Return, Not In Triumph (1)

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***

The Royal Palace of Lunan.

"Ha ha ha ha! You did really well!" <King Tutanka>

The King of Lunan greeted me with a joyful face.

"Well done Julius." <King Tutanka>

Duke Ronen was also full of praise.

The problem was that he only offered praises.

He didn't seem to have the slightest intention of giving out any rewards.

It was a bit too obvious that he treated people like fools.

"Your Majesty, won't the entire Bridget Kingdom belong to Lunan soon?" <Julius >

"Well, yes. It seems that the troops we sent in later are doing well. Hahahaha!" <King Tutanka>

"I don't care what anyone says, it was me who made it possible. It was me and my men who captured the enemy capital, and the royal family." <Julius >

I declared to the king's smiling face.

The king and Ronen looked at each other as if the time had come.

The smiles on their faces disappeared.

It was as if they had already decided to get rid of me when they were done using me in the war.

Even though per current military law only the males of the royal family were killed and the surviving royal women and princesses were brought back as spoils of war and "gifted" to his majesty.

"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that. You never know the outcome. It might have been possible even without you. Maybe even with Count Fihatri alone." <King Tutanka>

The king started with his nonsense.

Anyway, they are greedy people.

"Your Majesty, does your country not value it's heroes? Does it not still need one as competent a leader as I for the coming war with Visigoth? I don't want much. Besides, I am destined to continue fighting for you till our nations fall. But could I in this instance have a small reward? Surely that is not that difficult a thing for one such as yourself to give, considering how rashly the men responded upon hearing of my being called back here to Lunan, but should they also hear how bravery, and honor are things not to be rewarded, well..." <Julius >

When I mentioned another war, the king gave a light cough and nodded.

And Duke Ronen also had to lower his head as even he'd received reports of a near rebellion by Julius's led forces when they called him back, deny him claims and a civil war might be started.

He looked as if he had no choice because he still had places to use me for now.

"That's true. I've got to give credit where credit is due. What's the reward? Just gold, right?" <King Tutanka>

Don't be silly petty king.

I have enough gold.

More than Lunan's whole treasury, that's for sure.

"Isn't gold an asset you should be using, Your Majesty? I only want one of your coastal territories in the Bridget Kingdom?" <Julius >

"A coastal territory?" <King Tutanka>

"Yes, there is a place called Loctoin. I hear the coast is beautiful." <Julius >

"Loctoin? Bring me a map right away!" <King Tutanka>

As soon as the King of Lunan heard about it, he spread out a map in front of the audience room.

Then he pointed directly to the territory.

"Why a coastal territory?" <Duke Ronen>

Then Ronen asked a sharp question as if he was not willing to give me that small territory.

"I've always wanted a piece of land along the coast, a quiet little seaside. I plan to use that territory as a vacation home, to play with women." <Julius >

"Oh, I see. Come to think of it, you're quite a womanizer. Well, if it's this big, I'll give it to you..." <King Tutanka>

"Then can I have the royal document with the royal Seal affixed right here and now?" <Julius >

Hastily asking upon getting even just meager consent from his majesty.

"Your Majesty, I don't think there's any hurry. Julius, why don't you just come back tomorrow? Afterall it will take that long just to draft up the documents for the land transfer." <Duke Ronen>

Ronen is a greedy man.

He wouldn't give up a single piece of land easily so I had no choice but to nod my head.

The next day, I had another audience with the king.

What Ronen had been doing that night was well known.

He must have thoroughly investigated the land that I wanted.

I'm sure he has no intention of handing over any land where I can expand my influence.

"I've discussed the coastal territory you mentioned with His Majesty." <Duke Ronen>

Ronen said and pointed to a spot on the map.

"I've found a place that's even better than the one you mentioned, a territory called Berthaquin. It's really in the middle of nowhere, so you can enjoy all the relaxation you want without the world knowing about it. It's a territory completely surrounded by mountains, the coast is blocked all around. No matter what you do, it's not an easy place for anyone to escape, don't you think? And in recognition of your valiant efforts in the war it's territory size Is considerably larger." <Duke Ronen>

The place he pointed to was a corner of the Bridget Kingdom, a flat land that is not even a city, to be honest.

It was a territory with nothing but mountains.

"Will you give me that territory?" <Julius >

"Yes. I've already prepared the royal document with the royal Seal on it. I had a hard time finding a better territory for you. Don't you like it?" <Duke Ronen>

No, I don't...!

They both saw my expression turn cloudy and looked at me at the same time.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." <Julius >

Biting the bullet i responded thusly.

"Well, well, I'm glad you like it. Hahahahahaha!" <King Tutanka>

The king, thinking that he had been able to substitute a useless piece of land for a reward, burst out laughing.

I scoffed at him in my mind as I received the royal decree and came out of the palace.

Yes.

I ridiculed him.

Berthaquin, this empty territory was exactly what I had been aiming for from the beginning.

I knew that if I asked for a place to rest, he would suggest this land, which was the most useless land in Bridget's territory.

Ronen probably chose this land while laughing at my mistake of calling it a resting place.

He seemed to think that since I said the word "resting place," I would not be able to refuse Berthaquin, which was the best place for it.

Of course, I had no intention of refusing from the start.

Berthaquin has the most iron mines on the continent.

Aquitania does not have much iron, we import it but the royal family is in charge of managing it.

Therefore, it was something of a challenge to get iron because iron is a war material; all countries have strict control over it.

To be able to obtain iron under such circumstances is an enormous profit.

Of course, the iron of Berthaquin is not known even in Bridget.

In the game, after I obtained the Berthaquin territory and started developing it, the iron began to overflow.

So, at this point, I'm the only one who knows about it.

That's right, what I wanted more desperately than Bridget Kingdom in this war was the iron.