"Your Highness, the letter from the Demon Kingdom arrived yesterday. After our trade caravan arrives, we will receive one hundred bottles of [Bee Flower Snow Moon] as samples. They indicated that... if sales are poor, we don't need to pay gold coins for these samples."
Listening to his confidant's report, the seemingly very young Grand Duke Novak nodded slightly to indicate that he understood. He gestured with his eyes to the chair and immediately sat down, making his judgment: "Sit down... It's obvious that this was Ira's doing."
As always, Iraq remained confident.
However, Grand Duke Novak was also relieved. Although this trade had a deeper purpose, it was always good to make money, and there was no need to lose sight of the bigger picture... At least it wouldn't be a losing proposition.
Grand Duke Novak seemed to be deep in thought. With his standard human appearance, he was the dream lover of many girls in the duchy... which is to say, sixty percent of humans have blond hair and blue eyes.
Even though he is quite old, it is still the same.
However, since the death of Grand Duke Novak's wife, he has had little contact with women and seems to have devoted himself to business and the affairs of the duchy.
In the light streaming through the magnificent stained-glass windows, Grand Duke Novak put the book in his hands aside... In this world, few nobles enjoy reading. Rather than enriching themselves through books, those guys prefer eating, drinking, having fun, and hunting.
They are interested in both prey and romance.
Grand Duke Novak was different. He wasn't particularly fond of reading, but in his spare time outside of work, he preferred to read quietly rather than watch boring and illogical plays or hold a noisy banquet.
"Help me draft a letter, in addition to normal business communication, to ask Ira Elkaras about her thoughts on the war between the Duchy and the Empire."
As he spoke, Grand Duke Novak seemed to be deep in thought.
The confidant standing in front of the table nodded and sat down behind a round table on the other side. He naturally knew what constituted "normal business communication," which generally involved deciding when to pick up the goods and when to give a reply.
Of course, there will also be some normal small talk... such as asking about the weather.
This is the epitome of letter writing in this world, which is why Isabella mentioned skipping the formalities when she and Ira were exchanging letters—because letters in this world easily turn out like this.
The weather is nice today, the sun is bright but not glaring. I wonder if, dear Ms. XXXX, the drizzle is still falling intermittently in XXX city? The weather is changeable, please take care... Have you eaten?
Thank you for your letter. I look forward to your reply. As you worried, the light rain in XXX city is always so annoying, but thanks to you, I haven't felt unwell... I hadn't eaten when you wrote, but I'm sure I have now.
A long string of greetings and a small amount of business.
Once the confidant had finished writing about "Bee, Flower, Snow, and Moon," Grand Duke Novak timely reminded him: "Express your indignation towards Princess Isabella, stand up for her, and then inquire whether the rumors are true."
The so-called "rumors" naturally spread throughout the world... Isabella and Ira's plan was a conspiracy to harm the nobles, the duchy, and the orcs.
According to rumors, this master and apprentice pair, who were always ready to cause trouble, seemed to have the whole world in their grasp, exuding a sense of superiority among countless bards and merchants who thought they were the only ones who were sober while everyone else was drunk.
From the perspective of a normal national official, the possibility of such a thing happening is actually quite low. The truth is probably that [Ira and Isabella nearly broke off their relationship due to interference from nobles].
However, that's Ira after all. If one of the people in the rumors is Ira, then no matter how outrageous the rumor is, it could be true, such as... topics related to "loli"?
(Ira: I already told you I'm not a lolicon!)
"Understood."
As he spoke, Grand Duke Novak's confidant wrote in beautiful violet script on the thick parchment with a delicate quill pen. He asked, "Actually, I've always been curious... why you, Grand Duke, are so concerned about Ira Elkaras?"
The confidant, who had written the tactful inquiry, seemed puzzled as to why Grand Duke Novak and his son valued Ira so highly. He asked, "Indeed, Ira is outstanding on the battlefield and a legend of our time, but we will not allow non-humans to step onto the battlefield against the Empire."
The confidant's meaning was clear: he was saying that even if Iraq and the Empire were still allies, the [Consul] couldn't do anything on the battlefield between humans.
An administrator who cannot replenish [Wings] or freely unleash [Wing Shatter] is ultimately just a regular combat officer, even if he is a powerful unit, and no longer possesses that invincible oppressive force.
"You won't let non-humans go to the battlefield?"
Grand Duke Novak countered with a question, then immediately shook his head, chuckling in denial: “It seems everyone is the same, whether it’s you or Sir Fakiil, they’re all pretty much the same… Ira Elkaras isn’t just about being a consul.”
"Or rather, Iraq doesn't need the war rank of [Consul] to prove his great achievements; it is precisely because of Iraq's name that [Consul] becomes a nightmare for non-human beings."
Knowing it would be difficult to explain this to his subordinates, Grand Duke Novak tapped the table lightly and said, "Ira is not a powerful warrior, but a cunning monster with great strength."
Ira struck him as a resolute, unwavering beast, its gaze fixed on a single direction, seemingly oblivious to everything around it. No matter how much you tried to harass it, it wouldn't care. But…
Be careful not to block the giant beast's path.
However, setting aside whether saying these things would boost someone's popularity to some extent, even if they were said, the confidant who kept these records wouldn't really understand them.
Therefore, Novak used a more straightforward possibility to explain it—
"Right now, Ira is in the Demon King's territory. Assuming he has achieved control over the Demon Kingdom and can manipulate monsters at will to make them die willingly... do you know what that means?"
"..."
At this point, only the rustling of quill pens remained in the room, and the adjutant realized the possibility... if hordes of monsters on the battlefield voluntarily committed suicide to replenish the wing pillars of Ira.
What kind of scene will it be?
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