CH 330

As soon as I arrived, problems started popping up one after another, and I was overwhelmed. I thought that reforms and system transitions were progressing, but when I came here, nothing was being worked on. On the contrary, the tyranny of the administrators was progressing…

They were originally the group that ruled Koenigsvelg, so they probably just wanted to do the same as before. If this place hadn’t become my territory, I might have let it pass. But even though I became the Lord and officially issued orders as the Lord, they went against my orders and even gave false reports. This is unacceptable.

If for some reason you can’t do it, just say so. If you report honestly, I will not blame you. They may have been dismissed from their posts or duties, or even reassigned, but they were never going to be charged with crimes. Now there is no choice but to charge them with false reports and failure to do their work.

It’s a role I don’t want to play either. But I can’t just keep quiet…

The governors of Koenigsvelg have all been brought to trial, but… but I sent an investigator to investigate the other towns as well.

I’m not so worried about the territories ceded from the Kingdom of Polsky during this war. We have eliminated the old ruling class and dispatched our vassals as governors. In addition, they have been properly reporting any difficulties or unsatisfactory progress. This is probably because my older vassals understand that reporting a lie will lead to more serious consequences than not being able to do their job.

Compared to that, those who were originally from a free city and had their status slide from the old local system are completely useless. They don’t seem to understand the seriousness of the matter. It would be outrageous for them to be so desperate to protect and maintain their position and power that they wouldn’t obey my orders.

If that’s the case, you can raise your opinion, make a petition, or take any number of means. It is absolutely unforgivable to not do that and deceive me with a false report, doing nothing but deepening your arbitrary decisions.

In the end, we are currently re-investigating all the towns in the Caan Knights Nation, including the towns ceded by the Kingdom of Polsky. Even if I say that we will investigate, the liars cannot tell the truth. I’m secretly conducting an investigation here, too. It’s going to be a hassle twice over, thrice over, but it’s unavoidable.

Well… I think it’s a good opportunity to get rid of the root of the troubles now and just start over… it is unlikely that the transition of the system will go well so quickly.

That’s why it’s troublesome to clean up someone else’s territory. This wouldn’t happen if I was designing the Caan Knights Nation and the Caan Barony from the beginning…

It took a few days due to an unexpected event, but it was mostly cleared up. We are working in parallel with the original schedule, so there is not much delay. That’s right… I’m not late just because my work has increased…

“Today, we were supposed to meet with the officers in charge of the prisoners of war,” I said.

“Yes… but… Master Floto, you’re working too hard,” Kanbee said. “At this rate, you might get sick. If you leave it to me…”

When I checked today’s schedule, Kanbee was worried about me. I’m grateful that he’s concerned, but this amount is still small compared to the amount I clean up all at once when I have a lot of work to do.

“It’s good that you’re worried about me, but when I’m really busy, I’m doing more work than this,” I said. “At this level, it’s still a walk through the gardens.”

“-!? That’s… what should I even say..?” Kanbee said, surprised, before his expression gradually fell, his eyes wandering as he looked down.

I guess he thinks he has more of his abilities to be counted on.

“Kanbee… you may think that if you could do more work, you could lighten my load, but you’re doing well enough,” I said. “Before you came, I was also doing all the work you’re handling right now.”

“I see…” Kanbee said.

He’s still not convinced, or rather, he’s lamenting his lack of competence. It’s good that he’s serious and loyal, but there’s no need to worry too much.

“Kanbee, you don’t have to shoulder anything. It’s fine if each of us does what we can,” I said.

“If things don’t turn around, it’s the person in charge… that is, me, who has the issue with the division of labor.”

“…………”

He had a face that seemed to say he wanted to protest, but he did not. Let’s move on to the next task.

Among those taken prisoner during the last war, there is a person who initiated and carried out the declaration of war in Polsky’s Parliament. It is said that he is one of the magnates named Mikalojus Lazicki. I’m starting to understand why he did that and how he got around to it. However, I haven’t seen him since he became a prisoner of war, so I came to see him to ask him directly.

“So then… why did you invade Koenigsvelg?” I asked.

“…………”

He’s quiet. Well, I already have the testimony, and I know everything about the plan, including the purpose and what he was trying to do. It doesn’t matter if he says it or not. After the acknowledgment from Polsky, Mikalojus Lazicki’s deeds are clear.

“…I was to take Koenigsvelg, no! Danzij, too! Because I wanted to make all the free cities in this area mine!” Mikalojus yelled.

Oh? I don’t know what it is, but he suddenly started talking. What is it? Is he desperate?

“I am the best choice to rule over the Hulk Sea Coast! That’s why I’ve laid the groundwork it the Principality of Aust and the Kingdom of Ploiss to prepare for it! And yet… and yet it failed because of you, you bastard!”

“I see……” I said.

Well, he didn’t say anything particularly new. An investigation by Polsky revealed that this guy had bought off the Parliament and had laid the foundations for the Principality of Moscove and the Principality of Aust to intervene. And perhaps even the people of Ploiss were complicit in Mikalojus’ schemes.

That the Royal Guard Division and the Crown Guard were on expeditions to exterminate monsters at the same time was the result of that effort.

Originally, the main enemy of the Kingdom of Ploiss was the Kingdom of Frasia. So naturally the main force is also placed on the western border. If a large force is allocated to the east, there is a high possibility that the Kingdom of Frasia will attack from the west. That’s why the Kingdom of Ploiss has turned a blind eye to the bad situation of Polsky.

