Published: January 17, 2026
After enjoying the seafood, we spent the night at an inn in town. Although Rosso had sent a messenger inviting us to rest at the lord's manor, due to the limited number of rooms, only Panamera, one subordinate, myself, Talga, and Espada could stay there.
When I politely declined, Panamera blinked in surprise.
"The boy does frightening things," he said, likely referring to my refusal of an invitation from a high-ranking noble. I smiled wryly and responded,
"If I propose building ships to transport goods via sea routes, they might forgive me, probably."
"Well… that’s true. But you’ll need to train people to operate the ships."
"Ah, yes… For that, expert cooperation is indispensable."
I answered, pondering ship operation. Naturally, I had no knowledge about steering a ship. It’s not as simple as setting the sails to move forward, and I only vaguely understood how to use an anchor. There was no way I could confidently say, “Let’s go out to sea now.”
Realizing there were many challenges, I decided to rest well at the inn that day.
The next morning, right after waking up, a messenger from Rosso arrived at the inn. Maybe I was told to get up when ready, because after a leisurely breakfast, I went outside and found the messenger waiting—a bearded guard.
"Good morning, Viscount Van," he greeted immediately as I stepped out, and I awkwardly returned the greeting.
"Good morning. Have you been waiting long?"
"Not at all! Just about two hours."
"Two hours!? I’m sorry!"
Surprised, I apologized, and the guard looked at me curiously.
"...Excuse me, but Lord Van is quite the peculiar person. Not in a bad way—I think you are a very kind noble."
"Oh, no, it’s nothing like that..."
Van-kun blushed at the straightforward compliment, wishing for more praise. But the guard, not hearing my thoughts, returned to a serious expression and straightened his posture.
"Oh, pardon me. I was instructed by Lord Rosso to bring you here. Please, this way."
With that, the time for praising genius Van-kun came to an end. What a pity.
Following the guard, I went to the lord's manor to meet Rosso. Panamera was already waiting there.
"You finally woke up," Panamera said with an exasperated tone, and I cheerfully replied,
"Good morning!"
"Yes, good to see you come."
Perhaps my energetic response masked my sluggishness, because Rosso nodded with a wry smile. Then he pointed outside the window.
"It seems Tran Bronco, who is responsible for Fleetwood, will visit this afternoon. I thought you’d want to talk."
"Thank you. I’d very much appreciate that."
Hearing Rosso’s words, I expressed my gratitude. I hadn’t expected to meet so soon. Actually, it was already close to noon, so we would meet shortly.
While I was excited, Rosso laughed and said,
"Right. Let’s have lunch together here at the manor today. We have a dedicated chef. Look forward to it."
"Thank you."
"Wow, I’m looking forward to it! Is there Syrah as well?"
"Oh, Lord Van, you’re quite the connoisseur. You even know the town specialties."
Maybe to be polite, Rosso’s table was filled with dishes centered around Syrah wine. The elaborate cuisine outdid even specialized restaurants. Truly impressive—the dedicated chef of a historic marquis family. The marquis Rosso family is formidable.
As I stabbed the tail of a crustacean, resembling a perfectly sized prawn, and eagerly ate, the dining room door was suddenly knocked. A maid peeked in.
"My lord, Lord Tran has arrived."
"Oh, that was quick. Have him wait in the guest hall."
"Yes, understood."
After exchanging words with the maid, Rosso looked at me.
"Don’t rush your meal. The scheduled time is still a little way off."
"Ah, thank you."
For some reason, Rosso was unusually kind. Feeling a slight strangeness, I ate another piece of the prawn-like seafood. Next, I wanted to try fried shrimp.
After finishing the meal, we all went to the hall. There stood a dark-skinned, red-haired man. I could only see his back as he looked out the window, but his highly muscular physique was obvious. The bulging muscles were visible even through his clothes, and his tanned skin made him look like a bodybuilding athlete.