#4 Guest (5)
Elric has had the experience of meeting someone who is different from himself as a human being twice.
The first is his father, Hoven Portman, and the second is his close friend, Elbus Graham.
My father was a cold-blooded man who sacrificed everything else for the sake of practicality.
Elbus Graham, on the other hand, was an outlier who sacrificed himself for his convictions.
There was a sense of alienation and longing that I felt while facing them.
Elric felt that way once more today.
– I can’t harm the manor because of the insult I feel. At least those who lead shouldn’t.
Tyria Weebin was the third.
She was a woman who was familiar with and yet did not understand even more because she mixed half of the silli that her father knew by example and the belief that her friend loved.
It was a woman who made me realize at the level of instinct that I could never become someone like her.
So Elric had respect.
Unlike himself who rolled through the mud, he was so noble that he chased her like a light in a cave.
To put it another way, she was like a piece of glass.
There was no better analogy than that, in terms of making one worry about whether even true beauty would break it or whether the wind and waves would rip it away.
Deuk-
When I think of my troubles, I scratch my desk with a dagger with a dead blade, as always.
Elric pondered her words, staring blankly at the pie slots on the desk.
The more I did, the deeper my heart felt.
I want to help.
You could call it sympathy for the girl who endured the underlying emotion alone, or hatred for herself for making her that way.
Whatever it was, the key was that Elric had a different feeling than he had been trying to leave.
And within that, Elric thought simply.
Rather than figuring out the cause of the emotion, it is to think of a way to relieve the emotion that has already arisen.
The thought that came to mind was ‘How can I help?’
Elric was a man who couldn’t draw the big picture.
He only knew how to trample on what was in front of him so thoroughly that it would never happen again.
Since he couldn’t be like her, it was clear what Elric would do.
This time, as with the previous Yubin family, he decided to use violence closer to the law.
“Sir Polo, may I come in?”
“Ugh!”
Kudangtangtang!
A commotion came from inside the room assigned to him.
It was immediately after the door opened.
“Come on in… !”
Elric knew the reason for the trembling voice.
When I opened the door, I saw a fat man sitting in a chair.
He looked terrified at first glance.
“I came to talk to you.”
Saying that, Elric closed the door.
“Or since we’ve been dating for a while, should we say hello first?”
The reason he was sure that he recognized him was no different.
Even though I was sitting in the restaurant, he was the one who noticed me, and the timing for him to step out was always the moment he was about to overturn the table with his anger rising to the tip of his head.
How could he not know when he showed such an open attitude that he seemed to be afraid of knowing what would happen next?
As expected, Polo shook his head frantically.
and,
thud!
knelt down on the floor
“I’m sorry about what happened that day! Everything today is a coincidence! I didn’t know you were here and I didn’t mean to upset you! Ooh, an accident… !”
“Shh.”
When Elric put his index finger to his mouth, Polo hiccupped.
“There will be no trouble. to each other.”
right, right.
Elric pressed his hips toward the seat where Polo had been sitting until just before, holding on to his cane.
Kneeling on the floor, he looked up at Elric.
It was an intentional composition.
The sense of intimidation comes from eye level.
I felt sorry for him for being so frightened, but Elric intended to use his learned fear.
*
Polo trembled like an aspen tree and lowered his head.
In the end, what I feared happened.
The gaze looking down is stinging. The voice that came out was sharp enough to remind me of a banquet from five years ago.
“I did not ask for this seat because I have a personal grudge against you. To be honest, I know that what happened that day is also responsible for my insolence.”
“That, that… .”
“Of course I have no intention of apologizing. Because I have no reason to forgive you for insulting me.”
Polo was tight.
However, the words that followed were unexpected.
“So let’s put our grudges aside and think about the present. So that today’s work can benefit each other.”
Polo’s head lifted quietly.
He continued to speak with an expressionless expression on his face.
“As you know, I am not very patient. I do not tolerate insults directed at me very well, and I do not tolerate insults directed at what is included in me. That’s how it is today.”
“Yes, yes… .”
“The behavior of Armin’s Quartermaster didn’t look good. However, it is difficult to go directly. If I reveal my identity, won’t the tranquility of this land collapse?”
That’s right.
That was the value of the name of Sword Demon Kasha.
Kasha is a name that will change the face of the current war in the west.
It was a de facto strategic weapon that prevented the collapse of the nation and changed the battleground with its mere existence.
From noble mtl dot com
What if it became known that he was here?
There will be forces that want to recruit him, and there will be people who come with a grudge against him.
The former is overbearing and the latter is tyrannical.
