Chapter 1 – Chance Meeting with a Ninja Clan

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Imperial Calendar, Year 260 – Moon of the Garnet (January)

After having enjoyed the first day of the new year by making out with my wife, I would be resuming my work today. It was about time for me to get up, but――

I couldn’t move with my eyes blocked by my wife’s boobs.

“I don’t w-a-n-n-a work! I wanna have a lot, lot more fun with everyone!”

“Malida-sama, you gave Albert-sama your world last night, didn’t you? You said you would do your work properly, if you were to cum cum three times. As far as I have counted, you came six times, right?”

“I just went along with it on occasion! I’m not going to do any work today!”

Malida pushed her boobs even stronger into my face. I’d love to listen to all of my cute wife’s requests, but I cannot allow her to skip on her work as family head and lord.

“Malida-sama, I will do the work together with you, so come on and get up.”

Liese, who was next to me, entered my visual field thanks to Malida letting go of me and getting up.

Hmm, it’s a paradise of boobs, boobs, and even more boobs. I’d prefer to stay in this paradise for a while, but I won’t be able to protect this paradise if I don’t do my work.

“Malida-sama, if you throw a tantrum, I will have Lichere give you a hard spanking.”

I ordered Lichere with my eyes. After responding with a grin, she licked Malida’s horn with her tongue. At once Malida’s body trembled, her face looking as if it had melted.

“Ahiiiihnn! Stop it! I’ve told you that my horns are off-limit, haven’t I!?”

“Irena, Malida-sama says it’s still not enough,” I urged Irena to lick Malida’s other horn.

“Okay, Malida-sama, excuse me but this is Albert-sama’s order.”

Irena let her tongue crawl across her side’s horn.

“Attacking me from two sides is unfair! Uuuaaaahhhh! Shtaaaaappp!”

Apparently feeling too much pleasure, Malida started to drool and her face became even more melty.

“Liese, you still haven’t given Malida-sama her good-morning kiss,” I prompted Liese who had been silently watching the three other women.

“Y-You’re right. I’ve always been doing it. Malida-sama, it’s our morning greeting.”

Even Liese, who often gets pushed around by Malida, would attack Malida assertively at these moments, entangling her tongue with Malida’s.

“Mmphhphh, stmmphhhop!”

Just watching Malida’s troubled face as she was getting assaulted made me horny. I somehow managed to control myself since I had done it multiple times last night, but if I didn’t focus on it, I’d immediately join the fray.

Being attacked by three people at the same time, Malida became silent with her body twitching, before she collapsed on the bed.

“Now then, it looks like you had your share of fun, Malida-sama. Let’s get up now, okay? Lichere, please take care of Malida-sama.”

“Okaaay, as you wish. I will make sure that she changes her clothes and then take her to the big hall. Liese-sama, please help me.”

“Ah, okay, sure.”

Liese and Lichere used the hot water that had been prepared, and cleaned Malida’s body to get rid of the traces of our activities last night.

“Albert-sama, I shall take care of your preparations.

“Sorry, please do.”

Once I got out of the bed, Irena wiped my body with a wet cloth.

“Come to think of it, about the matter with the Malji Company you informed me about yesterday: are you certain you wish me to handle all of his management?”

Currently Irena and I are handling the Malji Company’s management and Lichere operates the intelligence agency. I decided to change this by assigning the company’s management to Irena.

The reason for this change can be found in the increase of my workload. I’m busy with governmental affairs as governor and thus don’t have any time to also run a company.

“Yeah, please. If it’s your business ability, the management of the company shouldn’t pose any problem. Also, the company’s profits will be now processed on a different account than the Erwin family’s. Financing the intelligence agency’s activities is the purpose of the company’s funds.”

“As I thought, the unknown funds in the ledgers were a cover for Albert-sama’s intelligence agency, huh?”

“Yep. That’s why we will separate it from the Erwin family’s finances. It’s my own, private company.”

“I understand. Then I shall keep it apart from the Erwin family’s accounting and manage it in the same manner as before.”

“Is it fine for me to interpret it as Irena-san being in charge of the financing of the intelligence operatives from now on?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Just, I’ll keep the support of Prince Goran’s faction under my control.”

“If it enters the normal range of intelligence operations, financing will be handled by Irena-san, and if it includes plots and schemes, it will require Albert-sama’s permission. I got it.”

Lichere is a clever girl, so she immediately understood my intention.

The intelligence agency of the Malji Company was headed by Lichere. It consisted of three teams: the Alexa team which included intelligence members from my time in Alexa, and personnel selected from among the refugees of Alexa; the territorial team which recruited its members from the Ashley and Slat fiefs; and the imperial team which recruited its members inside the empire, centered around the peddlers. We had those three teams gather information for us.

Because the territorial and imperial teams would mostly gather information, their funding would fall into Irena’s jurisdiction for the most part, but only the Alexa team would require a remarkably higher funding for all the expenses it’d use to increase the supporter base of the Goran faction.

Therefore, I took the liberty to control the funding here myself.

“I will cooperate with Lichere-san and properly manage the Malji Company.”

“Yeah, please take care of it.”

After finishing getting dressed, I went to the big hall, where our retainers had gathered, together with Malida who had recovered from her unconsciousness.

■

The civil officials were also assembled in the big hall, together with the oni who were the vast majority here. Because it was the first time in the new year that they’d work, a listless atmosphere prevailed among the retainers.

