While studying divine magic, several more days of the lord's daily routine passed by unnoticed.
That day, guests arrived in the territory, in two groups.
Early in the morning, two documents appeared on Ron's desk.
The contents of these two reports are about the unusual movement of people in Sandy Territory recently. These two reports were obtained from the territory's surveillance department.
In Sandy Territory, the Inspection and Complaints Department is officially in place, while Shadow Punishment operates covertly. Several half-elves have been appointed to the Inspection Department. One of Ron's lordly orders was to place half-elves in this position to oversee the territory's management and other personnel.
The surveillance report stated that the princess's ducal guard entered Sandy Territory, while on the other side, the cannon fodder assassins from the Underdark also arrived.
The princess came to visit, but unfortunately, she arrived just as the Underdark was testing Ron further.
The enemy seemed a bit anxious. Ron thought about the reason and figured it was related to the territory's relief laws, which included unemployment relief and gave all the people of the territory a concept of minimum income.
This is quite disadvantageous for the evil faction.
Ron estimated that the enemy assassins should be arriving by now, and as for the princess... what should he do? He should meet her first!
It seems that Ron hasn't seen his classmates since their last meeting.
It's always a good thing to have friends coming from afar.
The princess... to Ron, she was a classmate he had some affection for.
After reading the report, Ron returned to his daily routine. As for the assassins, he'd deal with them when he could see them.
Ron tasted the pastries Vivian had prepared once again, and it must be said that Vivian's cooking skills were quite good.
...
The air above Sandy's territory.
The Duchess's magic crystal chariots entered Sandy City. On Shirley's side, they were completely unaware of the assassins Ron was about to face. Shirley was currently pondering how to behave when she met Ron later.
'Hmph, this guy never even comes to see me, the Duke, so why should he have to give Ron a warm welcome the moment he arrives!'
Alright, let's give Ron a taste of the Duke's power first.
The Duchess muttered to herself in the magic crystal carriage, "So, the reason she's been visiting so late is because she wanted Ron to come and visit her!"
But given Ron's personality, how could Ron possibly be moved! He'd rather be a lazy lord than a lazy lord.
Sherry is currently employing her own spiteful strategy...
Below, in another direction.
A group of masked men entered Sandy City at the same time.
The cannon fodder assassins spotted the convoy in the sky. Their leader immediately asked his subordinates, "Investigate: who are these people? Are they in contact with Lord Sandy?"
"..."
The assassins, upon receiving the intelligence, immediately thought of the succubus Fanny. They then split into two teams, one to find a suitable hiding place.
Before assassinating a target, the first step is to find an escape route. Not all cannon fodder are exceptionally intelligent; some assassins fail to see the situation clearly, and the hiding places they choose are far from ideal.
The other team, this team of assassins included some of the smarter ones, and only smart people would risk asking the demons for information.
Succubi are demons, beings of evil and order. Surely succubi should have some sense of order!
Although the words of the demons cannot be entirely trusted, they are still on the same side... Assassin Jim thought to himself as he led his men into the backyard of Fanny the Interpreter's shop.
...
The two groups moved about somewhat unusually. A little while later, Ron also received the Duchess Princess at the Lord's Mansion.
The princess of yesteryear is now a ducal noblewoman, and she has finally mastered the air of a noblewoman.
This was Ron's first impression of the princess when they met again.
Inside the lord's council chamber.
Ron gestured: "Please sit, Your Grace."
Sure enough, the duchess's expression softened considerably upon hearing the word "sir" after "duchess."
"See, the princess back then was easier to deal with," Ron thought.
As Shirley sat down, she immediately asked, "Ron, tell me, why haven't you visited me in so long? And the route you took back wasn't far from my territory..."
As she spoke, Shirley remained stubborn.
This guy, I even sometimes complain about him, but he never comes to visit me even though he's passing by...
Upon hearing this, Ron did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "Oh, how did you know the route I took back, Your Grace?"
"This, I, this lord, just know, so what?" For a moment, Shirley was speechless.
Oh no, I seem to have been a bit too eager. My mother once said: "Men shouldn't always side with you. That's not good for them to value you. You need to know how to maintain a proper distance and also how to offer appropriate assistance..."
Oh no, it seems my secret investigation into Ron has been exposed. This duke doesn't care about that guy at all!
As Shirley pondered these thoughts, she suddenly felt a little uneasy.
However, Ron stopped asking why he was being investigated. Hadn't Ron been investigated enough? Since the angels launched their attack, the various powers on the continent had never stopped sending spies.
When they returned from their training, Ron had to take care of Rita's feelings, so he let her come down a few times.
Has Ron passed through the vicinity of Sherry's territory?
Come to think of it, it seems so!
