Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 136



Only Noblemtl

Episode 136

26-Noble

The most important thing in the circulation of scalonization was credit.

For nobles and merchants, the possibility of exchanging money was credit, but for commoners, credit was whether they could receive scalons and make a living.

Any currency that cannot even purchase basic groceries for survival is bound to have infinitely low value, whether it is credit or real money.

“And then he asked me again. What offer did you receive that made you make such a big decision?”

Arthur’s mouth watered. As someone involved in the Scalon currency business, the royal family seemed to be paying close attention to Arthur’s movements. Otherwise, they would not have known about his meeting with Viscount Karl Prant.

The count continued speaking.

“So, he said, His Majesty the King is doing great things for the country, so how could I, as a nobleman, not help?”

“… … Ah… I, that… … .”

Arthur was taken aback. What Count Frant had said was unexpected.

“Uh… … Are you a loyalist?”

“Not really?”

“Then… what are you going to do… … .”

“Did you think I was a noble or neutral person?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Your gaze is more rigid than I thought.”

Count Frant explained with a smirk. He said that there were some nobles who had not yet decided on their position.

Arthur was puzzled.

“Then aren’t you neutral?”

“The neutrals are a faction that shares the same political ideology, although they are called neutrals.”

To be precise, the neutrals could be called republicans. Here, republicanism meant the republicanism advocated by the scholars and intellectuals of the kingdom, that is, a political structure in which the king, the nobility, and the people’s assembly were in harmony.

To achieve this, the ultimate goal of the neutral faction was to pass necessary laws by going back and forth between the royalist and aristocratic factions, so perhaps they were the faction that was most ideologically well-armed.

The royalist faction supported the king who pursued a strong royal authority and aimed to gain congolese while the aristocratic faction came together to protect the noble interests that were being violated by a strong royal authority or the rising power of the commoners.

Arthur exclaimed in admiration at the fact that he had not known. Looking at Count Stan, who was supposedly neutral, he seemed to have no interest in politics.

“So, you decided to become a pro-royalist?”

At Arthur’s question, Count Frant burst into laughter.

“Is it possible that factions will be decided just because I helped them once?”

“But wouldn’t people think differently?”

Arthur himself does not think of himself as a royalist, but he has become one. Even if he is not, the world’s perception may be different, and at that moment, the truth becomes unimportant, so Viscount Frant could also face such a danger.

To that question, Count Frant smiled strangely and said:

“Are you worried about me?”

Arthur had merely replied appropriately to continue the conversation in order to get more advanced information, but when Viscount Frant asked him that question, Arthur could not answer honestly. So he told a white lie.

“Uh… First of all, aren’t you from the same hometown?”

“… … Kuk! Puhahaha! That’s right! You’re from Fran Village! Hehahaha!”

What was so funny about that? Count Frant burst into laughter, then wiped his eyes and said:

There was a kindness in his gaze that had never been seen before when he looked at Arthur.

“One of the privileges of being a local noble is that you can change factions if things don’t go your way.”

“… … Is that okay?”

“Ah, of course, local nobles are local nobles. For example, Count Blanc, who is important among the nobles, is also a local noble?”

However, Count Blanc could not escape by saying, “I can no longer serve the nobles.” This was because the influence and vested interests he had created within the nobles were considerable.

Even from the aristocratic point of view, if he leaves, it will be a huge blow, so they have no choice but to hold on to him.

Is it similar to the relationship between Arthur and the Tsuuraz Craft Guild? Although not as valuable as Arthur’s position in the Tsuuraz Craft Guild.

The only clear difference is that if Count Blanc changes factions, there will definitely be retaliation.

You have to be betrayed and hurt to feel revenge. The reality was that Count Frant, a local noble with no particular influence or vested interests in central politics, had no intention of revenge even when he was caught between factions or even when he changed ships.

To put it bluntly, would you say that it’s a waste of time and resources to spend on revenge?

Of course, retaliation for betrayal was a necessary act for the sake of factional unity.

So, paradoxically, Count Frant’s actions of looking around here and there are not even defined as betrayal.

Instead of branding it a betrayal, they can just dismiss it as the usual behavior of local nobles and save the faction’s political capital from retaliation.

From the perspective of the local aristocracy, this tacit agreement in central politics was a sweet privilege.

“But that privilege won’t last.”

Arthur asserted that such privileges could only be maintained if he remained a provincial noble with little influence or political standing.

But is it a privilege for nothing? It was a privilege to generate profits without putting in much effort.

As a local nobleman enjoyed such privileges and amassed wealth and power, it was natural that he would soon be sent a bill for the privileges he had enjoyed.

Since you’ve been sucking the honey from both sides for a while, you should decide your position.

And once you decide on a position, you naturally become enemies with the opposing faction. It’s like becoming someone who ran away after stealing the advance payment.

“Yeah. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Count Frant nodded and said.

“But, you know, there are times when the positions of the creditor and the debtor are reversed. Do you know when that happens?”

“… … If the debtor goes bankrupt, the creditor also suffers great losses.”

“Oh! You know so well.”

Count Frant clapped his hands in admiration.

