"I'm starting to believe you, Denken." Gut walking ahead said in a low voice.
"Although there are still some doubts that confuse me, at least I believe your arrival wasn't your own intention."
Denken following behind carefully held the "great gift" the Empire had prepared for Serie with both hands, but his tone was relatively easygoing, as if he were chatting casually with a friend.
"If Mr. Gut has any confusion, please feel free to tell me directly."
"Lernen and I have frequent correspondence, and he's mentioned you many times in his letters."
"Based on his description of you, I think we should get along well."
"Is that so?" Gut raised an eyebrow lightly, not acknowledging Denken's attempt to draw closer, but taking advantage of his willingness to answer questions to ask:
"What's the real situation with the association's Äußerst branch construction?"
"Don't repeat Lernen's answer. I know you stood outside the reception room door for a while earlier and heard his account."
"What I want to hear is your answer, or rather, the Empire's answer."
"Mr. Gut, asking this way—do you not trust your junior brother?"
Denken didn't immediately provide an answer, but instead asked Gut back with interest.
"Of course I trust Lernen." Gut said with certainty.
"It's just that you also know my junior brother has never been good at dealing with undercurrent matters."
"Like junior sister's Dalemons Merchant Association."
"As a local merchant association based in the Central Nations, even though they often cross mountains to conduct trade with the Northern Nations, their sphere of influence is ultimately limited."
"Being able to get top carpenter teams from the Lant Region and quality textile and ornament craftsmen from Neutrall Bay to make time to help, while somewhat beyond the association's normal capabilities, can at least still be explained."
"But even the Nokamm Knights active on the Northern Highlands came, escorting a group of skilled blacksmith masters and stonemasons."
"This point makes it hard for me not to be suspicious."
"If junior sister's Dalemons Merchant Association could truly extend its influence to the Empire's doorstep, with enough clout to get the actual administrators of the Northern Highlands, the Nokamm Knights, to mobilize craftsmen from their territory and transport them over within a day or two, then the association's headquarters wouldn't have been so easily destroyed by demons."
"Behind this matter, there must have been the Empire's behind-the-scenes push, right?"
"Correct."
Without denying or making excuses, Denken directly admitted it.
"Although this matter didn't go through my hands, I've heard about it."
"During the construction of the Continental Magic Association - Äußerst Branch, the Empire did indeed take some action."
"I guess it was probably to infiltrate some informants, investigate the association and collect personnel intelligence, to gain an advantage in this diplomatic mission."
"I see."
After hearing Denken's quite sincere confession, Gut nodded.
This account basically matched his own speculation.
"What about Lernen's flash marriage? Wasn't that also orchestrated by the Empire?"
"Mm..."
On this question, Denken rarely fell silent for a moment, then said: "I feel it's unlikely."
"How so?" Gut pressed for details.
"Mr. Gut, you may not have spent enough time with Lernen to understand one characteristic of his personality."
"What characteristic?"
Driven by curiosity, Gut stopped walking and listened seriously.
"Stubborn, or rather, extreme."
"?!"
"Hard to understand, right?"
"After all, in daily life, Lernen is such a gentle and introverted young nobleman, yet I'm describing him with such words."
Denken, seeing the surprise in Gut's eyes, couldn't help recalling some past events.
"Some past matters involve Lernen's personal privacy, so it's inconvenient for me to reveal them to you."
"But regarding his choice of lover, to dispel your doubts, I can give you a little inside information."
"Speak up, speak up."
Gut leaned his ear over, eagerly ready to "taste" this new "gossip."
"Lernen's lover—no, now she should be called his wife—is actually a mercenary lady."
"Hard to imagine, right? Someone like him would suddenly fall for a warrior with a warm, outgoing personality who does things carelessly."
"Forget about the Empire's special departments—even I, who know him well, never thought of this."
"In my view, most people's view, and even Lernen's past view, his other half should have been a noble lady."
"Even though the current Lernen has been expelled from the Imperial Capital, his family's influence remains. Even if he can't choose from the Imperial Capital's noble circles, there are still many choices among rural nobles and declining nobles."
"I think even if the Empire's special departments truly had plans, they would have selected candidates from the above range."
"That's not wrong." Gut stroked his chin. "But Denken, at most this counts as love at first sight for Lernen."
"Why would you use 'stubborn' and 'extreme' to describe him?"
"Mm... this involves some details."
"Tell me in detail."
"Alright." Denken adjusted his monocle and asked Gut: "Guess how long it took Lernen from romance to marriage?"
"How long? Two months?"
Denken shook his head.
"Then... one month?"
Denken shook his head again.
"Less than a month? It couldn't be just a few weeks, right?"
Denken repeated the head shake once more, but didn't let Gut continue guessing, instead directly giving the correct answer.
