Chapter 40: 47

Chapter 47

The Battle for the Sage’s Seal (2)

“Ed Rothstaylor is a person worth using.”

There was much to eat at the table.

The Princess wasn’t one to have a big appetite, so more than half of the food remained. As she was a member of royalty, the food at the table always needed to be more than plentiful.

Though it was a waste, due to her status she wasn’t permitted to eat a simplistic meal.

After she finished eating, Princess Penia went to the student center in the teachers’ district and found a nice bench to sit on. It was a wooden bench near the square with a table in front of it. There were no other available seats with such a perfect amount of shade to sit under.

As she sat down, the attendants that accompanied her quickly took out a parasol to create shade, serving her tea with a tea set and using magic to boil the water.

“He seems to have knowledge regarding the internal affairs of the Rothstaylor Family. He’s been keeping up his act and playing dumb, but perhaps if we appease him more, he may open his mouth. If we can convince him to join our side, perhaps he can act as a spy.”

Standing with her hands behind her back, Claire continued to speak to Princess Penia, who was drinking her tea. Their discussion from dinner had yet to reach a conclusion.

“……” 

There was still some time before her afternoon class.

Princess Penia swept her platinum blonde hair back with thin fingers as she suddenly looked up at the clear autumn sky.

Princess Penia’s Insightful Eyes was screaming in the direction of Krepin Rothstaylor.

He pretended to be a benevolent and dignified aristocrat, but there seemed to be a slimy and dark madness that lurking within him.

However, without any sort of physical evidence she had no way of doing anything about it. At the very least, she was convinced that the Sage’s Seal should never fall into his hands.

“I’ve heard that negotiators from the Rothstaylor Family will arrive at Acken Island sometime next week.”

“That’s strange. The decision to sell the Sage’s Seal is something extremely dishonorable, so they would have wanted to keep others out of the conversation as much as possible. How did Krepin, who is a third party, manage to send negotiators?”

“That boy… It could have come from a report from Ed. Since he lives on school grounds, he might have overheard a rumor.”

“Does he have a reason for that? He has already been excommunicated from the Rothstaylor family, so there is no reason to show loyalty towards them anymore.”

“If I were in that boy’s shoes, I’d do whatever it took to be recognized again so that I could return to the family.”

Claire explained her view as she nodded her head.

For that boy, who was living in the forest, the luxury of being a member of the Rothstaylor family was surely something to be missed. She heard that he struggled through the arduous work every single day, just to survive… Perhaps he wished to return to his previous lifestyle.

‘After being excommunicated, he seemed aloof to the hardships in life. Was it really that hard for him to bear the difference from his life as an aristocrat?’

Princess Penia gently closed her eyes as she felt a sense of irony from it all.

“Well, I don’t think that’s right.”

The one who responded came from elsewhere else. Claire and Penia turned their heads towards a familiar face as the girl approached, sitting opposite of Penia.

Her charming eyes and playful lips made her look like a mischievous devil. 

Her reddish-brown hair, which was usually tied to one side and left to fall over her shoulder, was left loose that day. Her usual hood, which she wore to hide her expression in the shadows, was refreshingly down that day.

She wore a headband with a blue rose attached to it that matched perfectly with her reddish-brown hair, creating a somewhat calming air around her.

Rather than a mysterious vicious merchant, she looked like a girl that had dressed up.

But everyone there knew very well that if you were tricked by that girl’s appearance, you would fall to your own death.

“Despite my lowly status, could I have the honor of having a cup of tea with the Princess?”

She had a wide smile on her face.

“……”

While Princess Penia glared at her, an attendant brought out another cup of tea, placing it down in front of her.

The scent of the finest herbs wafted through the air, though ultimately neither of the two reached for their teacups.

Lortel Kehelland, who was already a powerful person within the Elte Company, was also a girl who was expected to become the head of it when she was older. It was all a matter of time.

Since she wasn’t planning to have a conversation with Lortel, the princess felt rather nervous.

“It may be presumptuous of me to say, but I wanted to answer your speculations regarding Ed taking the side of the Rothstaylor family.”

“That’s unexpected of you, Lortel.”

Princess Penias’ eyes narrowed. Lortel was reflected in her eyes. She had rolled up a bit of the hem of her robe as she slowly reached towards the teacup to enjoy the scent.

Princess Penia decided against beating around the bush.

“I thought that you hated me.”

