Chapter 179 - Symbol of Prosperity

Before Valdrova and Lyudmila met each other,

Ferda took a light tour around his domain and introduced it to the people of House Purity.

“This may be a delicate thing to say.”

When they entered the square, Valery Purity, the head of the family, looked at an eye-catching object and asked a question.

“Do you intend to operate that fountain?”

“Of course. It is a gift from Iorga, the Aspect of Water, and her descendants, so how could we not use it?”

“Remarkable.”

It was not sarcasm, but sincere admiration.

The fact that they could operate a fountain now, when this was still nothing more than a small village, meant they were prepared for that much prosperity.

Though Ferda was noticeably young, Valery had never thought him a man full of vanity.

He could see a future in which the far east would prosper.

“I also heard that you intend to use adventurers for the conquest of the far east.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of our northern warriors?”

Northern warriors had a rougher, cruder side than knights, and were often treated as barbarians.

“Isn’t hunting the Frost Giants beyond the northern wall considered the greatest honor?”

“Going out to hunt the Frost Giants of the north is an old story now. In all my life, I have never crossed that wall. In truth, even for the people of the north, crossing it in a human body is nearly impossible.”

“That sounds as though it has something to do with the ascension ceremony.”

“In truth, it has to do with everything. The pride of the northern clans is to be chosen as descendants of Silverwind and ascend. To become true warriors and cross the wall.”

They selected the outstanding members of the tribes and offered them to the dragon spawns.

It was said that if they were chosen as warrior material, that tribe was given an enormous amount of money and food.

Being a true warrior was, in the end, no different from twisting one’s own body for the tribe’s survival.

'What a cruel joke.'

Becoming a dragon spawn meant washing away the past.

Memories of being human became nothing more than a worthless previous life, and they formed a bond as kin of the dragon.

It would effectively mean abandoning one’s clan, yet that was considered glorious.

“At any rate, Silverwind’s death must have been a great matter in the north as well.”

“It was great, but we do not dwell on it. If we had lived only by offering up warriors, we would still be living as barbarians.”

It was merely the flow of history, and they had willingly gone along with that flow.

Valery cleared his throat.

“We have strayed from the topic. In any case, since there is no longer any need to cross the Frost Wall, I wished to say that I hope northern warriors might be allowed to tread even the Land of Demons and find a new challenge there.”

Ferda felt something strange from those words.

Waldemar Gold.

It was a feeling similar to when that old man spoke.

“Duke of Purity.”

“Yes.”

“Are those the words of a warrior, or the words of a noble?”

He asked directly.

Valery Purity stroked his beard as he answered.

“What would you do if I said they were a warrior’s words?”

“I would believe them as they are.”

“And if they were a noble’s words?”

“I would like to have a proper discussion.”

Hearing those words, Valery could tell.

Ferda knew what his intentions were.

And he also knew that Ferda thought positively of those intentions.

“They say there are demonic spies in the Arken Empire.”

“That is correct.”

“And one was discovered in the Golden Council, while Duke Perry Yurei was also said to have been detained on suspicion of being a demonic spy. You were there at the scene, so you know that much, yes?”

“That is correct.”

“The problem is that after Perry Yurei was detained, they say he was not given noble treatment. They tortured him again and again as though dealing with a commoner, and in the end made him bleed.”

That was a vicious act that would leave them with nothing to say even if not only the Heinkel Kingdom, but other kingdoms as well condemned them for it.

“Do you know what that means?”

Ferda nodded.

“It is a provocation for war.”

“The Heinkel Kingdom has been put in a difficult position because of this incident.”

They could not help but be put in a difficult position.

With his son, Marcus Yurei, being a Demon Follower, what guarantee was there that Perry Yurei was not a Demon Follower as well?

If they blindly shielded him and he truly was a Demon Follower, that suspicion would reach the Heinkel Kingdom as well.

Yet it was not as though they could abandon Duke Yurei either.

If Yurei was not a Demon Follower, it could be used as a pretext that the king had used it as justification to purge a duke.

The one that could profit from this conflict was the Arken Empire.

For the Heinkel Kingdom, which had enjoyed a long period of peace, facing the Arken Empire was a frightening thing.

