༺ Warm Southern Territory (6) ༻
His Grace, the just and honorable Gold Duke, said that the funds allocated to the Prosecutor’s Office would increase by 50%.
‘A 50% increase with a single throw.’
For a moment, I thought that maybe if I had thrown all three at once, that would’ve resulted in an increase of 150%. Of course, saying that aloud would only result in rumors questioning the intelligence of the Prosecutor’s Executive Manager.
Anyway, the result was huge compared to the effort I’d put in. The reward was huge enough to make enduring on the caravel for the entire duration of the school trip quite bearable, but I had finished the subjugation in less than a day. Was this a gift from the heavens for all of my past struggles?
Although the heart of a female student was hurt in the process, at least she wasn’t physically hurt.
— I’m glad that you look satisfied.
“I’m simply grateful for your excessive consideration.”
The smiling face of the Gold Duke truly represented how much of a generous person he was. As expected, the best remedy in difficult times was money.
— Feel free to come to the casino when you’re comfortable. Sending everything to the Prosecutor’s Office is a hassle, so you should take some of it.
‘Ah.’
I realized too late what he meant by collecting it at the casino. I had forgotten the most important part due to the surprising 50% increase.
“Can you promise me one thing?”
Marghetta had looked at me with teary eyes as she cautiously extended her pinky. I made a promise back then, thinking I wouldn’t get caught. But now, it seems like it would be hard to go unnoticed.
After finding Irina at a secluded beach, I don’t trust my luck anymore. Moreover, I didn’t think all Academy students were diligent kids who never visited a casino. News of my visit to the casino would eventually reach Marghetta.
Marghetta would probably get angry but forgive me in the end. Still, I didn’t want to disappoint her. If I do that, it seems like I’d be taking advantage of her kindness.
“Your Grace. I’m sorry, but could you send the entire amount directly to the Prosecutor’s Office?”
— It isn’t a small amount, so it will take some time to be processed if it doesn’t go through the casino. Is that okay?
“If Your Grace is fine with it, I would like to request that.”
The Gold Duke paused for a moment before letting out a small laugh.
— You aren’t even engaged yet, but you’re already too conscious of her.
I was speechless at the casual comment from the Gold Duke. Considering that I had made the promise to Marghetta at the resort’s lobby, there was a chance he’d already heard about that. After all, his eyes and ears were everywhere.
— A harmonious relationship is very important, but it isn’t good to be too controlled. Even a couple should have some autonomy, right?
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Coming from a man with twelve wives, it strangely carried some persuasive weight.
— Well, if that’s your situation, it can’t be helped. If you change your mind, let me know.
“Thanks for your consideration, Your Grace.”
Even if it was inconvenient, the Gold Duke sent everything to the Prosecutor’s Office. Seeing how he accepted this request, it seems like some credit was still left from the Kraken subjugation.
I moved the communication crystal aside and lay on the bed. Yeah, I just had to let this one slide. I had visited the casino multiple times, but this was the first time I got caught by Marghetta.
This time, it was due to the fact that we were in Boyar together and the fact that Tannian was there. On my next visit, I won’t have to worry so much, because there’s no need for me to come all the way to Boyar with Marghetta, much less that bastard, Tannian.
‘Finally, some rest.’
I had completed my only task, the Kraken subjugation, and resolved the issue of compensation. Meanwhile, Villar and the others would closely watch the club members.
Woah, it’s been a while since I could rest properly. I thought I would lose my mind the moment I heard we were going to Boyar. But now that I’m here, there’s no place like this.
***
Being in charge of a club made my body comfortable, but not my mind. It was a sad fate.
As I casually looked back, I saw Louise, who’d just gotten off the carriage. She came up to me with a bright smile.
“I heard it’s a forest that’s decorated like a maze. They even arrange flowers according to the season, so it’s pretty.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m surprised you found such a place.”
“Hehe, one of the staff members told me about it.”
I heard someone knock on my door in the evening. It was Louise. She told me that while I wasn’t there, she found some places where we could go together. Seeing her sparkling eyes made it impossible for me to refuse.
I had never been married or had children, but I could imagine that a child looking forward to going to an amusement park with their Dad during children’s day would look just like that. I don’t want to be the sad club Advisor who immerses himself in the club activities but fails to take care of the members.
Well, since I’d come all the way to Boyar, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to roam around. And also, I’d never heard of a maze forest. Was it recently built?
“They say that people can’t find their way out sometimes.”
“It’s a terrifying place.”
