Translator: Nox

Chapter 23

Episode 23. Guests (6)

“W-what on earth do you mean…?”

Armin’s supply officer stammered.

Elric’s answer remained the same as before.

He wore a bright expression, as if he were stating something entirely obvious.

“Is there a problem? From our perspective, the most rational buyer is the Empire. Or can Armin match those same conditions?”

There was no way they could.

Setting everything else aside, Armin didn’t have a budget as vast as the Empire’s.

There was a reason the Empire was called the Empire. Even excluding its massive territory, it was an empire because its power, wealth, and everything else stood several times above any other nation.

In the end, there was only one thing Armin’s supply officer could do.

“T-that will collapse the market! You’re setting a terrible precedent! Don’t you realize that making the buyer bear the distribution costs will harm Wibin in the long run as well?!”

It was certainly a possibility.

However, no one in the room failed to notice that his argument was full of holes.

It was Polo who stepped forward.

“Hmph! It’s laughable that you’re worrying about the entire market collapsing over a single transaction here. To begin with, the competition for wheat imports ends here. Besides, we are currently at war. It is because of these special circumstances that the Empire made such a decision. Just try asking for the same next year! Who would buy wheat from this estate then?”

“Do you not consider that we might still be at war next year?!”

“Can you guarantee that the front lines will still be at a stalemate like they are now?”

“That’s…!”

He couldn’t.

The situation on the battlefield was rushing toward an extreme following the fall of Chebor.

Most of those who knew how to read a battlefield were aware.

In six months at most, more than half of the nations currently at war would have vanished.

“Is the discussion finished?”

At Elric’s question, Armin’s supply officer could do nothing but tremble.

Something had gone horribly wrong.

The moment that thought struck him, his gaze turned toward Tiria.

“What does the Lady think?! Do you believe such a deal is right?!”

That immature young master had said it with his own mouth.

That his wife was the one with the actual power in this territory.

He judged that she was the only one left to cling to, but…

“…If that is the Head of the family’s decision, I must follow it.”

She replied, her eyes gently closed.

Armin’s supply officer’s eyes bulged, his face turning beet red.

The veins popping in the whites of his eyes showed just how much his emotions were escalating.

“Hmm, it seems everything is settled the moment I arrived. I wanted to soak in the rural atmosphere a bit more.”

Polo’s words were a clear sneer.

Elric’s attitude in response was no different.

“The trains will be stopping soon anyway. Why not stay the night?”

“I appreciate the hospitality. However, as a soldier of a nation at war, it wouldn’t do to seek personal comfort. I shall leave on the last train.”

The two went back and forth smoothly.

He couldn’t let it end like this, but he had no cards left to change the situation.

Even Disha’s supply officer was showing signs of resignation and siding with them.

“Ugh, we lacked information. This time, it’s our defeat. The meal was delicious. We shall also depart within the day.”

“Hey!”

“Armin, leave it at that.”

Thud—

Armin’s supply officer flinched.

The look Disha’s supply officer gave him was that menacing.

“Stop your raging. Disha is a kingdom of knights. We value honor and are taught that accepting defeat is the true attitude of a soldier.”

“I, I am…”

“Remember this. This is the last time we will face each other without drawing our swords.”

His words were indeed true.

Though their front lines were far apart, once the war intensified, Armin and Disha would eventually have to cross blades.

The only reason the two were not taking each other’s heads right now was simple.

This was a foreign country, and as representatives of their respective nations, they could not cause a disturbance here.

“Then it seems everything is settled.”

Even as the situation spiraled in an uncontrollable direction, there was nothing Armin’s supply officer could do.

He could only scream internally.

It was wrong.

Such a one-sided deal was wrong on so many levels, yet he didn’t even have the chance to correct it.

‘Just what…!’

If he were to stay behind alone and cling to them while the other two officers were leaving today as if they had planned it, how pathetic would that look?

Beyond being pathetic, it would become an insult.

Considering diplomatic relations, it was obvious he couldn’t do such a thing as Armin’s representative, so the officer lowered his head deeply.

It was a total defeat.

Watching the backs of the three departing supply officers, Elric let out a long sigh.

‘I’d honestly like to just take his head off.’

He really didn’t like the back of that man’s head, which was as skinny as a scarecrow.

But if he acted on those emotions, he would only put Tiria in a difficult position.

Thus, the strategy he came up with was instigation.

He used Polo to twist the direction of the deal and used Disha’s supply officer to turn that opinion into the flow of the room. Of course, Polo was the one who carried out the process.

