Day 103 of the Otherworld Summoning [Those in Motion] Part 1:

''I apologize for my unexpected intrusion at your busy time. I am deeply grateful for the Earl of Bergston's generosity. I am Mikoshiba Ryoma, Your Highness's emissary. Please get to know me.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal of information on this.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal of information on this.
It's time for lunch, as the sun is just now approaching the mid-heaven, so it's time for lunch, according to common sense.
It is not a very appropriate time to visit a nobleman.

You can't be too coarse when you are sent by His Highness. It's natural that her entourage, Mertina, will be there as well.

When he said that, the Earl of Bergston laughed at the hawk and offered a chair to Ryoma and the others.

I'm sure you'll be able to find it. What can I do for you?

Of course, this question is not the real question.
At this time of political instability, a messenger from the princess party came to the onlookers, the Earl of Bergston.
You can't fail to notice it if you have any sense of control.

I'm sure you're right, so let's do our duty first.

Liang Zhen's words made the Earl of Bergston frown slightly.
In fact, Mertina had already asked for the help of the princess's party about a month ago.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a good deal more information on this topic.

"What? Are you on a mission?

What do you mean? ....Who the hell is this man in the first place? (I'm sure neither the knightly nor the aristocracy ever had a man like this.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get my hands on any of these things.
And then a man whom you have never seen before began to speak.
It is impossible to tell them not to be confused.

''Yes, Your Highness. Her Royal Highness is very sad.

'How? Against what?

There was no change in the Earl of Bergston's face.

''It's regarding the fate of the Earl Bergston family, which is one of the most prestigious families in the Roselia Kingdom.''

Hearing Liangma's words, Count Bergston had a hard time swallowing the curses that had reached his throat.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of information.
Suddenly it becomes the story of the future of the Earl of Bergston's family.
I'm sure it's not a good thing for the Bergbaston family, considering the prelude to the princess's lament.
It's no wonder the earl, who thought he was the person who came to ask for help, wanted to shout abuse.
The princess group is a weak person who cannot worry about others.
But even so, Count Bergston cut back with a smile as if nothing happened.

''Hou? The fate of my family? I am honored that His Highness is concerned about the fate of a small nobleman like my family, despite the many hardships he has endured. Will you tell Your Highness that I am deeply grateful to the Earl of Bergston for his kindness?

It's an almost perfect answer.
On the surface, he expresses his gratitude to the princess while maintaining his pride as a nobleman, but underneath the surface, there is a mockery of the princess.
Are you in a position to worry about my family? And.

(Hmm. What do you think?

In a way, Ryoma was relieved to hear Count Bergston's words.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to do.
There's no need to limit yourself to military matters, politics, economics, diplomacy and culture, all of which the princess lacks.
Of course, this may not be the responsibility of the princess alone.
But in reality, Princess Lupis is surrounded by warriors.
Even his close aide, Mertina, can't be relied upon for his personal military prowess and loyalty to the princess, but for his intelligence and political sense.
That may be the occupational disease of being a knight in a way.
What is required of a knight is martial arts skill and loyalty to the royal family.
I'm sure you'll find that you'll be able to get a lot more out of this.
That's not a bad thing.
It's because a knight needs honor and pride.
But from the point of view of an organization, it can only be said to be distorted and incomplete.

That's why Ryoma chose the Earl of Bergston as the first person to be brought into the princess faction.
This man who had excellent political power, but was hated for his condescending and arrogant attitude, and was shunned by both Duke Gerhardt and the late King Falst II of Roselia.

'Humility, my lord. The Earl of Bergston has a vast territory and a large population. With an army of about 1,000? We can't call ourselves feeble aristocrats.

The messenger has bought my house. Or is the conflict with the nobleman's faction causing him to lose his ability to make sound judgments?　Hahahahaha.

No, no. I'm sure I made the right decision, right? I have heard that Lord Gerhardt is also very fond of the Countess of Bergston, as proof of this. Or have you already joined the aristocracy?

