I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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Jeongjae let out a deep sigh, seeming to have put one worry to rest after receiving Walter’s reply.

Jenise had been so busy running back and forth, almost to the point of not showing her face at all for the past week, that she had personally sought the understanding of the major powers around them.

The most crucial agreement was that the Harker Clan had decided to overlook Baron Park Jeongjae’s violation of imperial law on the condition that the royal family agreed to punish the criminals. Not only was the Harker Clan involved, but even the counts and barons around, who were wary of the continent’s strongest Grand Mage himself, did not voice a single complaint. Instead, they sent congratulatory letters in honor of Park Jeongjae’s ascent to baron.

“I thought it would be a bit more troublesome to directly ignore the orders of the Imperial Assembly.”

Jeongjae blinked as he gazed at the various gifts sent by the lords of nearby territories. Among them, some nobles had sent rather pricey jewelry to curry favor with Jeongjae, a mere baron of a small village.

Perhaps it was because Jenise had already received accolades for her accomplishments; she was beaming with a smile, the fatigue of the past week almost erased from her face.

“If you had acted personally, nobody would have voiced their complaints. After all, you are friends with the Crown Princess and well-known as the Hero’s right-hand man. No one would think that you were simply ‘cast out’ by the Hero’s companions.”

The surrounding nobles already believed that Park Jeongjae had received some sort of directive from the continent’s second-most powerful person, the Hero. Each of Jeongjae’s actions was thought to be dictated by that directive.

If you think that way, no matter how arrogant a lord may be, it would seem odd for them to oppose Jeongjae’s actions.

“Well, it’s true that I was cast out,” he said.

“Shh. In this situation, let’s pretend to be hiding something. Just doing that would already serve as significant political leverage.”

“Still, I really appreciate it. As you said, even if I moved myself, the surrounding nobles wouldn’t voice any complaints. But it would have been difficult to establish definite friendly intent and receive gifts as you did.”

“Well, that’s right. You are fortunate to have such a good aide, Baron.”

It wasn’t just diplomatic issues that had been resolved wisely. Support for the baron had noticeably increased among the common folk after he managed to solve the dread issue of draft evaders in the best possible manner.

Although it had been a promise to protect for at least two months, once the approval for royal guards had fallen, rumors spread that the current guards would remain as the standing army of Harriet’s Territory. This led to widespread recognition that “the returned baron had secured the young men of the land as a welcoming gift.”

As usual, Jeongjae went for a walk along the seashore, and seeing the fishermen make good use of the magical nets he gifted them filled him with a sense of satisfaction.

What had initially been a question of how things would turn out had surprisingly succeeded in garnering the support of the people faster than expected, and this made him feel quite proud.

“Am I good at politics?”

“Dream on. Not everything is resolved through connections and magic. The village is small, so the conflict situations were simple. Plus, the professor was strong enough to suppress everything by sheer force.”

In response to Jeongjae’s joke, Jenise countered sharply. Jeongjae shrugged, as if suggesting he already knew that much.

“Of course. I was just joking, but weren’t you a bit harsh there?”

“Who knows? If someone as capable as me keeps sticking by, the Baron might learn something too. Keep it up; you understand?”

“For the time being, please take care of things well,” he replied with a grin.

The two, having watched the fishermen for a time, soon headed toward the men working on anti-landing measures at the nearby beach.

Though the guards’ loyalty to their lord was firm, there were still some who flinched and showed fear when Jeongjae approached them.

Jeongjae also felt a bit regretful about overreacting at the unprovoked attacks, as it was indeed slightly annoying. Honestly, with his talents, he could have subdued them without beating them ruthlessly.

“Ah, Lord. Have you come to inspect the construction of the fences?”

Herk, the village chief, who was perspiring as he entangled the spears, greeted Jeongjae warmly. The fence planned to be erected soon along the coast was being designed with sharp stakes connected by wire, preventing enemy soldiers from carelessly crossing over when disembarking on this land.

