Chapter 99

Chapter 99. Investiture Ceremony

Suji, Chief of the Kinniku Tribe, Great Chief of the Green Plains Orcs, who had also taken in the Black Iron Orcs and Brown Mountain Orcs, and who had received the blessing of Mephistopheles, God of Hatred.

He stood atop a high mountain peak and gazed at the distant lands of the humans.

To the right stretched a vast sea, and the harbor where ships constantly came and went looked full of life.

The large city bustled with humans, while countless livestock passed in and out through its gates.

To Suji, the sight seemed like the fertile land itself was beckoning him closer.

Like a pasture overflowing with flocks of sheep.

"Great Chief, preparations for the migration are complete."

It was a report from Warrior Captain Saru.

There was hardly any edible food left within the mountain range.

Suji had united so many orcs under him that even the abundant nature of the Great Forest, blessed by the Forest God, had quickly been exhausted.

"Let's go to the humans' land."

At Suji's words, Saru turned and made a broad gesture toward the foot of the mountain.

Below them stretched an endless sea of orcs.

There were well over one hundred thousand of them.

Anyone who saw that sight would have been certain that less than a week remained before Liguria disappeared from the map.

* * *

Le Capital, capital of the Kingdom of Franche.

I had come here to have the royal family officially recognize my three countships, Marcel, Ronalp, and Dijon.

Since it was my first time in the city, I rented an open carriage so I could enjoy the scenery.

Martin and I kept looking around like tourists.

"Martin, look at that. It's a Mage Tower. Pretty impressive, right?"

"There must be an incredible number of jobs here. I'm jealous of the capital."

"Why are you jealous of that?"

"Now that I have to think about taking care of my own people, I'm worried about jobs."

I chuckled and turned my head again.

The beautiful cityscape of Le Capital spread before me.

Seven enormous Mage Towers dominated the skyline.

Below them were countless shops and homes, with large stone buildings rising between them.

Maybe because the city had existed since the Ancient Magic Era, there were many old-fashioned and elegant buildings.

Maybe I should spend a few days sightseeing before going home.

While I was thinking that...

"The traffic is quite congested. Please understand, Count."

The carriage gradually slowed to walking speed.

Heavy traffic in the middle of a major city was nothing unusual, but commoners weren't even allowed to drive carriages through the city center.

That made it a little strange.

"Are there really this many nobles here?"

"Yes. When it's especially bad, it can take two or three hours to reach the Royal Administration."

"Walking would be faster."

"I wouldn't recommend it. There is quite a lot of filth on the streets. And Count Marcel, you especially should remain in the carriage."

I was about to ask what he meant when someone shouted.

"Eric Marcel! That's Count Marcel!"

People on the street began looking through the carriages.

Martin was carrying my banner as standard-bearer, so once they recognized my coat of arms, the shouting spread quickly.

"That's the carriage!"

"It's Marcel's crest!"

A crowd rushed toward us in an instant.

"Count Marcel! Please shake my hand just once!"

"Oh, gods above, thank you! Today must be my lucky day!"

"Eric Marcel! Show us a divine blessing!"

One woman even lifted her baby toward me.

"Please pray for this child! Please!"

What the hell? Am I this popular?

The driver quietly spoke to me.

"If you recite a prayer, they will stop crowding around because they'll be busy praying."

"Really? Thanks."

I watched the carriage speed and began a prayer to the God of Abundance.

"Please grant abundance and happiness to these young souls we have met on the street. Protect them, and grant them plentiful opportunities and good fortune..."

Fortunately, the carriage slowly picked up speed, allowing us to escape the praying crowd.

I handed the driver a silver coin.

"My reputation seems to have spread quite a bit."

"Of course. These days, most songs sung by bards and singers praise Count Marcel and Archbishop Daniel. Your victory in the recent territorial war is famous as well. More than anything, people admire and envy the many inventions you have created while receiving the love of the gods."

Admiration and envy.

Am I basically an idol here?

Should I hold autograph sessions and handshake events?

While chatting, we eventually reached the royal palace.

As I got out, I spoke to the capable driver.

"Driver, work exclusively for me while I'm staying in Le Capital. It'll probably be about a week."

"It would be the honor of my life."

* * *

We had arrived exactly on the scheduled date and time.

The moment I reached the palace, I was taught the ceremony order and the proper etiquette before the king.

Then I changed into formal clothes prepared by the royal family and waited in a reception room.

There were evening banquets scheduled for the next several days anyway, so no one came separately to greet me.

By now, the nobles gathered in the ceremonial hall were probably chewing over my name.

Martin and Pascal, who had followed me as attendants, drank tea and chatted.

I was half lying down and yawning when a servant entered.

"The ceremony has been moved forward."

"Suddenly?"

"The kingdom is quite busy at the moment."

Apparently, serious news had arrived from the Odoacer Empire.

Liguria had been invaded by orcs.

