"Well, first we must go to King Loseys. "We'll go to King Loseys first to see if the refugees really wanted to flee to King Loseys' country.
　'Yeah...'

　Tetra replied in a small voice.
　She seemed to have something on her mind.

　'Then let's head out on horseback.
　I put the saddle and stirrups on the horse.
　By the way, I made the saddle and stirrups myself through some trial and error.

　I was quite surprised that Leah didn't know about the saddle and stirrups.

　This technique is useful in many ways, so I'll keep it a secret. It wouldn't be funny if the enemy got stronger.

　''See?''
　Yes.
　I reach out and put the tetra on the horse.
　It's a two-man ride.

　This horse isn't flattering in size, but it's capable of carrying at least two people.

　"Hey, Alms,
　As we were going on for a while, Tetra, who had been silent for a while now, called out to me.
　'What's up?'
　Would you be surprised if I told you I knew King Ferrum?
　A little bit.

　Tetra puts her arms around my waist and presses her body against me in a hug.
　I can tell that my arms are strong.

　'He's a scary man. Greedy. And yet he's willing to do anything to achieve his goal. But he has the power to awe people so much that they naturally follow him.
　I see. So you're saying that if they know we're here, they could try to take the food away from us?

　In fact, the refugees who are coming now may be the spire of it. I'm heading to King Rosais' country to check it out, though.

　''I wonder how powerful King Ferrum's country is?
　The population is around 30,000. So, normally it's five hundred, and in war time it's one thousand. In time of war it's 1,000. In an emergency, I think we can mobilize at least 2,000.
　Do you normally mobilize 500 men?
　He was just crowned king after killing a wealthy family in the land of King Loseys called Ladou Ass. So his position is in doubt.
　He said, "We're constantly feeding our soldiers to maintain that precarious position, and it's being squeezed in as a heavy tax, making it even more precarious.
　That's what I mean.

　But still, five hundred....
　We have a population of one hundred. Among them, there are sixty-two men.
　Of which, maybe 40 can manage to fight.

　Twelve times as many?
　Or maybe it was 1,000 in time of war, so maybe it was 25 times as many.

　Either way, if we fought, we wouldn't gain a moment's peace.
　In a fight, numbers count for a lot.

　"Can we win?
　If you keep going like this, you won't make it.
　Why don't you get ready?
　Fifty-fifty.

　
　You may purchase battle slaves from the Cilician merchants.
　

　''Yes........''

　Tetra looks down to think about it.

　'If only.'
　Tetra whispered in a small voice.
　'Ladou Ass - what if the daughter of the former great family survived?　Do you have a better chance of winning?
　'Yes. I would be happy if you would reveal your identity and cooperate with me. From King Rosais' point of view, it's only natural for him to support you since you're the daughter of a vassal, and I'm sure there are some people in King Ferrum's country who miss the rule of that great family.
　Yes.

　Tetra falls silent again.

　Some time passed, and when King Rosais' country was in sight, Tetra opened her mouth.

　'Will you protect me?'
　Of course. We're family.
　Well I'll help you.

　Then Tetra hugged me tightly.


________.


　'I see. So it's true that you said no?
　Yeah, you're right. That's right. We've been running low on food lately. We couldn't afford to feed them. If we admit thirty people, they'll be coming in even more. And with an interloper in the mix, it's tricky.

　That's strange. As I recall, I heard that King Losey's country has a population of about 170,000.
　I don't think a mere hundred or two hundred people make any difference.
　Besides, our village had a good harvest. I mean.....

　You've been busy.
　I don't know what you're talking about.
　That's so white.

　"King Ferm's village had a bad harvest because of a curse from another country. In fact, my village didn't have a bad harvest. It's because the curse didn't take place for fear of the Gryphon. King Rosais' country has excellent spellcasters, including Yulia. The curse will not cause a bad harvest. In fact, the villages along the way didn't seem to be starving. Besides, I heard from Julia that there was a good harvest. In other words, King Rosais' country has plenty of room to accept it. It wouldn't be a problem if three hundred people crowded in, instead of thirty, would it?
　That's true. But it's still a bad debt. Wasting money on food, getting rid of...
　That's not natural.

　I interrupt King Loseys' words.

　'It's good that the population is growing. Moreover, the refugees this time are residents of King Ferm's country, the enemy country. We should rather invite them in. Then the inhabitants of King Ferm's country will come flooding into King Rosais' country. It's true that the food supply will be reduced, but the taxpayers will eventually recoup their money. Besides, it should be gratifying to see the national power of King Ferm's country decrease.

　Unless King Loseys country is short of food. But King Losey's country has plenty of food. So there shouldn't be any problems.
　The language and culture are different. But they are both Adelnians, and until a few decades ago, they were from the same country. There is nothing wrong with welcoming them in. In fact, it is a reason to take the initiative in welcoming them since they are helping their fellow man.
　There's plenty of unclaimed land left.

　Besides, they offered me slaves. Of course they said the same thing to King Loseys. You're getting slaves for free.　There is no such thing as a May human rights organization in this world. We can abuse them or sell them out.

　If we accept that, we can make a beautiful story of "King Rosais is a benevolent and famous monarch".
　Turning them away is a poor idea.

