Chapter 71

Settlement comes after hard work (3)

Dione lost the joy of teasing them when she saw the two unable to grasp her meaning.

"Hey, what am I going to say with these frustrations? By the way, if you take another break, will your number of attendance days be okay? What about the midterms?"

"I'm in the same boat, and Lei was officially approved for sick leave. Even the subjects he missed the test for due to injuries were treated as special cases for going to the remembered world, so he passed with an average score."

"That's a good thing. Young master, we will take a few more days off and go to the Orails district next Sunday."

"I tried to ask you about that. There was already an ad in the newspaper for the de Neju Est Hotel."

"Now it's much different than it was a few months ago, so you'll be astonished. It's as different as heaven is from the earth."

"Ah, the new hotel in Cel's house?"

"Yes."

"Then, it turns out you also have landed nearby. You were interested in that."

"My family business is also commercial."

Arthur showed no real interest in his reaction. Cel, her lips surprisingly tight, didn't convey to Arthur the size of the land or the hotel. Not one to boast about his own money, Kleio made up excuses about his family to make it sound like he wasn't interested in the business. As Kleio and Dione began to plan out a detailed outing, Arthur left to pick up some more tea.

Land rental fees for the fourth quarter had been received when the hotel started construction. There had been some issues after the accident, but Dione was reliably handling the work. On the day she received the rent and calculated her fee, she opened an account with a high-interest rate, and after explaining it to Kleio, also purchased government bonds. At Kleio's request, she focused on a way that was easy to monetize.

'I'll see a big return if it's like this.'

Kleio lifted the documents Dione had provided. His faith was possible because he had written the ether contract that bound their hearts. He hadn't known how fortunate he was to have such a deal.

"When I feel better, I want to discuss repairing magic tools, but I think it will take a while. Then, I will send a carriage at noon on Sunday."

"You should also be careful about your health, Lady Dione."

Dione left as she came, like a summer storm. The smell of her perfume lingered in the air for a while, and after a few minutes, Arthur returned with a warmed kettle.

"Did the lady leave? Oh my, I couldn't even say farewell."

"Well, would she really want to hear from you?"

"Isn't that too mean? Isn't it pitiful for me to be beaten by such a beautiful woman?"

"Uh."

Arthur, clicking his tongue, began to pour more tea into Kleio's cup before pulling a chair to sit down in. Then, he glanced around at the envelopes laid out on the table. He seemed to be intrigued by the one with Asel's seal.

"What's this?"

"Father's message."

"He must've been worried, right?"

"The youngest son is hanging out with some bad friends, so think again."

"...Is that what the letter is about?"

"I read it. He didn't tell me not to abandon that bad friend himself."

Arthur scratched the back of his head as he looked through the letter.

"Ugh, it's real. How do I get rid of this misunderstanding? I want to see it through with your father."

It seemed that Arthur had Baronet Asel in mind as a financial supporter for the upcoming civil war. It would cost a lot to move his army, after all. It wasn't a bad calculation. Baronet Asel desired power that he couldn't acquire in the way things were currently set up, so if he supported the relatively weak Arthur, he would gain a lot later.

"To prove your worth to my father, you can't do it the usual way. He's a ruthless and calculating man."

"Haha, it's difficult to see if there's nothing on the negotiating table. It still must be far."

"Well, is it far?"

The two's eyes collided as Arthur understood what Kleio was trying to say. The hand scratching his blonde hair became a bit rougher.

"When you came out of the dungeon, you said that I would ask for the details of what you, Isiel, and Cel said."

"Yes."

"Arthur Riognan. Shouldn't faithfulness be followed by the premise that we won't be deceived?"

Before Arthur could glance away, Kleio quickly summoned his circle. Now he was quite adept at adjusting the range, and he was able to deploy it around two people without waste of ether. The formula of [Soundproofing][Shielding] rose up instantly, followed by the mantra.

"Explain."

Kleio kept his cool head as he faced down Arthur. Unlike the last manuscript where he had been an unknown kid, the boy had considerable influence, as well as his own private supporters. It was regrettable that he hid that power while trying to protect Kleio. Of course, there were more than a couple of things he was hiding too.

'I'm in the same situation. He can try to cut me off, but I have to stick with him until I see the end.'

It was a matter of world security, after all.

"What can I explain first?"

"First, the prophecy about a dispute between two princes and the rivers. Talk about the prediction that an era of war will come. When I think about it now, it was suspicious to hear that, tsk."

