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He’d only been married into the family for a week, and in less than half a month, the land beneath his feet was going to be changed beyond recognition. Could he be any unluckier?

He’d barely made it out of that so-white, so-big, so-round room unscathed, only to hear the worst possible news.

He’d only just settled into the lazy, carefree life of a good-for-nothing with no one keeping an eye on him, and now this had to happen.

What was Lin Ge supposed to say to that?

He leaned against a tree, a twig with a single green leaf dangling from his mouth, one leg crossed over the other.

Through the shade of the leaves, he gazed at the rolling clouds and the deep blue sky.

The thought that even this kind of life would soon be out of reach...

Only made him feel even more depressed.

Or... should he just step in and try to change things?

“As if. There’s no way I’m working—not in this life. The only way I can manage to get by is by slacking off and muddling through each day.”

Right. There was no way Lin Ge was going to work. But with things this bad, coming up with a solution was the most urgent thing.

If he wanted to keep enjoying the hard-won life of a lazy freeloader, he’d have to solve the problem without getting directly involved. But how was he supposed to do that?

“For now, I’ll go see how the people are doing.”

From Alice and Rosetti’s conversation, it sounded like they still had a chance as long as they had enough provisions.

If he could somehow solve the supply problem without anyone noticing, then surely Alice could handle the rest.

Alice wouldn’t let Rosetti go to the battlefield, but Alice herself was a fourth-stage aura swordswoman. They didn’t have many ordinary soldiers, but they did have a few officers at the second aura stage.

From what he’d heard, the beastfolk general leading the attack on the city was only at the fourth aura stage.

He hadn’t seen the two sides’ forces for himself, but from what he’d heard, they were nearly evenly matched.

In other words, this would be a drawn-out battle of endurance: whoever had more provisions and could hold out longer would win.

As long as he solved the supply problem, everything else would fall into place.

Yeah. That’s what he’d do.

Lin Ge got up, dusted off his backside, and ran toward the city.

He’d start at the root of the problem and find out what the harvest was really like. Maybe it’d be simple to fix after all.

But after actually asking around... Heh. He’d been far too naive.

“Get lost! We don’t have any grain for nobles!”

“Wait, I’m not here to collect grain. I just wanted to ask if you have any left... Hey! Don’t throw rotten vegetables at my face! A gentleman uses words, not fists! Hit me anywhere but the face—getting hit in the face hurts my pride!”

Well, the result goes without saying.

The rotten vegetables and eggs stank so badly, it was enough to make him gag.

If he hadn’t managed to find out at least some of what he wanted to know...

Lin Ge would absolutely have lost his temper over being left in such a state.

Ahem. Anyway, here’s the conclusion.

Food really was scarce. Each household could barely manage one meal a day, just enough to stave off hunger.

As for the crucial farmland, his initial guess was that the terrain might be to blame. The wheat harvest had been getting worse year after year.

This year in particular, even paying the grain tax was proving extremely difficult.

But a lack of food wasn’t the only problem. More importantly, the nobles here didn’t seem to have much support from the people...

For a territory to thrive in the long run, it needs two things: enough food and the people’s loyalty. He who wins the people wins the realm—that holds true in any age.

But things here...

Honestly, the moment Lin Ge realized the nobles here had no support from the people, he’d started thinking he shouldn’t get involved.

But then he remembered that when disaster struck, Alice had thought of the people before herself... He couldn’t reconcile that with the nobles who loved exploiting others.

He was seriously short on information. He needed to find out more.

But where could he find the crucial information?

“There you are! I’ve finally found you, Lord Lin Ge. So this is where you were!”

Well, no need to worry. The information had come to him on its own.

The moment the source of his information called out to him, Lin Ge narrowed his eyes and sized up the portly man in front of him.

“You are...”

“I’m Carnegie. Don’t you remember me?” The fleshy-faced man rubbed his hands together and smiled ingratiatingly. “When you first married into the territory, I was the one who showed you around.”

“Ah, right... Little C.C. Don’t worry, I remember you.”

“Um... My name is Carnegie.”

“Sure thing, Little C.C. What can I do for you?”

Carnegie’s face darkened at once, and his expression turned somewhat unfriendly. Still, he put on his signature ingratiating smile, bowed and nodded, then gestured for Lin Ge to go ahead.

“I’ve been busy with official business and haven’t had a chance to invite you for a meal. I’m free now, so I hope you’ll do me the honor of joining me.”

“I see... Sure. Lead the way, Little C.C.”

“...”

“Th-this way, please.”

Carnegie’s mouth twitched and twitched. Beneath his polished, professional noble’s smile, cracks were beginning to show.

Lin Ge wanted to laugh, but he was a professional too. In moments like this, he absolutely, absolutely, absolutely couldn’t—

“Pfft.”

Well, he laughed anyway.

And laughed and laughed~~

Meanwhile, Carnegie’s face grew darker and darker~~

Sorry, I’m not a professional actor.

(*≧…≦))

……

Inside a private room at a restaurant.

It was probably the best restaurant in Bota City. The food and wine on the table were the finest Lin Ge had seen since arriving here.

But they still couldn’t compare to what he had back home.

“Lord Lin Ge... Is the food not to your taste?”

Lin Ge had only been drinking water since he arrived and hadn’t touched a single dish. Carnegie was starting to panic.

He’d gone to all this trouble, even parting with things he treasured, because he had important business to discuss with this infamous young master.

To curry favor with him, he’d even handed over—through tears—the black-gold card that let him eat and drink for free anywhere in the city.

He couldn’t afford to lose anything else.

“I haven’t had much of an appetite lately. If you have something to say, just say it.”

Lin Ge waved a hand and smiled warmly. “People don’t go out of their way for nothing. Either you’re after something, or you’re up to no good. Which is it, Little C.C.?”

Carnegie froze. Then the corners of his mouth curled into a deeply calculating smile, and he bowed respectfully.

“I’ve long heard that Lord Lin Ge is exceptionally wise, a model for young people everywhere. Now that I’ve seen you for myself, I can tell it’s true.”

“Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me. It’s just that you’re all too stupid—that’s all. It’s not that I, your young master, am especially clever.”

At that, Carnegie’s face darkened even more.

He’d met plenty of shameless, narcissistic people, but never anyone as shameless as Lin Ge.

Do you have any idea what your reputation back home is like?

Carnegie forced out a couple of dry laughs.

No matter how many complaints he had, he could only swallow them for now.

“I’m ashamed to say it, but Bota City may fall very soon... The beastfolk from the neighboring country are about to attack our walls.”

“No way. Are you serious?”

The cup slipped from Lin Ge’s hand, his mouth fell open in shock, and he instantly became an award-winning actor, looking utterly terrified.

Seeing this, Carnegie—who’d been annoyed until now—finally felt a little better.

This was exactly the reaction he wanted.

“But there’s no need to worry. The City Lord—your wife—and the others are very strong. With them here, Bota City should be safe. But... that’s only for now. If things keep going like this, the city will fall sooner or later.”