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Chapter 229 Part 1

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Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”

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The guild master office on the third top floor of the kingdom merchant guild building. There were now three figures sitting at the reception table.
There was a petite old man who looked like a goblin, an old man who looked like Santa Claus with a long white beard and a big belly, and a tough-looking old man.

「The price of crops is still the same, but the price of ore is dropping rapidly」

Tough-looking old man flips through the documents with his back straight and gives a report on the market conditions.
The Santa Claus-like vice guild master, leaning back against the sofa, listens and opens his mouth while stroking his prized white beard.

「Is it because of the empire?」

What he had in mind was the start of mining, or golem hunting activity as they say it, in the great hole just southeast of Landbarn.
He heard that the mine has an abundant good quality of resources, and that their hunt is going well.

「It can be said that this is one of the factors. They are being brought in in large numbers across the border」

The guild master, who looked like a goblin, nodded in response to the supervisor, the tough-looking old man.

「They’ve lifted the restrictions on exports to the kingdom, huh. Well, there’s nothing we could do about it this time around」

Ore is the main raw material for the Knights. Normally, you would not sell it to a neighboring country in a state of tension.
Santa Claus nodded while crossing his arms and said with a grim expression.

「The Elven village have announced that they will stop trading with the empire. If the elves won’t buy it, then they’ll have to sell it to us」

Then he lightly cast down his eyes and thought for a moment before continuing.

「The rapid deterioration of relations between the empire and the elves. Looking at this, the green-white Knights who attacked the grim reaper in the great hole is definitely from the elves side」

The tough-looking man makes a surprised face as it was the first time he heard about it. However, he did not say anything.
They must have thought it was okay to tell him. And he was happy about it.

「Yes, it was as the mechanic predicted. The Empire’s current enemy has changed from the Kingdom to the Elves」

The guild master nodded his head while rubbing his chin. Then, he turns his gaze to the tough-looking old man.

「There’s another reason why the price of ore is falling, isn’t there?」

Urged by the guild master, the tough-looking old man resumed his report with the document in his hand.

「Yes, the repair and construction of the Knights that were done by the knight order. That seems to have been completed」

Nearly a year ago, the main force of the knight order went to subjugate a herd of heavy lancers, but were defeated in retaliation and lost many of their Knights.
The decline in military strength led to the Empire’s invasion of Landbarn, and not long after, the Battle of Landbarn broke out.
The knight order was defeated in this battle as well, and lost even more Knights. As a result, a huge amount of ore was needed for repairs and construction, causing a shortage and a sharp rise in ore’s prices.

「We’ve even running out of materials to produce daily necessities after all, so it’s a relief」

The guild master was smiling calmly in relief, while Santa Claus lets out a single sigh.

「Although it would have been better if we could secure the ore mines in the great hole for ourselves」

The more he looked into it, the more he realized that it was a promising mine, and his disappointment only grew.
However, if the Grim Reaper took over first, it would be impossible for the knight order of the kingdom to fight back.
The speed of the Empire’s information network and their judgment to immediately dispatch the Grim Reaper there was something to be praised.

「It’s in the past now, give it up. More than that, we need to prepare the transport to the eastern country」

Even though the demand for ores in the Kingdom has started to decrease, the eastern country still needs them. Because they have lost a lot of Knights to the self-proclaimed sage.
So it will take some time for them to recover.

「I understand. I will make arrangements as soon as possible」

The tough-looking old man answered with a motivated expression. The guild master looked at him and as if he had just thought of something, he added.

「About the matter with the Saintess, we’ve been indebted to her this time around. So I think it’s better to keep our profits to the level where they won’t lose too much money」

The brainwashing incident that occurred in Awoke. In order to save the countless victims, the Saintess has been sprinkling holy water from morning to evening.
Her contribution far surpasses that of the kingdom’s top-ranking magicians and pharmacists. Santa Claus nodded his head as if it was only natural.

「As you instructed」

The maximum profit that he had been calculating in his head. He wrote it off and bowed his head deeply.

***

A large square in the center of the royal capital, with the merchant guild located to the east and the adventurer guild to the west. And to the north is the royal castle, where the king lives and his vassals are gathered.
In one corner of the castle, in the office of the Prime Minister, there were two people facing each other. One of them is a mature prime minister with droopy eyes, and the other is a large, elderly man with a kaiser beard, the knight commander of the knight order.

「We have the Knights returned to certain number, so that’s a relief」

The repair and construction of the B-class Knights, which are the kingdom’s main force, is almost complete. The prime minister exhales and puts his weight on the backrest in response to the report received from the knight commander standing in front of him.
But the giant man with the kaiser beard rubbed his beard as if he was deep in thought. He seemed to have something on his mind.

「Now we need more pilots. If we raise all the current C-class pilots to B-class, we will have a shortage of C-class Knights」

The knight order of the kingdom lost many pilots in the defeat of the Heavy Lancer subjugation and the Battle of Landbarn.
In order to fill the void, the Prime Minister exercised his power and recruited C-class Knights from the nobility in the country.

「Now that we have solved the shortage of Knights, this time we don’t have enough pilots, huh」

One side of his face contorted at the never-ending problem. He exhaled lightly and asked the knight commander.

「There must have been a regular practical exam at the pilot school. Can’t you fill in with that?」

The large old man with the kaiser beard shrugged his shoulders and shook his head from side to side.

「Unfortunately, there was no one who passed. It seems that all the promising candidates were siphoned off from the temporary practical test held previously」

Those who were ready to join were already hired. Even with the temporary examinations, the number of recruits per year did not increase.
The knight commander’s mouth was tightly shut. The strong gaze of the knight commander was a clear indication of his will to not lower the quality.

「But, I’m not going to give it back to them just because there’s a surplus of it」

The original owners were the aristocracy, the high ranking nobles. If they knew that the prime minister was letting them idle in the hangar, they would start clamoring for him to return them.
The Prime Minister himself is one of the high ranking nobles. However, when you are in the position of “Prime Minister”, you can see a different view.

「I’d rather scrap them and use it as material than give it back」

The Kingdom was on the verge of being crushed by the Empire. He was proud of himself for working hard to do what he must to avoid destruction.
Those who are loudly making a fuss only for the benefit of their own territory are nothing but an object of hatred.

「Unlike before, the knight order is engaged in exterminating demon beasts. The lords have their own Knights to protect the safety of their own territory, but this is no longer necessary」

It is as the knight commander said, the knight order of the kingdom had never killed demon beasts in noble territory before.

『A Knight should only fight another Knight』

The only exception to this is when there is a large magical beast that can cause a national crisis. The example of this was when a herd of heavy lancers, who were heading to the royal capital.
That is why the nobles needed to have the power to defend themselves.

「That’s right. As a matter of fact, the smaller nobles are happy about it」

The Prime Minister bent one side of his face sarcastically and nodded.
They were now free from the expense of exterminating demon beasts, which made the management of his domain easier. However, this was not the case for the high ranking nobles.

『The high ranking nobles are the only ones who have the wealth to own and maintain Knights』

This is the reality.
Therefore, when a demon beast appears in their territory, the small and mid-ranking nobles in the vicinity have no choice but to request the neighboring high-ranking nobles to dispatch their Knights.
For the high-ranking nobles, this was a very good thing, because it increased their influence significantly.

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