The Mage's Trail

"Your Highness, Ms. Camilla has departed."

"I see."

I replied without looking back, continuing to flip through my books before a sudden thought struck me.

"Lola, has Ligeia been found?"

"Yes, but... she is unwilling to come here."

"Why?"

I set my book down and turned to question Lola.

She furrowed her brow slightly, looking troubled.

"Your Highness, she is a mage. Unlike magic casters, most mages are solitary and reclusive. Furthermore... they never involve themselves in national affairs and do not worship any gods, so..."

"You mean to say that neither kings nor gods can command her?"

"I am sorry, Your Highness... I hate to say it, but that is indeed the case."

Lola adjusted her glasses.

"Your Highness, from what I know, mages are all much the same. They almost never participate in any state matters."

"Hmm... well, if she won't come to me, then I shall go to her."

In the legends of old, even a great sovereign would visit a humble cottage three times to recruit a wise scholar. For me to go and meet her once is nothing.

Showing humility to recruit talent is a quality every monarch should possess.

"Where is she now?"

I stood up, straightened my sleeves, and adjusted my crown, preparing to meet this mage.

However, Lola's next words made my brow tighten.

"Your Highness, I am afraid it is too late for today."

"What do you mean?"

"This mage, Ligeia, lives on an unnamed hillside about a hundred and fifty miles outside the city. Her mage tower is located there as well."

"Far from the bustle of the world? That certainly sounds like something a master would do. Wait, was she not affected when the demon army attacked?"

Judging by the distance, her location seemed like it would have been right in the path of the invasion.

"Your Highness, mages generally do not intervene during large scale demon invasions. Furthermore, the demon army rarely attacks mages directly."

"Why?"

"Because mages are... very difficult to capture. Once offended, they are prone to long term retaliation. Even the demon army rarely provokes such troublesome entities."

That was certainly interesting.

"Prepare the carriage. Even if it is late at night, I will see this Ligeia today."

"Your Highness... there is still no news regarding the Garnet family matter. If you leave Brilliant City now, you might miss the optimal timing."

This... was indeed a bit difficult.

"Lola, I am leaving this in your hands. Remember, if the Garnet family wishes to 'appease' the anger of the Kingdom of the Sun, they must pay a heavy price in gold and land. Furthermore... Barry Garnet's entire lineage is to be implicated. Stripping Barry Garnet of his title is my absolute bottom line. How much more you can extract is up to you."

Taking down an entire main branch in one go would certainly enrage the nobility if I had no justification.

But now, diplomacy was no small matter... if the Garnet family wanted to quell the 'wrath' of the Kingdom of the Sun, they had to give something up, right?

If possible, it would be best to seize all the land and gold of the main branch for the national treasury. Of course, I knew the Garnet family would never do that willingly.

They would certainly transfer those assets before that happened.

But that was not the problem.

My biggest fear was... what if the Garnet family simply started acting like shameless rogues?

Killing them outright was impossible, as it would inevitably trigger a revolt from all the nobles.

I could not simply swing the executioner's blade so brazenly.

But if the Garnet family head came to me crying poverty, claiming the family lacked resources, that would be troublesome.

However, one thing was certain: the land and the titles must be surrendered.

If things went smoothly, I might even be able to take back Seaview City directly.

That was one of the ten most prosperous cities in the Kingdom of the Moon, acting as a bridge between the Kingdom of the Sun and our own, and it was a region rich in fishing.

It also served as a port for seafaring.

One could say its geographical advantage was exceptional.

"Lola, if the Garnet family refuses to give gold, then take back Seaview City. No... even if they offer more money, I want Seaview City back."

The Garnet family had been entrenched in the Kingdom of the Moon for so many years; it was time for them to give back to their Saintess.

"Your Highness, we cannot take back Seaview City."

Just as I was thinking about how to develop Seaview City to be even greater, Lola's words were like a bucket of cold water poured directly onto my burning ambition.

"Wh... Why?"

"Your Highness, currently, we do not possess the capacity for long distance city management. Even if we take it back, Seaview City will fall into chaos without proper administration. Furthermore, even if we force a reclamation... Seaview City is at the southernmost tip of our country. How exactly do you plan to govern it?"

Lola was right.

Although there was a high chance of taking Seaview City back this time, a problem arose.

