As I ate breakfast in the inn’s dining room, I looked out the window.
On the morning following the festival, the entire capital was in an uproar due to the announcement of the Second Prince’s “death from illness”.
With the development and spreading of printing technology, the latest edition of the newspaper was selling like hot cakes, and I even had one copy in my hands.
While reading the newspaper, I quenched my thirst with fruit juice.
I was feeling a bit sluggish.
Not physically, but mentally.
The stress I felt over murdering a prince played a part in it, but this time, it was mostly because of my partner-in-crime.
[It’s improper to read a newspaper while eating. Also, don’t you think it’s rude to the woman you are eating with?] (Nevan)
Obviously, the one sitting in front of me was Nevan, whom I had been working with since yesterday.
Since we were still in the royal capital, we were still in disguise.
[This is also part of my job. I need to check how they “officially” announced the Second Prince’s death by illness. ] (Lugh)
[Men tend to always do that to avoid working. But it looks so attractive when a capable man does it.] (Nevan)
[I don’t need your flattery. Now let’s get going. I want to reach the next city as soon as possible.] (Lugh)
[But I wasn’t flattering you. You are so cold to me.] (Nevan)
We have no more reason to stay here.
We’d better get the hell out of town before we get suspected.
We left the royal capital and came to the neighboring town by carriage.
Once we got there, we went to a designated inn where we left the carriage and our luggage.
The one in charge of disposing of them was Duke Romanlung.
This inn was one of his bases, where he undertook his secret jobs.
However, since I didn’t completely trust Romanlung, I removed the device I used to assassinate the Second Prince, which I had already disassembled using earth magic.
I got dressed up, and headed to the other room.
There, I saw Nevan and Duke Romanlung, who, like me, had taken off their disguises and regained their glorious good looks.
[Thank you for your hard work, Lugh Tuatha Dé-kun. I always knew you could do it, but I didn’t expect you to eliminate him so brilliantly. Wonderful. A fine “death by illness”, indeed. No one would even suspect the involvement of an assassin. …I speak for those who have nothing to hide, though.] (Duke Romanlung)
Duke Romanlung was also in the royal capital yesterday.
All four dukes had gathered in the capital for the National Founding Festival.
Naturally, he was privy of how the higher-ups handled the death of the Second Prince.
[Judging by your statement, I assume that his death was acknowledged as due to illness not only publicly, but also among the higher-ups.] (Lugh)
His death was announced to the public as a death by illness, but in the political world, it could be acknowledged differently.
It happened all the time. Even if they knew it was an assassination, they could announce it as a death by illness in order not to send the citizens into disarray.
[Yes, it’s perfect. A heart attack in his own room, with no external injuries, and no traces of poisoning. Is it thanks to your expertise as a doctor by day that you are capable of this sort of assassination?] (Duke Romanlung)
[I will not deny it. After all, doctors are the ones who are the most knowledgeable about how to destroy people, and they are also the ones who determine whether a person has died from disease or from other causes.] (Lugh)
[How reliable. And terrifying at the same time. If you wanted to, would you be able to make me “die from disease” as well?] (Duke Romanlung)
[Yes, I could, under the right conditions. But I will not act in such a manner. The blade of the Tuatha Dé clan exists for the sake of the Kingdom of Alvan. And House Romanlung is necessary to the Kingdom of Alvan.] (Lugh)
I could say it with confidence.
These guys were engaging in questionable activities and doing whatever they wanted, but they were undoubtedly acting with the national interest as their number one priority.
Personally, I didn’t have much loyalty to the Alvanian Kingdom.
However, I loved the Tuatha Dé domain and the city of Milteu. For this reason, it was essential to preserve the tranquility we currently had, and I didn’t want the noble faction to grow any more powerful.
[An exemplary answer. And you sincerely meant every word. I knew you were excellent. Thanks for your efforts. As usual, I will arrange a reward for you. Look forward to it. I gave it a special color.] (Duke Romanlung)
The usual route used for delivering rewards was a secret route that connected Romanlung to Tuatha Dé.
It was highly confidential and had never been exposed.
[In that case, I shall take my leave.] (Lugh)
[No, hold on please. I would like to ask you something. It’s of the utmost importance.] (Duke Romanlung)
Although the tone of his voice was gentle, the vigor he put into it was such that I couldn’t ignore him.
I tried to put strength into my legs and stand up, but I couldn’t.
[When will I be able to see the faces of my grandchildren?] (Duke Romanlung)
And what came out of him was the dumbest question I had ever heard.
[I am unable to answer that.] (Lugh)
[…I see, I understand. A real shame.] (Duke Romanlung)
[Father, my apologies. I tried my very best, but as I suspected, wearing a disguise seems to reduce my appeal by half, so I could not lure him in.] (Nevan)
[So that’s why. When I heard that Nevan tempted you and you didn’t lay a hand on her, I started wondering if you weren’t gay. But if she was still in her disguise, then nothing could be done. Hmm… I suppose we’ll have to wait until the academy reopens for you two to have intercourse.] (Duke Romanlung)
[Yes, I will manage to conceive a child with Lugh-sama while we are in the academy.] (Nevan)
And as for his daughter, she spouted even dumber nonsense.
