Fundraising Methods
As expected, I couldn't keep this matter a secret to Rose. So, I consulted her
and Arnold about his matter during dinner.
Even at the best of times, Rose had her hands full with trying to keep her
public image. I expected her to flip out in rage when we brought up the
matter of me buying a beast girl slave. However…
「I agree with your action of buying that child. Right now, the royal capital
is in chaos due to Lord Fracton case. The royal capital has sent us a
message to stay in this city until the court's officers arrive here.」
The Fracton case she was talking about was the matter of Fracton colluding
with the Empire to sell Rose, the royalty who he should've protected. If I
were Rose's father, the first thing I would think about was ordering her to
immediately return. However, her father had ordered her to wait in this city.
I had never heard any rumors about the king neglecting Rose either.
Moreover, Rose was the saint who would summon the hero. SHe was an
indispensable presence in the war against the demon race. With all of those
stacked factors, the chance for the king to abandon Rose was literally zero.
Since that was the case, then―
「It's to put some restraint on that idiot prince. Is that it?」
「Yes. After all, when we return to the royal capital, Arnold would have to
go back to protect my father. When that happens, there would be no one
else to protect me. That's why my father ordered me to wait in this city until
he puts some restraints on Gilbert's faction. I think that's what my father
meant to say by ordering me to stand by in this city.」
「So your life is in jeopardy even in the royal capital, huh. You're a
princess, and yet, you're literally being besieged by enemies from all
sides.」
Rose might get assassinated as soon as she enters the royal capital. It's as if
she isn't royalty at all.
Arnold and Rose wryly smiled upon hearing my honest impressions. On
the other hand, Anna was enraged.
「Stop with such a disrespectful attitude toward Her Highness!」
She stood up and yelled at me.
「Kaykay, so? Do you have any ideas?」
Naturally, Rose might be a royalty(?), but asking her for money was a big
NONO. A royalty's money was the tax money paid by the citizens of this
kingdom. If we used that money to buy a slave, and something went wrong,
it might be seen as something endorsed by the royal family. This might
even encourage slavery. It wasn't a choice for Rose to begin with.
On the other hand, establishing a company and gaining profits in 20 days
was an unrealistic goal. It was impossible for the current us.
「Naturally, the most superb plan.」
This lass's innocent smile looked like the smile Rena made whenever she
thought of something foolish. Honestly, I couldn't help but worry about
Rose's future.
「As long as it's within my limit, can I do something to contribute?」
Rose had the tendency to overestimate me. I wanted to avoid running out of
time because of an overly grandiose plan that even I would find impossible
to execute.
「Yeah, it should be a simple matter for you.」
「So, what is it?」
「There's a sacred martial arts tournament being held in the city of
Luserhall. As long as you keep advancing in that tournament, achieving that
sum of money should be a simple matter!」
Sure enough, if I'm not wrong, the Sacred Martial Arts tournament was the
Amelia kingdom's greatest martial arts tournament held once every four
years. The prize for the winner of this tournament was a single generation
noble title, knighthood, or the right to establish a dojo. Therefore, thousands
of people participated in this tournament.
Since my current strength is amongst the top in this world, she might be
right about me easily advancing to the final.
Nevertheless, it was still the Amelia kingdom's biggest tournament. If I
advanced in that tournament, I would end up sticking out like a sore thumb.
And that was the last thing I wanted. Therefore, it was the worst choice for
me and an option I wanted to avoid.
Moreover, the so-called tournament was nothing more than a play to me. I
had no intention of losing in a battle of death. However, it would be a
completely different story when I would have to fight in a match under the
watch of a third party, called the referee. Depending on the rules of the
match, the stronger contestant might lose. And most of all, I might get
disqualified if I killed my opponent. In short, it wasn't as easy as she said.
「I'm bad with match-style tournaments. Considering that it's a
play(match), you can't say that there's a sure way to win, you know! There
are a lot of ways for the weak to beat the strong with the tournament's
restrictions.」
Anyhow, I had yet to figure out how much power I had to use against my
opponents. If the tournament had a rule that forced me to unequip this
[Glove of Sealing God], I would have a hard time controlling my
strength. When that happens, I might end up swatting my opponent to death
with a simple swing.
「Well then, it's my turn to ask now. Do you have any other idea to get a lot
of cash within a short amount of time?」
「U~hm… Nope!」
I mean, the reason I was racking my brains like this was that I had no way
to get a great amount of cash within a short time.
「I guess we'll proceed with the tournament plan. Please don't worry about
losing. Just participate in the tournament. In case you lose, I'll sell this for
cash.」
Rose placed a ring on top of the desk.
「Let me borrow it for a bit.」
I placed the ring on top of my right palm and used appraisal on it.
―――――――――――――――――――――
★[Resurrection Ring]: A ring that can resurrect its wearer from any
mortal wound three times.
・Uses Remaining: 3/3
・Item Rank: Advanced
―――――――――――――――――――――
Resurrection ring, huh. There is a limit to its instant recovery, but is this
thing really that valuable? I mean, it has a similar effect to a three-times
ultra recovery potion that can heal even fatal wounds.
「That ring is a birthday present from my deceased uncle who used to be a
hunter. Since he picked it up from a dungeon, it's not something I got from
tax money.」
「That's not the problem. I'm asking: are you sure that you want to sell
your uncle's memento?」
I mean, even the stupid me understood why that uncle gave such a precious
ring to Rose, his niece. That uncle of hers had predicted that Rose's life
would be targeted by her own kin. That was why he obtained this ring and
gave it to Rose. And yet, this stupid niece of his was actually about to
trample on the feeling of her deceased uncle by selling this ring.
「Of course! I mean, you won't lose in that tournament after all.」
That expression! Rose is serious. Her trust in me had already reached an
extremely dangerous level, not as dangerous as Girimekhala's though.
「If you place such baseless confidence on me, I'm going to feel
troubled.」
I stood up from my chair due to the indescribable rage swelling in my heart.
""
「Then, let's head toward Rouzaharl with the first carriage tomorrow
morning. Anna, immediately make arrangements for the food and coach!」
Rose instructed Anna as fast as she could.
「Yes!」
Anna left the inn after giving Rose a knight-style salute with an obedient
expression.
「I'll go with Kai. Arnold, I'll leave the matter of Lord Fracton to you.」
「Your wish is my command!」
Arnold also stood up from his chair and placed his hand on his chest in a
knight-style salute.
Does this lass always do such sink or swim actions? If that's the case, I
guess I can understand another reason her uncle gave her that precious
ring.
I had no intention to sell a memento from a deceased person, and
something that was clearly given to keep someone safe on top of that. That
was why even if I lost the match, I had no intention to sell that ring.
However, I knew that winning the tournament was actually the safest
choice. Anyhow, all I needed was to advance until the final. Well, I might be
able to do something about it. As for what we'll do if I lose before the final,
let's think about that matter later.
「Good grief!」
Heaving a sigh, I went toward my room on the 3rd floor of the inn to
prepare dinner for Faf and Asta.