104 new generation




 In place of the collapsed Temple of the Holy Tree, a meeting of the heads of the Republic, which had become the Seven Great Nobles, was being held in the school's conference room in the House of Lespinus.

 The chairman of the meeting was Lelia, a priestess - with Clement waiting behind her.

''We will now begin the meeting. The first item on the agenda is--'

 At such a meeting, there was a man shaking his fist down on the desk.

 It's Fernand's younger brother, [Hugues Toara Druil].

 He was a year older than Lelia, who had long blonde hair.

 He was the next head of Fernan's family.

''Why is this rubbish here? My brother is dead because of him!

 The one that Hugues pointed to - was Serge.

 Serge was the new head of the Raoult family, and he was able to become the head of the family because of all the sins Arberg had taken on.

 Except for Serge, his other relatives fled.

 Because there was nothing left of the Rault family now.

 There is a huge debt and the stigma that Alberg carried with him.

 Serge is silent.

''Senior Hugues, we're not talking about that right now.

 If Lelia, as chair, is careful.

This is important! How many people have died because of this guy? How much damage has been done to the nobility alone? Do you know how many of the Drueil family's lords have died! Besides, look at this place--who's to blame for why there are only five of us when we're back as seven great lords!

 The restoration of the House of Lespinas.

 However, at the same time, the head of the Fèvel and Previn families is absent.

 The teacher who has become the head of the Granges family - Narcissus is hiding his face with one hand.

''I'm sure there's a shortage of people everywhere to make me the head of the house.

 And at the head of the Barriel family's seat - Eryk was there.

 His father was seriously injured.

 He had fled, saying that the remaining relatives could not bear the position of the head of the family.

 He is here because his vassals have convinced him that the only person who can survive this critical situation is Erik, who sided with the kingdom in that war.

 Erik was looking at the papers.

''There are some nobles who want to sit in the two vacant seats, but there are some merchants who want noble status in return for their aid.

 Some of the nobles were shouting aloud that the old six nobles were not fit to rule.

 Hugues laughed.

''That one's good. If it's just numbers, don't be so quick to match them. If only in numbers!'

 Lelia cringes.

'So we need to have a good talk.

'Discussion? You people are ridiculous! You guys did what you wanted to do and now you can't talk about it or sleep on it!

 Hugues lost his brother, whom he respected, and Serge and the others can't seem to forgive him.

 He grabbed Serge's chest and began to beat him up as he did.

'You! Because you went out of your way to provoke the Earl into anger. You can't even pick a side to pick a fight with! You should have died!

d*mn!

 Serge was only going to get hit.

 No resistance.

 Lelia looked around for help, but Narcissus didn't stop her either.

''-- I'm sorry. I've lost a lot of family members as well. I've also lost the wife I just married. --I can't afford it.

 The assault on Serge continues until Yugues gets tired, and then when it's over, all we hear is Yugues' ragged breathing.

 After a few moments of silence, Eryk breaks the scene.

'Hugues, have you come to your senses? It's time to start the meeting, we're wasting time.

'Tsk! You're good. Because you're close to Count Baldfalt, you're in a different position than we are.

 Eryk closes his eyes.

'--Chancellor, start with me.

 The meeting was a testament to the current state of the Republic, where even the acting head of the party couldn't gather enough.

 Eryk recalls his farewell to Marie.



 It was the day that Eryk was welcomed by his vassals.

 On the doorstep of the mansion, Eryk was hanging on to Marie.

''Sister! Oh, what was wrong with me!

 Marie told Eriq to go back to the house.

 That made Eryk feel abandoned.

'You're an idiot. I can't give you a perfect score right now, but I'll give you a seventy. You've worked hard enough and I haven't given up on you.

'Then! Then why did you tell him to go back? I'm going to the Kingdom too!

 Marie shrugged her shoulders.

'You should see the faces of the vassals who have come for you. You're on the verge of tears.

 I looked back and almost cried at Eryk's pathetic appearance.

'I don't know! I'd like to ask you on the other side of the coin which side you're going to lower now that you've dumped me and come for me.

 Marie shook her fist at Eryk.

'You idiot!'

Hey, sis!

 Marie shouts out to a teary-eyed Eryk.

I have a home to go to. I have a family waiting for me. What's the point of complaining about it! I can't even go home to my parents.

 When Eryk turned over, Marie shouted at the vassals who had come to greet him.