How would I manage it?

What about daily public security?

What about communication with Brilliant City?

Even if I took it back, if something happened and my reach was too short to intervene, would that not be even worse?

I fell silent for a long time, looking at the serious expression on Lola's face, and finally admitted defeat.

"I was wrong. The current priority should still be road construction."

"It is the good fortune of the Kingdom of the Moon that Your Highness can view matters rationally."

"Yes. Go now. No matter what, we must secure enough profit this time. Additionally, the main branch of the Garnet family cannot remain. Stripping them of their titles is the bottom line."

It was unrealistic to think I could kill off this great family that had been rooted in the Kingdom of the Moon for centuries in one blow.

However, cutting off the direct lineage would deal a massive blow to the family!

The benefit was that I would gain the resources from the compensation.

At the same time, it would serve as a warning to the other nobles. Although the Kingdom of the Moon operated under an enfeoffment system, there was still a massive entity above them. On their own, no noble could hope to contend with the Eight Nations of the Holy Church.

And the final point, which I hoped for most, was internal strife within the Garnet family.

Wherever there are people, there are schemes, and humans are creatures exceptionally skilled at infighting.

When the direct line of the Garnet family was stripped of their titles and lands, those vast, empty territories would naturally attract the attention of the other branches.

Everyone would want to swallow that choice piece of meat, and the Garnet family would inevitably fall into internal conflict!

No one expected the direct line to suddenly fall, so no one would be prepared in advance, and they would be unable to agree on who the vast lands should belong to.

The world flocks where profit leads and the world scatters when profit bleeds.

With such massive gains dangled before those branches, how could they not be tempted?

And the other nobles would be just as tempted.

In this way, the waters of the entire aristocratic circle would be thoroughly muddied.

Within the Garnet family, they would have to fight each other while also uniting to guard against external enemies.

At that time, they would surely look for a powerful ally.

However, the other nobles could not be their allies, because those nobles were also eyeing their land.

Thus, their only option would be to find someone powerful who would not seize their land to act as their backer.

In the Kingdom of the Moon, the only one who fit that description was... me!

Aside from me, they would find no other power capable of protecting them.

Therefore, they could only turn to me.

By then, the initiative would be in my hands, and I could deal with them however I pleased!

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lola nodded and then glanced at Nara.

"Nara, Her Highness rarely leaves the city. Go and make preparations. I will also inform Knight Hilda. When Her Highness travels, she must have at least two Guardian Knights by her side."

"There is no need for such a grand display. I am simply going to visit this Ligeia."

It was just a visit to a mage; was all this really necessary?

However, Lola stared at me intently.

"Your Highness... please conduct yourself with dignity. You are the only hope of the Kingdom of the Moon. You are the Saintess and the Queen. If you do not care for your own safety, how can you hope to rebuild this nation?"

"...I am sorry."

Facing the suddenly assertive Lola, I realized upon second thought that she was doing this for my own good.

Sigh... having such a capable subordinate is unexpectedly exhausting at times.

Soon, Lola summoned Hilda, and together with Cain, they led a force of five hundred fully armed knights.

The accompanying nuns numbered over thirty.

There were fifty priests.

Ten carriages.

Fifteen hundred soldiers.

The total exceeded two thousand people, a solemn and majestic procession with banners fluttering in the wind.

A large flagpole carried a black flag emblazoned with a white moon.

When I saw this long, winding dragon of a procession arrayed before the Temple...

My companions and I were stunned!

Was there really a need for such a fuss?

It was just a trip out of the city!

Are you planning to take me to a grand coronation at the summit of a holy mountain?

I looked back at Lola, who wore an expression that said this was only natural.

"Your Highness, as a monarch, you naturally require such a display. Otherwise, you will be looked down upon by the other nobles. Furthermore... this way, the mage Ligeia will find it difficult to refuse your visit to her face."

Well... she had a point, but if the other party really did refuse, where would I hide my face?

Forget it. Since the troops were already mobilized, I shouldn't waste their energy.

"Let's go."

I boarded the Saint's Carriage, and Nara followed me inside.

Pulling back the curtain, I looked at the sea of people in the long procession. Among them was an exceptionally conspicuous tall figure, a two ton frame clad in the same armor as the other knights.