“Erwin family, recite the family precepts!” I ordered them in order to get them out of this languid state.

Malida reacted to that order and took a step forward. She announced the words I had taught her as our new family motto.

“『Only act after careful thought』!”

“””『Only act after careful thought』”””

Doing the chorus, the retainers’ faces clearly switched into work mode.

“Very well. The new year’s work starts today, so please carry out your duties diligently. Malida-sama, please pass on the instructions to the retainers.”

Malida, now sitting on her chair in the hall, responded with a nod.

“Last year we severely lacked battles. This year we will take part in various battles and go hunting for enemy heads!”

“”””Uuuuooohhh!!!””””

Even though they aren’t on a battlefield yet, the oni’s tension is exploding way too much!

“For the time being, there are no signs of a war brewing, so we haven’t received any requests to help,” I curtly warned Malida who was apt to start some war on her own.

“I want to go to war! With your resourcefulness, Albert, you should be easily able to prepare a battle or two for me!”

Well, if she tells me to do it, I could prepare some battles for her. But, if I allow Malida and her oni to head from one battle to another, we will never have enough money, no matter how much we earn.

“At present, there are no signs for that. Please strive in your military training for the moment.”

“Alriiiight, we got Albert’s permission, so let’s get this started at once. Take the young folks. We’re going to train a forced march for five days without any provisions and practice maneuvers to break through enemy territory. Lator, gather the participants at once!”

“Aye! Got it! This time I will lead the soldiers!”

“Very well. We’ll act as instructors.”

With her voicing out the permission to do drills, the oni became all excited. They immediately agreed on some training regimen and ran out of the big hall with Brest taking the lead. As always, they’re quick to act when it comes to battle-related things.

Still, a forced march for five days without provisions and breaking through enemy territory; are these guys planning to become special forces or something…? No wait, they’ve got more combat power than special forces would ever have.

“Malida-sama, you stay back. You may only go after you finish your duties as lord.”

“Hauuh! Albert, you’re only harsh on me…”

While casting a sidelong glance at Malida who was dejectedly hanging her head, I started to give instructions to the civil officials.

“All of you civil officials, work hard at the posts given to you. Since there will be heaps of work that has to be done this year as well, I look forward to your performance.”

“”””Yes! As you command!””””

The civil officials also left the big hall, heading to their respective departments. The only ones left behind, us, moved to the office in order to do our own work.

■

Returning from the grand hall, I sat down at the desk in the office. At once Irena held out a document in front of me.

“The list of merchants in the castle town of Ashley has arrived from my father, please check it.”

In order to increase the Erwin family’s tax revenue even further, I had Reinbell investigate not only the merchants who are selling goods, but also the manufacturers. All for the sake of nurturing the industries.

There exist excessively many smiths and weapon dealers, but…that’s because the oni basically throw money at arms and armaments. I guess it’s only logical for smiths and craftsmen, who create armor and weapons, to have opened up loads of workshops.

Even back when I had the craftsmen create iron measurement units, they had the necessary skill level to make items with a high precision.

But, because the armor and weapon relies on materials that have to be imported, it’s difficult to make much of a profit with them. If we manage to secure the materials ourselves, we might be able to boost our tax revenue by selling good quality armaments for a low price. Besides, if we get our hands on cheap iron, I want to try creating matchlocks to bolster the combat power of the serf soldiers.

I don’t have any plans to sell the matchlocks outside of the Erwin territory at present, but if they’re used on the battlefield, I have to take into account that they’ll be copied sooner or later, so I plan to repeatedly improve them by tweaking their firepower.

Currently the budget is tight, so it’s a plan I cannot put into practice anyway. But, I noted it down in my memo book so as to not forget the idea.

“Next, I was able to come up with a draft for a plan to increase the population. Please take a look at this as well.”

Choosing the moment when I finished jutting down my notes, Irena passed me a new document.

Let’s see…early marriage subsidy, childbirth and nursing assistance money, general support for babies, and the guarantee of patrolling doctors.

It’s going to take money, but we have no choice but to grow the number of people to secure the future of the Erwin family. The Erwin family, which possesses a lot of bountiful, cultivated land, plans to actively endorse policies for growing the population.

In addition, the share, which the village chiefs used to embezzle, will be paid as tax starting with this year and there’s a lot of excess food. Let’s add a reduction and exemption of the poll tax for families with many children.

If we tell men that they will get a tax reduction if they make out with their wives and make plenty of babies, some of them should work their hips hard. At least I intend to do so. I’m going for a soccer team and more here.

People are military strength are labor force are economic strength. Because you can break it down like that, people are precious in this world.

I added the extra measure and passed the document back to Irena.

“Please calculate the decrease in tax revenue we will experience from implementing this additional measure.”

“Very well. Next I would like you to read up on the report about the Slat territory.”

Accepting the document Irena held out to me, I scanned through its content.

The town of Castle Slat was a smaller town with around 700 people. The surrounding farm villages would barter wood, pelts, and grain at the castle town, and buy currency.

Because it was close to the main road leading all the way to Alexa’s royal capital Lutune, the merchants in the vicinity would come to buy up the goods and thus pay tax to enter the town. The castle town of Slat was, in other words, relatively lively.

