“...Thanks to the helping hands from so many places, we were able to stockpile food for next year.”
The manager continued his report with a bright smile.
“I was worried about how we would survive until next year because the earthquake and volcanic ash ruined our crops, but this is a relief.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I'm so glad.
Even if the crops hadn't failed, it would have been difficult to secure food starting next year.
“At this point, the food problem seems to have been solved, so I think it would be better not to receive any more food support.”
“No. Let’s keep receiving them. We don’t know what problems might arise, and the more food the better.”
“Of course that’s true... but I’ll have to pay you back later for what I received. Is that okay?”
The relief supplies appeared on the surface to be a genuine act of kindness, but they were not.
It was a kind of 'debt' that had to be repaid someday.
Of course, some angels sent relief supplies out of pure kindness, but they were a very small minority.
Most of the time, people are forced into debt under the guise of pure kindness, to get help when needed.
Even though we knew that we needed relief supplies, we had no choice but to accept it with tears in our eyes.
So, I only accepted the amount I really needed and refused the rest, but when I said I would accept it all, it was natural that the manager was flustered.
"It's okay."
They can't ask me for help anyway.
Even if I asked for help, my status would have been at rock bottom by then, so there was no reason to accept it.
No matter what the intention, relief supplies appeared to be pure goodwill, so it was impossible to forcibly take something by citing debt.
“What about the issue of the residents’ housing? I think they asked me to write up a report on the budget and plans and submit it to them.”
“Here it is.”
Another manager who had been waiting behind him came forward as if he had been waiting and submitted his report.
From the first page, countless numbers dazzled my eyes.
They say that no matter how many times you see numbers, you never get used to them.
Especially, it was a headache to pound the abacus to check if the budget they had made was correct.
This is something Perdes is good at.
“Lord Perdes...”
I was about to call out to Perdes absentmindedly but then remembered that he wasn't there and kept my mouth shut.
It had been three days since Perdes had left for the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis.
I should have gradually gotten used to his absence, but I still hadn't gotten used to it, so I unconsciously looked for him several times a day.
People who saw me like that would smile and say things like, "Your eyes are like an upside-down U."
“It seems that you miss Lord Perdes a lot. He will be back soon, so please bear with me for a little longer, Your Excellency.”
Soon.
It was a story that made me laugh out loud.
Of course, people knew that Perdes had gone to the Tesis territory, so it was natural for him to say something like that... but it was still funny.
Perdes could never come back so soon.
Not only will I not let it happen, but it will happen naturally even if I don't stop it.
Now that I think about it, it's almost time for a letter to arrive for Prophetes IV.
“Thank you all for your hard work. I’m going to go now.”
After I sent the managers out, I called Harnes and asked him.
“Harnes. Do you have any new letters for me?”
“There is no new letter, Your Excellency, other than the one I sent you this morning.”
"Yes?"
I wonder if the letter hasn't arrived yet.
Or maybe I just haven't noticed it yet.
I looked through the box containing the letters, thinking it might be a good idea to double-check.
Letters that I absolutely had to check, such as those from high-ranking nobles or the royal family, were stored separately in a drawer, and letters that I did not necessarily need to check were stored in a box.
For example, a letter from a nobleman, or a letter from a high-ranking nobleman who has no connection with me.
Prophetes IV sent letters to me pretending to be a wealthy commoner or a lower-class nobleman in order to hide his true identity.
So, his letter may not have been found and may have been put in this box.
First of all, I don't think there's a name I know.
Surely you didn't change your identity again?
If that's the case, I'll have to check each letter one by one, which will make things quite cumbersome.
As I was looking through the names on the letter, hoping that wasn't the case, a familiar name came into view.
[Perdes.]
Why is his name here?
I picked up the letter in surprise.
It wasn't a letter sent via the post office, as there was no communication stamp on the sender's address.
Of course so.
I had strongly warned him not to send any letters under his name, lest he be found out that he was in the Kingdom of Anigma.
And if he really needed to tell me something, he could just use the magic communication ring to talk to me instead of sending me a cumbersome letter.
So what is this letter?
I think the letter is addressed to me since my name is written in the recipient column.
I tilted my head and opened the envelope with a paper-knife.
I suspected that someone else might have sent it pretending to be Perdes, but it turned out to be his handwriting.
And the contents of the letter are...
“Are you alright, Your Excellency?”
Suddenly, a voice pierced into my ear, and I nodded, realizing that it was Harnes.
"Yes."