"Well. Lei, do you know the name of those two rivers?"

"It is you, not me, who will answer questions today. When did you know the detailed meaning of the prophecy? Didn't you start preparing by bringing in Viscount Kision and Cel?"

"It sounds like a lecture... I realized that when I wasn't yet thirteen. There are only the Tempus and Klotto rivers."

The Tempus river flowed through Lundane, the capital of Albion. The Klotto river, which originated from the Pintos mountains in the north and flowed to the inland sea in the south, served as the border between Albion and Brunnen. As such, Albion's territory was often referred to as the land between the two rivers.

"But it couldn't be regarded as a prophecy or a gift. Anyone can predict."

Kleio nodded. That was true.

"If war breaks out in Albion, of course, it will happen with the Brunnen monarchy. The Republic of Carolinger has been engulfed in infighting since the revolution. And Albion... How would you retaliate against Brunnen with His Majesty dying? Still, if the two rivers became a battlefield, it was judged that Brunnen would be invading."

Arthur's judgment was surprisingly accurate. However, Kleio carefully remained expressionless with arms crossed.

"So? Why didn't you give me this detailed explanation before?"

"I didn't because there wasn't enough evidence to back it up yet."

"Did you think I wouldn't believe what you said? You have fairly shallow faith in me, who wasn't shaken by Melchior's skill."

"It was my problem, not yours. Let's think. Whatever I say about the Brunnen monarchy will be lost as words caused by my suffering at Aslan's hands, ways to besmirch his mother. There is no authority with my words, no power."

"But you have the private soldiers thanks to Viscount Kision and Celeste's support to back those words. If you were willing to tell me the truth."

"Lei."

Arthur raised both of his legs haphazardly onto the sofa, then looked out at the river outside the window before turning back to Kleio. Kleio continued to watch Arthur as the silence weighed heavily on them quietly.

"Ah. Honestly, I don't know what patriotism is. I've never been moved by the incitement of loyalty."

"Don't think of going on a tangent and explain it properly."

"If Brunnen's army invades over the mountain range, the first place to be trampled would be Viscount Kision's territory."

'In the last manuscript, right in the middle, Emperor Joachim Castillen of the Brunnen monarchy did it even though he knew that his own citizens would die. He knows that.'

Kision's territory was located at the base of the Pintos mountains. It was the land of Arthur's hometown, so he could understand his desperation to keep it.

"But Viscount Kision..."

"You said before they have twenty people in total. One-quarter of the Knights of Cruel, and one-eighth of the Capital Defense Force."

"Right. With that many, they could never stop the invasion, but the support is gradually decreasing. Brunnen couldn't invade beyond the mountains."

"In addition, Juleika is a princess from the Castillen family, and Duke Cruel, who holds sway with the military, is colluding with the queen to take support."

Kleio contrasted the contents of the manuscript he knew with this new information from Arthur.

"Wow, Lei... you really... This guy who won't even leave his room seems to be looking into parliamentary affairs. That's right. Kision's estate will become a huge battlefield in the future."

"I don't see any way to change the situation politically. The viscount is understaffed and not a politician."

"Right. In the first place, would you have joined me if I were a person who could calculate profit and loss quickly?"

The sunset drowned the room in darkness. He couldn't see Arthur's expression well, but he could sense his turquoise eyes shining deeply.

"So, at first, I convinced Kision. Even without the support of the royal family or the central government, he could cultivate private soldiers. Though, fostering such soldiers that are unreported to the central government is the first-class treason."

"Is it different from ordinary treason and blasphemy?"

"It's different. You would be ordered to be executed without delay immediately upon judgment. The sinners who commit such treason are tortured in a dungeon by the north gate of the royal city. And the human who's in charge of such a thing..."

"Is it Melchior?"

Melchior's first authority entrusted to him by the king was the right to deal with the secret intelligence department, and he used that right to seize power in a suspicious way.

"Right. He's drawn out many confessions, and not a single one through perjury."

"Huh."

Kleio sputtered.

'Alright. No wonder the members of the People's Flag were terrified.'

If Melchior had just been a third-class dictator drunk on his own power, he wouldn't have been such a frightful presence. It was even more terrifying with the fact that he never crossed the line with his power.

'Maybe, if the main character hadn't been decided, Melchior could've become a great king... At least, he could make others think so.'