They apparently reclaimed a lot of fertile, bountiful farm fields, now serving as breadbasket, at the border with the Ashley fief which was located north of Castle Slat. Because they formerly used to be imperial land and thanks to the aid by the Erwin family, the residents are apparently changing their view of Elancia towards a more positive outlook.

Their land has become a protectorate of the Erwin family, but because it’s also possible for my child with Liese to inherit the fief, I want to properly lay the groundwork.

“Please continue the food aid for the Slat territory for the time being.”

“Albert, allow me to thank you as the representative of Slat’s residents. Of course, the thanks also extends to Malida-ane-sama, too.”

Liese bowed towards me. She has been approving the documents of the Alkor family on the seat next to Malida.

“Liese, you’ve been diligently doing your job, so you can accept it without worrying too much about stuff!”

“The Alkor family’s matters have been entrusted to the Erwin family by His Majesty the Demon King. Just as Malida-sama said, you do not need to mind it.”

The Alkor family used to be imperial nobility and belonged to the Chegemorie faction. But, due to the domestic strife during the succession and the misgovernment of the previous emperor, the previous family head was won over by Alexa and switched sides.

It’s hard to say that they’ve regained the trust of a highly doubtful man like the demon king with their past of betrayal. As far as I can tell the demon king’s intention, I suspect that he wants the extremely loyal Erwin family to rule over the Alkor family alongside its territory.

But, seeing the popularity of Liese among the people of Slat, and given how much they like the people of the Alkor family, it’s very likely that the residents would rise in revolt if the empire crushed the Alkor family and took over the rule over the land. Therefore I’m trying to cushion this with the Alkor family being unified with the Erwin family through the children between Liese and me.

If it’s for the sake of not having the demon king dislodge the Alkor family, I must let Liese gain some merits of war somewhere, otherwise it would become increasingly difficult to maintain the Alkor family.

As soon as I finished writing in my memo pad about the Alkor family’s situation, Lichere handed me a written report.

“There has been a reply from the Alexa team that they handed the letter to Prince Goran. They will continue providing assistance. Also, the territorial team has been reporting that the 『mountain folk』 has recently started to frequently enter and leave the Slat fief. The Alexa team was also able to confirm a person related to 『Hero’s Sword』, who had been in contact with them, on several occasions. Would it be better to deal with that?”

“We can crush the 『Hero’s Sword』 in our territory at any moment, so it’s no problem to let them go free for the moment. Rather than that, please have the territorial team reinforce its information gathering while expanding into the territory of the 『mountain folk』.”

“Is that the threat in the back you mentioned before, Albert-sama? A mass attack by the 『mountain folk』.”

“Yeah, if we take a guess from the information gathered by the Alexa team, I feel like they’re operating with that in mind.”

“But, the 『mountain folk』 should have declared its neutrality in the past. Up until now I have never heard talks about them supporting any country,” Liese shared the common view of the 『mountain folk』 after listening to Lichere’s report.

When I had them investigated, the 『mountain folk』 proved to be a group that lives from hunting and gathering. The steep mountains were their home and they basically consisted of normal mountain dwellers and people who fled from Elancia or other countries.

Their main occupation was hunting, but some of them possessed fields while others peddled to various towns, selling pelts, meat, and wild grasses. The mountain folk were visiting all sorts of towns as peddlers, and not only did they sell precious animal pelts and highly efficient, wild herbs, but they were also valued by the various lords as information traders who would sell news for money.

They had forged bodies from running around in the mountains and field, and they could erase their presence. In addition they excelled in illusions to distract other, so you could describe them as this world’s version of 『ninja』.

Those lords, who hated the 『mountain folk』, had sent over punitive forces many times, but not one lord had yet bested them in the mountains where their stronghold was hidden. No matter how powerful the military forces, the mountain folk used the location to their advantage and repeatedly attacked the invading enemy forces in raid style.

Hence, even if you could gain their cooperation, you’d need to pay a hefty price if you tried to rule over them, who possessed a strong inclination towards independence. But, that situation also changes if you add 『religion』 into the mix. Because of that, we cannot afford to be careless around them.

“It’s as you say, Liese. They used to be neutral, but things have now changed a bit. Yet, you don’t need to worry since we’re already preparing the appropriate countermeasures.”

“My territory of Slat is adjacent to the land of the 『mountain folk』, but if you say so, I’ll put my trust into you, Albert.”

“Good call. I’m here as well, okay? If they come to meddle wit us, I’ll slaughter all of those 『mountain folk』. Don’t worry about it.”

It’s not that the Erwin family wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but our losses would be big too, so I’d like to use that option as a last resort.

“Irena, schedule an inspection tour of the Slat territory for starters.”

“I have already adjusted the schedule, yo I think you can head out whenever you want.”

As expected of my capable, blond secretary. She gets things done quickly. If she has already adjusted things, I think it’d be best for me to go on that inspection as soon as possible.

I met eyes with Malida, who was obviously itching to go together with me.

“Malida-sama, are you going to accompany us? It’s going to just be an inspection, though.”

“I will! I’ll definitely go! Yep! Lichere, prepare my armor at once! I’ll go and grab my greatsword! Yahoooo! I’m going to make quick work of all crooks during the inspection!”

Malida jumped up from her chair and headed to our bedroom to fetch her beloved greatsword.

“By the way, it won’t lower your workload. I will have you stamp your approvals even while we are inspecting the Slat fief.”