Harnes folded the letter neatly in half so that he could see the contents.
“It’s okay, so go out now.”
Harnes went out, and I checked the contents of the letter again.
The date stamped at the very bottom of the letter was the day before he left for the Kingdom of Anigma.
So that's why Perdes asked me back then if I had anything to say.
Only then did I understand what had happened that day.
If you had hinted that you had sent me a letter and asked me to check it, I would have checked it right away.
The fact that his unusual foolishness was a bit frustrating, but at the same time understandable, was because the content of the letter was so serious.
[...I really wish you would answer me. Is it because you really feel burdened by my confession... Please tell me.]
It would be a lie if his confession didn't seem burdensome at all.
But that wasn't why Perdes was sent to the Kingdom of Anigma.
I forcibly separated him from me because I didn't want him to be in danger because of me.
But I never thought that Perdes would misunderstand like this.
I was a little taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
I wanted to answer that it wasn't true even now, but...
“..Let’s not do that.”
Perhaps it was better for him and for me to let Perdes continue to misunderstand.
Yes. As the saying goes, when the body grows distant, the heart grows distant. If Perdes were to give up his heart like this, it would be a great thing for both of us.
...Is this really a good thing?
A sudden question occurred to me, and I naturally tightened my grip on the letter.
It shouldn't be crumpled.
I folded the letter carefully, put it in the drawer, and looked out the window.
The sky was filled with dark clouds as if it was about to rain soon.
It took about a week to travel from the Duchy of Leopold to the Kingdom of Anigma.
They arrived earlier than planned thanks to the weather, but the long journey still left us exhausted.
“Oh my God, I’m dying.”
Perdes clicked his tongue as a groan came from the mouth of the mounted Gnosis.
“We’ve only just crossed the border, what if you're already tired?”
Gnosis retorted as if he felt wronged by Perdes's attack.
“You are young, so you wouldn’t get tired like this, but I am not!”
As Perdes kept his identity a secret, Gnosis also called him Young Master, not Lord Perdes or His Highness the Prince.
“I’m already over sixty. I’m at an age where I shouldn’t be out and about like this, but should be relaxing at home and watching my grandchildren do their best!”
“You’re not even married, so what’s the point of your grandchildren being so talented?”
“That’s what I say! You're too much. No matter how fast you speak, you told an old man to ride a horse instead of a carriage...”
Gnosis grumbled, but Perdes heard nothing.
Because the moment I heard that word, Adele came to mind.
It's been a week since I left the Duchy of Leopold.
Even though there was still time to read the letter he had written, there was no word from Adele.
Even when he contacted her through the magic communication ring during the interim report, she didn't even mention the 'part' of the letter.
'You still haven't found the letter?'
Should I have just ignored Aldor and left him in the middle of the desk?
"...Sir."
Yeah, that should have been it.
Even if Aldor had found the letter, he wouldn't have done anything about it.
Don't be afraid like an idiot for no reason...
“Your Highness! Are you listening to me?”
“!”
A piercing scream startled Perdes out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, right. I was listening to everything.”
And he nodded, pretending to be listening to everything.
“We’re going to be at the border town soon, so just hold on for a bit. Let’s get some rest there until the guide arrives.”
The original scheduled arrival date was two days later.
The guide will also arrive by then.
Perdes headed to the border town, trying to convince Gnosis to rest and recover from the aftereffects until then.
“Welcome, Master Hesperus.”
Contrary to expectations, the guide arrived at the border village first.
He wonders if it's fake.
Perdes was momentarily suspicious, but quickly dismissed his doubts as the guide's attire was exactly as Adele had told him beforehand.
“You arrived early.”
“Haha. I came early to wait for you two because you might arrive early.”
“I see.”
“Yes, you must be tired from coming here. Let’s go to the inn. I’ve already reserved a room for you.”
As Perdes followed his guide to the inn, he discovered a boy selling newspapers.
“...There are newspapers from other countries too!”
“Do you have the Imperial Newspaper?”
It was extremely difficult to obtain imperial newspapers in the Allied countries.
The last time Perdes' read it was three days ago, on the train.
He was skeptical that the small street vendor would sell the Imperial newspaper, but he asked just in case, and the boy nodded vigorously.
“Yes! I have it! Would you like some?”
"Yes."
“Fifty shillings!”
After paying the price and receiving the Imperial newspaper, Perdes' eyes widened for a moment.
[Breaking News. A large quantity of counterfeit gold coins discovered. The Eleftheria Empire's economic crisis.]
