200

After confirming the extremely fast and smooth(?) development status of the territory, Jiselle checked the next plan.

"Development is something that must continue anyway… … The conflict between the pro-prince faction and the pro-gong faction will intensify in the future."

The Marquis of Branford may not have wanted it, but he must have realized that Giselle was hastening the civil war.

The movements of Count Desmond alone are evidence enough.

Jiselle had already heard that Desmond's army had been stopped by the 2nd Corps. She had been aiming for that from the beginning, and Marquis Branford had acted as she had hoped.

But the problem starts from now on.

'That's all for wasting time with Amelia.'

Earl Desmond personally mobilized the army, even abandoning the mask and pretense of neutrality.

The fact that he, who had been focusing the most on Amelia's rebellion, had made a move also meant that he had decided to target this place directly.

It remains to be seen whether his attack will coincide with or precede the civil war.

'Now, Harold, it's his turn.'

Desmond is considered one of the strongest in the North along with Raypold.

Although it may be somewhat inferior to other regions, Daeyoungju is not called Daeyoungju for nothing.

Only those who have excellent knights, numerous strong soldiers, and abundant resources to support them can be called great lords.

Jiselle, who was looking at the map for a moment, muttered without realizing it.

"Leipold will be weakened because of Amelia… … So for the time being, that Harold guy will take the title of strongest in the North."

In any case, Leipold would be taken by Amelia. Even if Giselle leaked information, it was obvious that Count Leipold would not be able to deal with her.

But Giselle had no intention of letting Amelia easily take possession of Leipold.

"Well, thanks to Amelia, I was able to pioneer the Forest of Demons, and she also caught the attention of the Duke and Harold. When I think about it, she's a really grateful woman."

Jiselle recalled the past when she had extorted money from Amelia in exchange for her silence.

I couldn't be sure that was the best choice. Amelia was such a brilliant and dangerous person.

But that was the best thing for Giselle at the time.

There was no way Count Leipold would believe the words of a scoundrel who had nothing to show for it. Even if the Count had believed Giselle, Amelia was not someone who would be easily swayed.

'We may have succeeded in getting Amelia out, but things would have been more dangerous after that.'

They would have been looking for something else besides Amelia, and they wouldn't have let me off easy for interfering with their plans.

Things are different now.

Fenris had grown so large that he could no longer hide from sight, and Harold began to feel threatened.

And it was a dangerous situation for Giselle unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

In the end, in order to seize hegemony in the North, there was no choice but to confront it head on.

'The time that the Prince's faction can restrain the Duke's family is limited. Before that, Desmond must be crushed with overwhelming force.'

Only when all the lords of the North are under your feet can you have a fighting chance against the Duke.

If we were to subdue them all through war, the damage would be enormous. So we must show overwhelming force and make them kneel on their own.

To do that, it was extremely important to prepare thoroughly from now on.

'I guess I'll need more runestones. I'll have to reduce the amount I sell at the Magic Tower for the time being.'

There will be many places where Runestones will be used in the future. The most common use is, of course, territory development, and it should also be used to increase power.

I had expected this from the start when I went to find the Rune Stone. It's just that the time has finally come.

"Come to think of it… … . I'll be there soon."

A while ago, I received a letter from Hubert, the owner of the Red Flame Tower.

He said that he would come to check on the branch and congratulate them on their victory in the war, and that he would also come to see Jiselle's face for the first time in a long time.

Jiselle looked out the window with a leisurely smile, her intentions clearly visible.

* * *

A few days later, Hubert came with the elders of Matap.

As the wizards arrived, a small commotion arose near the castle.

Although the Red Flame Towers are famous in this northern region, they are also people whose faces are hard to see.

"The Lord of the Red Flame Tower has arrived!"

"Really? A famous person like that came to meet our lord?"

"That's right. He came in an incredibly fancy carriage and brought along many attendants."

"Seeing that such people have come in person, I guess our lord's reputation has also risen a lot, right?"

