Luke immediately prepared to leave. It was a leisurely time when there was nothing happening, but it was a tight time to turn all three territories.
Luke’s group, who finished preparations in one day, stopped by Arathion before leaving.
“Something happened, so I’m going to leave soon.”
“Sorry. I just wanted to talk a little more.”
“Well, once I’m settled down, I’ll have plenty of time to talk.”
“The higher you go, the harder it is to bet on time.”
At Luke’s answer, Arathion smiled bitterly. As they had always done, the two of them felt intuition while talking without hesitation.
I think this will be the last time we talk so comfortably. When they meet again, they will treat each other as leaders of a faction.
“Before you leave, look at Eldira’s face before you go.”
“I was thinking of doing that anyway.”
“Looks like you’ve gotten pretty close already, don’t you?”
“Because it’s scary to leave without saying anything and be resentful later.”
You can’t avoid it with the excuse that you haven’t had a relationship with love until when. Arathion burst into laughter and praised it as a good decision.
Unexpectedly, Eldira’s attitude in seeing Luke off was calm.
“You are really busy.”
“sorry. I won’t have time to spend with you for a while because I have a lot of work.”
“There is no need to apologize. Those who have ideals are always busy, do as you please without being swayed by the affection of the wealthy. I will be waiting for you without change.”
“… … .”
A sense of values that is a million light years away from the average woman. However, Luke was inadvertently mesmerized by Eldira’s majesty.
Shall we say that it is the image of a heroine who can flavor an era? Luke, who came to his senses, smiled.
‘Surprisingly, the compatibility might be good.’
Even if it’s a strategy, it might be a marriage that’s not as bad as I thought. Thinking so, Luke left Herning Manor with his party.
* * *
The first place Luke and his party visited was the Bindeln estate. The reason was nothing. Because it was the closest to the Herning estate among the three families.
While walking on the road, Luke suddenly remembered the old days.
“Come to think of it, you said you had been enemies with the Winslow family for a long time, right?”
“Yes, just looking at each other’s faces is enough to gnash your teeth.”
The reason the two families were at odds was simple. This is because Vindeln is using Winslow, which borders the monster haunt area, as a breakwater.
The terrain where the monsters had to pass through Winslow first before they invaded the Bindeln estate. The reason why Vindeln is safe is actually because of Winslow’s blood value.
The problem is that Vindeln not only doesn’t thank Winslow, but even makes fun of him.
-Hey, we’re doing everything we can to stop them, but at least support them.
– It sucks. What kind of support do you want to block because you don’t want to fail? Don’t talk nonsense, use all your possessions to stop them. We’ll rest in peace in the meantime.
– These bastards! Are you still human!? At least thank you!
– What do you know? If you twist it, don’t block it. Then you’ll be the first to fail.
At this point, it is impossible not to have resentment against each other. The local sentiment was so deep-rooted that it lasted for over a hundred years.
Not only the aristocrats, but even the commoners would grab each other by the collar and fight when they saw each other.
“In other words, they must be the ones with the most stomachache right now.”
“Yes, it seems that Lyon also retaliates a little.”
You cannot openly confront each other. In any case, the Vindeln family was also one of the families that swore allegiance to Ray.
If you dare to fight and cause chaos in the west, Leon’s head will fly away. However, it is possible to take minor retaliation using the count’s powers of proxy.
“Of all the families, the Bindeln family has the least quantity of trade items. The distribution time is also the latest.”
“There can be no complaints.”
The former won’t be as big a loss as you think. No matter how much you reduce the quantity, you won’t be able to reduce it noticeably.
The real problem is the latter. A noble is a creature that always demands the newest things. But new items come in last?
‘I’d rather go to another manor rather than wait in the Vindeln manor.’
There are probably quite a lot of big hands who have left right in front of their noses. Even if it’s not a loss, the benefit of missing out will be huge.
The tears of blood shed behind her, knowingly or unknowingly, must be considerable.
‘There are too many elements to hold grudge against Rion.’
In terms of pure profit and loss, it would have been incomparably higher than before trade. The problem is that among the other three families, which were on an equal footing, they were pushed back the most.
Apart from the explosive growth of the family, he must have felt a great sense of relative deprivation. There are no words to describe the resentment he would have towards Leon, the cause of that.
“Let’s go for a while. If you go and see for yourself, you will find the answer.”
No matter how much heartache there is, in the end it’s just speculation. It was the quickest way to go and check on my feet.
* * *
A few days later, when Luke arrived at the Vindeln estate, he frowned. Many of the buildings in the city were newly built, and the surrounding roads seemed to have been renovated not too long ago.
At first glance, it looks like a pretty prosperous city. The problem was the atmosphere that pervaded the entire territory.
“Why are you here? Everyone passing by is dead.”
“That is strange. Originally, the territory had a much brighter atmosphere.”
Ray also looked around with a puzzled face. It wasn’t such a gloomy city when I had visited once when I was leaving my old family.
“This is one of the safest estates in the West. That’s why it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it’s the best in the West when it comes to liveliness.”
“The atmosphere is the worst for something like that.”
“I don’t know what happened either. If it’s the current flow, it should be better.”
When money circulates, wealth becomes abundant, and when wealth is abundant, laughter naturally comes out. However, the Bindeln estate did not have such a smile.
Looking at the new buildings and maintenance of the roads, it is clear that the money has come in. But why is it such a gloomy atmosphere?
The party headed to the inn to find a place to stay, even though they had a confused expression on their faces.
“Oops! Welcome, sirs!”