The manager continued his report with a bright smile.
“I was worried about how we would survive until next year because the earthquake and volcanic ash ruined our crops, but this is a relief.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I'm so glad.
Even if the crops hadn't failed, it would have been difficult to secure food starting next year.
“At this point, the food problem seems to have been solved, so I think it would be better not to receive any more food support.”
“No. Let’s keep receiving them. We don’t know what problems might arise, and the more food the better.”
“Of course that’s true... but I’ll have to pay you back later for what I received. Is that okay?”
The relief supplies appeared on the surface to be a genuine act of kindness, but they were not.
It was a kind of 'debt' that had to be repaid someday.
Of course, some angels sent relief supplies out of pure kindness, but they were a very small minority.
Most of the time, people are forced into debt under the guise of pure kindness, to get help when needed.
Even though we knew that we needed relief supplies, we had no choice but to accept it with tears in our eyes.
So, I only accepted the amount I really needed and refused the rest, but when I said I would accept it all, it was natural that the manager was flustered.
"It's okay."
They can't ask me for help anyway.
Even if I asked for help, my status would have been at rock bottom by then, so there was no reason to accept it.
No matter what the intention, relief supplies appeared to be pure goodwill, so it was impossible to forcibly take something by citing debt.
“What about the issue of the residents’ housing? I think they asked me to write up a report on the budget and plans and submit it to them.”
“Here it is.”
Another manager who had been waiting behind him came forward as if he had been waiting and submitted his report.
From the first page, countless numbers dazzled my eyes.
They say that no matter how many times you see numbers, you never get used to them.
Especially, it was a headache to pound the abacus to check if the budget they had made was correct.
This is something Perdes is good at.
“Lord Perdes...”
I was about to call out to Perdes absentmindedly but then remembered that he wasn't there and kept my mouth shut.
It had been three days since Perdes had left for the Kingdom of Anigma with Gnosis.
I should have gradually gotten used to his absence, but I still hadn't gotten used to it, so I unconsciously looked for him several times a day.
People who saw me like that would smile and say things like, "Your eyes are like an upside-down U."
“It seems that you miss Lord Perdes a lot. He will be back soon, so please bear with me for a little longer, Your Excellency.”
Soon.
It was a story that made me laugh out loud.
Of course, people knew that Perdes had gone to the Tesis territory, so it was natural for him to say something like that... but it was still funny.
Perdes could never come back so soon.
Not only will I not let it happen, but it will happen naturally even if I don't stop it.
Now that I think about it, it's almost time for a letter to arrive for Prophetes IV.
“Thank you all for your hard work. I’m going to go now.”
After I sent the managers out, I called Harnes and asked him.
“Harnes. Do you have any new letters for me?”
“There is no new letter, Your Excellency, other than the one I sent you this morning.”
"Yes?"
I wonder if the letter hasn't arrived yet.
Or maybe I just haven't noticed it yet.
I looked through the box containing the letters, thinking it might be a good idea to double-check.
Letters that I absolutely had to check, such as those from high-ranking nobles or the royal family, were stored separately in a drawer, and letters that I did not necessarily need to check were stored in a box.
For example, a letter from a nobleman, or a letter from a high-ranking nobleman who has no connection with me.
Prophetes IV sent letters to me pretending to be a wealthy commoner or a lower-class nobleman in order to hide his true identity.
So, his letter may not have been found and may have been put in this box.
First of all, I don't think there's a name I know.
Surely you didn't change your identity again?
If that's the case, I'll have to check each letter one by one, which will make things quite cumbersome.
As I was looking through the names on the letter, hoping that wasn't the case, a familiar name came into view.
[Perdes.]
Why is his name here?
I picked up the letter in surprise.
It wasn't a letter sent via the post office, as there was no communication stamp on the sender's address.
Of course so.
I had strongly warned him not to send any letters under his name, lest he be found out that he was in the Kingdom of Anigma.
And if he really needed to tell me something, he could just use the magic communication ring to talk to me instead of sending me a cumbersome letter.
So what is this letter?
I think the letter is addressed to me since my name is written in the recipient column.
I tilted my head and opened the envelope with a paper-knife.
I suspected that someone else might have sent it pretending to be Perdes, but it turned out to be his handwriting.
And the contents of the letter are...
“Are you alright, Your Excellency?”
Suddenly, a voice pierced into my ear, and I nodded, realizing that it was Harnes.
"Yes."
Harnes folded the letter neatly in half so that he could see the contents.