“Oh my, that’s not fair to say, Princess Penia. If that were the case, then why would I have come over here to talk with you?”

Cleverness to that extent was an art in and of itself.

“The one that brought Krepin Rothstaylor into the negotiations for the Sage’s Seal was not Ed. It was my father, Elte’s, doing.”

“What did you say?”

Princess Penia had heard rumors about Elte. News that his dismissal was almost certain, as nearly all his influence and power were gone.

Princess Penia had a feeling that something was wrong, since Lortel had a carefree appearance despite the fact her father—who had adopted her—was being pushed into a corner.

“The Elte Company had planned to purchase the Sage’s Seal and sell it to Krepin for a higher price. There seemed to be some agreement between my father, Elte Kehelland, and Krepin Rothstaylor. Though, I don’t know much about it.”

“… Then…”

“Well, even if my father has been dismissed, the plans to purchase the Sage’s Seal haven’t changed. After all, Elte Company has already put much time and effort into it.”

Princess Penia sat listening to Lortel’s story. Before she realized it, she wasn’t talking much at all.

“It’s about time to change the people who are ‘responsible’ for the Sage’s Seal, so it’s an ideal time to negotiate the purchase of it. The Elte Company will be busy with that, too. If we don’t pay close attention, then we might lose the seal to the Rothstaylor family.”

“It’s all too strange. Isn’t the Elte Company planning to buy the Sage’s Seal in order to sell it to the Rothstaylor family? If that’s the case, then there should be some sort of consensus between the two. So why do the Elte Company and the Rothstaylor family seem to be competing over the purchase of the Seal?”

“That’s because… I don’t wish to sell the seal to the Rothstaylor family. I’m in a bit of a special situation right now, so I don’t want to be too close to a client that is connected to my father.”

Hearing those words, Princess Penia was left speechless.

“Anyway, I wasn’t the one who had agreed to sell the seal to the Rothstaylor family. Since it was a confidential contract, even if they complain to the Elte Company, it won’t have much of an effect. That’s why Krepin Rothstaylor personally joined the negotiations for the purchase of the seal.”

“Why are you telling me about this…?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my ally.”

Saying that, Lortel smiled with her eyes closed.

The fact was, the school was backed into a corner because of their finances, and only a few knew the insider information regarding the plan to sell the Sage’s Seal. Even the true intentions of the Elte Company, as well as the current position of the Rothstaylor family… She had never imagined that Lortel would give up so much information.

“It seems that you, Princess Penia, want to keep the Rothstaylor family in check. So, isn’t this a win-win situation for the both of us? The Rothstaylor family is pushed out of the negotiations, and I’ll be glad to walk away with the seal.”

“……”

“We should have a friendly relationship, haha. After all, we are schoolmates that share a lot of the same classes.”

Her smile was like that of an awl. Even though she appeared useful, if you reached your hand out to her it would be easy to get stabbed.

Lortel Kehelland and Penia Elias Kroel… It was like a relationship between two sides of the same mirror. They probably wouldn’t understand nor acknowledge each other until they died.

“Well, I thought that Ed, who is innocent, would be hurt by all of this. As his underclassmen, I was worried.”

“You… were worried about him?”

“He’s already been cut off from his family and is now living a new life. Wouldn’t it be unfair to mistake him as a part of the Rothstaylor family?”

Princess Penia narrowed her eyes again.

There was no way that girl would think of helping another in purely good faith. It seemed certain that she had some other intention behind her defense of Ed.

“Even so, that boy… There’s definite value in using him.”

At that point, Ed was the only one who would have an idea of the internal situation regarding the Rothstaylor family.

Indeed, having lived most of his life as a member of the Rothstaylor family, regardless of how incompetent or arrogant he might have been, there was a high chance that he had at least some information.

However, judging people by their value and using them like consumables… that was not Princess Penia’s style.

“I tried to ask for help person-to-person, as well as using my authority to give orders… But if he still doesn’t open his mouth…”

“If he doesn’t…”

“Then… I’ll have no choice but to ‘use’ it.”

The Princess of Benevolence Penia was someone that treated everyone with respect, but didn’t always fall into idealism.

If necessary, there were also times where she needed to have a cold heart. She didn’t realize that.

In response to Princess Penia’s reply, Lortel’s face stiffened for a moment. Suddenly raising her hand, as she flung her hood over her head.

She trembled a bit as her head lowered, hidden beneath the shade.

“Lortel Kehelland?”

Just what type of reaction was that? Was she lost in her thoughts?

