Published: January 15, 2026
After staying for several days, His Majesty and the others each returned to their respective territories. During the stay, His Majesty asked questions and conveyed various requests.
The first was that, although the kingdom had become a vassal state, it was still frightening to have the Yelinetta Kingdom as a neighbor, so he wanted Prince Freitliner, who could also serve as a hostage, as a subordinate. The real intention was that, by having him manage the adventurer’s town, Espada could be brought back under control.
The second request was to have Talga, the knight who guards Centena, as a subordinate. That straightforward knight was undoubtedly trustworthy. Reliable subordinates are precious. If possible, he even wanted to entrust Talga with overseeing key locations in Yelinetta.
The third request was whether he could grant land to Viscount Panamera. Since he was the only noble allied with them, it would be ideal if it was near my territory.
When I conveyed these three requests, His Majesty laughed with interest and nodded.
“From now on, Baron Van will achieve accomplishments that will eclipse his past exploits. I look forward to it!”
With that, His Majesty left Seato Village. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he had some strange misunderstanding.
But for now, I should be happy that I can finally relax.
“Til~… sweets~…”
“Yes! Today I got some fruit from Shelvia, so here’s a fruit pie!”
“Wow, looks delicious.”
I replied as Til appeared pushing the serving cart, then looked up at the cart while lying on the sofa. On the plate was a freshly baked pie. The sweet and savory aroma whetted my appetite.
“Slice it up, please~”
“Okay!”
Feeling completely lazy, I asked, and Til replied with a smile.
Sitting back on the sofa, I stuck my fork into the pie on a small plate and brought it to my mouth.
The crisp pie crust was fragrant, and biting into it revealed a sweetness. The filling was smooth and rich, with the sweet and sour flavor of the fruit spreading in my mouth. Blended with the crust, the taste was perfectly balanced.
Thanks to the victory in this battle, a large amount of taxes would be paid from both the Shelvia Confederation and the Yelinetta Kingdom.
Moreover, a substantial amount of personal wealth from the nobility of both countries was seized. Additionally, to prevent rebellion, they imposed limits on the number of knights and confiscated weapons such as Black Orbs and cannons.
Because of this, there were concerns about financial deterioration in both the Shelvia Confederation and Yelinetta Kingdom, leading to part of the taxes being paid in kind. Although His Majesty initially showed reluctance, he eventually agreed since it was more beneficial than accepting currency for items originally imported from other countries.
One of those items was fruit from the Shelvia Confederation.
“This is delicious.”
I spoke my thoughts while sipping tea. Til smiled but suddenly tilted her head, looking at me.
“What’s wrong?”
When I asked, Til answered with a wry smile.
“Lord Van, you’ve put on a bit of weight.”
“...!? Me...? Weigh...?”
I instinctively checked my own belly. Soft and squishy.
No need to panic. There’s still time to turn things around. Thinking so, I took another sip of tea.
“...Phew. Til? I’m currently in a growth phase. So, I’m intentionally putting on weight. I have to increase my cells and promote growth. Ah, growth is vertical, not horizontal, you know? According to calculations, I should easily surpass two meters in height.”
“I-I see. As expected of Lord Van.”
Though it was quite a forced excuse, Til’s eyes sparkled and she praised me. I felt overwhelmingly guilty.
“...Sorry. This is the result of living lazily. I’ll exercise.”
I apologized honestly and stood up from the sofa.
“I rested under the pretext of Dee’s special training, but now I’ll join in! Oh, one last thing.”
With renewed determination, I said that, ate one last piece of fruit pie, and left the lord’s manor. Stoic Van-kun was determined to train up quickly into a lean and muscular form.