In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 263

Chapter 263: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Feast

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Even though there were a few minor hiccups, the welcome banquet proceeded smoothly. Alongside the elves’ specialty potato soup, dishes such as canned boiled chicken that we had brought with us were also served, and they were well received. Naturally, alcohol was served as well.

That said, even if it was called a banquet, it was not a friendly, relaxed affair like one held among close companions. In reality, it was a meeting with the “new” leadership, and every topic discussed was extremely serious. The atmosphere was that of a preliminary round before a three-party conference.

“I still think it would be better for you all to start some kind of business,” I said.

While sipping little by little at the elf liquor made from potatoes, I made that suggestion to the elves. I wanted them to return to a self-sufficient way of life as quickly as possible, but clearing the dense forests of Liseben to open farmland was no small undertaking. For a while, there was no choice but to supply food from outside.

But money was necessary for that. Even if we covered the costs for the time being, it would be a problem for them to rely on us forever. Chancellor Adelaide was one of the wealthiest people in the Kingdom of Galea, but even so, she did not possess truly limitless funds.

“I get what you’re sayin’, and as for us ourselves, our pride won’t let us depend entirely on others. But business, you say… right now in Elfenia, it feels like there ain’t really any seeds for business,” one of them said.

“There ain’t no specialties, and there ain’t no food. All we got is trees and tough folks! Wouldn’t it be better to be bandits than merchants?” another added.

The elf clan heads said such things with cups of alcohol in their hands. …Better to be bandits, huh. Well, until just recently, you all were bandits, weren’t you? Granted, since the empress was replaced by Lady Dalaiya, there had been no elf raids… but still.

“If you’ve got tough folks, that’s more than enough. Martial strength isn’t a bad commodity at all,” I said.

“That’s right. All elf warriors are formidable. If you sold yourselves as mercenaries, I think you’d be in high demand everywhere,” Sonia added in support of my words.

Incidentally, she was drinking hot water instead of alcohol. She was weak to alcohol, so on occasions like this she made a habit of not touching even a single drop.

“Well now, that does sound pretty good,” one said.

“Fightin’ on foreign battlefields does sound appealin’. Unlike Elfenia, there’ll be plenty of food and men. You could loot and capture all you like,” another said.

Just as I expected, the proposal of mercenary work got a fairly positive reaction. 

…But don’t casually talk about looting and capturing people at will, you barbarians. 

…Well, looting on the battlefield was commonplace in this world, even among non-barbarians. There was nothing to be done about that. In this world, proper international laws concerning warfare were still undeveloped, and suppressing atrocities such as looting depended solely on military discipline and individual ethics. What a headache.

“But if we go off to fight elsewhere, Elfenia’s defenses’ll be neglected. That’d be a real problem,” someone objected.

The one asserting that was a young clan head, though it was impossible to estimate an elf’s actual age from their appearance. She clearly didn’t trust us since she was glaring at us with suspicious eyes. She was probably imagining that we would cleverly lure the elf warriors out of the country with words, then seize the chance to invade and annihilate Elfenia. Well, I was a soldier myself. I did, at least in theory, consider plans like that.

However, if I were asked whether I would actually do such a thing, the answer was probably no. Methods that would leave lingering grudges were not cost-effective. My objective was to maintain security in Liseben, not to exterminate the elves.

“Still, if we just keep things as they are, we’ll only slowly bleed dry. I think we’ve got to start something new,” Lady Dalaiya said, twirling her right index finger in the air.

One of the clan heads let out a low groan and then drained her cup. Inside was Liseben’s local oat beer. For the elves, such popular, low-alcohol drinks were more appealing than expensive whiskey or brandy. Still, this really was a difficult issue for them as well. Ever since the days of the old Elfenia, it seemed they had pursued an isolationist-like policy. They probably had little to no experience trading with other countries.

Even when driven by necessity, starting something new inevitably gave rise to resistance in human society. Not everyone was capable of making rational, reasonable judgments… What a nuisance. I sighed, then took a bite of the skewered roast bird that I had received from Lady Vanka

“…Hmmm.”

Speaking of difficult, Lady Vanka herself was the most difficult of all. Ever since the banquet began, she hadn’t joined the conversation at all, silently drinking the wine we had brought. She gave off an atmosphere that made her hard to approach.

In any case, without understanding her objective, there was no way to act. The story was that Lady Vanka’s husband had been killed by the “legitimate” faction, so was her desire for revenge directed only at the “legitimate” ones? If so, was she harmless as long as we didn’t help the “legitimate” side…? Hmmm.

“……”

As I was lost in thought, Bishop Fiorenza gently patted my shoulder and smiled warmly. Apparently, she was telling me to leave it to her. As expected of a bishop, what a perfect unspoken communication. She saw right through my thoughts. We hadn’t been childhood friends for nothing.

Still, for now, it was better to prioritize dealing with the other influential figures of the “new” faction besides Lady Vanka. Unlike Lady Vanka, who had a troublesome background, these ones were still easier to handle.

When capturing an impregnable fortress, the first thing to do was to neutralize the surrounding satellite forts. By cutting off mutual support, you aimed to incapacitate the enemy’s main stronghold. This theory could be applied to interpersonal relations as well. For the moment, I would try to break down the radical elves who were likely gathered around Lady Vanka.

“Oh my, Clan Head-sama. Your cup is empty. Allow me to pour you some more.”

A young man in a server’s outfit slid up beside that young clan head. He was one of the male attendants we had brought along. Smiling brightly, he poured more alcohol into her cup.

“Ah, sorry ’bout that… gulg, gulg.”

The clan head downed the alcohol in one go, then slammed the cup onto the low table with deliberately rough movements. She then turned a loose, unguarded smile toward the male attendant.

“My cup’s empty again. Gimme another.”

“What a womanly way of drinking! As expected of the Clan Head-sama!”

With a glossy smile, the young man poured her another serving …Good, good. The effect was outstanding. Similar scenes were playing out all over the former Senate hall, now turned banquet venue.

Elves were weak to men. We had learned that in advance, so I had brought along a considerable number of male attendants on this journey. Of course, “attendants” was just a cover. Their true identities were male spies borrowed from Chancellor Adelaide. Their techniques were genuine. Given two or three days, they would probably have infiltrated the bedrooms of the influential figures. Seducing them while extracting information… What a perfect two-birds-with-one-stone strategy.

…But why did a virgin like me have to arrange other people’s sex lives, anyway? It was so unfair…

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