Malida immediately came to a grinding halt.

“I’m going on an inspection. That’s work. You’re saying you’ll make me work even more?”

I flashed my finest smile at her and answered, “Yes, that’s how it is.”

“Uuuuuugghh! My husband is a demon! It’s all lost! I’ll die from overwork!”

“Okay, I will significantly increase the amount of night service in preparation, so will you compromise with that?”

“I request Irena to also accompany us!”

“Very well. We will have Irena come with us too.”

I could see Malida doing a winner’s pose. I’m sure, the fun of our nightly activities exceeds the hardships from work for her.

“I’m Malida-sama’s caretaker, so I will come along as well.”

“Whyyyyy!? And here I was planning to finally stretch my wings a bit! I won’t be able to do that with you there, Lichere!”

Malida collapsed on the floor after learning about Lichere’s participation in the trip. She probably intended to go all-in on the sexual harassment of Irena and Liese after heading out on the inspection trip.

“Very well, let us get everything read and head out at once. Even though the roads have been maintained, it should still take us two days to Castle Slat, even if we hurry.”

After getting our luggage ready, we took a carriage to the Slat fief.

■

The carriage took us south along the main road and once we entered the territory of Slat, our destination, Castle Slat, quickly came into view. The somewhat small castle, which was basically a large mansion surrounded by a stone wall, was Liese’s home.

Compared to Castle Ashley which had been built by the oni as a solid fortress, this castle looks rather unreliable when it comes to defense. The castle town isn’t overly big either, but has been constructed to be compact and cozy.

“So this is your home, Liese-tan? It’s as snugly and neat as you are. But, I don’t hate this at all.”

Liese smiled at Malida’s first comment after arriving at Castle Slat and getting off the carriage.

“I’m happy to hear that you have taken a liking to it, Malida-ane-sama. Our residents also like you. After all, you’re the strongest warrior of Elancia. I must get a lot stronger too.”

Liese, as she readied her sword, looked just like a young boy lord in her knight clothes. Only a few in the Alkor family, except for us, knew about Liese being a woman.

“Liese-sama finally has come back! Liese-sama! How did you fare?”

“Liese-sama! Could you please name our child!?”

“Kyaa, Liese-sama! How dreamy!”

Spotting Liese, the residents gathered around the mansion, trying to get a look at her. Liese enjoyed the evaluation of being a young lord who protected the Alkor family from being deprived of its nobility, gained Malida’s favor, and brushed aside all ransom demands after becoming a prisoner during the last war by taking a firm, resolute attitude.

Because of all that, the already high popularity of Liese among the residents apparently got another boost.

“Sorry, today I must keep Malida-sama of the Erwin family company! I’ll take care of your requests when I come back the next time!”

Liese waved a hand at the residents, triggering the cheers to become even shriller.

The power of a handsome guy is truly incredible. It’s one of Liese’s biggest charms that she has a pretty appearance that’s liked by men and women alike. But, at night she’s definitely a girl through and through.

While staying in Castle Slat, we inspected the fief over several days and listened to the requests and troubles of the residents. During all that, we also ran into a bear, but since Malida defeated it with her bare hands, you can say that everything was mostly wrapped up as scheduled.

Once we finished the patrol, came back to Castle Slat, and had our dinner, we rested up in preparation for our return to Castle Ashley on the next day.

“Haaah, I don’t wanna go back yet. So far I just killed one bear! There was too little blood spilled! I wanna fight!” Malida threw a tantrum on the bed while having Lichere give her a lap pillow and having Liese and Irena give her a massage.

“I told you from the very start that we would only go on an inspection tour. I said the same to Brest-dono as well, but there won’t be any battles for the time being.”

“Then go ahead and create a reason for battle!”

Malida jumped up from the bed, grabbed the greatsword next to it, and stabbed it through the wooden ceiling. As the wooden boards forming the ceiling shattered, a figure fell down alongside the wood pieces.

“It’s an intruder! Lichere, Liese, Irena, come to me.”

“O-Okay.”

“Oki.”

“I’ll call the guards.”

I immediately picked up a nearby sword and drew it.

“I’ve never expected to be dropped alongside the ceiling. That’s the one hailed as the strongest warrior of Elancia for you, I guess.”

A person in black clothes and a black mask became visible once the dust from the collapse settled. No matter how you look at it, They clearly look like a ninja…maybe that means…

“You’re pretty rude to try peeping in my bedroom. Don’t think that you’ll be able to go back home with your body in one piece.”

Malida corrected her grip on the greatsword while flashing a ferocious grin and eying the intruder to find a good spot to attack.

“I was curious about the married couple of Elancia’s strongest warrior and Alexa’s Crown Jewel of Wisdom. I admit that I also feel bad about peeping on a married couple having sex, but I couldn’t avoid that.”

Going by the body build, the intruder should be a man. His body is big and burly. In addition, when you consider the attire he’s wearing, he should be someone related to the 『Mountain Folk』.

He apparently noticed me scrutinizing him.

“Alexa’s Crown Jewel-dono, I have been investigating your background. It’s not like I managed to fully grasp it yet, so I shall take my leave at this point for tonight.”

“I should have told you that I won’t let you get away!”

“Malida- you mustn’t cut him down. Please catch him alive!”