Anyway, for the sake of that double-dealing, he ended up sending ten percent of the wheat to Disha’s side… but there would be no burden on the Portman estate.

Publicly, the Empire would be bearing the distribution costs.

“Head of the family.”

Tiria spoke.

“Was this your doing?”

Elric’s eyes shook violently.

“E-eh?”

Startled by the sudden arrow pointed his way, panic naturally arose.

Meanwhile, Tiria looked down and replied.

“I see.”

Her attitude suggested she understood.

Elric felt his heart drop.

“W-what do you mean? I don’t quite…”

“I didn’t know you had connections with the Empire.”

Did she overhear the conversation with Polo?

A sense of crisis wrapped around him.

“Did you perhaps build rapport with officials of the Empire during your life as a wanderer? That is the only way I can explain their hospitality.”

“Ah…!”

“Armin’s supply officer didn’t seem to notice because he was flustered, but to my eyes, it looked as though the two of you were conspiring. If I am mistaken, I apologi—”

“Y-yes! Actually, when I stopped by the Empire, I happened to build a rapport with a noble there!”

Cold sweat ran down Elric’s back.

To think she would come up with such a conclusion on her own; he was glad he didn’t have to struggle to think of an excuse.

A thought suddenly occurred to him—the words of Elbus Graham.

‘Those who believe in their own competence are sometimes buried by their own assumptions. When a sudden or incomprehensible situation arises, they weave cause and effect from revealed clues to turn it into a situation they can understand. In those cases, the assumptions are usually wrong. I’ve had the same experience myself.’

Tiria’s competence had led her into a trap.

Whatever the case, it was a good thing for Elric.

“I hope there will be an opportunity to introduce you next time.”

“Hmm, yes. Shall we head inside for now?”

“Understood.”

As Tiria turned toward the mansion first, Elric breathed a sigh of relief.

‘This is the end of it.’

He had safely avoided the risk of his identity being discovered.

He wouldn’t have to deal with this sort of thing for a while now.

As the tension bled away, the strength left his body.

Elric tapped his knees, which felt particularly achy today, and followed her into the mansion.

Polo returned to the capital of the Mahir Empire.

A city of steel and steam, a vast land that deserved to be called the heart of this continent.

The majesty of the giant fortress made the scenery of Wibin feel all the more pastoral.

After being lost in those thoughts for a moment, Polo eventually pulled a note from his pocket.

‘Will this really work?’

Polo swallowed hard.

The note was a letter roughly scribbled on a piece of paper Kasha had torn off.

The place to deliver this letter was none other than the Graham family mansion.

The recipient was Elbus Graham.

Polo arrived at the Graham mansion with lingering doubts.

“What business brings you here?”

“I am Polo, the third son of the Notem Count family. I have come to see Lord Elbus.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“I don’t, but this is… quite an urgent matter.”

Is it not going to work after all?

It was the moment he thought that.

“Hmm, please follow me. He has no schedule today, so I will ask him for now.”

Polo was slightly shocked that it was this easy to meet him.

Even if he was born out of wedlock, wasn’t Elbus Graham one of the top three rising stars of the capital and an eccentric among eccentrics?

To think that meeting such a man was as simple as showing up and asking.

He even felt for a moment as if this whole thing was a joke played by Kasha and Elbus Graham.

It was immediately after.

“A guest? And from the Notem family?”

A voice leaked out from the closed reception room.

“Hmm… well, fine. I was just bored, so this is perfect. Let him in.”

It was a beautiful, refined voice, unchanged from five years ago.

Polo winced as he suddenly remembered what had happened at a banquet five years back.

Creak—

The door opened.

“Young master of Notem… no, Supply Officer.”

Beyond the door was a man in a wheelchair.

Because of the backlight streaming in from the window, his features weren’t clearly visible.

Only his dazzling platinum-blonde hair and golden eyes, which looked like melted gold, were visible.

And his androgynous silhouette blurred Polo’s vision.

“What brings you all the way here?”

Polo swallowed hard.

“It’s been a long time. I’m here because… I was asked to deliver a letter.”

And so, Kasha’s letter was handed to Elbus Graham.

Polo, who wanted to finish his business and leave quickly, didn’t catch much.

Amidst his anxiety, there was only one thing he heard.

“Pfft…!”

It was the sound of laughter.

“I wondered what this fellow was doing and where, and it turns out he was enjoying a vacation in such a secluded place.”

Polo, lifting his head, could see it.

Upon the mysterious, handsome man’s lips hung a mischievous smile, just like that of a young boy.

The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)