"From their first meeting, Lernen used only three days total."
Gut: ???
"It's said that the sweet words Lernen spoke at that time made even the mercenary lady who frequented taverns blush red all over, and she dazedly fell for him, going to the church with Lernen three days later to announce their marriage."
At this moment, Gut finally understood why Denken would use "stubborn" and "extreme" to describe Lernen, and why he was certain that junior brother's other half wasn't an agent planted by the Empire.
Because the Empire's special departments would need to be logical when arranging such things.
Whether it was the agent's identity selection, or the encounter and romance format with Lernen, everything had to be cautious, cautious, and more cautious.
But reality was far more magical than rational planning.
Like junior brother's sudden "episode"—expecting the Empire's special departments to master this personality trait that even Gut didn't know about to arrange a coincidental meeting was really asking too much.
Actually, saying he completely didn't know wasn't quite right either.
After Denken pointed out this personality trait of Lernen's, Gut suddenly thought of something that happened in the future plot.
The elderly Lernen seemed to be stimulated by a few words from Teacher Serie.
So he developed the idea of killing Frieren, using this method to make the teacher remember him forever.
The key was that in his episode, he really dared to think and act. After asking about the route to Frieren's residence in the morning, and learning in the evening that Frieren had been "expelled" from the association by the teacher and banned from entering for a thousand years, he directly went to kill her.
It could be called "hearing the Way in the morning, dying in the evening is acceptable."
Looking at it this way, although both junior brothers were introverted, Lernen and Zenn still had considerable differences.
Especially Lernen's "stubbornness and extremeness"—he'd need to be careful to help control that in the future.
But setting aside these future matters, after Gut and Denken discussed their mutual friend, their relationship inevitably grew closer.
Considering that throughout this journey, Denken's attitude toward the Empire hadn't been so loyal, plus the atmosphere had become familiar, Gut simply stopped one block away from Lecker's restaurant, pulled Denken aside and expressed the association's attitude.
"Denken, we've chatted quite pleasantly along this way."
"You haven't overly considered your position as an Imperial official, and the content of our conversation has been quite sincere."
"Therefore, I'll also reciprocate, conveying the Association's attitude on this matter to you in advance."
"Teacher Serie will not personally attend the Empire's banquet invitation. This point won't change no matter what your delegation says."
"However, teacher will fully delegate to me, having me as the chief disciple accompany you back to the Imperial Capital to receive His Majesty the Emperor's personal inscription on her behalf."
"This is the Continental Magic Association's bottom line, so please reduce unnecessary arguments when we go in later."
"After this long journey over mountains, teacher and the others are quite tired."
"I see." Denken nodded, not showing any sign of difficulty.
The Association's bottom line basically matched his estimates, which was also the minimum completion standard the Empire had set for this mission.
That is, even if they couldn't invite the great mage Serie, they at least had to bring someone of sufficient weight who could fully represent her.
And Gut exactly met this standard.
Denken understood that such mutual compatibility was no coincidence, but tacit understanding reached between two powers without words.
If either side could gain more benefits on this foundation, it would be a great achievement.
This was also the hint given to Denken by His Majesty the Emperor's close ministers before departure.
If Denken could persuade Serie to come, then the rewards prepared for Denken at the celebration banquet would go up another level, possibly even directly elevating his noble rank and becoming one of His Majesty the Emperor's close ministers.
But clearly, such ambitions were destined to fail from the start.
Because contrary to Imperial expectations, there was no room for further discussion.
Unable to achieve the desired outcome, he could only obtain Serie's trust and that of her representatives as much as possible, which could also be considered progress.
Since he'd already been clear about this from the start, Denken didn't feel regret about the current developments.
What he truly regretted was that there would be no chance to overthrow the Empire's existing system through cooperation this time.
But regardless, for the current him, "appropriate" was better than "excellent."
Even if he couldn't obtain the treatment befitting great achievements, at least he wouldn't fall into a position that His Majesty couldn't tolerate.
"Alright." Denken extended his palm, saying: "Mr. Gut, it seems we'll be spending more time together."
"Mm..."
Shaking hands with Denken, Gut didn't know what to say for a moment.
Logically he should be happy, since this spared his teacher from a tedious tug-of-war negotiation.
But wasn't Denken's attitude today a bit too friendly? Not competing or fighting at all in the negotiation, not quite like what an ambitious person should display.
Denken probably saw through Gut's strangeness and spoke:
"I guess you're probably wondering why I'm being so agreeable?"
"Exactly." Gut said frankly. "If I didn't know that you and your wife Lektüre have an excellent relationship, I'd even suspect there was something beyond friendship between you and Lernen."
"Heh." Denken curled his lips, finding Gut's speculation somewhat speechless.