Just how had they built it so that people couldn’t even find their way out?
Thankfully, it seemed like they gave people a flare signal before they entered the forest, just in case. But was that really a good thing? It would be pretty embarrassing to have to call for a rescue team.
“I thought this place was famous only for its beaches, but they have a lot of things.”
After Louise, Erich came out of the carriage. He was lying on the bed after eating, but he came out incredibly fast when Louise asked him to go. That was the case for the other four, too.
“The Duchy is huge. There aren’t just beaches. It also has many tourist attractions.”
Boyar was also known for producing the most expensive wines of the Empire. If this territory couldn’t produce wines, the Gold Duke would probably sell seawater, claiming that it was ‘Emerald Water.’
As I shifted over, Erich took the seat next to Louise. When our eyes met, he nodded. He’s becoming more observant, but it would be great if he could grow up five times faster. This is driving me crazy.
“The day’s long, but it will get dark if we don’t hurry.”
The demon’s mouth, no, Tannian, looked around and said. While it’s true that the days were getting longer as summer approached, if we played too leisurely, it might be dark before we knew it. Walking around a maze at night was a bit scary.
“Since we’re already here, we should look around.”
“It’s a tourist attraction, so I’m sure it’s made for us to look leisurely. If not, we can always speed up.”
Rutis and Ainter wanted to take their time to look around. After all, that would let them spend more time with Louise despite spending the entire day with her. What a greedy bunch.
“You’re right. It seems like I was worried for nothing.”
Tannian also changed his opinion quickly and was all in for a long-term tour. It seemed like we would return to the resort while looking at the stars.
Louise was examining the flare with curiosity, while the map was in Lather’s hands. According to him, he was going to find the optimal route. Well, he seems capable of handling it.
“Well, magicians are smart!”
Rutis’s voice was as boisterous as ever. However, a map was something anyone could read, whether they were magicians or not.
‘It’s a waste to worry.’
I quickly made up my mind. The map was indeed more complex than expected. Rutis was someone who was more action-oriented, so he might have a hard time with things like navigation methods.
Although, was there a need to use navigation methods inside a maze created for tourist purposes? Anyways.
Thankfully, the sun set quickly. It was already past dinner time, and those five were intentionally dragging the time since the beginning. So, there was no way it would last.
‘Those good-for-nothing idiots.’
They were similar in strange aspects. Even though they constantly checked on each other, why did they get along on things like this?
“It’s refreshing and nice!”
As I turned around toward the cheerful footsteps, I saw Louise, who was wandering around. She seemed energetic despite the fact that we were wandering around in a dark forest. Are capybaras nocturnal? But it does feel cooler now that the sun has set.
“We weren’t able to see many flowers.”
Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the flowers, which were the pride of the Maze Forest.
“It’s okay. After all, we see flowers often.”
“Then why did we come here?”
I chuckled at the innocent answer. Louise often wandered around the flower beds in the Academy. Unless the forest was paved with flowers made of gold, she wouldn’t really be surprised by the scenery.
It seemed like she just liked to walk around with people.
“This atmosphere seems perfect for ghosts to appear.”
“Ghosts? The next Saint is here, so there’s no way one would appear.”
“Haha, I still wish they would. I’ve never seen a ghost.”
It seemed like the forest had stimulated the emotions of the lively teenagers. A strange chatter started to emerge. They started telling random scary stories as if they were trying to shoot a special scary tolerance test in this place.
“—I heard that because of that, the solution is to push them away with overwhelming strength before they can curse you.”
“I’ve learned something new.”
What are you talking about?
“…”
“Louise?”
Louise quietly moved closer to me as the club members started telling scary stories.
Ah, her expression’s stiff. It seems like she isn’t good with these kinds of stories.
“Lather, don’t you know anything?”
“Let’s start one by one and decide whose story is the best.”
Regardless of that, the next target to tell a scary story was Lather. He hadn’t been talking since he’d been looking at the map while walking.
“Is a personal experience okay?”
“Oh, that’s even better.”
Only then did Lather remove his eyes from the map and quietly open his mouth.
“We’re lost.”
“What?”
“We’ve been going around the same place for a while. I’m not sure where we’re standing.”
Louise’s expression became even paler. Even if there was a rescue team, the idea of getting lost in a pitch-black forest was probably too daunting for her.
After a suffocating moment of silence, Lather nodded his head as if he were satisfied.
“It was a joke.”
“…You win.”
Lather’s story was unanimously voted as the scariest one.
And Louise didn’t look at Lather until after we reached the resort.
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