Of course, as it was not a full barricade, it couldn’t be expected to provide exceptional defensive effects. While giants like the Demon King’s Army would likely just trample right over it, against the humanoid-sized orcs, it could serve as a useful obstacle to slow the enemy’s advance when doubled or tripled.

“I hear you are running low on wire. Is there no problem with that?”

Jeongjae inquired. Jenise seemed to be inspecting the work scene as if looking for any issues with her own eyes.

“Yes, we are indeed short. We don’t have a blacksmith, so making more isn’t possible. But we’ll find some solution by using thorny bushes or normal plants tied together, then stabbing in wooden pieces for the thorns.”

“You’re working hard. Are you short on labor?”

“This has always been a labor-short village. Thanks to you, we have these folks now, so I can’t thank you enough.”

Herk, who looked to be in his sixties or seventies, had been the one managing the land during Jeongjae’s absence, hence his commitment to protecting Harriet’s Territory seemed particularly strong.

Being intelligent and having direct experience handling affairs with the Harker Clan, he was quite knowledgeable about central news, and thus, he held Jeongjae’s words in great trust and even blind faith.

That blind faith had soared when Jeongjae unearthed a secret shared among the common folk that nobody had noticed and solved it in a way that pleased everyone.

Even though he had suspected there would soon be an invasion of Harriet’s Territory thanks to some remarks made by Jeongjae, he interpreted this behavior as “active military strengthening,” assuming that an invasion was a foregone conclusion.

It was ironic, as even Jeongjae himself felt rather uncertain about whether an enemy attack would actually happen.

“Take your time. There’s no hurry; it’s not like it’s something that needs to be finished immediately.”

“How can I? This old man has spent a lifetime cooped up in an office, so whether farming or catching shrimp, I’m not of much help. At the very least, I should be working hard to protect this land, shouldn’t I?”

Looking around, Jeongjae noticed the determined expressions on each guard’s face. It was as if they were attempting to prove that their pledge to fight for this land was not a lie.

“I think things are fine here. Shall we head back to the castle?”

Jenise suggested. Jeongjae nodded to his aide, then said goodbye to Chief Herk and turned to leave.

Though Jeongjae thought that Herk’s zeal might be somewhat excessive, he didn’t have any desire to stop it. After all, Jeongjae was also feeling strange, sensing a powerful magical wave.

From the north. Somewhere to the distant north.

As he walked toward the castle, Jeongjae suddenly halted and furrowed his brow, gazing toward the vast northern sea. Jenise looked at him oddly, also staring toward the ocean.

“Is there something in the sea? I don’t see anything.”

“I don’t see anything either. There’s nothing visible.”

Jenise wore an even more perplexed expression.

If you keep heading straight north along this sea, you reach the Demon King’s coastline. Even though it’s thousands of kilometers away, Harriet’s Territory borders the sea, and being near the southern stronghold of the Harker Count, it wouldn’t be unexpected for the Demon King’s army to take a glance.

But that wasn’t the sole strategic reason. It was this strange feeling of foreboding that seemed to emerge at this very moment.

“I wish I had that orb.”

“Orb? Are you talking about Reyna’s orb? Why? Is there something you want to see beyond the north?”

“Yeah, right now, it’s exactly the reconnaissance asset I need. It’s just what I need when I feel something but can’t see anything at all—the Great Sage’s staff…”

But even with Jeongjae’s Grand Magic, he couldn’t carelessly gaze so far away. While the instinctual sense derived from mana consumption didn’t consume much power, the act of ‘seeing’ itself required tremendous mana.

Focusing one’s gaze solely on a target amidst the swirling abundance of mana interference was often harder than simply casting lightning or controlling waves.

Moreover, since even the Demon King could be a powerful mage, he wouldn’t permit anyone to look blindly into his territory. Only artifacts left by ancient great sages can allow a limited view beyond that barrier.

One of the significant reasons the royal family couldn’t directly pressure the Magic Tower and had to request cooperation politely was the presence of the Great Sage’s staff.

