Part II
“That’s a bold move by the way, though.”
Marco talked to Yuhan after holding back a laugh while feigning a serious tone. And it’s unheard of to grant an anonymous person an honorary knighthood, no matter how many military achievement one has earned. In addition , the fact that they should turn over their residences to him caused Count Yuhan’s vassals to be in a slight state of confusion.
“Don’t be so convinced, Marco. I am under a great deal of pressure in that business. Let me at least have a little along my way with you. Can’t I just have some fun?”
“But I wish you hadn’t gotten me involved.”
The parade and ceremony had been over and Count Yuhan ‘s residence was the location where they were all gathered. In the private dining room of the count, which is generally considered only a privilege to be called up, Yuhan answered Marco with a laugh and Carena was pouting in protest.
“Don’t say that, Carena. You didn’t feel bad, did you? If I hadn’t declared it right then and there, Ryoji would be surrounded by all the unmarried women in town tomorrow morning, wouldn’t he?”
“It’s none of your business! I feel the intense attention from you, Ryoji, so I was planning to take it to the next level in the two years of your adult life!”
“Um….. If you can, can you please talk about that kind of thing in my absence?”
The conversation which had started with Marco had transformed into an exchange between a full throttle teasing Yuhan and a sulking Carena. Ryoji felt embarrassed to know how he was being handled from Carena right next to him and he felt awkward.
“To change the subject, are Marco and Carena-san personally close to Count Yuhan?'”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Yuhan is my brother.”
” Oh, he’ s your brother. Huh? Your brother?! Which means Marco is a nobleman! Why do you have to be a gatekeeper? Are you working hard as a gatekeeper because you’re doing so poorly and it’s hard to be in the streets of Drugul?”
“Who’s doing poorly, you idiot? It’s not like that!”
When Ryoji pretended to be surprised by the joke, Marco tsukkomi angrily at him.
“As expected, Marco! I yearn for that cutback!”
Ryoji laughed as he gave a happy thumbs-up, and Yuhan spoke to him admiringly.
”Great! The way he treats Marco is so amazing that I can’t even begin to compete with him! I’d just end up getting ducked lightly. Ryoji, do you mind if I call you my master?”
When he got up and went before Ryoji, he knelt down at the place and bowed his head and Yuhan offered him to be his master. Ryoji stood up at the spot and got to his knees, sticking out his right hand to solemnly tell him.
“It is good spirit! Let’s take you on as my apprentice! Still, I have a rough workout, will you join me, Yuhan!
“Of course! Master!”
Yuhan took his right hand and nodded vigorously with an impressed face.
”You guys have met only today and you’re already breathing so perfectly together.”
Marco, seeing the charade between the two of them, who were admirably breathing in a sync, puts a tsukkomi on his face in a tired voice with a heartbroken expression. Ryoji chuckled and looked, and said to Marco.
“Because Marco was that one anyway, right? ‘I’m not the person to be a frontier count. You’re definitely more suited to running a fiefdom and such, so you’ll take care of the Count’s business.’ And you threw it all together like that, didn’t you? But if that’s all you’re doing, you’re pushing it too far, so you’re supporting it from the shadows by defeating demons as an adventurer and checking out suspicious people as a gatekeeper and finding promising people, right?”
“Great job, Master! You see everything. After all, he’s the devil’s brother who wants to enjoy himself and enjoy life, and puts his brother in a lot of trouble..”
“Nah! Who’s that devilish brother! But why does Ryoji know so much? I didn’t tell anyone before!”
Ryoji responded to Marco, who was so irritated that he was so struck when drinking fruit water.
“It’s like common sense in my country.”
“What kind of country is Ryoji’s country…”
Ryoji made a serious look and confirmed to Yuhan about this parade and the award, as he watched Marco drink his wine all at once with a cramped face.
“Let’s leave it at this point to toy with Marco, why did you even give me an honorary knight and house as a favor?”
“Oh, that’s why it’s so easy. Ryoji. I couldn’t just leave a person with your order of honor. I’ve heard that it’s a foreign country, so I want to have a relationship with you. It’s a big move.”
Ryoji received an explanation for his question, but when he slightly raised his eyebrows as he sensed from Yuhan ‘s tone that he had another intention as well, Yuhan realized this and started to talk with a wry smile about his true feelings.
“To tell you the truth, there are three things I want to ask you to do. Firstly, as I told you during the ceremony, I want you to teach the soldiers of the garrison army how to grant attributes. Also, if possible, would you be willing to give away the secret medicine you used in the Trial Cave? Marco tells me that you don’t have much on hand and don’t know how to make it, but would it be difficult? Of course I will pay a reasonable amount.”
“Well, those two are fine. I don’t mind the way the attributes are given. As for the elixir, it’s only ten bottles that I can provide. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a way to make a high quality potion that is not as effective as the secret pills I have on hand, but I’m willing to make a high quality potion to sell wholesale. So, what is your last request?”