The man nimbly dodged Malida’s slash, which lost some of its edge because of my restraint, retrieved a black ball from his pocket, and threw it on the ground. In the next instant, a dazzling light filled the room and the man vanished.

“Ugh! Coward! Blinding me doesn’t work! Be grateful that Albert asked me to catch you alive.”

No sooner than a loud whoosh of air being cut hit my ears, the window was shattered.

“How unfortunate. I was slightly further to the right.”

As my eyes recovered from the earlier flashbang, I found the man now standing at the window, his mask gone.

A wolf? No, person? A beastman?

“Well then, please excuse me for real this time.”

Spotting another of those black balls rolling towards me, I shut my eyes.

“Bah! He’s taking us for idiots! This time he threw a ball that didn’t shine! Gaaaahhh!”

When I opened my eyes upon Malida’s remark, the black ball was lying at my feet.

A misfire? No, I guess he threw it as a diversion to prevent us from pursuing him!

As I stared at the black ball, it suddenly started to hiss, before a white smoke suddenly expanded inside our room.

“Malida-sama, the smoke makes it difficult to see things. It’s regrettable, but let’s refrain from going after him.”

“Hiding yourself in the smoke; what a cheeky bastard!”

I took Malida by the hand and left the room which was now overflowing with smoke.

“Search for the intruder at once! Send out search units, not only in the mansion, but also in the town.”

As we waited for the smoke to fade away, I ordered the retainers of the ALkor family, which Liese had gathered for us, to start a search.

“Who was that intruder anyway?”

While we were watching the search units depart, Lichere asked us about the identity of the intruder.

“Several people come to mind here, but it’s still too early for me to narrow it down. Let’s pin our hopes on the search units. We should also strengthen the information gathering in the Alkor territory.”

“Very well, I shall instruct our agency to increase the personnel here.”

Lichere went back inside the mansion to pass the new orders to our spies.

“I won’t go back home until we find that guy who peeped in our bedroom!”

Malida was quite offended by all of this, but if the intruder from before is the person I expect him to be, we cannot afford to kill him, if I want my strategy to work. Still, staying in Slat until we make sure of the intruder seems to be a good idea.

“It is as you say, Malida-sama, it appears to be the best option to stay here until we have found out the identity of the intruder.”

“Mmh! I won’t rest until I find that rude man!”

Malida-san, please don’t crack your knuckles so quickly. I’d prefer you to act more ladylike. It’s not your territory either.

“Liese, sorry, but please prepare a different room for us.”

“Eh? Ah, I guess it’ll be impossible to guard you with the room in its current state. Got it. I’ll get it ready,” Liese agreed after seeing the ceiling collapsed and the window shattered.

Afterwards, we searched for the criminal inside the mansion and the town, but the search units couldn’t find him anywhere. Because of that, I decided to work on gathering information about the intruder while performing the governmental work in Castle Slat.

■

Three days after the incident.

Malida was whipping the beginner knights of the Alkor family into shape through grueling training regimens on the courtyard, labeled as sword practice, after having finished her duty as lord unusually quickly. Meanwhile I was grappling with the documents delivered from Castle Ashley to my office in Castle Slat.

At such a time, Lichere suddenly rushed into the office where Liese, Irena, and I were silently doing our work.

“Albert-sama, we have found out about the identity of the intruder. He seems to be a man called Warid. He’s the chief of the Goshoot, a clan belonging to the 『Mountain Folk』, and a beastman of the werewolf tribe. According to the message by an agent of the territorial team, who infiltrated the mountain folk, his personal appearance perfectly fits your description, Albert-sama.”

So, just as expected, the ones peeping on us was a member of the 『Mountain Folk』. Warid of the Goshoot. If I remember correctly――

“Warid, you say!? Isn’t that the clan of the mountain folk living the closest to the Slat fief!? They should have a good relationship with us. Why would they target Malida-ane-sama?”

If I combine the information reported to me by the Alexa and territorial teams with Warid of the Goshoot being the intruder, I can easily deduce his objective.

“He was probably very interested in seeing what sort of character Malida-sama possesses rather than targeting her life. I couldn’t sense any bloodlust from him back then. Likely he wanted to observe us, who had come to visit Castle Slat, in person to gather information so that he’d be able to get himself out of his own dilemma.”

“His own dilemma? Are you saying the Goshoot clan is in some sort of trouble? We haven’t heard anything about that over here.”

Originally he probably wanted to rely on the Alkor family, which had a good relationship with his clan, but because the fief broke away from Alexa after the war and was placed under Malida’s protection, he tried to investigate us. As for the problem troubling Warid, he’s likely fearing that things could develop into a huge issue, shaking the foundation of the 『Mountain Folk』, depending on what stance we’re going to take towards them.

“The issue troubling him must be related to 『Hero’s Sword』――”

When I said so while looking in Lichere’s direction, she stiffened up with surprise coloring her expression.

“Why do you know about this? I haven’t reported anything about this matter yet, have I?”

“I just derived the conclusion after sorting my currently available information and making an educated guess. 『Hero’s Sword』 is spreading within the 『Mountain Folk』. Lichere, you lived in Alexa, so you know what sort of organization they are, don’t you? There’s no way they won’t do the same shenanigans with the 『Mountain Folk』 as they did in Alexa.”

Lichere’s expression transformed from surprise to understanding.

