I got quite the skeptical look from Lord Fenberg.

It seems he thought Irina bringing me to meet her parents wasn’t about apprenticeship, but about marriage greetings.

Looking at her, Irina had burned out completely white, like some boxer who had just lost a title match.

Come to think of it, when I was treating Luciana, she also said something about marrying me...

And during the parade, Luciana made a huge public declaration to the townspeople that she was going to marry me.

On top of all that, if I meet Irina’s parents and don’t talk about marriage, from Irina’s perspective it probably looks like I have no intention of marrying her.

Marriage, huh...

I’m a slime, though.

No matter how you think about it, it’s physically impossible (the rest is omitted: 2nd time).

If I married a noble’s daughter, they’d definitely pressure me to have children to preserve the bloodline.

No matter how I look at it, it feels impossible.

But if Irina is being targeted, having me as a dummy might be better.

If that Duke Ricaolost house makes a move, the target should shift from Irina to me. That alone would increase the chances of protecting her. In that case, it’s not all bad. I can think about the child issue later, and if things calm down, I can just disappear.

"Irina, for now let’s meet your parents and discuss what to do, okay?"

"Fueh!?"

"We don’t know how the Ricaolost ducal house is pressuring your territory, so we can’t come up with countermeasures without hearing the details. Let’s go talk to them first."

"Uuuu, Yaaabe~ You’ll help me?"

Irina grabbed my arm, eyes full of tears.

"Well, yeah. Irina, you’re an important companion to me. I have to drive off anyone who tries to oppose you or your parents."

"Yaaabe~! Fueeeen!"

This time Irina hugged me and started crying.

She must have been really anxious this whole time.

After all, the opponent is a duke. If they’re applying enough pressure to affect the territory her parents are responsible for, it probably isn’t easy to overturn.

But maybe I can do something about it. No — I have to do something about it.

Whether it’s economic blockade or direct intervention, I need to find out what kind of pressure they’re applying...

Well, I’ll understand once I hear the story.

"Anyway, let’s head to the afternoon ceremony. Yabe, come with me."

"Haa..."

With no other choice, I stood up.

"Everyone! Today we are able to welcome Lord Yabe, who caused the ’Miracle of Fortress City Felbane’!"

"""Waaaaah~~~!!!"""

The citizens were extremely excited.

Lord Fenberg, the way you phrased "welcome" could easily cause misunderstandings, you know?

"Thanks to Lord Yabe, we were able to capture all those who tried to throw Felbane into chaos. Those who fell seriously ill were also healed by Lord Yabe’s power, and not a single person died!"

"""Waaaaah~~~!!!"""

Just like during the parade, it seems many people had fallen seriously ill from the poison, so they were incredibly happy about the recoveries.

"As a reward, we present 2,000 gold coins!"

"""Waaaaah~~~!!!"""

2,000 gold coins... That’s amazing.

When I think about it, it’s the same amount as the reward I received from Naise for the Labyrinth Stampede.

I’m not going to complain that it’s too little or anything.

Lord Fenberg handed me a bag of gold coins.

"I only did what I could. I don’t think I did anything particularly special. However, I am very grateful for this expression of thanks. Therefore, I would like to donate these gold coins to the Coluna Frontier Count house. Specifically, I hope they will be used for research and improvements at places like the Bonteak Clinic, so that anyone can receive more effective herbal and detox treatments. Combined with the church’s holy magic healing, the life expectancy of the people in Fortress City Felbane should increase dramatically."

"""""...Oooooooooohhh!!!"""""

For a moment, the townspeople gathered in the venue seemed unable to understand why Yabe was giving the money back. But the next moment, they were shocked and deeply moved by the reason — to improve medical technology in the town.

"H-Hey... Is this really okay?"

"Yeah. I don’t have much use for money anyway. It’s better to use it for something helpful."

"Yabe, you really..."

Lord Fenberg’s eyes grew slightly moist as he accepted the bag of gold coins I was returning.

"Everyone! Lord Yabe has donated the entire reward money! We hereby declare that we will improve the town’s medical technology, centered around the Bonteak Clinic!"

"""Waaaaah~~~!!!"""

If this Fortress City Felbane becomes more vibrant, the power of the Coluna Frontier Count will grow, and their connection with the royal capital will deepen. Since I am currently in the position of a guest of the Coluna Frontier Count house, strengthening their position here should also benefit me. It’s not a bad idea to earn more favors. Increasing the power of the Coluna house should be a plus for me too. Since they’re pressuring Irina’s parents’ Lubengel Count territory, the Ricaolost ducal house will likely require the Coluna house’s strength as a deterrent.

"Everyone! Let’s give a big round of applause to Lord Yabe, who lent his strength while caring for all the residents of Fortress City Felbane!"

"""Waaaaah~~~!!!"""

Clap clap clap clap!!

Irina was watching me from the wings of the central plaza stage.

She wanted to go up together, but there had been way too much commotion in this town already.

Besides, as we get closer to the royal capital, I don’t want her identity as the daughter of Count Lubengel to stand out too much. I should consider some kind of disguise.

...Also, I need to plan an escape route from the priest group waving banners and cheering in the back of the crowd. For some reason, the priests are starting to look like black-suited guys wearing sunglasses.

I’ll escape without getting caught!

—-

[A/N: Vote and donate some power stones to the book so it can get some spotlight. Hope you guys are enjoying the story. Thanks!]