After everything had settled down, the aid was taken to jail, and the Earl took Satou, the witch and I into the drawing-room. He asked the maids to bring us something to drink while we sat down. The Earl apologised to the witch for the viceroy's aids actions and for allowing him to go so far without the Earl noticing. After that, he turned his attention to Satou and me and started discussing our rewards.
"So your name is Satou," Earl Kuhanou says. "It seems both you and the hero have been through some hardships. What would you both like for rewards? Goods? Money? I can also provide you with a government job if you so desire."
Satou looks surprised at the Earl's offer of a reward. I have the feeling he thought he might have been punished for stopping the Earl from killing the aid. I don't know why. If he was in trouble, I am sure the Earl would have taken him to jail along with the aid. Still, I doubt Satou would take anything the Earl just offered. He already has more money than he can ever hope to spend, and Satou has told me he wants to explore this world, so he would never take a government job.
I don't have anything I want either. I have money and goods. There isn't anything I need for a reward, but I could use this to improve my magical spell arsenal. It seemed Satou had a similar idea as he said just what I was thinking.
"This may be a bit forward of me, but if I could receive permission to purchase magical scrolls and books within your territory, I would be most humbly delighted," Satou says, making the Earl smile.
"I suppose as an acquaintance of Mistress Witch, it is no surprise that you should have a thirst for knowledge. Very well, I shall issue you a permit," The Earl nods his head. He signals an attendant in the room to start making the arrangements. "And what can I do for you, Hero Kura?"
I was going to ask for magical scrolls and books, but I could always use Satou's permit for that. I think for a moment, then open my mouth.
"Would it be possible for you to give me what food you could spare from your territory?"
Like I said early, there was nothing I needed but the people in the following territory would need those supplies.
"May I ask what you would need those supplies for?"
"After we leave your territory, we will be passing through the Muno Barony," I tell him. "I hear that they are running low on nearly everything, and I wish to help how I can when I pass through that land."
"Okay, then I will have what we can spare prepared for you," The Earl agrees. "Do you have some way of transporting those goods?"
"Yes, I have a unique storage skill that will allow me to transport those goods,"
"I... I see...." I hear the count mumble under his breath about Earl Seiryuu. "It will take me a few days to gather the supplies. Is that alright with you?"
"That's fine,"
After that, we talked a little. Not much happened, with the key event being the Earl and witch wanting to see my holy sword and nearly crying at the sight of it. I was honestly surprised. I didn't think the witch would be that interested in swords or a man like the Earl would be brought to the brink of tears so quickly. I told them the story of how I got the sword and what had happened in Seiryuu city.
The Earl was impressed by my deeds and told me about not only the war with the Kobolds but with the adventures of his youth. There were a few rude stories about his love life that caused the witch to smack the back of his head, and there were a few stories from border skirmishes. But the most interesting story came from the Earl's account of the last time the demon lord appeared.
The Earl was only a young man at the time. He told me how he joined the army. The hero of that time raised and fought demons while the hero defeated the demon lord. The Earl didn't know much about what happened between the hero and the demon lord. Still, he told me about how he and Earl Seiryuu defeated a lesser demon together. He made sure I understood he struck the finishing blow.
