Chapters 77-79 are best read together, so I translated those as well :).
Chapter Seventy-seven: Karen’s Strategy
“First, please remove that picture which Miss Alchemist claims to depict Sir Julius. Placing it over Lord Winfried’s portrait is disrespectful.”
“What’s disrespectful about it?”
Karen tilted her head, feigning innocence. Horst shook his head in exasperation and let out a sigh.
“Since you’re from the royal capital, you probably don’t know, but Lord Winfried is the most revered figure in Ehlertt’s territory, which is why his portrait hangs in that position. Obscuring it with something else is tantamount to insulting Ehlertt.”
“But Earl Ehlertt said he would grant my request, so I asked to display it. Are you saying my achievement of saving Master Sieg, the heir to the Ehlertt earldom, is worth only that much?”
“Anywhere else would be fine. For an E-rank… commoner alchemist like you, isn’t even that excessive?”
He emphasized her relatively low E-rank status. Karen sensed the atmosphere among the residents shifting toward Horst. It seemed she couldn’t win with the argument that Karen’s request should be granted due to her achievements. She had anticipated this much. Karen changed her approach.
“Lord Winfried was the person who’s revered for rushing into the dungeon when it was on the verge of collapse, risking his life to contain the Great Collapse Stampede to protect the people, correct?”
“That’s right. If you knew that, why did you do something like this?”
As Horst narrowed his eyes coldly, Karen maintained a cheerful smile.
“I understand why someone who prevented a dungeon collapse at the risk of his life is revered, but shouldn’t Master Julius, who conquered the dungeon preemptively and pushed away even the signs of collapse, be revered even more?”
This was the common thinking in this world. By the absolute theory of the strong, Julius was undoubtedly the superior figure. From Karen’s perspective, Helfried and Julius seemed trapped in a narrow social framework, being attacked through indirect means. It was like that feeling when you’re in a school or company, where internal relationships and unique rules start to feel absolute. But through the eyes of an outsider like Karen, those rigid rules had obvious holes.
That’s why Karen decided to break, even slightly, the framework binding Julius and Ehlertt family from the outside. When she consulted with Helfried, he gave her the green light while stifling laughter, permitting her to cause a bit of chaos.
Karen’s goal was to display the largest portrait of Julius at the New Year’s festival venue. As a gift for Julius, it was meant to be a surprise, so she hadn’t informed him in advance. According to Karen’s plan, he should be pleased. After all, it was Julius who had complained about having to display Winfried’s portrait every year at the New Year’s festival. However, seeing how the portrait turned out, Karen was afraid to face Julius.
To avoid losing her nerve, Karen deliberately looked away. Honestly, she wondered what difference hanging one portrait would make. But the fact that Horst was trying to stop her meant that Karen’s actions were at least creating ripples in Ehlertt’s rigid situation.
To make Julius a hero of Ehlertt, Karen would play the part of a hardcore believer in the absolute rule of the strong, fresh from the royal capital. It was a common type of person in the royal capital, so those familiar with it wouldn’t find it strange. Karen, born in the royal capital, was imposing the capital’s logic of strength on Ehlertt territory.
The Ehlertt family couldn’t stop Karen because they were indebted to her.
Horst wore a sour expression, though he looked more confused than angry.
“Sir Julius is indeed a hero who conquered the local dungeon this spring. I don’t intend to deny that.”
He sighed again as if to demonstrate to everyone present that Karen understood nothing. Then, looking at the residents gathered in the entrance hall, he said:
“However, Sir Julius was able to conquer the dungeon because local adventurers had been defeating monsters all the way to the lowest level. Sir Julius may have vanquished the monster at the lowest level, but wasn’t that only possible because of the adventurers’ efforts until now?”
Horst suggested that Julius merely took credit for the achievements of the adventurers. The residents seemed to agree with this assessment, which took Karen’s breath away. She’d never imagined that such thinking was behind Julius not being purely viewed as a hero.
“After the conquest, the number of monsters decreased, causing many adventurers to lose their jobs and fall into hardship. They are the true guardians who regularly delve into the dungeon to keep Ehlertt’s territory safe. Despite this, are you saying it’s acceptable to neglect them?”
Karen would never say such a thing.
“Sir Julius is certainly a hero, but I believe these adventurers are also heroes of Ehlertt earldom. I want to make this New Year’s festival joyous for them as well. As a commoner yourself, couldn’t you consider not just the bright side of Sir Julius’s achievements, but also take their feelings into account?”
Saying this, Horst surveyed the residents in the entrance hall and nodded as if to say he was on their side. Apparently, many of the residents here were adventurers. Some sighed and wiped their eyes, seemingly moved by Horst’s speech.
Then they looked up at Karen. Faced with the silent pressure from the people, Karen caught her breath.
This was clearly Horst’s turf, and Karen was the outsider here. Maybe even for Helfried and Julius, this wasn’t home turf.
At the edge of her vision, Karen noticed Helfried half-rising from his chair. Helfried had told her it was fine if her reckless plan failed and to defer to him if she got into trouble. He seemed to be trying to help Karen, who was feeling overwhelmed. But Karen shook her head slightly at Helfried. Seeing this, he sat back down in his chair.
Once again, Karen looked between Horst and the residents. Horst had aligned himself with Ehlertt’s people and made them his allies.
Guided by Horst, the townsfolk now looked at Karen with eyes that bordered on hostility, making her widen her eyes.
“…Impressive.”
Karen involuntarily murmured.
It was the idea that even if the strong achieved results, that didn’t mean the weak could be disregarded. Horst had convinced the people of Ehlertt to accept what would be Karen’s ideal world. This was surely not the mainstream thinking in this world.
This was the result of Horst’s efforts in shaping public opinion within Ehlertt’s territory. Karen found herself not wanting to ruin this achievement.
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