“『Hero’s Sword』 increased its believer in Alexa using excessive means. Those going against them were labeled as 『Heretics』 and the whole organization is known to have done all sorts of sabotage actions and plots to achieve its goals.”

“That’s how it is. The same happened to the 『Mountain Folk』. Or is my guess wrong?”

“No, you’re correct. According to the stories the territorial team caught wind of, Warid got pissed by the people of the 『Hero’s Sword』 who came to his village and started to forcibly recruit people, and sent them packing after beating them half dead. I think I reported this to you before, but the faith of 『Hero’s Sword』 is rapidly spreading among the 『Mountain Folk』, and the Goshoot clan was shunned by the 『Mountain Folk』 controlled by 『Hero’s Sword』, resulting in them falling into poverty. Just as you guessed, Warid likely came here to investigate whether the Erwin family, which has become the Alkor family’s patron, is reliable.”

Just as I predicted, the expansion of the 『Hero’s Sword』’s sphere of influence weakened the cohesion of the 『Mountain Folk』 which in turn gives us the chance to win them over to our side. After bringing Warid to our side, we will rally the 『Mountain Folk』 around him and have the entirety of the 『Mountain Folk』 fall under the influence of Elancia.

“In that case, I think we will soon receive an invitation from their side――”

“Liese-sama, Albert-dono, a messenger of Warid, the clan chief of the Goshoot, has come visiting! What should we do?” A retainer of the Alkor family rushed into our office, his face pale.

“For real!? It’s just as Albert predicted!”

“Right. That’s Albert-sama for you.” (T/N: Sasuga Albert-sama … a little cross reference for all those reading Chillin’ on an Uninhabited Island)

“The messenger has arrived here as if to tell us that they’re aware of the information we’ve grasped.”

It looks like the Goshoot clan values information gathering highly, even by the standards of the 『Mountain Folk』. They also knew about me having been called Crown Jewel of Wisdom in Alexa, so they should possess a considerable amount of intelligence.

“Please let them in. Also, the other side is going to guide us to their village later.”

And just as anticipated, the messenger invited us to his village. Because of that, I entrusted Irena with the governmental while Malida, Lichere, and I embarked toward the territory of the 『Mountain Folk』.

■

—————– End of Part 7 —————–

Warid’s village had been built halfway up a mountain two days by carriage away from Liese’s territory. Because of the season, the village’s surroundings were locked down by snow.

In my previous life before getting reincarnated here, this climb would have definitely been impossible for me. So I guess it’s a blessing that I trained my body after being reborn. Even so, I’d think it must be quite a challenge to live in a place like this.

Malida, who was leading our group, was carrying Lichere after she became unable to move any further up the steep mountain path.

“Malida-sama, you do enjoy fondling my butt, don’t you?”

“T-That’s not it! I’m not thinking that it’s great to have a butt to fondle, feel the nice touch of boobs against my back or anything like that!”

“You’re still unsatisfied even after having Albert-sama love you so much?”

“No, that’s not true. My hands are moving on their own!”

I doubt that hands would start to fondle a butt on their own accord… She’s definitely doing it on purpose.

“Hrnnh! Malida-sama, we are on foreign land, so keep the fooling around to a limit.”

Once I cautioned Malida after clearing my throat unnaturally, the messenger, who had been leading us all this time, stopped.

“Welcome to our village, Malida von Erwin-dono, Liese von Alkor-dono, and Albert von Erwin-dono. My name is Warid Goshoot, the chief of the Goshoot clan.”

As I turned my eyes in the direction of that familiar voice, a giant of a man with golden eyes, gray hair, and wolf’s ears and tail stood there. As expected, it was the same guy who had trespassed into our bedroom a few days ago.

So this is Warid, huh?

“Back then I let you escape, but today it won’t go like that! is what I’d love to say, but I’ve heard from Albert that you’ve got some pretty girls among your mountain folk. I’ve come to evaluate the girl who will be serving as my court lady as an apology for the other day.”

With Lichere still on her back, Malida started to restlessly scrutinize the girls in the village.

Malida, your true objective is plain as daylight, so hide it a bit! Otherwise it’s going to make the upcoming discussion a pain.

Even though she’s usually fishing for girls, she’s not being regarded as a lustful lord because people believe she makes the girls serve her, a female lord, as attendants. But, given that they’re actually made to serve her at night as well, it wouldn’t have been weird for us to have a rebellion on our hands, if Malida was a man.

“Hrnnh! Malida, we came here to resolve the problems plaguing the Goshoot clan, Malida-sama.”

“Malida-sama, you have me to take care of your personal needs, so please refrain from increasing the number of court ladies for a while.”

“But look…it’s lonely around me. I mean, the nights are going to become even colder from now on, right? My motivation is largely influenced by the presence or absence of cute girls warming my body…”

Hearing Malida’s words, Warid’s look changed into one of appraisal. Although he invited us to the village, he’s likely still unsure whether he should switch to our side.

“『Bloody Oni』 Malida-dono, you’re quite foolhardy, aren’t you? What if our Goshoot clan was trying to actually assassinate you?”

As soon as Warid lifted a hand, men in black appeared from all over the village. This is likely him testing our seriousness in solving his clan’s problem. It’s basically him showing us the weapons he’s hiding in his sleeves, but there’s no benefit for him and his clan in killing us. If we were to get angry and leave at this point, he probably intends to die together with his clan. At least it seems like he’s that hard-pressed by the circumstances right now.

