--In the office of the Klingbloom family.


　The young Lord Treasurer, Richter L. Klingbloom, is hard at work adjusting the national taxes, a task that has been assigned to him.

　The power of the arithmetic monopoly in his family is a burden that keeps him busy every day.

It's getting tougher every ...... year.

　I'm not sure what to make of it," Richter muttered as he worked on his pen.

　The commercial life of the capital is losing its liveliness.

　The reason behind this is the deterioration of security in the capital, the outflow of human resources to other countries, and above all, the imbalance between supply and demand due to the uneven distribution of "professions".

　The temporary increase in taxes would only cover the short term.

　We need to do something to make this country prosperous again.

It's .......

　The king has given priority to diplomacy, advocating the restoration of economic power through the acquisition of foreign currency.
　But the way to do that is probably war.
　Commerce between countries cannot be a matter of selling. You buy something and you sell something.

　But this country lacks that "something" by far.

　In such a situation, forcing other countries to do business with us will only cause friction.


　No matter how many times I complained about the same thing, the King would not listen to the young Lord Treasurer's lament.
　In the king's mind, the center of gravity is already skewed toward war.

　A sigh escaped his lips.

"And to top it off, His Highness Lilac is trying to destroy the country in a different way than His Majesty.

　The First Princess, who is the only one who can talk to the King, doesn't care about the King's thoughts.

　Instead, she was involved with the Commerce and Industry Association in the capital, and seemed to be doing something dark.

　Richter already knew that this was not a good kind of thing.

It's not good for the knight's seat to be occupied.


　The aristocracy must somehow put a stop to it.
　Not the king, not the princess.


　Richter couldn't fail to understand the power of this man Futa.
　He's the only one in the palace who's more formidable than Lilac, who he admits he's no match for.

　If he could hold the knight's rank in the nobility, he could at least handle him.
　That's why Huta's presence was a hindrance.

"Mr. Richter.
"......?

　The next thing he knew, he had a secretary in front of him.

It's getting late. It's getting late, Mr. Richter. Get some sleep.
...... It's getting late. All right. Let's just get this done and get some sleep.
Okay. We'll take care of the small stuff.
Thank you.

　I exhale and pat him on the shoulder.

　The aristocrats are stupid. But they have the power of the house.

　And the financiers of the Klingbloom family, including the secretary standing in front of him, are not powerful or high ranking, but they are good.

　I'm good enough to fight. He muttered to himself.

Can you do one thing for me?
"Yes, of course.
I need you to find out more about Huta, the duchy's champion swordsman.
Yes, sir.

"He is a champion of the Colosseum in a distant duchy. He is a champion of the Colosseum.

　I remember the princess's horrible smile, and then I remember...

　The daytime battle with the champion.

　I don't know how much I could have done.
　But he grasps his arm.

　--It's been a long time since I've been on the battlefield.

　It was fun, I can tell you.

"...... I said I'd finish this, but I'll do it tomorrow.
Where are you going, Herr Richter?
"I need to get some exercise.

　He then picked up his gladius, which he had rarely held since becoming Lord Treasurer, and left the room.

　The secretary saw Richter off, blinked, and smiled loosely.

'It's been a long time since you've had anything to smile about. Mr. Richter.




















　--Same time. In the garden below the castle.

"Hahaha!

A dull metallic sound came from Shino.

　A dull metallic sound reverberates like a piercing rain.

　There is no sound that pierces the flesh or cuts the wind.

(Imitation: Lilac M. Fangini = The Court's Own Style of Swordsmanship: Rain (Deshtsu))

　Because there was another rain that struck back at the stabbing rain.

　At the same time as the final thrust, Futa activated the same stacking technique as before.
　A sharp strike, like a thunderbolt, copied from her.

"I know!

I know what I'm doing!

　But Lilac spun around on her right foot and reeled it off in return.

　But Lilac spins around on her right foot, and cleaves in return. Futa carefully matches Lilac's flash with a contessa, and parries the sword.

"Avoid, then!



　Laughing like a child, Lilac swung at Kontse in an attempt to pull him back.
　Huta avoided it by taking a step back.
　Then, as if drawing her bow, she made a stabbing stance.

　Lilac's expression changed at the fluid motion.

"Shh--

Imitation: Lilac M. Fangini = Court of Self-Defense: Grigemot.

　A conch was thrust at her throat, and Lilac slowly lowered her own sword.


"...... Huh. You've lost again, haven't you?
But you're getting faster and faster at making the right choices with your reflexes. Well done.

　I'm not flattered, but I'm honestly impressed.
　Lilac, however, was not pleased and puffed out her cheeks.

"You sound like a teacher."
"Oh, no, not at all.
....... That's all right. I forgive you. --That was fun.

　Sheathing her contessa, Lilac stretched lightly.

　Sheathing her contessa, Lilac stretched lightly, her pale cheeks glistening in the pale night light, the sweat on her neck glistening.

"Princess. It's getting cold. Shall we go back?
"No. Don't you think it would be good to have a little relaxation?
It's every day at .......
It doesn't matter if it's every day or just one night. It doesn't matter if it's every day or just one night.

　Lilac was in such a good mood that she was almost humming, but Futa was not so tactful as to insist.

　Besides, Lilac seemed to be enjoying herself more than usual today.

"Princess, did something good happen to you?
"What makes you think that?
No, she seemed to be smiling more than usual during the ...... handfasting.

　Yesterday, I felt like she was taking the match a little more seriously - or trying a little harder.

　Of course, it's not that Lilac is unserious today, and if anything, her swordsmanship is better than yesterday.

　However, it bothered me a little that Lilac, who had a strong impression of calmness and strength, was wielding her konzesh so innocently, as if she were a child.

It's easy, Futa. I'm always like this.
"What?　No, I feel differently.
You've just been stifling it until now.

　Lilac, who had been looking up at the night sky, gave Futa a look and stuck out her tongue at him.

I've had to at least pretend that I was hiding and playing with you. Now that Richter has put a check on us, we don't have to hide anymore.

　In that sense," he said, turning to Huta and smiling, folding his hands behind his back.

"It's thanks to your victory over Richter. I'm grateful for your victory over Richter, as I should be considering your capabilities.
"I see. So you're happy to accept the ...... private battle?
Whether you accept or not is irrelevant to the contract. It's your choice, Hooter.
I see. Then I'm glad I took it.

　Lilac narrowed her eyes at Futa, who smiled loosely.

It's time to be sure.

　She took a glance at the contessa that she wore around her waist and muttered.

　It was the conclusion of the analysis he had been carrying out since he met Futa.

"Well. There is one thing I need to tell you, will you listen?
"I don't need your permission. Yes, sir?
Even if it's about 'unemployment'?"

　Futa gulped at the question.
　He looked squarely at Lilac and shook his head with a smile.

"I don't care about my profession anymore. I have a lot more important things to do than that.
"I see. Let's talk at .......

　--I've done some research on the power of the "unemployed" profession.