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Chapter 163 Part 1

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Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”

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To the east of the Royal capital. Near the border with the eastern country.
The heat of summer disappears along with the sun, and the cool night breeze comes while carrying the sounds of insects.
The kingdom noble who owned the territory were now being cornered.

(The secret investigation is advancing)

Inside a room in the residence.
An old man with thin limbs but a round belly is sitting on a chair. Sweat is dripping from his forehead.
Spreading on the table is a summon call from the king.
Nothing is written other than the due date of the call. However, the old count who ruled this land had a clear idea what this is about.

(I won’t be able to come back if I go)

He is the so-called conservatives.
He’s one of the strong supporters of the Second Prince and the former Knight Commander.
The word conservative itself is by no means synonymous with evil. But, can the same also be said to them?

(To think they even reach the royalties)

The old count holds his face with both hands while putting his elbows on the desk.
What floated in his mind is the figure of familiar faces who were executed or crushed in the Royal capital.
In order to protect his vested interests and his own values, he tried making a plea to the king to put himself under house arrest.

(I’m definitely seen as their accomplice now)

Now that it has failed, he has no choice but to answer the summon. However, the Old Count didn’t have the intention to go at all.

(For the time being, I have no choice but to extend the due time under the pretext of catching an illness. When push comes to shove, let’s use that as a last resort)

Sweat that keeps dripping not because it’s hot. Just as he used his handkerchief to swipe it, a sharp scream came in from the opened window.

(Hm?)

He stood up after struggling with his heavy belly and pulled his head out of the window.
Below is a courtyard surrounded by buildings on all sides.
The voice came from a maid standing in the hallway facing the garden.

(Oh, it’s the sage huh?)

The eyes of the old count caught the young man right behind the maid.
His age is around twenty. He tucked up the maid’s skirt and put his hips in close contact.
Perhaps he sneaked up from behind and pierced her in surprise. Looks like this was the reason for the scream earlier.

(Fumu)

Fortunately, the voice is changing to a sweet voice. The young man probably wasn’t doing it brute force either.
The old count stroked his chest.

(The fact that that man is here is probably some kind of fate too)

This young man, the sage, is the last resort that came to his mind earlier.
He appeared in his territory recently.
Expected to have a great magic power, he made him a guest in his house.

(The prime minister will surely send the knight order after me if I don’t answer the summon)

The sage who forces the maid to walk while still being connected as is.
While looking at them, the old count resumes thinking.
The count’s Knights are two C-class Knights. It won’t be completely overwhelmed, but it’s still no match against the knight order’s Knights

(However if it’s the sage, he probably have a chance to compete against them)

Before appearing in the count’s territory, the sage was in the eastern country.
There, he fought against the Knights of the eastern country and managed to repel them.

(It’s unbelievable, but that’s the truth)

The Count’s soldiers that were spread out a little to the east of the border. Their report is the same.
The young man proudly insists, 「I didn’t let a single unit escape」. But as expected, he still was not convinced of that statement.
However, if he gave him such an attitude, the young man would be in a bad mood.
The old count greatly nodded as if to show that he was impressed and praised him.

(I shall borrow the sage’s strength to drive back the knight order)

He swallowed his saliva and wiped the sweat again with a handkerchief.
He still can avoid execution somehow if he answers the summon. However, it won’t change the fact that he will be destroyed.
Either way, the Count family will disappear.

(For the sake of my grandchildrens, I must not let that happen)

Twin grandchildren who are adorable like angels.
They are a boy and girl that will soon be ten years old. They’re the Old Count’s precious treasures.
Both of them are highly talented in magic, and he believed that if they grow up as they are, they will become excellent magicians.

(Even becoming a professor at Royal Magic Academy might be no longer a mere dream for them)

The count believes so.

(It’s been a long time since someone with talents for magic appeared in count family)

One will be the head of the Count family. And the other will be a professor at the Royal Magic Academy in the Royal capital.
If both of them work together, the Count’s influence will become even greater.
Academy graduates. By having them live in the territory, this land will surely develop dramatically.

『The City of Magic』

The old count was delighted on how that sounds.
There will be many magicians opening their workshops, making various handicrafts and potions.
Influential people around will also come to get their injuries and illness cured. And some might even come from the Royal capital.
That was the very dream of the old count.

(And to achieve that, I have to take action and go through this)

The prime minister might eventually give in if he managed to keep repelling the knight order.
And if everything goes well, the prime minister might be held accountable and forced to resign.
When that happens, it will be possible to negotiate. The count family should be able to survive under favorable conditions.

(At any rate, I must keep the sage stays in this place)

Then he recalled the day he met the young man.
In a fort near the border with the eastern country. There, he appeared.
Even though he calls it a fort, it is just a simple wooden one-story building surrounded by wooden fences. There are only five soldiers gathered in there.

「I’m hungry, can you give me something to eat?」

At the entrance of the wooden fences, the young man spoke to the guard.
The roaring sound from the east and the ground that keeps shaking since yesterday.
And at the same time, a young man who lacked a sense of tension appeared.

(There’s something off about this guy)

While feeling uneasy, the captain invited him inside and asked some questions as he served him meals.
What he got to hear there was a story about the knight order of the east.

「I’m telling you the truth, I defeated them all」

The young man says, while happily chewing on bread with bacon sandwiched in it.
The captain immediately sends some soldiers to the east.
The wreckage of several Knights. The soldier who confirmed it from a distance took it back and told the captain.

(This is…. Something outrageous has just occured)

He immediately sent a messenger to the Count and offered the young man to take a bath and take a rest.

「You guys are really nice people, huh」

The young man broke into a smile and accepted the offer.

(Good work there)

The old count praises the captain in his heart.
If they made a mistake in the way he treated him on their first encounter, they might be the target of the young man’s rage next.
After that, the count welcomed him at this castle and directly listened to his story.
The content was terrifying.

「He asked me who am I, and I answered, I’m the sage」

The young man said while frowning unpleasantly.
He talked about when he visited a village in the eastern country.

「But when I told them so, they don’t believe what me」

It seems that the villagers only shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads from side to side.

「Well, it can’t be helped. I thought so, and then this time I tried to help a person you see?」

His face became more grimaced.

「But then they all became mad at me instead, you know?」

Good grief, what an ungrateful bunch.
So he said as he sighed in exasperation.

(What can I say…)

Hearing the continuation, the old count frowns inwardly.
Now how should I prove that I’m a sage? As the young man thought so, there seemed to be a scream from the village square.
When he take a look, there’s a man holding a young woman’s wrist.

(Ohh her face aren’t that bad)

She was quite a beauty. By helping her, he could prove both his power and win the woman’s heart at the same time.
The young man who is elated with the idea he came up with, went and provoked the man.

「Who the heck are you, you bastard!?」

The man releases the woman’s hand as expected, and his face is distorted in anger as he approaches him.
Then, the young man immediately cast a spell.

「Thunder arrow!」

After that, he confirmed that the man was carbonized in an instant and flames were spewing out from his whole body. Then he threw his chest out as he waited for words of gratitude from the woman and the villagers.

「Murderer!」

「He’s dangerous! Run!」

However, what he got was such cold words.
Then the square became quiet in an instant.

「What the hell? Isn’t this strange?」

The young man frowns at the villagers’ incomprehensible behavior.
Then for the time being, he eats and drinks at the surrounding stalls.

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