Even if my only strength is water magic, having modern knowledge should be sufficient, right?

Episode 46: The Harsh Camp of Count Frim-chan.

We somehow managed to receive rewards and titles, just as planned by the king and the prime minister. But I wonder what that Lucarim girl wanted to do by disappearing like that? According to Ael, she’s not accompanying her family, the Riaum faction, but is staying in the capital to focus on her studies. So, maybe she’s also being held hostage? She approached me in front of the public, among the nobles, and asked, “Are you really from the Lucarim family?” It could have been accusatory, but I didn’t sense any resentment, scorn, or hostility in her expression.

―――― Maybe I had some kind of acquaintance with her? I was picked up by Boss last year, and if she’s from the Lucarim family, maybe she saw me or talked to me during the blank period from my birth until then.

“Congratulations, Count Frim.”

“Thank you, Dugga. It’s all thanks to you.”

I thought it was too much to suddenly become a count, but from a political standpoint, the main Lucarim family is a high-ranking marquis, and they couldn’t become a flagbearer as a viscount. After getting a room in the palace, people kept coming to show submission beyond mere greetings, just as the king and others had anticipated. Whether it’s good or bad…

It’s good that people are gathering in our camp. There are various intentions, such as people who don’t want to start a war anymore or think it’s meaningless to fight internally when there’s invasion from other countries. It’s very welcome that competent but politically delicate individuals are coming to us, thinking about their future career prospects. The nobles clearly understand that it’s a strategy of the king or the prime minister, and in this country, being able to use water magic is important for nobles, so they want to make connections.

It can’t be ignored if they become new candidates for a water family. If we establish connections now, water magic users who are less likely to be poisoned may be more likely to be dispatched in the future. However, even if someone offers loyalty on the surface, there may be a possibility that they’re connected to enemies in secret. There are definitely some damn nobles who think they can manipulate someone like Frim, who’s around five years old, haha.

Boss is also busy after becoming Baron Dugga Druggen. He’s running around as a coordinator for the nobles who came. An old man named Kiett Markdenbeyer and his grandson, Bagbal Markdenbeyer, were introduced from the country. The nobles are working around these three people.

Kiett, the old man, was the steward of the main water family, the Raym family, and Bagbal has a background of serving as a civil official under the king.

“Oh, you two resemble each other… You’ve truly… truly… survived well. As you get older, you become more emotional, don’t you?”

“Grandpa, use this.”

The grandson handed a handkerchief to the old man who bent down 90 degrees. They seem to get along well.

“Yes, Frim, could you please make use of this old man? Even though my time is limited, I might still be of some use.”

“I’m not good at talking, but I can help if grandpa suddenly collapses. I should be able to help.”

“Please, do take care of us.”

Kiett, the old man, looks like he’s about 110 years old with completely white hair. He seems to have known my parents. Bagbal is around 18 years old, I suppose? He’s adjusting his position little by little so that the old man doesn’t collapse. They brought together people close to the Raym, Tanana, and Lucarim families from the capital.

Unlike other attribute families, weak water families, which can’t be said to have bad relationships, have survived as representatives of water, absorbed by the Lucarim family in all three cases… But there are many who can’t follow the Riaum faction, who haven’t given up on the throne. Notices will be sent to the representatives of the three families outside the capital, and there will be more people in our camp from now on… I wonder if the head of the main family is angry.

Boss, who is supposed to have been with me all this time, is the chief vassal, but the new Lucarim family definitely needs the power of the newly arrived nobles. But even Boss seems to be having a hard time. It’s his first time dealing with nobles… Still, since ample funds and underlings are mostly coming from the Dugga family, there’s no doubt that Boss is the most useful one.

Boss seems to have seven sons, but he’s lamenting that only two of them are useful. His sons are basically a bunch of rough, laissez-faire types. Pakis-kun, my former boss who seems like he’d snap at anyone, is of course out of the picture. Myued-san, who still knows a little bit of etiquette, is being heavily exploited, doing menial tasks behind the scenes. There seems to be another older brother who could be useful, but he’s not in the capital as he’s a merchant.

Nobles aren’t always obedient to orders. Some of them find me and Boss, with our dubious backgrounds, distasteful. It’s known that Boss is involved in the underworld, and… there are people who even evaluate us nobles as “once wild barbarians” and “upstarts,” despite our noble lineage. It seems that such views aren’t appreciated in their noble values.

The king appointed Ael as an etiquette instructor and introduced a knight named Hyoka Kajal as well.

“Nice to meet you.”

“… ”

“Hyoka Kajal, say hello.”

“… Um? … Yes… Nice to meet you.”

Ael is as beautiful as ever, but the knight is someone I’ve never seen before. He has long, pure white hair, a slender figure, no beard, but a masculine face. He seems to be in his mid-20s. I don’t know where he’s looking, and he seems to be spaced out. He finally responded after being scolded while staring blankly to the side.

“He may look like this, but he does have abilities. The abilities…”

According to the data, he’s an ice attribute knight, and he’s quite capable in combat, but he seems to have a detached side. He was dispatched here due to poor relations with his superiors… There are records like being told by his superiors to “cool down because it’s hot” and turning the whole room into ice. He probably won’t attract attention at the palace, and it’s been decided to use the mansion we received as a reward.

“Dugga.”

“Yes.”

“Guide us, please.”

“Understood.”

To demonstrate trust in Boss in front of the newcomers, I call out to him. Both Boss and I are still a bit awkward, but that’s inevitable. I never thought I’d be ordering around a tough mafia boss like this. All the mansions we were given have some sort of issue. It seems that there are mansions left in the capital due to confiscation of all property during the civil war or disputes within the family.

Our first goal now is to hold a debut party at one of the mansions we’ve been given―――― But first, we need to check and clean them. If assassins were to appear as soon as we move into the mansion, it would be disastrous. We’ll have people sent in to thoroughly investigate. By dividing them into several groups and double-checking and triple-checking, we can reduce the chance of oversight, and we can also see what kind of people our colleagues are as they work. Boss is monitoring the nobles using people, and he seems extremely busy with instructions.

We received gifts from the king and the nobles due to cleaning and repelling assassins… But the gifts from the nobles after receiving titles are on a different scale. They include magical tools, splendid horses, and slaves… Logan-san, Olmiroi, and Markea also came.

Logan-san is in charge of managing the slaves. Olmiroi manages the horses and carriages. Markea is my attendant. Talarine has been promoted to head of the clothing and laundry department. She understands the flow of business, and I didn’t want to separate her from Olmiroi, so I wanted her to come right away, but if we poach everyone, the clothing business will take a big hit. Although I understand that gifts from goodwill are coming, it still feels somehow unsatisfying.

Ideally, I’d like to free Markea and the others from slavery too, but…

“Is it okay for someone like me to have such a good job? To have such splendid spoils?”
When I handed her a splendid armor and sword, Markea-san’s eyes sparkled a bit and she smiled.

“I trust Markea-san. Will you help me?”

“Of course!”

Female fighters are rare, and I like this big sister figure. I, who can read the atmosphere, know that Markea-san is concerned about me. She walked me in a position where she could protect me even in dangerous areas of the city, and when I was about to use hydrogen peroxide during laundry work, she quickly fetched ordinary water and kept an eye on me from a position where she could immediately move me away from the experimental bucket.

My camp is still precarious, but… It’s reassuring to have people who will cooperate.

“I’ll go get water!”

“Don’t go alone.”

The mansion has been checked, and although it hasn’t been decided that we’ll live here, there are people working here… Let’s start by fetching water.