Are you worthy of saving the world?

"Fufufu, you're acting so serious, but you must be quite excited, right, Anna? I know you've prepared several sets of new underwear, right?"

"That's for emergencies... preparation of daily necessities! I'm different from you. I'm always fully prepared!" Annabell retorted with a blushing face.

"Hmm? What kind of occasion requires that kind of adult-style lingerie?" Irene asked with a sly smile, "Are you expecting something to happen, Anna?"

"That's not true!" Annabell ran away.

As for the other two members of the Night Watch, Stella and Emerald continued to stay in the Vatican.

While Yuli is away, the two of them will be responsible for intelligence collection and communication in the lower and upper city areas respectively.

"Don't quarrel, okay?"

Yuli warned Stella and Emerald that the two had been at odds with each other for a long time.

"Please rest assured, Lord Yuli, the discipline of the Vatican and Miss Stella will be left to me." The girl with long black hair nodded slightly.

"Ah? When did I need you to discipline me? Don't act on your own!" Miss Witch put her hands on her hips, "Whether you or Yuri, you can't be considered my leader. You can only be considered a partner."

"Lord Yuli, do you want me to take everyone from the school to the station to see you off?" Emerod asked.

"No, that's not necessary. You still have classes tomorrow morning, right?" Yuli said.

"Hey! You two, stop ignoring me!" Stella protested.

……

……

……

The next morning, Yuli brought Annabelle and Irene to the train station to the territory.

"Yuli! Grantia and I are here to see you off!"

Those who came to the station to see him off were the Grand Duke's daughter and the Elf Princess.

The beautiful figures of the blonde knight and the silver-haired elf princess are also very eye-catching on the platform in the early morning.

"Yuri, please take care of yourself along the way."

"Yeah, Cecilia too."

The Grand Duke's daughter adjusted Yuli's bow tie like a good wife seeing her husband off, and the Elf Princess looked at her with envy.

"If you feel it is too hard, just return to the Vatican... Mother and I will help you deal with the rest of the affairs."

Hahaha, Cecilia, are you trying to encourage me to desert?

Yuli looked at the blonde knight, her pretty face filled with worry.

But he doesn't plan to give up halfway.

If he couldn't even do this simple job and simply fled back to the Vatican, then the reputation he had worked so hard to build would be destroyed.

"I...I feel the same way! Ulysses, if you have any difficulties, you can contact me at any time. Her Majesty the Queen and I will definitely do our best to help!"

The silver-haired elf princess said nervously, "The Holy Tree Kingdom will always be your support."

"Oh my, Yuri-san is really popular!"

Irene was joking with a smile on her face.

"Why don't we just go all out and kidnap the princess and the duke and elope together?"

Cecilia: “…”

Grantia: “…”

Neither of the two princes smiled.

On the other hand, he was really worried about Yuli and wanted to go over to help.

On the other hand, she reacted to the word "elope" and her cheeks turned red.

Finally, it was Annabell who came to the rescue and broke the increasingly awkward atmosphere.

"Okay, stop making fun of the students, Irene."

Cecilia said respectfully, "Teacher Annabell, I'll leave Yuri in your care."

"Yeah." Annabell nodded slightly.

"Leave it to us~" Irene puffed out her chest proudly.

Then, a female voice was heard on the platform announcing the arrival of a train.

"——————"

With the roar of the whistle, the light broke through the morning mist.

A steam locomotive appeared on the track and stopped in front of the crowd.

"Then let's go."

So, Yuli boarded the train with Cecilia and Grantia seeing him off.

Looking back, Yuli saw a familiar luxurious carriage parked in the distance.

That was the carriage that Yuli and Rosalia usually used for their trysts. The Elf Queen waved at them from the window.

"Aunt Rosa and Celeste are here to see you off, too."

Yuli thought so and entered the carriage without hesitation.

……

……

……

According to the number on the ticket, Yuli found his own box, which was not luxurious but quite elegant.

By the time they sat down and put their luggage away, the train started moving slowly.

"Master, would you like to eat an apple?" Irene asked attentively.

"Want to eat."

"Okay, leave it to me~"

While Irene was peeling an apple, Annabell took out a notebook and began to explain the situation to Yuli.

Since Yuli had been very busy in the past few days, having to deal with school affairs and accompany Rosalia and Celeste, the mother and daughter, he gave the preliminary investigation work entirely to Annabelle.

The territory given to Yuli by the Augusta royal family was called Oak Manor.

The total population is less than three hundred people, and it has a very nice farmland and pasture. It got its name because of the many ornamental oak trees planted on both sides of the avenue in front of the lord's mansion.

This Oak Manor is about one hundred kilometers away from the Vatican City.

It takes three hours to take a steam train from the suburban station of the Vatican City, and then change to a horse-drawn carriage, which takes more than half an hour to arrive.

The previous owner of the manor was an imperial baron.

Five years ago, the Baron died without leaving any legitimate heirs, which is called extinction.

The manor is still in a state of peasant autonomy, waiting for the arrival of a new lord.

"It may be a little late to say it now, but I feel like something is wrong..."

Yuli suddenly interrupted his report as he looked out the window at the receding scenery.

"What's wrong?" Annabell asked.

"The lord has been dead for five years... During these five years, has the manor and the surrounding fields been without an owner?" Yuli frowned.

"It is said that the previous lord was an outstanding noble who managed the territory in an orderly manner, so there have been no internal problems in recent years... Come on, ah~?"

Irene put the peeled apples on a toothpick and put them to Yuli's mouth.

“I’m not talking about a law and order issue.”

The black-haired boy took a bite of the apple, chewed it for a few times, swallowed it, and then said, "It's taxes, taxes.

Who has been collecting taxes from farmers every year in the past five years? "

For the nobles in the feudal era, the security of the territory was certainly of paramount importance, but taxation was equally important.

Yuli didn't think that anyone would leave the rich tax revenue of a manor alone for five years.

"..."

Irene and Annabell looked at each other, then showed expressions of relief.

"As expected of Lord Yuri, you are very perceptive. This is exactly what I want to report next...

In fact, for the past five years, someone has been acting as the Lord of Oak Manor, collecting taxes from the peasants."

"Who is it?" Yuli asked with a frown.

They actually collected taxes from their subjects privately, which was clearly against the laws of the empire.

Was the Augusta royal family unaware of this?

impossible.

Or...

Annabell paused, then went on to state her findings.

"The person who is currently managing Oak Manor is the illegitimate son of the previous lord."

Yuri stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "I see, so this is what 'leaving no legitimate heirs' actually means?"

In the Tiamat continent, which adheres to the monogamous system, illegitimate children are not considered to have legal inheritance rights.

Although the law stipulates this, noble birth is supreme.

However, in the actual operation of society, it is inevitable that illegitimate children will inherit their parents' estate.

In feudal society, what was important was never the law or legal principles, but strength and ability.

Aunt Rosa really gave me a hot potato...

"If you want it, you have to come get it yourself...?"

Yuli suddenly became interested: he thought it was just a peaceful journey, but it turned out to be an adventure with undercurrents.