Chapter 49: A Disturbing Rumor

Asada_translation

At the end of it all, Rashie ended up joining us in Ryun Height. This time, not as Saint Miradine, but as Visionary Rashie.

Her use of illusion magic caught my eye the other day, so I thought it was a good opportunity to recruit her. There are no worries of betrayal either since she has no choice but to stay with the Demon King's army for protection right now.

The Demon King himself granted me permission to accept her after the events in Schwerm. After Airia, she's now the second human to become a member of the Demon King's army. At this rate, we'll be recruiting humans on a regular basis.

"Oh, do you also think so?"

"Yes, I agree."

From the side of the office, I can hear a conversation between Master and Rashie.

The magicians looked like they were getting along with each other. Master is usually a shy person, but she seems to be fine talking with other magicians.

I'll just go ahead and listen to what they're talking about.

"So, if you had to choose, would you rather sit at a table with all your colleagues and eat a full course meal together? Or have a sandwich by yourself in the corner of a library?"

What kind of question is that? Of course, you'd pick the full course meal. It's all about the amount of food you're eating.

"Of course, it's a sandwich that you eat alone in the corner of the library."

"That's right!"

"I find it more comforting to spend time alone and secretly eating a sandwich in a dimly lit room."

I don't understand their mindset at all.

I end up just standing at the doorway, blankly staring at them until they notice me. Master was the first to do so, turning around with a smile.

"Ah, Vaito! This new magician you've recruited seems to have a bright future ahead of her!"

"What are you doing?"

You don't have to polish the characteristics of a lonely meal.

Rashie also smiled and shook her master's hand.

"Vaito-sama! Master Gomoviroa is a very kind person, we get along so well!"

Yeah…

Honestly, it made sense since both of them were pretty introverted.

The master nodded and declared, "I shall take Rashie under my wing as my disciple. That way I can pass down some ancient illusion magic that has been forgotten long ago. What do you think, Rashie?"

"Gladly, Master Gomoviroa!"

"You may call me Movi-chan."

"Yes, Movi-chan!"

"Umm, good."

I'm getting a headache. Let's get back to work.

I was both pleased and irritated to have a younger sister disciple, but Rashie also informed me of this information.

"Do you know where Chardeal is? It's a city to the east of Ryun Height."

"Of course I know that. They're not very close to us, but they can be considered as our neighbors."

Chardeal is also a trading city, just like Ryun Height.

All mineral resources gathered from the northern mines are brought back to Thubaen and other southern cities to be processed. After that, they come to Ryun Heights as completed products, where they're transported as merchandise to other cities even further south.

Chardeal is similar, except they work in the east outside of Mirarudia's territory. It has a similar role akin to the Silk Road from my previous life, making it a very valuable trade city.

For some reason though, they do not get along with other cities along the northern border. There has been some rough history in the past during the Unification war, leaving behind resentment between Chardeal and the other cities.

"Rumors have been spreading saying that they were planning on declaring their independence from the Mirarudia Alliance, following Ryun Height instead.

"Oi, oi, if they become independent now, Chardeal's going to get crushed."

"Yes, but the Senate sees it as a major problem. If they don't act quickly, the entire southern region will eventually side with the Demon King's army. It seems that there was a plan to have the fake Hero party prevent it."

Chardeal has no choice but to maintain the status quo, no matter how much they disagree with the north. Even if they want to join forces with the Demon King's Army, they need to be prepared against the potential invasion from the north.

If you don't trust them that much, you shouldn't have worked for them.

But at the same time, I remembered something. Some of the people who tried to migrate to Chardeal ended up returning since the citizens there wouldn't accept them. They also said that the Governor of Chardeal has been making some strange moves. Apparently, he had declined Mirarudia's request to have their standing army stationed in the city.

There were only a few cities surrounding Ryun Height. To the northwest was Bernheinen, and to Thubaen was in the northeast. The territory of Mirarudia was to the west.

Using this as a reference, the only two directions they could attack Ryun Height from were the east and the south. Since it would take much longer to move around to the south, it was ideal to attack from the east side. The closest city, in that case, would be Chardeal, who refused the standing army.

It was interesting to hear that Chardeal's governor had refused to allow the standing army to be stationed there.

Of course, I've been doing a lot of research at that time using werewolves and traders. The results of the investigation bothered me a lot. Chardeal has been turning down requests from the northern side for quite some time now.

This time as well, he refused because he claimed that he could not provide sufficient treatment for the standing army arriving from the north. This was a very weak excuse but was obviously a pretense.

What he really meant was, "I don't like you guys, so don't come."

Honestly, I could understand that since all the southern cities shared a common dislike for the northern ones. Mainly due to the fact that during the Mirarudian Unification War, they were clearly segregated into a Northern and Southern region. This causes a lot of problems for the Senate though, since it's causing bad rumors to be spread among the populace.

Eventually, it will no longer become a rumor once it reaches the ruler's attention. If they become shaken by this, then the rumors become a weapon. This is essential for basic information warfare. I wonder how I can use these rumors to obtain the best possible advantage.

I called Airia for advice, who shortly appeared in my office.

"Oh, those kinds of disputes were common. It's also one of the reasons why the traditional Eindorf family can only grant second-class nobility."

While looking at Master and Rashie's small talk from the side, Airia continued to speak,"My father and I both remained as second-class nobles, even though we contribute a large amount of the tax money in their national treasury.

"That's why you gave up on Mirarudia."

"The second-class noble is merely a janitor with no authority over urban development. Even if the residents requested land readjustment or expansion, they must first obtain permission from the Senate. And they won't be able to do so unless they pay a large amount of taxes."

"That's terrible…"

Ryun Height is currently undergoing rapid redevelopment since we do not require such laws to do so.

"I'm sure Chardeal will be treated similarly. I've known the governor there since the previous generation since he was close friends with my father. They both used to badmouth the Senate often."

So it was possible to hold onto such grudges for many generations…

But if the bad rumors are spreading to the north, perhaps there is room for negotiation.

"Do you think you can negotiate with the Governor of Chardeal?"

"I'm not sure. The current second lord, Aram, has great leadership to be their governor, but I'm not too sure what he's been planning to do with the recent events occurring in Chardeal. I can't predict how he'll react, or what his next move is…"

It seems that this Aram person isn't foolish enough to strike a deal with the Demon King's army over a grudge. Perfect, that's the type of person he needs to be.

"I'm getting curious. I'd like to meet him."

"Vaito-sama?"

Airia was surprised, but I had already made up my mind.

"If he is an acquaintance of Airia-dono, he should at least grant me an audience. If that doesn't work, well… I trust that you'll be able to do something about it."

It's a natural habit for werewolves to not overthink a situation. If things go wrong, the risk of dying is pretty low, so I may as well follow my instincts and try.

"Once that's decided, we'll have to decide who will accompany us. Take care of them, Airia-dono."

"You'll tell His Majesty the Demon King, right?"

"I'm going to tell His Majesty about it. This is also for the safety of Ryun Height. Now, stop drinking tea and get back to your official duties."

I pushed Airia's back and forced her out. Afterward, I begin planning out who I will be taking with me