I joined in.
“Besides, if we hadn’t spread them out, the field would have frozen. Spreading them out and burying them is the best way.”
“Damn it!”
Gilav jumped in shock.
“There are dark mages in the East too? They’ve set foot in the East as well? Huh?”
Alphius answered casually.
“There were quite a few, actually. On my way through the East to the Central region, I cut quite a few down.”
The cheerful literary young man spoke calmly, as if he had just harvested rice.
“Killing everything we see contributes to world peace, after all.”
I’d never heard that before. But it seemed like a chance to show off Alphius’ skill in front of the other boys.
If his noble image was ruined, moving toward a “war demon” image wouldn’t be bad either.
“Really? And how did you do it?”
Judging by his tone, he probably burned or drowned them without mercy. Showing that he was quietly cruel would…
Alphius answered cheerfully.
“We searched their pockets. We always had too little to eat.”
I shouldn’t have asked.
“We even went through every single coin.”
Those coins had now ended up with the tomato farmers who lent us the shovels.
Alphius looked around and muttered to himself.
“But the Eastern monsters don’t appear on plains—they appear in the sea, it seems. There was a monster singing there that surprised me.”
“Ha…”
At that moment, Gilav interrupted Alphius with a long sigh.
“This is really serious. Even the East… ha… my father and older brothers will be so worried hearing this tragic news. Sigh.”
“But there’s also the news about the mana stones. One mana stone is worth a fortune, and now there are so many…”
“That’s true. Thank you, Brisa, for telling me that.”
“Exactly. That’s what I wanted to ask about.”
I had a reason for bringing it up.
I asked proudly,
“How much will you give us?”
“…Huh?”
“I found out about the mana stones. Each one is at least 1,000 gold.”
Alphius immediately reacted.
“What? 1,000 gold?”
The marquis, who valued a single coin, was shocked.
I demanded confidently.
“We want at least ten percent. Just count it as mana stones for now.”
“……”
There was a brief silence.
Alphius laughed cheerfully.
“Of course! My little sister is so kind! Ten percent! I could have dug them all myself tonight! Ahahaha!”
Even the marquis, who trembled just to borrow a shovel, had now changed his mind.
Gilav muttered, unsure of himself.
“I’ll have to ask my father. I don’t have the authority…”
“Really?”
I raised my eyebrow.
“After all I’ve done, you’re just going to say ‘I’ll ask my father’ and back off?”
Since begging the second prince had failed, we couldn’t leave without a single coin. We couldn’t do good deeds and return empty-handed.
Gilav hesitated for a moment, then said, rolling his eyes,
“Th-then… shall we all go to the duke’s residence first?”
After saying it, he seemed satisfied and raised his chin confidently.
“Let’s formally invite everyone to dinner to show our gratitude. Then we can meet my father and discuss together.”
It was the most proper way.
We had to get a formal promise from the head of the family. It was a large sum; there was no room to compromise.
“Hmm, then let’s send the carriage to the Nozen Duchy by warp in advance, and we’ll move to the duke’s residence with just a few people.”
Baron Foreman proposed, representing the Westerners.
“We actually have questions for the duke as well. About the dark mages, that is.”
The informant was doing his job properly.
Alphius also responded cheerfully.
“The thrill of travel lies in such unexpected coincidences and precious encounters!”
It was as good as accepting. Then the maid behind me quickly pulled out a pen and something else from her chest and handed it to me.
‘Ah…’
I sighed inwardly and scribbled briefly. At this stage, satisfying the maids this way was better than paying them wages.
‘I really don’t want to give this to Gilav…’
It was even more painful than giving the Baron Foreman the dinner invitation.
I filled in the blanks with a saddened heart.
[To the honorable Gilav Dibostan,
Thank you for your noble invitation to dinner.
I am pleased to confirm my attendance.
Thinking of joining you for this elegant and refined dinner
fills me with joy and excitement.
I will arrive on time, properly dressed.
With deep respect and sincere thanks,
Alphius Sears, Brisa Sears]
Soon, the maid handed my RSVP to Gilav.
He lifted his chin and accepted it gracefully.
“Thank you, Brisa.”
As expected. Sadly, I had hit Gilav’s taste perfectly.
‘I didn’t want to write this because of his smug expression…’
The arrogant boy was more satisfied than my maid.
“I will do my best to match your dignity.”
Leopold spoke from behind.
“Inviting him to the duke’s residence without a formal invitation… Gilav, you must strive to match the dignity of the Sears.”
“Th-That’s because I was in a rush!”
Gilav shouted.
“I-I’ll prepare it soon!”
This time, my maid was satisfied.
Of course, so were Leopold and I, who enjoyed teasing him.
After removing a portion of the mana stones, the warp worked normally.
We sent the carriage and knights to the Nozen Duchy first. Then only a minimum number of people remained to wait for the carriage nearby.
Soon, Eastern knights arrived after receiving Gilav’s notice.
Mana stones were extremely valuable. The knights began overturning the entire tomato field, determined not to miss a single one.
I watched the tomatoes with an unreadable expression.
“Why, Brisa? Does it hurt to see plump, healthy tomatoes being dug up just for money?”
Alphius asked, and I answered calmly.
“The farmers planted the tomatoes for money. They’ll be happy to get compensation.”
I sighed quietly.
“…In my head, at least.”
My gaze went to the uprooted tomato roots.
“Not in my heart, though.”
Alphius gently stroked my head.
In some ways, Brisa’s and Gilav’s attitudes and expressions were similar.
They rarely smiled, were proud, noble, and somewhat arrogant.
But there was an essential difference. Alphius wanted to express that “something different.”
“That complete warmth within your heart, the beautiful goodness that surely pulses…”
I scowled and glared at him.
“No dreamy expressions.”
I said strictly.
“I’m already a bit unsettled.”
“No, our Bri… no, Brisa, why are you unsettled? Huh? Is it because of the tomatoes? You’re just too embarrassed to say it? If I… I comfort you, will you feel a little better?”
“Maybe,” I answered calmly.
“Then the unsettled feeling might turn into annoyance.”
In truth, I was unsettled thinking about the original story.
The Dibostan family in the East, one of the oldest families, preserved special abilities along with the Nozen in the West.
They were extremely proud. Their leisurely, composed approach differed from the Nozen. Unlike the West, they valued history, tradition, abilities, and bloodline more.
‘They’ve always opposed Alphius.’
After Brisa’s death in the original story, Alphius clashed with his uncle, Baron Harwin, over whose name better fit the Sears.
Legally, Alphius was a direct heir, but he was half commoner by blood.
‘The East always favored essence over law, siding with Baron Harwin.’
Now that Harwin’s family was out of the way, I thought there would be little opposition…
‘But seeing them returning, that doesn’t seem likely.’
