The Damn Family Is Back Again

180. The Second Agent (1)

▶The Memorial has concluded.◀

▶Please choose your next destination.

[ 1. Brem’s House ]

[ 2. The second house to the right on Chatren’s 7th Avenue ]

[ 3. The Rusmayer Territory ]

[ 4. Karsein’s House ]

[ 5. Field No. 16 ]

[ 6. Ferdi’s Secret Base ]

…

The choice of the next agent depends on the destination.

To proceed with the next plan, the abilities of the second agent are necessary, and with time, the issues of Chatren will be fully surfaced.

In this process, the NPC I must register as an agent is a guard named Daik.

However, registering this agent is not easy.

Choosing an agent with the right abilities is important, but unlike Trisha, who was easily swayed to our side, this one won’t be so accommodating.

Among them, Daik belongs to a particularly troublesome category.

I have to visit him for days on end, triggering choices and progressing through sub-episodes to increase our intimacy. Only then, when the option to persuade him finally appears, can he be employed as an agent.

But now…

What I saw through the memorial…

As the status window had forewarned, the memorial I received as a reward revealed the past of the guard Daik.

There was no such setting when I played the game.

But now I know. I know what kind of person Daik is.

If I use that… If I utilize the information from the memorial.

Perhaps, I could bring Daik over more quickly?

“Brother? Why have you suddenly stopped? You said there was someone we were going to pick up.”

“…”

I stopped in my tracks and asked Ferdi.

“Ferdi. How is the quality of the strawberries and grapes currently being harvested in Chatren compared to the old days?”

“Well… To explain, Chatren grapes and strawberries are major specialties, so they are graded. The quality ranges from A+ to E-, and while in the old days, grades from A+ to C- were the main products, now it’s mostly D to E grades. Even D grades are not common.”

“How much is the yield compared to before?”

“It’s not exact, but roughly… about 20% of what it was during the peak times.”

The grades have fallen as they will.

The yield has dropped as it will.

Chatren strawberries and grapes have become that much harder to find.

‘But there’s still been a demand all this time?’

Then this memorial has given me invaluable information.

“Ferdi. Do you happen to know the current market price for Chatren strawberries and grapes?”

***

“Hey, it’s about time to get to work!”

“I know, I know~. But can’t we stay just a little bit longer?”

“Kid, are you slacking off?”

“We need to meet our quota. Otherwise, what will we eat and live on!”

The villagers laugh uproariously as they finish their snack time.

Those who rise from their seats are all uniformly dressed in newly distributed clothes.

“We’ve received these new clothes; we can’t just play around and not wear them.”

“That’s right. We’re even saving on medicine costs this way.”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? Just by receiving a new supply of clothes, the number of injuries has decreased so much.”

“Hey, it’s not just about the new clothes. We should be praising the person who made them!”

They chatter away as they return to their workplaces.

Before, they were people with bodies not fully healed, often injured here and there. Engaged in dangerous work, their clothes frequently torn or worn out, but not anymore.

It was just a change of clothes.

Yet, such a change has occurred.

“It’s fortunate. We have to keep the identity of the Plescia Guild hidden, so the fact that the lady made the clothes hasn’t been revealed… but at least we were able to deliver them to these people, right?”

Mina said to Harunie with a smile as she watched the scene unfold.

In fact, Harunie was taking a significant risk.

Despite needing to score higher than Belian at the symposium, the watchful eyes prevented the use of Plescia Guild’s power—a risk too great to ignore.

But somehow, things had worked out.

“At first, I wondered how you came up with such an idea. The Plescia Guild supplying to the Rusmayer side, and then Rusmayer Guild selling it to the territories… With Rusmayer being a hub of traffic, the high volume of trade makes it hard to investigate, so there’s no worry about getting caught!”

“You’re truly a genius, miss!”

Mina said, beaming with a broad smile.

But while she was making such a fuss, one would expect a response, yet there was none.

Wondering if something was wrong, Mina peeked out and checked for a reaction.

Harunie was staring blankly into space.

‘That same expression again?’

Lately, Harunie had been zoning out more frequently.

Whether working, eating, or reading reports.

Whenever there was a moment, there would be times of blank staring.

Feeling it couldn’t go on like this, Mina rolled up her sleeves.

“Hmm! I serve our lady! If there’s a problem, it’s the maid’s duty to solve it for her master!”

Mina’s principle was just that.

“Miss.”

“Huh?!”

Startled, Harunie jumped as a hand touched her shoulder.

“You scared me… How could you startle me like that?”

…Is that something to be startled about, Miss?

You’ve been chattering away for a while without any reaction.

Mina thought with a hollow look in her eyes. She considered pointing it out, but it seemed better not to. Seeing her so startled made Mina a bit more alert.

‘The Miss was like this when she returned from Lusmayer before.’

So the Miss’s concern is… because of one person.

“Did something not go well with Mr. Karsien?”

“What, what?! No, it’s not that!”

…Right. That’s it.

Thoughts of her fiancé.

