Chapter 398
"Liberta, it seems they are at least trying to approach us in a friendly manner.""Thank you, Esmeralda. The fact they're following our instructions is what's so aggravating. Sending notice and then sending *this*..."
Currently, the pioneer village has shifted to a state of high alert.
The Garden Guards are positioned on the second wall, and all Entertainers are mobilized.Even from among the townspeople and Don's group, those capable of fighting have been deployed to the walls, assigned as ballista operators.
It's not quite a hair-trigger situation, but it's a formation showing considerable wariness.I hear the total number of forces they've deployed near the territory border is around three hundred.
You might think we're being overly cautious, but when you hear that a force of around three thousand is waiting about ten kilometers behind them, I think this level of caution is only natural.
The main combat force isn't here; what has come this time is a detachment, mostly cavalry.There's a lavish carriage in their center, so it's certain that an important person is inside.
It's been confirmed that infantry, supply troops, and engineering troops are waiting with the main force.Reports from Judeus and the others indicate the other side has no intention of fighting, and we are merely maintaining our defensive posture.
That group moved to just one step before the territory border and deployed there.From there, three horsemen came to the gate as heralds to call out to us.
"The fact they brought a formal letter makes me want to think they at least have some intention of being friendly..."
Esmeralda, accompanied by Garden Guards for protection, responded to the call in place of Judeus, who was directing the perimeter patrols in the mountains and elsewhere.I thought about handling it myself, but it was advised that the top leader welcoming them immediately might be seen as us being of lower rank, so it was better to hold back.
However, handling it sloppily was also not good, so Esmeralda, as someone connected to the House of Edelgard, handled it.
With a smile, she reported that her appearance with fully armed Garden Guards in tow had been quite intimidating, and what she was handed was a single letter.
An act of sending a formal letter hints at a will to build friendly relations with us.The content wasn't high-handed either; it stated their reason for coming and their desire for amicable relations. The purpose of mobilizing the army was the restoration of order in the northern territories, and they clarified that what they brought this time wasn't the main force but a detachment, thus reducing the number of soldiers.
"Father said that General Bermuda, renowned as Duke Marchias's right-hand man, is a sharp-witted individual. He said he understands the value of gaining and maintaining trust. For this expedition, he properly obtained permission from His Majesty and Father, and is engaging in reconstruction support using Duke Marchias's funds. Perhaps because the soldiers are well-trained, there are no rumors of them committing atrocities. They have a good reputation in the northern towns and villages.""That's the most troublesome pattern. This is why people with a good outward appearance are such a nuisance."
A person who can thoroughly control public opinion is an incredibly troublesome enemy.Hearing Esmeralda's words and realizing this Bermuda isn't much different from the one I know makes my heart even heavier.
"His Grace... what did His Grace, Duke Edelgard, say?""Regarding the lack of prior notice for this approach, it seems the messenger seeking His Majesty's permission only arrived very recently. On the very day I met Father, both His Majesty and Father granted permission, and just as they were about to notify you, Liberta, I had already come.""So, thinking about the flow... they first entered the northern territories for support activities, gradually approaching my territory. Since they were nearby, they decided to also greet us, so they sought permission from the royal capital. Confident it would be granted, they approached as close as possible, and after obtaining the fact that permission was granted at the perfect timing, they sent the notice?""That would be the case.""If they made a single misstep, it would be an unmitigated disaster. On top of that, they're properly doing reconstruction support, raising favorability, and blocking reasons to refuse them. How sly."
Dealing with an incompetent fool who might do anything is tough, but dealing with someone capable is also tough.They've done proper groundwork and are operating on the borderline of what can be excused.Because they act within the bounds of common sense, just barely not crossing into rudeness, it's truly troublesome.
"And as a token of friendship, they offered gems mined in the eastern territories... What shall we do?""We could return a gift in kind and leave it at that..."
They've also properly observed aristocratic etiquette by offering splendid gems as a gift.
"*Sigh*, it's a good thing we built a reception mansion inside the second wall just in case."
At this point, we can't just send them away.
"Their goal is still intelligence gathering, I presume?""That's right. I can't think of anything else."
Once it's come to this, there's no choice but to steel ourselves.We can only maintain our alert posture and welcome them into the mansion inside the second wall.
"Then I shall relay that. I will handle the correspondence.""What about me?""Please move to the mansion and prepare to receive them, with Ingrid-san by your side. I think it would be best to have Zink-san and Claudia-sama present as well. And perhaps Nell-san and Amina-san should not leave the first wall's interior.""OK, let's go with that."
Esmeralda is more familiar with aristocratic methods, so I'll leave it to her.
"I should change clothes, right?""Yes. While your current work clothes are of good quality, nobles do care about appearances."
And if we've decided to meet, we need to dress appropriately.I pulled at the chest of my clothes to check with Esmeralda, and she gave a wry smile, gently shaking her head 'no'.
The feel of slightly stiff fabric—it's a jumpsuit that's becoming something of a uniform in this pioneer village lately, thanks to the Lightning Triplets enthusiastically mass-producing them in the Spirit World.