The residents along the coast had been ordered to evacuate, and even the lord's castle was preparing for the worst.

This is worse than what Arguinata saw through his ritual.

I had already warned both the Sun God Church and the Duke of Veneto.

If Liguria still ended up like this, either my warning had been ignored, or someone had deliberately chosen not to act.

The Duke of Veneto might have had political or economic reasons.

But what about the Sun God Church?

Someone is going to get blamed after a massacre like this.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be me.

"Pascal, send a carrier pigeon to Chloe immediately. Use a magic item."

"Yes, my lord."

"Tell her it's urgent. Send someone to the Duke of Veneto."

The servant hurried us along soon afterward.

The ceremonial hall was already full of noisy nobles.

Since I had no idea who most of them were, I simply returned bows to groups of people at a time.

Then an elderly man in a mage's robe approached me.

The crest embroidered on his robe belonged to the Orly Mage Tower.

I recognized it at once.

After all, five Orly mages had once been crushed under brown bears because of me.

"Count Marcel, a pleasure. I am Frostlin, Tower Master of Orly."

Even his pale face and name seemed cold.

I had no particular reason to be polite to him.

"Eric Marcel."

He could have taken offense at my casual tone, but instead he smiled leisurely.

"Ha ha. Quite confident. Is that the spirit of youth?"

"Think whatever you want."

Frostlin's smiling eyes narrowed.

He had a sly look.

"I recently heard a rather strange rumor. Supposedly, bears boarded ships in Marcel."

So the rumor really spread.

We had loaded enormous brown bears onto ships in the middle of an open harbor.

It would have been stranger if nobody had seen us.

Unfortunately, whoever saw us apparently had a loose mouth.

I had no reason to fall into his little trap.

"Just a ridiculous rumor. Bears boarding ships? Even a cow sleeping on the ground would get up and laugh at that."

"Is that your opinion as the lord of Marcel?"

"If you're that curious, ask a god."

"Ha ha."

Frostlin turned as though he was about to leave, then stopped.

"Five of my capable subordinates died in Ronalp. Trampled by brown bears, apparently. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"I'll send the death compensation as quickly as possible."

He silently stared into my eyes.

Then a servant's shout announced the beginning of the ceremony, and Frostlin returned to his place.

"His glorious Majesty, Louis de Franche, the true and sole King of the Kingdom of Franche, enters!"

The royal family was supposedly trying to strengthen the throne through centralization, but the nobles still possessed considerable power.

Amid the nobles' relaxed atmosphere, the young king entered with his attendants.

Small stature.

Thin body.

A frail-looking face.

Eyes trembling with anxiety.

He looked even worse than Omar, the illegitimate prince of Berber.

He was the perfect image of a young king being pushed around by his mother's family and his wife's family.

Behind him stood a tall woman.

Probably the Queen Mother.

She looked down at me with arrogant eyes.

"Begin the ceremony."

The king announced the start in a thin voice.

They really must have been busy, because most of the ceremonial formalities were skipped.

I stepped before the king, bowed my head, and received the documents officially recognizing my titles.

The king cleared his throat, took a ceremonial sword from a servant, and declared,

"Ahem. I hereby proclaim before all the realm that Eric Marcel has been invested as Count of Marcel, Count of Ronalp, and Count of Dijon, and has received the documents confirming those titles. If anyone objects, let him face this sword."

Fortunately, no lunatic drew a real sword and attacked a thirteen-year-old boy holding a lightweight ceremonial blade.

Once the shortened ceremony ended, nobles whose names I didn't even know rushed toward me.

I was overwhelmed by endless requests for handshakes when one of them shouted,

"Count Marcel! You must attend the banquet being held for the next seven days! I have much I want to discuss with you! Ha ha ha!"

A seven-day company dinner had just been scheduled.

Since the royal family was hosting it, skipping it would be difficult.

At times like this, I wished [Status Abnormality Immunity] worked against alcohol too.

Can't be helped. I'll have to make bean sprout soup.

* * *

Pop, pop.

Tiny sounds came from the black soybeans roasting over the brazier.

"Try them. They're done."

"Where did you learn something like this?"

Martin and Pascal munched on the roasted black soybeans.

There was nothing to do during the day, so we were killing time at the inn.

Since the banquets were already scheduled, nobody came separately to visit us.

"I used to eat these often when there weren't any snacks around. They're in season around this time, just when the first frost comes."

"The way you talk makes you sound completely..."

"Like an old man?"

"You sound full of wisdom and experience."

You meant old man.

If I added together my previous life and my current one, I couldn't really complain.

I opened the lid of a jar in the corner and poured water over the soybeans I was growing into sprouts.

Then I used the mana-control trick Javier had taught me for making sprouts grow faster.

At that moment, an employee from the inn came to announce a visitor.

"Count Marcel, a servant from the royal palace has arrived. He has prepared a carriage to escort you."

What now?

Something about this made me uneasy.

"Pascal, water the bean sprouts while I'm gone."