The laborers working in the workshop were talking about the guest. Alpoy, who was carving a magic circle in a corner of the workshop, heard this and his eyes lit up.

'The Lord of the Tower is here? Calm down, calm down!'

Alfoy sweated coldly and calmed his mind.

After being abandoned here, I thought there would be no way to see the tower owner, Hubert.

But now that Hubert had come in person, now was the perfect time to escape from this place.

Even the top lord would never pretend not to know if he knew that he was being treated like a slave.

Alfoy spoke quietly, calming down the wizards who were agitated around him.

"Now is your chance. I'll go meet the Lord. You guys, get some attention."

The wizards nodded at Alfoy's solemn words and immediately took action.

"Oh, where did I put the tools?"

"Please call the priest. I don't feel well."

"Hey hey hey! We need to move this quickly! Where are the dwarves?"

The atmosphere became chaotic as the wizards got up and started poking around here and there.

"I'm going to the bathroom."

Taking advantage of the gap, Alpoy naturally left the workshop as if he was going to the bathroom.

"Haste."

He cast a magic spell that increased his speed on his body and moved quickly.

Time is short. If you are away for too long, people will come looking for you.

'Okay, let's run!'

——————

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Alfoy ran towards the castle with all his might.

The sun had already set and the surroundings were dark. Even people standing guard from afar would have a hard time spotting me moving quickly.

"Ugh, ugh!"

I quickly became out of breath, perhaps because I had used up all my remaining magical power while working.

I thought I had gained a lot of stamina while working at the construction site, but it seems I had been overdoing it.

'Cheer up Alpoy! You can do it! You're a fire man who never gives up! Ugh, my heart hurts!'

My heart started pounding like crazy as I felt the hope of escaping this hellish place.

'Just a little more! Just a little more! If it's the Master, he will definitely release me from my slave contract… … .'

When I thought of Hubert, I suddenly felt uneasy.

The Hubert he had seen so far was lazy, extravagant, and very narrow-minded.

Will he, who has so much to gain from the lord, really let me go? Even I don't think I would risk anything for a disciple…

'Lee-ik, what are you thinking right now! In this world, there's a kid who would abandon his student… … No, where is a teacher like that! But my teacher isn't like that!'

There wasn't much time left. There was no need to distract myself with useless thoughts.

If you make a lot of noise and make a fuss in front of me, Hubert will definitely find you.

Alpoy, who had been running at such an incredible speed, using up all his horsepower, suddenly stopped walking.

'what?!'

Saaaaak!

Suddenly, a thick darkness gathered around me and my vision began to distort.

Alpoy gathered his magical power in his hands at the unidentifiable phenomenon.

In this territory, if you see something strange, it is advantageous to attack it first.

But faster than Alfoy could cast his spell, the darkness tore open and a human hand emerged from within.

Snap!

'Oh, shit… … .'

Alpoy's consciousness, which had been twisted around his neck, was cut off there.

Belinda sighed as she looked down at the fallen Alfoy.

"Whew, this kid is getting quicker and harder to catch. It's dinner time, so he must have used up most of his magic power, and yet he moves at this speed? How much has his magic power efficiency increased?"

Since you work on construction every day and use magic without rest, it is impossible for your skills not to improve.

The circle remains the same, but the ability to use and apply magical power has developed abnormally.

In actual combat, such things are actually more threatening. They may not know it, but Belinda thought that even a wizard like him could go toe-to-toe with any knight.

Belinda clicked her tongue a few times and threw Alfoy back into the workshop.

The wizards who saw the unconscious Alfoy looked blatantly disappointed, but Belinda smiled once and left.

Although their skills have improved, they are still a long way from surpassing Belinda.

* * *

"It's been a while, Lord Top. The elders are here too."

"Oh, right. I'm surprised to hear that you won this time too. You really are good at fighting. How have you been?"

Hubert smiled brightly at Giselle's greeting.

He was genuinely happy. His heart sank when he heard that this little bastard had started another war.

