There was no recovering from that mental blow.
Konrad's brain almost refused to function.
He was looking for a sentence—a single word, even—to defuse the situation, refute the claim, pass it off as a joke, but no luck. How do you even come back from something like that?
Did he have to?
The princess seemed at least as lost as he was.
With her mouth agape, her eyes bounced back and forth between him and the girls claiming to be his harem. Vargas could only scratch his head, too, and he has known them for a while.
But nothing could prepare him for the chaos.
Change the topic. That was the only thing he could think of.
"So, uh, that contest," he began, breaking the awkward silence. "Does it have to be in Halaima?"
"What?" Helena's gaze returned to his, but her eyes were still distant and dazed.
If she couldn't snap out of it, Konrad at least wanted to use it to his advantage.
"You say I have to prove myself in a tournament," he repeated. "But does it have to be here? Now that Lady Schwertburg mentioned a loan, why not borrow another place instead?"
"I-It brings fame and fortune to the holder as well," the princess mumbled.
It wasn't an outright no.
"It might, when the holder has a seat that isn't in ruins," Konrad pointed out. "Besides, the king wants me to prove myself, but winning one's own tournament? That would sound sketchy."
"Ah, this is an honorable business. Nobody would question the validity if you upheld the rules."
Again, she eluded to answer his question. But Vargas joined in after that mention.
"Right. They are so strict, I can't even help you this time," he said, adding, "I'm the Captain of the guard in Aset. Aiding you would be a conflict of interest, since we would meet on the field."
"We would?" Konrad raised an eyebrow.
The captain chose the oddest moment to remember his loyalty.
"Yes, as you would lead your own men-at-arms, I would command Aset's team," he explained.
Okay, that did make sense—but also meant that now he had to go through the recruitment and training all by himself. What a massive pain. But at least, he had Lily and a literal dragon—
"Oh, yes, the rules are a bit archaic," Helena noted, too. "Sometimes infuriating."
"Infuriating, how?" Konrad asked, already expecting the worst.
He had never been in a tournament, spending most of his life in rural Haiten.
What else could they keep in store for him?
"Well, for a start, women are not allowed to enter," the princess said, sounding upset.
But that was nothing compared to the disappointment Konrad had felt.
He had a freaking dragon, and he couldn't use it?!
If only it ended there, but Helena continued.
"To guarantee the participants' safety, you can't use ranged weapons or magic, either. It's more of a large-scale chess match than a real battle, but it brings out the creativity of the generals."
"Are you kidding me?!" Konrad let it slip, his jaw hitting the floor.
All the advantages he had, his aces—one by one, got ruled out.
The princess blinked in confusion, so he mumbled an apology before explaining himself.
"I could only recruit scouts and archers from the tribesmen. Melee is their weakness, and without my spells, how am I supposed to win? I don't even have a house guard yet."
"Ah, well, that's the challenge, isn't it?" Helena smirked. "Ducal titles don't come cheap."
Fair. But also not.
It should have been hard, not impossible.
"And about holding the tournament in Aset," Vargas interjected. "It has been some time since we had a proper one, so I'm sure the duke wouldn't be against it—if you pay the costs."
Ugh. Of course, it always came down to money, which he didn't have.
There were some leftover silver bracelets he could transform, but—
"Uh, could I interest the king in some adamantite trade?" Konrad probed, turning back to Helena. "Right now, I'm still rebuilding, and my coffers are empty. But I could get some ore—"
"I wish we could buy that," the princess said, her voice somber. "But the kingdom's broke, too."
Wasn't that something she should've kept a secret? Now he had the most valuable metal in the world, but wasn't allowed to sell it. No, to clarify, he didn't have it yet, either.
He'd have to make his nose bleed for it first—
"We would be happy if you paid your taxes in those coins, though," Helena offered him a bone.
It was more than nothing, but his tax wasn't due for a few months yet.
He didn't want to take out a loan, either. Not for some tournaments—not when he still hasn't recruited his team yet. Did he even want to become a duke at this point?!
"How much would a tournament of this scale cost?" he asked Vargas, regardless.
"About three hundred florins," the captain counted on his fingers. "Aset already has the infrastructure in place. But you need food, healers on standby, prize money—"
"Healers," Konrad muttered, looking at his girls.
They were still nearby, grinning to themselves.
Must have been enjoying his struggle to fight their chaos—
"Are female healers forbidden, too, or is it only about who steps into the battlefield?" he asked.
His inner cheapskate awakened.
If there was one thing Lily excelled at—other than being trouble—it was healing him.
She saved his life many times. Konrad had no idea how much it would cost to hire a proper healer, but he knew the demoness could do a better job, anyway.
"No, no such rule exists," Helena pondered. "Not that I've heard of a female healer before."
Wasn't this world sexist? Especially since the princess herself was a great duelist.
"My, uh, wife-to-be here," Konrad almost choked on that word, "could heal any wound. And it would also show her off as my tie to the local tribes, and proof of my leadership."
That second part was to preempt Lily saying no, knowing how often she made up excuses.
"Your wife-to-be doesn't want to waste her demonic paw-tential on such mundane tasks."
Yep, there it was. Now he knew what he was missing.
"Healers cost about fifty florins alone," Vargas pointed out. "They are hard to come by."
"Liliske, dear, beautiful," Konrad pleaded, pulling out all the stops. "Don't you want to be the proper wife of a proper duke? And show the people that the tribesmen aren't savages, either?"
It was a long shot; Lily proved time and time again that she cared little about this world.
But she cared about him.
"As I said, I can get you a loan to pay for all this," Gabrielle offered, scooting closer.
Yeah, sure. A loan that he would have to pay back later.
But if anything, it made the little catgirl pout with jealousy, exactly as Konrad had hoped.
"He doesn't need your money when he has meow. Fine, I'll heal, but you'll owe me. Big time."
For someone so powerful, she was easy to manipulate.
No, she manipulated him for his past life, and even this one.
It might've started to rub off on him, though, and he wasn't sure if he was fond of it or not.