Chapter : 52

I was worried that the curse might not have been lifted, but it didn't take long to realize that was a baseless fear.

“Your Excellency-! Oh, you faithful Excellency. Thank you so much. We are alive thanks to you. Ugh huh huh huh. Praise the sacred and supreme miracle of Your Excellency! For generations to come, that glory shall…!”

No sooner had we arrived in Canton than the dwarf council member, Captain Konrad’s uncle, rushed out to express his gratitude.

Crawling on his hands and knees in the rough clothes and bare feet of a monk, his tearful testimony was a show for anyone to see.

But none of the vassals, soldiers, or mercenaries attending my procession frowned at the dwarf council member's embarrassing behavior.

On the contrary, they were just pleased.

The high reputation of the lord they served was the honor of those who followed him.

For a member of the Canton Council to offer such praise to me was deeply satisfying for them.

“That's enough. It's embarrassing.”

“Ugh huh huh. No, it is not, Your Excellency-! Do you not truly deserve to be praised?”

“……”

Of course, for my part, my face was so hot it felt like it would burn away.

How could he praise me in such a novel way, tracing back to my ancestors and even the eighth cousins of my in-laws, whom I didn't even know…?

Is this the shamelessness of a council member?

Of course, apart from that, I didn't want to hear any more of the greedy dwarf's praises.

That's how embarrassingly cringe-worthy the words coming out of his mouth were.

“Will you stop now?”

“Heek. I-I apologize.”

“Right, if you know you're sorry, then get up and clear the way.”

At my words, the dwarf council member scrambled to his feet. As quick-witted as he was, he seemed to have grasped my mood well.

“So, have the other Canton council members been freed from the curse as well?”

“Ah, yes. Fortunately, everyone has been freed from the curse and is in high spirits. It is all thanks to Your Excellency’s…. Ahem. Never mind.”

About to launch into another lengthy praise, the dwarf council member saw my brow furrow and hastily changed the subject.

“In accordance with Your Excellency's good deeds, the Canton Council has decided to hold a banquet as a token of gratitude. Would you perhaps be inclined to attend…?”

“A banquet?”

“Yes, we intend to arrange a grand banquet attended by the chairman of the council, the council members, and all the influential figures of Canton.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

At the dwarf council member's words, I stroked my chin.

Although I was tired, it was an attractive offer that I definitely wanted to attend. Then Agpiel, who had been listening quietly, whispered in a small voice.

“This is a good opportunity. As it's a banquet to which all the prominent figures of Canton are invited, it will be a very good chance to exert your influence. The Canton Council is entangled in a web of interests between different groups and they don't get along, so it will be difficult to gather them in one place if not for this opportunity.”

‘Oh-!’

Thankfully, Agpiel thought the same.

“Are there any points I should be wary of? I am not familiar with the interests or customs of Canton, Magician Agpiel.”

“Well, given your status and what you've accomplished here, who would dare complain about a few minor mistakes? Just act comfortably as you usually do. Most will assume you don't know because you're a lord from another country and let it slide.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“However, Canton has traditionally been on bad terms with the Emperor of the Holy Empire. As long as you don't bring up any favorable stories about the Emperor in front of them, you should be fine.”

Fortunately, I had no connection whatsoever with the Emperor of the Holy Empire. In that case, there seemed to be no particular problem.

“Ah-! There is something a little unusual.”

“?”

“I've recently heard that the Blacksmiths' Guild and the merchant guilds are on bad terms. From what I hear, it's because of cheap products produced in a certain domain…. I mean, manu….”

“Manufactured goods, you mean?”

“Yes! Manufactured goods! I heard that because of those strange things, the internal friction is quite severe. So if you can mediate that part well, it will surely be to your benefit.”

“……”

‘I must absolutely make sure those two groups never meet.’

Listening to Magician Agpiel's advice, I made that resolution.

* * *

The banquet was very grand.

