Chapter 125
Chapter 125
I passed all the information I obtained to Isolini.
Isolini published the relevant information in the newspaper she operated.
Then that newspaper spread throughout the empire via ‘Lu & Cream’s’ ice cream logistics routes.
The House Blende’s newspaper, which was once just a small newsletter in Jedo, had now become the most sought-after newspaper throughout the empire.
This was because it was even faster than the news the imperial court delivered to the lords.
I was extremely busy managing the situation across the empire, and Cassis no longer sent personal communications.
Even when I took the initiative to send messages, most of the time they weren’t received.
Occasionally, Roen would leave news.
<The situation isn’t good.>
<Demonic beasts keep pouring out. And given the internal checks and balances…>
There were no detailed explanations about how bad the situation was or whether anyone had been injured.
Although the headquarters of ‘Lu & Cream’ was the fastest to receive news from across the empire, the border region remained completely off-limits, with no information allowed to reach us.
That place was entirely under the Emperor’s jurisdiction, and the Emperor deliberately excluded Luwin from all meetings.
Of course, I do hear things through Isiel, but…
<This time, you can’t just come like you did to Count Adela’s territory.>
Roen told me that Cassis was constantly worried about me, and that this time I absolutely must not come.
It’s more dangerous than you think.
But, unlike Roen’s concerns, I didn’t have the luxury of going there anyway.
“Irina. What on earth is going on?”
The empire’s situation was serious.
Isolini suddenly barged in.
It was the first time she had come to see me without an appointment.
I had been lying with my head practically buried in my desk in the office, and I got up groggily.
“You’re here.”
“How could I not come!”
“I knew you would come.”
I guided Isolini to the reception room while pressing my tired eyes from lack of proper sleep.
The reason for Isolini’s visit was obvious.
The supreme demonic beast, ‘that thing,’ was supposed to be in the border region, but it had revealed itself in other areas as well.
Tearing through space, just like at Duke Hellis’s mansion.
“Three places, no less. One is a forest, one is quite a bustling city. And the last one is the central city of Lemiere, Sein, closest to Jedo.”
The empire was already experiencing demonic beasts pouring out from all over, like an epidemic.
The lords of each family were doing their best to eliminate them, eliminate more, and endure, but the situation wasn’t exactly good.
In fact, when demonic beasts erupted, what a family could immediately do was evacuate the territory’s residents and deploy their knights to buy a little time, which was the customary approach.
They waited for the imperial knights with their experience, outstanding abilities, and abundant resources.
However, that was only possible when demonic beasts appeared in one or two places across the empire.
Now, about three months after Cassis and Leilyranda left for the border region, the empire couldn’t handle the demonic beasts.
The imperial knights, whom the imperial court had dispatched as if doing a favor, had all returned to Jedo, and despite the fact that demonic beasts had not yet erupted in Jedo, they had entered a state of constant standby.
It was thanks to the Emperor, who feared when demonic beasts would erupt in Jedo.
In such a situation, demonic beasts erupted simultaneously in three places yesterday at dawn.
While it wasn’t actually strange for demonic beasts to emerge, this time it caught everyone’s attention.
“And ‘that thing’ appeared in all three places?”
“…Yes.”
“Tearing through space in that chilling way?”
“Yes. Lemiere’s central city, with its high population density and large number of visitors, has experienced the most damage so far.”
Isolini looked at me with a pale face while leaning on the desk.
She seemed to have been alarmed and rushed over as soon as she saw the news delivered from ‘Lu & Cream’.
“If ‘that thing’ has appeared… powerful demonic beasts will pour out.”
“And it will take a lot of time to eliminate all the demonic beasts and stabilize the situation.”
With the imperial court not fulfilling its role, and the central nobles urgently focusing only on their own territories.
I was, unintentionally, struggling desperately to deal with the empire’s demonic beasts.
“What are you going to do?”
“I have to do what I’ve always done.”
Like I’ve always done… I need to provide food and weapons to territories isolated due to demonic beasts.
During the original story, I might not have been able to send a knight order directly like Leilyranda or Cassis, but I could do this.
Well, I’m not sending it using my own money, but rather proceeding in a way where when I send supplies, the family pays for the goods.
I did set the amount slightly higher than the average market price, but in the case of all isolated families, they were grateful just for the fact that someone had come to them despite the risks.
