The next morning, Alfred woke up long after the sun had climbed high into the sky. He quietly slipped out of the room, being careful not to wake Elenora, who was still sleeping soundly and looking very comfortable.
”Properly tired out, aren’t I? Wouldn’t have minded another round right after waking up, like, but can’t be helped,” he muttered, stretching his arms.
It looked like Zeno the stonemason, Kirsten the Earth Magic user, and the other guild members had all already left for the day. Nobody was left at the inn.
”They’re down at the Adventurers’ Guild, most like, trying to recruit more Earth Magic users and folk who want to move to the village,” Alfred said with a nod.
Alfred went back to his room, changed into some clothes for going out, left a note for Elenora, and headed off to do some shopping.
He needed to get outfits for two things: his meeting with the trading company later, and dinner with Natalie tonight.
”Could’ve worn the same clothes I bought last time I had dinner with Natalie, mind, but after she saw me deposit all that cash, showing up in the same gear feels a bit cheap, doesn’t it?” he thought, shaking his head.
Still, he figured he didn’t need to go all out this time either, so he bought two decent outfits—nothing too fancy, nothing too cheap.
He didn’t style his hair as sharply as last time either. Just kept it neat and called it good.
”Eh, can wear the same shoes as last time, surely? Though maybe something a bit more casual is better…”
While he was walking down the main street thinking about all that, someone called out to him from the side.
”Ah, excuse me! You wouldn’t happen to be Lord Alfred, would you?”
”…Huh!? Y-yes, that’s me, but…” Alfred stammered, turning around quickly.
He was caught off guard. He never expected anyone in the capital city of Granliger to recognize him—a nobody noble from the countryside.
”I’m sorry for the sudden greeting. My name is Roy. I was part of Count Bruno’s inspection team a while back. I just wanted to thank you—back then, you gave potions to those of us who got hurt in the monster attack. We really appreciated it.”
”Ah, so that’s what this is about,” Alfred realized, rubbing his neck.
There were so many people back then, and things were so chaotic with all the healing and then that Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear showing up that he didn’t have time to remember everyone’s face.
”Don’t worry about it, mate. More importantly, I’m really glad to see you’ve fully recovered,” Alfred said, smiling warmly.
”Yes, thank you again for everything back then. Um… so, I heard at the Adventurers’ Guild that you’re looking for people to move to your territory. Is that true?”
”Aye, that’s right. As you probably know, my place is short on folk right now, so we’ve been desperately looking for anyone willing to come.”
If he came with the inspection team, that must have been back when the eastern side still had mountains and the village was all damp and gloomy.
”If he saw the village now, he’d be shocked, wouldn’t he?” Alfred thought, chuckling quietly.
”Um… what do I need to do to move there? Are there forms or procedures I need to fill out?”
”Oh, nice that you’re interested! You don’t need to worry about paperwork or anything like that—you can sort all that out after you get to the village. …So, do you know anyone who might want to come with you?”
”Yes, I do! Well… actually… it’s me.” Roy scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed laugh.
”…Wait, really? But you were with the inspection team, weren’t you? That means you work for Count Bruno, right?”
”Well, you see, after that whole incident, all the soldiers who got potions from you started getting treated really badly by Count Bruno. He said we got hurt because we weren’t training hard enough. And then he said we humiliated the Riegel Viscountcy by accepting potions from another house to heal our wounds…”
”What!? Are you joking!? That’s completely silly!
Anyone could see that wasn’t about the soldiers’ training—it was Count Bruno’s fault for not preparing properly, wasn’t it? He didn’t give you lot proper gear, the unit barely had any real knights or mages, and yet he expected you to beat monsters?
And he was too cheap to even hand out potions!! What a mean guy!!”
”Haha, thanks for getting angry on our behalf. You really are a good person, Lord Alfred. That day, when you stood alone in front of that Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear to protect the villagers, it was really brave. I still remember it clearly. You were nothing like that one orc who wet himself and ran away squealing.”
”Haha, well, it was Margrave Rommel who actually took the beast down, not me, wasn’t it?”
”Come on. Even so, you still stood your ground alone in front of that beast. That’s what matters.”
”Haha… makes me glad to hear you say that, mate. Thanks. …So, about moving to my land then?”
”Oh, right. Well, after that whole mess, the guys who got treated badly have been leaving Count Bruno’s service one by one. They’re fed up with it. I finally hit my limit too, so I quit the viscount’s private army just the other day. But I still have a family to support, so I was thinking about becoming an adventurer to make ends meet. Then I heard at the Guild about people wanting to relocate, and I thought maybe working under you wouldn’t be such a bad deal. And then I just happened to run into you, so I had to say something.”
”That sounds rough, that does. …Right then, Roy. I’ll take you and your family in as settlers. Can you pack up your stuff and get to Flour Village within five days?”
”R-really!? Thank you so much! I’ll get ready right away, I’ll take my leave now… Oh! I’ll tell the other guys who quit too! Alright then…”
Roy took off running and disappeared in no time.
”Alright, sounds good—thanks!” Alfred called after him.
And just like that, he found a new settler completely by accident.
”Is this really alright, though? I’m a bit worried Count Bruno might cause a fuss and claim I’m taking his folk… Well, they’ve already quit his service, so it should be fine… Still, maybe I ought to prepare something just in case…”
That afternoon, Alfred met with a merchant recommended by Natalie at the Commercial Guild.
”Right then, pleasure to meet you. The name’s Quetschi, and I run the trading company,” Quetschi said, giving a quick nod. “And this here’s Nina, my partner.”
”Nice to meet you. I’m Nina, nya,” she added.
”C-cat ears!?” Alfred gasped, staring in shock.