“It’s okay, so go out now.”
Harnes went out, and I checked the contents of the letter again.
The date stamped at the very bottom of the letter was the day before he left for the Kingdom of Anigma.
So that's why Perdes asked me back then if I had anything to say.
Only then did I understand what had happened that day.
If you had hinted that you had sent me a letter and asked me to check it, I would have checked it right away.
The fact that his unusual foolishness was a bit frustrating, but at the same time understandable, was because the content of the letter was so serious.
[...I really wish you would answer me. Is it because you really feel burdened by my confession... Please tell me.]
It would be a lie if his confession didn't seem burdensome at all.
But that wasn't why Perdes was sent to the Kingdom of Anigma.
I forcibly separated him from me because I didn't want him to be in danger because of me.
But I never thought that Perdes would misunderstand like this.
I was a little taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
I wanted to answer that it wasn't true even now, but...
“..Let’s not do that.”
Perhaps it was better for him and for me to let Perdes continue to misunderstand.
Yes. As the saying goes, when the body grows distant, the heart grows distant. If Perdes were to give up his heart like this, it would be a great thing for both of us.
...Is this really a good thing?
A sudden question occurred to me, and I naturally tightened my grip on the letter.
It shouldn't be crumpled.
I folded the letter carefully, put it in the drawer, and looked out the window.
The sky was filled with dark clouds as if it was about to rain soon.
***
It took about a week to travel from the Duchy of Leopold to the Kingdom of Anigma.
They arrived earlier than planned thanks to the weather, but the long journey still left us exhausted.
“Oh my God, I’m dying.”
Perdes clicked his tongue as a groan came from the mouth of the mounted Gnosis.
“We’ve only just crossed the border, what if you're already tired?”
Gnosis retorted as if he felt wronged by Perdes's attack.
“You are young, so you wouldn’t get tired like this, but I am not!”
As Perdes kept his identity a secret, Gnosis also called him Young Master, not Lord Perdes or His Highness the Prince.
“I’m already over sixty. I’m at an age where I shouldn’t be out and about like this, but should be relaxing at home and watching my grandchildren do their best!”
“You’re not even married, so what’s the point of your grandchildren being so talented?”
“That’s what I say! You're too much. No matter how fast you speak, you told an old man to ride a horse instead of a carriage...”
Gnosis grumbled, but Perdes heard nothing.
Because the moment I heard that word, Adele came to mind.
It's been a week since I left the Duchy of Leopold.
Even though there was still time to read the letter he had written, there was no word from Adele.
Even when he contacted her through the magic communication ring during the interim report, she didn't even mention the 'part' of the letter.
'You still haven't found the letter?'
Should I have just ignored Aldor and left him in the middle of the desk?
"...Sir."
Yeah, that should have been it.
Even if Aldor had found the letter, he wouldn't have done anything about it.
Don't be afraid like an idiot for no reason...
“Your Highness! Are you listening to me?”
“!”
A piercing scream startled Perdes out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, right. I was listening to everything.”
And he nodded, pretending to be listening to everything.
“We’re going to be at the border town soon, so just hold on for a bit. Let’s get some rest there until the guide arrives.”
The original scheduled arrival date was two days later.
The guide will also arrive by then.
Perdes headed to the border town, trying to convince Gnosis to rest and recover from the aftereffects until then.
“Welcome, Master Hesperus.”
Contrary to expectations, the guide arrived at the border village first.
He wonders if it's fake.
Perdes was momentarily suspicious, but quickly dismissed his doubts as the guide's attire was exactly as Adele had told him beforehand.
“You arrived early.”
“Haha. I came early to wait for you two because you might arrive early.”
“I see.”
“Yes, you must be tired from coming here. Let’s go to the inn. I’ve already reserved a room for you.”
As Perdes followed his guide to the inn, he discovered a boy selling newspapers.
“...There are newspapers from other countries too!”
“Do you have the Imperial Newspaper?”
It was extremely difficult to obtain imperial newspapers in the Allied countries.
The last time Perdes' read it was three days ago, on the train.
He was skeptical that the small street vendor would sell the Imperial newspaper, but he asked just in case, and the boy nodded vigorously.
“Yes! I have it! Would you like some?”
"Yes."
“Fifty shillings!”
After paying the price and receiving the Imperial newspaper, Perdes' eyes widened for a moment.
[Breaking News. A large quantity of counterfeit gold coins discovered. The Eleftheria Empire's economic crisis.]
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