Without appearing to care at all about the bewildered Princess Penia, Lortel kept her head down for a long time.

Soon after, a splendid-looking pigeon flew in and landed on Lortel’s shoulder. Nevertheless, Lortel continued to keep her head down for a while, before reaching her hand out towards the pigeon.

“O-oh my… A homing pigeon sent from the main headquarters…”

Speaking softly, with a trembling voice, Lortel raised her head. Princess Penia was briefly taken aback. Claire, who was guarding her, felt her blood start to boil.

Lortel had been forcibly holding back her laughter and looked about to burst.

“You tricked and used me.”

Lortel, who could no longer hold it back, stood up as she spoke.

“Who did what to whom?”

“You! This blasphemy…! How dare you do that to the princess…?!”

“Princess Penia.”

Lortel Kehelland already had a complete understanding of Ed Rothstaylor.

Even though he might be backed into a corner, she thought that there was no way a princess like Penia—who grew up constantly pampered and protected—would be able to take advantage of him.

Normally, she would have been laughing secretly as the Princess attempted an impossible task.

“Princess Penia. Only in this instance are we allies. The Rothstaylor family, who are the public enemy, must be driven from Acken Island. Thus, I would like to offer you my sincere advice.”

“……”

“Don’t try and take advantage of him half-heartedly, as he might just end up taking advantage of you instead.”

As Lortel spoke, she stood up—still holding the homing pigeon.

“I hope you have the generosity to excuse my rudeness. That is my whole-hearted advice to the princess.”

“Where are you going, Lortel?”

“I have an appointment with someone. Even though I dressed up quite a bit, I ended up messing up my hair by unnecessarily wearing this hood. Ugh. It wouldn’t be polite of me to continue interrupting the Princess’ break time, so I’ll take my leave.”

Lortel courteously gave her greetings.

“I hope you remain healthy.”

“You have to hold her accountable for her disrespectful actions, Princess.”

“It’s fine, Claire.”

* * *

Translator – Plumper

Proofreader – Harley

* * *

Though she didn’t like to establish her authority, Lortel’s actions were certainly rude. Princess Penia didn’t feel great about it either, but she had many other things to worry about instead.

Above all else, Lortel’s attitude toward Ed seemed to have changed drastically.

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Simply put, Lortel was someone who, on the outside, would appear superficially courteous towards her superiors. On the inside, however, she had a tendency to constantly weigh their worth.

Determining her intentions and understanding the way she treated Ed was too confusing.

Even after being excommunicated, he had adapted surprisingly well to academy life, had performed fairly well in a few subjects, and was often said to be a more hard-working person than expected.

On top of that, he had even caught the attention of the Elte Company’s fox, Lortel. Thus, she started to have doubts on whether or not her Insightful Eyes were wrong.

“……”

Then, little by little, she started to feel a strong sensation on one side of her heart.

Ed Rothstaylor.

It was because Princess Penia herself was the one who had caused his excommunication. Even if she didn’t intend to, that fact wouldn’t change.

Ultimately, the emotion that was flowing inside of her was a sense of guilt, though it was only a small amount.

The difference between their status was massive, and there was no other special relationship between the two.

Being swayed by the guilt of causing an inconvenience to such people over a momentary mistake would only stand as an obstacle to her growth as a monarch.

As a monarch, she must also know how to deliberately ignore even the slightest sense of guilt.

“Claire. I sent a personal letter, but please personally check on it. We’ll have to summon him so that he can visit the royal residence soon.”

Anyway, it would be necessary to keep an eye on Lortel Kehelland’s movements. She was quite the scary opponent.

She wondered if she would ever be able to see that girl be taken aback or at a loss.

That idea alone seemed too far-fetched. Princess Penia let out a sigh.

The path that a monarch took while dealing with others was a long and difficult one.

* * *

“… What is this?”

Lortel sat down on the sofa in the sitting room with a puzzled expression. She looked completely bewildered.

“It just happened.”

“Hi, Lortel. Long time no see. How have you been?”

Yennekar smiled and greeted her warmly. Her smile was so bright that it almost seemed like flower petals were flying around.

Despite its clean and fancy appearance, the sitting room of the Elte Company’s Silvenia branch was not frequently used.

Very few VIPs came to the store’s branch, which was built out in Acken with limited space. Thus, using it even four or five times a year was considered a lot. Given how beautifully decorated it was, it was quite the shame that it was used so infrequently.