'Why do you guys look so sad at Erik too! Can't you see that we are the ones who are pathetic? You're so brazen that you came here to get Eryk to help you. You guys, I'm going to have you beat up and beat my brother to a pulp!

 The vassals and knights straightened up.

''I'm sorry, too!''

'You thought you would get preferential treatment if you welcomed Erik, who is close to my brother anyway, but it's impossible. But if you treat Eryk coldly because of that, my brother will be mad at you! --probably.

 Rion's name had worked too well, and the vassals were blue-faced.

''That's not true. As the head of House Barriel, we would like to have Eric-sama return to us. This is the master's intention as well.

You don't know what you're doing. I'm very sensitive to such things.

 Marie, who usually had ulterior motives, could see that.

 Marie speaks to Eriq in a whisper.

''If you can't, tell me. I'll ask my brother to do it for you.''

Sister. But I'd rather be with you.

I'll see you as many times as I can when I'm a man of substance. Are you going to leave everyone here to live in your kingdom without a care in the world?

 Eryk shakes his head and Marie taps him on the shoulder.

'So good! I have to admit, you're a little better than the other five. Better than those five. --Good luck.

 Eryk shed tears and this is how he and Marie parted ways.



 --the meeting.

 Eryk remembered Marie.

(You'll see, sister. I'm sure I'll be a fine man who can boast to you, sister.)

 Lelia, who doesn't know about Eryk's inner thoughts, explains the agenda.

''So, then, it's about the amount and price of the magic stone holdings. The amount of magic stones held in the Republic won't last for a year if you only consider domestic consumption. The energy that can be obtained from the holy tree is so small that experts say it can't cover the entire country--

 A new sapling would not be able to replace the holy tree.

 Even if it was ten or twenty years later, it wouldn't change much.

 As Narcissus looked at the materials.

If you don't sell it, it will last about six months, but I'm curious to see how the neighboring countries do.

 Hugues turned his face away.

''Six months after that, where on earth are you going to buy the magic stones from?

 Lelia was in trouble.

'Well, I guess we'll have to buy it from the outside.

'Yeah, that's right. The magic stones mined domestically aren't enough, so we have to buy them. --and where are you going to get the money from?

 There is not only compensation, but also the cost of reconstruction.

 It was the Republic that was very distressed.

'Well, um--'

Hey, Serge. What about you? Why don't you say something?

 From a troubled Lelia, Hugues turned the conversation over to Serge.

'I think we'll have to sell the two available seats.

 Hugues was delighted by Serge's answer.

'Right! We sell to merchants for money. -- and we're standing shoulder to shoulder with those who have no history or accomplishments to build on. A situation where we sell a nobleman's chair for money--what do you think?

 Serge couldn't say anything as he was being targeted by the Hugues.

 Narcissus offered his help.

'It would have been nice if I could have had one seat for Count Baldfalt. He's so adamant that he definitely doesn't want it.

 Lelia looks down.

''Meh, how about we welcome you as an honorary nobleman?

 Hugues looked at Lelia.

'I can do better than that. The only ones who aren't married here are Serge, Eryk - and you, priestess. Mr. Narcissus has just lost his wife and it's terrible, but you're just free. If you take a merchant's son or daughter as your wife, you can pull money out of five merchants, along with the extra seats, right? If you tell them you can be the maiden's husband, I'm sure all the merchants will pile up the money. Those old millionaires will be so happy!

 Serge stood up.

'Well, that's--'

 I just remembered that I was in a position where I couldn't say anything, and I looked down and gritted my teeth.

''-- just leave me alone. I would accept it.

 Hugues was unfazed.

'Is it enough for one person? Look, we don't have anything else to sell, okay? It's all thanks to you guys!

 When Serge was too disconcerted to say anything back, Erik offered his help.

'-- There's no need to decide on seven seats. We can say we'll have a council and add more seats. There are other ways to do it. Besides, the consumption of magic stones can last for years if you conserve them. We should stop consuming energy extravagantly like we have been doing.

 Eryk, who had learned to save money under Marie, was the most sane person in the room.

 Lelia nodded happily.

'Yes, yes! We can discuss that as well.

 Lelia agrees with Erik's suggestion and is relieved that a solution has been found.

 However, Eryk is not optimistic.

(Even if we did everything we could do, it's still not enough right now. The problem is what the neighboring countries are doing.)

 Will they attack, or will they wait and see - the movements of neighboring countries are yet to be seen.



 The day I left for the kingdom.

 When we came to the harbor, there were ships coming from the kingdom to pick us up.