The academy, huh.
Now that they mention it, the newspaper had an article about it.
It said that its reconstruction progressed faster than expected, and that the academy would reopen next month.
I didn’t hate the idea of going back there.
[Well then, I shall take my leave now.] (Lugh)
[I wish you good luck with your date.] (Nevan)
[I do not recall ever telling you about it, though.] (Lugh)
[Even if you didn’t, we understand each other.] (Nevan)
A shameless thing to say when it was merely the result of her investigation on me.
[Also, I think my idiot childhood friend might cause trouble for you. But still, I hope you can stay friends with him.] (Nevan)
Her idiot childhood friend?
It took me a little while to remember.
Come to think of it, that’s what Nevan referred to Naoise as, isn’t it?
…Out of worry for Naoise, Nevan went out of her way to disguise herself and infiltrate his party.
She was probably still monitoring him.
I guess she had gotten something out of it.
And the reason she warned me was because I was about to go meet her.
The one I asked to keep tabs on Naoise.
[Yeah, I won’t forsake him.] (Lugh)
What on earth is Naoise up to?
I got one more thing to worry about right before my date.
After leaving the inn, I headed for the appointed restaurant.
Merchants had sharp ears. As such, even though they were new to this city, they already knew the best shops.
The restaurant I picked as a meeting place today was recommended to me by a reliable merchant, so I had high hopes for it.
It was a somewhat stylish restaurant. It must’ve been a high-class establishment, but rather than a purveyor to the rich, it was a place that common people would occasionally use to kick back.
Perhaps this was why this place had such a warm and relaxing ambience.
I told a staff member the name of the person I was meeting up with, and he led me to the back of the restaurant.
[You’re right on time, Lugh-niisan.] (Maha)
[It’s been a while, Maha.] (Lugh)
The one I was meeting up with was Maha.
Orna was also participating in the National Founding Festival of the royal capital.
When a brand as prestigious as Orna comes to town, there are countless individuals who call out to it, and as the proxy representative, Maha had no choice but to show up.
I asked the waitress for tea and cookies for us to pick as we talked.
[You look more beautiful every time I see you.] (Lugh)
Maha had lustrous dark blue hair, and although her chest wasn’t large, she had an exceptional figure.
She was wearing light makeup and stylish clothes.
Every time I met up with her, she was getting prettier and prettier.
[Thank you, but because of that, I have an exasperating number of unwanted suitors following me around. I wish I had some bug repellent.] (Maha)
[Want me to hire a male bodyguard for you?] (Lugh)
[I have an even more cost-efficient idea. Would you be willing to give me a ring to wear on the ring finger of my left hand?] (Maha)
[I’ll think about it.] (Lugh)
Maha was fond of teasing me that way.
However, she wasn’t completely kidding me, part of it was her true feelings.
Whether it was for her ring finger or not, giving her a ring would unmistakably make her happy.
I should arrange a special one.
[I’m surprised you managed to make time for today.] (Lugh)
[And yet I did. Though I had to push myself a bit hard for that. Now I’m exhausted. I’ve barely slept for the past few days, yet as soon as I got here, all sorts of people rushed to me, asking for a partnership, technical cooperation, for me to open a branch store in their cities, or to offer me their assistance if I ever wanted to become independent from the Balor Trading Company...It seems that everybody wants to steal Orna’s products.] (Maha)
[Orna is still the only brand that can make moisturizers, after all.] (Lugh)
[And chocolate, too. I’ve been getting all this unneeded attention because of it. Just the other day, in the name of their Third Prince, a great nobleman from another country made a strong request to the royal family that we send them an assortment of moisturizers and chocolate.] (Maha)
[So we’re finally getting the royal treatment, huh.] (Lugh)
Maha and I laughed.
Orna, the cosmetics brand I had created.
Its assets were attractive products that no other establishment could make.
We were mainly focusing on using profitable goods I had knowledge of that were hard to reproduce as the backbone.
Thanks to this, those who were desperately trying to replicate Orna’s products were only able to create things that couldn’t even be defined as a degraded version.
Nonetheless, anything could be eventually copied.
Until then, our immediate goal was to gain overwhelming brand power to make sure that people would select Orna without hesitation, even if they saw the same products from other brands on the market.
[So what happened next?] (Lugh)
[I overcharged them as much as I could.] (Maha)
I listened as Maha told me what she asked them for in compensation.