To the point where there was a reason Captain Konrad’s uncle had specifically added the word ‘grand’ to it.

An immense crowd and piles of rare food. Especially a magnificent feast with everything from various types of fish, rare inland, to all sorts of spices imported from distant foreign lands.

“Hahahat! To the Margrave, the knight of faith who solved the curse with a miracle-!”

“Hey, don't we also have our Captain Konrad who serves such an Excellency? Come on, come on. Konrad! Come here and have a drink! You've suffered a lot serving the noble Margrave.”

“Look at this dwarf poop-sack of a fellow. Where do you think you're subtly slipping your nephew in!”

“Right, right! This is a place for the Margrave.”

“Aish~! You rotten scoundrels. Who said I wouldn't? Look here! Oh, my dear Margrave! This great achievement will be spread far and wide as a heroic tale for generations to come-!”

And at the same time, it was very informal. The dwarves were all flushed from drink, chattering away individually.

It was behavior hard to imagine from the influential figures of the city of Canton.

But considering Canton's history, it made sense.

The influential figures of Canton were an assembly of dwarf tribes that had survived since the era of the Ancient Empire.

Therefore, Canton was a place where a loose familial hierarchy existed rather than a clear hierarchical order.

Of course, in my eyes, this sight was a bit….

“Why? You think they're like a barbarian tribe?”

“A-ahem. Not at all, Agpiel.”

“Don't deny it, it's written all over your face.”

Magician Agpiel retorted with a smirk.

“Still, this is one of the few powers that gained independence from the Emperor of the Holy Empire. They even subjugated the Emperor through war. So you shouldn't judge them superficially based on this alone.”

“Hmm, you're right.”

Of course, it wasn't that I was looking down on them. Following Magician Agpiel's advice, I decided to become friendlier with the dwarves.

“Oooooh-!”

“What-! To drink that in one go!”

“Truly the Margrave. Seeing how well he holds his liquor, he must be a true knight!”

I had actively jumped into their drinking culture. If it was a culture of drinking until you're drunk without any formalities, wasn't I also somewhat used to it-!

“Margrave-! Please accept my glass as well!”

“Alright! Go on, pour me a drink!”

“Thank you! Your Excellency.”

When you think of drinking, you think of Koreans.

When you think of Koreans, you think of drinking.

Therefore, at some point, I began to lead this banquet.

“Now-! Behold. This is a bomb shot-!”

-Ttak!

-Jjwarararak.

-Pongpongpongpongpong!

“Oooooh-! To think such a luxurious drink exists.”

“A bomb shot-?! I've never heard of it before, but. It's truly an explosively hot drink-!”

“Meeeeh~ The world is spinning. Mer.”

“Hahahat. Pour it! Drink it!”

Of course, Magician Agpiel, who was watching it all, held his head with a dumbfounded expression.

“……”

* * *

“Ugh, I drank a lot.”

As the banquet slowly wound down, I slipped out of the drinking party. I had drunk so much in the meantime that the smell of alcohol rose up every time I breathed.

If it weren't for the blessing I received from the Goddess of Life, I would have surely collapsed from drunkenness long ago.

‘Still, there were gains.’

I leaned back in my chair and slowly organized my thoughts.

The Blacksmiths' Guild was less hostile towards my factory than I had thought.

Come to think of it, they were the ones who handled high-end crafted goods.

Although factory-made products would affect their regular goods, it would, on the contrary, make the high-end crafted goods made by dwarves even more valuable.

They were more interested in the various tools and objects created by the dwarves under me.

Designs they had never seen before, concepts they had never seen before.

The Blacksmiths' Guild was fascinated by it. Thanks to that, I used it as bait to secure their cooperation.

And once the issue with the Blacksmiths' Guild was resolved, things with the merchant guild naturally went smoothly. The Canton merchant guild agreed to accept the goods produced in my factory.