Youhan was shocked that he agreed to it so early, but he nodded in agreement and was about to say his last question to Ryoji. Ryoji, however, straightened his posture as if to test it, and started speaking.
“By the way, what kind of request will the third one be? I think that the first two are just as valuable as the award I received.”
As for the potions that Ryoji received from Iorus, which Yuhan calls a secret potion, he doesn’t know how to create them at this point, so he’s going to cheat by handing over 10 of them, and as for the high-grade potions, he’ll be able to manage them with his Skill: Medicine V, so he’s going to accept the two conditions first and refuse the last request.
IHe knew from his days as a businessman that the last request would be the most difficult.
“You don’t have to be so prepared, Ryoji. Regarding the third request, I want you to join the Royal Academy of Magic in the capital three months later. The period will be two years.”
“What? Why do I have to go to that place?”
Ryoji unintentionally returned to his true nature at a request that he didn’t expect at all, but Yuhan didn’t care and began to explain without concern.
“The situation is that they use the Royal Academy of Magic more for politics than for academics. Even the aristocrats who have those under their authority, the ones who graduated from the academy with excellent grades often have a stronger voice in the royal capital. Personally, I’m not interested in these battles for influence but I can’t say that.
“Does that mean, by any chance, that the faction will be involved in a faction war? So, as a neutral party, we need to close the power gap between us and the aristocrats and the papists as much as possible?”
When Ryoji spoke too lightly about the inner workings of the aristocratic world, Yuhan froze involuntarily. It’s a very important thing to know that you’re going to be able to get a good idea of what you’re looking for. While looking at the expressions of the three parties, Ryoji tilted his head and spoke to Yuhan.
“That? Is it different?”
“No, no. Yes, but when you can answer that easily, I don’t know how to respond.”
“Yuhan. You can’t talk to Ryoji using common sense. Sharp as you are, I think it’s just fine for you to say something that’s at least a little above what you’ve thought through.”
“Yes, yes. You’re a nobleman from a foreign country, so you must know a lot about that area.”
A slightly dumbfounded look crossed Yuhan’s face, and before he knew it, Marco, who had moved next to him, tapped him on the shoulder as if he had reached a state of enlightenment. Carena also followed up as if to comfort him.
“Hey, I just said the faction at random because the three cowering groups are deformed, and I didn’t expect it to be bullseye. Simply put, it’s like living in between the Empire and the Alliance, right?”
“Imperial? Alliance? What do you mean by that? And as usual I don’t understand what you’re talking about !”
“Is that something that happened in Ryoji’s country?”
Ryoji’s protests were met with a tsukkomi from Marco and a question from Carena. While interacting with the two of them for a while, Ryoji was considering Yuhan’s request, and decided that it would be beneficial for him to learn about magic.
“I understand Count Yuhan ‘s circumstances, so I’ll accept it. By the way, is it okay to recommend a person who has just come to Drugul to the Academy of Magic?”
“Indeed, I’m sure the vassals will complain a great deal. So I’m sorry, but I want you to raise your adventurer rank to at least D in three months. Marco told me that Ryoji’s sword skills will exceed Adventurer Rank B, but that’s not enough for an adventurer to serve. If you’ve risen to D rank within three months of registering as an adventurer, it’s easy to get a recommendation. I’ll silence my noisy vassals with that achievement.”
“Leave it to me! I’ll try to raise it to C rank in less than three months. And I’ll make achievements for potions.”
Ryoji promised to Yuhan with confidence.
Marco and Yuhan, who remained in the dining room after Ryoji left the mansion, were in one hand talking with wine.
“I’m relieved to secure Ryoji for the time being. I’ve been in trouble because, until now, I haven’t had the staff to send to the institute. I was really saved thanks to Marco.”
“I suppose that my gatekeeper work wasn’t wasted.”
“Until I got a report from the Cave of Trials, I thought, “Fuck your shit big brother! You’re just pushing me to do your work and having fun!”
He didn’t like the smug look on Marco’s face as he replied to his thanks, so Yuhan tried to make a poisonous tsukkomi in the manner of Ryoji.
“Why are you spewing poison too! That’s fine, we got the best people as a result!”
“Well, no one in 10000 would be someone unique like Ryoji. I want to thank God Iorus for this good fortune.”(TN: You do that!)
For Yuhan, who had been appointed as a frontier count at a young age, he was in a state of requiring quite a number of usable and useful personnel, and he was glad and was feeling fortunate enough that Ryoji had come to the city of Drugul.
“This reward is non-standard. Was the bull man really that much of a threat? Well, it’s like paying it forward to make him go to the royal capital, isn’t it? For now, let’s just take care of our requests one by one.”
Ryoji reflected on the events of earlier as he headed to the guild. The house was a week away from being handed over to him, and he needed to prepare for it. As for Ryoji, though, it wasn’t a problem since he had paid a month’s worth of money in advance to the innkeeper.