Lortel and Yennekar faced each other as they exchanged greetings, smiling as if they were the happiest people in the world.

“I apologize. I didn’t realize you were coming, so I was only able to prepare two cups of Pulan Mountain rosemary tea. Would you like some cold water instead?”

“Sure, that’s okay! It seemed like there was a lot in storage, but I guess you can’t use it since it’s for sale?”

“Yes, that’s right! If you had told me you were coming in advance, I would have prepared it sincerely. I thought that I would only be eating with Ed, so I didn’t think to prepare it in advance.”

“I’ll just drink cold water. Here, Yennekar. You drink it.”

Yennekar smiled as she responded with a ‘sure’, taking the cup of tea. Lortel sighed, glaring at her with a look of disgust in her eyes. 

“Well, I checked over everything in the letter. Looking through it, it was about Elte.”

“Yes, that’s right. The Elte Company seems to have finished the process of his dismissal, but it appears that he’s up to something. He accepted the dismissal a lot easier than I expected.”

The climax of Act 2’s storyline, the Glast Subjugation, followed the battle for the Sage’s Seal. It didn’t seem that there had been any major changes.

However, the unexpected change following Elte’s early dismissal and Krepin’s participation seemed like it needed to be dealt with properly.

Krepin Rothstaylor, who dealt with the power of the evil god Mebula, was not someone who could be defeated at that point in time.

I had to ‘delay’ that from happening until after Taylee and I raised our specs some more.

In the first place, Princess Penia—who would stand opposite Krepin in his subjugation—was still too weak.

She couldn’t use any of her power as part of the royal family due to being kept in check by the first and second princesses. She could not speak up on behalf of the school, either, as she had not yet become the student council president.

“I was worried that Ed might be getting harassed. That’s why I called on you, to see if there was anything wrong.”

“I see. Surely, with Elte being in a tight spot, it’s impossible to be sure of what he is going to do. We’ll have to be sure to stay on top of it.”

“Even so, there’s a limit to what he should be able to do with such little influence and power. Oh, that’s right. Would you like to take some of the magically engineered items back with you?”

As Lortel spoke, she opened a cabinet and pulled out various crystal balls, magic books, a quill, ink, and the like.

“These are items that haven’t sold for a long time, so there’s no issue with having you take them.”

“Lortel. Aren’t these all brand new products, without even a speck of dust on them? You’re going to be criticized for giving these things away for free, as it goes against a merchant’s ethics.”

“Oh my, Yennekar. It seems like you really don’t have a good eye for these things. Look here, they’re all defective items.”

Hearing that, Yennekar went over to the cabinet and checked each item. There was a small crack in the crystal ball, the quill was broken at the tip, and the magic ink was slightly opened, some already poured out.

“It’s obvious that you did it on purpose! Does it make any sense for there to be such flaws in these brand-new items?!”

“Well, that’s not for me to judge. The only thing that’s important is whether or not I can sell it.”

“……”

“Well, considering Ed’s position, it’s also important whether or not it will help him.”

As Lortel spoke, Yennekar was left speechless.

“I appreciate it, but receiving all of this for free is a bit… I haven’t even paid off all the magically engineered items you gave me last time.”

“Oh, I already transferred the payment to the next contract. It’s more convenient to just pay it all at once. Plus, the later the payment date, the more convenient it gets, right? It’s always better to have the payment date pushed back.”

“That is true, but hasn’t the payment date already been moved back four times?”

“Well, there is no problem as long as you keep coming back to renew your contract. From our position, this is just a small amount of money.”

Lortel looked at me and tilted her head, smiling brightly. Yennekar suddenly began to puff out her cheeks.

“Isn’t it more convenient to just finish paying it all off, ending the contract as quickly as possible? What if Ed was planning to spend that money on something else? Now he has to end up spending it all on this instead?”

“Well, that’s something for ‘me and him’ to discuss on our own, isn’t it?”

“Ahh! Seriously!”

Yennekar grumbled as she stomped her foot on the floor. Lortel ignored her, acting as if it were nothing. Meanwhile, I laid back on the sofa, not thinking much of either of them.

– “Even then… Ed is…”

– “The place he does that is…”

Once again, a familiar sensation started to spread throughout my body.

It felt as if I was swimming in water. Recently, I’d been falling into that state quite a bit.

The surrounding sounds began to fade into distant echoes as I let my mind drift into a state of weightlessness, the sensation of floating through the air washing over me.

