220 - Gina Trace
――Gina waited for her older sister, Vera, to return to the mansion from the port.
She had summoned her, claiming there was something important to discuss, and had a room prepared for the two of them to speak in private. It was rare for the sisters to use this room, which was typically reserved for business negotiations with guests.
Having called her to such a place, Gina spoke while looking at Vera and touching her red hair.
The sun had begun to set, and the room was growing slightly dim.
"Sister, let me be blunt. Could you please stop giving money to that man? This isn't just your problem."
At the words of her younger sister, Vera pulled the cup away from her lips.
"...This isn't Father's order, is it? Why now? Besides, I haven't touched the Trace family assets."
Gina dismissed her sister's argument.
"If you provide support, it looks like the Trace family is providing support! Moreover, Father is moving huge sums of money... some of our own people are becoming uneasy. You've even increased the number of ships and started developing the port."
Vera narrowed her eyes. To Gina, Vera had long been called the Goddess of Fortune, contributing to the Trace family by managing the ships. Thus, Gina knew that Vera handled business matters with their father, Fidel.
It wasn't that Gina lacked knowledge herself, but she knew she was severely lacking in practical experience.
However, many within the Trace family questioned the support given to Lyell.
Vera spoke matter-of-factly.
"We can monopolize the commercial use of the port, you know? And two of them at that. Considering the scale, Gina, you should understand that this will bring enormous profits to the Trace family."
Vera's way of speaking made Gina want to push back. It was true that the Trace family could grow even larger, but Vera was often away from Beim and tended to disregard balance.
Gina was intensely wary of the factions and power dynamics collapsing.
"...I know it will bring enormous profits. But I wonder what the merchants of Beim will think of us?"
Vera replied.
"That's Father's job. He can manage the balance so we aren't the only ones enjoying the spoils. If we can put others in our debt in the process, that's also a profit."
Debt as profit. It was because of this cold side of Vera that Gina had remained silent until now. But things were different now.
"And Lyell? Is that just a matter of profit and loss?"
When Gina referred to Lyell without an honorific, Vera's gaze became sharp.
"...Stop calling him that. I am simply providing support within my means. You know Father isn't the type of person to provide support just because he's soft on his daughter."
"That's why I want both you and Father to stop. Both of you are too blinded by immediate greed. Beim isn't that naive."
Vera was obsessed with Lyell, and Fidel was obsessed with the port monopoly.
Therefore, Gina judged that they couldn't see clearly what Beim intended to do with Lyell.
In a sense, she was correct.
"I'll do as I please."
Realizing that persuading Vera would be difficult, Gina gave her honest impression.
"Sister, that man isn't that naive. He'll throw you away without a second thought once you're no longer useful. You know what he did in Zain, at Redant Fort, and in Galleria and Rusworth, right? He's dangerous. You're just being treated as a wallet."
Ignoring Gina's warning, Vera stood up.
"...I understand that. But I haven't caused you any trouble, have I? I didn't even speak ill of Roland. At this point... enough already."
As Vera left the room, Gina watched her retreating figure. Once her sister was out of sight, Gina brought the cup to her lips and narrowed her eyes.
"Once you're kicked out of the house and thrown away by him, I'll help you. After all, we are sisters... You suit the deck of a ship best. I'll have you work hard for Roland's sake. Since you could work hard for a man you once loved, that should be fine, right?"
Gina seemed to be operating on the premise that Vera would be discarded, but she had her own reasons for acting. If the Trace family grew any larger, the likelihood of Lyell and Vera marrying due to those achievements would increase.
If that happened, Roland would be insufficient to maintain an even larger Trace family. He was earnest and hardworking by nature, but that alone wouldn't be enough to manage a bloated Trace family.
In that case, Lyell would manage the house, with Vera effectively running things.
Furthermore, Fidel would likely separate Gina and Roland and rush a political marriage to maintain the family.
For Gina, that was absolutely unacceptable. That was why she acted—.
South of Beim.
In an undeveloped, wild place, I was wiping sweat from my forehead.
It was still hot seasonally, or perhaps because it was the south, it felt hotter than Beim.
Novem and Clara, Eva and May, were moving separately to complete requests from the guild. I had sent them in that direction for monster subjugation and village reconstruction.
As for me, I had come to subjugate a discovered labyrinth.
