We went to Canale Castle at night.
　There was no gatekeeper, but there were soldiers patrolling around the castle, so we told them what happened and asked them to let us in.

　When I entered the castle, Menace came in with a look of panic.

''Welcome, Ars-sama, the information about Perena County has been waiting for you, Lemeil-sama.

　It sounds like the soldier told him why we're here.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know what time of night it is.
'No, no, no, I should report important news as soon as possible. Now, I will take you to Master Lemayre.

　For a sudden visit, you're showing me around so easily. I wonder if it was just the time of day when they weren't doing anything.
　We followed Menace's lead down to Lemayre.


'Ars, well done.'
I'm sorry to be so late at night.
That's fine, that's fine. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was really a good idea to leave it to you, but it was quite a feat to see you come up with the information so quickly.
I'm afraid that compliment is a bit premature...

　Menace pointed out at Lemayle's words.

'Yes, I suppose so. Umm, I don't know what kind of information you have yet. Let me know as soon as you can.'
Very well. Now, please look at this.

　I took the pact that Leets had left with me and handed it to Lemayre.

The letter....

　Lemeil received the pact and looked inside.

''This is........a letter of pact?　 .........What?　This!

　Perhaps he saw the signature and seal of the Massa County Mayor.
　His eyes widened in astonishment.

'Nah, my God ... you mean Massa County has been attached to Master Basamark?　S-, that's ridiculous........I'm sure Lord Masa County Chief would have thought highly of Clan-sama......and he's not the kind of person who can lie to you.......

　Lemayle, who has actually met with the Massa County Mayor, seems to be in greater shock than we are.

'This is the real thing?'
"There is no doubt that this came from the residence of the mayor of Perena county. But I don't know if the signature and seal on the pledge are authentic.
What do you mean?

　I explained that this could be a ploy by Basamark.

''I see.......Master Basamark is a smart man, so it's not surprising that he would try such a trick......but from my eyes, all the signatures and seals on this pact appear to be genuine.

　Rumail said as he looked at the pact carefully. He's probably seen the signatures and seals of the nobles more times than we have, so if he says it, it must be a mistake.
　However, that would mean that Masa County would be the enemy. In that case, what kind of decision would Lemeil make?

''Um, let me see that pact for a moment.

　Menace, who had been listening to the conversation beside Lemayle, asked that.

'Oh, I see. You have a power that you can use at times like this.

　Menace stared at the pact carefully.

'Hmm. I believe this one is signed and stamped by Massa County as a fake.
Really?
Yeah, just a second.

　With that, Menace left the room.

'Menace has the ability to connoisseurship signatures and marks like this.

　I don't know if I have such special skills.
　My appraisal can look at the status, but it can't measure whether or not I have these special abilities and so on. So you shouldn't think that the results of an appraisal can completely measure a person's competence or incompetence.
　It would be helpful if the skills grow and special abilities also show up in the results of the appraisal, but the things displayed in my appraisal have not grown at all since the first time I used it. Can't we expect it to do so?

　After a while, Menace came back to me.

　He brought another letter with him.

'This one is signed and stamped by Mr. Massa, the County Chief. Let's compare them to each other, just to be sure.

　Menace compared the signature and seal on the letter of engagement with the letter he had brought with him.

　Incidentally, the Masa County Mayor's seal is designed as a hexagon with a circle inside it and a pentagram inside the circle.

''As I thought.......the circle is slightly odd.......the hexagon seems to be slightly smaller too.

　I honestly don't know, but if I take a closer look at it, I don't feel like it.

　Menace now brought out a ruler. With it, he measured the two marks.

'They're still slightly different, though. The signatures are very similar, but there is a slight difference in the habits of the writing. I am sure that this one is a fake. The other signatures and seals are probably genuine, and I'm sure they have the cooperation of all the county mayors on Basamark's side.
Hmm, it's a fake. That's a relief.

　The chief of the county was relieved that Masa County was not with the enemy.

'From now on, I will report this matter to the Masa County Chieftain, Mr. Clan, and we will resolve it. This time it was a big deal. I will make you take your reward later, and you can wait until then.
That's very kind of you, sir.

　I'm confused by the praise I've received because it was thanks to Fam that I found out about the information this time. Fam also found out about it through Reetz's introduction.
　Well, I guess it's the lord's way of thinking that the credit of his vassals is also his own.

　We returned to the mansion after an overnight stay at the castle.

　And a few weeks later.

　A few weeks later, I received a letter telling me that I had successfully orchestrated Perena County and to come to Canale Castle.