[Now that’s nasty. I’m impressed you got them to agree to those terms.] (Lugh)
[It was easy. I identified the great foreign nobleman who requested Orna’s merchandise and learned what he had to offer to the Kingdom of Alvan. So, I charged the royal family the highest price we could get away with. Even they know that we have numerous influential people among our clientele. They don’t want to put pressure on us. That’s how I predicted that they would give in to our demands as long as it was worth it.] (Maha)
[Great job, as always. You really know what you’re doing.] (Lugh)
This way of going on the offensive was truly typical of merchants.
When negotiating, information was everything, and if you knew how much the other party was willing to compromise, you could win first.
After that, I heard a lot from Maha.
She seemed happy to tell me everything.
From every word, I could feel her desire for me to praise her.
So I actively did so while showing her that I was paying attention.
Her eyes sparkled, and she was breathing heavily.
As strange as it was, seeing Maha enjoying herself so much filled me with joy as well.
[You sure work hard.] (Lugh)
[That’s right. I do my best. Of course, this goes for my confidential tasks as well. As you requested, Lugh-niisan, I did some research on Countess Granfelt and Naoise Gephis.] (Maha)
Maha handed me a document.
Naturally, I had to investigate Countess Granfelt, the snake demon, but I was also a bit curious about Naoise.
[You didn’t have to ask me specifically. If Romanlung is cooperating with you, shouldn’t you have entrusted this matter to them?] (Maha)
[Our information network and theirs are similar in scale, but different in type. Even if we investigate the same people, we can see things differently when we change the angles.] (Lugh)
What their intelligence network used were, so to speak, professional investigations led by operatives.
Although ours also relied on spies, it started out as a private organization, and what it prioritized was information from the unique perspective of merchants, such as market rumors and the flow of money and goods.
[…Thanks. I think I got the gist of it. I didn’t think Naoise would discard his pride as a knight.] (Lugh)
Even though he lost that duel and promised not to get involved with Countess Granfelt, Naoise remained in touch with the snake demon Meena.
It was hard to imagine that Naoise, who had a strong sense of pride, would do anything to tarnish a duel in which his pride as a knight was at stake, but the results of the investigation proved that he was definitely guilty.
[I agree, although it doesn’t seem that he was seduced like the Second Prince was. Judging by the investigator’s report, it would appear so.] (Maha)
[Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering too. When a man gives up his pride as a knight, a love affair is usually the first thing to suspect.] (Lugh)
Why the hell is Naoise getting close to that demon?
Suddenly, Naoise’s face flashed into my mind.
It was the face he made after losing his duel with Tarte.
『Tell me! How did you… obtain that power…!? I…! I need power…!』(Naoise)
He didn’t say it out of lust, it sounded more like a cry of sadness, as if he was at his wits’ end.
Could it be that he gave up his pride to gain power from that demon?
No, that doesn’t sound right either.
I mean, to begin with, I don’t think Naoise realized Meena’s true identity, and even if he did, would he rely on a demon, an enemy of humankind, just to gain power?
[…And now, he’s gone missing, huh.] (Lugh)
[Yes. Apparently, he told his acquaintances and family that he was going to travel and re-train himself. And at that same time, Countess Granfelt vanished as well.] (Maha)
[You think it’s a coincidence?] (Lugh)
[Probably not.] (Maha)
Naoise… What the hell is he thinking?
…I was also curious about Nevan’s words regarding staying friends with Naoise even if he ever stepped out of line.
[Would you mind finding Naoise’s whereabouts for me?] (Lugh)
[I will try. I’m making all the arrangements to contact you immediately if he shows up in a city with the distribution network of the Balor Company.] (Maha)
[Seriously, you’re so efficient it’s almost terrifying.] (Lugh)
[You trained me after all, Lugh-niisan. …I do my best to be of help to you, even if it’s just a little. And this is the only way I can.] (Maha)
As Tarte did sometimes, Maha leaned her head and appealed to me to stroke it.
When I did as she wished, her cool expression faded, and she now looked like a sweet spoiled child.
I was probably the only person in the world who could see Maha make a face like that.
[And with this, we’re done discussing work. Now, shall we go on our date?] (Lugh)
I was concerned about Naoise, but there was nothing I could do about it right now.
And more importantly, I wanted to make Maha, who was working so hard for me, as happy as possible.
[Yes. I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.] (Maha)
I took the receipt and stood up.
[So how will you entertain me today?] (Maha)
[That’s a secret.] (Lugh)
[I’m always so excited when you take the lead, Lugh-niisan. Say, I’ve been meaning to ask you, but isn’t it about time for me to go from being your little sister to being your sisterly lover?] (Maha)
[…Nope, we’re family.] (Lugh)
[Well that’s a surprise. I may have actually made a lot of progress. Usually, you’d answer immediately. What made you change your mind like that, I wonder? Fufu…! Now I have a mountain of questions to hurl at you.] (Maha)
Maha was in a good mood and clinging to me.
I was leading her today.
I had made careful preparations for Maha, who had been so devoted to me.
I had also prepared a gift for her.
From here on out, I would only think about entertaining Maha.
It would be disrespectful to her if I didn’t.
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