The burly man was none other than Nalant's good-for-nothing old man, Baron Andrew.
Andrew held the giant axe his youngest son had just given him, his gaze sweeping across the hall.
Soon, Andrew spotted Aldin standing in front of the civil officials.
"Aldin, how dare you frame my Nalant? I'll cut you down today!" With a deafening roar, the Battle Qi of the Silver High-Rank Knight surged wildly through Andrew as he charged toward Aldin.
Bang!
In just a few breaths, Andrew had reached Aldin. Aldin was only a Silver Initial-Rank Knight. Seeing an axe blade larger than his own head, he immediately turned and fled.
Andrew's massive axe blade missed and struck the floor, splitting the hall's exquisite marble tiles into pieces.
"Aldin, you won't escape me today!" His first strike had missed, but Andrew continued the chase.
"Your Lordship, help! Andrew's gone mad!" Realizing he couldn't outrun Andrew, Aldin immediately changed direction and ran toward the raised platform.
The count looked at Andrew, who was glaring furiously, and felt a headache coming on.
He'd planned to placate the old friend after everything was over, but he hadn't expected him to arrive so quickly.
"Aldin, you had the guts to frame my Nalant. If you've got the nerve, stop hiding!"
"Andrew, calm down first!" Aldin had already reached the count's side, and at last the count spoke up.
"Your Lordship, I'm guilty, but first I'm going to kill that bastard Aldin. You can deal with me however you like afterward!" Andrew hadn't gone up onto the platform. He stood at its edge, glaring at Aldin.
"Andrew, hasn't anything happened to Nalant yet? Don't get worked up. I'll give you an explanation shortly." The count had no choice but to tell a servant standing at the side of the hall, "Hurry and bring Baron Andrew a seat!"
"Hmph!" Only then did Andrew glare hatefully at Aldin before putting away his giant axe and walking over to sit down.
Once Andrew had settled in, the count thought for a moment before speaking. "The Land of Misfortune is simply too dangerous. Nalant may have survived this crisis, but if Dark Creatures appear again, his life could be at risk. I've decided to choose a new fief for Nalant. Andrew, what do you think?"
"Thank you, Your Lordship!" Andrew's expression finally softened.
"Huh?" This time, Thomas was the one left dumbfounded. He hadn't expected his lord's prediction to come true: the count really was going to grant him a new fief.
"What is it, Steward Thomas? Is there something you'd like to say?" Everyone looked at Thomas in confusion.
"Your Lordship, it's like this: before we set out, Lord Nalant instructed me that he didn't want to change fiefs!"
"What? He doesn't want to change fiefs? Why would Nalant say that? Has he grown fond of the Land of Misfortune?" Andrew immediately grew uneasy. He knew his second son's temperament better than anyone.
His son had always been timid and weak. Though somehow, this time, he'd managed to slay two Second-Tier Dark Creatures.
But Andrew couldn't believe his youngest son would choose to stay in the Land of Misfortune.
"Lord Andrew, Lord Nalant said so himself! He said that others saw Storm Territory as the Land of Misfortune, but to him it was a Land of Good Fortune, because he was a lord blessed by the God of Glory!"
Pfft!
As soon as Thomas finished speaking, everyone in the hall struggled to hold back their laughter.
The Land of Misfortune had become a Land of Good Fortune?
Then what did that make their own territories? A divine paradise?
And that last claim—surely no noble would dare boast so shamelessly in front of others!
Even the usually dignified count struggled to hold back a laugh.
"Haha! My lady, that second son is hilarious! He actually said he was blessed by the God of Glory!" Lina craned her neck to listen to the conversation in the hall, then burst into laughter.
A faint smile appeared on Stella's usually placid face as well. In this world, servants might spend all day praising their masters with that phrase.
But no noble would ever say outright that they were blessed by the God of Glory. That would be far too shameless.
Andrew swept his gaze over the civil officials in annoyance, and they quickly stopped laughing.
Then Andrew took a deep breath to suppress his anger and looked at Thomas. "Then tell me, how did Storm Territory become a Land of Good Fortune? If you don't have a good enough reason, I'll make the decision here as his father and accept the count's offer to give him a new fief!"
Naturally, Andrew didn't believe that the Land of Misfortune had become a Land of Good Fortune.
Everyone looked intently at Thomas, too. They wanted to know what made Storm Territory so fortunate. Was it because Dark Creatures often invaded?
"Lord Andrew, after arriving in Storm Territory, Lord Nalant was fortunate enough to obtain two Sprites!" Thomas replied respectfully.
"What? He obtained two Sprites in a single month?" The people who'd been looking forward to a good show were stunned.
"One was a Purple Sprite and the other a Yellow Sprite. The Purple Sprite found a place to live in Swordwood Forest, while the Yellow Sprite produced salt!"
Of course, the Yellow Sprite was a lie Nalant had told Thomas to cover up the fact that he was getting salt from the sea.
"Gasp! Swordwood Forest and a salt mine?" Everyone in the hall sucked in a breath. This was just too fortunate!
Both salt and Swordwood were things that were always in demand.
"Steward Thomas, is that true? Nalant obtained two Sprites? A Sword Wood Sprite and a Salt Mine Sprite?" Andrew's eyes widened.
"Yes, Lord Andrew. That's why Lord Nalant said he doesn't want to change fiefs!" Thomas nodded earnestly.
Andrew fell silent. It really was an extraordinary stroke of luck.
Besides, if Nalant changed fiefs now, he might lose both Sprites.
Once a Sprite had been used, it would always produce the same thing from then on. If its location changed, nobody knew whether it would still work.
Take the Sword Wood Sprite, for example. If you moved it to a different fief with no Swordwood growing there, it would be useless from then on.
The Salt Mine Sprite was even more unpredictable. You could see a Swordwood Forest, so it was easy to tell whether there was one on the land.
But no one could be sure that the Sprite would still be able to produce salt after being moved to a different fief.
Only unused Sprites could take effect randomly, no matter where they were.
"Alas!" Andrew let out a soft sigh. He no longer knew whether it would be better to have Nalant change fiefs or let him remain in Storm Territory.