Chapter 158
A day has passed since the announcement of the Ortem Gourd .
After that, Icarus was detained in an unused warehouse .
He is scheduled to be sent off to another location around noon today .
All the superficial problems have now been solved .
The territory is now completely festive .
The Ortem gourd is growing all over the territory, eating up every single magic grass that had been rotting the territory’s crops .
Soon, that magic grass would also disappear from the Fage territory .
The Ortem Gourd was a little difficult to taste, as I had put off making some minor adjustments because I didn’t have time to do so .
However, I heard that there was already a discussion among the residents on how to eat the Ortem gourd in a delicious way .
There are no more raw eggs thrown at Lark’s mansion, and when I walk outside, the residents will bow and thank me too .
It’s not that I wanted the honor, but I don’t feel bad about it .
All that remains is to mark the suspicious missionaries, and to smoke someone who is planning to do harm to the territory, or ask them to leave voluntarily .
The latter’s presence was ensured by the blatant rebellion at the cloudburst, but this one has been kept under wraps by the lord .
This is because we haven’t been able to identify where the enemy is lurking, and we have taken into account the possibility of it backfiring .
The other side didn’t crush the territory until now, but rather tried to weaken it and let it rot .
This is something that takes much more effort than directly destroying them .
There is a possibility that they will come to crush the territory with the use of force if they are poorly driven, so they did not want to provoke it .
However, at the moment we have the luxury of time, and it might not be a bad idea to report to the lord as a sense of check and balance .
“Abel, you look sleepy, are you alright?”
As I’m thinking, Mea looks into my face .
“You didn’t sleep the day before yesterday…… I wish you’d slept well at least yesterday . ”
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, after all . No, it’s more like we’re just getting started . ”
Once the problem is gone, it’s not the end of it .
I can work on improving the full-scale magic experiment…… territory after the nasty problems are taken care of .
Right now, the negative is just zero .
It was all we could do just to surpass the interference from the enemy, but once that was gone, we could start developing .
And the first step to that was the education of the Alchemy Division .
Even now, there are already some former members of the group who have offered to cut off Icarus and switch to the Rinoa faction .
Magicians are a limited resource, and they need the numbers to develop their territory in the future .
Just because they supported Icarus doesn’t mean we can cut them off outright .
In the end, I didn’t have time to sleep at all as I was putting together all of my thoughts and plans in that area .
Or rather, I was too excited to sleep .
“But take care of yourself, okay?”
“Oh, I know…… Hik-!”
I hold my nose .
I almost sneeze a little .
“…… A, Abel, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m probably fine . See, it doesn’t come out at all anymore . ”
“There’s nothing else wrong with you, is there?”
Mea puts her hand on my forehead, worried .
The reason why Mea is so overly concerned about me is because I came down with a cold once before when I was in Lomarn’s City .
That time, I was quite a trouble to Mea .
My body is a bit tired and heavy, but that’s about it at best .
Once you catch one of my colds, it can cause a lot of damage, but I have a jinx that once you get it, you don’t get it for a while .
There’s no problem with that .
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But just in case I’m feeling up to it, I’ll carve an Ortem to dissipate my illness .
I came to Lark’s office with a few more papers .
When I knocked on the door and called out, Lark gave me permission to enter .
In the office, Lark was playing chess with his servant Marias .
They were on a break, apparently .
“I’ve lost again today…… As expected of Lark-sama! I used to beat my father all the time, though . ”
“Marias is always so slow to get into the farmer’s defense . Tomorrow I’ll try to do it with a little less of my men . ”
Lark says, somewhat proudly .
Marias chuckles at that and puts the pieces away into a drawer attached to the chessboard stand .
The Farmer ……?
Oh, that’s not chess, it’s called a lils board to be exact .
The rules must be very different from what I know .
I’m a bit curious .
Lark has been on edge all day, but now he seems to have more time to relax .
“Well, sorry about that . I’m glad you’re here . In fact, I’m thinking of coming over to talk to you after this round is over . ”
Lark looks at me and quickly stands up .
“No, you can’t stay standing and ……”
After all, it’s a bit odd that the lord comes to call out to me .
If he called out to me, that would be fine .
The power relationship between the sorcerer and the lord is also a delicate one .
Perhaps that’s the reason why Icarus was growing to such an extent in the background .
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“Would it be better if I were to leave my seat?”
“I don’t mind……”
Lark starts to say, then glances at me .
I thought for a moment and then shook my head in passing .
“I’m sorry Marias, could you excuse us?”
“Understood, sir . ”
Marias thanks Lark and then walks to the door .
I take half a step back and open the exit .
Marias smiles and gives me a bow before leaving the room .
As I enter the room and close the door, Lark speaks to me .
“Well, sorry, but can I start with my side of the story? I think it would be smoother that way . ”
“Yes, go ahead . ”
“As a matter of fact, I would like you to join me in the seat vacated by Icarus . The Alchemy Division, the leader of the group . I think your inclusion will boost the morale of the whole group and the…… ex-Icarus faction will be easier to control . I also honestly believe that the arrangements regarding the handling of the Ortem Gourd, which will be a problem in the future, won’t be able to proceed at all without you taking the lead…… Could you take it on?”
“Yoshaaaa!”
I can’t help but put on a guts pose .
It is said that all the hard work to this point was worth it .
In addition to expecting quite a bit of aid for researching magic, if trade with other territories is restored, business routes and connections can be secured through the lord .
On top of that, he could even get his own subordinates .
The tension was suddenly rising .
The development of the Magiphone, the magic mobile phone that I have always dreamed of, is now just around the corner .
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“…………”
Lark was looking at me with a slightly uneasy look on his face .
“Oh, sorry . I didn’t mean to…… . ”
I quickly lowered my raised arms .
And then I hear slamming footsteps .
There’s a flurry of knocking .
“I’m, I’m very sorry!’ I have an urgent report!”
This voice is Euris .
“wh-, what, what’s up? Come on in . ”
Lark answers, somewhat disconcerted .
Euris opens the door and walks in .
“It appears that Icarus has escaped the warehouse! It looks like he’s missed the lookout in some way……”
Icarus again…… That old man, he does everything .
But that, even if you get out now…… .
“It’s not like he’s running away, but for some reason, he seems to be gathering people towards the square! I saw Icarus from a distance, but he seemed to be acting kind of strange……”
The last of the weasels…… .
It certainly seemed like he hasn’t given up yet, but how is he going to attack from here?
It’s a little scary that I have no idea what he’s aiming for from his actions .
Is he just causing desperation, or does he seriously think he can still get back on track?
I’m not sure if it’s reluctant or unseemly…… This vindictiveness might be something to be emulated in a way .
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