The entrance was inside the gate of an old fort, and the labyrinth was a place where the fort's corridors continued.
Torches were provided, but eerie purple flames illuminated the passage. It was better than nothing, so I was grateful.
Labyrinths occasionally appear even in such man-made structures. In many cases, they become labyrinths prowled by undead and are destined to be subjugated quickly.
Most undead simply vanish when defeated, leaving only magic stones behind. Since there are no materials, they are troublesome and extremely tedious monsters to defeat.
There are even rumors that they are born from the grudges of those annihilated on battlefields, which in turn create the labyrinths.
We were dispatched to such a place, but we had been pushed into a labyrinth judged to be not very profitable for those reasons.
The entrance of the fort had become a labyrinth, but the surroundings were in ruins. Trees spread around, and the land was in terrible condition.
I looked at Miranda and the labyrinth.
"What are we going to do? It's possible for us to challenge it alone, but the reward is small. Moreover, no guild officials are coming to investigate this area. ...Hey, isn't our treatment a bit poor?"
Miranda's reason for being upset was natural; we had been told to subjugate the labyrinth with almost no support.
The East Branch, or rather, the headquarters, was making those kinds of moves.
From within the orb, the Fifth Generation watched the current situation.
...In that case, is it about time? That was faster than I thought. Well, it's better than them trying to absorb us.
The previous heads, who had predicted this would happen, showed no sign of panic. The Third Generation was nonchalant.
More importantly, since we've been entrusted with this, why don't we buy some time and scout the situation? If they're going to move, it'll probably be after Lyell returns to Beim.
They were trying to probe Beim's movements while utilizing this situation. They were reliable as always, but they were people I didn't want as enemies. I started to feel pity for Beim.
I spoke to Miranda.
"...A request is a request. I'll do the job properly. Taking my time. I'll build a solid foundation before Novem and the others return."
An exasperated Miranda looked at me and put her hand to her forehead.
"Even if you say 'taking your time,' it's just tedious and doesn't have that many floors, you know? There are just a few more treasure chests than usual, and the monsters are all undead types, so we can just finish it quickly—"
As Miranda gave me her opinion, Monica rushed over to me.
She seemed to be in a hurry, or rather, as if she were competing with someone.
She slid in front of me, struck a pose, and reported.
"Chicken coward! I, Monica, have discovered a labyrinth nearby! Please praise me. Praise this Monica! Come on, come on!!"
Then, three fists flew toward Monica.
As the punched Monica was blown away from in front of me, the arms connected by wires returned to their owners.
There stood Valkyries No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, holding weapons and facing Monica.
"We were the ones who found it!"
"You thieving cat!"
"Receive the iron-fist sanction!"
I shifted my gaze from the three expressionless posing machines to Monica. I saw Monica standing up, holding large drills on both arms and spinning them at high speed.
I was impressed that her twin-tails didn't get tangled.
"You scrap-heap downgrades... Reporting to the chicken coward and being praised! Even being scolded is this Monica's role! I'll turn you into scrap right here!!"
Monica and the others began to fight. I let out an exasperated sigh, and Miranda shrugged her shoulders. Then, the Valkyries—the mass-produced units—reported the situation to Miranda and me. It seemed they had prepared documents to report to us while Monica and the others were fighting.
"Master, here are the documents. Please, Miranda-sama, as well."
Miranda accepted them and thanked them.
"Thank you. You're more thoughtful than Monica. That girl is rough with everyone except Lyell."
Miranda flipped through the documents.
As I looked through the documents, I saw there was a labyrinth nearby. It was a cave-type very close by, and as far as labyrinths go, it was quite lucrative.
"...This one is quite good."
It seemed they were still investigating the first and second basement floors, and the width of the passages was satisfactory. It was a structure that could be called a model labyrinth, and just as I was about to report this to Beim... the Seventh Generation stopped me.
Lyell, you really are a man with luck. Alright, keep this a secret from Beim.
I sent a glance to Miranda. Seeing me gripping the orb, Miranda nodded silently. Then she looked back at the documents.
Since she knew the circumstances, I could talk with the voices from within the orb like this in front of Miranda.
"Are we keeping it a secret? We don't know what Beim will say."
Don't worry about it. Just make it look like it's taking time. Quickly crush the fort's labyrinth, and slowly investigate the promising one. Besides... don't you think this area is truly excellent? Yes, it's perfectly suited to be a Second Beim.
