𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (8)
“Will you execute them?”
Partutti asked in an excited voice. Even if he had met his first love again, it wouldn’t have been to this extent.
Johan shook his head.
“We need to punish them appropriately and then release them.”
If he was going to spill blood, he would have done so already. Isn’t that why he didn’t come straight here and went around in circles instead? Now that he’s here, there was no reason to freshly see blood spill.
It would be refreshing to execute the council members recklessly, but Johan would have to deal with the chaos that followed. It was better to show mercy and gain their hearts.
“Yes. . .”
“Don’t worry. I’ll guarantee your position in the council. You worked so hard that you deserve a reward.”
“Thank you!”
Partutti properly expressed his gratitude with etiquette. Johan was planning to raise the authority of some loyal individuals in the city within the council and have them sit in administrative positions, not just Partutti.
He may have gained the support of the city people, but that was just support. Delicate work was required to turn that into power. Johan was someone who knew very well how to act in times like these.
The council members still thought of Johan as just an excellent knight since he was still young, but that was a misunderstanding.
“Bring that fellow over there who’s passed out too!”
“Cough, cough. . . Huh, what, what’s going on? What is it??”
Despite being bitten by the sea dragon, Ariku was somehow still alive. On top of that, he looked very healthy.
Of course, that didn’t mean he could escape this situation. Ariku was dragged away with both his arms grabbed. He didn’t understand this situation until his hands and feet were tied up.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
The captured people were scared out of their wits, but Johan did not hang or torture them. After making them walk around the plaza with their hands tied, he let them go with a fine.
Of course, they had to endure jeers and showers of filth from the citizens while that was happening. They almost ruined the hunt and released the monster into the city, so it was only natural.
“We were wrong! We will never do that again!”
“Please give us a chance to serve the city!”
Accompanying the ‘boo’ jeers were globs of mud flying through the air. The metallic clangs were quite cheerful.
Johan watched on with satisfaction. It was always enjoyable to see hated people suffer a terrible fate.
“That’s enough. They must have reflected. Have them offer gold to the city. I’ll forgive them if they do that.”
When Johan stepped in to mediate, the citizens praised his mercy. Jyanina spat curses in her heart as she was covered in mud.
No matter how she looked at it, it was clear Johan could have stepped in earlier, but deliberately waited for the optimal impact.
‘𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥!’
If he had stopped it from the beginning, Johan would have gained nothing. But by waiting and then stepping in, he earned gratitude from the council members and captains, and praise from the citizens. Anyone could see there was no better saint.
When she had only heard rumors, she thought Johan was a knight with deep, unwavering faith, but this was more cunning than a snake. Seeing him wave and smile made shivers run down her spine.
“Thank you, thank you!”
The released people expressed their gratitude to the citizens one by one, and for Johan’s mercy as well.
In their hearts they thought, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮,’ but now was not the time for that.
If they acted obliviously, they could be tied up again and made to walk around a few more laps. They had to kneel obediently.
“Thank you. . .”
“Kill the wizard! Kill the wizard!”
“??!””
Jyanina, who had casually stepped up when it was her turn, was startled by the intense reaction. Come to think of it, she was the only outsider of the city here.
“W-Wait a minute. It wasn’t only my mistake. . .”
The sea dragon appearing dead wasn’t her fault alone, was it? When countless experts had agreed that it was dead. . .
However, the council members who were released first pretended not to know her, hastily wiping away the filth with rags.
‘𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣*𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴!’
“Will you leave her to die?”
The vampires asked slyly. Their expressions clearly showed they hoped for that.
“No. I plan to release her.”
“Then should we stop them?”
“No. Watch her get hit a bit more.”
Johan laughed merrily watching the filth fly. Enjoyable sights were scarce in this world, so he had to relish such moments.
“Ow! Ow!”
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
̇ȧ̇𝔴𝘦𝕓𝐬ᴛ𝘰𝕣𝕚ė̇𝘴.𝚌𝚘𝘮
“Indeed, you have worked very hard. If not for the contributions of those here, how could we have defeated the evil dragon?”
“No, the hunt was entirely Your Excellency’s achievement.”
There was sincerity in Sir Padovesi’s ceremonial words. In effect, Johan had made the greatest contribution.
To be honest, even without the knights here, Johan could have caught the dragon.
“Is that so? Then I’ll take it as my achievement.”
“. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .”
Sir Padovesi and Sir Gyrto were at a loss for words. Johan moved on without waiting for a reply.
“Since I caught the dragon with the help of you knights, I’ll keep my promise.”
The knights’ faces brightened. Right now they were Johan’s hostages, caught by the city folk.
Under normal circumstances they would have had to pay a ransom to get free, but they were not wealthy knights. So Johan’s promise to free them if they caught the dragon was very welcome.
“By the way, where are you knights from?”
“Pardon?”
“You did not come from your own fiefs, I presume. Do you have fiefs?”
“Ah. No, we don’t.”
Sir Padovesi shook his head. If they had fiefs, they wouldn’t have worried about the ransom. They were knights who served in the court without fiefs.
“We came from Viscount Ginolen’s court.”
Since it was already known they were knights serving under the Emperor, there was no need to hide it. Viscount Ginolen was the steward and advisor who ruled the Emperor’s fiefdom in the south of the peninsula on his behalf.
However, the Emperor had spent most of his life in the Empire and considered himself a man of the Empire. He had barely even been to the peninsula fiefdom.
Where there is no lion, the fox becomes king. Viscount Ginolen was similar. In the area he had quite some authority as a senior nobleman. The knights had no qualms about saying they came from Viscount Ginolen.
“I see. What kind of man is the Viscount?”
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