Chapter 93: Feed Me With a Spoon? (1)

[There was a battle with intruders presumed to be soldiers from the Kingdom of Prios, resulting in victory. All were killed, or the survivors committed suicide.]

It was a report from the Praizen Territory.

The parchment containing the report was being read by Duke Alito Kright.

His hands trembled violently as he read it.

Then the parchment was hurled across the desk at the face of Feian, Captain of the Black Dagger, who was standing opposite him.

Smack—!

“How do you intend to explain this!”

Under Duke Alito’s rebuke, Feian could not lift his head at first but eventually spoke.

“The last report stated that the plan was being executed without a hitch. It mentioned that even the schedule and troop deployment of Marquis Kataroan Pelican had been thoroughly investigated. From that alone, failure was not expected.”

“But it failed in the end, didn’t it!”

The soldiers listed in the report from Prios were actually Duke Alito’s own assassins.

The cover story, meant to make it appear as a foreign invasion, had been exploited in this way.

“We have no excuse.”

“How much did we lose this time!”

“Our Black Dagger unit lost ten knights and thirty soldiers.”

“Ugh…”

These were all fully trained personnel.

Though directly under Queen Elina, the organization specialized in assassination and intelligence gathering, so the losses were deeply regrettable.

“This is no small matter. Has there been any other development from the Praizen Territory?”

“Marquis Kataroan Pelican has declared a severance of ties with his heir, Grain Pelican, as family.”

“What? Severance of ties!”

Grain Pelican’s temperament had been considered compatible with Duke Alito.

Even if not immediately, he was expected to be useful later when he inherited the Praizen Territory and the marquisate.

Hearing that Grain Pelican had been cast aside left Duke Alito extremely perplexed.

“It seems the overuse of Lev was discovered by the lord. Afterward, it was strictly regulated, and as a lesson, the heir’s position was left vacant, according to the report.”

Lev had been strictly prohibited even in the royal castle. Being severed over it was a natural outcome.

Deep furrows formed on Duke Alito’s brow.

At this rate, all plans to swallow the Praizen Territory would be blocked.

Moreover, the plan to sever the link between the Kanas and Arenvatz Territories had become useless.

“Where and how did this go wrong!”

“That part… remains unclear. And…”

Feian’s drawn-out voice sharpened Duke Alito’s gaze even more.

“Is there yet another problem!”

“It’s not another problem, but intelligence that a Swordmaster has appeared in the Praizen Territory. The Adventurer’s Guild there has even certified them as an S-rank adventurer.”

“What? A Swordmaster?”

“According to the report, Marquis Kataroan Pelican had made contact, but the individual has not yet entered his service.”

Duke Alito stroked his beard in puzzlement.

“Have we learned anything about their identity?”

“The report said a noble named Raion Dragonia. However, the family is so unfamiliar that no information could be found.”

“Dragonia? Raion?”

Duke Alito could not help but react sharply to that name.

“The report states that he is a tall young man with red hair, accompanied by a knight wearing armor engraved with a bizarre serpent.”

“Red hair? No… what am I thinking… A prince who has only trained in the sword for about five years could never reach the level of a Swordmaster.”

Even Ashuran, Queen Elina’s eldest son, had only reached the rank of senior knight after years of training from his prodigious talent.

So it was impossible for Raion to have become a Swordmaster.

“You are correct. That level is coveted even by our knights. Sir Trine Diego, the current Royal Knight Commander, was called a sword genius, yet only reached it after turning thirty.”

“Is there any way to make contact with him?”

“I anticipated Your Grace would ask, so I ordered a pursuit. However, after he left the Praizen Castle East Gate, we lost him. He likely noticed he was being tailed.”

A Swordmaster would not allow mere lackeys to tail him unnoticed.

Duke Alito could roughly guess that.

“East Gate, then… Clarman or Chelon? Or perhaps he could come to this castle.”

Those were the likely directions he would take.

“What shall we do?”

“For now, have reports submitted regularly from the gates I mentioned. If anyone matching the description is spotted, prepare a chance to make contact immediately.”

“I will issue the orders at once.”

The territories in question were closely connected to the royalist Arenvatz Territory.

But recruiting a few gate soldiers was not difficult.

With that, Feian immediately left Duke Alito’s office.

Shwaaaaak!

Two flat-bottomed ships that had departed from Azura Port Village in the Kanas Territory were heading toward Edina.

The man effectively in charge of navigation and ship management was an adventurer named Parfil.

He directed the rudder and masts while gazing out over the sea.

“Aaah~!”

The Deck had grown quiet when Knight Jade stretched and climbed up.

“Are you finally awake?”

