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Chapter 278 part 2

Although they were separated from the students’ spectator seats and there was a distance between them, it was something that must not be overheard by just anyone. Christina gave Dran a subtle signal, and Dran cast a soundproofing spell so their conversation would not leak out.

「It seems that the Romal doesn’t have the spare capacity to extend its reach elsewhere. The north is always ready to come here at a moment’s notice. We have no intention of letting them invade Galois, but there’s no doubt that Galois and the surroundings will become turbulent.

His Highness has also sent out a notice to the Governor of Galoisto to be ready to move troops as soon as something happens, so we are well prepared.」

「It seems that we can leave Bern with peace of mind for now, but aside from this moment, it looks like we’ll have to put calm times on hold for a while. The ambitions of that Demon King are most detestable indeed.」

Christina raised her brows and pulled a wry face. Dran wholeheartedly agreed with her. As long as they were expanding their territory towards the Dark Wilderness in order to develop the Bern Barony, they knew that they would eventually clash with the Demon King.

After that, they would give an encouraging speech to Lenia and the others, and then they would meet with the governor of Galois, who had been entrusted with the rule of this town by the royal family, as well as other influential people in the vicinity.

As always, the two of them were not very good at this kind of networking, but they couldn’t afford to be half-hearted about it, as it was directly related to the future of the Barony of Bern.

「If you think of it as a good opportunity to leave no regrets for future generations, doesn’t it feel a little different?」

「I guess it would if I tried to think positively. I wish Romal would have made their move at a different time. That’s what I’m thinking.」

「Hmm, well, the Demon King’s Army is also interested in Romal. Depending on how we handle things, we might be able to sway the war in our favor.」

「Don’t tempt me with greed, my aide. Excessive greed will cloud one’s judgment.」

Strangely, in their private conversation, Christina addressed Dran by his official title and chided him with words of caution. Now, should this be taken seriously as a warning, or should it be taken as Christina’s own little joke?

「My apologies, Baroness.」

Dran also instantly switched to the attitude of a subordinate towards his superior and bowed his head in a somewhat dignified manner. Christina couldn’t help but shrug her shoulders and smile wryly.

「…Oh well, I guess you shouldn’t do things you’re not used to. When you act all respectful and formal with me, I feel like my whole body is being tickled.」

「Is that so? I think this kind of exchange is fun. It also shows we have enough leisure to engage in mimicry like this.」

「That’s true. I have to work on being able to relax and talk like this at all times. That’s why this networking and information sharing is important, but to be honest, I feel like it would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to cooperate with the armies of other territories. Is that because I’m a novice at war, and I’m underestimating things?」

What Christina said was something that Dran also agreed with to a great extent. The number of soldiers that the Barony of Berne could provide against the Demon King’s large army was lower by an order of magnitude.

Although they continued to produce Lesser Golems semi-automatically, and they were rapidly filling the gap in quality and quantity by fighting together with the Dragonkin in the Mores mountains. Although they were far ahead in some areas in terms of quality, they were still unable to produce enough Golems to keep up with the Demon King’s army. In order to overcome this, they needed to join forces with the Governor of Galois and the armies of the neighboring territories.

At the same time, this meant that they had to coordinate their fighting style with their other allies to some extent.

Because in the end, the military strength of the Barony of Bern, which relied on a few overpowered echelons and focused on arms buildup, was already distorted.

There was no way they could stand shoulder to shoulder with others who had steadily accumulated time, funds, and effort. It was obvious that they would be criticized for being crazy.

On the other hand, trying to reform their military based on the premise of close cooperation with other domains would also be difficult at this point. They had just managed to organize a military fitting the Barony’s circumstances, so conducting drastic reforms now would force them to completely change their policies, resulting in a half-hearted, inadequate force that would satisfy no one.

Headed by Dran, along with others like Christina and Diadora, the Barony of Bern has an extremely troubling system of government and ideology. One might say they were fundamentally extreme or take extremity as a basic premise. Under normal circumstances, this would be a domain doomed to immediate downfall.

It was definitely the worst thing for others to imitate. Christina’s statement was made with this awareness.

「That’s right. If the Demon King’s Army launches a surprise attack and war breaks out without any questions asked, we’ll have a reason to start the war by mobilizing our own army. Normally if we have time, we can cooperate with the lords of other territories…」

「…And we can be relieved that we don’t have to fight alone. But that’s not the case for us, right?」

Dran deliberately uttered the words Christina had swallowed.

「We have the alliance with the dragonkin in the Mores mountains, the golems, and magical weapons I’m making as I please. It’s fine during the war, but we’re the kind of people who think it’s a pain to explain ourselves afterward.」

「Hmm, I must say that’s rather indolent of us. It’s not good to neglect to ask for understanding from others. It’s not good, but…」

「The Arkrest Kingdom has been at peace for many years, and no one has experienced a battle between armies, and you never know what will happen when the time comes. If we had deepened exchanges with other territories earlier, we could have had a more positive outlook…」

「There’s no use talking about what’s already past. I haven’t even been the Baron of Bern for half a year yet. Our pace is too swift and information too abundant for the lords of other lands to discern how to approach us.」

「The result of that is what we’re seeing now, so there’s no point in talking about it. Let’s start with what we can do now.」

「That’s exactly right. First, let’s congratulate our juniors who were selected as representatives of the Galois Magic Academy. Oh, but even though it’s just the two of us, the fact that we can’t indulge in that situation is unexpectedly painful. If I had come here just to cheer on Lenia and the others, I could have said something big like it was a rehearsal for our honeymoon.」

This time, only Christina and Dran had come to the Galois Magic Academy, leaving the main female members behind to look after the Barony of Bern. Who could blame Christina if she had some fantasy in this situation of just the two of them?

Dran blinked innocently, true to his boyish appearance when Christina suddenly said something so cute. The women he loved were very good at catching him off guard.

「I see, you could think of it that way. Fufu, I’m not very attentive to women’s or girl’s feelings. I’m trying to study, though.」

「No, you don’t have to think about it that complicated. It’s more like, me being overdemanding and selfish.」

Seeing Christina’s slightly embarrassed face, Dran employed his usual phrase.

「Hmm. Then, I’ll do what I can with my poor understanding of women.」

Reaching out with his right hand, which he had kept empty, next to Christina sitting to his right, he gently took her hand in his. Perhaps Dran did his best in his own way.

After all…

「Fufu, I’m a simple woman. I’m so happy just to have you hold my hand.」

She said it with such a happy smile on her face.