NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28
Jeongjae found himself growing fond of Harriet’s Territory in just a few days. The occasional sea breeze cooled his head as he kept the office window open, and the calm atmosphere helped him forget the constant debates and fears that had trembled through the regime’s instability.
What settled here was stagnation. At times, it was the aimless waiting of those who had watched their children, at other times their fathers, leave for the battlefield.
While ordinary people wielded their weapons and fought valiantly in the Empire’s army, Jeongjae was tormented by the thought that, despite his great power, it was acceptable for him to remain behind and rest.
Putting down the many burdens he had taken on since coming to this world, he bore just one weight on his shoulders. Knowing he only felt that much concern allowed him to experience a sense of liberation that he hadn’t known since arriving in this world.
The recent explorations conducted in Jenis’s territory bore little fruit, but Jeongjae had no intention of rushing. The issue of bandits was a low priority unless they caused actual damage to the territory.
Arthur Harker mentioned that there might indeed be a similar group of lurking bandits. The rumors about conscription refusals among the local gentry matched in many ways, yet at this stage, they were still mere conjectures. There was no reason to push Jenis for results based solely on that.
It seemed like Jenis thought a bit differently, though.
“What I can tell you, Professor,” Jenis said, pacing the office anxiously. The first couple of times he had reproached her gently, asking her not to flit about in such a frenzy, but now he was half-heartedly allowing his cute apprentice to spin around the office.
“Go on, tell me,” he replied.
“Surely consumption has been quite high! They’re eating a lot! I checked the remaining food reserves in this village for various reasons, and the rate of decrease is slightly faster than my calculations!”
“You’ve been checking that detail by detail?”
Jeongjae was taken aback by the degree of passion he didn’t expect. No matter how small the village was, the population was nearly three thousand. A Count’s unaccompanied noblewoman running around checking the village’s food reserves…
Suspicious. Wasn’t it clear to anyone that this was odd?
“Of course! Anyway, Professor, I think your deduction is correct! There must be excess food being exported from the village!”
“Don’t make the local gentry too suspicious. Well, it’s good to be diligent. But remember, you’re Jenis Harker. Harker. You should know that just as much as people fear others, they fear you too.”
“Being diligent is a good thing, right? Alright then, I’ll work harder and produce results worthy of praise!”
“Cool off a bit. Go for a walk. This coastline is nice for walking. I really like this village.”
Jenise seemed ready to sprint out of the office at the mention of a walk, but hesitated. In an awkward stance, she took a step inward and asked.
“Um, Baron? When you say ‘walk’, do you mean, just the two of us?”
“Who else would it be? Sure, I assigned you a mission, but above all, we should prioritize enjoying the territory itself. If you’re to govern the land, you need to connect with it.”
Although Jeongjae said that, he himself felt a bit of reluctance toward getting closer to the local gentry. After moving to this territory, he successfully discouraged the locals from bowing to him every time they saw him, but it seemed he still hadn’t made a close impression. Except for Harker, every time the gentry saw him, they shyly averted their gazes or quietly bowed their heads.
Wanting to be friendly with the kids, but oddly being avoided—such was his feeling as a counselor. If Jeongjae were like Rose, he could have taken the initiative, but being somewhat awkward and shy, he couldn’t push himself to that extent.
“Connecting with the land, huh? That sounds like…”
Jenis made a perplexed expression.
“It sounds like you’re plotting something around here.”
In that moment, Jeongjae felt a glimpse of light pass through Jenis’s eyes. He genuinely had no intention of plotting anything in this place. Nevertheless, the brief flash of those blue eyes bore down on him for some reason.
“Oh, you know, I didn’t mean it like that, Jenis. I have no plans to conduct any magical research here. Especially not the kind I used to do.”
It was understandable why Jenis would say such a thing. For a magician, “connecting with the land” meant becoming attuned to the land’s mana. In other words, it also implied checking where it was suitable to execute spells or test research results.
In particular, Jenis might have misinterpreted the magic Jeongjae was studying as a sort of forbidden summoning magic, which required even more caution given that it was closely tied to soil quality.
“Well, I think it would be harsh to say a distinguished magician like you shouldn’t conduct magical research in a place with good wind and water. You came all the way here because of a forbidden spell, right? I just don’t want you to get into unnecessary trouble again.”
With a more relaxed expression, Jenis grinned. Jeongjae shrugged and explained.
“Let’s break away from purely magical thinking. We’re political figures now. You’ll be someone who governs a much larger land. If you get stuck in just one identity, it’ll be problematic, won’t it?”
“Please stop talking about such subtly complex things. So, when you say to walk together, does that mean we’re going out?”
“Yeah, let’s go out. Let’s go see how the fishermen are doing with the nets I just mended and check if there’s anything we can help repair or maintain… Anyway, let’s think less about work; just enjoy the moment, alright?”
“I got it! I understand, so let’s hurry and get out! I feel like I just want to walk without a single thought right now!”
Jeongjae and Jenis might have completely different meanings attached to the ‘simple act of walking together.’
However, at that same moment in the far northern Demon King’s Castle, what might the Demon King, grinding his teeth, have thought about the situation?
The Demon King received detailed and accurate reports about the situation only five days after the Lich Lord had died. The hero’s party was moving so swiftly and stealthily that the commanding officers of the Demon King’s army were lost and provided confused, conflicting accounts.
