilian, did not notice it.
"Due to those circumstances, I have no relatives to lean on. I had never even appeared in social settings, so I had absolutely no acquaintances as a noble. Moreover, until two years ago, my territory was just a forest. Even now, it is nothing more than a tiny village that would blow away in the wind."
Even if he had the power to annihilate 200 bandits, it didn't change the fact that the Arqvist territory was still a small territory of a single village.
"Therefore, I have been searching for a way to stabilize the position of my own territory, and my own position as a noble. Fortunately, I was blessed with a neighbor, and I have continued a certain level of friendly exchange with Viscount Koenitz-sama, but that was the sort of thing that would be scrapped in the face of a threat like a great bandit group."
"So, you joined the Northwestern Faction to obtain a stronger and larger bond? However, that does not explain why you provided such excessive greeting gifts."
"No, my goal was not simply joining the Northwestern Faction... My goal was to become an important noble house that the Northwestern Faction could not easily discard. And, that has been splendidly achieved this time."
As Noein said this, he grinned.