How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 7.2
He was one of the Empire’s five Sword Masters, someone Resena had relied on before her regression. Though they hadn’t spent much time together, he had protected her from monsters, helped restrain Eldis, and most importantly, was the first to agree with her that Lorona’s spirit of sacrifice was too extreme—someone with whom she truly connected.
‘It’s so good to see you after so long. Well, since my regression, there have been continuous incidents, so I didn’t have time to meet him. Nor did I have an excuse to seek him out…’
“Tch. Consider yourself lucky!”
“Oh my. Oh, thank you, noble sir. Thank you so much. Hey you, what are you doing? Thank the noble sir!”
“Th-thank you, noble sir!”
With a huff and a grumble, the disheveled nobleman turned and left, and the crowd slowly dispersed, whispering among themselves. Alken, who had been watching until the nobleman was completely out of sight, finally turned and helped the clerk boy to his feet.
“Are you alright? Are your injuries severe?”
“Oh no, Sir Knight. That barely counts as a hit. Anyway, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have been reported for insulting nobility and received lashes for hours.”
“Th-thank you, Sir Knight!”
When the clerk boy spoke quickly, the corners of Alken’s eyes curved gently.
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse. Still, the place you were hit will bruise, so I’ll give you an ointment. This will help the bruise disappear.”
“Th-thank you!”
As the clerk boy’s eyes welled up with tears, Alken gave a bitter smile. Then, extending his hand to pat the boy’s head, he turned his gaze toward the store.
“…!”
His eyes immediately met Resena’s. Alken seemed surprised for a moment, then soon smiled broadly. Resena smiled too, and they gazed at each other for a while.
‘It feels like meeting a close friend. I’m truly happy.’
“Alken.”
“Ah. Lady Resena.”
Resena walked over with clicking steps and stood before Alken.
“Alken. It’s been a while. This is the first time I’ve seen you since the last ball.”
“Haha. You call me by my name, showing such friendliness. I’m delighted.”
Resena smiled slightly.
“Well, good acquaintances like Alken are rare. I’d like to become closer. In the future too.”
“Hahah! It’s an honor, Lady Resena.”
Alken placed his arm across his chest and bowed respectfully. Then he raised his head and looked at Resena with sparkling eyes. Resena covered her mouth and chuckled.
“You can be more comfortable. Call me Resena.”
“How could I dare to do that?”
“Of course you can. I said I wanted to become closer. And thank you for protecting our store clerk. If it weren’t for you, Alken, the clerk would have been beaten countless times.”
“Haha, what I did wasn’t much.”
“It was something. Thanks to you, the clerk is safe. Plus, the store didn’t suffer any damage. It’s thanks to your appropriate handling. Thank you.”
Alken wore a gentle expression.
“I didn’t do anything extraordinary, but thank you for seeing it in a positive light. …I’m glad there was no further damage.”
“Heehee.”
“…And, I’m happy to be able to call you by your name. If you don’t mind, would you like to talk at a café nearby?”
When Alken asked refreshingly, Resena almost completely forgot she was in the middle of an inspection. She was about to agree without thinking, but then saw the store manager and remembered she was in the middle of an inspection. So with a smile, she quietly said.
“I can’t right now since I’m in the middle of an inspection… But I’ll be free in about an hour. How about we meet then at that café over there called ‘Spring’s Ode’?”
“That would be perfect. I happen to have some business nearby as well, so I’ll take care of it and come.”
“Heehee. Alright then. Let’s talk then. Thank you. See you.”
“Yes. Resena.”
Resena smiled and parted ways with Alken for a while. When she returned to the store, the manager was grinning broadly, patting the clerk boy’s shoulders and helping carry the goods.
“I think I need to hear from other managers as well. In any case, the biggest problem in this store is the price of fruits that weren’t pre-contracted… There’s no choice. Reduce fruit trading and sell other fruits first. And sell the fruits that have increased in price at the same price as before. Arnasus will pay the difference.”
“Oh my. Oh my, Miss. Thank you. Thank you!”
“Hmm. And when those fruit products are all sold, I’ll issue an order not to import any more, so when customers ask, honestly tell them that fruit imports have become difficult. I’ll let you know separately when the supply is secured again. Well then.”
“Thank you. Thank you, Miss. Take care!”
The clerk boy also said “Thank you!” while bowing deeply at the waist. Watching them, Resena looked at the two with gentle eyes before turning away.
“Luke, drive me to the other stores. Let’s start with the closest ones in this district.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Resena sank into deep thought inside the swaying carriage.
No matter how she thought about it, the timing was strange. There was no reason for Amarast to suddenly wage war.
‘Perhaps… a dark mage has infiltrated the royal family?’
Even with old grudges, the two kingdoms had sworn to forget past grievances when they signed the peace treaty 20 years ago. In the novel, when the peace treaty was just signed, some kingdom citizens and nobles rebelled against not taking revenge, but now after 20 years, there would hardly be anyone in Amarast who still thought about those grudges.
‘Could it really be that a dark mage infiltrated the royal court and planted thoughts of war in the king’s mind? It’s also strange that the prince is coming here personally to seek cooperation.’
It wasn’t as if the Crevasta Empire was situated between the Kingdom of Amarast and the Kingdom of Serma, so there was no reason for the prince to come requesting cooperation. If a dark mage had manipulated the royal court, it was highly likely that the prince had come to Crevasta to escape the control of the black mana.
‘If so… this seems to be connected to how His Highness Crown Prince Eldis has been eliminating many dark mages recently? If the dark mages avoided direct confrontation with the empire by seeking asylum in the Kingdom of Amarast, and in the process manipulated the royal court to increase casualties through war, it all fits perfectly.’
Her advice had once again changed reality.
Resena bit her lip firmly.
Unconsciously, she turned her head to look out the window. Just as the carriage stopped and the door opened, Resena gracefully stepped out with the escort of a knight.
“Miss! Welcome!”
“I’ve seen the report. It says the amount of obsidian produced in Amarast has drastically decreased, causing prices to skyrocket. Is that right?”
“Ah yes. Thank you for coming. That issue has been absolutely killing us.”
The manager led Resena inside with a miserable expression. Among the displayed processed gems, the space that should have been piled high with raw obsidian, which always sold in large quantities, was completely empty.
“As you know, there’s a legend that wearing obsidian during the Harvest Festival in autumn brings luck and fulfills wishes.”
“That’s right. That’s why obsidian has always been a well-selling product. So, has the import been cut off because of war preparations?”
“You’re absolutely correct. The Harvest Festival is on September 3rd, and reservation orders are flooding in, but we don’t have any raw stones to process. It’s driving me crazy. The raw stones are usually all imported by the end of July, but because of those damned war preparations…”
Resena slowly looked around the store. There was hardly any difference from when she had visited in her previous life, but the empty space felt particularly large because sales from obsidian accounted for half of August’s revenue.
‘Somehow, I need to stop Amarast’s war preparations.’
If dark mages were truly involved, the countless sacrifices made during the war would gather black mana to near-infinite levels. And that volume would be enough to bring to reality the “Demon King’s Advent” that Zergard spitefully recited while fleeing from Eldis in the final part of “The Name of Love.”
“So, even though we raised the purchase price of raw stones nearly five times, we still can’t buy any.”