Come to think of it, I still had a lot of work left to do after my visit to the Elte Store.

I needed to go and put away the jerky that was drying back at camp before Lucy came and touched it.

I also needed to clean up inside of the cabin again. I would have to finish cleaning before I put the chair, desk, and bedframe inside.

Then there was the mattress I needed to make for my bed. It might have been impossible to make a modern mattress with springs, but I thought I’d be able to make it somewhat fluffy by cutting up some material and stuffing it with feathers, random pieces of clothes, and leftover fabric.

I also needed to trim the baby deer that I had caught the day before yesterday. The process of tearing off its skin for leather, taking out the intestines, and then cutting and smoking each piece took a lot of time.

I also didn’t finish my Elemental Studies and Introduction to Intermediate Magic assignments. There was also the other Magic History assignment to do, as well as preparing for my Herbology practical next week as well. 

Come to think of it, I was completely out of arrows. I needed to make sure that my exercise clothes were dry in time for my jog to school the next day. The cabin’s window needed to be completed, and I needed to prepare some more firewood before winter arrived. There was also the issue of food preservation, which I still needed to solve, and I needed to learn how to make proper winter clothes.

– “Ed. Ed!”

– “Hey, Ed?”

As I slowly organized all the work I needed to do, I started to feel hazy again.

It was as if I was swimming through water as I felt myself getting buried deeper into the sofa, little by little.

……………

[You have been inflicted with an abnormal condition!]

* * *

– “That guy, he seems to have gotten his act together.”

– “All he does is quietly listen in class, finish his assignment, then go home.”

– “I heard that he was kicked out of the dorm. Where is he living now? I would imagine it’s hard to find a decent place to stay on such a remote island. Plus, he’s completely broke.”

– “Surprisingly, he’s quite good at his studies. He actually seems to be trying quite a bit?”

– “He seemed to be so arrogant and rude before, so I didn’t want to get any closer to him. But now, even though I hate to admit it, he seems like a hard worker and a regular guy.”

– “Thinking back on it, it’s true that he really was a terrible person before. As time passed, maybe he became more aware of it and started to change?

– “Sometimes I see him in the classroom, but he doesn’t say a word. He seems to be really focused on his studies. I wonder what’s with him?”

“Was he actually an honest and hardworking person?”

When someone turned over a new life, trying to become a better person, at most they would last a month.

After about a month or so, they would revert to their old ways. But for Ed, he had been living that ridiculous lifestyle at that camp for almost half a year.

“………”

A private bedroom in the royal residence.

At a large, luxurious personal table, Princess Penia sat alone, letting out a sigh.

It was about time for her to admit it.

Seeing his honest, hardworking appearance as he fished back at his camp, his appearance during the Glasskan Subjugation, where he proceeded to form a good plan of action without getting flustered… Not to mention, his reputation among the students of being someone that was heavily focused on his studies… And Lortel’s warning not to carelessly make judgements about him…

Other than that, there was her intuition and the clues that kept whispering to Princess Penia.

‘Maybe, just maybe, my Insightful Eyes were wrong.’

If that was the case, her judgment ended up causing a healthy, hardworking boy to be kicked out of his family, leaving him broke and forced to survive in the woods… Did she really make that mistake?

Either way, she had sent Ed a personal letter through Claire, asking him to visit the royal residence immediately.

Since it was an order from a member of the royal family, he was bound to come by and visit the royal residence.

She would then have the chance to properly determine who he was.

And if, by chance, her judgment was wrong… She would truly come to accept the truth.

“Princess.”

“Claire.”

With that thought in mind, Claire knocked on the door. She must have come to report on something, and it was obvious what it was about.

“Did you finish the schedule for tomorrow? What time will Ed Rothstaylor be…”

“Princess, I’m afraid that he will not be able to visit for the time being.”

“Why is that? Regardless of his circumstances, it was still a royal order… If he has the intention to refuse, shouldn’t it be accompanied by a justifiable reason?”

She didn’t want to use her authority, but either way a personal letter written by Princess Penia was no different than a royal order. Refusing such an order meant that there had to be some sort of reason.

“… He has collapsed from overworking.”

He had always been a strong man.

Thus, hearing the news, Princess Penia couldn’t help but have her doubts.

“He must have overworked himself past his limit, trying to manage both his survival activities and his studies. Currently, he is in an unconscious state.”

However, there was a limit to one’s diligence.

____

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