When a debtor owes a huge amount of money to a creditor, there are cases where the debtor becomes A and the creditor becomes B. If they are in a fight, they say, “I won’t pay my debt?” or “Yeah, the interest is too high. If you don’t lower it, I’ll go bankrupt,” and the creditor swallows tears and writes off the interest, and even the principal.

Because if you can’t even get that, you’re screwed.

“So I plan to try my best to walk the tightrope.”

“Tightrope walking?”

“Why do you pretend not to know?”

Arthur had a confident expression on his face, as if he had been talking to him up until now, but the reason he was holding back was because he did not want to get involved in something dangerous.

The count continued speaking.

“Well, it’s about getting as much as you can from the royalist, noble, and neutral factions.”

“… … Wouldn’t it be that unpleasant?”

“That may be true. But realistically, you’ll be treated better if you carry a bundle rather than being a nobody. Even if you’re looked down on, you’ll be treated better if you take as much as you can and join a faction.”

Wow… … . The idea is really great. Can a noble be this thug-like?

“But if you get a bad feeling in all three places, you could become a scapegoat.”

“You have to adjust it so that it’s not like that.”

“How?”

“Let your son deal with the neutral faction, and I will deal with the noble faction.”

Johann Frant was a graduate of the Academy and his inclinations were well aligned with the neutral faction. And Count Karl Frant was a landowning nobleman, so he could be perceived as having interests aligned with the aristocracy.

But that leaves one place.

“What about the royalist faction?”

“You’re here, right?”

“Me?”

Why? said Count Karl Frant with a strange smile at that expression.

“Aren’t you from the same neighborhood?”

“… … .”

That’s why you shouldn’t be talking nonsense… … Arthur didn’t dare to refute the sentence he used as a white lie because it came back with a different nuance. If he had, he might have heard the reaction, ‘Have you been fooling me all this time?’

Count Frant smiled at Arthur’s puzzled expression and continued speaking.

“Anyway, you don’t like the royalist faction, do you? You don’t have any political ambitions, you just want to live comfortably, eating well, so why do you keep dragging yourself in and causing trouble?”

Arthur stuck out his tongue. When had he been investigating and analyzing himself to this extent? Since the time he bought the land from the village chief’s family?

When Arthur thought that he should be wary of the abilities of Count Karl Prant, he continued.

“Me too. What do you mean by royalist or aristocratic? It has to be beneficial to me first.”

“haha.”

As Arthur awkwardly laughed at the truly aristocratic way of thinking, Count Karl Prant said what he really wanted to say.

“People from the same town, let’s eat well and live well together.”

***

26-Noble

Arthur, who returned from asking Count Karl Prant for a favor regarding his brother’s military service, felt somewhat drained. As expected, the world was full of talented people, and unexpected things often happened. Could it be said that life is not easy?

Count Karl Frant.

His son will be in the neutral camp, he will be in the aristocratic camp, and through his hometown people, he will be in the royalist camp… … His purpose was really simple and clear. He said it was so that he could eat well and live well.

After all, how could the person who saved a family that was on the verge of collapse, and who consulted with the local government for a long time and devised a plan to instantly select a local leader be an ordinary person?

Anyway, from Arthur’s perspective, Count Karl Prant’s proposal wasn’t a bad one. Whether or not his suggestion that people from the same town eat well and live well together was sincere, Arthur had one more political outlet he could utilize.

Moreover, the position pursued by Count Karl Frant – taking care of one’s own well-being first, no matter how the world turns – suited Arthur’s temperament well.

Arthur himself didn’t have the strength to do it, so he ended up like this, but if Viscount Frant carries out his plan, wouldn’t he be able to get some bean curds from him?

The risks were relatively small compared to the potential gains, as long as Count Frant did not cross the line.

Besides, it seemed like he would have a lot to ask of me because of his older brother Hans’s work, so his friendship with Count Frant wasn’t all bad.

“Brother Rel. Don’t you have any friends?”

After dinner, they all drank tea together, and Amelia asked Rel.

“Uh… … . Do you have any friends?”

“But why don’t you bring it home?”

Rel hesitated at Amelia’s words. Arthur thought it was obvious because she didn’t know how to respond. She probably didn’t want to introduce Amelia to other guys.

Arthur chuckled to himself as his thoughts drifted to another direction. Perhaps the reason Amelia asked Rel if she had any friends was because she herself had no friends her own age. And the girl had no choice but to do so.

Although she was from a poor family, she was fortunate enough to be chosen and sponsored by a philanthropist named Arthur, and debuted as a girl singer at a young age.

Considering the human tendency for birds of a feather flock together, Amelia’s unique background was enough to make it difficult for her to find friends her own age.

Since there were no schools for girls, making friends was entirely left to the networks of neighborhood housewives. Naturally, the aristocrats, the bourgeoisie, the middle class, and the poor all gathered together to form friendships.

But where does Amelia belong?

Since I had a job as a singer and wasn’t helping Viana with housework, it was difficult for me to make friends of the same sex with the help of the network of housewives Viana had formed.

Even though she had no job, Amelia, who was not Viana’s daughter, had an unusual background.