CH 315

“Fuhn♪ Fufu~hn♪”

I quickly read through the documents and sign them. The time I was in the Demon Country, rather the Yamato Empire, was short, so I didn’t have a lot of work to do when I got back, and I was given an excellent servant… a piece of their power… more hands on deck… eh~… ah! Thanks to the increase in excellent subordinates, things have become a little easier.

“You’re in a good mood today,” Katharina said as she helps me clean up the documents.

“Is that so? Is it normal?” I asked.

Today’s work is nearly over.

“Master Floto! Master Floto!”

Bang! Then the door opened and Kanbee entered. No matter how ignorant he is of manners, this is unacceptable. You do not do this to the Emperor in his home country. In other words, Kanbee doesn’t recognize me as his master and takes me lightly. Otherwise, there’s no way someone would break into the master’s office without knocking.

No matter how different the manners of knocking and entering the room are in the Yamato Empire, there is no way to enter the master’s room without saying a word first. This guy knows what he’s doing. I’m careful with him, but there’s no sign of him fixing the problem.

“Master Floto! There are too many tasks that I have to hand over to you! At least assign someone as my subordinate, or I won’t be able to handle it!” Kanbee yelled.

“Kanbee…” I said, still working, “How many times do I have to remind you not to enter a woman’s room without knocking? Besides, what is the point of barging into a place where there may be secrets or secret talks without greeting or warning? This is why you’ve got a terrible reputation and no appreciation back on the other side.”

This is what I have said many times. Still, it’s not fixed, so I don’t think it will be fixed just because I told him off.

If I want to change Kanbee’s attitude… he will have no choice but to recognize me as his true master from the bottom of his heart. Otherwise, Kanbee will never change his attitude toward me.

“I don’t think it’s your place to tell me what I should know about my past,” Kanbee said. “I’m not able to do my job if you keep giving me so much work to do! I need you to at least assign me a subordinate, or else nothing is getting done!”

Bang! Kanbee both slams the desk with one hand and the pile of documents he’s holding in his other, too. After being hired, Kanbee was first taught common sense here. Helmut was in charge of his education, so he should have taught him exactly. And he is probably still being taught this and that.

It’s true that Kanbee is smart and doesn’t have a bad memory. If you taught him manners, conventions, and customs, he would have learned them to some extent immediately. But I don’t want to protect his ego like before. I don’t want to be thought of as an idiot.

Of course, there are some places that are kept to a minimum. In that respect, it’s different from just being rude and ill-mannered, but he understands why he has to follow the rules of such a barbarian country, and yet he doesn’t follow them. And he’s doing it deliberately so.

There is no way such a guy could be entrusted with diplomacy, and it seems that there is no one specifically in charge of Foreign Affairs in the Yamato Empire, to begin with. You might think that a diplomatic mission came to our house, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a department dedicated to diplomacy, they’re just appointed whenever there is that sort of work to do.

The mission that had come to our House also decided to withdraw once, except for those who remained here as liaisons. Isuzu has also left, so now there’s only a handful of civil servants and military men. The escort of those who remain will not leave without them.

That’s why it doesn’t seem like Kanbee was a dedicated diplomat. Officials in the Yamato Empire basically have to do everything. The main thing is to be given a role and do the work of that role, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the only thing they’ll be doing. It is also possible that the role can be changed from time to time. You don’t have to focus on just specialization for the rest of your life.

I suspect that the reason lies in the government system. The Yamato Empire is not a state system ruled by bureaucrats, but a feudal system. Of course, even in a feudal system there are bureaucrats, but they don’t rule… the Lords of each region are responsible for taxes, economy, agriculture, family registration, and everything else in their territory. In some cases, they may even have jurisdiction and decide on legal cases by themselves.

It’s the same thing as in Ploiss, instead of having tremendous but not unlimited authority over your fief as a Feudal Lord, we also have to do everything within our territory.

It does not mean that one should spend their entire life like a civil officer because as a Lord of Ploiss, one must not only conduct domestic affairs within your fief, you must also talk with the other Lords and the kingdom’s ultimate representatives, or in other words, diplomacy within the country’s borders. If war breaks out, you must also fight. If an incident occurs within your domain, you must also stand trial.

There may be bureaucrats and governing structures under the Lord who do these things, but the Lord himself has to do everything. The same thing is done in the Yamato Empire.

