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116 So Busy~
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Translator : PolterGlast
I installed a
Teleportation Gate in the Triange mansion and gave strict orders that no one
should enter. I've stationed soldiers from the royal capital there at all times
to keep anyone from approaching.
There are still many
people who haven't signed the magical contract, including servants, knights,
and civil officials.
When I moved to the
royal capital mansion, Itsukushima-san was walking down the hallway.
"Hey, Itsukushima-san."
"O-Oh..."
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry!"
When she suddenly
bowed to a 90-degree angle and lowered her head, I was the one who was
flustered.
"What are you
apologizing for?"
"I... I'm in love
with you, Toi-kun!"
"E-Eh..."
This is a problem.
What should I say? Should I reject her because I have Anneliese? Or should I be
vague? I don't know.
"So when I heard
you were engaged to Anneliese, I was so sad..."
"O-Oh..."
I'm sorry. But why me?
What do you like about me? I'm a little curious about that.
"I'm sorry for
avoiding you because of my one-sided feelings, Toi-kun!"
"Oh, no, I'm the
one who's sorry for not noticing."
"I've gotten over
it. I'm sorry for the trouble, but I hope we can continue to be friends as we
were before."
"Oh... friends.
You and I have always been friends."
Smiling brightly, Itsukushima-san
said she felt refreshed.
Even though I didn't
know, I regretted being so intimate and affectionate with Anneliese in front of
her.
***
A mountain of
documents.
I let out a big sigh.
Since I'm taking over
the territory, I feel I must at least scrutinize the tax revenue for the past
five years. And this is the result.
I also have to check
things like population changes, what kind of merchant guilds are where and what
kind of business they do, and how much tax they pay. I have to check so many
things.
On top of that, there
are ongoing documents that keep coming.
"Laura. Don't
overdo it."
"My Lord. I
appreciate your concern, but my illness has already been completely
cured."
"That doesn't
mean you won't get sick again. Take it easy and get plenty of rest."
"Yes. I will get
plenty of rest. Thank you always for your concern."
In the office, me, Anneliese,
Laura, Itsukushima-san, Yamato, the civil officials I brought from the royal
capital, the civil officials of Triange, and Banarji-san were all scrutinizing
documents.
I brought Itsukushima-san
and Yamato from the royal capital. I have so many documents that I need anyone
with an education.
"This is all of
it."
Documents are piled up
everywhere. I read through a mountain of documents in the royal capital, too.
Now here... I've had enough.
Just the thought of
having to scrutinize all of this and put the knowledge of this territory in my
head makes me feel faint. I'm regretting becoming a lord now.
"Banarji-san.
From what I've read in these documents, the population hasn't increased in five
years, has it?"
"We survey the
population every ten years. The last survey was... I think it was eight years
ago."
Is that so? Doesn't
the population change quite a bit in ten years?
Come to think of it,
there's no such thing as a family registry in this world, is there? Is it just
this country? How do they collect the poll tax?
"How do you
manage the family registry (koseki)?"
"What is a 'koseki'?"
I knew it. Seeing Banarji-san's
puzzled expression, I looked up at the ceiling, confirming that there really
wasn't one.
"It's information
about the residents. Who lives where, how many people have died, how many
children have been born, how many people have moved into the territory, how
many have left, that kind of information."
"We don't manage
things like that."
Banarji-san looked
troubled. I'm the one who's troubled here...
"Then how do you
collect the poll tax?"
"The poll tax is
collected by the head of each village or town. They have a better grasp of the
residents living there."
"Do the heads of
the villages know the exact number of residents?"
"They know almost
all of them."
Almost, huh? Maybe
that's just how it is in this world. But still, they can adjust the numbers as
they please, right? Does anyone check them? No, they don't.
"So the heads of
the villages collect the poll tax for each person?"
"Yes."
"...And who does
the ten-year population survey?"
"The heads of the
villages do that, too."
Yep. It smells fishy.
Am I the only one who
thinks this is a bad sign?
The people of this
world don't seem to understand what I'm saying, but when I look at the faces of
the other-worlders like Yamato and Itsukushima-san, they have expressions like
they've chewed on a bitter bug. I feel a sense of camaraderie that we have the
same understanding.
I'm glad the two of
them are here. If they weren't, I'd probably die of loneliness. A lonely death.
Well, jokes aside, for
the last question.
"Is the head of
the village a public official?"
"Yes. In the
past, they were appointed by the magistrate, and from now on, they will be
appointed by Your Excellency, the lord. However, it's basically a hereditary
system."
A hereditary system,
huh? I hope my bad feeling doesn't come true...
***
Ten days have passed
since I arrived in Triange.
"Banarji-san.
Have you decided what you will do?"
"Yes. If Your
Excellency permits, I would like to continue to work under you."
I had asked the people
who held public office in Triange to decide within ten days whether they would
transfer to my service.
I had also asked Banarji-san,
the magistrate, to think about what he would do, and today was the last day for
his answer.
"That's a great
help. You will work as the steward from now on. Your work won't change much
from before, but please leave military matters to Gandarvan."
Banarji-san is by no
means incompetent. The population surveys and everything else are all done
according to the common sense of this country. It would be a fallacy to judge
him as incompetent just because his common sense is different from an
other-worlder's, even though he's doing things properly according to local
common sense.
In fact, he's doing
more than the standard amount of work for this world, so you could say he's
excellent. He also shows a willingness to understand my requests and carry them
out. It's only natural to secure such a person.
"Understood.
However, may I ask one thing?"
Huh? Does he already
have a request?
