CH 393

It’s less than 2 months until I return to the royal capital. As far as I’m concerned, I’m doing my best to work hard, but my work never decreases. On the contrary, I feel like it’s piling up more and more. When will I be able to take it easy…?

I’m somehow doing my job now, but if something unexpected happens, there’s a high possibility that I won’t be able to keep up with it. Gears do not rotate properly unless there is a gap between the teeth or so-called “play.” It’s the same with work, it’s a job that can barely be done by 3 people, so if there are only 3 people, things won’t go smoothly. If there is a problem with anyone, it will collapse instantly.

Even for a job that can be done by 3 people, 4 or 5 people should be assigned, and the work must be handled with leeway. Besides, it is not necessary to train only veterans who can do the job and finish the work one after another, but it is necessary to add newcomers and train them by accumulating education and practical experience. In that sense, the number of people must be large enough to afford contingencies.

How about turning things around? I do most of the work. If you say it sounds like overkill, or like a big shot who doesn’t work, or like a boss or manager that misunderstands the load, it is objectively true so I can’t help it.

There are often managers and bosses who misunderstand that without them, the regular employees couldn’t work! But, in reality, work would go more smoothly without them, but there are also a lot of idiots who misunderstand and arrogantly interfere in the processes.

I don’t want that to happen as much as possible, so I leave highly specialized work to experts and leave things to craftsmen and people in charge as much as possible. However, I am the supreme decision maker, so I have to confirm and approve all the plans and projects that those people have raised to my level.

In that sense, all the work is decided by me in the end, so if they can proceed with their work without me, they can do it, but the people in charge of the House Caan will do their respective specializations. I can’t help it. If such authority is not given, it will be impossible for each to act independently yet still proceed in a unified policy direction as determined by the House Head.

In addition to that, dividing authority also entails the danger of rebellion. Even if the king can’t decide everything by himself, giving too much power to his vassals will cause rebellion. While maintaining a balance around that, we have to create a system that allows us to moderately distribute work and perform management and monitoring.

“… Hmm. Kanbee, domestic affairs, military administration, please assemble the main figures of this House in all fields. These are the list of individuals I wish summoned, as well.”

“Master! Then let us begin…” Kanbee said.

Kanbee left the room with the list I gave him. House Caan family and their territories have grown too large. It’s not on a scale that I can manage on my own forever. If that’s the case… then we have to review the governance system more radically…

A week later, the people I summoned gathered in Koenigsvelg. The new town has yet to be built. For the time being, I asked them to gather in the conference room of Caanza Trading Firm, but there were too many people. Well, I can’t help it. Rather than gathering here, it would have been better to go to Cien or Caanburg in the Knighthood, but… I don’t have time to go there.

“I see we’ve all gathered here,” I said.

“”””Sire!”””””

“If Lady Flora calls me, I will come wherever she wishes me to.”

I only invite people I trust here. Only those who have served me for a long time, and those who would risk their lives to work for my House. I want to talk to everyone here about our system.

“House Caan has grown too big,” I said. It’s becoming difficult for me to manage everything and give orders like I used to. So I would like to reorganize… and I ask you all to please help me.”

Everyone is listening quietly. If there’s something you want to say, it’s okay if you say it. For now, let me tell them my thoughts on our system.

“First of all, I will explain the system that I have in mind. If you have any opinions, feel free to state them. Let’s start with the current structure of House Caan…”

The first thing I talked about was the organization of House Caan itself. Rather than the ruling system of a territory, it must be arranged from the system of House Caan, who governs all of them

First of all, the head is the Count of Caan. And the House Head is me, Floto von Caan. I am the Lord of House Caan’s territory, and I am also the King of the Kingdom of Blish Isles. And I’ve been in charge of managing all the territories and kingdoms by myself. But that’s the limit.

“In House Caan, I’m thinking of setting up a steward who will manage all the House’s duties.”

I think I’ll put someone in charge of everything for the House, such as a head servant, a chief retainer, or whatever you call it. While thinking about various names, I decided to call it Steward for the time being. Any other name is fine. You can change it later, I just thought of it temporarily.

Taking care of all the House’s duties, they weren’t just about cleaning, washing, dining, or anything like that. It’s everything about our House. Inviting and entertaining guests, preparing for a party, and responding to everything House Caan does. So in a sense, it can be said that it is a great power.

“The steward is Helmut. You are acting as the new House Head. I entrust you with all of this noble family’s affairs from now on.”

“My Lord! I’ll be certain to meet your expectations!” Helmut said.

Even if he’s not directly involved in domestic affairs or military affairs, he’s probably quite busy if he manages everything for House Caan. Besides, even if it was good during my time with Helmut, it is possible that the future stewards will have too much authority and manipulate the master at will in the future generations. There needs to be some kind of safety valve.

“Isabella is the steward adviser. Katharina will be the deputy steward.”

“”Yes. Please leave it to me,”” they said.

Isabella, who has a lot of experience, listens to and guides the stewards as a counselor. In addition, the adviser and the deputy steward manage, supervise, and monitor themselves to prevent one person from going out of control. It is, so to speak, a triad, and by keeping each other in check, it is possible to prevent any one position from increasing their power too much or going out of control.

You might think that Helmut and Katharina are blood siblings from the same family, but it’s not a big problem in this generation. Katharina will definitely report to me if her older brother Helmut does something suspicious, but I’m not worried about that kind of thing, conflicts of interest.

I just want to create a system in which the people who have taken over that position in the future will monitor each other. That’s why in this case it doesn’t matter what the relationship is between Helmut and Katharina.

“Next… Kanbee is the Chancellor who assists the Head of House Caan. And… the Vice Chancellor is Alexandra.”

