Marius and his party, after having breakfast, were given a tour of the estate by Sail.
“This is the stable the Marquis was supposed to use.”
A staff member was diligently cleaning a stable devoid of horses.
A mountain of feed was piled high, but with no horses, it was not diminishing.
“This is a facility to house the coachmen and their attendants.”
There seemed to be a moderate number of guests, but for the scale of the building, they felt few.
“If those who can spend a lot of money do not spend to some extent, the lower classes will suffer.”
Sail said indifferently.
The scene displayed had several times the persuasive power of repeatedly explaining with mere words.
A Marquis, with a single whim, could cast hundreds or thousands of people into destitution.
Marius now knew firsthand how much his own actions could affect those around him.
Even if the stable hands’ wages were normal, if the feed didn’t diminish, those who grew it wouldn’t be able to sell any new produce.
Then, orders would stop coming to the transporters.
Without transporters, money wouldn’t flow into the inns.
The economic blow would develop, circulating invisibly.
“Well, there are limits to what Marius-sama can do by spending money alone. What’s important is to have self-awareness.”
The lord, after all, held absolute influence over the economy within their territory.
(I was an idiot…)
Marius deeply regretted his past.
He renewed his vow to bear the awareness of a Marquis and consciously protect the lives of his people.
Sail watched Marius with keen interest.
He and Gasso knew the general character of Princess Lovisa.
She was a person who loved her country and its people above all else, pouring her heart into their protection, and a worthy subject for people like them to dedicate their loyalty to.
That she remained silent while being treated like a mere companion by a nobleman, they judged, surely meant there was something to be observed.
That was precisely why he had chosen to admonish Marius once.
If he repented, that was good; if not, he had resolved to request leave and abscond.
They, father and son, would not lack for work if they were not picky.
Their shared motto was that there was almost nothing as wasteful as serving a master unworthy of loyalty.
It was a minor stain, but it was the master’s responsibility to bear.
Their way of life, not shying away from causing trouble to those around them, garnered more resentment than understanding.
Still, they were so competent that they did not need to compromise their way of life.
“Let’s go back by carriage. I’ll buy plenty of souvenirs for everyone.”
Marius intended it as a form of atonement, but he was met with uncongenial gazes from others.
“Are you going to make the Princess ride in a mere carriage?”
Sail questioned him with a hint of exasperation.
While it might be acceptable if the Princess herself suggested it, it was not something for a subordinate to say.
Sail even thought, “Why isn’t this treason… are they afraid?”
“Eh? There’s only a common carriage?”
Expecting there to be several carriages for the Marquis, given it was his territory, Marius was corrected by Lovisa.
“Normally, yes. However, Marius-sama is a new nobleman, and your family is not present, is it?”
There was no sense of urgency to prepare one immediately.
If they had been notified in advance, it could have been arranged by the time of their arrival.
Marius himself was also at fault for not ordering a dedicated carriage.
Normally, for actions taken outside of official duties without an order, there was a fear of being accused of “Why did you do that without orders?”, so few people were willing to take such initiative.
There were many well-known precedents where a well-intentioned arrangement proved fatal.
When he tried to get gifts for Ashton’s wife and children, the cook was executed for “attempting to seduce his wife.”
A cook who made special juice for the sickly Bernard’s son to build up his strength was executed for “attempting to poison his son.”
Of course, Sail and Gasso knew that not all nobles were like that, but the common people below them did not.
They believed the royalty were beings to whom loyalty should be pledged and served, and that they were noble people, but they had a frightful image of the nobles below them.
The royalty bore responsibility for not properly explaining these matters to Marius.
However, whether Marius would have understood even if told verbally…
(Well, perhaps this way was better understood.)
He admitted it readily himself.
“First, I will be grateful for Sail’s admonishment and advice. As a new noble, I am likely lacking in many areas, but I would be happy if you continued to support me.”
“Not at all. I beg your forgiveness for my numerous rude behaviors, for which I would have no complaint even if beheaded.”
Even Marius knew that people who admonished him at the risk of their lives should be cherished.
Therefore, he graciously accepted Sail’s apology.
“No. It is welcome to have wrongdoings pointed out. I will continue to rely on you. …Though I will likely cause you much trouble.”
Sail accepted Marius’s words with the deepest bow.
With such humble and gentle demeanor, the hero was indeed different from a mere upstart noble, he couldn’t help but be impressed and felt glad he had trusted Lovisa.
No creature is free from mistakes.
Sail believed that if one genuinely intended to correct their mistakes, they could follow them.
(I have to report this to my father too.)
Gasso, actually, was against Sail’s admonishment.
It was the royalty’s duty to provide explanations and admonishments, and their failure to do so was a sin on the part of the royalty, while Marius, who received no guidance, was also at fault.
Gasso grumbled and insisted this, and was skeptical of Sail’s idea.
According to Sail, Gasso was “too stubborn, too strict.”
Since they were human beings, he thought they could afford to be a little more flexible.
Just as the nascent gap between master and servant began to move towards reconciliation, Marius apologetically uttered something unexpected.
“Apologies, but I need to move to one location by magic.”
Sail thought with genuine killing intent, “What was the point of our previous conversation, you blockhead?” But Marius had a reason for retracting his previous words almost as soon as he spoke them.
