April 25, noon, April 25, 2813 in the Western Continental Calendar

　Several galleons were at anchor and quietly folding their sails on the harbor pier.

"'Welcome to the ship. Your Excellency Baron Mikoshiba.

　Nearly a dozen humans greeted Ryoma as he stepped off the galleon and onto the pier.
　At the front are the three chiefs, Henry, Andre and Rueda.
　Behind them are their entourage.

My name is Andre. I am one of the chiefs of this town. I am one of the chiefs of this town, and although I don't know much about this remote area, I would like to entertain you to the best of my ability today.

　Andre takes a step forward and breaks his back deeply.
　It's probably because he is a former trading merchant, and he has been to many occasions like this.
　In contrast to his appearance, he has a perfect manner that seems to flow.
　The people who are waiting behind him also bow in unison following his movements.
　They must have had a detailed meeting beforehand.
　They greeted Ryojin with perfect etiquette despite being pirates.

It's the one who took the liberty of sending us to the ship to pick you up and welcome you today.

　When I said that, Ryoma bowed lightly.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the world, but I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the world of the Earth.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of good reasons for this.
　Andre and the others looked suspicious for a moment, but they were not foolish enough to say it right here.
　With a smiling smile, they took the lead and led Ryoma into town.

''The number of attendants seems to be small?''

　Ruida tilted her head when she saw the soldiers who followed Ryozen and came down the ship.
　By a rough count, there were only about twenty or so of them.
　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your friends.
　I'm sure they only brought the minimum number of people necessary.

Yes, even if there are too many people.

Huh...?

　With that said, Rueda tilted her head inwardly at Ryoma's answer as he passed by her side.
　It's not that the fact that there are not enough soldiers to protect them is not a bad thing for Rueda and her team.
　But on the other hand, it's just not a good thing.

　It's not that Louida and the others are trying to deceive Ryojin.
　They sincerely want to come under Ryojin's umbrella.
　But that's just for the convenience of Ruida, Henry and the others, and how Ryoma receives them is another matter.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of people who will be able to help you.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a look at the rear of Ryoma and his bodyguards, who are advancing towards the meeting place with Andre leading the way, and Lourdes, standing on the pier, questioned Henry, who was standing beside her.

''You ... what do you think?''

'What?　What?

You know... that guy... don't you have a bad feeling about that?

Really?　I'm not feeling it. No, I feel the opposite, okay?　After all, they're treating us as equals. It's hard to imagine any other noblemen. It's because we are a commoner, isn't it? There is no way a normal nobleman would do that.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for in a new product.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　But it's not a bad impression.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a good deal more than you think.

I'm sure you're wondering why he's so friendly to you and your friends.

That's because you know what we can do for you. Besides, don't you think sending that thing made a good impression?　What's the problem with them being friendly, for the most part?

That's true but don't you think that's too good for you guys?

　This is where Louida is concerned. They are going too far for their own good.
　It's the same with Liang Shin's attitude.
　It's only natural for a nobleman from a commoner's background to have a high-handed attitude in these situations, but she doesn't seem to have the slightest bit of that.

''Oh?　What are you talking about, man? I sent him the most outstanding top ball of all the sub-humans to make an impression.　If you receive this thing and we don't like the way it looks, we're all screwed. In fact, it was you who suggested sending the thing to make a good impression, right?

　There are a total of three sub-humans that Henry and the others are capturing right now.
　All of them are dark-skinned black "dark" elven women, and one of them is the youngest and most beautiful.　
　It's not so easy to convert them into cash due to their high scarcity value, but even with a discarded value, these subhumans are worth tens of millions to 100 million baht.
　Henry thinks that since he gave such a gift, it's only natural that Ryoma's attitude is friendly.

''It's...''

　Louida heard Henry's words and pushed him to silence.

'You can be skeptical at times, don't you think?　It's going so well. Don't do anything to offend him by worrying about trivial things, okay?

　As he said this, Henry left the pier, shaking his head in dismay.

'Indeed.........'

　Everything is unfolding just as I envisioned it.
　We were able to set up a negotiation with Mikoshiba Ryoma as I had intended, and their impressions of themselves don't seem to be too bad, judging from their earlier attitude.
　The fact that there aren't many guards is also a sign that Ryoma trusts Rueda and the others.
　Ruida, who was left on the pier, muttered to herself and shook off the anxiety and doubts that were bubbling up.
　It's going well at times. You can't spoil it by talking about trivial doubts here.
　This is the reason why her mind is tied up in these thoughts.