As soon as the innkeeper saw Luke and his party, he smiled brightly and ran out. It was the face of a soldier who was finally receiving his salary, which had been cut off for several months.
“Which do you want, meal or lodging? Whichever you choose, you won’t regret it!”
“Do both. Bring me some food first.”
“thank you! I will bring it to you right now!”
Hurrying, the owner went inside. And after a while, the most stylish dishes were placed in front of the party.
At first glance, it was mixed with ingredients that were quite rare to be served at an ordinary inn. Seeing the dishes filling the table, Bruno opened his mouth.
“Is this your basic meal? Is something not right?”
“No, the basic meal is correct.”
“How much is it?”
“Five pieces of silver.”
“what? only?”
Luke was taken aback. This should pay off at least ten coins. But the master nodded with a deep bow.
“In fact, it was not fresh ingredients, but cut. It’s been a while since I brought it in, and the taste has lost a bit.”
At that, Max quickly grabbed a piece of lobster and put it in his mouth. Max, who chewed down the dish, nodded and said.
“I wrote material that was definitely out of date. It’s not bad, but if it’s been a few more days, I’d have taken it and thrown it away.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t fool the masters! Honesty is my lifelong motto!”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have anything to say about the food.”
It would have been a delicacy to a mercenary knight or an ascetic knight, even if it was this much.
I’m conscientious enough to say it with my own mouth in a situation where there are numerous inns that don’t even have the concept of freshness.
“Anyway, what’s going on in this estate? The atmosphere was so bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t the whole west booming thanks to the recent trade with the elves? But only here is strangely sinking.”
“Whoop!”
As soon as Luke finished speaking, the innkeeper sighed. And then, belatedly, I was surprised. It was quite rude to sigh openly in front of nobles.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to do that… … .”
“All right. It’s a sigh, you can breathe What is it?”
The fact that he exhaled even though he knew it was rude means that there was a lot of anxiety. At Luke’s urging, the innkeeper explained the situation.
* * *
“The first few months went well, just as Nari said. The economy has improved, and there are more customers coming from outside.”
They say they come to see the elves’ trade items, but people can’t stay for several days and buy just one item.
They dine at the manor, buy something that catches their eye by chance, and throw money at them when they feel good.
It was not just one or two such guests, but an explosive increase. Young Ji-min’s income also increased to an incomparable level.
“Everyone thought everything would work out just then. All other territories were similar. The problem is that the number of customers has gradually decreased.”
“Why?”
“It’s simple. It was because new stuff arrived late.”
The purpose of big players is to preoccupy new products as quickly as possible. However, the Bindeln Manor was the last area to receive goods.
Naturally, the footsteps had to decrease.
“It was fine until then. Although the number of outside guests has decreased a little, there are still many people who visit.”
Elf goods are rare. There were many times when the things we wanted overlapped, and then we often lost the auction and lost the things we wanted.
At that time, the last place he visited was the Bindeln estate. As stock arrives late, there may be things you want unexpectedly.
Even if it falls short of the other three territories, it has a decent advantage.
“But a few months ago, things got serious. The supply of trade goods has been cut off.”
“what? Is it really?”
“Yes, it seems to be coming in very little, but it is said that the amount is not enough for auction or business.”
No way. Luke personally read the documents that Leon handed over. The Bindeln family was still distributing a huge amount of goods.
However, only a small amount is coming in so that even an auction cannot be held.
“Thanks to that, the footsteps of the guests were also cut off. In fact, nothing has gotten worse, it just went back to the way it was before, but it’s because there are many people who have widened things… … .”
“Was it like that?”
Since it was a great boom, there must have been a lot of people who started big business knowing that it would continue.
Then, the outside visit was cut off, and I was in danger of wearing a side gourd. Looking at the meals served to the party, it seems that the host is also one of them.
The innkeeper immediately gnashed his teeth with a red-stained face.
“It’s all because of Winslow’s boy. Can you do this no matter how bad your relationship is? After all, he’s a Westerner! His Excellency must return quickly to bring a righteous condemnation… Suck!”
The innkeeper, who was talking, covered his mouth. No matter how much, the common people are discussing the condemnation of the nobles. It wouldn’t be strange if he had his head cut off for blasphemy.
“I’m sorry, sir! I went crazy for a while… … !”
“Never mind. If people are frustrated, that may be the case. This is the price of a story.”
“Ouch! thank you! Good luck on your future path!”
Her face, which had been pale, quickly regained its complexion with gold coins shining red. After the owner left, Luke looked around at the group with sunken eyes.
“If what the owner said is true, then Yeongji is now in one of two ways. The first is that Leone is really messing around.”
I did look at the documents that Luke had written about the quantity himself. However, the contents of such documents can be manipulated as much as possible.
It may be that he showed fake documents in front of the party, and adjusted the quantity to pay off old grudges behind the scenes.
“what do you think about it?”
“I don’t think so. Aren’t they just crawling around whenever they see Master and Lord Ray? Unless you were suddenly struck by lightning and turned black, you won’t be able to joke around like that.”
“I guess so. If it really was, I wouldn’t have sent you here in the first place.”
If he planned things in the first place, he would not be the kind of person who would handle things so sloppily. Then there is only one answer left.
“Is it the handiwork of the Vindeln family?”
I don’t know why I would do something like self-destruction. What is certain is that I will try to feed Leon with taffy, even if it means cutting off my own flesh.
Even more so, if you have a plan to make up for the damage that is happening now, you will have no hesitation in doing this.
“These cross the line just fine.”
The voice that came out of Luke’s mouth was extremely cold.