What! That's a problem. I'm not going to be able to get away with it.

The Earl of Bergston laughed at the hawk, cleverly hiding his surprise.

You'll be able to find out more about it. That should put Her Highness at ease. After all, Her Royal Highness was worried that the Earl of Bergston was going to be tamed and killed with nothing to show for it.

'What! What does that mean?!

Hearing Ryouma's words, Count Bergston's complexion changes.

''Oh? How can I help you? Wasn't that a story that had no roots?

Hearing Liangma's words, Earl Bergston sat back in his chair deeply and exhaled heavily and said.



The Earl of Bergston sounded somewhat resigned.

You're not going to be able to get it right.

It's a good thing that you can't get away from it.

(Nonsense! What do you mean by that? Had the Earl of Bergston already been taken in by the Aristocracy? ...when did this all start? And how long has this guy known about it? (I can't drag this man down by doing something extra!

Because Ryoma hadn't explained anything to her at all.
It's not surprising that she's upset.
What Mertina was assigned to do was to prove that Ryoma, a newcomer to the party, was a person of the princess school.
That's all.

Despite her turmoil, the press conference of Ryoma and the others continues.

''I don't know where it leaked from, but this decision won't change, will it?

Count Bergston looked at Ryoma with a searching look.

''Yes, that's all right.

''What?!''

''The only person who will lose is you, Earl Bergston.''

Hearing Liangzhen's words, Earl Bergston pondered deeply.

''What do you mean? What are you saying? That I'm going to lose money?

After a long silence, the Earl of Bergston finally said just that and urged Ryoma to explain.

'Oh?

The explanation that came out of Liangma's mouth was a strong shock to both Mertina and the Earl of Bergston.


''Under what conditions was the Earl of Bergston recruited by the aristocracy?''

The Earl of Bergston replied to Liangzhen's words with a reluctant expression.

''When Princess Ladine, who is held by the aristocracy, ascends to the throne, she has been promised the position of Minister of Finance with an additional territory.

''Ho, that's a very good deal.

That's right! I can't afford to make all these conditions for the princesses!

At Count Bergston's words, Ryoma had to try hard to hide his mockery.

''Well, aside from the fact that you can't produce it, what did you ask for in order to get that reward?''

....

The Earl of Bergston closed his mouth.
Because of the talk of his own loss, it was exposed that he belonged to the noble faction, but he couldn't easily tell the princesses what the noble faction was doing.

''Recruiting other bystanders and not moving the Earl of Bergston's soldiers. What do you think? That's about it, isn't it?

What!

The Earl of Bergston's mouth speaks in surprise.

"Well, I don't have any other tasks to ask of the Earl of Bergston. For the aristocracy.

What do you mean?

'Well, that's fine, but isn't that an unbeatable reward for that level of work?

The Earl of Bergston pondered Ryojin's words.
It was certainly a deal that could be called unbeatable.
It's not at all a loss for Earl Bergston to work on the sidelines or not move his own troops.

''It's because it's a promise he has no intention of keeping from the start.''

Count Bergston's face changed color at Liang Zhen's words.

''Ba........silly......that can't be.......''

To begin with, it's impossible to achieve. To begin with, it's impossible for you to get the position of Minister of Finance and the addition of lands to your estate, since you belong to the aristocracy. Because you belong to the aristocracy.

