Ch#55
A few more days passed, and the schedule in the capital came to an end.
It had been a journey that made Elric feel as though he might actually die of exhaustion if he had to attend even one more banquet.
First, he’d been provoked by some young noble he’d never even met; then, an assassin was sent because he’d struck said noble; and it turned out that assassin was a messenger meant to expand the war to the East, whose target happened to be his close friend, Elbus Graham.
When he laid it all out, the string of coincidences was enough to make him let out a hollow laugh.
But that was over now.
It was time to return to the manor in Wibin.
Elric, feeling much lighter at heart, spoke to Tiria as she finished her preparations to depart.
“It has been an eventful outing.”
“It truly has.”
Tiria nodded slightly, her expression unusually bright for some reason.
For Elric, it was a rewarding sight.
‘In the end, Elbus’s meddling did turn out to be helpful.’
Ever since Elbus had declared himself an ally of the Portmans, Tiria had been constantly surrounded by nobles from other kingdoms.
Though those relationships were forged out of mutual interest, there was no way their goodwill would act unfavorably toward Portman.
Tiria, well aware of this, had spent her time securing invitations to various private parties and opening up new trade distribution networks.
She, who rarely showed her emotions, had even gone so far as to say:
“This was a banquet of many gains. I am satisfied.”
“Young Master! The carriage is here!”
They used a carriage for the return journey, as planned.
Elric had felt a brief urge to put Tiria on a train again just to see her flustered expression, but he quickly suppressed his mischievous side, realizing he would likely face a level of resentment he couldn’t handle.
The moment she stepped into the carriage, Tiria’s face began to soften with relief, as if the rattling of the coach was a welcome comfort.
He found himself staring intently at her face.
Then, a feeling that had been awakened by Elbus’s suggestion—a heart whose true intentions he still couldn’t quite define—began to stir.
He didn’t want to leave her side.
Such embarrassing thoughts created an awkwardness Elric had never felt before whenever silence fell between them.
“We’re heading out now!”
Accompanied by Aldio’s voice and the ‘neigh!’ of a horse, the silence was broken.
In that moment, Tiria spoke.
“……Finally, we are going back to our home.”
The word ‘our’ became a ripple, spreading waves across his heart.
Elric found it so ticklish and welcoming that he let out a small laugh and replied.
“Indeed. We are going back to our home.”
As he chewed over the words and savored their flavor, Elric’s mood reached a state of considerable refreshment.
The residence of Duke Wight in the Armin Kingdom.
Inside a dressing room of the grand ballroom within that massive mansion, a man sat reading a newspaper.
It was none other than Geumgong, Edward Wight.
He clicked his tongue as he spoke.
“Good grief, look at this idiot.”
The newspaper he was reading was a daily from the East that had set the Ferdin Kingdom abuzz.
“Assassinating Elbus Graham? And in Ferdin, of all places, where the Old Man is staying? This guy’s got some nerve.”
“How many people would actually know that fact?”
“The fact that he did it without knowing is the bigger problem. It’s proof of incompetence.”
Edward dismissed his secretary’s words and added an explanation.
“This is why those Alton bastards are no good. No, to be precise, that specific guy is the problem.”
“Yes, the Heavenly Wing of the Alton Kingdom.”
“I feel sorry for Wolyeong. If it were me, the moment I found out it was that moron pulling my strings from behind, I’d retire from the industry immediately.”
The Heavenly Wing, one of the Seven Strongest of the continent.
The King’s Shadow who protected the Alton Kingdom.
There was one fact that the citizens of the continent, and even most of the high-ranking executives of Wolyeong, did not know.
The one leading Wolyeong from the shadows was none other than Ramses Alton, the Heavenly Wing of Alton.
It was a fact Edward didn’t particularly like.
Even though Ramses’s goals aligned with his own to some extent.
The secretary pointed that out.
“Still, if the Heavenly Wing’s plan had succeeded, wouldn’t the war have been prolonged?”
“You foolish secretary. If the East gets dragged into the war, supply lines become an issue. The economy would be completely wrecked. That means all my money disappears, so we have to protect that side. Above all, if the war spreads to the East, the Old Man will get involved. What could be a bigger disaster than that? From the look of things, he seems satisfied with his retirement life, so him staying cooped up there is doing me a favor.”
“Is that so.”
“Anyway, you’re short-sighted. My dear secretary friend.”
“I’m resigning.”
“My mistake.”
Snap!
Edward folded the newspaper and stood up.
“Enough of this talk. Let’s go show our faces.”
“Yes, all the major shareholders have gathered.”
“Right, right. Must make a good impression.”
Edward let out a deep sigh.
Normally, he didn’t often invite the shareholders—his source of funding—but today the situation was different.
“Is the investment briefing ready?”
“It has been perfectly prepared.”
“Did you check the shareholders’ tastes and allergies?”
“I’ve assigned one private chef to each person.”
“As expected, I have no one but my secretary.”
Edward smiled as he left the dressing room.