“First of all, it’s a report on the completion of Sieve ‘s request, right? Then it’s the trading of the demon materials stored in the storage, right? I also need to find out what kind of materials are required for high-grade potions. Can I purchase bulk materials at Aurelio ‘s place?”
“Ah! It’s you, Ryoji!”
When he was heading to the guild, he was called from behind, but Ryoji, who was concentrating on thoughts, did not notice.
“How much does the demon’s material sell for? I want it to be as much as the material cost of a potion. Is it possible to use only magic stones for other purposes?
“Ryoji-kun! Hey! Ryoji-kun!”
Just after he had been yelled in his ear did he know that Sieve was addressing him.
“Ah, Sieve. I was about to go to the guild to say my request was done. What about your dad?”
“Yeah. The guild gave me some herbs and said I wouldn’t have to pay them for the request. The Count will pay you in exchange. Although, I gave the herb to my father and he took it, but it only healed his wounds a little, and he still can’t hammer properly.”
Seeing the dark look on Sieve’s face as she answered, Ryoji decided to put off going to the guild and go see Sieve’s father.
“Good to meet you. I am really sorry that Sieve has caused you so much trouble this time. The demonstration I saw in the square was wonderful. When the time comes for new weapons to be made for you, could you give me a shout? I’ll make the best of it.”
A young man came out of the back of the store as he walked through the door of the store owned by Sieve’s father. The man saw Ryoji and ran up to him and greeted him with a full display of gratitude.
“‘Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, can you tell me your name?”
With a chuckle, Ryoji asked for his name at the momentum, and the young man tried to scratch his head with his injured hand, frowning in pain as he said his name.
“That was rude of me out of the blue. It seems that I was too excited to meet you, the hero of Drugul, sir. I’m Cozimo, Sieve’s father. Oh, and you don’t need to use honorifics for me.”
“All right. Well, then, by all means. Sieve told me that the herbs you took didn’t heal your wounds?”
At Ryoji’s question Cozimo looked sad for a moment, but when he remembered that Sieve was watching him, he forced a smile and patted the head of his daughter.
“Yeah, indeed. Since the wounds have healed enough, wielding the hammer from now on is no problem. What can I do for you?”
“Are you really feeling better, though? Looking at Cozimo-san, I’d say you can wield a hammer, but it’s just a matter of getting it done. Can you do a job for me in that condition?”
When Ryoji responded to Cozimo’s answer with a slightly teasing tone, Sieve interrupted the conversation with an angry look on her face.
“Hey! Ryoji-kun! What are you saying to my dad? ! My father is the best armourer and blacksmith in the city of Drugul, you know!”
“But would it really be possible in his current state?”
“It’s not impossible! Dad is the best in the city of Drugul…”
“Then, if his arm were really healed, he can go back to being the best blacksmith in the city of Drugul, right?”
He interrupted Sieve, who was protesting with large tears in her eyes, in the middle of the conversation to ask, and Sieve, who was red-faced with anger, replied.
“That’s right! It’s not natural!”
“Alright, Mr. Cozimo, this is the secret medication I have. I didn’t take it out because I figured it would be good with herbs, but if you take it, this secret medication would certainly heal the wound. But this medicine is really costly. Would you still buy it?“
Ryoji took the potion out of storage. Cosimo muttered to himself as he looked at the bottle that Ryoji had taken out as a secret potion.
“Did you say that my arm will heal? Even the doctor threw the towel and said, “The grip will never return to what it used to be,” and now you say that it can go back what it used to be ……If it heals, I want to buy it even if it is a little expensive! “
Ruminating over Ryoji’s words, Cosimo expressed his intent to purchase with a determined expression. When Ryoji saw the seriousness in his expression, he turned his attention to Sieve and offered the amount of money with a wicked smile.
“One silver coin”
“eh?”
“So, one silver coin! What do you want to do? Want to Buy?”
“Eh? You’re asking me? I will buy it for one silver coin! There’s a portion of the reward that I no longer give you, Ryoji!”
Ryoji took a silver coin from Sieve, handed the potion to Corzimo and suggested he drink it. He opened the lid with a trembling hand and drank it in one go.
The pain in his right arm was gone and he felt the sensation return, and in disbelief, he took a hammer to his right hand and lightly hammered a nearby mold.
“It’s healed! Perfectly healed. Now I can start hammering with all my might today! Thank you, Ryoji. I’ll never forget that! You can really tell me what you want when it comes to making weapons! Sieve! Your father’s going to be perfect now!”
The pain that had been echoing in his arm with every hammering was completely gone, and Cozimo shouted loudly, trembling with joy as he realized that he was completely healed.
“Really? Dad? Are you all right now? Great. Ryoji, you! Thank you!”
Ryouji, who was hugged along with a flowery smile, spoke to Cozimo while accepting Sieve with an embarrassed look on his face.
“You said, ‘If you want to make a weapon, you can say it to me ,’ but you’re not lying about what you just said, are you? I’m going to have to show you how Drugul’s best is at his work.”
Ryoji grinned at Cozimo, and asked him to build a weapon that was in his mind.
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