I wish you would please consider that if you fail, the rooftop will also suffer.

Hubert and the elders exchanged greetings with expressions of relief, then chatted about how they had been doing.

It mostly consisted of Hubert bragging about how well he was doing these days.

"The nobles of the land all bring me so many gifts to look good on me… … ."

"Oh, yes."

"I'm the most popular person at social gatherings… … ."

"Oh, yes."

"So, if you become closer to me, it will be of great help to Yeongji in the future… … ."

"Oh, yes."

Hubert's taste buds sank at Giselle's indifferent reaction.

To be honest, the guy in front of me is doing too well these days. With the Marquis of Branford on his back, it's hard to show off the authority of the Magic Tower like before.

"Ahem, yeah. How's the branch, is it helpful? How's Alpoy?"

"Of course. It's a great help to the spirit world. Would you like to meet Alpoy before you go? It's late today, so meet your disciples and get some rest before you go back. I'm busy… … ."

Hubert waved his hand in surprise at Giselle's words, which were subtly trying to drive him away.

"No, no! As long as you're doing well, what are you meeting for? I didn't come here to see him. He'll take care of it. You don't have to worry about him."

"Oh, really? Then what's the matter? Do you need anything?"

Hubert and the elders looked like they were fidgeting like puppies who need to poop when asked such a straightforward question.

Jiselle smiled and continued speaking.

"Please speak comfortably. What is so difficult between us?"

"Right? Between us. Hehehe."

Hubert smiled brightly, then asked cautiously.

"Could you… … buy some food? I really need it."

"Hmm, you know food is really expensive these days, right?"

"Oh, I see! But the number of people in the Tower family has also increased, but this is… … Even if you have money, it's not easy to get as much as you want."

After receiving the Rune Stone from Jiselle, the Red Flame Tower was slowly regaining its former glory.

As the number of disciples increased, the number of servants hired to assist them also increased.

The business of magic tools and scrolls was booming, and money was piling up just like before.

But then a drought struck and everything came to a halt.

Even in the Crimson Tower, known as the best in the North, people came to buy food from Jisel, so there was no need to mention other places.

"Ugh… … . It's been really hard to get food these days. But I heard there's a lot of food here… … ."

"I don't think the rooftop will starve though?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. We consume hundreds of servings a day, and it's getting harder and harder to get, and the prices are going up like crazy, so it's driving me crazy."

Even the few items that were available on the market were being swept away by the nobles, who even changed the laws of their territories to maintain their armies.

It has survived until now thanks to the authority and abundant funds of the Tower of Justice, otherwise it would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Even Count Cavaldi, who had amassed so much wealth, had no choice but to starve his soldiers.

Drought is this scary. Once there is a bad harvest, there is almost no supply until at least the next harvest season.

Hubert, who had confessed his honest feelings, said while sweating.

"How about… … Couldn't we sell some food together? Your territory's population has also increased, so it won't be easy… … There's a saying that a true friend is someone who shares hardships."

Hubert doesn't know exactly how much food Giselle has. He's only heard through hearsay that there's a lot of it.

But the guy in front of me sold his precious food to buy soldiers and even fought in the war.

'Ugh, I don't know why I did such a crazy thing, but… … Now that the number of people in Yeongji has increased, there might not be any room left. What if they say they won't sell?'

I was anxious, but since I had nowhere else to go anyway, I came here to at least check out the situation.

After hearing the whole story, Jiselle nodded with an expression that said it was nothing.

"There's still plenty of food. There's more than enough for us to eat."

"Really? Is there really that much? Then please sell some to us! We don't have to sell as much as we sell to the nobles. Just sell enough to feed our people for two years… … ."

The Red Flame Tower was so large that it was once called the best in the North.

If you add the employees to the disciples taught at the Magic Tower, the number easily exceeds several hundred.

The amount of energy that those people can safely consume in two years would be enormous.

Jiselle, who was smiling, held up three fingers like before.

"Three times the current price."

Hubert and the elders' faces suddenly distorted.