"?" 

I woke up to some noise outside the house.

I looked at the window and saw that the morning sun was shining through the crack in the window sill.

I got up from bed, rubbing my eyes, and quietly peeked out of the window to see what the faint noise was from outside.

"......What is that?"

The scene that caught my eye was the crowd that had gathered in front of the Bardia residence's gate.

From the distance, most of them are civilians and merchants, judging from their appearances.

However, if I look closely, I can also see a horse-drawn carriage like those used by nobles parked outside the mansion.

As far as I can see, the crowd in front of the gate seems to be looking at the Bardia mansion while conversing with the gatekeepers and knights.

Maybe they want to interview father about the battle at the narrow fortress?　When I thought so, my eyes suddenly met with someone in the crowd.

"Oh, ......⁉ Isn't that Master Rid?!"

"Where is he?!"

"At that window."

"Oh⁉ that's true."

"Calm down, guys. You can't go through here!"

The crowd became excited when they noticed my presence, and a clamor broke out.

The gatekeepers tried their best to hold them back, but their excitement wouldn't subside.

I saw a group of knights running toward the gate, apparently having heard the commotion.

"What is going on with those people?"

As I stood away from the window, puzzled, there was a knock at the door of the room.

"Excuse me, Master Rid."

Shortly after I answered, Sylvia, a rat tribe member dressed as a maid, entered the room.

She came quickly and closed the window quickly.

"Don't show your face so easily. You are the most famous person in the capital now."

"What do you mean?"

"Please take a look at this."

I tilted my head, and Sylvia held out a newspaper to me.

"What is this?"

I blinked as I read through the contents of the article, not understanding its purpose.

[The article says, "A 60,000-strong army led by Gareth Grandek, chief of the Foxmen tribe, invaded the narrow fortress guarded by the imperial Bardia territory.

However, the Sword of the Empire, Rainer Bardia, repulsed them with an army of about 9,000 men.

Elba Grandek, the next King of Beasts in the Kingdom of Zubera, was also involved in the battle as an enemy general, but he was successfully defeated by Rid Bardia, the son of Reiner Bardia.

Rid Bardia had long been famous for his unconventional ideas, and his unconventional behavior, which was comparable to that of a grown man.

He was secretly called an unconventional child prodigy by some nobles.

However, he did not stop there; he also showed his courage to throw himself into the battle that would affect the outcome of the war at the Battle of Naramachi Fortress.

At the very least, we can say that Rid is an unconventional hero.

Sword of the Empire, Count Rainer Bardia Frontier.

Unconventional windbreaker, Rid Bardia.

As long as these two men are around, the eastern part of the Empire will be safe and sound.]

At the end of the article, there was even an interesting picture of me and my father wearing armor and a sword belt.

Moreover, the picture was reproduced in great detail, as if it were something familiar to me.

When I was stunned, Sylvia burst out laughing.

"The newspapers here are part of a series that were issued one after another and distributed throughout the capital after the day after the victory of the Bardia family in the battle of Fortress of the Narrow Gap."

"What? ......⁉"

I guessed everything by her words. The person who wrote this article is Emma.

At the time of the Battle of the Narrow Fortress, I had also discussed with her in advance the moves to be made if Bardia won the battle.

At the time, Chris was in captivity at the Grandek family, and it was Emma who was entrusted with the full authority of the Christie Trading Company.

In the past, the Bardia family had been isolated and backed into a corner in the empire due to the induction of "imperial public opinion" by forces that may have been connected to the Grandek family, and the Bardia family had become suspicious within the empire.

In order to avoid the same fate, and to make the first move this time, I used the same method to return the favor.

The effect was so great that the nobles and citizens, who had been anxious about the war, at once turned public opinion toward friendship with the Bardia.

In the future, it would be difficult to create ideas or public opinion that the Bardia family's actions would be harmful to the empire.

After the battle at the narrow fortress was over, I had also read through the newspaper that Emma had distributed in the imperial capital.

The problem is that I did not grasp this article.

But why did the article seem to exaggerate so much, like "unconventional windbreaker"?

If I think about it, the way it is done seems out of character for Emma.

If it were her, she would surely get confirmation when publishing additional articles like this.

"What in the world is going on ......?"

If I looked closely, I noticed that at the bottom of the article, it said, "Published by Saffron Trading Company.

Hey, Sylvia. I wonder if the extra issue was distributed in the capital city. Were they published by other companies besides the Christie Trading Company?"

'Yes, that's right. After Christy announced the extra issue, other trading companies also announced various extra issues as if they were following. Among them, the Christie and Saffron Trading Companies were very popular.

"Ah, so that's how it is."

I came to a point.

Perhaps it was the sole decision of the Safron Trading Company, which Emma had asked for help in spreading the information.

Unlike Emma's article, which focused on telling the truth, this article published by the Saffron Trading Company emphasized the importance of upholding the Bardia family.

Perhaps the aim was to increase the reliability of the article by simultaneously distributing an issue of the article that announced the facts and an issue of an issue that exaggerated the facts.

At any rate, I understood the cause of their gathering, in addition to the fact that the crowd outside was made up of press and spectators.

But there is something that still bothers me.

"How did those people outside know that my father and I were in the mansion?"

"Of course they knew."

"What?"

When I was stunned, Sylvia put one hand on her waist and made a smug face.

" They have been hanging around the Bardia mansion for a few days now. I'm sure they saw the arrival of the charcoal truck last night and figured that Rainer and Rid had arrived in the capital."

"Oh, I see."

The charcoal trucks have not been sold to the public yet, so it is easy to tell at a glance that they are Bardia rims.

Perhaps my father's concern about all this commotion is the reason we arrived last night.

'With all due respect, Master Rid. I think it is time to make preparations to go to the Imperial Castle."

"Oh, yes."

I try to change out of my nightgown, but Sylvia doesn't seem to be leaving the room.

Rather, it seemed to me that she was looking at us with a passionate gaze.

'Um, what's wrong?

'I'm just being asked to help Master Rid change clothes. Please don't mind me.

"No, I do mind."
I let out a sigh and kicked Sylvia out of the room, who for some reason was disappointed.