131 – The Crimson Merchant (2)
“So…what did you say?”
Merilda stood frozen, staring blankly, wondering if she had misheard something.
“For damn mating.”
“…”
At Rieu’s continued words, Merilda found herself involuntarily opening her mouth to speak.
“W-what…?”
“Aw, come on, Leader, you know everything, so why are you so frozen? Mating. For mating. Ma-ting.”
As if thinking Merilda might not understand, Rieu patiently spelled out each syllable in front of her face. In response, Merilda said,
“Is that…the plan?”
“This is the plan?”
“Is this…really a solid plan?”
“That’s right?”
Mereda, her eyes fixed on the rabbit ears in front of her, was seriously contemplating how many turns she should take, when Ryu spoke with a serious expression.
“Do you think the chief thinks I’m talking nonsense?”
“…Then do you really think this is a proper plan!?”
Despite Mereda talking as if it were absurd, Ryu nodded as if it were obvious.
“Of course, it’s bound to be very successful, this plan, don’t you think?”
“But what if, by any chance, the chief starts disliking me for carrying out the plan as it is!?”
Seeing Mereda exclaim, Ryu, as if unaware, shook her head and continued.
“Chief, among males, there’s hardly a male who dislikes mating. But, of course, they might dislike certain individuals!”
“That’s true. So, that’s why you went to see the chief, right?”
“What…? Was that it!?”
“Exactly?”
Nodding at Mereda’s words, Ryu began to explain.
“Listen well, Chief. Males do enjoy mating, but, as you said, there are cases where they dislike certain females… Generally, they enjoy it, but there are cases where they don’t.”
“…”
“In reality, if forced to mate in such cases, as you might know, the relationship could deteriorate a bit. Do you understand?”
“I… don’t know.”
“Huh? Why don’t you know?”
Ryu asked, seeming genuinely curious.
But Mereda, having been separated from the human race and struggled on her own since she was young, and having grown up in Lartania when she was older, surprisingly didn’t know much about human physiology.
However, before she could explain that, Ryu, as if knowing, nodded and continued.
“…Well, it’s not that crucial. Anyway! Ultimately, from the chief’s perspective of not wanting to incur the wrath of the Lord of Lartania, it would be wise to approach cautiously, right?”
“…Right.”
“So, I taught you some secret skills, and you used them with the Lord. How did the Lord of Lartania react then?”
“…The Lord’s reaction?”
Mereda recalled that moment.
Due to the sudden interference of a red dragon, she couldn’t see the reaction clearly, but at least from what Mereda could gather, there didn’t seem to be any negative feelings.
“I don’t think there were any negative emotions.”
“That’s it!”
“…Is that enough?”
“It is! Whether it’s enough or not. Chief, think about it. If you were sleeping and someone suddenly appeared above you, and it turned out to be someone you dislike, what would you do?”
“I’d rip their head off.”
“…Usually, you wouldn’t rip their head off, but you’d definitely frown, right? In other words, negative emotions arise.”
“But?”
“But how was the Lord of Lartania? We both saw it, and although it was a bit sudden and surprising, there was no sense of negativity.”
“…Oh? Listening and seeing, it does seem that way…”
“It’s not just seeming that way, it’s the truth.”
…In truth, before Kim Hyun-woo could properly feel any emotions, he fell back asleep, so only a surprised expression was displayed, but that wasn’t important to Ryu.
“Anyway, in the end, it’s confirmed that the Lord of Lartania doesn’t harbor any ill feelings toward you, Chief. So, what does that mean?”
“He… doesn’t dislike me?”
“That’s it! So if you propose mating to such a male?”
“Ah…well.”
Seeing Mirelda’s face blush at Ryu’s suggestion, she continued, “Of course! There are males who even in such a situation refuse to mate. They say some strange things about keeping certain principles. However!”
She said, lifting a tiny vial that was on her hand.
“With this, those worries come to an end.”
“This?”