“The Demon Lord’s seal? Demon attack?”
Sail’s face went pale as Marius explained the reason.
For the common people, demons were akin to calamities.
They could only flee and hide, or wait for a hero to defeat them.
Now, the hero in question was standing right before them.
“If we go by carriage, we might be targeted by demons. I am sorry to lead you into a dangerous place unnecessarily.”
When he actually listened, it was a perfectly valid reason.
Taking them to a place where a demon attack was predicted could be described as the lowest trap to set for one’s most hated enemy.
No matter how confident one was in repelling them, ordinary people didn’t want demons anywhere in their sight.
Marius’s decision to go alone was entirely correct.
Sail reassessed Marius, thinking perhaps he was indeed worthy of being called a hero, as his judgment in such matters seemed accurate.
The fact that his initial assessment was quite low should probably be ignored for now.
Marius left Lovisa and the others behind and used “Teleport.”
He promised to return immediately if he couldn’t find any enemies.
The scenery before his eyes distorted, and in the next moment, he had arrived at the Lake of the Abyss.
“Now then, will the enemy arrive soon?”
“It’s unlikely to be immediate.”
Zofi answered.
Al and El were too much of a burden against demons, so they did not appear.
“Yeah, I figured.”
Even if enemies arrived at this very moment, Marius and his party would not be attacked.
They would retreat without fighting and report that Marius and Zofi were present.
“Zofi, are you prepared to be treated as a traitor?”
Marius, unable to resist asking now, was met with a gentle smile from Zofi.
“Yes. The moment I decided to follow you, Master.”
Marius was rendered speechless by her beautiful smile.
He only wished that she would not regret choosing him.
Although the possibility of enemies arriving was low, he could not afford to be careless.
The moment Marius was about to cast a spell, Zofi gently stopped him.
“Someone with high perceptive abilities would notice the anomaly. If I am on guard, such a situation will not occur.”
Marius learned for the first time that “Stealth” was not perfect and decided to rely on his Familiar’s words.
“I thought I understood that nothing is omnipotent, but is it that obvious? Detectable from afar?”
“It depends on the individual’s abilities. At least Rubens would notice. I don’t expect someone capable of noticing to come, but it never hurts to be cautious.”
He thought it was completely useless against demons, but it seemed that was not the case.
“If I use it, will Zofi notice?”
“Yes. I know when you are not using it. It would be impossible at first glance, though.”
It seemed difficult even for those who surpassed human limits.
Did it mean that it wasn’t impossible for those sensitive to magic?
“Master, they appear to be here.”
“Hmm? Aren’t they going to run?”
“No.”
Zofi looked up at the sky with a mixture of confusion and exasperation, and Marius followed suit.
“Enemy spotted!”
Upon discovering Marius and Zofi in the location where Zagan was supposed to be, Laam decided to charge without hesitation.
However, he did not forget to report to Rubens.
“A human-like creature! And a female demon-like being! Surely the one named Zofi has betrayed us! I will charge immediately!”
“Wait!”
Intentionally ignoring Rubens’ attempt to stop him, Laam accelerated his flight speed.
Rubens had sent Laam with battle in mind, not necessarily to fight, but Laam was unconcerned.
“I am Laam! Demon Laam! Human! And traitor! Prepare yourselves!”
It was impressive that he could shout so loudly while flying at high speed.
However, shouting so loudly from so far away was nonsensical.
“Master, a fool is coming.”
“Are there fools among demons too…”
Marius could not maintain the sense of tension that the earnest Zofi displayed.
(Are all demons like this…)
Forgetting the time and place, Marius felt a pang of sympathy for Rubens, but he naturally assumed a combat stance as soon as Laam’s figure became clearly visible.
“Master, please leave it to me.”
Seeing Zofi’s eagerness, Marius switched his intention to providing rear support.
“Here I come!”
Laam seemed to intend to give a warning before his attack, in a straightforward manner.
“Super Ultra Royal Great Abeshi!”
However, before he could finish shouting the name of his technique, Zofi’s flying knee strike hit his face, sending him flying.
Marius struggled just to prevent himself from feeling disgusted, with no room to pursue.
It made him admire Zofi’s ability to maintain her tense focus without letting her guard down.
“You… you’re not bad… But as a demon, I can’t back down with just this.”
Staggering, Laam got back on his feet.
Perhaps it was a testament to his demonic nature that he could get up so quickly after a clean counter-attack.
“Now, burn! Demon Soul! Here I go!”
Laam flapped his wings again and charged.
“Super Ultra Royal Great Abeshi!”
Zofi’s right fist again connected with his face in a counter-attack, and Laam was sent flying once more.
“Exharatio!”
This time, Marius followed up with a proper attack.
Laam was burned to death.
“…What did he come here for?”
“At least our presence is known. He seemed to have used magic before charging.”
Marius was still unconvinced by Zofi’s words.
He barely managed to suppress the urge to say, “Is this a comedy skit?”
He was sure he would have spoken if he didn’t think Zofi wouldn’t understand.
“Shall we go back?”
“Yes.”
Marius felt a sense of fatigue for the first time since arriving in this world.