"Mr. Gut, your imagination is truly rich."
"But for now, oh right, you'll never have such stirring-the-pot thoughts in your lifetime."
"Fine, you understand." Denken said loudly, considering Gut's feelings.
After all, if things went smoothly, they'd be traveling together soon. Better not to sour their relationship.
Before Lernen expressed his sexual orientation hesitantly, he also explained why he'd been so laid-back on this trip.
"Because the current you isn't lacking achievements. Sometimes, going too far is as bad as not going far enough."
"I see."
Thinking of Denken's recent establishment of great military achievements at the border, Gut instantly understood.
Such things were not uncommon even in ancient feudal dynasties of his past life.
When generals returned victorious from frontier battles, what they feared most was achieving new merits before rewards were even distributed. "Rewards have their limits," "Titles have their limits," "Suspicion between ruler and minister"—those phrases weren't empty talk, but written in the blood of countless heroes.
Therefore, many generals would deliberately make mistakes or appear less outstanding after achieving merit.
What Denken was doing now was "appearing less outstanding."
He could even bring Hafka back, which could be considered "making a mistake."
Understanding Denken's mindset, Gut completely relaxed, patted Denken's shoulder and joked:
"His Majesty really sent the right person."
"Yes." Denken sighed heavily.
"Whether you invite Lady Serie back or not, it's all 'appropriate' for His Majesty. Your candidate selection is truly 'appropriate.'"
Denken was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "That's true."
"Let's go then, accompany you to meet teacher."
"Oh, by the way, what exactly is in that big gift box you're carrying?"
"That." Gut stroked the gift box's rough packaging. "You'll know in a moment."
"I guarantee it will be very meaningful to Lady Serie."
"That's truly anticipated."
A few minutes later, Lecker's restaurant.
Chef Lecker, who had just finished preparing ingredients for the lunch rush in the kitchen and washed his hands intending to go out for a smoke, immediately encountered Denken leading Gut over.
"Hello there, Head Chef."
"Long time no see!"
Responding to Denken's cheerful greeting, Chef Lecker's face was stiff, forcing out a rigid smile in response before immediately retreating into the kitchen and notifying the restaurant's waitstaff to hurry to the market to buy ingredients.
In the kitchen, several idle cooks saw the head chef's formation and their eyebrows jumped violently.
"Again? Is that lady living outside the city?"
"Stop discussing, that person has returned."
"Boss, I want to take leave."
"Too late, even those with today off have been called in."
"Yes!!!"
Contrasting with the kitchen's wailing, the atmosphere at Hafka's table was quite peaceful.
Since Gut and Denken had reached an agreement at the restaurant, Denken wasn't anxious. He first exchanged pleasantries with everyone at the table, then expressed his purpose and handed Hafka the gift specially prepared by the Empire.
Hafka was about to reach out to take it, but the gift box was taken by another person first.
The person who took the gift box was Serie. Before the teacher could ask, I loudly said beside the elf: "Let me check if it's dangerous for you."
The elf smiled somewhat helplessly. Although she didn't think the Empire would use dirty tricks in such places, and even if they did, so what.
She wasn't one to guard against anything.
But in public places, Gut also didn't want to interrupt his disciple's good intentions, so he let Gut inspect the contents after opening it.
"Please, be gentle with your movements."
"That gift is antique-level."
Actually, without Denken's reminder.
The moment Serie opened the gift box, Gut's heart skipped a beat and he recognized what the Empire's gift actually was.
A book... a notebook dating to after the Unified Empire period.
And on the notebook's cover was signed Flamme's name.
"Heh." The elf chuckled coldly. "How interesting."
After taking the notebook, she flipped through a few pages before tearing it up and throwing it back in the box.
"Boring, really."
"So it was a fake."
Seeing Gut's disappointed expression, and his reaction to the surface damage, and immediately throwing away the fragments inside the box.
In the kitchen, several idle cooks looked at their head chef's state and immediately became alert.
"Again? Does that grandaunt live outside the city?"
"Stop talking, that person is back."
"Boss, you probably think of resignation."
"Old boss, even today's day-off people are being called in."
"Yes!!!"
"Ah."
Gut asked in a confused way, "Why didn't the teacher get angry?"
"Quite the opposite," Gut said in confusion. "Teacher seems to be in a good mood instead?"
Several moments later, watching them leave the restaurant, at that moment, Hafka was half a beat slower in recognizing what the Empire's gift actually was.
A book... a notebook dating to after the Unified Empire.
And on the notebook's cover was signed Flamme's name.
"Heh." Precise sharp laugh. "Truly interesting."
After taking over the notebook and flipping through several pages, she tore it apart and threw it back into the box.
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Powerstones?
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