Even though the other knights were mounted on horses, Sake's prominent physique and the two horns atop his head stood out vividly.

No matter how you looked at it, it was an incredibly jarring sight.

"What is that big oaf doing in the knight's ranks? Call him over."

A moment later, Sake walked over. Already weighing over two tons, with the addition of that suit of armor, he likely approached three tons now.

I could see the stone tiles on the ground trembling as he walked.

I was truly afraid he might accidentally crush one of them.

That's my money!

Be careful!!

Since becoming the Saintess and learning about the current state of the Kingdom of the Moon, I had become increasingly fond of money.

Sigh.

"Nara, take a note. Remind me to have Lola discuss things with Camilla later. We should use her special adhesive to reinforce the ground and city walls within the city."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Perhaps seeing how much I relied on Lola, Nara, despite her somewhat scatterbrain nature, now carried a small notebook and mimicked Lola, recording my instructions one by one.

This did have its benefits; no matter how scatterbrained she was, she wouldn't forget my orders.

I should promote this in the future; all officials must carry a small notebook.

"What has Ella been doing lately?"

Speaking of which, Ella was the nun I suspected of being a spy sent by the Pope. When she was first chosen, it was only because of her steady personality.

However, after spending time with her, I now felt she was more likely an undercover agent sent by the Pope.

"Ella has been perfectly normal lately. Nothing strange seems to be happening."

Nara was unaware of my suspicions. After all, she was on good terms with Ella, and if her big mouth accidentally let something slip, it would be even more troublesome.

"Hmm, that's good then."

The carriage slowly set into motion, the sound of clashing armor rising and falling.

Sake followed behind the carriage. Though he looked out of place, he provided security.

Even if the old bull didn't have a title, he was at least a level fifty powerhouse and a member of the beastmen; his melee capabilities were top tier.

At a critical moment, he could react in time.

As for Hilda and Cain, the two of them led the way at the front and rear, ensuring the safe progress of the column.

Come to think of it, I hadn't encountered many level fifty powerhouses so far, and each one was quite famous.

Camilla, the President of the Kingdom of the Moon Alchemists' Association.

The Guardian Knights.

And this old bull behind me.

Given the population base of over a million in Brilliant City, reaching level fifty was truly no small feat.

As for me, I was still level six, unchanged.

Of course, physical training would definitely be put on the agenda, but even so, the leveling speed was far too slow.

I had to find a way to increase my leveling speed.

Based on the current situation, the best method would be to visit the border and lead an army to victory; that would surely bring me a massive amount of experience points.

But with the Kingdom of the Moon facing internal and external troubles, if I left Brilliant City with no one to oversee the big picture, the results would be even worse.

So many things were right in front of me, yet there was no time to deal with them.

Time... there was still too little of it.

The most urgent matter now was to get road construction underway. The money would definitely be in place, and the funds would be sufficient.

Furthermore, I wasn't worried about a financial crisis.

This wasn't about printing money, but spending it. As long as I didn't spend more than a certain limit all at once, it wouldn't trigger a crisis.

But I also needed a large supply of materials.

This was a backward era. If one region suddenly had too much money, it could easily cause a localized financial crisis.

Because of the lack of convenient transportation, the price of goods and money between the inside and outside would present a discordant ratio.

To put it simply, if I suddenly had a large sum of money but the materials in the city remained unchanged, and I spent all that money to buy grain, the price of grain would certainly skyrocket.

The purchasing power of money would then drop lower and lower over time.

Because materials would be scarce while money was plentiful.

Until the next batch of materials entered the city, this situation would persist.

This would cause great trouble for the citizens, so I could not let this money flow into the hands of the common people.

I would trade directly with other cities.

Then, I would use the materials bought with that money to strengthen ourselves.

Ultimately, while money is useful, it is merely a unit of measurement.

Money itself has no inherent value; what has value are the materials that can be measured by money.

"Nara, take a note. Tell Lola to contact the other great nobles later. We need to prepare for large scale purchases of grain, ironware, horses, and clothing."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Nara picked up her small notebook and wrote it down.

As I sat lost in thought, a long time passed, and the distant horizon was already stained with a hint of twilight.

Finally, Hilda's report came from outside the carriage.

"Your Highness, the mage tower is now in sight."

"Good. Increase the speed. I want to see her before the sun sets."