If the forces of the royal capital, who are always ready to fight, are on an expedition for monster subjugation, Ploiss will not have the ready fighting power to dispatch to the eastern border immediately. That’s why some of the nobles of Ploiss who were colluding with Mikalojus, devised a nonexistent monster raid and sent the Royal Guard Division on an expedition.

“I have done nothing wrong!” Mikalojus yelled.

“Indeed… 80%… no, 90%, we should agree on that, right?”

Certainly, what Mikalojus said is not quite wrong. But…….

“In this kind of world, what you say isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s true that there’s nothing wrong with taking cities by force,” I said. “I’ll buy that much of your hard work and dedication. But you’re wrong about two things.”

“… What is it? What have I done wrong?” Mikalojus asked.

I thought he would deny it, but Mikalojus looked dumbfounded for a moment, then seemed genuinely curious about his mistake.

“First of all, you said you had prepared, but you lost as a result,” I said. “You say it was because of my and House Carruthers’ intervention, but it was not. It was just because you were incompetent and not prepared for that situation.”

“What!?” Mikalojus yelled, turning bright red. “If you bastards hadn’t come out, my plan would have been…”

“I’m saying that was your mistake. No matter how much strength the enemy puts out, you weren’t prepared to win because you were being moronic, right?” I said. “If you can’t prepare that much strength, why didn’t you take steps to prevent me and House Carruthers from intervening? If you couldn’t have stopped that, then your plan was always full of holes.”

“Uuu… guh…!”

He’s trying to say something, but he can’t. That’s how it is. His face is red with frustration.

“And second,” I continued. “You say you were the best choice to rule. But if someone with foresight like yours had ruled, the free cities would have begun to decline in no time. I’m rather glad we’re not being ruled by you.”

“Wha-What are you talking about?! You may be right that I lost the war! But if I was in control…”

There is an indisputable result that the war was lost. If you said that was because they were not prepared enough, there would be no way to object. But there is no answer, with what it would have been like if Mikalojus had ruled. As long as there is no actual failure result, the person himself will stubbornly deny it.

“Then, if you were able to control the area around here, how would you rule it, and what kind of economic policy would you have planned?” I asked.

“If you leave things like that alone, the merchants will take care of themselves! What we nobles should do is not economic policy!” Mikalojus said. “What we should engage in is how to rule and how to extend that rule!”

This is what it’s all about… It’s hard-headed or old-fashioned… There is only a degree of recognition that if the territory is increased, the people will do the rest.

“That’s why I’m saying that even if you rule, you’ll fail,” I said.

“Then… then you can do it!? Do you think you can make this place prosper!?!” Mikalojus snapped.

It’s a cheap provocation, but… Shall I answer it?

“Yes, I can do it,” I said. “No, it’s already shown as a result of numbers. I’ll show it to you. The future I’m going to create.”

“………… Huh?”

Mikalojus has a blank face. I don’t think he knows why I came to see him here today. Or maybe not everyone understands. After all, I’m trying to add this guy to my subordinates…

It is certain that Mikalojus is stupid and incompetent. But he is also capable. You might think I’m saying an oxymoron, but I’m not.

Mikalojus has no talent for commanding war. He is the pinnacle of incompetence. If you entrust the army to this guy, he will repeat the crushing defeat. But his negotiations and groundwork skills are very good. What should he do to roll other nobles to his cause? Who should he work with and what should he do? He knows this well.

What is fatally lacking in my subordinates, is that there is no one who is familiar with the current aristocratic society.

They learn our method and get results with our method. There are many such people. But it is also a system that is far from the current aristocratic society. It’s true, to some extent we have people who understand the customs of today’s nobles, who are good at social matters, and who can lay the groundwork, but it’s still overwhelmingly lacking.

What is lacking now is aristocratic filth. All of my current subordinates are thorough with my modern and clean way of doing things. It’s not like it’s beautiful because it’s modern, or that it’s dirty because it’s old and aristocratic… I adopt a modern system as an organization that pursues rationality and has an intolerance of injustice.

Compared to that, in the aristocratic society of the previous era, tit-for-tat and prior agreements are important. Mikalojus has shown great skill in them.

Mikalojus was a prisoner of war, and since a treaty had already been signed with the Kingdom of Polsky, he was sold to us as human compensation, that is, as a slave.

I know what I can get by forcing this guy to work, and even so, it’s meaningless to keep him as a prisoner of war. At most, the only way to use him was to suppress the emotions of the victims, by executing him as an officer responsible for the war.

But none of it means anything. It’s useless and pointless. If that’s the case, I’d at least want him to work for us if he came as compensation.

The problem is whether this guy will obediently follow when he is told. Also, during the previous war, he seems to have done a good job laying the groundwork, but I don’t know if it was due to his ability or coincidence. Or maybe there was a subordinate of his, and that subordinate did well. In that area, I came to see how strong this guy is.

“I think you are aware of this, but your custody has been handed over to our country under a treaty,” I said. “There is no place for you to return to in Polsky.”

“Hmph! Do whatever you want, including execution! I’ve already made up my mind!” Mikalojus yelled.

He insisted that even though he was trembling a little. During the war, he trembled and fainted, but now he seems to be desperately trying to make up for his cowardice. I wonder if it’s the stubbornness that you can’t show a frightened face to such a little girl.

“There is nothing to be gained by executing you. Your head is worth nothing,” I said. “So then… I’ll put you in charge as my liaison.”

“What did you just say…?” Mikalojus said.

I guess he understands half of it, but he can’t catch up with the whole of it. Then let me be clear.

“I will take you in as the person in charge of public affairs for my House,” I said. “Depending on your performance, you may be promoted or fired, so do your best.

“… Huh?”

I ignore the surprised Mikalojus as I pondered my plans for the future.