“This is Shyuu’s spring water. Once a drop enters the mouth, the male will turn into a beastly state that day.”
“T-That much?”
“Yes, it can also affect females, but… well, it’s not something the leader would use… Oh, no, it should be fine even if the leader uses it.”
“M-Me?”
“Yes.”
After dropping Shyuu’s spring water onto Mirelda’s hand, Ryu said, “If even a drop is consumed by a female, she’ll enter a state of extreme heat. If the leader lacks the confidence to face the lord in front of her and hesitates, the female will just go for it.”
Looking at Shyuu’s spring water in her hand, Mirelda spoke with a conflicted expression, “…I thought of a somewhat more plausible plan.”
“Leader, don’t you think this is really plausible?”
“…It looks risky.”
“Even if it seems risky, the returns are certain. Once they mate, their relationship will inevitably get closer. Even if their minds don’t connect, by mixing their bodies a bit, biting, sucking, swallowing some saliva, they naturally become closer, right? And.”
Ryu stated firmly, “If this uncertain situation continues like this, won’t it be easy for others to snatch them away?”
Mirelda stiffened at her words.
However, even seeing Mirelda’s reaction, Ryu continued, “Of course, everyone else is also eyeing the lord of Rartania, right? If the leader didn’t interfere, who knows what would have happened.”
“That’s true.”
“Meaning, the leader is not in a position to pick and choose. At times like this, being proactive is overwhelmingly advantageous.”
After contemplating Ryu’s words with a serious expression, Mirelda nodded.
“It seems like your words are definitely right.”
With Mirelda’s affirmation, Ryu smiled as if pleased.
“Alright, let’s start planning immediately. This time, we must plan meticulously so that those two won’t be able to interfere at all.”
Preparations for the plan began.
A few days later.
[The ‘Crimson Merchant’ visits the territory to deliver an artifact!]
[Time remaining: 0 days, 0 hours, 3 minutes, 59 seconds]
＜p class=”a”＞From Noble mtl dot comAs the Magic Engineering Institute approached 99% completion, with the arrival of the Crimson Merchant imminent, Kim Hyunwoo received a report from Elena.
“It seems like security has been decreasing lately, so I’m thinking of recruiting new soldiers.”
With a longer ponytail than usual, Elena finished her report, and Kim Hyunwoo responded, “…Has it decreased significantly?”
“It’s not very noticeable yet, but reports of fights among mercenaries have been slowly increasing recently. With the expansion of the territory, it seems like we’re running short on manpower naturally.”
“Hmm… That part is definitely an issue.”
In fact, this part was a problem that could be solved by turning all 1000 soldiers into guards.
Guards were soldiers who received additional security bonuses.
However, the reason Kim Hyun-woo did not turn all 1000 soldiers into guards was because he felt the need for different types of soldiers.
“No matter how much we lean towards the tech side of science, there must be a minimum number of troops.”
Although the Larutania territory appeared to be about 30,000 in size, with the mercenaries roaming within the territory, it had grown to a huge territory well over 80,000.
Since the emergence of the mercenary guild, mercenary groups had started settling in Larutania, quickly occupying the vacant territories on the outskirts.
In other words, as the territory rapidly expanded, a minimum level of troops excluding guards was undeniably necessary.
“Well, once more mercenaries settle here, we could use them as soldiers.”
On the other hand, to suppress any troublemakers who might cause chaos at any time, it was essential to have a significant number of soldiers leading to reconnaissance or investigation rather than guards.
“Hmm… I need to think a bit more about this part.”
Kim Hyun-woo told Elena that he would consider this issue and continued to discuss a few more matters.
“Today, it’s a ponytail?”
“The Lord likes ponytail hairstyles, so I tried it once. How does it look?”
“It suits you well.”
As Kim Hyun-woo responded to Elena’s question, covering his mouth with a report file, an alert window popped up in front of him.
[Red Merchant has arrived at the territory!]