Kanbee was dispatched to our house as a diplomat for the Yamato Empire, but when he returns to his territory, the work of a Lord awaits. After he finishes his diplomatic service, he will have to do a different job.

It seems that such Kanbee had a history of doing a lot of diplomatic work in the Yamato Empire, but I don’t think Kanbee is suited for diplomacy. Of course, it might be suitable for a large country like Yamato to face other small countries and subordinate states with a high and mighty attitude. But even then, there is a high risk of backlash.

Even more so, in a situation where the other party hasn’t yielded yet, Kanbee’s unilaterally arrogant attitude will make it impossible to conclude negotiations. It’s fine if you show your country’s power and make the other party give up, but if you don’t succeed, you’ll just get in trouble and make things complicated.

That’s why I first let Kanbee do domestic affairs work. Priority went to work that is not so confidential and that I do not mind if the information leaks.

For example, tax investigations and adjustments, population and family register investigations and confirmations, and domestic affairs that are not likely to make much difference anywhere, Kanbee can know it. Rather, there is no job for Kanbee where he can disclose that much information. And even Kanbee will have no material to discern the implications, of what position he holds now.

That’s what I thought, and I’m entrusting him with a job that’s easy and good to familiarize himself a bit…

“Kanbee… Let me tell you one thing,” I said. “That job you say you can’t do… If it was someone else doing it, they’ll have finished it in one day. If you can’t do it, it’s because you can’t do it. And if you’ll insist… perhaps it’s time someone else gets your job.”

According to the reports I’ve received, Kanbee is certainly reasonably good, but he seems to be extremely inefficient. It may be that he is not accustomed to our system and way of doing things. That’s why it’s good to have someone teach him the job first. But Kanbee can’t do that. He can’t bow his head and ask people to tell him about his work, so no matter how much time passes, his efficiency won’t improve.

“Why am I…?” Kanbee said.

“That’s the thing,” I said. “This is what we call stupidity.”

“Huh?!” Kanbee yelled, angry.

It’s true that he’s excellent, but… he’s too simplistic, or rather…

“Kanbee, you are certainly talented in your own way,” I said. “It is good to have confidence in yourself. But I can do a better job than you. In a job where you can’t see the results and the value you bring, your baseless self-confidence would have let you pass. But in a job where we can see the results like this, you do not.”

“…………”

Kanbee fell silent at my words. Clearly, that the same work is being processed and the number of papers we can output is different from his means that his processing ability is inferior. Unlike diplomacy, whose results are difficult to see, this is producing immediate, measurable results.

“You probably have a lot of things you want to say,” I said.”`I’m just not used to it because the methods and systems are different than what I used before.’ or ‘The others have been doing this for so long it’s natural that they’re better than me.’ or some other excuse of the sort.”

“…………”

“But that’s a big mistake. Your senior coworkers… that’s right, the newcomer before you changed in only about 10 days since he started working here. However, the difference in work efficiency is enormous. With the same amount of work I give you, he’s doing 1.5 times the amount you can go through in a day. If I borrow your words…that former newcomer is worth more than you, aren’t they?”

“That’s not right!” Kanbee yelled.

He seemed unable to bear it. But I won’t stop.

“Let’s admit that your basic abilities are high, but you don’t learn anything from others,” I said. “Those who think that they can do it, that they are right, that they are better than others, and therefore think that the others are inferior. You don’t ask others to teach you. That’s why you won’t grow in your abilities, and you won’t acquire practical skills or techniques.”

“Shut up! I can!” Kanbee yelled.

The blood was rising to his head, he’s so easy to agitate now.

“The people you think are inferior to you, and the teachings of your predecessors, have a history and experience that has been accumulated over the years. It’s you who is the true fool, disregarding them, underestimating others, refusing to improve yourself.”

“-!”

Kanbee was about to say something and dropped his shoulders helplessly. I guess he knows it himself. No, he should have known. It’s just… he was scared. If… he tries hard and still doesn’t acquire much ability… then there’s no excuse for that anymore.

The truth is… he can do it. He just doesn’t know how. That’s how he made excuses to himself, prepared an escape route, and avoided interacting with people and learning how to do things and take advantage of their experience. To make the excuse that it can’t be helped, because he doesn’t know how other people are doing it…

“Kanbee… I appoint you as my assistant,” I said. “From now on, help me with my work.”

