Chapter 53
(Kyle Calendar
Year 505: Age 12)
Stirring
Translator : PolterGlast
"Now, we will
begin the regular meeting."
The regular meeting
began with Father in charge.
The Teigun unrest had
settled, and I was visiting the town of Est.
This was for both the
regular meeting and the Second Champion Tournament.
The regular meeting
began with the usual members, excluding my brother.
"A letter has
arrived from Darek for Takuhir. He says that there are many promising civil
official candidates among the students at the academy.
They are hindered by
the wall of status, unable to secure major positions as commoners, and it seems
many talented individuals are left untapped.
He said he would
introduce students who are interested in the Estol territory, especially the
development of Teigun."
"That is
excellent news. We are currently struggling with a shortage of civil officials.
I look forward to Brother's introductions."
"By the way, what
is the situation in Teigun?"
"Yes, 50 riders
of the Iron Cavalry Corps are stationed there in shifts for training,
contributing to public order and stability of morale.
Also, settlement is
progressing smoothly, and our current goal is to change the ratio of temporary
workers to settlers from 5:5 to 3:7.
Mine development is
also progressing well, and I believe it is greatly contributing to the
development of not only Teigun but also Fran.
We are currently
relying on Bart's spatial storage magic, but once the roads are developed, I
believe we will be able to become self-reliant in terms of distribution as
well."
"So, there are no
concerns at the moment?"
"Our biggest
concerns are the movements of Viscount Hiyorimi and enemy invasions from the
Demon Realm side.
We don't know what
they will try next. We must not let our guard down or become complacent. We are
proceeding with countermeasures, and in addition, we are progressing with
construction, such as fortifying the checkpoints, in preparation for an
invasion through the Demon Realm route, which passes through the Hiyorimi
Viscountcy territory from the border."
"So, the
construction will likely continue for some time then."
"Yes, and for
that reason, we are currently considering increasing the number of mages
slightly.
As per the previous
[agreement], support such as aptitude confirmation fees, rewards after
discovery, and salaries are not required, but if you grant permission to employ
them in Teigun..."
"If it doesn't
burden us... there's no problem, but how many do you have in mind?"
"I won't know for
sure until I try...
But I'm planning for
about 2 to 10."
"What?! ...Do as
you like."
Father was dumbfounded
and only uttered a single word.
Actually, if I only
counted the candidates, there were about 30 of them.
"By the way,
Father, what is the situation with the Champion Tournament? I'm curious about
the guests. Also, are you planning to run your own bookmaking operation
again?"
"Given the
circumstances... everyone seems to be preoccupied with their own territory's
affairs, while also being concerned with the movements of the Gryphonia
Empire."
"In that case, I
will proceed with holding it centered around the citizens this time."
I felt relieved that I
would be able to take it a little easier.
For this Champion
Tournament, Christoph was the only participant who had come here, as Carleen
had declined to participate at her own request this time and was involved in
the operations with Claire and the others on the executive committee.
But she was scheduled
to demonstrate her skills as last year's champion before the event began.
There were several
changes to the Champion Tournament compared to last year.
One was that
applications for winner-voting tickets could now be purchased in four new
towns: Fran, Mars, Phobos, and Teigun, in addition to the town of Est.
・No real-time information such as odds.
・Purchases close 6 days before the event.
(Est town begins
accepting applications 5 days before.)
・Exchange for prizes only accepted in the town of purchase.
Although these
conditions were added, the fact that one could buy them without having to go
all the way to the town of Est was a big deal in itself.
Even though the
reception period was shifted from the town of Est, it was still quite
challenging to manage, but we managed to get through it.
The second change was
the sale of new bulk voting tickets.
Since Father would not
be running his own bookmaking operation this time, some merchants were trying
to become bookmakers on their own. To keep them in check, we established a new
10 gold coin per ticket option.
It was sold
exclusively at the Est town counter and limited to a maximum of 10 tickets.
※
"The vote tally
for this time is out. It's 3,000 coins more than last time, exceeding a total
of 6,000 gold coins!"
Claire gave a
surprising report.
Of that, 2,000 gold
coins worth were from bulk votes.
It showed how much
Father had gathered last time.
"By the way, how
is the situation at the newly established voting reception offices?"
"Yes, the total for
the four locations is 1,000 gold coins, in the order of Fran, Teigun, Mars, and
Phobos."
I could somehow
understand why the prosperous town of Fran had the most votes, accounting for
over 60% of the total.
It felt like it
symbolized the town's characteristic as a place where those working in the
mines spent their money.
Teigun accounting for
over 20% was also due to the large number of temporary workers, whose votes
boosted the numbers.
The town of Mars had a
large number of votes, but most were for entertainment purposes, so its share
was just over 10%.
Phobos, with the
smallest population, had less than 10% of the votes.
In the town of Est,
despite the fact that the voting locations were dispersed, the regular votes
were almost the same as last time.
This was also due to
the fact that people who had won last time had talked about it, and more people
were enjoying it as entertainment. In addition, odds reflecting the voting
situation in other towns were posted daily, and no small number of people were
re-voting in Est.
As a result, the
house's share, even after deducting prize money and operating costs, amounted
to the equivalent of 1,000 gold coins.
For me, who constantly
needed funds for regular tournament prizes and daily shooting range prizes,
this was a very welcome figure.
Since I could no
longer receive reward gold coins for discovering mages from Father, and the
mages' salaries were now our responsibility, I wanted to increase my personal
funds as much as possible.
※
With these measures also
in place, the Second Champion Tournament proceeded smoothly and concluded
without incident on the day of the event.