This item includes enchantments for the safety of construction workers, using materials from Class 6 monsters.In this world, it boasts defensive performance that even the royal guards' armor can't match.If only the appearance were different, it would be a masterpiece worthy of being presented to the King himself.
However, in appearance, it's completely a jumpsuit.It doesn't get dirty and doesn't tear.It's not exactly brand new, but it exudes cleanliness.
Meeting an envoy from a ducal house in such attire is apparently a no-go in terms of appearance.
"...So, still no good?""I understand you prefer comfortable clothing, but not this time. Ingrid-san. Please select an outfit for Liberta. If left to him, he'll settle for casual wear.""Understood."
I tried a final resistance, hoping for some compromise on changing, but it seems proper attire is necessary.
"Then, I shall head to the gate to inform the envoy."
After properly instructing the supervisor (Ingrid) and seeing Esmeralda off, confirming the door closed quietly...
"Now then, Lord Liberta, this way.""Just so you know, I can change by myself, you know?""Yes, I am aware. However, attending to your needs is also part of my duties. Please allow me to assist you, if only on occasions like this.""Hmm... alright then."
With only Ingrid left, I try to resist further, but even Ingrid refuses in her own pleading way.Giving up, I head to a certain room built in this lord's manor to change.
Well, it's right next to this office, so I don't even need to leave the room; I just head towards one of the two doors on either side of the office.
This office is really something, you know?
From where I sit at the desk, on the left side is the bedroom, and adjacent to it are the kitchen and bath.And on the opposite right side, across from the office, is...
"Really, why did I end up having this built...?"
A dressing room. A walk-in closet.A three-way mirror for viewing oneself from all angles, with attached hanging racks.Apart from facilities that practically scream "change here," rows upon rows of men's clothing.
Work clothes, innerwear for equipment, casual wear—it all gets stored here. But besides that, there are also rows of lavish outfits I'd absolutely never wear casually.
"Actually... have they increased?""Yes, the other day, the Lightning Spirit ladies dropped by saying they had finished new pieces.""Ah, that kind of... Wait, I didn't meet them? I wanted to thank them...""You seemed busy, so they said they just took some sweets and would come again.""I see... I should make sure to have time free next time to meet them. Or should I just invite them for a meal properly?""Yes, I believe that would be better."
It's practically a small clothing store now.All the clothes are custom-made by the Lightning Sisters.
"But there are quite a lot now. I know Amina's dressing rooms have already broken through to a third room...""Yes, Lady Esmeralda has two rooms, Lady Nell has two, Lady Claudia has one, and though it may be presumptuous, I also have one. They have made many clothes for us.""Since I only have one room, I still have relatively few, right? I remember when you showed me your room, Ingrid, there were rows of various maid uniforms."
Since they're all handcrafted to perfectly fit my body, they're clothes made just for me.
The undisputed winner among those close to me in terms of quantity is Amina.She still goes to the Spirit World occasionally to perform live shows, so her idol costumes keep increasing.Plus, her casual wear, dresses, and innerwear for equipment also increase, so it snowballs.
The others are similar.Esmeralda often requests the Lightning Sisters to make dresses for daily use, dresses for social gatherings, and slightly more mobile outfits, so she has the second-most clothes after Amina.Next is Nell, with casual wear, dresses, work clothes, and fashionable private outfits—she also has many clothes.Among the female members, Claudia and Ingrid probably have the least.Claudia mainly uses training clothes for practice and handles all social occasions in her priestess robes.She does have dresses, but she rarely wears them.She has some casual wear, but I've only seen her wear them on rare days off when she's not training.Among them, the most unique is probably Ingrid.
"Yes, these clothes are precisely my daily wear.""Even within the classical genre, to have this many... The Lightning Sisters' sense is amazing, it's impressive."
Rows upon rows of maid uniforms filling eighty percent of the dressing room.They all have similar shapes, but many differ subtly with variations in embroidery, apron shape, slight fabric color differences, and other meticulous touches.
"Yes, as someone who supports the master, I wish to avoid conspicuous clothing."
Even Ingrid, it seems, wants to be fashionable, so she enriches her daily life with subtle, detailed points of style.The maid uniform she's wearing today is also different from yesterday's.The ribbon is different, and the embroidery on the apron features a different floral pattern from yesterday.
While chatting like this, Ingrid diligently selects an outfit.
"For today's attire, I suggest the piece that the second daughter of the Lightning Spirit brought the other day, which she called her 'masterpiece.' I believe it is suitably convenient for today's reception, so let's have you wear that one today.""...I feel like I'll be overwhelmed by the outfit."
That outfit is a suit—not flashy, yet obviously high-quality and elegant at first glance, crafted as if they perfectly understood my preferences.
I can tell—this is the kind of suit a rich person would wear in my previous life.
"It's alright. If it's you, Lord Liberta, you can wear it well.""Really?"
Ingrid encourages me as I balk before the suit with its strange intensity.However, I had forgotten to confirm something here.That a suit called a 'masterpiece' by those Lightning Spirits passionate about sewing... wouldn't be ordinary.