The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 9 – Part 2
“I thought so too, but to intervene in young people’s love affairs seemed rather tactless.”
“Haha! You’ve prepared quite an excuse there.”
“It’s not just an excuse. I rather like this kind of tale. A duke’s daughter and a baron’s son’s pure love. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Erina’s face turned beet red upon hearing this.
Eldric looked at me and said, “Now’s the time. Even Duke Saleon couldn’t refuse me now. Just by looking at my face, he’d grant any request, even a marriage proposal.”
“Is that so?”
Duke Altior scratched his head in dismay, and Lady Saleon fidgeted nervously. Erina’s fidgeting also intensified.
If Gilbert Saleon, the actual lord and Erina’s father, were present, he would have jumped.
“Then I have a request I’d like to make.”
“Go ahead, lay it on me.”
After glancing at the provoking Eldric, I said, “Please give me 5 million sillan as a reward.”
The room went dead silent for a moment.
“…”
“…If that’s too much, 3 million sillan is fine too?”
It was a good opportunity to recover the money I had lost in our chess wagers.
Hmm, receiving monetary rewards is really the best.
In the end, the House of Saleon readily agreed to pay 3 million sillan.
From their perspective, this was probably a relief. No matter how much of a lifesaver, they wouldn’t want to marry off their eldest daughter to a baron’s penniless son.
“Phew! An unexpected windfall.”
While 3 million sillan may not be much for a duke’s house, it was a huge sum for an impoverished baron family like ours.
“Heh, you’ve got quite the knack even at this young age.”
“…?”
It was Prince Eldric.
“Say, could we talk for a bit, kid? You said you were a baron’s third son?”
“Call me Elaine.”
“Right. Elaine.”
Eldric moved us to a secluded spot and stated his business.
I was interested in what he had to say as well.
He was the one who had raised his voice saying that Ars being labeled a traitor could be a trap, that we shouldn’t rush into internal strife.
His overall attitude towards Ars was favorable, and moreover, as a benefactor and mentor to the protagonist, the possibility of him being a traitor was virtually nonexistent.
Yet what he wanted to say to me was truly ridiculous.
“You seem to have talent, kid. More than that so-called Grancel’s Jewel, Erina Saleon.”
“Talent… You say?”
“Yes, the ability to display prowess from a high position. How about working under me? I promise not to treat you shabbily.”
A sudden scouting offer. I couldn’t help but snicker at the absurdity. Oblivious, Eldric continued.
He didn’t seem to even consider the possibility of rejection.
It was understandable. For the third son of a baron unable to inherit the title, the path ahead was as narrow as an eye of a needle.
Being recruited as a prince’s aide was a dream come true.
If he had made the same offer to the noble scions currently receiving butler training, they would have all accepted without hesitation.
“But there is one condition.”
Not that I intended to reject, but I was curious about this condition.
“What is it?”
“You have to change that ruthless modus operandi of yours.”
He was referring to how I had abandoned everyone else when rescuing Erina.
“I despise the insane notion of sacrificing pawns for the greater good. If you’re to work with me, you can never do that again.”
“…”
“Your actions were like watching a game of chess. You don’t care which piece dies in what manner, as long as you ultimately achieve victory.”
Then it finally dawned on me.
This was why Eldric hadn’t immediately chased after me when I fled carrying Erina.
“I see. So you were helping the other butler candidates at the time.”
“Yes. As strange as it sounds, I couldn’t have everyone die just to save one noble lady of a duke’s house.”
“Pfft! Ahahaha!”
“…Is that laughter?”
I couldn’t contain my laughter any longer.
“Of course it’s laughter. You’re simply unbelievable. I never imagined the Wandering Prince would be such an imbecile.”
“…!”
The giant guarding Eldric stepped forward menacingly.
“You wretched fool daring to insult His Highness! I’ll tear out your tongue!”
The killing intent rolled off him in waves.[2]
But Eldric spoke up.
“Stand down, Krans.”
“But Your Highness…!”
“I don’t care. Besides, this isn’t Bulang. Here I’m just an ordinary youth. Don’t get all riled up over a little insult.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry.”
The man called Krans looked me over and withdrew his killing intent.
‘I haven’t heard the name Krans before. Is he a character appearing in the next story update?’
Although I couldn’t know the details, it was clear from his presence that he was considerably strong.
“My subordinate was rude. Apologize.”
“No, I was just as rude.”
“Rather than that… May I ask why you called me a fool?”
