How to Use the Lord’s Future Diary

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Rudelrof promised to continue maintaining close relations with us and returned to his village.

The considerable amount of gold ingots and iron ingots he had brought all became ours.

-This is quite sweet.

‘Feels like my teeth will rot. I’d like to keep trading like this in the future.’

That would be a little difficult.

Trading across the Monster Mountains was also quite a troublesome issue from their side.

“I’ll use the iron ingots to replenish arrows first.”

“We also need to repair the reinforcement magic circles on the castle and the gates.”

“That’s right. Will it be possible?”

“The catalysts are sufficient. But it won’t be perfect. As you know, I……”

“Yeah, you’re an alchemist. Just repair as much as you can.”

We decided to make arrows first with the iron ingots.

Since they would be needed a lot in winter, it was better to stock up in advance.

Now that the Rabbit Tribe rangers had joined us, arrow consumption would increase even more.

And with gold, which was the main catalyst for magic, we planned to reinforce the magic circles on the walls and gates.

No matter how much stone was piled up for the walls, if a giant monster struck them, they would surely collapse with a thud.

The reinforcement magic circles prevented that, and during this spring’s monster defense battle, we had received plenty of benefits from them.

Since magic circles gradually weakened as shocks accumulated, they needed to be repaired whenever the opportunity arose.

However, this wasn’t our specialty, so efficiency declined the more time passed.

The range an alchemist could handle was limited.

Unless we recruited a proper magic enchanter or a builder (magic architect), things would continue this way.

“When we opened trade with Haken, this was the first issue I planned to resolve. When are we going to get a message from them?”

Specialized manpower trained in magic didn’t wander around, so recruiting them was really difficult.

“A message has arrived.”

The messenger from Haken arrived a few days after the Lion Tribe friends had left our territory.

They said they would send someone directly to inspect our territory and the horned rabbit ranch before deciding.

“Then tell them to come. Let’s talk in person.”

Finally, they were coming—I clenched both fists tightly.

After sending back the envoy who had come from Haken, I assigned a knight separately to express our will.

“Hoo, at least something is moving forward.”

I didn’t know why Haken had been so slow in responding, but it seemed they did have an intention to trade.

Which meant they wanted to send someone to confirm the situation here.

All we had to do was treat the visiting delegation well and feed them delicious horned rabbit dishes.

If they were visiting as official envoys representing their lord, they would be able to easily evaluate the marketability of the horned rabbits.

“But why are you grinning like that?”

After receiving the news from the messenger and sighing in relief, I saw Rudick smiling foolishly.

I had no idea why he was doing that in front of me, but judging by his silly grin, he was probably about to spout some pointless nonsense again.

“Come on, isn’t Haken a place with a rather deep connection to us?”

“That’s true. When my father was lord, there had been some exchange from time to time. Though the news had reached them late and they couldn’t attend my father’s funeral, they still made an effort to show their respect.”

Thinking back, when the former lord had been alive, our relationship with Haken had been fairly decent.

Iron had even personally visited Haken together with the former lord.

Of course, he had also met the Haken lord himself, and if memory served, he had been quite a decent man.

In fact, compared to the suspicious Levelium merchant group, Haken might have been a much better trading partner.

Of course, if we had considered Haken first, we might have completely lost the Rabbit Tribe.

‘But now that Haken is mentioned… feels like I’m forgetting something…….’

“Come to think of it, you’re quite bold, brother. After all that mess, you still plan to trade with Haken. Brother, didn’t you once make quite a scene over there?”

“Ah, right. I did.”

Now I remembered.

What had happened when Iron last visited Haken.

That was over ten years ago.

It had been when he had visited Haken together with his father for the last time.

‘Iron once sparred with the Haken lord’s youngest daughter.’

The duel had started because she had first suggested they try a match, but at that time, Iron had been in a rather foul mood.

Because he really didn’t like his opponent, the Haken lord’s youngest daughter, ‘Irene.’

‘Iron, you narrow-minded, arrogant frog in a well.’

The people of the Ribella Peninsula generally had black hair and black eyes.

Their facial features were Western, but their hair color was more Eastern.

In contrast, Irene had shimmering, radiant red hair that was enchanting.

On top of that, she was very beautiful, so not only her family but also the residents of the territory cherished her deeply.

The moment Iron saw her, he was displeased.

Because he thought her rare and mysterious hair color, unusual in the Ribella Peninsula, was just dye.

‘He thought she was just a woman showing off her looks while claiming to be training to become a knight.’

As mentioned before, Iron had been an extremely macho man, one who lived with a burning black dragon in his chest.

He had even been a young, arrogant knight with immense pride in his title.

So how could such a man overlook a flashy junior knight?

Determined to teach her a lesson, the duel ended with Irene, thoroughly beaten by Iron, fainting and being carried away.

‘The atmosphere in the training yard back then was really…….’

Even I had to admit Iron’s strikes had been excessively harsh, so in a way, it was inevitable.

‘It was even hereditary.’

Later, I found out that Irene’s hair color was simply genetic.

Unlike most people of the Ribella Peninsula, who were born with black hair, across the southern seas in the Maritime Alliance, there were people with various hair colors.

Irene’s mother was a descendant of one who had immigrated from the Maritime Alliance to the Ribella Peninsula.

Her hair color had been an even deeper red than Irene’s.

There was no way Iron, who had no concept of mixed blood, could have known that.

-What on earth were you thinking back then? Didn’t you say you even knew that fierce lioness since childhood?

‘Right. Just what was I doing with my life back then, this guy called Iron?’