　There's one more thing that's not right.
　'It's also not natural that they came to my village. It's not just the country of King Rosais and Ferrum in the Adelian peninsula. If you really didn't want to accept them, you could have pushed them to another country. Instead of having soldiers on guard, you could have given them permission to pass through the country.

　King Rosais' country had a good harvest.　
　That means the surrounding countries must have had a good harvest as well. It's not possible for the climate to change at all in the vicinity.
　The surrounding countries could afford to accept refugees.

　And yet they came to the forest. They find our village in the middle of a large forest.
　It's a big deal. It can't be an accident.

　'I heard there's a paradise over there anyway, didn't you say?
　'Hmmm ... that's impressive. You're right about 90% of the time. But there's still some things missing.
　'Is that why you sent the refugees to my village?　That would be easy.

　I stare at King Rosais, who grins.

　'You read with high probability that I would accept refugees. Well, I'm a softie. If I do say so myself. But kindness doesn't make my belly grow. So I have to get my wheat from somewhere. And that's where...
　Don't become my country.

　You have the option of buying from the Cilician, but it's a long way away for some reason. It's most practical to stock up from nearby.

　'You were going to lend me some wheat, weren't you?　You have a better chance of getting it back to me than you do of lending it to a refugee.
　Oh. That's right, ninety-five percent correct.

　Grin.
　That's a face that gets annoying to look at.

　'And you were going to ask him for the suet, honey, and paper making methods on the condition that he lend you, weren't you?
　King Rosais must want this technology at his throat.
　But I can't force him to listen to me.
　I could end up running to King Domorgal. Besides, King Loseys is too ill to go anywhere. If we were to take military action, he would be backed by a wealthy family with a vested interest in his position.
　More importantly, Julia, who is close to me, would hate me.
　It must be hard to be hated by an only girl.

　That's why I tried to get her to listen to me in a tangle.
　I suppose that's what you mean.

　When I had said all this, King Rosais clapped his hands.
　Clap ... so is that correct?　I'm not happy about it.

　'Ninety-nine percent correct!　That's wonderful. If you were my son, I wouldn't hesitate to make you his successor. But you're still one percent short. You understand?

　.........
　I don't know.

　King Rosais looks at me and smiles an evil smile.

　'I'm the one who made King Ferm's kingdom cursed this time. What do you think?　Wahahahaha, geech, geech, geech.
　Take it easy. Sick man.

　I look at him with white eyes, and King Rosais stomps back with a nonchalant look on his face.

　'Well, how much do you want?'
　No, it's not too late.

　When I replied that, King Rosais' face twitched.

　On the Adelunian peninsula, two-plot farming is the norm.
　And in my village, it's rotational farming. The productivity is different.
　And they use cattle and horses to plow deep.

　King Rosais seems to have made a prediction that there would be a shortage of food but that's the case with the two-plot system.
　Too bad!　You've miscalculated from the beginning!　You idiot!

　'It's now, isn't it?　It won't be long before it's not enough.
　King Rosais said with a nonchalant look on his face.
　What are you talking about?

　So I'm telling you it's okay.
　Seeing the strange look on my face, King Rosais says.

　'You're missing the point,' says King Rosais. Oh, well. I'll come crying to you in three days anyway. He wants to lend me some wheat.

　What do you think he's got on his face like he won?
　I don't think he's going to cry.

　Oh, well.

　　Listen, do you mind if I ask you something? If the previous ruler of Ferrum was Mr. Lagow, was it?　What if that person's children are still alive?
　That's ... protection. Lord Ragow was our friend and ally. You can tell if he is truly the child by the sacred script and family crest on his back.
　"So what if the kid wants to take back control of the land and asks for some troops?
　That depends on the situation but if you're playing your cards right, you might want to lend them to me. You're not Lagow's boy, are you?
　No way. It wasn't me.

　If so, it would be easier.

　...Can I have one of those?
　What is this?
　Who is that woman?

　Before I can answer, Tetra hugs me and declares.
　'I am Almus's wife.'
　I don't think I ever got married...
　Oh, well.
　It's better for you.

　It's a good thing.
　Well....

　King Loseys looks intently at Tetra's face.
　I look at Tetra's face.
　Tetra nods widely.

　'She is the daughter of Lagow Ath. 'This is Tetra As.'
　I see. I know this face. It's just the way it is.
　Would you like to check?
　King Rosais shook his head widely at Tetra's question.

　'There's no need for that. I can tell by your face. Besides, you're not the kind of ball that tells lies. And it's not whether you're the real thing. It's whether it's as good as the real thing.
　In other words, it doesn't matter if she's the real thing or a lookalike, as long as the people around her recognize her as Lagow Ass's daughter.
　That's typical of him.

　"But you don't think too hard, either. If you give King Ferm a run for his money, we'll attack him and make you a lord.
　'Ha. Thank you. Well, if I'm going to give King Ferm a crack at him, it will be when he attacks.

　It's not a done deal yet.
　It's not that I want power. I just want to take advantage of what's available to me.
　If King Ferrum is as peaceful as he seems, nothing will happen to him.