“Yes, Master!” Kanbee said, bowing his head exaggeratedly.

“Understood,” Alexandra said.

The Yamato Empire’s replies and reactions to ceremonies are just a little much.

The Chancellor position I gave to Kanbee is different from the Prime Minister of a territory or a country. In modern Japan, there is not much difference in terms of words between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister. However, Kanbee was explicitly the post of Chancellor, which was only to assist the Head of House Caan. The meaning is also different from the Prime Minister who manages an entire territory or country.

Of course, the Vice Chancellor’s main job is to assist the Chancellor. However, just like the stewards and deputy stewards, the Vice Chancellor monitors the Chancellor to prevent rampage and rebellion.

“Ignatz is the General of the Army of House Caan, Oliver is the Commander of the Royal Guard Division, and Armand is the Commander of the Special Forces.”

“”We will execute our duties properly.””

Well, this is not that big of a deal. These are the people who originally had that role. Just give it a name and authority as a formal position and show it clearly inside and outside.

“Schwartz is the Admiral of the Fleet of House Caan, Ramor is the Commander of the Navy, and Stefan is the Chief of the Explorers’ Guild under the Navy.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Sire!”

“I-I’ll do my best!”

Well, Schwartz and Ramor are not so different from what they’ve been doing so far. However, the Admiral of the Fleet has become a senior naval officer directly under the Head of House Caan. Although he is in the navy, he does not simply follow orders from our chain of command, he is an independent commander who is not threatened by anything else. This will also be a system to monitor each other with the Admiral of the Fleet so that the navy does not take full power.

The Explorers’ Guild will be a group of explorers who will set out to discover the Dark Continent and the New Continent. I installed Stefan as the head of the union. Since Stefan himself will also go out as an explorer, it will be necessary to clarify the authority to give instructions to the explorers. He must also be empowered to make decisions on the ground.

“As an army under the personal control of House Caan’s Head, the Corps Commander be Musashi, and the Deputy Corps Commander will be Janzicka.”

“”Master!””

Originally, the royal guards existed as units under the command of the monarch. In that form, Oliver would be for the direct army and its head commanding officer. But ours is a little different.

The Royal Guard Division is just one division of the Army. The Personal Army is an independent force that works as a limb under the orders of House Caan’s Head. They do not obey the military chain of command’s orders. Well, if they fight together on the battlefield, they will follow the strategy, but you can think of it as an independent army with a different chain of command.

“I will announce the ministers from here. Hugo is Minister of Economy, Victoria is Minister of Finance, and Mikalojus is Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

“It’s a great honor.”

“Let’s do our best together from now on, Lord Flora.”

“Rest assured your decision was correct!”

Hugo, head of the Caanza Trading Firm’s Royal Capital Branches, is appointed Minister of Economy. House Caan’s economy is practically run by the Caanza Trading Firm. That’s why I made Hugo, Caanza Trading Firm’s #2, Minister of Economy. What happened to #1? I’m #1… What are you going to do if you appoint me as a minister…?

And there’s Victoria of Kruck Trading Firm. As discussed sometime before, Kruck will be merged with Caanza. The two firms are now gradually combining operations and structures. Victoria, who has been working as her chairman until now, is gradually retiring from her job. We just can’t afford to retire her talent as quickly as Victoria would like.

In anticipation of her ability to manage the firm, she will be in charge, as the Minister of Finance. Of course, it’s not like she’s going to be in charge of everything all by herself, and the people who have been in charge of the financial affairs of Caanza and Kruck are also assisting and monitoring. It’s the usual pattern of keeping them in check by monitoring each other…

And Mikalojus… I can’t help but think that this guy is the only one who is shrewdly getting ahead of the world, leaving Polsky in ruins like this. But when it comes to diplomatic skills, he certainly has something of his own. I have to admit that.

Of course, he must be strictly monitored so that they don’t go out of control and do something outrageous. Nominally he’s the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but in reality, he’s just a diplomat. It’s just that the other party is a diplomat toward the foreign minister, so the attitude will change, so I’m only giving him the title of Foreign Affairs Minister.

Mikalojus had become quite close with Kanbee, so I will continue to let Kanbee hold the reins. After all, Kanbee is the Chancellor, so he’s responsible for managing and monitoring all the others.

“Mikoto and Louisa will each be assigned to be Magic Commanders, and Claudia will be attached to the Personal Army.”

“Leave it to me!”

“I’ll work hard!”

“I’ll be Flora’s escort!”

Mikoto and Louisa are given formal command of the magic units they have trained. It won’t work if you let someone else take the lead. And, Claudia will be nominally affiliated with the personal army. It’s not like she’s supposed to follow Musashi or Janzicka’s orders. Even if it was under my personal army, it was nominal.

“These are all organizations under the control of House Caan. Regardless of territory or country, they are organizations that exist above all other powers. And now… the Prime Minister of the Blish Isles, I entrust this work to you, Gotoh.”

“Yes! I will do my best for King Karruzer!”

The Knighthood, the Barony, and the Knight’s Nation are the territories of the Kingdom of Ploiss. In addition, it is the direct possession of House Caan. Compared to that, in the Kingdom of Blish Isles, even though House Caan is the royal family, not everything is under their power.

Also, if it’s just one territory within the Kingdom of Ploiss, it’s not possible to arbitrarily set a minister or something. But in the Kingdom of Blish Isles, I am the king, so I can appoint ministers and generals as I please. For the time being, the territory within Ploiss will be managed under House Caan’s system. The Blish Isles must build a kingdom centered on me, the king, and Gotoh, the prime minister.

A number of other magistrates were appointed, the deficiencies were filled, and the new system was steadily decided by having each of them decide on something like an adjutant.