However, after all that hard work and training, my longing for home only intensifies; it's that simple...
Considering all this, it would be a bit unreasonable to pass by without stopping to say hello. In his previous life, Ron would have gone in to say hello when he passed by his classmate's residence.
just…
“Cough…cough…” Ron coughed to cover up the awkward situation before saying, “Shirley, I, Ron, brought back a gift.”
Upon hearing about the gift, Shirley immediately perked up again. She quickly dismissed her other worries; as long as there was a gift, that was good enough. This guy still remembered to bring her a gift. Oh well, he'd pass muster!
Of course, Shirley knew quite a bit about Ron: "Are there any gifts for me?"
“Of course!” Ron replied.
Because she knew about it, Shirley asked one more question: was it really hers? Then, Shirley asked again: "Make it clear, how many gifts are there?"
This really stumped Ron, who wasn't clear on the distribution of the gifts: "Well, the Crimson Fruit gift has already been given to Father, and Mother Tina's gifts include... Vivian's, Uncle Arno's, and Nika's..."
After that, Ron read about some of the special talents in the territory.
Of course!
The results of the training will arrive soon, and then we need to maximize their effects. Ron himself has limited resources, and the rest will be gifts from everyone else.
Sure enough, Shirley was hoping for something special! Hmph, that girl! ( っ`-′c)?
Thankfully, at least it's not a string of women's names, like "Uncle Nuo"! He must be one of the guards over there! And then there's a bunch of names that are mostly men's...
Ron is actually redistributing the lords' resources!
Okay! At least I have some myself.
Shirley comforted herself.
Seeing Ron's happy expression as he discussed the distribution of supplies, Shirley's pretty face suddenly flushed slightly. She thought to herself, "I'll take this opportunity to ask him anyway."
"Um, Ron, we're not getting any younger. Have you considered proposing to the King?"
When asked, Ron immediately froze.
Nineteen, is that not young anymore?
Damn, these customs in this other world...
Nineteen-year-olds are still in school, aren't they?
Ron had to abandon his idea of allocating resources.
Faced with this problem, Ron surprisingly realized that it's better to be serious about matters of the heart, a lesson learned from his past and present lives...
Ron sighed softly, his gaze calm and deep as he looked at Shirley: "As for a partner, Ron hasn't decided yet. Proposal and such can wait until after I attempt to break through to the Legendary level... alright... If you can't wait, I hope Your Grace will find another beauty..."
...
...
After a short while, Ron finished dealing with his own emotional issues.
Anyway, I've already thought it through, so this is how it will be.
I admit that I do have some feelings for Shirley, and that's enough. As for the specifics, we'll just have to wait and see.
Finally, Ron reminded Sherry not to pay too much attention to the palace. Ron was now the Pope, so he was not afraid of anything. Ron would support whatever Sherry wanted to do.
That's the gist of it. It's good to let Shirley think about it some more. It wouldn't be good if Shirley were too influenced by the palace...
for a long time.
Sherry led her maids out. Since she received the title of Duchess, Sherry has had an extra layer of guards around her.
Unlike back then, these maids and guards were chosen by Shirley herself.
He was the lord of the duchy, and he had originally planned to hand over the territory to Ron. No matter how well it developed, it would eventually belong to the Lance family. That was his idea, but... humph, what a clueless fellow.
Finally, I learned what Ron was planning, so asking him this time wasn't a bad deal.
Shirley had even prepared for the worst: Ron would refuse. That would be fine, though. That guy had been talking about his maid since they were little, but why couldn't she forget him?
Was it because of the academy exchange competition back then, or because I was stubborn and wanted to develop the duchy better than Sandy's territory? As a result, the more we competed, the less I dared to watch, and I took everything too seriously...
It's hard to forget, even if you want to.
She had wanted to be free, to stop competing with herself, and to listen to her mother. From then on, Shirley planned to visit more often.
It turns out that he hadn't been to Sandy Territory for a long time, and was busy secretly competing with Sandy Territory development!
Giving their own territory to Ron was also the royal family's intention.
Shirley's duchy is separated from Ron's by only one mountain range, and that mountain range was reserved by the royal family for Ron to be granted.
As long as Ron demonstrates the strength of a master, the title of earl will naturally follow.
Ron naturally understood what the royals were thinking; if he put himself in their shoes, anyone would understand.
However, as Pope, Ron was not greatly affected by royal decrees. Ron only said... after attempting a breakthrough...
Okay, so you want to be legendary?
Alright then, when I achieve legendary status in light magic, I'll force you, Ron, to go and propose marriage!
Okay, that's the plan.
Upon returning to her temporary residence, Shirley personally wrote a letter, the gist of which was that Ron had delivered the gifts to the duchy, and Shirley was now returning to her territory to study magic...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com