Chapter 226.1. Feast At Kanna Dukedom

-????’s POV
On that day, Kanna Dukedom was holding a modest but lively feast. Despite having experienced ups and downs, Kanna Dukedom still maintained its power. When it comes to a feast, it could be grandiose, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they spent hundreds of millions in a single night.
However, at this moment, they were gathered in a small yet elegant room, with only a few people present, including Duke Kamimuke. 
Despite the solitude, they all had smiles on their faces.
“Well, well, we can finally counterattack against the Ulhara, or rather, Takano County.” 
A middle-aged man with a slightly chubby, bulldog-like face, shaking his wine glass and grinning happily.
“That’s right. Menou Marquisate has been having quite a lot of pressure on us these past 2 years. This time, we were truly fortunate, Marquis Menou.”
Duke Kanna, slightly squinting his fox-like eyes as he referred to the man before him as Marquis Menou.
The man called Marquis Menou looks miffed at his spare attitude and words.
Marquis Menou, he’s the head of Menou Marquisate, a major magic tool manufacturer leading the Dog Puppy Company.
He had a bulldog-like appearance, a slightly chubby physique, ears, and a tail resembling a bulldog.
“You think the downfall started with the unveiling 2 years ago? True, it did serve as a promotion for Urlara’s Waton, thanks to Robin’s foolish defeat. But the subsequent decline in our sales was due to their superior technology.”
“That’s more embarrassing… Your words don’t sound very convincing after reigning for so long as a magic tool manufacturer, and lost.”
The deeply hooded woman standing by the window appears to mock them.
“Their technology is abnormal! There must be a genius magic tool maker behind it! Probably one of those rumored Druid magicians!”
“A single genius can change the world… It’s something rarely seen in history. But that doesn’t mean geniuses always become winners of their time.”
“You can afford such an attitude because you don’t know the extent of our losses! In just 2 years, they’ve snatched away a significant share…”
Caressing his chin, Duke Kanna remained unfazed. On the other hand, Marquis Menou grew more and more frustrated, gulping down his wine aggressively.
On the other hand, the hooded woman smirked at the contrasting display between the two.
“Now, now, Marquis Menou. It’s time for the counterattack. Ulhara’s reign was only about 2 years.”
The sole child present in the room interjected.
In the room were Duke Kann, Marquis Menou, the hooded woman, and Kanna Shin.
Marquis Menou sniffed and stabbed the roast beef on the table with a fork.
“The [Attribute Magic Nullification] technology is impressive. With that, they can easily defeat specialized magicians. Only those who possess unique magic like [Lycanthropy] will remain a challenge.”
“After witnessing that match, those with keen eyes abandoned their Ulhara shares and bought Dog Puppy Company’s shares. Many people have asked me where I got that magic armor.”
Shin followed Marquis Menou and smiled cheerfully.
“That’s right. It wasn’t a mistake to focus the magic armor on magic resistance and abandon output battles.”
“Where did you get this technology from? I’m interested?”
A hooded woman asked, and Marquis Menou grinned, taking a bite of roast beef.
“Of course, it’s all thanks to our genius magician. Thanks to this technology, the world has entered a new era of innovation.”
Chewing messily, Marquis Menou boasted proudly.
Though his eating manners were unsightly, everyone knew it was to provoke Duke Kanna, so no one frowned.
Normally, Marquis Menou would eat with aristocratic elegance, but when he wanted to irritate someone or convey something indirectly, he would use his appearance to perform this unsightly eating style.
That was a way of criticizing Kanna Dukedom’s reduced power.
“With this, Menou Marquisate will recover. What about Duke Kanna’s influence?”
With a sharp gaze, Marquis Menou looked at Duke Kanna, who drank the wine in his glass and fell silent.
“At present, how many people come to watch our house, Shin?”
“Currently, a few spies directly under His Majesty the Emperor are monitoring our house. They are quite obvious, so I believe the real threat lies elsewhere. It seems Sena-san wanted to play with me in the house.”
Duke Kanna asks Shin, and he replies playfully. He seems to have decided to keep an imposing watch on Shin since he lost the match.
“Hmph. If they think that will stop my actions, they are too optimistic. If anything, they might end up proving our innocence.”
Although Shin’s defeat was unexpected, they could still use it to their advantage. They accomplished their primary goal of unveiling the performance of the new magic armor.
By sealing Aguni’s fire, they had effectively given their stamp of approval to its capabilities.
While the second goal of incorporating Aguni Dukedom had failed, they didn’t expect everything to go smoothly.
Strategizing is involved planning multiple steps while considering the possibility of failure.
But Duke Kanna’s son, Shin, seemed frustrated. But that was only natural for someone so young. He had grown up without experiencing setbacks or failures, so it was only natural for him to be concerned about this defeat.