　"Well, I guess I'd better get going. I'm off to see King Ferrum's country.
　Yeah. Watch out for that.

　We left King Loseys.

_______________.


　Hey, Alms.
　What?
　I'm your wife now, is that okay?　You're not pushing yourself?

　Tetra said with concern.

　'What's the point now? I'm not taking it easy. You're pretty. I'm more than happy to oblige. In fact, you've been showing off so much in the past, what are you talking about now?

　Actually, I'm quite fond of tetras.
　I'm not sure about love but I guess I like tetras.

　I guess so.

　"What about Julia?
　Well you're not even close to that guy to begin with.

　She is the only daughter of King Rosais.
　Sooner or later, she will have to take in a powerful family member as her son-in-law.
　I don't have a connection with her.

　I'm not a dullard by any means, so I know that Julia has a strong liking for me.
　I like Julia as much as I like Tetra. And her appearance is also the type of person I like. ........Well, it's strange to think this after accepting Tetra.
　Well, do you want to be married?　If you ask me, I want to be.
　But there's a difference in status.


　How do I get into King Ferm's country, by the way?
　'Let's go with the setting of a merchant from the south. And when I happened to walk by, all I saw were empty dwellings, I wondered why and asked why... this would be good.

　We're reasonably well dressed now.
　We're returning from an audience with King Loseys.
　We could probably pass for a rich merchant.

　You know anyone else you might be able to help us with, by the way?
　Ummm, my relatives are dead except for me so I'm probably gone. And I was ten years old at the time.
　Yeah. It's been seven years already.

　It seems long and short.
　In retrospect, it feels like a long time ago.

　'Well, let's just end today with an exploration.
　We have to deal with those 30 people first.

_______________________________.


　Um ... sorry. There doesn't seem to be anyone in this village.......what happened?　And there are a lot of soldiers there, too. Plague or something?
　I asked, giving him a frightened look.

　'No,' I said. No," he said, "the people in this house have run off into the night. We're in the process of organizing a search party to get them back. It's a real pain in the ass, isn't it? I'm not sure if it's really just a matter of bringing them back, since King Ferrum is the one leading the army this time.
　A night out?　Why?
　That's because you're...

　The soldier looks around and then overhears me.

　'It's a heavy tax. I couldn't pay the tax. I really wish I could quit being a soldier. If I don't work, my folks get taxed heavily and I can't send money home.

　That's a tough one.
　There's a lot of complaining.

　What'd you guys stop in here for, anyway?
　We're a business. We passed through this country with the intention of heading north, and when we saw all the soldiers gathered in this village, we were curious. I was intrigued.

　I tell a lie at random.

　'Yeah, I'm jealous you have a horse. And this is your wife in the back?

　Tetra nodded at the soldier's question, blushing a little.

　''I've come to check out what we can sell this time. Do you have anything around here that could be sold?　Or a specialty product.
　There's no such thing. Well, you can sell the food. People are starving. There's nobody else who can pay for it except people.

　The soldiers laugh at themselves.
　We'll give them an affectionate smile, too, just in case.

　This country seems to be in a bad way.
　Are you really this light-hearted?

　How do we get him back, by the way?　If I were a native, I would flee to King Rosais' country. I think they're already there.
　No, I don't think we're in King Losey's country. King Loseys doesn't need to eat. We don't need it either. Huh. Probably wandering around the woods, you know. There's a rumor going around that there's a paradise under the protection of the Gryphon. You believe in that, right? You're an idiot.

　I don't know when it happened, but we've become residents of an utopia.
　Is it bad that I've been too flamboyant? Or were we too casual in our use of the gryphon's authority?
　Or does it seem like an utopia enough for a starving person?

　Won't that be hard to find in the woods?
　That's not true. We have a small number of sorcerers in our country. If you can use a dog in a flash... haha, it would be nice if you could send that sorcerer to build wards.

　Warding always drains the spell power.
　It's ready to start a war at any time, and King Ferrum is preserving the spell power of the sorcerer.

　By the way, the reason why Julia even wards our fields is because she has a surplus of spell power.
　If an ordinary sorcerer's spell power is a cupful, that guy seems to have enough for five baths.
　She is a rare genius beautiful girl spellcaster and princess.
　It seems that the heavens have given people two things.

　And on top of that, the guy behind me is also the world's oldest sorcerer (self-proclaimed) and the daughter of a beautiful girl former great mansion.
　There are too many people around me that have two things.

　I heard that Gryphon-sama is over there.......is it okay?
　That's the thing I'm worried about too. But King Ferm said he'd be fine with a couple of hundred people and I'm more afraid of King Ferm than I am of Master Gryphon, who may or may not be there.

　Apparently, Master Gryphon's authority is not very useful.
　Or is it just because King Ferrum is fearless?
　Or is it because he knows so much about the Gryphon?

　''Almus, my goodness. They're going to come to our village.
　Two hundred people. What a pain in the ass.

　I scratch my head.
　At any rate, we know that those 30 guys are as white as can be.

　Let's hurry back.

　Well, we'll see you around. Have a good day.
　'Oh!　You guys should get along with each other.

　I hurried back to the village.