The sudden attack and defeat of the monsters brought the barbecue gathering to an end in dramatic fashion.
Well, it was nearly the end of the meal anyway, so perhaps that was just as well. The rest of the meat was divided for everyone to take back as rations for the following day, which earned cheers from the soldiers.
But the knights of higher rank had long since forgotten about food. Their eyes were fixed firmly upon me. The nobles, too, pressed closer.
“Lord Van… tell me, have you developed a poison so potent it can slay great beasts with but a scratch?”
Viscount Pinin asked this in stunned disbelief. I tilted my head, setting my teacup down on the table.
“Huh? I mean, I thought my work had already spread around enough to be at least a rumor by now… wait, don’t tell me I was just being full of myself!?”
Flustered, I turned to Arte, silently asking for confirmation. If I’d gone on thinking I was some famous prodigy, that would be unbearably embarrassing. I wanted to crawl into a hole.
My cheeks burned as I caught Arte smiling wryly at me.
Then Pinin spoke again, his expression grave.
“…Of course, I had heard rumors even before this campaign. Of the great dragon you slew, for instance. Yet when I visited your town, I assumed all was explained by the dwarven forges I saw there.”
“Indeed,” said Farina, nodding. “I heard tell of arrows of staggering power… but in the end, arrows are but arrows. So I believed.”
Relieved by their words, I patted my chest.
“Exactly. I mean, no one would think you could bring down a giant monster with just arrows, right? Honestly, I was shocked myself.”
I said this with a laugh, and the two nobles blinked at me, as if robbed of their ire. Then, somewhere nearby, someone burst into laughter.
“Ha… ha ha ha!”
That laughter proved contagious, and soon other nobles and knight commanders joined in. The mood eased at once, Arte, Till, and Kamshin all relaxing their shoulders.
The truth was, Pinin and the others had hardly played a part in the battle. They had been assigned to the rear of the long marching column, far from the fighting. They had never witnessed the Ceat Knights’ way of war with their own eyes. Combined with the abnormal prosperity of my territory, it was little wonder they suspected the king or Marquis Jarlpa of secretly supporting me.
That doubt had fed their jealousy—jealousy at my being lauded as the greatest contributor in a campaign the king himself had joined, and even resentment toward His Majesty for favoring me.
But whether it was the effect of the barbecue or seeing the Ceat Knights wielding ballistae and repeating crossbows with their own eyes, their attitude softened before me.
“Indeed, I always suspected Lord Van was… exceptional.”
“His Majesty’s decision to favor you is most understandable.”
“And—ah, those terrifying weapons… would there perchance be a way I might purchase them…?”
Their tone was far more humble than earlier in the day. Hah! How amusing. Middle-aged men with thick beards, yet somehow they looked no fiercer than a pet iguana. Very well, eat as much meat as you like.
I chuckled to myself at the thought, smiling broadly. Pinin, however, fixed me with earnest eyes.
“Lord Van… I confess, I once dismissed you as but a child. Even when I beheld that prosperous town, I was certain His Majesty or Marquis Feltio must have lent their hand. Yet, deep down, I knew. I understood.”
His words trailed off as he gazed up at the newly completed Kumamoto Castle, eyes narrowing.
“To see such a thing raised before our eyes in less than a single day… one cannot but believe.”
He laughed, and the other nobles followed suit.
Just then, Dee returned from the walls where the horned boars had been slain, and spoke with booming laughter.
“Wahaha! Precisely so! Even I, who call myself Lord Van’s most loyal servant, opposed him when he said he would build quarters before fortifications! Never did I imagine he would craft a fortress so original, designed for defense as well as shelter!”
He looked up at the castle, nodding vigorously.
“Lord Van ever holds the people in his thoughts, striving tirelessly to enrich the land. His diligence in devising weapons and defenses for their protection has won the trust of Viscount Panamera and Count Ferdinand alike. In time, comrades shall gather around him, and together they will form a mighty power. It is my humble wish that you who have learned of his vision sooner than most will also join in fellowship with him.”
Dee’s words carried conviction, his confident smile shining with hope for the future. They struck deeply into the hearts of the nobles who had chafed at their lack of glory in battle.
So much so that Pinin and the others were moved to tears, their shoulders shaking with sobs.
“…Uh, wait. What are we talking about again?”
Supposedly the central figure in all this, I could only tilt my head in confusion as I watched the nobles weep.
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