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Episode 238.1

I knew that Aira loved to stir things up.

To such an extent, she could declare national holidays on a whim. It was not uncommon for an actual holiday to get demoted into a regular weekday.

“Declare today my birthday and celebrate it every year!”

“But, Aira-nim’s birthday was last month….”

“I am the Queen, I can do whatever I want.”

Perhaps Aira thought of a Queen as someone who could make things up.

The problem was that most people around her had to clean up the messes. And that ‘most people’ was me.

Shortly after Aira declared the martial festival, I got to hear an earful from Elga.

“What’s this sudden talk about a martial festival? I’ve never heard anything about it! Why are you doing such a big thing without me!?”

Elga seemed to feel left out. Because of this, I had to spend quite a bit of time explaining that I was just as clueless about the new event.

“This is what happened, Elga-nim. I didn’t know about it either.”

“Hmm, well, it’s my cousin after all. This is not the first time. But do we even have the ability to hold this unscheduled festival? I’m talking about the budget.”

The budget…

It was one of the most critical issues when organizing a festival. Elga said while scratching her cheek.

“As you are well aware, the Lioness family is not in a position to support this. Most of our funds are tied up because we’ve sent troops to the barrier.”

“Then what should we do?”

When I asked, feeling troubled, Elga glanced around and then quietly said to me. 

“Theo, you must have some hidden funds stashed away. Just bring those out.”

“What hidden funds?”

“You don’t have any?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Did you have one?”

“No, I didn’t. Just….”

Elga narrowed her eyes as if she didn’t believe me. She seemed convinced that I must have stashed away some money.

The officials at Angmar’s court were like that. I must have looked the same.

“You didn’t stash any money at all? That’s surprising. You look like you’d squirrel it away everywhere.”

“I never needed money. But if I had known that something like this would happen, I would have hidden some away.”

“Then, well, let’s borrow from Mirna. It’s just the two of them anyway, there’s plenty left over. Don’t you think?”

Her words were a bit harsh, but Elga had a point.

The Draco family must have quite a bit of wealth.

But when Mirna heard the story, she clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Unfortunately, our finances are tightly measured till the end of the year. We don’t have room for even a needle, let alone any amount to indulge the Queen’s whim.”

‘I see.’

The Draco family wasn’t particularly known for their wealth to begin with. They were famous for their piety and frugal lifestyle.

“But if Lord Theo picks me in the bet with the Lioness family, we might have a little more leeway.”

“A bet?”

“The bet between me and Lady Lioness. You’re well aware of it.”

There was something like that. I had so much on my mind lately that I had forgotten about it.

Mirna and Elga were in the middle of a bet. The bet was that whoever I chose would receive a huge amount of money.

It seemed that the bet was still going on while I wasn’t paying attention. When was the deadline for the results again?

Anyway…

Support from the Lioness family was difficult, and the Draco family couldn’t help either. When I reported this truthfully to Aira, she responded as if there was nothing to worry about.

“Fufu, Theo. Don’t you have the funds seized from Belmott Douglas?”

Belmott…

The Finance Minister Belmott?

Indeed, we had confiscated slush funds from him.

However, most of that money had already been allocated to the right places and was scheduled for future use. 

If we take it out and use it for such a sudden event, it would be like pulling a critical block from a Jenga tower, the entire plan might collapse.

So I frankly told Aira that it would be difficult to use the slush fund.

“I see.”

Aira, who was sitting on the bed with her feet soaking in cold water, casually replied as she pulled her feet out.

“In that case, we’ll have to get funding from them.”

“By ‘them’ you mean…?”

“There are those in this world who love money more than anyone else. It’s time to open their vaults.”

“You mean the Bellhawk family.”

“Exactly. As expected of you, Theo. You always catch on quickly~.”

* * *

This was the story of how I got in touch with the Bellhawk family.

It wasn’t too difficult for me to open up a conversation with them.

After I fought as Aira’s champion against the Hunter, they actually approached me first, wanting to establish a connection.

Thus, I reached out to their contact within Ark.

I was able to meet again with Deneb, a woman from the Elvendine Merchants Guild who had once gifted me a melon.

“It’s an honor to have you as our guest, Sir Theo. This place might be a bit shabby, but we’ll do our best to accommodate you.”

Deneb, looking like a seasoned secretary, chuckled softly. Her golden eyes sparkled behind the thin golden-rimmed glasses. 

Even though she said it like that, the marble floor she walked on shone so brightly that it reflected on my face.

There weren’t many places even in Angmar where you could find entirely marble-covered floors. Just having such extravagance in a branch office could show how much the elves loved to flaunt their wealth.

Thanks to that, the inside of her short office skirt was visible.

Black lace…

「Daily goal completed!」

「3. Look at Elf Underwear – Job ‘Casanova’ +50 experience」