Having roughly understood what the Seventh Generation was thinking, I nodded in agreement. Climbing to a slightly higher spot, I could see the sea.
Mireia-san sounded happy.
Oh, there's a place where a port could be built.
The Third Generation agreed.
Since there's a fort, it might have been an important place in the past. Hmm, considering the future, I think it would be good. If it's merchants, they'll surely restore its former glory in less than a hundred years to make it like Beim. ...Well, I'll be the one imposing the regulations, though!
Thinking that I was planning something terrible again, Miranda looked at me with a displeased expression.
"Were you having a conversation like that while you were with us too?"
When she asked, I nodded, let go of the orb, and gave instructions to the Valkyries.
"Return to Beim and deliver letters to Damian and the others. Also, we'll investigate the cave. We'll use the main force to crush the fort all at once... Now then, shall we do some construction to make the surroundings easier to live in?"
Looking around, I gave instructions while leaving Monica and the others to continue their fight.
Launching the large drills on both arms, Monica screamed.
"Double Drill Knuckle!"
"Naive!"
"Such a transparent—what!"
"A-A two-stage attack...!"
They seemed to be getting worked up, but I spoke to them.
"Come on, you guys have work too. Get over here already."
Then, Monica, who had large metal fists on her arms, stopped instantly and retracted her weapons. Dusting herself off, she ran toward me.
"Ye~s, because the chicken coward is more important than these scrap-heaps. Also, continuing the important report—"
"—Yeah, I already heard it, so that's enough."
I rejected Monica's report, saying I'd already heard it, and headed toward the tent with Miranda. Monica froze with a happy expression, while the Valkyries pointed at her and made gestures as if laughing.
Thinking that not having facial expressions was inconvenient, I decided to consult Damian about it.
――At Lyell's mansion in Beim, Adele was reading a letter.
Maxim watched her with an anxious look.
"How is it, Milady?"
What Maxim was worried about was the situation in their home territory. Adele obtained information regularly like this.
"I was anxious because no contact had arrived for a while since the defensive battle, but it seems to be fine. Perhaps they lose interest if there's no resistance. It seems they are currently fighting other lords who are resisting."
Hearing that, Maxim's shoulders slumped.
"Can't we somehow make them stop resisting? Just for now. If we do, in as little as a few years—"
Maxim was about to say that Lyell could move in a few years, but Adele shook her head.
"The maximum military force the Four-Nation Alliance can mobilize, excluding rear support, is a bit over forty thousand. Even if internal affairs go well in a few years, it's doubtful if we'd reach fifty thousand. That's not enough. To fight Banseime, we'd need at least a hundred thousand, at a conservative estimate. Even then, Lyell-san would have to keep winning with minimal casualties and unite the nobles within Banseime... but if we make them wait that long, the lords within Banseime will also be exhausted."
Feeling the national power of the great nation Banseime from the outside, Maxim scratched his head. He hadn't thought so when he was inside, but the difference in national power was too severe.
Banseime, which held the central part of the continent and continued to expand, could likely prepare a hundred thousand troops in the center alone. If they pushed themselves, it would be two to three hundred thousand.
If the armies of strong vassals were added to that, they could prepare ten times the military force of their own.
Maxim said.
"As I thought, the cooperation of neighboring countries is essential, then? But we can't involve other countries any further in Banseime's internal problems."
That was the seed of Adele's worry.
"I know, but this is an emergency. It will be necessary to give them lands they are fighting over with neighboring countries. Besides, I don't know if the Four-Nation Alliance will lend troops multiple times. If only the neighboring countries could keep a watchful eye..."
The two of them were worrying desperately, but Lyell's goal was the unification of the continent. There were few countries that could afford to ignore small nations and provoke Banseime.
Cartaphus was the greatest threat to Banseime. Other than that, there was Fanbayle, and only a few other countries followed.
Maxim spoke anxiously.
"Milady... Lyell-dono intends to build an empire, but is that possible? We have no military force of our own. Those automatons, were they? Even if they are excellent, there are only around a hundred of them."
Adele also held her head in her hands.
"...Yes, that's the problem. The forces Lyell-san possesses are high in quality, but too few in number. We have to do something about that."
Both Adele and Maxim desperately thought of a breakthrough—.