'Come on, please have a seat. I'll have someone bring you something cold right now.

Yeah, I'd better go.

　When you follow Andre's lead, Ryoma sits down comfortably on the sofa, there is a knock on the door as if he has timed it correctly.

''Enter.''

　Following Andre's words, a woman walked in with a tray of drinks and sweets for tea.
　She's in her mid-thirties.
　It's not a bad-looking woman, but she has a vaguely lotus-like appearance.
　Probably, she has beaten a barmaid into a woman who works in the bar with some made-up etiquette.
　With an unfamiliar hand, she places the drink on the table and with a jerky bow, she leaves the room.
(Desperate to keep me in a good mood, huh.......hard work.)
　Ryouma struggled to suppress the cold sneer that was bubbling up.　

''How about the people in the back too, if you don't mind?　It's well chilled, sir.

No, that's not a problem for us.

　Laura didn't change her expression, but leapt away from Andre's invitation.
　Standing upright and immobile behind Ryoma is the Malfist sisters.
　There are only four people in this room, Ryoma, Andre, and the Malfist sisters as guards.



　When the sisters shrugged off the proposal, Andre said the obvious in an attempt to create a pause.
　In the first place, it was Andre himself who had led most of the guards to another room because he couldn't get everyone in for the meeting.
　However, Ryoma smiled and bowed his head lightly.

''Yes. Thank you for your time.''

Not at all. I will entertain you to the best of my ability, by the way, my lord........

　To Andre, who seemed to be unsure of how to start out, Ryoma cut him off with a smile.

''It's the matter you suggested the other day, isn't it?　I say that you all will be under my umbrella.

　The letter that was sent last week describes all of Andre's thoughts on the matter.
　Ryoma already understands what they are thinking and what they want.
　The only thing that is done today is to inform Andre and the others of Ryoma's decision.
　There's no need to say extra words.

''Ha...yes. That's right. The sub-human I sent you the other day is a sign of our sincerity.



"To be honest, there aren't many goodies like that available. After all, they've set up a strong perimeter around the village, and the only way to catch them is to wait for them to come out of the perimeter...

　Even if we wait for them to come out of the warding, this is the Woltenia peninsula where monsters roam.
　Waiting for the prey to come out in such a place would require a lot of work.

I see, so you spent a lot of time and effort to give me what you caught. No, no, I see........

　Ryoma nodded vigorously.
　As a final no-no, Andre stressed how much effort they had put into it.
　They decided that the more they appealed to the danger, the better their impression would be.
　As a former merchant, Andre had experienced this many times before.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to get a good deal on something.

I understand how you all feel about such a valuable item.........well, I understand how you all feel.

　After hearing Andre's appeal in silence for a moment, Ryoma nodded quietly.

''Oh, then!''

　At Ryoma's words, Andre smiled with delight.
　It's a smile of satisfaction to say that they got the result they wanted.
(As Luida said, he's only a man..........it was right to give him that.
　It was already concluded in Andre's mind.
　If not, there was no need for Mikoshiba Ryoma to come here in person.
　He had come here today. He thought that this fact said it all.　
　But his thoughts were cruelly shattered.
　With a cold smile on his face, Ryoma's words........

Yeah, we're going to need you to disappear.

The moment those words were released from Ryoma's mouth, the swords of Laura and Saara, who were waiting behind him, attacked Andre.　
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

You have to be prepared for this. You know what to do, do you understand the arrangement?

　Looking down with cold eyes at Andre's corpse, which had been cut off with his eyes wide open in astonishment, Ryoma asked the sisters.

'Yes.'

Do it!

　Liangzhen ordered sharply to the Malfist sisters, who nodded quietly.

''Shards of the sun, the fire's poster child, cast down to earth, you children of the God of Fire, now purge your sins and return to heaven.''

　With the chanting, their chakras began to rotate and their "prana" roared with life energy.

''Fire God Heaven Ascending, Burning Pillar!''　

　With the last phrase, the sisters' hands slammed to the ground.
　At that moment, the earth shook with a roar and a burning pillar of fire smashed through the ceiling of the house.