In those days, a duel often ended when one side simply fell, so it wasn’t exactly some grave mistake.

But to have mercilessly beaten down the princess, who was revered by all, right in the middle of Haken—of course the atmosphere wouldn’t have been good.

But at that time, the Haken lord patted Iron’s head and said it was fine.

He even praised him, saying that since he was different from the start, he would surely become a great knight.

‘Truly, he was a man of great character.’

Irene was clearly the youngest daughter whom the Haken lord adored the most, and yet he acted that way in such a situation.

Indeed, the Haken lord was a man whose stature was different from ordinary people.

“Apparently, after being beaten by you back then, Dame Irene Haken trained incredibly hard. Haven’t you heard, brother? The Monster Crusher, the Red Devil.”

“The Red Devil, huh. Quite a grand title. But if we’re being precise, shouldn’t I get some credit too? If her skills improved so much after our duel, even I feel proud.”

“As expected, brother, you’re shameless. I’m curious to see if you can still be that shameless when you meet Dame Irene again.”

“I have nothing to be ashamed of. There may have been a small misunderstanding, but that didn’t affect the duel. A duel should be tough like real combat if it’s to be of any use.”

“Try saying that with a straight face.”

-Even I think that sounds rather disgraceful, master.

Of course, it was true that the misunderstanding had significantly affected the duel.

Without it, at the very least, Iron would have given his opponent some space to yield while attacking.

At that time, Iron had already been at a considerable level as a knight, and there had been quite a gap between him and Irene.

Anyway, after that day, Irene’s training attitude had completely changed, and her skills had greatly improved—that much I had heard in passing.

Perhaps she had borne a grudge from that event and sharpened her blade ever since.

‘This feels unfair.’

I wasn’t the one who made the mess, yet I had to be the one cleaning it up.

This was why, whether old or young, a conceited fool was always a problem.

But well, what did it matter?

Unless I visited Haken myself, there was no chance of meeting her anyway.

‘Irene ranks among the top ten in skill within Haken, doesn’t she? Being the lord’s daughter, she’d naturally be one of the key figures in the territory.’

Haken was a battlefield that rivaled Johnson, clashing not only with the orcs of the region but also with the lizardmen inhabiting the upper reaches of the Haken River.

A knight of Irene’s caliber wouldn’t possibly have the leisure to get involved in our trade.

‘I had no intention of visiting Haken either, so the chance of meeting Irene was even less.’

It was unfortunate for that Rudick fellow, who seemed to be waiting for some amusing mishap, but such a hilarious event was never going to happen.

…Or so I thought at the time.

“What was that about the visitors?”

“The lord’s personal ‘Crimson Comet,’ the third order……”

“Wait, did you say Crimson Comet?”

It wasn’t until the knight who had followed the Haken envoy returned and informed us of who would be visiting our territory.

‘If it’s the Crimson Comet…’

The Haken lord was a high lord renowned in the southern regions, and befitting his status, he commanded several knight orders.

In particular, the lord’s personal knight orders consisted of the finest knights, directly overseen by his bloodline.

And the ‘Crimson Comet’ was……

“The delegation’s representative is Dame Irene Haken, the Haken lord’s youngest daughter and captain of the ‘Crimson Comet.’”

It was the knight order led by Irene herself.

“What, why would the lord’s personal knight order, busy enough fighting monsters, come all the way out here?”

Was this the curse of that Rudick fellow?

That Irene herself was personally coming to our territory.

This was a development I had never expected.

-Isn’t this like stepping in dung?

‘No, but seriously, why?’

Of course, I didn’t think Irene would cause trouble out of spite against me.

The Haken lord wasn’t a scatterbrained man who couldn’t distinguish public matters from private ones.

There was no way he didn’t know that Irene bore some ill feelings toward me.

And yet he still dispatched her to our territory, which meant he was confident she wouldn’t cause any problems.

If he had thought there might be issues, he wouldn’t have sent Irene here in the first place.

But regardless, because of the past, facing her again would be somewhat awkward.

“She’ll definitely want to challenge you to another match.”

From what I’d heard, Irene would surely seek another duel with me.

In fact, perhaps she had become the delegation leader not because of trade negotiations but to face me again.

“What am I going to do?”

Honestly, fighting Irene again wasn’t a real problem.

From what I could tell, though her skills had clearly improved since before, she hadn’t yet reached the level of a Master.

I’d heard she was three years younger than me—if she had already become a Master at that age, it couldn’t have escaped rumor.

Haken wasn’t some remote backwater like Johnson, but one of the great territories through which countless people passed.

The three great lords—Vice, New Level, and Haken—were constantly keeping each other in check while flaunting their power.

‘Even if she recently became a Master, a newly advanced technical fencer would still be…….’

I remembered Irene as a typical technical fencer who wielded a rapier-like thin sword.

For me, unless I was facing someone like Leisha, an absolute powerhouse who overwhelmed me with sheer physical specs, I actually found technical fencers easier to deal with.

Their attacks simply couldn’t break through the thick defenses of a greatsword.

Moreover, technical fencers usually trained under the premise of avoiding all hits altogether, so even taking one blow would deal them considerable damage.

If I landed the first strike cleanly, I could seize victory right away.

‘That was how our duel had gone before, too.’

Back then, I had blocked her attacks, landed a decisive hit, and while she was disoriented, I had beaten her mercilessly.

‘I’m confident I can win, but… is this right? If it only breeds more resentment, that’d be troublesome in its own way.’

-No matter how foolish my master may be, I believe at least he won’t beat her down in this situation.

Perhaps, for the first time in my life, I might need to prepare for a hospitality duel.