Slime Reincarnation

Chapter 101: Let’s Learn About Noble Factions

Leaving the royal capital’s Commercial Guild headquarters, I headed toward the Coluna Frontier Count’s residence. Behind me walked Logan, with the chick captain riding on his head.

"Walking around the capital, I never run into any tamers. Especially not anyone handling a large magical beast like Logan. Though back in the fortress city Felbane I did see someone with a bird like creature on their shoulder."

"For creatures around my size that would be manageable, but a large one would probably be a real hassle to keep bringing along, wouldn’t it?"

"Yeah, you’re right. They wouldn’t even let a dragon or a Kong Head into a town."

"That’s certainly true."

I walked through the town chatting with Logan, who chuckled along. Since it was evening and the main streets were crowded, I’d cut through a back alley two streets over. It wasn’t cramped or maze like though, it was wide enough for a carriage to pass through.

"Hey! This isn’t the amount I ordered! Don’t do such sloppy work!"

A voice came from somewhere that sounded familiar.

"That’s quite a sharp voice. There’s an edge to it."

Even Logan gave it a disapproving reaction.

"Just as I thought..."

Looking over, there was a sign reading Reeman Trading Company. It seemed this was a shop belonging to the Reeman Trading Company, headed by that same Sara Reeman.

"I told you from the start that amount wasn’t possible..."

"I don’t need a broker who can’t get my terms through!"

"That’s just unreasonable..."

It looked like she was finding fault with goods a broker had bought for her.

"A trading company that can’t get along with its brokers won’t last long."

"Should we say something?"

"No, let’s leave it. She’d be in a bad mood if we went in now, and I’d rather not have her suspect I’m here trying to squeeze some reward out of helping her before."

"I see, it does sound like a rather unpleasant situation."

"Tell me about it."

Logan and I both gave a wry laugh and headed back to the Coluna Frontier Count’s residence.

Arriving at the residence, I told Logan to rest in the garden, then was shown inside by the butler. As soon as I stepped in, Rina called out to me.

"Master!"

I nearly tripped at the sight of her.

"Wh, why are you dressed as a maid!?"

I couldn’t help but react to Rina’s perfectly done up maid outfit.

"Because Rina musht take care of Mashter! Rina will do her besht in maid shtyle!"

Rina made fists with both hands, full of determination. Her words were a bit garbled, but her enthusiasm came through loud and clear.

"I get the maid outfit, but did you actually pick out proper everyday clothes too? And underwear?"

"Yabe, Rina may be a child but she’s still a girl. Don’t you think asking a woman whether she bought underwear shows a distinct lack of consideration?"

I turned around to find Irina and Sarina standing there. Sarina was nodding along in agreement.

"I, Irina saying something sensible!?"

I couldn’t hide my shock.

"Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!"

Irina threw herself at my chest, landing soft little punches. For some reason she seemed to be putting on an act of being extra cute.

I caught her and looked down at her face.

"What’s wrong, Irina?"

"Um... ever since Rina chan came, you’ve been spending all your time with her, and not with me at all..."

Rina only arrived yesterday afternoon. Barely a day had passed. What was she even talking about?

"Oh, Mishtress, my apologiesh. Pleashe don’t worry about Rina and go ahead and be as clingy with Mashter as you like!"

Rina said this with an utterly apologetic expression, saying something outrageous.

"Eh!? Cl, clingy!? Okay, Yabe, I’ll do my besht."

Irina turned bright red, her words starting to slur.

"By the way, did you actually buy plenty of clothes and spare underwear for Rina?"

I checked on the important shopping results.

"Yeah, I bought a lot. Just the maid outfits alone, there are about five of them. Plus I bought a bunch of cute looking clothes so she can change every day without trouble. Got enough undergarments and underwear too, so don’t worry. Rina won’t have to sleep without underwear anymore. Disappointed, Yabe?"

Irina asked, smirking at me. It was rare for her to tease me like that.

"Then how about you sleep with me without any underwear."

"Hyaa!? M, me sleeping with you without underwear!? Uu, ugh, okay, I’ll do my besht."

Irina turned red again, looking down and stumbling over her words. What exactly was she going to try her best at?

"Now then, everyone, dinner is ready."

At the butler’s call, everyone headed to the dining room.

"So, with that said, I’d like you to tell me about Lord Fenberg’s noble connections."

After dinner, I requested a meeting with Lord Fenberg and asked him to teach me about noble ties and factions. Fenberg prepared some drinks and agreed to talk.

"Let’s start with the basics. This Kingdom of Barbaroi has three great ducal houses. Lycaorost, Pleasure, and Draisen."

"Yeah, I’ve heard of them."

"Since there are three ducal houses, the factions naturally form around these three as their pinnacles."

"So the top of each faction is a ducal house."

"That’s right. Of these, Lycaorost and Pleasure both pour a lot of strength into their factions. Draisen, on the other hand, doesn’t really put effort into its faction even though it technically has one. I’m actually counted as part of the Draisen faction myself."

"Counted as?"

"The truth is Darryl von Draisen, head of the Draisen ducal house, just doesn’t put much effort into faction building. Lycaorost and Pleasure, by contrast, keep their factions tightly bound and try to extend their influence everywhere."

"So only the Draisen house is just standing back and watching?"

"You could put it that way, but from a noble’s perspective, both Lycaorost and Pleasure have a reputation for being extremely faithful to their own desires and grabbing at every vested interest they can. Get pulled into that faction and if things go well you might get a nice cut, but it could just as easily leave you stuck with no way out. So a lot of nobles prefer to sit on the fence rather than get pulled into either faction. Draisen, which doesn’t clamp down too hard on its people, ends up being the natural refuge for them."

"Is that you too?"

"Pretty much. Both Lycaorost and Pleasure clearly run their factions with an iron grip. And honestly, I can’t shake the smell of villainy from either of them."

"Wouldn’t want to get close to those. By the way, which faction is Viscount Teraelo part of?"

"Viscount Teraelo belongs to the Pleasure ducal house’s faction. He’s said to be quite faithful to his own desires and willing to use dirty methods. Not someone I’d want to associate with."

"There’s a story going around that he assassinated Baron Harknar."

"Seriously!? Where did you hear that? Baron Harknar was part of the Draisen faction. The head of the house died, and since there’s no child with his wife, there’s apparently a dispute over what happens to the barony. There’s even talk that the baron had debts."

"Ah, that’s Viscount Teraelo’s fabrication. Sounds like a scheme to get his hands on Baron Harknar’s former wife. Looks like he’s trying to seize the land and the estate too."

"What!?"

"If I’m allowed to use the Coluna Frontier Count’s name, I could move to bring down Viscount Teraelo."

"Hmm..."

"I make it a policy to use every connection and bit of power available to me, without holding back."

"...Of course I won’t withhold my cooperation, but be careful how you handle this. Evidence matters, but a lot of nobles act purely out of self interest. Move carelessly and they’ll come after you from every possible angle."

"What a hassle... These days it’s honestly simpler to just remove people by force. Though I’m not confident I can hold back against anyone who bares their fangs at me or my companions. All I can do is hope no one like that shows up."

"I know exactly how capable you are... All I can do is hope the same thing, honestly."

Fenberg said this with a wry smile.