“Warid, stop trying to test me. You won’t find any assassins who don’t have a shred of bloodlust in them! We made the effort to come all the way here while it’s cold outside! It’s courtesy to at least offer us some wine, no? Where’s your meeting hall!? Lead me there. Out here it’s way too cold to stand around like this! Liese-tan, you think so as well, don’t you?”

“Well, I can’t deny it being cold out here. But, I’m fine since I’m wearing thick clothes.”

“If possible, I’d also prefer to discuss everything further in a warm place. This place is too cold for someone like me who has been born in a southern country.”

Warid ordered his men to go back. For the time being, he apparently judged that we’re quite willing to listen to his clan’s plea.

“The meeting hall is this way. We’ll also serve you wine, but it won’t taste overly well.”

Warid led us personally to the meeting place of his village. The building we reached was made out of wood and could contain around a dozen adults. The inside was warm thanks to the fireplace in the center of the room.

“For it really to be no more than wine, huh? Lichere, please pour it for me.”

“Yes, I will take care of it right away.”

Positioned at the warmest place right in front of the fireplace, Malida was using Lichere’s lap to rest her head and began to drink the wine by herself after Lichere passed her the bottle.

“It’s got a strong, peculiar taste, but it’s not bad. Oh, I feel like this taste could grow on me.”

“It’s a wine made out of fruit that can be only harvested in the mountains. You won’t be able to drink it in the city.”

Only Warid had entered the meeting hall besides us. The Goshoot clan led by Warid is a tribe of beastmen living in this area since before the founding of Elancia. They’re mountain people with outstanding skills in hunting who can quickly traverse the mountains and fields. Moreover, they usually peddle, so they’re quite aware of the value information has.

Their agility and quick-wittiness, which the forged by hunting in the mountains, their secretive nature, and the techniques Warid showed us at Castle Slat qualify them plentifully to become highly professional spies, or to use a modern analogy, the ninja of this world.

From my point of view as someone prioritizing the gathering of information, they’re skilled personnel I want to obtain by all means.

For the sake of grasping his ability, I used my power on Warid.

Name: Warid Goshoot

Age: 43

Gender: Male

Race: Werewolf

Valor: 68

Leadership: 72

Intelligence: 77

Domestic Affairs: 31

Charm: 58

Status: Chief of the Mountain Folk Clan Goshoot

He’s got Valor, Leadership, and Intelligence. I could entrust him with the combat unit of my intelligence agency. If Warid becomes our retainer, Lichere will be able to devote herself to sorting the huge amount of information. And if the Goshoot clan serves the Erwin family in its entirety, we’ll be able to expand the intelligence agency in one go and it should become possible to form foreign teams which we couldn’t set up thus far with a good balance of team members.

It seems to be best to resolve the clan’s problem as quickly as possible to gain Warid’s trust.

“Warid-dono, I take it that your invitation this time is based on your desire to hold secret negotiations with the Erwin Family. Is that correct?” I addressed Warid who didn’t look like he’d start talking as he was silently sipping on his wine.

“No clue. If it was Liese-dono of the Alkor family, I would have had a method to improve our current situation a bit by skillfully manipulating her, but…when it comes to you people of the Erwin family, I’m not sure whether it’s okay to rely on you. After all, you, the one they called Crown Jewel of Wisdom, exist in their ranks.”

“So you’re worried that you’ll break the unwritten law of the mountain folk, if you rely on me, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s right. We have the rule to not support a specific political side. The mountain folk always abided by that rule. Because of this, we could claim to be neutral. But, right now that’s about to fall apart.”

A strong shade of agony showed itself on Warid’s face. He’s probably believing that it’ll be almost impossible for him and his people to keep on living as mountain folk, if they rely on me. But, that’s not the future I’m planning for the Goshoot clan. I plan to have Warid become our retainer, but I also want him to bring together the mountain folk behind the scenes.

“You just need to use this crisis and unify the mountain folk then, Warid-dono. I have prepared everything for our Erwin family to help you with that.”

Warid dropped his wine cup.

“I should bring together the mountain folk, you say!? Albert-dono, you should know our current situation very well! Are you telling me to believe such a wild tale!?”

“You mentioned that the Goshoot clan excels in information, but you’re underestimating Albert’s resourcefulness too much. At this point, everything is already planned out in Albert’s head. All that’s left now is to put it into action.”

Warid became excited when he heard Malida say so.

“Is that the truth!? Have you really prepared such a plan!?”

Seeing Warid’s reaction, I could tell that he was a lot more cornered than we had expected. With his clan being persecuted as heretics by their fellow mountain folk, it looks like I’ll be able to gain his absolute trust if I not only improve the situation for them, but also place him in a position where he can control the mountain folk.

I looked him squarely in the eyes, nodded, and said, “The plan already exists inside my head. As long as I can secure the cooperation of your clan, the chance for it to succeed should be fairly high.”

“Our cooperation?”

“Yes, I need the power of the Goshoot clan for this. But, for us to continue talking about this, it’s indispensable that you believe in the Erwin family.”

“So you’re telling us to depend on the Erwin family in order to survive, eh? In that case, the neutrality of the mountain folk…will disappear.”

