Chapter 405

Northern Nobles
○●○●○Lily

The Kiblinki Saltas brought back the information right away, but I’ve never heard of a “Viscount Melt” or a “Marquis Morogawarde.”
Because of my business, I’ve been made to memorize a fair number of the noble names in this country, but these don’t ring a bell.
Which probably means… they aren’t nobles of this country?
In any case, it’s now confirmed that a base has been established north of the city, so I need to hurry and inform Marquis Vardmoi.

“… Hmm, a base to the north of the city, you say.”

“Ah, you don’t believe it?”

“No, I believe it. Precisely because I do, I can’t understand why they would pull such a move.”

Since it was an emergency, I was allowed into the manor to meet with Marquis Vardmoi directly.
I’m sharing the information the Kiblinki Saltas gathered, but there’s something that doesn’t quite sit right with him.
Why they’d go out of their way to attack Vardmoi at this particular time.

“Vardmoi is indeed a commercial city and a key distribution hub. A lot of goods pass through here. But even if someone were to try and seize those, doing so now is far too crude, don’t you think? If it were me, I’d wait until later—say, around the time the tax grain is gathered.”

“Right? There’s really no good reason to launch an assault right now.”

“Indeed. And I also find the noble names you mentioned suspicious.”

“You mean Viscount Melt and Marquis Morogawarde? Are you familiar with them?”

“I haven’t met Viscount Melt personally. But if I recall correctly, that house quietly continued producing Mana Spider Silk. Which makes it clearer—he may be out to eliminate you, Lily, since you can mass-produce it now.”

“… So I ended up making enemies without even realizing it, huh?”

“That’s how it goes when you do business. Still, I’ve heard that thanks to your Mana Spider Silk circulating widely, theirs has been selling better as well.”

Hmm, this part’s still unclear.
I guess we’ll just have to capture this Viscount Melt and ask him directly.

The real issue is this Marquis Morogawarde.
Apparently, he’s had a long-standing grudge with Marquis Vardmoi since the days of the old kingdom.
It’s being assumed that this attack on Vardmoi is just a continuation of that feud.

“That man is greedy beyond reason. When our territory developed a new specialty product, he demanded a share. When shipments departed from our domain, he slapped massive taxes on them. I could go on and on about the harassment he’s directed at Vardmoi. This is likely the culmination of all that.”

“Hmm. Just what’s his problem, seriously?”

“His territory, you see, was once just as prosperous as Vardmoi in the north. But his father was an utter fool, and the family fell into decline. The city quickly deteriorated as well. The current Marquis isn’t particularly wise either, and the only way he’s been able to maintain his tax revenue is by squeezing outsiders. Seeing Vardmoi, which prospered during the same era and never declined, likely drives him mad with jealousy.”

So basically, he’s taking it out on us.
I’ll have the Kiblinki Saltas investigate the other base said to be in the east too, just to get a rough idea of its scale.
Still… war, huh?
I’d really prefer to end this before it even begins.

What do you think about this chapter?