Anyway, the roads, logistics warehouses, and logistics maps formed for ‘Lu & Cream’s’ ice cream delivery seem to be a great help to families fighting demonic beasts, if not for eliminating them.
I think I understand why the system threw ‘logistics system’ at me as a new business item back then.
It was then that I genuinely accepted what Count Adela believed.
I was nodding my head with a pleased smile at the satisfaction, but Isolini, standing in front of me, had a pitiful expression.
“What is it?”
“No, you were smiling, so I thought you had gone crazy.”
Across Isolini’s face flashed a bit of dismay, a bit of pity, and quite a lot of admiration.
It was a face that concentrated various complex emotions.
“Sending goods and people as you always do?”
“And receiving some money in return.”
“Are you earning a lot of money?”
“Enough to diligently pay off my debt.”
With demonic beasts erupting all over the empire like this, I, our ‘Lu & Cream’ employees, and Luwin’s employees were all being worn out.
Still, the debt was decreasing at a tremendous rate.
Although ‘Lu & Cream’s’ sales had decreased compared to before, we were generating record sales with a shipping business of a scale that was incomparable.
“…Why are you doing all this?”
“I need to earn money quickly to pay off my debt. Moments of crisis like this are perfect for making money.”
I answered playfully, but my mouth tasted bitter.
The system clearly said that if I just paid off the debt, I could save the empire from destruction, but that wasn’t the case.
Looking at this situation, it seems like I’ll end up resolving the empire’s destruction along the journey of paying off the debt.
If I think about it that way, it seems a bit unfair.
But Isolini, unaware of my inner thoughts, admired me.
“You’re amazing.”
“Do you think so?”
“…I can see why Isiel Lemiere evaluates you so highly.”
“Thank you.”
With her uniquely beautiful and elegant face, she looked at me for a long time before adding:
“I can also see why Cassis Luwin cherishes you and doesn’t know what to do.”
“What?”
“You do know that Cassis likes you, right?”
“…”
I was so taken aback by this direct remark that I couldn’t say a word. But Isolini didn’t wait for my answer.
“Judging by your expression, you already know.”
“What?”
“If you already know, that’s fine.”
Before I could say anything, she said it was fine and immediately changed the subject.
“Information we’ve obtained says that Kamun, Ester, Rik, and Estizen have been annihilated by demonic beasts.”
“What? Suddenly? I don’t think there were any signs.”
Kamun, Ester, Rik, and Estizen are all names of small cities or villages in the south where demonic beasts had appeared.
Although I had sent material support to those areas, I couldn’t provide proper mercenaries or knights, so the confrontation with demonic beasts was expected to continue.
So it was surprising and hard to believe that it had been resolved overnight like this.
Isolini handed me documents that seemed to contain information I hadn’t yet received and said:
“While we’re grateful if things get handled well on their own, I think we need to look into it. It would be good if ‘Lu & Cream’ could investigate.”
“Yes, it’s strange. I think we need to look into it.”
Isolini said that was all she wanted to say, waved her hand once, and left my office without hesitation.
* * *
“Huh?”
I made a short sound at the dark red liquid that fell onto the documents. Yen, who heard my voice, approached and gasped, “Huup.”
“Be quiet, be quiet. Don’t make a fuss.”
Since Yen’s behavior seemed exactly like he was going to make a fuss and spread rumors about my nosebleed all over the place, I stopped him first.
Even without this, it was annoying enough that everyone in the mansion would worry whenever they saw me. And now a nosebleed in this situation?
It becomes extremely annoying.
Perhaps thanks to my preemptive intervention, Yen just paced next to me with a handkerchief in hand.
I hurriedly wiped the blood on the documents and dabbed my nose with a handkerchief.
I waited for the bleeding to stop while holding the handkerchief to my nose.
“Has it stopped a bit?”
“No.”
“Oh my.”
But no matter how long I waited, the bleeding didn’t stop, and even after about 30 minutes had passed, it didn’t seem to stop. Seeing the blood gushing out again, Yen ran out of my office with a pale face to call a healer.
Left alone in the quiet office after Yen’s departure, I wandered through floating thoughts while staring at the unceasing blood.
What on earth am I doing? What am I living for like this? Why can’t I contact Cassis? What is the System doing?
At the end of these thoughts that endlessly chained one after another:
“What am I being dragged by to be doing this?”
I suddenly threw a question at myself.
And that question led to a bit of self-loathing.
“What am I doing right now?”