On the head of the woman sitting across from Alfred were cat ears the same color as her orange hair, twitching and flicking adorably.
”Nina’s a cat beastfolk, nya. Is this your first time seeing a beastfolk, Lord Alfred?” Natalie asked, leaning back with a casual smile. “She’s super nice.”
”…Ah, aye, it is. There aren’t any beastfolk back in Lindrott territory, so I was a bit surprised, like. …My apologies. I’m Alfred Lindrott, lord of Lindrott territory. Pleased to meet you.”
He turned to face them and gave a polite bow.
Elenora, who had come with him, stood quietly behind him without saying a word—seems like she learned from yesterday.
”Right then, time for the negotiations. What kind of plan do they have…? We’re both feeling each other out, but I can’t be losing here. …Probably best to start soft…”
”How many supplies are you needing, Lord Alfred? I can get you as much as you want, so don’t hold back!” Quetschi offered smoothly. “We can get you anything you need.”
”If you leave it to us, we can get you anything, nya!” Nina chimed in, leaning forward eagerly. “Just sit back and relax, nya!! Oh, and if you come up with any new products, you’ve gotta let us sell them, nya! Ah!? Actually, do you already have new ideas? If so, let’s talk—”
”…W-wait a second!?” Alfred cried, leaning back in surprise.
Before he knew it, Nina had pushed right up close to his face. Elenora sensed danger and quickly stepped in, but Nina just kept coming closer with her words spilling out fast.
”Hey, Nina, calm down and sit back!” Natalie said, pulling her back gently. “You’re making Lord Alfred uncomfortable!”
Even as she was being pulled back to her seat, Nina kept her arms moving, still talking…
”Heheh~ I mean, when I saw the famous Lord Alfred right in front of me, I got so excited, nya~ Sorry about that, nya~ …tahaha…”
”Is she really a merchant? Is it safe doing business with her?” Alfred thought, looking uncertain.
He looked over at Elenora and saw she had the same confused look on her face—she was definitely thinking the same thing.
”Ah! You just thought ‘is this person really a merchant’ and ‘can I trust her with business,’ didn’t you, nya? Well, don’t worry about that, nya!! You can count on me, nya!”
”…N-no, I wasn’t thinking that at all…” Alfred muttered, sweating a bit.
”How did she guess that?” he wondered.
”Nina’s still fairly new, but honestly, she has a lot of skill,” Natalie said, waving her hand easily. “She already built her own trade routes.”
”Aww~ don’t praise me so much, nya~ I’m gonna get embarrassed, nya~ …aha, aha…”
”…Haha… So, what kind of trade routes are we talking about, then?”
”That’s a trade secret, nya! …Or I’d like to say that, but since you don’t seem to mind beastfolk, I’ll tell you, nya—our route connects to the beastfolk nation, the Wulfs Kingdom.”
”Oh, that’s impressive, that is! You’ve already got connections with another kingdom even though you’re still new!”
At those words, Natalie and Elenora exchanged a knowing look. Nina just smiled.
”Pray tell, Lord Alfred, are you aware that beastfolk are looked down upon by certain individuals in this country?” Elenora asked gently, her voice calm and polite.
”…Huh? Really? Why’s that?”
”Regrettably, the beastfolk nation of Wulfs Kingdom and our own Kingdom of Flumford were engaged in conflict for many years until twenty years ago,” Elenora explained, resting her hands together quietly. “Thanks to the wisdom of both monarchs choosing to end the strife, peace was restored. However, even now, there remain those who hold bad feelings toward beastfolk. As they are easily recognized by their appearance, they often become targets of prejudice.”
”…I had no idea…”
”Looks like you didn’t know about that, nya. So what do you think now? Can you not do business with a beastfolk after all, nya? If you make a deal with me, maybe those kinds of people will start bothering you too, nya? …Maybe you should call it off, nya?”
”…No way. Even after hearing all that, I honestly still don’t get why anyone would dislike beastfolk. They’re quite cute-looking—how could anyone dislike them?”
Alfred looked genuinely confused, like he truly couldn’t understand.
”Nya!? Nya-nya-nya!? C-cute, nya!? ~~!! Lord Alfred, you’re secretly such a flirt, nya!?”
”Why would you say that!?” Alfred shouted, flustered.
After that, they were able to negotiate openly and honestly. The mood was warm and friendly, with smiles all around. Even Natalie, who was there to observe, looked relieved.
”By the way, is the name Quetschi from your trading company based on the legendary Cait Sith?”
”That’s right, nya! There’s a story that our ancestors were Cait Sith, nya! And that Cait Sith is said to have brought happiness to our cat beastfolk clan, nya. So we named the company after it, nya!”
”Huh, so that’s the story… But having a legendary Cait Sith as an ancestor… That’s quite a story, isn’t it?”
The negotiations wrapped up smoothly. They agreed to have the supplies shipped as soon as they were ready.
They also made a deal to buy twenty horses, twenty cows, and twenty sheep that Nina recommended.
She said it would take a bit of time to gather all of them.
Imagining those animals grazing peacefully in the new village pastures, Alfred couldn’t help but smile.
Little by little, but steadily, the village was becoming richer. Feeling that warmth in his chest, Alfred’s heart swelled with excitement.
Trivia:
- Alfred’s internal comment about wanting “another round” after waking up indicates his relationship with Elenora has become physically intimate, though their professional dynamic remains formally distant in public settings.
- The fact that Nina reads Alfred’s thoughts so easily suggests beastfolk may have enhanced perception or that Alfred’s expressions are particularly transparent—a trait that could be exploited by future negotiators.
- Roy’s mention that “all the soldiers who got potions” were mistreated implies Count Bruno systematically punished anyone who accepted aid from Alfred, revealing a deep-seated grudge that may resurface as a political threat.