CH 161

「Soleil-sama, please stop moving that pastry bag for now. 」

Gold rebuked me.

「You too, Kiel. 」

「Meal. 」

Gold also scolded Silver. Hey Gold, stop clearing your throat while chasing the pastry bag with your eyes.

「I’ll definitely find out who makes those sweets… 」

Silver bitterly mumbled, staring pitifully at Gold and me.

Either Gold already realized who the ‘maker’ is, or he just treats it as some sort of snack. He could taste it, but he doesn’t seem particularly attached to the snacks, unlike Silver.

「Alright, why don’t we look for a feudal lord in the meantime? 」

「Huh? 」

Both of them dubiously gazed at me.

「I’m not good at managing a territory, and in case something happens, I totally plan to abandon it all and flee. If I’m the citizen, then I definitely won’t want that sort of feudal lord, you know what I mean? 」

「You have already been welcomed. 」Gold.

「I don’t think something worse than the earlier situation will happen. 」Silver.

Oh, right, come to think of it, the islands are quite scattered and far from each other.

「Perhaps you’re envisioning the lawless areas of the Central Plains, but it’s different here. Everything is fine as long as you don’t fail in trade. If someone dares to attack without any justified cause, they’ll be kicked out of the trade. 」Gold.

「Some people can survive falling out of the trade, no? 」

「I see. Well, even if worse comes to worst and you have to sell the fief, such an atrocity as the soldiers mass killing the people won’t happen. 」

「We can’t say it absolutely won’t happen. 」

「But the target of assault will be those who reside in the mansion only; the commoners will be safe. 」

「Alright, got it, then let’s look for someone who can do the job for me. 」

「…So you’re still searching in the end? 」

Ehh, being a feudal lord is a major pain in the neck, since I need to settle disputes among the citizens and stuff like that. And just what does ‘important work’ even mean? Well, when thinking about a country, it should be the three separate powers: legislative, executive and judicial, right? Is that it?

I should just tweak the laws a bit based on what we have on this island so far. So, maybe the government can collect taxes, issue identification documents, and build public facilities? Circus and bread came from the Roman Empire, right?

…Ack, I got sidetracked.

「Anyway, maybe I should start with learning about the laws on this island in the meantime? 」

Most countries have laws based on imperial law that had been implemented by the great empires of yore. Not only that, there are also trade laws, city laws, customary laws in rural areas, and above all, territorial laws set by the feudal lords.

「According to the residents, they interpreted a law that was already in place 80 years ago in a way that’s convenient for them and had been using it as such. It seems that nobody interfered for the longest time given that the land was no longer profitable after the fortress had been abandoned. 」

Gold, seemingly prepared, handed a note to me. — what a huge mess! There’s also some kind of mysterious law!

「What’s this law about ‘it’s forbidden to consume tarts made from tree nuts during the summer solstice’? 」

「It’s a law that suppresses faith in the Great Trees, it seems. 」

「The summer solstice is an important festival to the Great Tree religion, and people would eat confections made from tree nuts in their own homes during this time, apparently. 」

I just thought it was stupid; didn’t expect that there’s a proper reason behind it. I see, so it’s an indirect way of banning a certain religion, huh.

「Are you gonna leave this part as is? 」

Silver pointed to one part.

「Which one? ‘If the maiden is a beauty, bring her to the feudal lord the night before her wedding’… How stupid is this! 」

I unwittingly slammed the note on the table.

The fire in the pot lamp flickered because of the wind pressure. On this island, lamps are made by attaching a plate to the middle of a jar, then inserting a light wick so that it’ll absorb the oil in the jar. They usually use fish oil, which can be quite smelly and sooty.

「I’ll think about this. Do you know anyone who can act as a proxy for the feudal lord? 」

「Not sure about the guys, but if you’re okay with women, we can try checking out the brothels. 」

「Why a brothel… 」

「It is common practice for nobles to sell their wives and daughters if they become short of money or if their family collapses. Most of them didn’t want to work in their hometowns, and there’s a lot of cases when they gather at Nalluahdid all at once. 」 Gold.

「Sometimes they’re sold directly to famous brothels. 」

What a depraved topic!

「 Do either of you wanna work for me as a proxy? Well, I don’t mind if both of you do it. 」

「Pardon me for refusing your offer, it would be difficult for us to move. 」

「Our bodies don’t match.」

Why you cheeky!!!

「Ah, they may be few, but you can also check the sons of former nobles. 」

「It’s just that they might misunderstand you if you show your face before them. 」

Argh, Gold and Silver, you brats! Stop snickering like that!!

「Ah, not the snack pouch…! 」

Silver’s eyes were narrowed like a cat who saw a kitty teaser, and seeing Gold worry like that made me feel all better.

「If you don’t want to go to the brothel, then it should be the slave dealer. 」

Gold straightened his posture.

「Nalluahdid handles all sorts of things. 」

Gold recommended that I go to a slave dealer in Nalluahdid. I thought slave hunting and slave trade is banned in cities like Canum, but it seemed different here.

Apparently, the slave trade here is miles better than the first trade I saw before. People were being sold per portion of their meat back then, after all. It was absolutely too much for me to handle.

Anyway, I tried going to the place that Gold recommended. The slave trade here was better indeed, but I immediately left.

As a Japanese person, it’s a setting that’s impossible for me to stomach!

***

「This might seem sudden, but please teach me how to manage a territory. Also, can you kindly tell me where I can scout for feudal lords? I hope you’ll accept my offer with this. Ah, this one’s for you, Ash. 」

I offered the wine and pudding ala mode.

「…Noth? 」

Dinosso called out to Butler, his finger pressing between his brows.

「I’m not privy to the circumstances. 」

Butler’s evasive response, as usual.

「Mm, it’s too good to eat. 」

Great, Ash acknowledged it.

If I receive instruction from the daughter of a duke, it’ll definitely be a source of tremendous strength to me.

「…Can I ask what this is all about? 」

「Secret. 」

Retze stared at me dubiously, and that’s how I answered him.