“It’s just as I said. You’re an idiot. Because you can’t even realize your own contradictions.”
“Contradictions? What part?”
“You said you cannot tolerate sacrificing the small for the greater good, right?”
“Yes, that’s my unwavering philosophy.”
“Is that so? But it wasn’t the case this time, was it? Probably the choices you made before weren’t like that either.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you choose to sacrifice Erina?”
“…!”
“You thought saving others was justice. In other words, the greater good. For that greater good, you abandoned a small one – the daughter of a duke. You committed the sacrifice of the small for the greater good that you so despise, didn’t you?”
Eldric was speechless.
“You can’t have everything in this world. If you take one thing, you have to abandon something else. You thought you kept the small by not taking the greater good, but that can change completely depending on perspective.”
“That…is…”
“Of course, right and wrong are determined by oneself. You’re free to make whatever choice based on your philosophy. But forcing that choice on others is just foolish. Do you understand now why I called you an idiot?”
“…”
Although his expression showed he didn’t want to admit it, he seemed to realize he had been refuted and couldn’t say anything more.
“I think this answers your proposal as well, Prince. May I take my leave?”
“…Yeah. Sorry for taking your time.”
“Yes, then I’ll get going.”
As I walked away, I felt Eldric’s piercing gaze on my back.
As if he had just now properly recognized me as an existence.
***
This recent attempted kidnapping incident greatly shook the kingdom.
It came to light during the interrogation that the one who ordered this was the duke Hellian family, one of the two major noble factions in the kingdom.
It wasn’t directly ordered by duke Hellian himself, but rather an act carried out independently by a noble belonging to that faction, but regardless of the details, this was a huge incident.
Due to this incident, the nobility was completely divided into duke Saleon faction and duke Hellian faction, growling at each other as if to devour one another.
In the process, even we nobles maintaining neutrality were pressured to choose sides.
—Saleon or Hellian. Choose!
After much deliberation, my father chose to side with the duke Hellian family.
This was because duke Hellian family wielded immense influence over the military.
Not only me, a military officer cadet, but also my third brother Ferge and eldest sister Julia were in the military, so we sided with duke Hellian family to keep our career paths open.
Because of this, I could no longer receive butler training. I was even unable to attend the intermediate academy in Grancel.
Those in a similar situation had to leave as if chased out.
In my case, however, I was seen off relatively politely due to the merit of having protected Erina.
As soon as I received 3 million sillan, which was like a reward, I decided to return home.
While I came here riding a shabby two-horse carriage, it seemed I could at least take a four-horse carriage on my way back.
It was when I was waiting after asking Yumir to arrange a carriage.
“Please wait a moment.”
Erina, who appeared with the head maid Joan, had a servant hand me a case without preamble.
“What is this?”
“It’s a spear. The one you had broke when you tried to protect me back then, didn’t it? I had this made by a craftsman in our territory, so its quality should not be inferior to the one you had before.”
I untied the case and took out the spear.
It was a well-forged black iron spear. It felt a bit heavy, but with my physique setting in and my strength continually growing, it was just right.
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
After a moment’s pause, Erina said, “…Won’t you reconsider one more time?”
“Become a butler now? Our family has already sided with the Hellians. Next time we meet, we may have to growl at each other.”
“It’s a power struggle unrelated to a mere low-ranking noble like you.”
“Well, that’s true. Still, I’ll have to refuse. My goal is far greater than just being a butler.”
“How great of a goal?”
Erina suddenly asked, her eyes shining.
“Why?”
“Just tell me.”
“Well…”
If I were to achieve some success by the side of the main character, then…
“Perhaps a general in the military?”
“A general… Even my father…”Muttering so, Erina let out a sigh of relief and looked up with a smile.
“Be sure to achieve that goal.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After loading the spear onto the carriage, I suddenly remembered something I had bought in the city.
It was a fan I had bought as a gift for my mother.
Back then I didn’t have much money, so I just bought the fan, but now that I had money, I decided to prepare a better gift on the way home, and give this fan to Erina as a token of appreciation for the spear.
“This is… For me?”
“You can throw it away if you don’t need it. Well then, take care. Yah! Let’s go, Yumir.”
I boarded the carriage and gave Yumir the signal to depart.
Erina was making a strange expression as she tightly held the fan to her bosom.[3]
Footnotes:
1] Schwarzer
2] Basically a wave of spine inducing fever cracked on to 11.
3] First Flag
A love token exchange happen, but how long will he keep the spear?