”With all due respect,” Alfred said, his voice steady, “I have no intention of surrendering the rights to this Reversi game to you, Lord Rommel.”
For a moment, the room went utterly silent-as if someone had thrown a bucket of water over the conversation1.
”Wh-what?! Wh… wh… WHAT?! You-you BASTARD!!”
Viscount Bruno snapped back to reality, his face flushed scarlet, veins bulging at his temples. He was snorting with fury like an enraged bull.
(…Huh. That’s literally an orc, isn’t it. If I ran into him in the forest, wouldn’t someone just try to hunt him down by mistake?)
Alfred, watching the apoplectic viscount, had the nerve to think such a frivolous thought.
”Hmph. Is that so. That’s… unfortunate,” Lord Rommel said, his gravelly voice snapping Alfred back to the present.
”Yes. Again, with all due respect,” Alfred replied, “the fact is that Reversi has already been filed for patent with the Commercial Guild. We’ve also signed a royalty agreement with them. By now, I imagine the Guild is already overseeing production and expanding distribution channels.”
”What?! Is that true?” Lord Rommel demanded, his eyes narrowing. “If the process has already advanced that far, and I were to suddenly claim the rights myself, wouldn’t I become a laughingstock?! Viscount Bruno, what is the meaning of this? Were you trying to make a fool of me?”
Lord Rommel’s expression turned dark with anger.
”Eep?! Th-this is… ah, well,” Bruno stammered, “I had no idea it was already registered with the Guild…”
”Hoh? You’re saying you recommended this to me without knowing about the Guild registration?” Lord Rommel pressed.
”Eeeek! Y-yes, sir! I’m terribly sorry!” Bruno squeaked.
Viscount Bruno, crushed by the weight of Lord Rommel’s authority, had completely lost his nerve.
”Furthermore,” Alfred continued, “the proposal to offer the rights to Lord Rommel was something Viscount Bruno told me about only moments ago. Originally, when I came to pay my respects upon being appointed Baron to Lord Rommel, I mentioned to Viscount Bruno that I would be bringing several copies of Reversi as a gift. He said he had a prior acquaintance with Lord Rommel and that I should leave the introductions to him-so he accompanied me here. Beyond that, I was told nothing.”
Alfred’s explanation made Lord Rommel’s face darken with anger by the second.
Meanwhile, Viscount Bruno had gone pale and was trembling uncontrollably.
”VISCOUNT BRUNO!” Lord Rommel roared. “So you were trying to steal what Baron Alfred invented and use it to curry favor with me!! This is a clear violation of the law-it’s a crime! At best, you’ll be stripped of your title-at worst, you could be reduced to a criminal slave2!! Did you fully understand that before you did this?! AND on top of that-ON TOP OF THAT-you tried to drag ME into it!! Were you trying to make ME an accomplice in your crime?! Were you trying to turn ME into a criminal slave?! Answer me, Viscount Bruno!!”
”Eeep?! Hii-hihihi..,” Bruno whimpered, having fallen from his chair, unable to form a coherent response under the assault of Lord Rommel’s wrath.
…Oh dear. It looks like the area around Viscount Bruno’s trousers is wet. Did he spill something?
Hmm. I smell something a bit pungent. Maybe he should go change soon.
…Man, the person who has to help him with that is going to have a rough time.
Once again, Alfred was cheerfully thinking such irrelevant thoughts.
”Oh! Actually, there is something I wanted to ask of you, Lord Rommel..,” Alfred interjected.
”…Hm? What is it?” Lord Rommel replied, turning his attention to Alfred. “A request? I’m willing to hear you out, provided it’s within my power…”
(…Hiii-eep… I thought I was going to be killed… hii… hii…)
With Lord Rommel’s attention now on Alfred, Viscount Bruno could finally catch his breath. He felt a wave of profound relief wash over him.
”Yes,” Alfred said. “You see, the Lindrott territory I’ve been assigned to is surrounded on all sides by mountains-we barely even get proper sunlight. It’s a small domain with a population of less than a hundred people.”
Alfred laid out the current state of Lindrott territory: crops wouldn’t grow, there was no industry or specialty products, monsters were abundant, and there was a very real risk the territory would collapse in the near future.
”…And so, Lord Rommel,” Alfred concluded, “I humbly request your support for my territory.”
Alfred’s earnest appeal brought another wave of silence to the room.
”Hmm. I understand the request for support,” Lord Rommel said, stroking his chin. “And just how much support are you seeking?”
