Volume 6 Chapter 16 Reports, Contacts, and Consultations are Indeed Important
"Oh, so this is the new town?"
As the sun began to set, Randy, who was driving the carriage──having left Rita and Harrison behind──saw a magnificent castle wall under construction ahead.
Beyond the incomplete wall, remnants of the previous wooden and earthen walls were visible.
"This is near the edge of the territory, right?"
Liz peeked out from the front window of the guest room, her face filled with excitement.
"Yeah. It's directly opposite the capital across the port town."
To be precise, the positions of the cities formed a V-shape, but broadly speaking, the port town was in the center.
"When we arrive at the town, we'll meet with the governor first, right?"
"Yeah. I also need to deliver the letter from the old man."
Randy pulled out a letter entrusted to him by his father, Alan.
He had heard it contained various instructions for the governor.
Currently, the governor of this town was temporarily being served by the original town mayor.
However, it was originally a small rural town.
Given the situation where the population was expected to increase, the temporary governor was likely anxious about whether he could manage well.
"This time, we need to report everything in detail."
Randy pouted at Liz, who smiled wryly, saying, "I know."
After all, just a few hours ago, his father, Alan, had repeatedly emphasized this.
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Time rewinds briefly...
"Old man, I'm back."
Almost simultaneously with the knock, Alan sighed heavily as Randy opened the door, while Liz gave a curtsey to Alan with a wry smile.
"Randy... well, that's fine. For now, take a seat."
Prompted by Alan, who couldn't stop sighing, Randy and Liz sat down on the sofa.
"First of all, I'm glad to see you seem to have passed."
Alan smiled, and Randy returned the smile, saying, "No problem, no problem."
In reality, he had taken quite a few retests, but in Randy's mind, having passed meant it was already a done deal.
"No problem, huh... According to Harrison, it was quite close, wasn't it?"
Randy choked on his words as Alan furrowed his brow.
"That bastard Harrison..."
Randy scowled, glaring at the imagined Harrison.
"That being said, I've heard that Harrison enjoyed his campus life during the third semester."
Alan, who once again showed a smile, glanced between the two and asked, "Did you enjoy the training?"
Randy instinctively exchanged glances with Liz at Alan's unmistakable reference to the dungeon training.
"It was fun..."
"If you say that, yes, it was quite enjoyable."
Reflecting back, the training, which had been undertaken as a lead to find Ellie's body, ended up changing his relationship with Catherine and introduced him to new friends.
Although he had been earnest during the protection duty, looking back, it was a good memory.
The two exchanged smiles once more and simultaneously redirected their gaze towards Alan.
"It was alright, I guess."
"That's a lie. We had a lot of fun."
Satisfied with their typical responses, Alan nodded vigorously.
"I've heard Miss Elizabeth has resumed her club activities, right?"
Liz, caught off guard by the topic shifted to her, nodded shyly with a "Yes."
Alan wore a genuinely joyful smile as Liz began to share the fun she had at the club after a long absence.
"It would be wonderful if we could invite Lord Lucian someday to observe."
Alan shrugged, to which Randy returned a wry smile, saying, "That's impossible."
The Marquis observing a student club would undoubtedly cause chaos.
"That's true. Then, I'll just look forward to Randy's photos."
The two laughed and exchanged various topics about the academy... until...
"By the way, Randolph. Don't you have *something* to tell me?"
Alan, fingers interlaced on the desk, spoke in a calm tone, but his eyes carried no laughter.
This is bad, Randy thought, his brain kicking into high gear.
(What could it be? The development on the kotatsu... he's mentioned that. The joint training with Waldner? Did he hear about me saying I'd hit the Crown Prince?)
As a multitude of blunders flashed through Randy's mind, Alan took a big sigh and opened his mouth.
"Accepting personnel from the Church... I'm certainly pleased on our end, but how do you plan to convince the kingdom?"
Alan tilted his head as Randy spoke about the picture Catherine was drawing.
They would first dispatch under the Church's authority and then have the country recognize it afterward.
Moreover, they would publicly highlight how the kingdom had seized the manor, making the current situation of the Church known to the citizens to gain their approval.
"Wait a minute. Cedric should have been involved in the new project, right?"
Caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, Randy tilted his head, asking, "Yeah, but?" as he exchanged glances with Liz.
"So... does Cedric know about convincing the kingdom and all that?"
"No. He doesn't. It was something Miss Catherine mentioned on a whim when we were coming back from Waldner."
Randy further tilted his head and pressed, "And that's it?" but Alan opened his mouth with a wry smile.
"I really didn't expect the Saintly Lady to use the same method as Braubelg."
"The same method?"
Alan showed a letter he received from Lucian to a puzzled Randy.
The letter detailed how their personnel management in the kotatsu project would damage the kingdom and included an apology for mentioning Victor's name in the process.
(I see. It will seem like we helped the believers the kingdom bullied.)
After reading through the letter, Randy handed it to Liz and looked at Alan.
"So, if both His Excellency and Sir Cedric were planning this, is it quite a significant move?"
"It's scary that you lot were saying you'd 'do it' without even knowing."
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