Don't worry. He's a bright guy. I don't want to take the risk of him getting a hold of me. Well, that's just for now, of course.

　Isle threw some good-natured words at the two squires.

　It is noticeable when he firmly throws out a check against Ars as well. Yes, even Ars couldn't touch him now.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with them.

''--!　Master Isle, no more....
I told you, he's untouchable right now so don't mess with him.
But.....

　Isle smilingly ignored Silsila's concern for the expressionless Silsila and proceeded to speak.
　Orneus already understood and is in a position to move at any time.

''Well, now do you understand, Watchdog-kun?''

　Ars passes the ridicule off as aloof. It's true that he's the country's watchdog. But--'

'Then watch your mouth, and when you cross the line in my mind, I'll cut off your head and body without even realizing it.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of your boundaries, but I'm not an idiot and I'm not tolerant enough to give you a call on the bluff. There is no advantage for me in the academy that this chancellor oversees. So.........I won't get in.
Hmm, I can't eat.
I'll take that as a compliment.

　Ars spits out evasively. If you can take it to our advantage, you could smash it without creating anything.
　This room is equipped with a magical power sensing recording device. The term "self-defense" will come in handy.

　If they attacked us at random, we could take the means to screw them over without question. If that happens, it shouldn't be a matter of Tesfia. And moreover, Ail was not yet the head of the family. As the Ummulina family, we should not be able to avoid holding Ail personally accountable.

　If the Chancellor's mouthpiece, everything should roll in Ars's hands, and rank is its value to humanity, so to speak. Even a fool who thinks of self-defense will not overrule it before the masses.
　But that's probably where they are, even if they are rotten, they are still aristocrats. With a bluff of the Ars level, those who have a good arm may be hooked, but the rags will be exposed to the type who thinks first with their heads.

　However, even if it is only for a moment, the fact that he is unresponsive to the lingering scent of murderous air released by Ars is almost a bit of a scowl.
　Even though he has an intuition of death, it still doesn't reflect it, and Ail may not be attached to his own life, or maybe it's just a rarity.
　An unusual thought that outweighs even his instinctive fear. It is alien to Ars, to be awe-inspiring in a different way than Ars.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to find a way to get a job.

''It's quite a mess, but do you want to stand around and talk?

　Isle took a dumbfounded glance around before asking. The couch is still intact if you want to sit down, but the glass shards and broken cups scattered on the floor give it a physical appearance.

'I don't mind,'
That's good to hear.

　Underneath a big smile, Isle chuckled at the win. It was great to get through this bluff. It would give us an advantage in all the stories that follow.
　Creating a relationship that could be presented as an advantage was first and foremost in line with Ail's plan.

(I feel like I'm walking a tightrope without a lifeline, but I'm the one who made it across.)

　But, after all, the Isle had to be careful not to cross the line. Even though he hadn't intended to do so from the beginning, it might be possible for Ars to kill them. Only in this moment, might be possible was a big deal.
　Isle calculates the ability of the magician who crowns the highest rank with his hand strength.

(............Is it too harsh?

　That was the decision. Even Silsila and Orneus, who are the leading forces of the Ummulina family, have no reason to be an enemy in magical battles against Arus, who is at full strength.

　In the first place, it would have to be good just to know that Ars has no restrictions on his actions at his own discretion under any circumstances. It may be impossible to control Ars in the true sense of the word.

　When one's life is at stake, one is forced to ignore the regulations of the military. This is not a thought but a reflexive action. There are infinitely few things that weigh more than one's own life, and not many people can divide it that way. Immediate compromises beyond the fear of death, and missions and non-negotiable wishes beyond the weight of life, result in a lack of self-reflection.
　In other words, there must be rules, pride, and important things that are higher than life, but in Ars, the scope of those rules and pride surpassed that of an ordinary person.

　Of course, as a powerful man, it was a broad thing to do, but that was why he had to be careful.

　It was something that Ail couldn't help but endure. The lowly remain lowly in order to gain power, and nobility is a precious treasure and asset in itself, inheriting noble blood and existence.
　Status is not something you try to become, it's something that is fixed from the beginning.

　But even though he may be lowly, Isle respects and gives due recognition to those who are powerful. The Isle has twisted the strong who stand against him. Power is a power that can move the numbers over the power of the individual.

　Even if it's a single horseman, if a thousand is not good enough, it's Ail's idea to hit him with ten thousand. If you're not a pawn, you just have to ask them to leave or fall away.
　However, this is a difficult opponent, not to mention a difficult opponent compared to the ones that Ail has dropped so far - who have lost their popularity, their jobs and everything. Hence, it was very much worth trying.

　Originally, he should have been nothing more than a pawn to Ars to spread the name of Alpha in the outside world. That role alone is satisfying enough. It would even make him drool that the country he would eventually get his hands on would have unparalleled achievements in seven countries thanks to Ars.

　Such a thing was only an illusion, Ayre had learned one thing. The mellow-smelling flower called Alpha had attracted numerous enemies.
　In order to win out among them, Ail would have to be prepared to do so at some point.

　That is now. It's not a matter of making up one's mind, but everything was taken as a test as it was necessary to push oneself to the top.
　But it's not an easy place to climb to the top by luck.
　You'll be able to see that it's not just a matter of time before you get to the top.

"You and I are on the same page, but you're going to have to accept my proposal, right?
So.....

　Ars asks the content of this in a hurry. It will only become so if it comes to this point.

