Jin and his friends soon arrived at the village of Toka.

"Wow!　What the heck is that?

"Calm down, I think that's an airship!

The stationed soldiers can be seen moving left and right.

But it seems that Licia has heard the commotion and has come out.

"Quiet!　That's the Korun's plane! Everyone, please be respectful.

"......?"

Jin could not hear the words, but he assumed that such an order had probably been given.

The soldiers and villagers who had been making noise quieted down, and the square where they were going to land became empty.

Jin instructed Edgar, who was piloting the plane, to lower it more slowly than usual.

And they landed.

From the window of the gondola, Jin could see Licia's face. This means that Licia also saw his face.

The rear door, which is the official entrance to the gondola cabin, functions as a ramp when it is opened.

Jin, Elsa, and Reiko descended slowly. Edgar is the housekeeper.

"Jin-san!

Licia runs up to him.

"It's been a long time!"

She smiles happily. But when she looks at Erza, who is standing next to Jin, a little shadow of sadness crosses her face.

"Long time no see, Licia-san. You look well."

"Yes, thanks to you. I've heard about ....... I heard that you and Elsa are getting married.

Thank you.

Please come this way.

Licia led Jin and the others to the lord's mansion.

The lord's mansion was a magnificent building.

"It's not very simple, and it would be a source of disrespect. Besides, the employment brought a little life to the village.

I was told that Princess Rieschen of the Third Estate personally gave them financial support in recognition of how well they had handled the famine.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Jin could only say a few simple words, but it seemed that his feelings had been conveyed, and Licia smiled happily.

"Yes, really."

We were then led to the reception room.

This room, too, was decorated with modest but tasteful furniture.

Please have a seat.

Hitoshi and Elsa sit down at Licia's suggestion. Reiko is standing behind Jin.

Just then a girl of 15 or 6 years old, probably Licia's secretary, comes in with a cup of tea.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

The girl thanked him and walked away.

She is also a child of the village. We are hiring her on a hourly basis.

Jin understood that this was a part-time job.

"You seem to be working hard.

That one comment by Jin made Licia's face cloud over.

"......"

"Oh, did I say something bad?"

Seeing Licia's sudden twilight, Jin panicked.

"No,...... I'm sorry. It's nothing."

"No, it's nothing."

"What's troubling you?"

Elsa, sensing something in his appearance, also asked.

"......"

Licia was silent, but by the look on her face, even the uninitiated Jin could easily imagine that she had hit the bull's-eye.

"I ...... no, we can discuss it with you if you want to do it yourselves."

"......"

Licia still did not open her mouth, but after Jin and Erza took turns talking to her, she finally opened her heavy mouth.

"...... limits."

"What?"

"I felt I was at my ...... limit."

Then Licia began to speak her thoughts in a halting manner.

The limits of what she could do as a lord.

The limits of our village.

Limitations of life improvement.

The limits of one's ability.

"......Oh, I see."

Jin thought that Licia was too much involved by herself.

She is trying to do everything by herself and is getting out of control.

It is precisely because Jin used to work in a black company where he was forced to do everything that he wanted to do that he immediately realized it.

"<>, or ......"

The director of the school sometimes said this to us.

"Brother Jin, what is that?"

"Mr. Jin, what does it mean?"

Sure enough, Elsa and Licia asked.

"I'm not sure if I know exactly what it means.

Jin began to explain.

The word originally comes from the phrase "He who knows how to be rich will be rich," which is found in the (a compilation of the teachings of Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese thinker), and since these tend to lack explanations compared to Japanese, the meaning can change depending on the interpretation. But Jin does not know that much.

"First of all, paradoxically, there is no limit to human desire. As long as there is a desire for more and more, the mind will never be at peace. So I think he meant something like ."

This does not mean that we should not be ambitious.

It is a warning against refining one's mind by dwelling on what cannot be done, or what is unobtainable.

As he was explaining, Jin thought of the people of the village of Kaina.

They accept what they have and live a life of peace and tranquility.

Of course, when Jin made various tools and magic tools, they accepted them, but no one asked him to give them more.

(...... is it the blood of the old Leonard's Kingdom?)

Jin did not understand it either.

"......In short, it may be that as things become richer, the heart must also become richer."

Jin explained with his own interpretation.

"<>, is it? That's a good word."

Licia smiled a little.

"...... I guess I'm the same way. It sounds good to say that I'm not satisfied with the status quo, but maybe I've been so preoccupied with the big, glamorous things that I've been worrying about what I can't do, instead of doing what I can."

Licia's smile became even wider as she spoke these words in a self-analyzing manner.

"Thank you, Jin-san. ...... somehow reminded me of the first time we met."

"First time?"

"The first time?" "Yes. The first time I went to the village of Kayna as a tax collector.

Oh, that time?

When I loaded wheat into the cart that Jin had built and crossed the Togo Pass with the young people of the village.

Licia, wondering what she could do for the people as a nobleman, asked Jin.

Jin-san told me that he felt that it was dangerous for someone who did not have such concerns to be in a position of power.

"Yes, that's right."

"So I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I should do what I can do. I seem to have forgotten that. I was trying to do something that I couldn't do, and I hit a wall and ...... was worried about it all on my own."

Licia's face looked much livelier as she said this.