On top of that, various influential figures promised a huge amount of funds as a token of their gratitude, so the reward for a single drinking party was quite substantial.

That's why I thought this banquet would wrap up reasonably well, but.

“Excuse me, Your Excellency.”

“?”

“The Chairman of the Canton Council wishes to see you separately. Would you… grant us the honor of escorting you?”

“Hoh?”

An unexpected offer came.

From the Chairman of the Canton Council.

* * *

As I mentioned before, Canton was an assembly of dwarf tribes that had been passed down for generations since the era of the Ancient Empire.

Therefore, there was no clear hierarchical relationship, but it was still a political power in its own right. No matter how weak the hierarchy, a representative figure was needed.

And that was the Chairman of the Canton Council whom I was about to meet now.

“God's blessings upon the faithful Excellency! It is a pleasure to meet you, Margrave.”

The Chairman of the Canton Council who greeted me was an elderly dwarf.

The chairman, with a long, flowing, abundant white beard, was a man with an impressive face covered in fine wrinkles.

“I was surprised by your sudden summons, Chairman.”

“Hoho. My apologies, Your Excellency. I have something to tell you quietly, so I have arranged this separate meeting.”

‘Oho?’

Something to tell me separately?

It must be some secret content. So, what could it be? Was it to warn me about their historically bad relationship with the Emperor of the Holy Empire?

Perhaps to suggest forming an anti-Holy Empire Emperor alliance? But the words that came out of the Canton Chairman's mouth were unexpected.

“Your Excellency is on your way to the Holy See at the invitation of the Holy See, correct?”

“That's right.”

To suddenly talk about the Holy See. I hid my bewilderment and focused on what this dwarf was about to say.

“Ostensibly, I know you were summoned to subjugate the heretics rampant in the southern part of the Elang Kingdom….”

The Canton Chairman glanced at my face once and then continued.

“The special diplomatic envoy from Canton dispatched to the Holy See told me that is not the case, Your Excellency.”

“Hmm? You mean it's not the Southern Crusade?”

“No. It is a crusade…. However, the target is not the south, Your Excellency.”

Well, well. What is this all about? If the target of the crusade isn't the south, then where in the world is the target?

Then, as if reading my bewildered expression, the Canton Chairman smiled and spoke slowly.

“The Kingdom of Aragon. The Holy See's target is the Kingdom of Aragon, Your Excellency.”

“?!”

“The Holy See has already decided on excommunication. No matter that the family of the King of the Kingdom of Aragon is the family of the Holy Empire's Emperor, this matter cannot be stopped.”

“Hmm…. So they plan to bring down the Kingdom of Aragon while it's off guard, after diverting their eyes with a Southern Crusade?”

“That is correct, Your Excellency. For this purpose, I understand they have summoned the Elector of Bohemia to the Holy See. The commander of this subjugation will likely be the Elector of Bohemia.”

“Haha. So the rest were just extras.”

A dry laugh escaped me at the absurdity. For the situation to change this much.

The War of the Aragonese Succession was a big event that came out only after the Great Famine, but this early?

I certainly feel that things are getting more and more twisted the more I establish myself in the south.

‘There will be more and more uncertainty from now on.’

Well, wasn't this something that always happened when playing [Pangea Universalise]? It couldn't be helped.

Thinking so, I looked at this old dwarf and opened my mouth.

“Yes, that is very valuable information. But why did you give this information to me, Chairman of Canton?”

The Canton Chairman smiled and said.

“I want to support you, Your Excellency.”

-Tiriring!

[The Canton 12-State Federation wishes to support you. The Canton Federation has been under constant pressure from the Emperor. With the emergence of a powerful great lord nearby, they wish to use you as their standard-bearer, just like the Holy See.]

[Notification: The Canton 12-State Federation firmly believes in the faith you have shown thus far.]

[Notification: If you accept the proposal, you will be able to receive the support of the Canton 12-State Federation.]