Claude hurriedly rose to his feet, saying he would go see whether he could find Henry any other delicious dishes and fruit.
Those were not words he should be hearing. Henry valued him, and he was grateful, but he could not be so tactless.
After Claude left, Glen lowered his posture considerably and said, "Henry, let what happened before be in the past, all right?"
"Of course. But I hope you leave this table. In front of outsiders, we are still academy students."
Henry shook his head. His impression of Glen had worsened and worsened, shifting from respect at the beginning to disdain now.
Glen nodded with a smile and got up to leave, but the smile vanished at once.
He had grown up in the Capital! He was the son of a court earl! Everything had gone smoothly for him since birth. Why should he let some brute swagger around in front of him?
So what if you can fight? What good is that?
Not far away, Fas noticed what was happening. He nudged Boman, signaling for the four of them to head over.
Before long, Bain and the others moved their eating contest to Henry's table, leaving Henry speechless.
"Bain, you're injured. That's too greasy, and drink less wine."
"I know, sir, but I'm about to finish my tenth chicken leg. I'm about to win!"
Henry shook his head and continued eating the steak on his plate. Fas, who had already given up on the contest, leaned over and asked quietly, "Had a falling-out?"
"You knew?"
Fas shook his head and smiled. "No one who came out of the academy is stupid."
"Yeah, no one in the academy is stupid, but he treated me like one."
Fas considered it, then said, "Glen's family is very influential, and his relatives hold high positions. He also had excellent grades in the academy. He's very arrogant."
"I was first place too! You make it sound like I wasn't."
Fas: ...
"Fine, fine, you were both first. I'm the only one in second... Henry, as a friend, I advise you to be careful. I don't know why you two fell out, but you must stay on guard."
"Thank you, Fas."
Soon, the big eater contest ended, with Bain winning once again.
Boman wiped his mouth and said with an unconvinced look, "Kid, I'm only slower because I'm older. If I were three or four years younger, I'd definitely eat faster than you!"
"Haha, you're only six years older than me!"
Boman turned away and ignored Bain, then asked Henry, "What are you planning next? Becoming some old grandpa officer in the Supply Convoy?"
"What else? I can't afford to lose any more men. We're not like the Imperial Legion, able to receive reinforcements without end.
"Besides, I have too few people I can trust. If I have too few men under my command, I'm worried someone will set their sights on my spoils of war. That's tens of thousands of Denars."
Boman and Fas nodded. They faced the same problem Henry did. Each of them had only a little over thirty men left, not enough to accomplish much of anything.
Boman was as optimistic as ever and suggested, "How about we join your Supply Convoy? The three of us can all be old grandpa officers!"
Fas ignored him entirely and reasoned, "We can actually leave the Legion and return to develop our fiefs. There's no need to waste time here.
"This war will definitely last two or three years. We can build up our strength and join the next major battle. The King will not allow the Pioneer Nobles' expansion to shrink.
"If the Border Line begins to contract, it means the thriving Empire has already passed its peak. Once the royal family's authority is questioned, the Empire's internal conflicts will erupt instantly."
Henry nodded. Fas's thoughts aligned perfectly with his own.
Lately, he had constantly wanted to chop at something. Yesterday's battlefield had already released the restless urge in his heart.
For the next period of time, they could return with their abundant spoils and build their fiefs, accumulating strength.
At the very least, Henry's gains this time could build nine six-hundred-man farmsteads! Of course, that was merely a straightforward way of putting it. Money was not meant to be spent like that.
The banquet continued until late at night before the nobles gradually departed. With no beautiful female companions, maids, or passionate and uninhibited dancers, many nobles had not enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
Henry and the others returned to their tents together and fell asleep the moment they lay down.
The next day, Henry received news that the Half-Orc prisoners of war would be sent back to the Capital for the King himself to deal with.
This would inspire more nobles to pursue military merit and glory, sending their surplus younger sons to become Pioneer Nobles.
Early that morning, Henry also went to find Sebastian and expressed his intention to leave.
"Knight Henry, you can stay. I will pay you one thousand Denars every month, and your private army can use the Legion's Military Provisions. That will be a great help to you."
"Thank you for trying to keep me, Legion Commander, but I've been away from my fief for too long. It has already been four months. I need to go back and take a look."
There were too many matters concerning the fief. Tommy could not possibly handle them alone, and the forty New Recruits Henry had left behind were practically a joke.
The merchants who had signed trade contracts, the castle Pedro had "given" him, and the cooperation with Earl John—he needed to return and handle all of it.
"All right, Henry. I regret this, but I'll pay you this month's wages... Are you leaving today?"
Henry straightened his Imperial Robe and nodded. "That's right. Knight Boman, Knight Fas, and I will leave together."
"That is probably for the best. It will be safer. Then I look forward to seeing you again, Henry Bro."
"So do I, Earl."
After receiving one thousand Denars in wages, Henry returned to the camp that had already been packed up and dismantled, then ordered Philip and Vasco, "Set off!"
Bain thought for a moment and asked, "Aren't we waiting for Knight Boman and Knight Fas?"
"They have fewer troops and even fewer belongings. They're already waiting for us outside."
And so, after four months of roaming about, Henry set off on the road home.
Compared with four months ago, Henry was wealthier, his troops were more elite, and overall, things were steadily improving.
"Hey! Henry! Over here!"
Mounted on horseback, Henry spotted Boman and Fas in the distance and led his troops over.
Boman rode over and looked over Henry's Skilled Infantry from left to right, his face full of envy.
"Henry, you really struck it rich this time. More than a hundred armored soldiers? Are you trying to become a Baron?"
Fas looked at Henry's long convoy of carts and was equally envious.
"All right, all right, stop pretending. Did you two earn any less? Having fewer goods doesn't mean you earned less money. Did you think I didn't know you dumped all your spoils of war on those nobles?"
"Haha, nothing gets past you. I was just thinking that once we get back, we can spend the money on developing our fiefs."
Fas rarely picked up where Boman left off. "That's right. The sooner we spend it, the sooner we earn it back. With large amounts of supplies flowing east, prices will definitely fall."
Henry smiled. This time, he was going to start buying, buying, buying!
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