Today was the day of the investment briefing to attract development funds for a new invention he’d been dreaming up.
For an ordinary project, he would have used the money he’d saved up…… but this time, the scale was different from anything before, necessitating outside capital.
There was one fact that he found regrettable at times like this.
‘If only I had a little more friendly stake, I wouldn’t have to go through this madness every time I make a presentation.’
In a joint-stock company, even if he was the one proposing an agenda, the final decision-making power ultimately rested with the shareholders.
Any research they didn’t like would be crushed before it could even begin, thanks to the principle of majority rule.
For Edward, it was a nerve-wracking process.
Currently, the friendly stake that gave Edward absolute support was about 47%.
If he had just 3.1% more, he could truly move as he pleased.
No, for the sake of stability, if just 5% more supported him, he could decisively ignore the opinions of the remaining shareholders.
The more he thought about it, the more regrettable it felt. Edward asked his secretary the same question he asked at every investment briefing.
“Did that person come?”
“If by ‘that person,’ you mean…….”
“You know, that mister who gobbled up 6% of our shares and hasn’t shown his face once until now.”
“Ah, you mean KS.”
“Dammit, what’s with the initials? Bullshit.”
“They are a shareholder.”
“So they didn’t show up again, right? Ugh, just wait until they show up. I’ll just—!”
“Just?”
“I’ll crawl on all fours and rub my head against their feet!”
“You’re pathetic.”
“I can be as pathetic as I need to be in front of a shareholder.”
If it wasn’t just any shareholder, but a joker card that could decisively secure this precarious management right, what wouldn’t he do?
Edward pouted, then adjusted his expression as he saw the ballroom doors in the distance.
It was then.
“The Chairman of EW, Duke Edward Wight, is entering!”
At the staff member’s thunderous voice announcing his arrival, Edward stood before the shareholders with his usual expression of overflowing confidence.
“Greetings, shareholders! The genius of this era who will take responsibility for your vaults, Edward Wight, has arrived!”
It was an attitude that could have seemed flippant, but the things he had achieved became a radiance that transformed flippancy into pleasantry.
Applause from the shareholders erupted from all sides.
Edward slowly scanned the room, looking for the two individuals known as the major shareholders.
‘Good, first of all, our Demon King sent a proxy as usual.’
I don’t need to worry about that side.
In that case, the other one is…….
“Hey! Skinny!”
……Of course she graced us with her presence in person.
Edward put on a forced, bright smile.
“Igret unnie! How long has it been!”
Edward spread his arms and began to skip lightly toward her.
At the end of his path was a woman of small stature, with long red hair fluttering down to her hips.
Pale skin, a face full of freckles, deep dark circles under her eyes, and orange irises that made them stand out.
What more was there to say?
She was the siege engine of the Kalbaran Kingdom.
One of the Seven Strongest, the Flame, Igret.
“Where do you think you’re going with that hug?!”
Thwack!
Her extended foot struck Edward’s groin with pinpoint accuracy.
“Guh!”
It was a crisis that nearly ended the Wight bloodline; he was lucky he’d worn a protector.
Unaware or unconcerned by that fact, Igret giggled and slapped Edward on the shoulder.
“It’s been a while, kid. Where have you been wandering off to?”
“As for me…… I’ve been busy working.”
“Everyone’s so busy with wars and whatnot these days. It’s annoying.”
She smacked her lips.
It was understandable.
Despite using devastating scorched-earth magic, she was notoriously lazy and rarely took to the battlefield unless absolutely necessary.
Edward suddenly recalled a past event.
For nearly a year, she hadn’t even looked toward the battlefield, until one specific incident drew her out.
“That bastard Kasha disappeared? Why? For what reason?”
It was the disappearance of the Sword Demon, Kasha.
How loudly Igret had screamed that day.
“Why?! Where did he go?! Aaaaaaaagh!!!”
It was a grudge born of her small stature.
On the day the two had met on the battlefield, Kasha had mistaken her for a child because of her small frame and had kicked her in the rear, knocking her unconscious. That had been the catalyst.
Vowing to destroy everything he had protected, Igret had crashed into the siege of the Chebor capital just a short while ago.
It was Igret’s question that snapped Edward out of his reminiscence.
“By the way, still no news of that Kasha bastard? Huh? I told you to look into it.”
Igret asked in a threatening tone.
Edward thought of Kasha, who was likely idling away in the Wibin territory.
‘He seemed to be doing quite well, all lovey-dovey with his wife.’
But could he really say that?
The moment he did, this ill-tempered woman would immediately head East to turn the place into a sea of fire.
“I still don’t really…… Uhuhu.”
“Tsk, useless brat.”
Igret began gnawing on her fingernails.
Edward kept his mouth shut and thought to himself.
‘Talk about obsession. There’s no obsession like this.’
What was the big deal about getting kicked in the rear once?
This is why people raised in comfort are a problem.
Edward repeatedly recited in his head the words he could never say to a major shareholder who held 10% of the shares.
The Wife Waits in the Wheat Field (Serialization)
