As soon as I woke up the next day, the first thing I did was eat breakfast. Since today I would have a very busy day, I decided to prioritize having energy for the day. With that in mind, I headed to the kitchen and started eating. The food was far from sophisticated or anything, my breakfast consisted basically of fried fish.
Although I didn't notice the fish here yesterday, it was probably the villagers who left them here. I mentally thanked them for that and started my breakfast. As I ate, I started thinking about what I would do from now on.
(I will probably need an office. Although I didn't explore the whole house, I noticed that on the second floor there were two more doors besides the one to my room)
I thought as I finished eating. After finishing breakfast, I headed up to the second floor. As soon as I climbed the stairs, I was faced with a hallway along with 3 doors in front of me. The last door I knew was my bedroom door, so I decided to explore the others.
With this thought in mind, I walked to the first door that is in front of the stairs. As soon as I opened the door, I found myself in a completely empty room. On the wall, there was an opening where it would be possible to put a window, but this was not the case now. Closing the door, I started to head for the middle door. As soon as I opened the door, I found myself in another room. This house was starting to look quite practical.
(Although I don't have a definite room, I will probably continue to sleep in the last room)
I thought as I closed the bedroom door.
(This other room will be for guests, while the room near the stairs will be my office. For now, this will be enough. In the future, I will remodel this house. Although I don't care for it, I will probably receive noble guests in the future. I need to show at least a level of wealth to not look ridiculous to others)
I thought as I let out a sigh.
(Although it was my goal to become a nobleman, since this will allow me to have a chance to marry Emi, I cannot deny that this will be exhausting)
With that thought in mind, I began to tidy up the second floor where my office would be. Although I know that this is inevitable and I will probably spend a lot of time here in the future.
***
While Ren was worrying about his future jobs as a nobleman in another kingdom, a certain king was possessed, sitting on his throne. This king was the same one who had waged a war with Solaris for futile reasons. Although the king himself denies this, after losing miserably to an army much smaller than his, he was still forced to pay a huge fee to have his soldiers returned.
For Clyde, there was no greater humiliation than this. For him, it was preferable that his entire army had been wiped out than to depend on the "sympathy" of his enemy.
But even if he wanted to tell Solaris that he would rather see his entire army killed than submit to such humiliation, he was highly recommended by his advisors to pay the debt that wasn't even high to begin with. If Zeke was killed and the kingdom found out that it was by order of the king, the whole kingdom would go crazy, and a rebellion could ensue.
Zeke was practically a hero to the commoners and citizens of Storne. For this reason, Clyde had no choice but to pay to get his soldiers back. This would be a humiliation Clyde would hardly forget.
***
As soon as I finished tidying up my office, I stood in front of the door while looking at the room with a smile on my face. The place now had a desk by the window. There was a rug made of animal skin in the middle of the room and a medium-sized bookcase in the corner of the wall. This place really looked like an office. Although small, this would be a big step for the future.
(Well, I think that first I will start by removing some of these trees. It would be difficult to start a city project with so many trees blocking the space. But since it would be bad to take them all out, we will take only what is necessary to replant them elsewhere later)
With this thought in mind, I went down to the second floor. As soon as I went down, I heard two knocks coming from the door. Without having any idea who it could be, I walked to the door and opened it. Soon, two people revealed themselves in front of me. Precisely speaking, they were a boy and a girl. While the girl seemed to be my age, the boy seemed to be 3 years older than me.
"Can I help you with something?"
I asked, confused. I also noticed that they were both wearing servants' clothes. Precisely, the boy looked like a butler, while the girl looked like a maid.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Baron Ren-sama. We have been sent here on orders from Marquis Frank, at his majesty's request, to assist you"
Said the man with a serious expression on his face. Looking at the two of them, they had a certain resemblance, so I assumed they were both siblings. But still, this situation was rather strange. I had not been warned about this, so I was not expecting employees.
(But then again, I guess noblemen do need servants, don't they?)
I thought with a sigh.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, although I think you already know me. I have had the grace of receiving a title from the king before. My name is Ren"
I said with a smile on my face.
"May I know the names of you two?"
I asked as I alternated between the boy and the girl. Hearing my words, the sister's eyes narrowed a little as she looked slightly at her brother, who also looked a little surprised.
"Something wrong?"
I asked, noticing the strange atmosphere that had formed for a few seconds.
"Ah, sorry about that. My name is Oliver, and this is my sister, Hana"
He said as he bowed slightly, putting his hand to his chest.