There were reports claiming, “It was an enemy raid with three legions comprising ten thousand men,” and others saying, “They attacked after destroying our frontline position with meteor magic.” The chaotic and nonsensical reports from the Demon tribe officials resulted in their heads being chopped off.
Not metaphorically, but literally.
Eventually, after the Dragon Lord, who was in charge of the Demon King’s overall strategy, took it upon himself to assess the situation, they were able to nearly grasp that the hero’s party had crossed the rocky mountain and returned triumphantly a mere day later.
“Dragon Lord.”
The Demon King asked as he sat on his throne, reading the damage report.
“Why is it that despite the Lich Lord leading five legions, our losses are so minimal? Where was our army, and what were they doing?”
“It was a sharp ambush from the enemy while we were slowly reorganizing the legions. Walter Hellhound has always been skilled at such things.”
The Dragon Lord, who appeared in human form through polymorph, looked like a stern old man who wouldn’t bow to anyone, but he too couldn’t hold his head high in the face of the furious Demon King.
The Demon King paused for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and opened his mouth again.
“If that’s the case, then why have my precious shadow knights lost as many as 180? We’ve confirmed that 97 goblins and 82 orcs have died, but does it make sense for the shadow knights to have died in numbers that combined outweigh those two?”
“As I mentioned, those were the shadow knight legions stationed as a reserve. They faced powerful enemies without support from other legions, which led to their losses…”
“What were your dragons doing? Even if just the wyverns were there!”
“Your Majesty, the enemies did not move at a pace we could respond to. Furthermore, even if we could respond, dragons are not cheap troops that can be carelessly exposed to a hero.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Is the Lich Lord’s head cheap?”
“In comparison to the title, yes. And in comparison to other dragons’ heads, it’s by no means expensive.”
The Demon King did not refute this statement. The autumn offensive, which the Gargoyle Queen had commanded with over twenty legions, was thwarted by Walter’s desperate defense, and after suffering a total loss in the No-Member raid, the Demon King’s nerves had become frayed.
This assassination incident, which hardly resembled a mere assassination of the Lich Lord, ended up blowing the lid off the Demon King’s temper. No one was able to stop the Demon King from throwing a tantrum, imprisoning, and executing those responsible. Anyone who tried to interfere or complained would simply become the next victim.
“I hear that sorceress did not participate this time. The one who annihilated two of my legions with a single spell back in the No-Member.”
“Rumor has it she was completely excluded from the party. There hasn’t been any disclosure about the details.”
“Investigate! I don’t care what the reason is; just find out what she’s doing! She’s not the type to just sit idly by without action!”
“I’ve also taken an interest in this matter. You can read this and understand.”
In an attempt to avoid the Demon King’s wrath, the Dragon Lord handed a piece of paper over to him. The Demon King snatched the document from the Dragon Lord’s hand while still seated.
“Baron Harriet? Is this true?”
“It is. Reports indicate she has already been appointed and has begun her governance.”
The document clearly stated that it was not a large territory; in fact, it was mentioned that it belonged to a very small barony. However, the Demon King could not accept such information written down as it was.
The Demon King lightly stroked the heraldry of the Harriet family illustrated in the report and murmured softly.
“V… Al….”
“What did you just say?”
“I hate England.”
The Demon King stated. The Dragon Lord blinked blankly, failing to comprehend.
“England, Ireland, India, America! I’ve never heard anything good come from any of them. The only things to boast about are the war smoke from cannon fire and the smog billowing from chimneys, so why are they provoking my suspicions?”
“I apologize. I don’t understand the meaning of your words.”
“Enough, don’t worry about it. Even if the Dragon Lord has great wisdom, there are things that he cannot comprehend with such knowledge. However, I cannot overlook the matter concerning Harriet’s Territory. Don’t you think there’s something to this? That this attack seems designed to distract our attention from that sinister Grand Mage?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. It simply seems that they executed this level of attack and withdrew successfully because their Grand Mage wasn’t needed anymore.”
“Do you truly misunderstand the commander, Shadow? Walter Hellhound is not someone who risks danger unnecessarily. Do you believe he executed this decapitation operation without calculating everything and predicting every move? No! It can’t be! He didn’t take those who could have been helpful but instead left them behind as if they were pinned to a corner. It’s not because he doesn’t need them for the mission, but rather because he needs them for something more important than that mission.”
“So that means…”
“We cannot know. Who can tell? But the name of Harriet haunts me. Wasn’t that hero cunning? Now, a famously clever sorceress has settled in the territory he chose to inhabit. Are we just going to let this slip by?”
“Please give your orders.”
“Construct ships. Build as many as possible to be ready for immediate use. Since the fortresses and territories are near the coast, we can launch a surprise attack through landing.”
The Dragon Lord hesitated briefly as he was concerned about the possibility of troop shortages owing to the failure of the anticipated offensive, but fearing he’d be ordered to immediately deploy the dragons, he bowed his head.
Losing a single dragon is a larger loss than losing an entire legion. Left with no choice, the Dragon Lord resolved to follow the Demon King’s command, bowing his head as he replied.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will prepare 300 ships within a month. Would that suffice?”
“That amount satisfies me.”
Of course, Jeongjae, who was leisurely enjoying the view of the coastline and watching the fishing activities, was completely unaware of the impending crisis lurking ahead.