This complex incident brought countless difficulties to the Heinkel Kingdom.

“The veteran warrior, Margrave Oldin Ruster, is showing signs of deploying soldiers near the Heinkel Kingdom. At the same time, King Hudret also seems to be agreeing with him and preparing to join in.”

“If two kingdoms set their sights on one, its destruction would only be a matter of time.”

At that, the Duke of Purity grinned.

“That is not so. Rather, the reason King Hudret is getting involved is to protect the Heinkel Kingdom.”

“What do you mean by protecting it through an attack?”

Ferda did not immediately understand those words.

“If the Arken Empire were to enter a one-on-one total war with the Heinkel Kingdom, then the Heinkel Kingdom would become entirely theirs. But what if King Hudret were to get involved?”

“The problem would be when profits are distributed according to merit.”

“That is correct. King Hudret will move in order to be promised more profit than the distribution would grant him. If conflict begins again, the Empire will now have to fight not the Hudret Kingdom, but all of Serdes.”

At one time, the Arken Empire had made many kingdoms and territories tremble in fear with its expansionist course.

The reason they could not allow the Heinkel Kingdom’s land to fall was also to avoid leaving a precedent.

“If they set their minds to isolating the Arken Empire, is that not possible?”

“Of course, if this were the past, I might have thought it possible.”

The Duke of Purity let out a subtle sigh.

“As you know, during the subjugation campaign, the corps was annihilated, and the Arken Empire played three extreme moves.”

Erdes Roton, Silverwind, and Storeus.

They had even moved dragons, and even Silverwind’s proud descendants helped with the Empire’s affairs.

“And there is also Grand Duchess Valdrova in the far east.”

“She will not move for the Empire.”

“It is better not to be so certain. Since Storeus and Silverwind moved to save the Empire, some terrifying possibility is hidden there.”

From his words, Ferda could tell one thing.

He did not know that Silverwind owed the Arken Empire some kind of debt.

'What kind of debt could it have been?'

He tried to guess, but he could not get a sense of it.

Valdrova stayed based in the far east to atone for the price of having killed countless people, but to other dragons, it was nothing more than a mere diversion.

He could not imagine them owing a debt to humans.

He did not bother revealing that point.

Because Ferda was not experienced enough yet to trust the Duke of Purity.

In any case, the reason he had brought up such a topic was that when the Empire revealed its ambitions, the Duke of Purity would also prepare to respond.

'Politics is a headache.'

At the same time, it was interesting.

Not everything was solved smoothly simply because one helped.

It was a complicated chessboard that required keeping in mind what would happen afterward.

Ferda also decided to step onto that chessboard and make a move.

“To give you an answer to what you said, I cannot allow northern soldiers to be stationed here.”

“That is unfortunate.”

“However.”

Ferda was not finished speaking.

“It would be good to consider the adventurer’s guild.”

The Duke of Purity’s eyebrow twitched.

“The adventurer’s guild, you say?”

“Our city was designed as a city for adventurers. If five hundred northern warriors entered, it would become something we must be wary of. But if they were five hundred adventurers, we have no reason to refuse.”

“Ho...”

“If there come to be many adventurers from the north in that way, control will naturally be needed, and then active exchange with the north will also become inevitable. If we merely put on a show of being troubled on the surface, who could say anything?”

“That is a story with sufficient justification.”

After hearing Ferda’s answer, the Duke of Purity gave a faint smile and extended his hand.

“This matter will be of great help to both of us, Regent.”

“Let us do well together for the peace of the Serdes Continent.”

Ferda took that hand.

Hestia village in Grand Duchess Valdrova’s territory.

As the morning sun dawned, the steps of the people going to work had stopped in front of the village square.

Those who did not know what was going on quietly asked the spectators who had arrived first.

“Are they doing something today? Why is the administrator over there?”

“From what I heard, they’re doing something called a fountain?”

“A fountain? What’s that?”

“You see that statue over there?”

“What about it?”

“They say water is supposed to come out of it.”

“Water comes out of it? How does that happen?”

“Isn’t that why we’re standing here wondering?”

“Goodness gracious.”

Because most of the village residents had grown up only in small villages, this event was shocking.