Winner: Christoph
(White team, Wind Mage: 2nd favorite)
2nd Place: Gale (Red
team, Wind Mage: 1st favorite)
3rd Place: Gold
(Yellow team, Wind Mage: 6th favorite)
4th Place: Mercenary
Corps member (Blue team)
5th Place: Regular
Army soldier (Red team)
The result was that
Christoph, the second favorite, won, and despite Carleen's absence, he
brilliantly avenged last time's humiliation.
Second place was the
top favorite Gale, and third place was Gold, with Wind Mages monopolizing the
top spots.
Since the results
settled in a solid place, there were more winners than last time, and thus the
odds also remained solid.
Nevertheless, the winning
group vote paid out three times the prize money, and the ranking group vote
paid out five times, so those who won were greatly delighted.
This time, four
citizens placed in the top 6 to 10, making it a tournament where the
improvement of the citizens' skills was prominent.
I felt that if the
number of participants continued to increase, the populace would become a more
effective fighting force, just as initially planned.
※
Although the
tournament itself ended without incident, there was an incident that I had
expected but hoped would not happen.
"Oi-oi, what's
the meaning of this winning ticket can't be redeemed?"
Unsightly individuals
were making trouble at the reception desk.
Such incidents
occurred in several locations.
"This voting
ticket is invalid. It cannot be redeemed."
The reception desks in
various locations dealt with them firmly. Of course, many soldiers were
standing by behind them.
"Are you saying
this territory just takes the bets and never pays the money back?!
"Are you doing
such wicked things throughout the lord's domain?!"
They were speaking
horribly.
But we had proper
forgery countermeasures in place, so the reception staff could tell at a glance
that they were fakes.
"You said you
bought this voting ticket here in Fran, right?"
"Yeah, that's
right. I'm holding this ticket precisely because I bought it with my last 10
gold coins, you know?"
"Stop making a
fuss and just exchange it for 50 gold coins already!"
Others (presumably
accomplices) joined the one causing trouble, pressing with threats.
"The voting
ticket with this number was not sold in Fran. And it's also different from the
number for a bulk vote of 10 gold coins!"
"Wh-what?! What
evidence do you have...?"
"This voting
ticket you brought is irrefutable evidence!
Above all, votes of 10
gold coins are not accepted in Fran."
"Huh?"
There were quite a few
such naive scoundrels.
And those who had
committed fraud were taken away by soldiers in various places.
Fortunately, those who
were captured were not citizens of the Estol territory; they were all
unidentified individuals (from Hiyorimi) who had flowed in from other
territories.
Of course, I couldn't
explain it to them, but the 10-digit number wasn't just a serial number.
・The last digit of the sum of the first two digits
indicates the town where the voting ticket was sold.
(Example: 9+2→1, 8+3→1, 4+7→1, 1 is the town of
Est)
・Subtracting the fourth digit from the third digit
indicates the type of voting amount.
(Example: 6-2→4, 7-3→4, 9-5→4, 4 is one gold coin)
・The fifth and sixth digits indicate the group voted
for.
(Example: 11→Red-Red, 21→White-Red, ranking group vote)
(Example: 16→Red, 28→White, 59→Green, winning group
vote)
・The 7th to 10th digits are the serial number.
Referring to Japanese driver's
license numbers, the numbers themselves had meaning, and the type of ticket
issued varied according to the amount voted.
The checkbox for the
amount on the voting ticket actually had no meaning. It was merely a trap for
forgery countermeasures.
The production and
allocation of voting tickets took time and effort, but since the maximum stake
this time was 10 gold coins, I couldn't complain.
As a result, it turned
out exactly as I had expected...
※
Despite various
events, the Champion Tournament successfully concluded. The day before my
return to the town of Teigun, as I was relaxing in the lord's mansion, my
younger sister Chrisia came to me.
"Takuhir-oniisama,
as I mentioned before, I would like you to take me to Teigun this time."
No, even if you say
that to me... Father and Mother are bound to object.
"Please rest
assured. I have permission from Mother. I've also been practicing riding for
the past few months.
Mother told me with a
smile that you, Brother, would surely ensure my utmost safety."
Yeah, that's what
scares me the most. I can't even let her get a minor injury. It would be
terrible if she fell off a horse...
Let's go by carriage,
not by horse.
However, at 10 years
old, she clearly understood our household's politics.
That if she got Mother
on her side, no one could object...
Since it came to this,
I had no choice but to take her with VIP treatment.
Also, before our
departure, I had secretly conveyed to Margrave Hastburg through Father:
The circumstances and
questions regarding the Teigun unrest.
Improvements to the
defense system afterward.
About the Self-Defense
Corps (that it's not a military force).
Viscount Hiyorimi's
suspiciously well-timed moves and Errol's offer.
And so on, through
Father.
It was clear that
Viscount Hiyorimi would continue to instigate sabotage operations, relying only
on the rumors of the mine and the gold coins invested by Margrave Hastburg.
Furthermore, it was
necessary to prevent unnecessary slander and obstruction aimed at trapping us,
such as:
"The Teigun
territory has many soldiers; they should increase their troop deployment."
And so on.
The Margrave, with a
bitter expression, was said to have muttered, "That incorrigible
fellow!" However, since there was no evidence and the possibility of the
second son acting on his own, he would not deal with it publicly.
Father and I had
tacitly agreed on this policy.
Well, since my
business in the town of Est was finished, I would now escort my VIP (Chrisia)
on the journey back to the town of Teigun.
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