It was decided that he would go to the Imperial City, and once there, he returned to Lumberk to get ready.
　Lysia's side needs to prepare as well.
　Since Lamberg is closer to Sempler than Torbekista, Lysia will come here once she is ready.

　I got ready to go to Sempraa first.
　I'm going to get the supplies from Sempler to the Imperial City there.
　It would be too much of a quandary to transport from here.

　Then I will decide what will accompany me.
　Naturally, an escort will be needed to get to Sempra, and although the Clan will probably provide an escort from there as well, it would still be better to have a trustworthy escort.
　If you think about it, the escort will probably prioritize guarding the Clan's eldest son, so there's a good chance he won't be able to protect me or Lycia in a time of need.

　It would be better to have Charlotte accompany me.

　Rietz can't be allowed to go to the imperial capital, where there is a lot of discrimination against the Marka people. I'll have him stay behind and let him take care of the mansion.

　The only other one with high military prowess is Mireille.
　However, I don't want to take Mireille with me because I don't know what kind of trouble she might cause.
　Well, I'm afraid to leave them behind while I'm not in the mansion, but if Reetz is there, he'll be able to handle it.

　There are Roselle's brothers and others who are of high military prowess there, so let's take them with us.

　I sent a letter to the Clan stating that Lysia had agreed to take them and then I was going too.
　I won't wait for a reply because it will take a lot of time.
　However, it would be difficult if the Clan refused to let me go.
　The ship will be large, so I think it will be fine, but it's not a sure thing to get permission to go. If it's a tough case, we'll just have to negotiate successfully somehow.

　A few days later, Lysia came to the mansion.
　It seems that she came in a carriage.
　She is accompanied by a maid who takes care of her personal affairs and some soldiers.

　I don't know when the preparations for the departure will be finished, so it's better to head to Sempra as soon as possible.
　We will be heading to Sempraa soon after Lithia's arrival.

''I'll be off then.''
Yes we'll take care of the mansion.

　Rietz said with a forlorn look on his face.

''Will you take me with you, too? The imperial capital is where all of Samaforce gathers together for a good drink.'
I think it would be more fun for me too if Sister Mireille came with me.

Charlotte asked me to do so.

'I'm not going to go sightseeing. There's probably liquor in Lumberg.'
Mmm, no.
Lord Arus is a hard man.

　Mireille has asked many times to go, but each time she refuses to go. With Charlotte with her, plus Mireille drinking, there's only a bad feeling. I even have a feeling that she's going to be wanted for blasting magic at the Imperial City.

'What kind of place is Imperial City and Paradile?　Ars, go get me a souvenir.

　Roselle demanded a souvenir.

'So I'm not going to go sightseeing so... well, at least a souvenir would be nice.

　Roselle loves books, so if I find any unusual books, I'll get them for you.

''Then I wish you, Ars-sama, and Charlotte, a safe journey. Have a good trip.
Yeah, I'm off.
Bye, sir.

　Then we left the mansion. Then we got into the carriage and set off with Lysia for Sempra.


　00


　The road to the Sempler was as dangerous as ever, and the bandits were coming out, but with Charlotte there, it was easy to drive them away.

　They all arrived at Sempraa unharmed.

''This is Sempra... I haven't traveled very far, so I've heard of the ocean, but there really is such a large amount of water here,''
This time we'll take a boat over there to the Imperial City.
I'm kind of excited about it.

　Lysia's cheeks relaxed.
　She was a little worried about whether she was worried about going away, but it seemed to be unfounded.

　After that, Lysia and I went to the Sempra Castle to meet with Clan.

'That is Lysia, or I am Clan Salemakia.

　The Clan lowered their voices and introduced themselves in an intimidating manner.

'Nice to meet you. My name is Lysia Plaid. I've heard of Master Clan's eminence many times.

　He returned the greeting without seeming to move at all.

　The Clan's expression softened a bit when they saw that Lycia was looking at him.

Hm, women and children are usually too scared to speak well, but they seem to have a lot of heart.

　Maybe he was trying a little?
　Well, I guess he was going to decide that it was not a good idea to get upset here.
　I have faith in my powers, but I understand that you want to test me at the very least.

'So it was mentioned in the letter, Ars. I see you're coming too.
Yes, Lady Lycia asked for it.
As far as I'm concerned, I have no problem with you going.
Thank you.

　I was relieved to get permission easily.

Not that it was a problem, but I was rather hoping they would go.
''You mean, you want me to go find talent in the Imperial City?
'Not so. Can you see your own genius in its power?
No, I can't see only my own abilities.
'I see. I have the impression that you have a political flair. I was wondering if perhaps you could be useful as an aid to the negotiations yourself.
Is that right?

　Political brilliance?
　It turns out that military prowess and wits aren't much, but I'm not currently sure about leadership and politics.
　I can't say that I don't have talent, but I can't really feel it when I'm told I do.
　Honestly, I have no idea if I've shown any talent, and I'm not sure why I thought that. I guess it's just a gut feeling.
　To be honest, I don't think I have any talent, but it might be a good idea to think about it at least.

It will be another week or so before we leave port. That's right. My son is just here at the castle, so I'll introduce him to you.