Since it looked like our conversation would go in circles at this rate, I whispered into Warid’s ear, 『Every power has a public and a hidden side. Of course, it should be fine for the mountain folk to have something like that as well』

Hearing that whisper, Warid looked taken aback. Because he’s a smart guy, he apparently grasped my meaning right away.

“Public and hidden side…in other words, you have a plan at hand which would allow us to publicly maintain our neutrality as long as I decide to take responsibility for the hidden side of the mountain folk?”

As soon as I nodded my confirmation, Warid leaned his body widely forward, looking very interested. It seems like he took my bait.

“Are you going to listen to what I have to say?”

“Yeah, go ahead. I’d like to hear it by all means.”

“Before we’re going to talk about the plan, there’s something I want to confirm first. Is that okay with you?”

“Now that it’s come to this, I will tell you everything without hiding anything, Albert-dono. Ask whatever you want.”

“Very well. Allow me to verify the problem currently plaguing the Goshoot clan. You have trouble with 『Hero’s Sword』 which has been spreading among the mountain folk most recently. 『Hero’s Sword』 treats the Goshoot clan as heretics, resulting in your clan being shunned by the other clans. Correct?”

I reaffirmed the issue at hand with Warid.

“Yeah, that’s right. When I beat up the members of 『Hero’s Sword』 who picked a fight with our villagers, Bleach Oxner designated us as heretics. We’re very perceptive to outside information, but we’re very disconnected from information about our own kin. I didn’t expect that 『Hero’s Sword』 had penetrated our mountain folk so deeply.”

I guess it aligns with that our intelligence agency found out. In that case, I guess 『Hero’s Sword』 is isolating the heretics with their usual modus operandi.

“The heretic Goshoot clan was isolated in this remote area because the other mountain folk clans, which follow the orders of 『Hero’s Sword』 at present, have forbidden any exchange with your clan and restricted your ability to hunt and gather in the area. Right?”

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s just as you say, Albert. If this situation goes on for another week, we’ll have to either discard our honor and village in order to eat, or we must attack another village with the resolve to die for the sake of procuring food. It’s not that I want to only offer you wine, it’s a situation where I can only offer you wine.”

“Even I understand as much. The villagers, whom we’ve seen outside, are way too thin. You probably didn’t manage to get enough food in order to pass the winter without a hitch. Feel free to dispatch some people to get food from Liese-tan’s Alkor family. I like skinny girls, but it’s wrong for them to be sickly thin. Girls with reasonably slender figures are great.”

It looks like Malida had also noticed the dire situation of Warid’s Goshoot clan while looking at the girls of the village.

“Since you got the permission from the family head of the Erwin fief, you may go and get whatever you need without reservations. The Alkor family has been supported with plenty of food, so it shouldn’t be a problem, even if your clan gets some of it too.”

I looked at Liese, the family head of the Alkor family, to confirm things.

“It’s no problem for my place. I’ll have it immediately prepared as soon as I get back to Castle Slat.”

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Your cooperation is indispensable for carrying out my plan, Warid-dono. You can see this as an advance payment for your cooperation. That’s why you don’t need to hold back and take what you need.”

“Guess some sacrifices are okay in order to get out of this predicament. I shall take you up on that offer as advance payment.”

Because the mountain folk have lived independently for a long time, many of them are quite proud. That’s why I can’t simply call this a charity. Instead, I got him to agree with this arrangement as advance payment for the upcoming work I will have him do.

Thanks to that, even Warid, who wishes to officially uphold a neutral stance as leader of a veteran clan of the mountain folk, gave in readily and accepted our aid. Since I plan to have Warid and his people assist in the plan as a ground force, I had to avoid a situation where they couldn’t move because of hunger.

“So, what sort of plan is it?”

I beckoned Warid over and whispered the whole plan into his ear. After listening to the full account, Warid blushed and looked at me with eyes full of respect, unlike before.

“Nothing less of you who was called the Crown Jewel of Wisdom in Alexa. Not only will we be able to solve our problem with this plan, but it’ll also release the Goshoot clan from its dilemma and allow me to lead the mountain folk!”

“Even if the plan goes wrong and doesn’t solve any of the problems, I promise you that we will offer a place for the Goshoot clan to live in the territory of the Erwin family.”

Warid took my offered hand without any hesitation.

“Our Goshoot clan will carry out your flawless plan, Albert-dono. Something like a failure is highly unlikely.”

Warid appeared to be convinced of the chance for success of my plan. If it’s like this, it seems like it won’t fail.

“Your discussion seems to be over. Warid, you are to offer a woman of extraordinary beauty as court lady in the event Albert’s plan succeeds, resulting in me becoming the representative of the mountain folk. Also, send this wine to Castle Ashley every year.”

“As you wish. I swear to offer a beauty from our clan and wine to the Erwin family in the event Albert-dono’s plan succeeds, resulting in me becoming the representative of the mountain folk.”

“I’m looking forward to both.”

Presenting us with a beaut descending from his clan, huh? In short, he’s declaring that the Goshoot clan is willing to walk at the Erwin family’s side after Warid becomes the representative of the mountain folk.

“It won’t be to your disadvantage to join hands with us. I love capable personnel capable of doing brain work.”

“I see. In that case, we’ll show you our abilities so that you will hold us in even higher esteem.”

After having obtained Warid’s promise to work with us, I started the plan to destroy 『Hero’s Sword』 which was secretly moving around amidst the mountain folk.

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