As I closed my eyes and leaned back against my chair, one of the maids spoke up nervously.
“M-My lady... is the situation really that serious? Are we actually going to run out of food?”
So they had finally realized it.
“Yeah. More or less.”
When I nodded, another maid's eyes lit up as she eagerly jumped into the conversation.
“But we have horses, don't we? The horses the knights brought!”
The knights under Alphius had indeed brought several horses with them.
“I always thought they were useless, but maybe we should hurry and sell them! Like Lady Dahlia said, if we buy dairy cows, we'll get milk and—”
“Absolutely not.”
I cut her off immediately.
If even half of Dahlia's boasting was true, Harwin was destined to bankrupt itself over dairy cows alone...
“Still, we definitely need more food.”
I finished organizing my thoughts and opened my eyes.
Then I spoke decisively.
“We need to prepare to reclaim Jezel Street. Let's go.”
“Huh? Are you going back to the potato field again?”
“No.”
Contrary to expectations, Philip had turned out to be surprisingly skilled at potato farming.
The field could safely be left to the Potato Squad now.
“We're going to Erenta.”
The beautiful riverside village my uncle had coveted so desperately.
"So what? Planning to survive a month eating tiny fish from the river?"
There was more to that river than small fish.
If I wanted to move beyond simple hunting and gathering, there were many preparations that needed to be made in advance.
“We'll need a few quick-handed knights. Let's stop by the training grounds first.”
That afternoon, I spent hours along the riverbanks of Erenta.
After giving several instructions to the knights, I was on my way back to the manor.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
An elderly man dressed in shabby clothes sat by the water, a fishing rod dangling lazily into the river.
“Why aren't any fish biting? It's been hours already...”
It was the kind of muttering clearly intended for other people to overhear.
“Sigh... how can I not catch even a single fish...”
Even his empty bucket looked filthy.
The maids recoiled in disgust.
I stopped walking and answered him.
“Not catching even one fish is a bit strange.”
“Oh? Don't you think so too? Ah, you must be a young lady from a noble family.”
The old man brightened immediately.
Tilting my head, I asked,
“Could it be because there's Pozion Grass mixed into your bait?”
“Pozion Grass? What's that? I know Zion Grass.”
“Ah, same thing. Fish hate it. Every fish except marang fish avoids it.”
The maids behind me frowned.
They clearly disliked seeing me converse with such a filthy commoner.
But inwardly, I smiled.
So this is Baron Forman.
First, no local would fish this way during this season.
Second, I looked every bit the stereotypical arrogant noble lady—cold expression, elegant posture, and all. Not the sort of person a commoner would casually approach.
Third, the moment I sensed something strange, I immediately cast out bait of my own.
"The 'Po' sound should be drawn out longer. Proper nouns from the western regions are pronounced closer to the ancient tongue."
There was no such thing as Pozion Grass.
As the old man had said, the correct name was Zion Grass.
I simply wanted to hear how he pronounced the syllable "Po."
He tried to hide it, but that's unmistakably a western accent.
An old man from the west who had skillfully concealed his identity before approaching me.
There was no doubt.
This was Baron Forman, the intelligence specialist.
“Ah... I didn't know that. Thank you for teaching me.”
The corners of the old man's eyes curved slightly.
For a moment, they reminded me of Leopold's eyes.
Baron Forman continued,
“By the way, who might you be, young miss?”
Before I could answer, the maids stepped forward.
“Get up and greet her immediately! This is Lady Brisa of House Sears!”
“Apologize for your rudeness at once! Be grateful for Her Ladyship's mercy!”
“Even commoners should know basic manners!”
Their criticism descended like icy blades.
Baron Forman's eyes widened dramatically.
He scrambled to his feet and bowed.
“M-My deepest greetings!”
“Lower!”
At the maid's barked command, he bent even farther.
“I am Oliver Hanson! I've come to stay with a relative's nephew near Jezel Street!”
The way his eyes darted nervously while he bowed and scraped was the perfect imitation of a rustic country elder.
Watching him, I found myself thinking:
Yeah... everyone's just trying to survive.
He was working so hard to act like a commoner in order to hide his identity.
He undoubtedly already knew who I was.
I couldn't help admiring his dedication.
Imagine bowing to a child fifty years younger than yourself just to make a living...
I looked at him sympathetically.
And I meant it.
The maids from Liente are completely insane.
Baron Forman sighed inwardly.
He had once served as an intelligence operative for the Grand Duke of Nozen.
Though he had retired years ago.
It's been far too long since I've done this. At least I haven't been discovered...
When was the last time he disguised himself as a commoner?
Still, fooling a little noble girl he had never met should have been effortless.
Of course, that wasn't actually the problem.
Judging by the current situation, he appeared to be stranded in the Central Region.
He had only planned to stay for three days before returning!
Seriously, what kind of hardship is this at my age?!
Baron Forman was deeply distressed.
He had never expected to end up trapped like this.
"Aren't you bored? Why not travel around and take a look?"
A few days earlier, Grand Duke Hilbury of Nozen—his in-law—had summoned him.
Forman had replied in the polite western noble style.
"Hoho, serving as Your Grace's eyes is always a small pleasure of mine. But I am terribly old now..."
In other words:
He wouldn't mind gathering information, but under no circumstances would he get involved in anything dangerous, such as a monster wave.
Hilbury merely laughed.
"It's about a potential candidate for Grand Duchess. Leopold secretly sent her a bouquet recently."
And thus Leopold's secret had become known even to his grandfather.
A possible match for Leopold.
Leopold wasn't merely the heir of House Nozen.
He was also Forman's beloved grandson.
The boy had done something behind his grandfather's back?
Well, not successfully, apparently.
Forman's interest was instantly piqued.
"Then I shall go and inspect her myself with these old eyes of mine. Who is she?"
Hilbury raised an eyebrow before answering quietly.
"Brisa Sears. The daughter of House Sears."
No longer the heir of House Sears.
Just an ordinary marquis's daughter.
Forman was silent for a moment before immediately replying.
"I'll leave at once."
And so Baron Forman enthusiastically boarded a warp gate.
Since monster activity was nearly nonexistent in the Central Region, he hadn't even bothered bringing attendants.
True to his background as a former intelligence agent, he quickly grasped the entire situation upon arrival.
Everything appeared unremarkable.
He was just about to take a warp gate back west and report that nothing interesting had happened when—
“BLEEEAAARGH!”
“UUUUURGH!”
Every traveler emerging from the warp gate stumbled out vomiting.
When he questioned the attendant, he learned that warp travel had become dangerously unstable for the elderly and infirm.
The Mage Tower was even considering suspending warp operations altogether.
At the same time, reports spread rapidly throughout the Empire.
Monster waves were appearing everywhere—not just in the west.
The Central Region was surrounded by neighboring territories and mountain ranges.
Monsters had begun appearing precisely along those borders.
The first major problem had emerged:
Food.
The Central Region developed a strong distribution network because it rarely had monsters. But its actual grain production is low. In other words, it isn't self-sufficient!
And that was how Baron Forman ended up stranded in the Central Region.
With no way home.