“…………”

This is a bet. I’m only touching confidential information. It touches on a lot of matters that only I and the head supervisor would normally know. If he’s going to be my assistant, then if I could have, I would only entrust it to someone I can absolutely trust.

It would be a tremendous risk to let Kanbee come to our House as a spy for the Demon country, the Yamato Empire.

Kanbee… has never pledged allegiance to me. It’s just as you’ve seen, and if you wonder why he’s still serving me… it’s probably for the sake of the Yamato Empire, which will end up with unfavorable conditions in the treaty and leak a lot of its technology.

Is it to find out my House’s internal affairs? Is he thinking of stealing some technology from us instead? After all, Kanbee is serving me for the sake of the Yamato Empire. I don’t even think about how dangerous it would be to have someone like that next to me, who only touches the most confidential matters.

Still… I’ll keep Kanbee handy. And then… he’ll finish his job. On top of that, if Kanbee wants to return to the Yamato Empire, I have no choice. We were given preferential treatment under the terms of the treaty. It would be a small way to repay the kindness by letting Kanbee bring back the information about our House and raising him so that he can do his actual duty.

If possible… I want Kanbee to learn our secrets and stay with us… but I can’t tell him to betray his motherland.

After that… I have no choice but to do my best so that Kanbee thinks I trust him. For that reason, I discipline myself and drive my work into Kanbee. But that’s all there will be.

The long vacation I spent in the Caan Knighthood is coming to an end. After today’s party, tomorrow we will board a boat from Cien and head for Steltin.

“Thank you for inviting me to your realm, Lord Caan.”

“Marquis Reingen, did you enjoy our territory?” I said.

The members of the Reingen Marquisate are also participating in the send-off party tomorrow. Well, House Reingen, including Christa, will all return to the royal capital after all. Among those who returned with us from the capital, Viscount Royce will remain, and Musashi and Kanbee will be joining us on the return trip.

Since then, Kanbee has been working sort of like my secretary. Recently, he has been studying seriously, hiding his arrogant and condescending attitude like before. I wonder if Musashi is more or less nearby as his escort.

“Marquis Rheingen, I will see you later,” I said as I finished going around and saying our goodbyes.

“Good work today, Miss Flora,” Katharina said as she brought me a drink. “You seem quite calm, but are you certain about the treaty?”

“Huh? Yes, it’s fine,” I said.

She knows that I was worried about the treaty because she’s always by my side, Katharina. I guess she’s worried that I’ll be fine even though I haven’t implemented any solutions. But no problem. We don’t have to do anything.

“The nobles of the Kingdom Ploiss for certain do not have diplomatic rights by themselves,” I said. “If they engage in diplomacy with other countries without permission, they will be punished. However… the sovereignty and laws of Ploiss only apply within the borders of Ploiss.”

“… Don’t tell me,” Katharina said, looking deep in thought and now guessing what I was thinking.

With a grin and my cheeks tilting up, I explained my technicality.

“As a noble of the Kingdom of Ploiss, it is certainly impossible for me to do diplomacy on my own. Whether it as Lord of the Caan Knighthood, Lord of the Caan Barony, or Lord of the Caan Knights Nation, they are all within Ploiss’s borders.”

“…………” Katharina understands what I’m saying but she stares at me blankly.

I don’t know how she feels. It’s just a technicality. But I’ll push through with this.

“However, I am also the Lord of Goslant Island, which is outside Ploiss’s territory,” I said. “No matter what kind of treaty, Goslant Island is out of the reach of Ploiss’s sovereignty, so there is no right for Ploissians to say anything about it.”

Yes! The British King was a vassal of the French King in France and had a vast territory. However, the relationship between the countries of England and France is equals. There is a master-slave relationship only within France. When the English King returns to England, he will still be the King of England, and there is no reason for him to be instructed by the King of France in the domestic affairs of England.

I do the same principle. Even if I’m a vassal of the King of Ploiss within the Kingdom of Prussia, I’m number 1 on Goslant Island, outside of Ploiss. There is no reason for anyone to give me instructions or orders about what to do with it. No matter what policy is adopted, there is no reason to be told whether or not to enter into diplomatic relations.

Well… if you do something they really don’t like, there’s a chance they’ll start a war with me…

That’s why I signed a peace treaty with the Yamato Empire as Lord of Goslant Island! If you insist on this, no one can complain. No, I won’t let them complain!