"Since I have
been made a vassal of His Excellency Viscount Footscythel, I would like you to
address me without honorifics from now on."
"Ah, yes.
Understood. I will address you without honorifics from now on."
I should have no
problems if I leave political matters to him.
Most of all, his
appearance is calming.
He's shorter than me,
has a big belly, and a pleasant face. He's the kind of person people won't be
wary of.
The color of his hair
is a deep blue that reminds me of the deep sea, which is perfect for the port
town of Triange.
After Banarji, I met
with the knights.
I had a different
appointment, but they cut in.
"We have worked
tirelessly for the Royal Family and the people of Triange. We have regretfully
decided to leave this land, but we believe you will acknowledge our past
accomplishments. Therefore, we have come to ask you to write us a letter of
introduction."
Former Commander
Ringer is pleading on their behalf? Why is he acting so big?
Before I arrived, the
number of knights in Triange was 33, and the number of soldiers was 285. Of
those, 17 knights are resigning, and 105 soldiers are also resigning.
About 30% of the
resigning soldiers were the squires and associates of the knights, and the rest
seemed to have been forcibly poached.
Simply put, this is
harassment toward me. But it's not really harassment. I'll just replace them
with former slave knights and soldiers.
In front of me, the 17
resigning knights had murderous looks in their eyes. They probably see me, a
former commoner, as a boastful lord.
I feel sorry for the
70 or so soldiers who are being forced to resign with them, but many of them
were complicit in their illegal activities.
They may not have been
in a position to refuse, but that's no reason for me to be considerate. If they
had just said one word, asking for help, I might have considered it.
"If you show me
your record cards, I'll write them right away."
How many times have we
had this conversation? It's been five or six times in the past ten days. What a
waste of time.
"We have served
with pride as knights."
"Then I'm telling
you to show me your record cards. If you have no intention of showing them,
then leave immediately."
"Kuh..."
They want me to stop
them. If that's impossible, they want a letter of introduction.
They've served the
Royal Family with loyalty and sincerity. If so, they should be able to proudly
show their record cards. They can't show them because they have something to
hide. They know that themselves, so what do they want me to do? They should be
grateful I'm not arresting them.
I won't stop you.
And I won't write a
letter of introduction, either.
If I introduce a
criminal, I'll be put under a painful investigation myself. You should
understand that much.
The knights' bloodlust
grew stronger.
To me, their bloodlust
feels weaker than a gentle breeze, but still.
Are you going to
attack me? That's fine. Go ahead.
"If you change
your mind about showing your record cards, then come back. But if you come back
without the intention of showing them and waste my valuable time, I'll have you
arrested. If you understand, then leave quietly."
I know my mouth can be
rude, but I can't help it in this situation.
Ringer and the other
knights left, grinding their teeth.
They didn't do
anything, but their faces looked like they were plotting something. I hope I'm
just overthinking it...
The royal family's
directly controlled territories have already introduced checking the record
cards of public officials.
The Princess said she
would start with the royal capital and gradually improve things in large,
medium, and small directly controlled territories.
The royal capital, its
surroundings, and important strongholds are being prioritized right now, but
the record card check will definitely be implemented.
I will also conduct
record card checks here.
I intend to apply it
to the knights and the heads of the villages, so those who have done something
wrong should resign now.
Since this was a
directly controlled territory of the Royal Family, I don't intend to prosecute
them for past embezzlements. I'd consider it if the Royal Family told me to,
but there's been no such talk.
It might be
irresponsible as a noble, but cleaning up the Royal Family's messes is a
hassle. Especially Ringer, the former commander, who is connected to the
neighboring Count Parton. It's best to leave him alone unless he causes trouble
around me.
The old me would have
charged in and arrested the knights. But now I have many retainers. I don't
think it's right to involve them in things the Royal Family should be doing.
If we could face them
head-on, it wouldn't be dangerous, but unfortunately, they won't always fight
on our terms.
I will, however,
indirectly inform the Royal Family that these people are up to no good.
Of course, if there's
a chance to check their record cards and a criminal record is found, they're
out. And they'll be subject to prosecution, no matter how long ago the crime
was.
That's why I'm telling
them to resign now and go to some other territory.
"Sodon. Are you
there?"
"I'm here."
Sodon's small figure
appeared in a place that had been empty just moments ago.
His Hermit job has
already reached Level 43.
He's about half my
level, but I couldn't sense his presence at all. As expected of a Hermit.
My assassin's job is
also good at erasing its presence, but it can't beat the Hermit.
When it comes to
erasing one's presence, there's probably no better job.
"Could you keep
an eye on Ringer?"
"Got it."
His face was
originally round, but has it gotten even rounder recently?
I'm glad he seems to
be eating well.
When Sodon's figure
disappeared, I moved to a different location.
I went there with Banarji.
"I'm sorry to
have kept you waiting."
Golteo-san was
supposed to come to Triange with us, but it seems he had some business in the
royal capital, so he arrived late.
"Not at all. I
apologize for intruding on your busy schedule, Your Excellency."
Golteo-san had an
appointment and came at the agreed-upon time.
It was Ringer and his
group who forced their way in, making Golteo-san wait. So Golteo-san did
nothing wrong.
"How's the store
coming along?"
"Yes. It's almost
complete. This is also thanks to Your Excellency."
Right after I became a
viscount and received Triange, Golteo-san told me he would open a store here.
While I was having a
hard time with the slimes in the royal capital dungeon, he was building a store
here, so it seems it's about to be finished.
But it's not right to
say everything is because of me.
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