What is an aristocrat, anyway?
It is a generic term for people who are granted a certain amount of autonomy by the kingdom.
On the other hand, a knight is a soldier under the direct control of the royal family, and although he or she has a status similar to that of a nobleman, he or she does not have a fiefdom.
The knight is the cornerstone of the military force, and all the positions they reach are military positions.
There are some special positions that both nobles and knights have been given, but basically the nobles have been in charge of domestic affairs and the knights have been in charge of military affairs.
Now, here is the problem.
Will an important position in the internal affairs of the aristocracy be left vacant even if the knights are defeated?
The answer is no.
The only positions that will be vacant after the aristocrats defeat the knightly faction will be military ones.
And even if the finance minister's seat is opened, the chances of it going to the Earl of Bergston are zero.
And even if the office of finance minister were to open up, the chances of it going to the Earl of Bergston would be zero, because it would be filled by a person who has always belonged to the aristocracy.
If an overwhelmingly inferior force wins with the help of a person with a strong background, it is possible to call it an unusual selection.
But as in this case, the aristocrats already have an advantage over the knights.
I'm not going to be able to get on the winning horse afterwards, there's no way I'm going to be able to overtake someone who has been with me for some time.
And if you think about it for a moment, you will see that the addition of territory is also impossible.
The reason is that even if you defeat the knight faction, the dominant land is not originally held by the knights.
If that's the case, there is no choice but to cut down the lands directly under the royal family.
But would Lord Gerhardt really do such a thing?
If you want to weaken the royal family and say that you will eventually seize the throne, then that may be a possibility.
But if the aristocrats win, their leader, Lord Gerhardt, will literally become the supreme power to control the queen.
Even if he had the ambition to seize the crown from you eventually, would he bother to divide the royal family's direct control of the land between the aristocrats who came afterwards?
Would they divide it up between nobles who joined the faction along the way who didn't do much work to give it to them, or other nobles who joined the faction?
I can assure you that it's not going to happen first.
If you're going to give it to someone who's been under you for years, you'll give it to someone who's been under you for years.
And if not, the faction itself could be blown up.


Hearing Liangzhen's explanation, Count Bergston's face turned pale.

''So you're saying I'm stupid...''

Such words of self-mockery escaped the Count's mouth.

I'm glad to hear that you can understand.

In fact, even Mertina, who was listening beside me, could not help but be convinced by the explanation in a way that was easy to understand.

(This is....)

Mertina felt more fear than relief that her power was on her side against Ryoma.

(How far does this guy read into it? I'm just a mercenary. (And all this in just one week...)

What should I do?

The Earl of Bergston asked Ryoma without effort.

''That's right. You can see where you're going to end up if you stay with the aristocrats, and even if you join the knightly party, you'll be crushed by that General Hodram, right?

It's a word with some implications.
The Earl of Bergston thought for a moment before cutting in.

''Assuming that I assisted Your Highness... well...''

I'm slurring my words, but the sama is about what kind of treatment he's going to give me.

''Well well of course I can't have the finance minister's chair or anything like that, but........''

Hearing Ryouma's words, Count Bergston's face clouded over.
But when he heard his next words, life returned to his face.

''If His Highness wins this battle, of course, the aristocracy will be greatly reduced, if not wiped out..........then naturally, a number of positions will be vacated, if that happens, hey?

In other words, if the princess wins, the aristocrats will be the ones who helped the princess to win the majority of these positions.
Considering the fact that the princess's supporters are the knightly faction, she can still hope for a high enough position even if she joins the princess faction from now on.
In addition, since the target is a nobleman, you can expect to confiscate the territory, and of course, Count Bergston will also receive an addition.
I'm sure you'll be able to see the future from Ryoushin's words, and then you'll see that joining the princess faction is an option in the mind of Bergston.

It's not bad.......much better than joining the aristocrats and becoming a slaughterhouse......but this is only if the princess party wins......if they don't, what we're talking about now is completely meaningless. (There will be no more...)

Mikoshiba-dono I'm sorry, but I need some time to think about this.

No problem. Just how much do you need? I'm not sure I have much time to spare.

Liang Shin also doesn't think that Count Bergston will decide to help the princess faction now and then.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the world.
However, Ryoujin can't afford to waste his time on the Earl of Bergston alone.
He must cut down the other bystanders.



Very well. I await your wise decision.

Ryoma replied as he tightened his grip on the right hand that the Earl of Bergston held out to him.