At Parfil’s question, Jade’s gaze turned toward the upper deck.

“Since there’s nothing to do, I end up sleeping in all the time.”

“It seems Sir Caldein is still struggling with seasickness.”

“Well, he’s the type who only ever uses his head. But… are we far from arriving?”

They had already been at sea for several days.

Jade had considered training separately in the early days, but there were limits aboard the ship.

“We only have a little further to go. If it weren’t for Sir Caldein, it would have been difficult to get past the Sea Serpent Nest.”

The Sea Serpent Nest was made up of countless islands.

Whenever a ship passed nearby, the creatures would charge madly.

At that time, Caldein had unleashed a large-scale lightning spell he had learned from Raion, paralyzing all the Sea Serpents.

After that, the ship had quickly sailed away.

Recalling that scene, Parfil pointed north with his finger.

Jade’s gaze followed the direction.

Beyond the long horizon, the outline of land gradually emerged.

“Is that Archia of Edina?”

“Yes. It’s the port with the most active trade in the western seas of the continent.”

As they spoke, Merchant Fordman appeared.

“Are we almost there? Whoa…!”

Fordman had also spotted the land.

“You seem very excited.”

At Parfil’s comment, a wide smile spread across Fordman’s face.

“I wonder how much I’ll make if I sell all my goods. Heh heh heh.”

Gold coins already seemed to shimmer in Fordman’s mind.

“Are you really that pleased?”

“Of course. Besides, it usually takes dozens of days to reach the Archia Port of the Edina Kingdom, yet we’re arriving in just a few days.”

The destination, Archia, the trade hub of the western seas, had been chosen by Fordman.

He planned to sell all the goods carried on the two ships there.

“Let’s go quickly!”

With that shout, Parfil directed the sails on the mast to catch the wind.

Once the ship caught the wind properly, it advanced even faster.

It wasn’t until the sun reached its zenith that they arrived at the docks of Archia Port.

Numerous people roamed the port.

Countless ships were also anchored along the piers.

“Is Sir Caldein feeling any better?”

Caldein, who had disembarked with Jade, still looked pale from seasickness.

“I think I’m starting to feel a little better now.”

“Is there no magic to cure seasickness?”

“If there were, we would have used it long ago.”

The two of them entered the street with Fordman leading the way.

Since they had come for trade, part of the crew went ashore to gather food.

The rest remained to guard the goods and the ship.

“There are also potions here to prevent seasickness, so we should buy some.”

“Where are you going, Fordman? Is there a place where we can trade?”

“I need to visit the trading company I dealt with before. They bought my goods at a good price last time.”

They continued walking through the street.

Eventually, they approached a three-story building in the bustling central area.

[Ratea Trading Company]

The large sign immediately caught their eyes.

“Is this the place?”

At Jade’s question, Fordman smiled and went inside first.

Inside, just like outside, it was crowded with people.

“Wow… They really have all sorts of goods here.”

Jade’s admiration caught Caldein’s attention, and he looked around as well.

“They even sell materials needed for magic here.”

“Through the western seas, they import specialties and various goods from the opposite side of the continent: the Bachenan Holy Kingdom, Mineta, the Danas Federation, and Dolkin.”

“That’s quite a scale.”

Caldein, like Jade, looked around in awe.

Fordman felt proud at their reactions.

“Ratea Trading Company is the largest in Archia Port City and among the top three trading companies in the Edina Kingdom.”

“Really impressive. But in a place like this, isn’t it difficult to sell goods?”

Caldein had frequently used trading companies for materials needed for magical research.

Naturally, these companies prioritized profit, making them extremely meticulous.

Fordman was also known for being particular in this regard.

“It’s largely thanks to the quality of the master’s goods. Without that, we wouldn’t even have been able to trade here.”

No matter how good a producer’s goods were, if the seller wasn’t competent, it was useless.

Moreover, foreign merchants couldn’t sell goods freely.

They had to go through intermediaries or trading companies.

But regardless of the goods’ quality, everyone tried to maximize their own profit.

“So you’ve benefited from the goods, then.”

“They were eager to sell them here. Thanks to that, we were able to make contracts that didn’t heavily cut into our profits.”

The recipes and items Fordman had sold until now, as well as Chers and Jagir, still retained immense popularity.

While they were exploring the trading company, a middle-aged man descended the stairs.

He was the owner of Ratea Trading Company.

“Is that Fordman!”

“Long time no see, Sir Glivern Ratea.”

“Oh! Just call me Glivern. Why do you keep being so formal between us?”

Glivern laughed heartily and shook Fordman’s hand.

“Understood. Glivern.”

“It’s much better to be casual. But what brings you here unexpectedly?”

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