We leave the mansion and walk together.

　Out of our view, there should be an escort following us from behind.

　The armed soldiers nearby might not be able to genuinely enjoy the experience, so they are escorted from a distance, but honestly, I think it would be better to follow them as normal.
　When something happens, it's doubtful that you'll be able to handle it from that position. Well, I've never been attacked in the village, so I'm sure it's probably nothing.

　And the problem is what to do in the village.

　There's not much to do in Randolph Village.
　There are no recreational facilities or anything like that, so it's doubtful that this would make a good date.

　I have a feeling that it would be better to walk around the garden slowly while admiring the flowers, but Rietz suggested that we walk around the village, saying, "Being admired by the lords is an appeal to be a good lord.

　I wondered if such an appeal would work for a child, but I figured that the other party was also a child of a nobleman and might have received that kind of education, so I decided to go to the village after all.
　Lysia would be a smart kid, so it seemed that was not wrong.

　I wish I could make her enjoy herself through conversation, but it wasn't her strong suit.
　I was worried that it would be okay, but perhaps because Lysia was a good conversationalist, the conversation was unexpectedly lively.

　After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the village.

　For now, I'm going to go to the square in the center of the village.

　The square is small, but there is a market. Basically not much stuff is sold, but sometimes there are days when there are rare things. It's the place where the most people gather, and it's always busy, so we'll go here first anyway.

''Then we'll head to the village's central square first.
Yes, sir.

　First I told them where I was going and then I started walking towards the square.


　When I arrive at the square, I notice that something is a little off.

　It's always a busy place, but there's something about a crowd of people, and I can hear the angry shouts coming from there.

'Give me my money back!' "You're the one who's going to keep your word, a**h*les! And a foul-mouthed shouting match has begun. If it's not good, it could turn into a brawl.

　Is there any trouble at such an important time?

　What to do. Should I ignore it?
　But as the son of a lord, ignoring the troubles of the lords might look bad.

''What could have happened?''

　Lisia muttered anxiously.
　It looks like she's concerned about it, and I guess we'll still have to work it out here somehow.

　Causing trouble at a time like this, it's just the wrong time to do it.

　I've told the villagers that Lisia is coming, but I haven't told them how exactly I'm going to spend my time.

　I guess not many of them think she's coming to the village.

''Shall I ask them?''

　I asked a villager who was watching the scene nearby what was going on.

'What's going on here?'
You're a little boy. Huh?　

　Lysia greeted the villagers in a civilized manner.

''This whole mess... it's getting a little complicated, you know?
Complicated?

　After that, the villagers explained the whole situation to me.

　Let me explain it to you in order.

　There is a small supplier in this village. The furniture craftsmen in the village made a deal with this supplier.

　As winter was coming on, the cabinetmakers wanted to make and sell their newly developed heating apparatus. They asked the supplier to purchase the magical stone of fire, the material for the new heating device.

　The magic stone is the raw material for the magic water used in magic, but it has other uses as well.

　For example, the flame magic stone emits a slight heat. I don't know the details, but it was recently discovered that when the magic stone is exposed to some substance, the heat rises sharply, and apparently a heating device was developed that makes use of this feature.

　Since I don't even have this heating device in my house, I would probably have bought it if it was made.

　Magic stones have become more expensive due to the effects of wars in many places, but poor quality magic stones can't be used for magic water. Therefore, they are traded cheaply, and the suppliers have been buying them.

　However, that's where the trouble comes in.
　The magic stones that the stockists had purchased were not flames, but sounds.

　Perhaps there had been a miscommunication, and the supplier had thought that he was going to use the magic stone to create a sound augmenter and sell it to the Loevent family.

　You can't make a voice expander and you can't use a magical sound stone, they said, but they were sure that we were asked to buy the magical sound stone.

　The cabinetmakers are angry that we want our money back up front, and the supplier is angry that we should stick to our word and buy the sound magic stone.

　I honestly don't know which is worse.
　Either one of them would have failed to pass on the information, but we don't know that.

　The Rovent family is supposed to be present when the deal is made to prevent this kind of trouble from happening, but it seems that they were too lazy to do so because they have had so few problems.

　If one of them lost money, then the one who lost money is the one who lost money, but as it stands, both of them are losing money.

　If I say that it's bad that I didn't ask them to be present at the meeting, the commotion will be settled for a time, but both parties will not be relieved. It is likely that a fight will occur again.

　I wonder if we can find out who was at fault if we ask those involved in the transaction.
　But the one who made the mistake may not be telling the truth.

　Isn't there a better way to put this situation behind us somewhere?

　When I think about it.

'Um, Master Ars, could I have your ear for a moment?　I've got a better idea on how to make this go away.

　Lysia told me so.