The forces trying to recruit will use their political position to put pressure on Wibin.
Those who want revenge will rush in and try to harm their own, neglecting their own lives.
And the Katya Polo knew was not a man to put up with such things.
The moment Kasha’s name is revealed, it is certain that this place will become a sea of blood.
The wheat to be born next year would grow on the blood as food.
“I don’t want to disturb your rest. I want to get over it quietly, but it makes it difficult.”
What I’m sure of in the middle of the day is that he didn’t really leave the battlefield.
Seeing as he is now using a cane, it must have been a vacation due to an injury problem.
“So let’s do this.”
Elric leaned his upper body.
As the distance got closer, Polo withdrew even more.
As I rolled my eyes and looked up, Polo’s cold smile was reflected in his eyes.
“You must help me. Of course it’s not free. I want to make a legitimate transaction.”
he held out his hand
“Are you not here to buy wheat? pay my fair price So please do me a favor.”
Trembling, Polo’s body trembled.
The story that followed was an offer that was not bad for him.
*
Portman’s mansion had a reception room to receive outside guests.
From Elric’s standards, this was the only space in the mansion full of fancy decorations, and to Tyria, it was a space that showed the dignity of a nobleman.
Five people were sitting in such a place today.
It was the Portmans and the three supply officers in the West.
“Then let’s start talking about trading.”
Tyria said.
“The amount of wheat sold is as previously announced. The harvest this year is toxic. There is only one condition on our side. Is it possible to buy in bulk?”
For Tyria, the direction that could leave the most profit was bulk sales.
This is because the wheat distribution process is quite cumbersome to divide and sell in different places.
Although the world had advanced so much, wagons were still needed to transport wheat from the countryside to the West.
In other words, a company had to be hired, but that amount of money required for distribution was high.
It was a fund that would grow exponentially if sold in different locations.
“Please understand that this choice is inevitable because it is a not-so-rich territory.”
After talking moderately so as not to offend each other, Tyria looked at the appearances of the vendors.
‘Disha is eliminated.’
The embarrassment is already showing on his face.
It must have been a fairly large expenditure in the previous territories.
You don’t even have to look.
Even if the other side pushes ahead with the deal, the process will creak.
Armin next.
“I think you’re being too pitiful.”
A mischievous smile hung on his lips.
Tyria sighed inwardly.
The licking gaze creates discomfort. I’m annoyed by the slurred speech.
It was a type that is not uncommon.
Tyria hid her emotions deeper.
‘He’s a person I’ll never see again.’
There was no reason to react to his gaze privately.
Because now is the moment to make a deal.
Moreover, if Elric showed a change of emotion after telling him that he had to be patient, there would be nothing more disrespectful than that.
It is true that the distance with him is gradually narrowing.
Tyria didn’t want to reopen the distance she had narrowed this much with her courage.
I immediately looked away.
‘The Empire… .’
I do not know.
Ever since he first appeared, his face had always been somewhat uncomfortable, but now it’s more like that.
No, there were differences.
If at first he was restless, now he seemed to be waiting for something.
What are you aiming for?
It was a thought moment.
“… I can buy in full. I will add a condition to that.”
Imperial Quartermaster Polo raised his hand.
“The distribution funds will be handled directly by the Empire.”
“Look!”
bang!
Armin’s supply officer slammed his fist into the armrest.
The Imperial Quartermaster snorted, ‘Heung!’
“Is there a problem? I’m going to buy it for the right price.”
“Yes! If you do that, the price of wheat… !”
What is this?
Embarrassment settled in Tyria.
This is because the conditions the empire put forward were as absurd as they were.
It is an exhibition in the first place.
Although it is important to secure military supplies, the funds needed for war boast astronomical numbers.
In such a situation, to supply all distribution funds from Yubin at the eastern end to the empire in the west, that is not something that can be done with a single Quartermaster’s decision.
However, to call it a lie, the appearance of the imperial supplier was quite confident.
‘Did you promise that condition in the first place?’
No, to say that, I just made the decision this morning to sell all of them to buyers.
There was no way the news had reached the Imperial Command.
information was lacking.
If that’s a lie to get rid of a competitor, future deals will be disrupted.
If true, that was a problem too.
It was a mistake even a novice newcomer to public administration wouldn’t make to endure that much spending just to buy wheat.
In other words, it is a level at which we must judge that Wibin has other ulterior motives besides wheat.
‘how… .’
If there is an ulterior motive, what is it?
It was a moment to think.
“Then I’ll have to sell it to the Empire. Not so. ma’am?”
Elric said with a grin.
The atmosphere froze.