It had been a long time since I'd seen Baron Esquente, and he was still as talkative as ever.
"It's been so long, both of you! My, what a day this is. I never imagined I'd receive an invitation to the Grand Duchy of Ilensia. I thought I'd spend my entire life walking on eggshells around other nobles."
"You don't seem to mind speaking freely around me," Sirien remarked.
"Well, this is a private setting. I know how painful it is to be treated like you're from another world just because your status has changed. Besides, there's a bond between us after everything we've been through together, isn't there?"
That was typical of the Baron.
Words like quiet, noble, and dignified could never be associated with Baron Esquente.
A quiet Baron Esquente? That would be like saying "hot ice"—completely contradictory.
Anyway, setting foot in the Grand Duchy for the first time, the Baron expressed his admiration repeatedly.
He commented on how he liked the architectural style of the castle, how he could sense vitality in people's faces, and so on.
Especially regarding the castle walls and defenses, he chattered endlessly about trying similar approaches in his own barony.
Since we were so accustomed to this land called the Grand Duchy of Ilensia... and not all our memories here were pleasant, his fresh perspective felt quite refreshing.
Sirien smiled slightly.
"So, has everything been quiet on the Northern Front?" she asked.
"It's quite stable now. Until recently, we were incredibly busy, but for some reason, things have quieted down considerably. There have always been peaceful periods like this from time to time."
"That's good to hear. I've been a bit concerned since we're no longer at the gateway, especially after we took so many troops with us."
"No need to worry. The support we received from the Holy Maiden far exceeds what we lost at that time. Besides, I'm not one to nitpick about such things."
The Baron joked, waving his hands dismissively as he laughed. It seemed the Northern Front had already received support.
Sirien had always disliked leaving debts unpaid.
"That said, the financial situation of the barony isn't entirely optimistic. As our income has increased, so has the lord's spending," said a new voice.
"W-well, I haven't spent on anything frivolous...!" the Baron protested.
"I merely stated that spending has increased," added the Baron's newly appointed administrator.
The Baron shrank between his administrator and Sirien.
Baron Esquente's special treatment of us during our time at the Northern Front wasn't solely due to our military strength.
I was essentially the main fighting force at the gateway, while Sirien served as something of an advisor to the commander.
She had helped multiple times with the barony's business ventures and territory management.
The other two commanders at the front had even coveted her skills.
Now that Sirien had to manage the Grand Duchy of Ilensia, the Baron naturally needed to hire someone new.
That person was Kariet Sanders.
According to the Baron's personal assessment, Kariet handled matters very neatly and by the book.
He also mentioned that Kariet was quite rigid compared to Sirien.
Still, the fact that he used Sirien as a point of comparison suggested he was quite satisfied.
Even at first glance, Kariet gave the impression of someone strict with himself.
His attire was extremely neat and proper.
"What have you been spending so much money on?" Sirien asked.
"Well, remember when I was attacked by Nezra? Thanks to both of you, my life was saved, but it wouldn't have been surprising if I had died. We did lose Lord Marlon."
"That's true. How is Sophia doing?"
"She cried a lot. But she endured. Now she wants to become a knight. She's swinging around a small wooden sword with her tiny hands. It makes me feel complicated in many ways. She seems to want to go to the battlefield someday."
"Let her do what she wants. I understand your feelings, but anything beyond that is interference. It's better to support her from behind."
"Yes..."
Sophia was the name of the girl Lord Marlon had been raising.
We had met her a few times, and she seemed to think of Lord Marlon as a father figure.
Considering their ages, he might have been more like a grandfather.
From what I heard, it seemed the Baron had taken her in now.
He was the type to feel strong responsibility toward others.
I was confident he wouldn't abandon her in any way.
"So you're spending money to buy magical equipment? I've heard that Harmenia's Golden Guild deals with such things."
"No. I considered that option, but... it doesn't seem suitable for me. Since my magical capacity seems insufficient, I'm focusing on compensating for that. My goal is to create a front line that won't break even if five Nezras attack."
"Planning to stop five Swordmasters? That's ambitious."
"A man's dreams should be big! And I'm good at dreaming! When you visit my territory next time, I'll definitely show you something impressive."
"Alright. I'll look forward to it."
While Sirien and Baron Esquente conversed, my gaze turned to Kariet.
At the end of my line of sight was a silver rosary. It signified faith in Order.
It didn't seem particularly rare—you could see such items commonly enough anywhere.
Eligos's display of holy power had been bothering me, so I'd become increasingly interested in religion lately.
I never thought I'd start studying at this point in my life.
I spoke to Kariet first.
"I see you're a believer in Order."
"Yes. My family has been devout believers for generations."
"The Order sect seems to have many such followers."
"Well, we're influenced from birth. Following my parents from childhood naturally led me to devote myself to Order."
Each of the five sects of the Pantheon had its own characteristics.
It was natural for believers to differ according to doctrine. Just as soldiers most often worshipped the God of War, the God of Order was typically followed by those connected to public service.
There was a sense of trustworthiness in their emphasis on discipline.
In truth, being a believer in Order didn't necessarily mean one was honest, but there was a perception that they at least kept their promises.
The blind spot was that they prioritized commands and regulations over morality.
Direct and clear regulations took precedence over vague principles.
I'd heard that orders from the upper echelons of the sect were absolute.
Orders from the Holy One or those delivered through sacred objects could completely override individual will.
In the original story, the "death squad" of the Holy One of Order had grabbed my ankle at a critical moment.
It was quite a heroically described scene, but... from the perspective of being on the receiving end, it was certainly troublesome.
"Do you know anyone in the sect?" I asked.
"No, I don't. I've had remarkably little connection. The most I've received was an official letter through the Pantheon recently."
"I see. I heard you declined."
"Yes. The expedition was successful regardless. Considering Gamigin's scale, avoiding further friction seemed the right choice."
"Indeed, just dealing with Eligos was a great achievement. Thanks to that, the Northern Front has received quite a boost."
Walking through the territory, we passed the garden into the castle, through the corridor, and entered the conference room.
The reason we had called Baron Esquente here was, of course, about Eligos's holy power.
We wanted to know if there had been similar cases on the Northern Front, and even if not, we wanted to utilize the Baron's intelligence network.
In the end, we hadn't reported Eligos's holy power to the central government.
Besides the problem of whether the central political circle would believe us without evidence... there was also an issue of trust.
"Don't trust the Pantheon too much."
The Crown Prince's subtle warning flashed through my mind.
Since this was related to divinity, if a report went up, the Pantheon would certainly intervene.
As this wasn't a matter to take lightly, we planned to investigate internally for now.
So we intended to share this only with Baron Esquente.
Kariet was also someone who needed to be kept in the dark. There was no immediate need to suspect him, but no reason to trust him either.
Outside the conference room, Sirien smiled brightly.
"Since the Northern Front is short on funds, you'll probably welcome what I have to say."
"What? When the Holy Maiden says something like that, I can't help but get my hopes up. Am I about to receive an enormous amount of gold? Enough gold to swim in?"
"I'm not sure about swimming... but your funding will certainly open up. Our merchant guild now has the flexibility to move money."
I recalled that the Baron's territory was in a tight financial situation.
We needed a reason to call Esquente here, and this seemed to work out well.
Throughout history, there's one truth that never changes:
Money is always right. Most problems that money can't solve occur because there isn't enough of it.
Who was this woman before me?
Sirien Ilensia. In the original story, she had nearly seized control of the Empire with her overwhelming business acumen.
Now that she had wings on her back, she was ready to soar.