You may not know it, but one method has often been used for a long time to resolve disputes between nobles. These days, they try to resolve everything by saying it's money or something, but it's a bit shallow. Many of them misrepresent their nobility. So, I'll take the most straightforward way to do it.

　It doesn't sound familiar, as it should. That may be a minor thing that only applies among the nobility.

'Aristocrat rulings (temblums) are not used much now, but they were very commonplace until about a century ago. It's a simple game. Yes, games with a gambling element, such as chess and table games, often had substitutes and made the opponent accept various conditions. In negotiations and disagreements, it's important to keep things black and white clear. And of course, we have to make sure that both sides agree to the game.

　Among them, tenebraham is the bloodiest method. This is called a game only for those in a dominant position.

　Tenblum is a game of ten against ten, with the maximum being ten for the king. There is only one restriction regarding the members: those who are connected to the house. This interpretation is that they are included in the power of the house. This includes the steward or private army serving the house. In this sense, working employees must also be eligible to participate if they have been engaged for at least two years.

　They use their noble reputation, or lateral connections, as it were, to recruit people. You have to rely on your contacts as a nobleman.
　Each family can send up to one member to play as a substitute, but this game is a big game with the family name at stake.
　Therefore, few noblemen will readily accept to participate in the game. In that case, the game can even be structured as a 1:10 game.
　The reason why Temblum was not used anymore was because it tended to be used for purges. It would be better if it was only the target house, but the rule that the participating nobles would also sit in a row works as a fetter for cooperation.

　The rules of tenebrams are really quite simple. In a sense, though, it can be seen as a chess game or a mini-war.
　First of all, there is a division into the roles of the king and his vassals. The king, of course, must be the one who has played the role of Temblum, and only one person can play the role of the king.

　A vassal to protect the king - a nobleman can be substituted for a participant in this game. The King can only command and direct the whole group, but instead acts as a vassal, whose orders must be obeyed by the members.
　The kings organize their battles by looking at a map that shows the locations of all the participants, but they have no way of knowing which of their opponents are in the battlefield without being informed by their companions.

　It is a common practice for the king to give orders to his members in various ways so that the opponents do not realize who is in what position.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.
　Of course, it's pretty blurry, but I guess you could call this a bit of a playful thing.
　If you agree to this, everything is as you want it to be.
　Ten Bram, or rather the restrictions with the nobleman would be verbal and carry weight.

　This proposal was one of the measures I had prepared in case an individual named Ars came out. Even here, Isle, who had already picked up a win in the exchange, spoke eloquently about how it was a very fair proposal.

　However, this is a concession from the Umluina family.
　From the beginning, Ars had arrived here at a disadvantage. With some sense of discomfort, Ars ponders.

''If the other nobles who participated lost, what is the actual blame for that?

　He didn't know how much risk would be involved if he were to recruit a comrade, and he didn't know the specific sanction for it.

　Isle replied exuberantly, as if he didn't understand how much it meant. It was as if it had been decided from the beginning.

'In fact, enforcement power is nothing more than that. It's not such an immense rule. But there is one thing that is implicit in the act of exclusion among the nobility. It's inevitable that they will be treated coldly in various ways. It's true that the houses of the parties involved are inevitable to fall, but some of the nobles who only participated are still surviving, albeit in a small way.
I see.

　If it were only in words, it would sound like nothing. Even though they are noblemen, there are those who have acquired fiefdoms, albeit small, and in that case, autonomy as a lord is also part of their job. In that case, autonomy as a lord is also part of their job.
　Involvement with the military is not the only thing that enriches the pockets of the nobility. Business successes and the like are not uncommon there. Even if you are a successful person, when some kind of pressure is added, even vested interests cease to function and even life becomes impossible.

　From the way he speaks now, the Wurmluina family, a family that is highly respected among the nobility. Even the military could conceivably move.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them. With the military, the academy and the nobility would be the main source of mages.

　It won't be easy to secure human resources.
　As Isle said, the parallel lines of confrontation tell us that there is no settlement in negotiations.

　There is no room for others to intervene in the arrangements between the nobles. So, this time too, no matter what Ars says, it will not be overturned.
　I'm not going to be the only one who can do something about it, but the Favre family. It's the kind of thing that aristocrats are.
　There was no room for concern for Ars from the beginning. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what the other party wants, but in an aristocratic society, this is the only way to overturn it, not being a nobleman.
　You can't interfere with a head of state when you have heard the story of Tesfia and a formal engagement has been made. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for, because any evidence of wrongdoing has either been buried in the past or never existed in the first place.

　Even Ars, as expected, cannot be allowed to deny the existing aristocracy system from the ground up. This is even more so when he has studied and read a variety of materials.
　Human activity is the result of accumulating the past. Successes and failures are also a source of sustenance for the present.

　That's why Ars accepts this proposal with an open mind.
　He tried to swallow it.

But first, I have a condition.
"--!　You're greedy.
Some people make fun of the aristocracy, but the thought of giving up a loved one is quite unbearable. But the thought of giving up someone I love is quite unbearable for me, too.

　Als, who swore inwardly, ''What mouth is that?'' he swore inwardly, and held his tongue as if urging them to go on.

I'm not going to be able to get to the top of the list," he said, "but if I win the nobleman's ruling (temblum), you will have to hand over the ownership of Ars Regin. Of course, the Umljina family will be responsible for negotiations with the military. It's just that your duties will change from the military to me. We'll see about some restrictions then, shall we?