It was definitely something related to Mr. Karsien.

“Tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”

“Nothing’s wrong. There’s nothing like that.”

“You say that, but you’re clearly troubled, Miss. You can’t fool my eyes.”

“…”

With a sharp intuition, Mina placed her hands on her waist and pressed further, causing Harunie to blink rapidly and avert her gaze.

“Miss? If you keep this up, I’ll have to ask Mr. Karsien directly?”

“Are you crazy? Why would you…!”

“It’s because of the symposium. If the two of you have entered into a collaboration, it’s not strange for the maids to ask around and share information, right?”

“Uh…”

Then Harunie spoke in a shrinking voice.

“It’s just, I feel like I’ve only been receiving too much.”

“What?”

“…The plan to manufacture clothes at the Plescia Company and deliver them to Lusmayer to transfer to my domain, it was actually Prince Karsien who planned it.”

Mina’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It’s not me. This domain is now, it’s being managed by Karsien, not me.”

Impossible. Mina was taken aback by the unexpected answer, and found herself at a loss for words too.

If what Harunie said was true, then Karsein was currently managing two territories all by himself.

“So… because I’ve only been receiving and it feels so strange… I feel like I need to give something back, but I just can’t…”

So that was it.

It seemed quite reasonable.

Shaking off the surveillance installed by the Count was virtually impossible, and for a noble lady with nothing in this territory, wielding any power was equally challenging.

Therefore, if there was an easy way out, it would undoubtedly be a collaboration with her fiancé…

But this was a collaboration where Karsein was unilaterally at a loss.

And since he had agreed to it, that’s why Harunie was so restless.

Understanding the cause and effect, Mina could now empathize with Harunie’s feelings.

After clearing up the misunderstanding, she had felt it from the first impression, but Karsein Vagrand was indeed a person of such upright character.

“Now that I see it, isn’t it quite obvious on the outside too?”

Slightly blushed cheeks and eyes darting to and fro.

Even the way she fidgeted with her fingers aimlessly, not knowing what to do.

She had always hated being entangled in such matters, so she had excluded that situation, but when she actually considered the evidence, it fit quite well. And very naturally at that.

Our young lady. She had been so innocent in this regard.

Perhaps because the initial symptoms were so blatantly obvious, it seemed to emit a fresh fragrance.

Watching her like this made one want to play a little prank.

“Miss, now that I think about it, didn’t Lord Karsein ask us to make a pot for planting Chatren strawberries in our territory’s soil for comparison?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“But when you think about it, there’s really no need to plant them here, is there?”

Mina lifted the corners of her mouth slyly.

“We could just transfer the soil and plant them there. Then we could learn how to plant them right next door. And if something goes wrong, it can be fixed immediately. Don’t you think?”

“…”

Harunie fell into contemplation once again.

To fall into contemplation. If she really had no thoughts on the matter, she would have drawn a line quickly, saying there was no need for that.

This one reaction made it all clear. Mina felt a warm breath escape from her nose.

Here, just a little. Just a very little push was needed.

“Chatren is in a bad situation, so there will definitely be something you can help with, Miss. Remember, you said before? Lord Karsein hardly sleeps.”

“Ah… that. I need to keep an eye on that. I wonder if he slept properly today.”

“So, please just give me the orders from Chatren. It’s not difficult to handle things with a representative, right? We have the collaboration agreement, after all.”

“Then… should I just take the soil and plant it?”

“Yes! Miss. Trying to offer something in return might look strange, as an engaged woman and her fiancé being apart can raise more suspicions, don’t you think?”

At that moment, the face Harunie revealed as she brushed her hair to the side was the most beautiful one I had seen today, no, ever.

The girl, realizing the unspeakable flutter in her heart, was naturally that beautiful.

“Yeah. I think you’re right, Mina.”

Mina wiped the sweat from her forehead, silently praising herself for accomplishing something significant.

***

One of the guards trudged over.

As he locked eyes with Daik, he bowed his head.

“Is it that time again?”

“It seems so. Sigh.”

His colleague, Frikte, plopped down right next to Daik.

“How can it be that something so trivial can’t be bought even with several months’ worth of guard salaries… Does that make any sense?”

“…”

“Hey. Daik. Say something. You’ve been here longer than I have.”

“Ha, damn. It’s the same crap for me too. What more is there to say?”

Daik was no different from Frikte.

“It’s unfair, but what can we do? The production isn’t what it used to be. The price has jumped so much, and since the demand is still there, guys like us are just dying off.”

“…Sorry. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.”

“No reason to say that. We’re in the same boat, after all.”

After an unprecedented poor harvest, the prices of Chatren strawberries and Chatren grapes skyrocketed.

With the price increase beyond imagination, Daik had no choice but to appeal to the Chatren estate for support, trying to secure a priority to obtain the Chatren strawberries somehow.

But still, he hadn’t managed to get his hands on a single Chatren strawberry.

Just one darn strawberry.

But one that was desperately needed.

The Chatren strawberries, having become a premium product for the nobility, were not an easy item to procure.