And when Konrad thought they couldn't surprise him anymore—
Gabrielle grabbed his arm and dragged him right back into those fancy royal halls.
"W-what?! We're not going back to Halaima yet?" he pleaded. "I had my duel. The Nobles saw me. Zoltan is fine, too. Do I have to partake in this ball thing any longer?!"
"Don't be silly," the angel said with the fakest of smiles. "The king holds it in your honor."
But if Ronald von Kasserlane wanted to honor him so much—
"Why can't he leave me alone?" Konrad moaned.
"This is a prime opportunity to get to know your peers, Master," Eyna offered, her voice much sweeter. But she didn't sound as honest as usual, either. "I wanted you to meet—"
"So you are, in fact, the White Mage now," a man hollered as soon as they entered the halls.
Had they met before?
The purple-eyed beauty seemed taken aback, but only for a second.
She cleared her throat and waved towards the stranger.
"Duke Cro Ashia," she announced. "And this might be the first time you've met, so this is Lord Konrad Halstadt. Duke of Halaima, Savior of the Realm, and, as you said, the new White Mage."
Cro Ashia? Right.
That was one of the first names they mentioned. And he had more or less forgotten the rest.
He was their benefactor, though. A trading partner of sorts?
"Allow me to introduce you to Lady Gabrielle von Halstadt-Schwertburg, too," Eyna continued.
Huh? The angel kept her alibi father's family name, too?
Quite the mouthful. But while Eyna's voice droned in the back of his mind, he was too busy measuring up this strange man. Didn't she also mention a different name?
Prince of Corn, or—
'Duke of Crows, you idiot,' Paula offered, the least friendly she'd been since he got her back.
But yeah, those words made a little more sense.
Not that he knew what they meant yet.
"And I saw you had a second wife, too," the man noted with a smirk. "But she disappeared?"
"Ah, right," Konrad mumbled. "She didn't feel well, and is taking her rest."
He fought the urge to correct him and say she was her first wife.
But for obvious reasons, Gabby didn't like it when he did that, and—
It wasn't all these strangers' business, anyway.
"Haha, quite the character you are, I see," Cro Ashia smirked. "A man coming from nowhere, becoming a noble, flips the table on the Church and takes two wives at once. I like it."
Ugh. Right. That wasn't exactly commonplace in Kasserlane's high society, either.
"Eyna told me you've been a valuable trading partner to my Kitsune Company," Konrad said. "I couldn't thank you in person until now, so I'm glad we have finally met."
Was that enough? This was his best attempt at making conversation so far.
He had no idea how to small talk, though, when it would involve nobles.
"Ah, that," the Duke of Crows noted. "No need to thank me for anything. I'm not doing it as a charity. I have a busy port and can handle imports and exports, and this little beauty here—"
Stepping closer, he'd play with Eyna's silvery-purple hair.
And Konrad felt as if he'd strike him with another lightning bolt with all his remaining essence.
"Wanted cheap imported food from the south and offered to pay the toll, so why would I have said no?" Cro Aisha finished, and—as their eyes met—he finally took a long step back.
What? Was he a mind-reader, too?
Because—it was high time he did that. But Konrad didn't say anything out loud yet.
'You were glaring at him, genius,' the parallel brain noted. 'And don't insult me now. No mind-reader could even hope to get through me, you know.'
Except the Crimson Mage, who even sealed her away before she realised.
'L-let's not talk about that,' Paula scoffed. 'How 'bout I tell you what this guy's thinking instead?'
Well, the truth was—Konrad didn't care.
He wanted to go home, start lying low, and—
Finally act like an actual Duke, running his duchy before winter set in in earnest.
"Anyway," Cro Aisha said, clearing his throat. "The next shipment will be the last before the winds change. But as promised, you'll have the first-buyer's privilege on all the goods."
"The Kitsune Company would like to buy all the food you can spare," Eyna replied, and—
Yeah, she also pushed closer to Konrad.
She was a warm and soft reminder that he had an actual trading company, too. And it employed eight thousand horse archers?! Ugh. He'd better look through those ledgers soon.
"And as for those bows," the noble added, lowering his voice. "They are quite popular overseas."
Oh. Those?
"Yes, they're all excellent quality," Konrad grunted. He sold them in bulk after disarming the nomads, but made sure no single entity could hoard too many of them at once.
He left clear instructions for Eyna before leaving for Earth, too, but—
"Tribes on the Southern Continent are willing to pay ten times their worth in small numbers."
Ah. Okay. Small numbers, check.
And that was far enough not to become a threat, anyway.
Or was it?
He needed a proper world map hanging in his new, lavish office soon.
But those things did not come cheap, and—
First things first, Halaima had to survive this coming winter.
So when he had to feed more than a hundred thousand extra mouths with no proper agriculture—yeah. He was willing to make a few compromises.
Heck, he would even force himself to try more small talk.
But if this uptight discussion didn't end soon, he might've actually fainted.
'Konrad Halstadt. The Master of Lightning and Avid Avoider of Conversations,' Paula laughed in his head. 'And here I thought you were a strange one when we met. Oh, I had no idea.'
"Ah, and I've put in a few good words for you with House Prone, too," Cro Aisha noted.
Another name? Uhh.
Rather than messing with him, his parallel brain should have helped.
'Sure, sure,' the voice offered. 'He means Lady Sophia Prone, the blonde you saw earlier.'
Right. She ran that Free City on the western borders, whatever that meant, but—
"I'm more than happy to trade with whoever you recommend, my good Duke," Konrad said with his best fake smile. "I've a good relation with merchants and always offer the best deals."
'Wait,' Paula muttered. 'You're actually serious—I've dove deep into your memories.'
Thank the spirits the Crimson Mage taught him how to seal her away.
'N-no, but like—traders called you the Prodigy of Haiten? For real?! And you struggle talking to these nobles here?' she yelped, giving him a sudden headache.
As if it were his fault she hadn't examined his childhood yet.
Not that he wanted her to, but—
'Peddlers are commoners,' Konrad pointed out. 'They are simple creatures. They want safe travels and high margins. And I always had a good idea about both. But these people—'
'Oh, yeah, this Duke of Crows is plotting seven different things involving you,' the voice noted.
And there. After she even admitted, why wouldn't he be nervous?!