 One of the ships was my parents' airship.

 The other airship of the duke's family could be seen.

 Ricornu was also about to dock.

''Huh? Did my dad come? You said you didn't want to go abroad. More importantly, what's up with the blue-eyed tans?

 My dad's one eye had a painful look in it after the beating.

 I wondered if he and his wife had gotten into a fight.

"--Lion, if you have an excuse, I'm all ears. Tell me why you lied about me having an illegitimate child.

 Hearing that reminded me.

 The reason the two of them - the reason Angier and Livia suspected that I had a sister - was because they had actually heard Marie call me her brother.

 Eventually, they mistook that for me being a big brother, just like Eryk calls Marie a big sister.

 --Thank you, Eriq.

 I'll reduce the interest on your debt a bit.

Oh, it was all a misunderstanding. Sorry, sorry.

 When I apologized, my dad's knuckles swung down, and it hurt like hell to see if he was really angry about this.

''Thanks to that, the house is a shambles! You'll explain to Momma when you get back, I swear! Listen, I promise!

 Holding the spot where he was hit with both hands.

Oh, oh, I'm sorry.

 I reply in pain, and my dad gives me a divine look.

'And then - you, are you okay?'

What?

'These things come later. I'm worried about you because you're usually so flippant, but you secretly worry about it behind the scenes.

 --a lot of people are bothered by killing people later on.

 I've heard that.

 It's tough, even for a trained soldier.

 I've been counseled by Lucchion and Cleare - do you think it might have helped at all? I'm jumping up and down in the night less often.

'I'm not fine, but I'm manageable,'

Well, you'll be staying out of the war for a while. Enjoy your time at school. It's the only time you'll have time to play anyway.

 I should be given more credit for working so hard during those important school years.

It's not my fault, but the nuisances just keep coming.

'Look at my face as you've turned my family into a shambles and say the same thing again.

It's not my fault, and it's just one mess after another.

 I looked at my dad's face and said one more time, and he gave me another fist bump.

 Then Angier and Livia came down from the berthing Ricorne.

 I ran down the ramp and they jumped on me.

'Rion!'
Miss Lyon!

You're both fine.

 As I was laughing, my dad blurted out, "He's the one who cheated on me, why should I be suspected of cheating?

 Hey, don't be silly!

 --I'm not having an affair.



 Close to the noisy Leon and his friends.

 Marie was perched on top of her travel bag.

 She was lounging around on her feet.

'It's been a hard life abroad. I mean, I feel like all I did for the second half was work.

 I realized that my six months in the Arzel Republic had been more of a commotion than a study.

 This past month, for example, I was busy taking care of the busy Rion and the others.

 Kara also looked tired.

'But we're going back to the halfway point, Marie-sama.

Yeah. I'm worried that you're going to stay on. Oh, if you stay, you can go to school for another year!

 Kyle confronts the paranoid Marie with reality.

'No, isn't that imprisonment if you go back? Because, you know, study abroad is a body of work and you've been expelled.

Oh.

 As Marie held her head in her hands as she remembered this, she saw Eryk running up to her.

'Sis!'

 Marie is like Yare Yare and heads over to Eryk.

 Eryk was crying without hesitation around him, and Marier is comforting him.

'Me, I worked hard today too!

Good, good. Keep up the good work.

 Kara lets out a sigh.

'Eryk, I thought you were on this side, but you've gone back to your parents' house.

 Kyle put his hands on his hips, looking disappointed.

You can go back home. I don't have a family home.

 I can't go back to the elven home.

 That's what I thought--

'Oh, Kyle! Finally we meet at last!

 An elf woman jumped on Kyle.

 It's 【Umeria】, a maid employed by Leon's parents' house.

''Ka, mother!''

 The petite, pouty-looking elf woman was happy to dare Kyle to look at her.

'Kyle, how are you doing?'

'Why are you here! Work?!

 Humelia put her hands on her hips and stretched her chest.

 Her large breasts were shaking.

'Ehem! This time, my lord sent me to work on an airship! The rest of the time, I've got something to tell the Count!

 He was happy to show off his work.

 Kyle looked embarrassed, "Yeah," he said, "Yeah.

The Count is over there.

 Yumelia is embarrassed when she points to Rion, who is being held by Livia and Angel, and she is embarrassed.

'I hope I don't interrupt you,'

That too, I suppose.

 He is apparently being reserved to Leon.

 Near Rion, there was one young man who was equally reserved.

 -- it was Jean.