It was such a rare spectacle that even those who had supposedly gotten a taste of city life did not dare mock them as country bumpkins.

After checking the rehearsal and the stage again and again, Isabella soon spoke in a ringing voice.

“From this moment, we will begin the completion ceremony for the fountain and the ceremony commemorating the activation of the water supply.”

The one giving the congratulatory address was Valdrova’s proxy, Ferda.

He walked along the carpet and climbed onto the platform.

“Our Hestia is a village made by people gathered from all over. The place where all of us met is a rootless land that has existed for less than a year.”

In truth, that was a disparaging remark often spat out by outsiders who came simply to earn money.

They said the people here were nothing more than losers who had fled after suffering oppression and turned their backs on their hometowns.

Most of Hestia’s residents could not help but keep those words in their hearts.

“But those who say such things have no right to insult us.”

Ferda’s voice powerfully pushed away the worries they carried.

“We have the ability to drive back demonic creatures even without mages, and we rose again after overcoming the worst moment of being isolated by demonic creatures. What does that mean?”

The difficult time when they had been isolated by demonic creatures.

In the despair that they had no choice but to die, they had seen a single ray of light.

They had seen the gallant form of the dragon that protected the far east.

Ferda clenched his fist and said,

“It means that we have become the new roots of this far east, and that we have taken root so firmly that no one dares look down on us.”

An ember of hope was kindled in the residents’ hearts.

The sun rising behind the young Regent standing on that platform looked like a halo.

“This fountain will become our roots, and it will become the promise of the prosperity we will achieve from now on.”

At the same time as his declaration, streams of water burst powerfully from the fountain.

The water spraying coolly inside the fountain reflected the sunlight and laid down a rainbow.

Seeing that astonishing sight, the crowd said this.

They said that God’s bridge had reached Hestia.

-Have you been well all this time?

Erica’s telepathic message came almost as soon as he returned after the completion ceremony.

“Yes, how is Blue Eye?”

-It is always the same. I heard the fountain completion ceremony was held today, so might I ask how the reaction was?

Ferda answered the question as though he found it absurd.

“Did you not see it with your own eyes?”

During Ferda’s speech, he had clearly confirmed with his own eyes that Erica was watching.

It was the arrogant, pride-filled expression unique to a dragon spawn.

-I think you must have misunderstood something, because I have never gone there. Perhaps you mistook me for someone else? For example, perhaps you confused me with someone named Eri. I am Erica, after all.

Erica subtly hinted at him.

Ferda brushed it aside as though fed up and answered.

“The reaction was good. When they saw it create a rainbow, they prayed to Altes.”

-This must be what they mean by making porridge just to feed it to the dog. Instead of praising Iorga, who made something so wonderful for them, only the absentminded Altes gets the benefit.

Erica grumbled like a child.

Ferda looked down at Hestia village visible beyond the window.

The wide-open central square and the fountain built there.

Two hours had passed, yet there was no sign of the crowd thinning there.

Children full of innocence and women worn down by life were enjoying the fountain with the same gaze.

“Did you contact me because you were curious about that?”

-Not exactly. A message just came in.

“What message?”

-About the high elves.

“The high elves...”

It was something he had forgotten because he was busy.

The characters written on Director Linne’s records were in the language of the high elves, and they were in a situation where they needed the aid of the high elves to interpret them.

Ferda sprang up from his seat and asked,

“What did they say?”

-For now, they said they understood and asked to meet.

They had reached the starting line.

It was good news to the point that saying they had already passed the halfway mark would not be an exaggeration.

“I understand. When should I depart?”

-They are not relaxed enough for you to attach a word like “when” to it. They are ridiculous things that are always slow as shit in everything they do, yet change their whims by the second.

“I understand. Then I will have a carriage prepared at once and depart now—”

-No. There is no need for that.

At the same time, Ferda felt a strange tremor from the window side of his office.

A shape slowly descended from above the window like a curtain.

It was a carriage painted over in blue.

It was not a vehicle that moved by simple magical power.

It was a sky carriage, a means of transportation handled only by high-ranking mages.

From within it, Erica Iorga, the master of the Blue Eye Magic Tower, stuck out her face.

“Get in. I will guide you.”