He was undoubtedly already running calculations in his head.
”Yes. First and foremost, for the immediate needs,” Alfred replied, “I would ask for food supplies for two hundred people, sustained over five years.”
”WHAT?! Food for two hundred people for five years?!” Viscount Bruno yelped in shock.
Even he could easily grasp how difficult it would be to transport that much food over the mountain pass to Lindrott-and how much the whole operation would cost.
”Hoh? If I recall correctly, Baron Alfred,” Lord Rommel said, his eyes sharpening, “you mentioned earlier that the population was under a hundred. So why request supplies for two hundred?”
…Ah. Viscount Bruno is starting to panic again…
”Yes,” Alfred explained. “I intend to push forward with developing my territory as aggressively as possible. The idea for Reversi came about because I was racking my brain for anything that could raise funds for the territory. So, if the territory develops as planned, the population will inevitably grow-I’ve factored that increase into the request.”
”I see,” Lord Rommel murmured. “And you only need food support for five years?”
”Yes,” Alfred confirmed. “I project that within five years, I’ll have achieved measurable results in the territory’s development.”
Lord Rommel looked skeptical. “You expect to show significant results in just five years? Normally, development-land reclamation, for example-takes ten or twenty years.”
”Yes,” Alfred replied. “If I did things the ordinary way, I doubt anything would change in my territory even after a hundred years. So I intend to take a different approach.”
”Hmm. So Baron Alfred, you have a plan..,” Lord Rommel stroked his chin and fell into thought for a moment.
”Very well, Baron Alfred,” he said at last. “I understand your request for food. But from the way you were speaking earlier, there’s more you’re asking for, isn’t there?”
Astute. He’d read my intentions perfectly.
”Yes, of course,” Alfred said. “In my territory, we are currently lacking in every possible area. Food, clothing, supplies, weapons to fight monsters, farming tools, equipment for building fences and ditches, and the manpower to carry out all of it-truly, we are short of everything.”
Saying it out loud again made him want to cover his eyes at the sheer hopelessness of it all.
”Therefore,” Alfred continued, “if it’s at all possible, I would like to invite you to visit Lindrott territory personally, Lord Rommel, so that you can determine what support you’re willing to provide after seeing the situation firsthand.”
”…Hoh. You want me to come to your territory?” Lord Rommel asked, raising an eyebrow.
”Yes,” Alfred said. “Of course, given the current state of the territory, I couldn’t even offer you proper hospitality. There are also dangerous monsters in the area. My father, in fact, encountered a mutant Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear, was severely injured, and was forced to step down as lord. But even so-I want you to see what we’re dealing with.”
”What?! A-a Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear?!” Viscount Bruno sputtered, his composure shattering visibly. “Such a dangerous monster roams your lands?!”
Alfred knew this was the critical moment. He steeled himself, straightened his spine, and held his ground.
”Of course,” Alfred said, “I’m not asking for this for free. Please, take a look at this.”
Alfred reached into the box and produced something from within.
Trivia:
- Alfred’s internal comparison of Bruno to an orc reveals both his dark humor and his fundamental lack of fear toward the viscount—he sees Bruno as more comic than threatening.
- The fact that Alfred patented Reversi before presenting it to Rommel demonstrates premeditated strategic thinking, not mere improvisation.
- Bruno’s complete collapse under Rommel’s questioning exposes his vulnerability—he’s a social climber with no real backbone when confronted.
- Alfred’s casual observation about Bruno’s wet trousers serves as both comic relief and a subtle power move; he’s documenting Bruno’s humiliation without intervening.
- The mention of Alfred’s father being injured by a Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear establishes both the territory’s danger and a personal motivation for Alfred’s success.
- Alfred’s request for 200 people’s worth of food for 5 years is deliberately audacious—he’s testing how much he can extract from Rommel while appearing reasonable.
- The recurring theme of Alfred’s past-life knowledge (mentioned regarding Reversi) suggests that his entire development plan hinges on memories from modern Japan.
- Lord Rommel’s ability to immediately grasp that Alfred has additional requests beyond food shows he’s an experienced administrator who reads between the lines.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A Japanese idiom meaning “to become so quiet it’s as if water has been thrown on the scene.” In English, the equivalent effect is achieved through “went utterly silent” to convey the sudden, dramatic hush.
2 ↩ A fantasy-legal term meaning “criminal slave.” In this world, serious crimes can result in being stripped of noble status and sold into slavery as punishment.