“Well, if something happens, they’ll contact us from the Magic Tower. Those guys spend all day just watching that orb.”

“Even the base camp’s CCTV sometimes misses intruders. We can’t rely solely on the mages of the Magic Tower.”

“Base camp… what’s that?”

“Sorry, I just let something slip out.”

Jeongjae quickly apologized. He had gotten so lost in thought that he momentarily blurred the distinction between the civilizations of this world and the other. Jenise shrugged, dismissing the slip.

“It’s obvious that was about the world the professor used to live in. How did wars happen in the world where the professor lived? It wasn’t a world without war, right?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Let’s just head back.”

“Hey, don’t be so stingy.”

But Jeongjae genuinely felt he couldn’t explain the way modern Earthlings waged war to Jenise. Though the cultural atmosphere and tactical conceptions in the Audrich Empire were arguably developed close to modern times, the concept of war was still fundamentally different.

Knowing the tactical concepts of a more advanced society doesn’t guarantee that one can shine in a previous society. In such situations, the best fighter is the tactician who knows how to adopt the most fitting strategy for that period and circumstance, just like Walter Hellhound. Jeongjae didn’t think too poorly of his own decisiveness but often found himself holding back when under Walter’s command.

Rose possessed a distinct independent leadership style, setting her apart from Walter as a candidate to lead the nation. The same could be said for Margaret. Both seemed to follow Walter’s orders with almost no dissent, yet they gave off a unique charisma that suggested they acted entirely on their own judgment.

Bernard was a loyal hound who closely followed Walter’s words, yet that loyalty too was merely due to his position as a hired soldier. Sometimes, Jeongjae pondered if he wasn’t the only one being blindly swayed by the Hero’s commands.

In reality, he held no grievances against that situation. It was what it was, after all. He was a foreigner in this world and still knew very little about it. Everything of conflict, politics, or anything else was above his head regarding Walter. Thus, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Jeongjae to be somewhat blindly led by Walter’s commands.

Conversely, Walter always seemed to demand that Jeongjae aspire for more than the current situation, beyond the struggles he faced now. It seemed he ever wished for Jeongjae to not merely accept the orders as orders and hoped that he wouldn’t use that as an excuse to escape accountability for his own actions. That could, in another sense, mean that Jeongjae needed to make decisions that he was responsible for as well. What did he see in him? What did he perceive him as beyond a mere human weapon skilled in magic?

If that too was by Walter’s design to have him cornered…

As he mulled over various thoughts, they had already arrived at Harriet Castle. The two entered the office of the castle without any significant conversation between them. Seeing Jeongjae’s pensive countenance, Jenise hesitated to break the silence.

As Jeongjae moved toward the desk in the office and was about to sit down—

With a pop, suddenly a letter envelope appeared in mid-air. The magical letter fluttered down, landing on Jeongjae’s desk.

“What’s this?”

Jeongjae wasn’t unfamiliar with this magic. It was a wondrous magic that could transmit brief messages in an instant, replacing text messaging in this world.

Even Jeongjae was cautious about using it as its mana consumption was significant compared to the efficiency. Being able to use this magic meant that one either had an immense store of mana with little to do or…

Someone who could utilize the dedicated mana device located in the Elven Kingdom of Eramenia.

The seal of the letter bore the design of a laurel wreath, the emblem of Eramenia. Worrying that there might be some serious issue occurring in the Elven Kingdom, Jeongjae hastily tore open the letter. Jenise also showed great interest in the suddenly appeared short letter.

The content of the letter was only a single line. Since the magic had been developed to prevent longer messages from being sent, there was no way around it.

“I will be there soon. Don’t blame me for the delay.”

Without a doubt, the message was written in Margaret’s handwriting. After confirming the letter’s content, Jeongjae blinked twice, gazing at the ceiling, then looked back to reread what the letter said.

No matter how he assessed it, he couldn’t understand why such content required the use of a messenger device in a hurry.

“What on earth is going on…?”

That was the only word Jeongjae could utter, not knowing what sort of situation was unfolding back in Eramenia.