Chapter 151: I Expect Generous Treatment (1)
Imperial Year 377, March 24th.
Aila, munching on a sandwich while examining documents, spoke up.
“But you know……”
“Yeah?”
“Shouldn’t we change the reigning title? It’s strange that we’re still using the Imperial Year on documents. What do you think, Lucy-ssi?”
“I think that’s strange too. The Herduke Kingdom’s first foreign affair was a war with the Empire.”
Lucy, who was chewing on an 8-tiered sandwich stuffed with ham, vegetables, peanut butter, jam, and other things, supported Aila. He added that the chef nearly went mad trying to make it.
I sighed quietly.
“You’re not wrong, but……”
I had to bring up the usual defense about the most common suggestion that kept going up to my father.
It’s undeniable that the Empire is our enemy. However, changing the reigning title that has been used for the past 376 years would put another burden on the administrative power, so it’s not desirable. And do you know how much it costs to change the reigning title? It would be better to end the war first, and so on.
One of the two friends listening, the one who doesn’t look it but is actually sharp as a tack, said,
“So it’s a lack of administrative power.”
“Aila, why are we doing this here?”
That’s right. The crux of the matter is that Duke Arisein, the hero and field commander of the Empire’s Eastern Army, now renamed the Herduke Kingdom Army (the renaming cost was unexpectedly outrageous, damn it!), and his friends are in charge of approving important administrative documents.
Winter is a season that makes people huddle, and at the same time, it’s a season that freezes incidents and accidents. There are fewer incidents because there is less human traffic, and the incidents that do occur are huddled like sleeping bears.
Time passed like that, and the weather warmed up.
The moment spring subtly slipped its butt into the chair winter had been sitting on, problems that had been like a frozen lake cracked, shattered, and melted away, surging in like a tidal wave and nearly ravaging the administration.
Naturally, the administration of the newly established Herduke Kingdom had no intention of meekly accepting the crisis of purity that had struck from the beginning. Requests for help, which could be interpreted as fierce resistance, were scattered in all directions, and eventually, even I was called in.
Above all, Orknesia was originally a land of soldiers, so it’s true that civil servants in the administrative sector are somewhat neglected.
In other words, it’s a land of chronic surplus of physical labor and chronic shortage of mental labor.
“So, Your Highness isn’t resting either?”
“Yeah. Both my father and brother are busy. They’re dealing with bigger problems than this.”
I put my approval signature on the document I just reviewed and then threw the next document into the fireplace as soon as I read the cover.
‘Establishment of a National Gambling House’?!
Who is it at a time like this! Which dimwit is it!
“Ah! My document!”
“It was you?!”
Lucy’s eyes welled up with tears as she watched the gambling house establishment plan turn to ashes in an instant. A murderous intent momentarily shot up my spine to the top of my head. Was that what you were working so hard on? Can’t we punish that by the strict national law?
While I was thinking about suggesting an amendment to add the crime of dimwittedness to the judiciary, Aila vigorously stamped her seal and dusted off her hands.
“Osha! I’m done with this!”
“Ugh! Already?”
“Heheh. Don’t underestimate me. I’m the leader of Sky Ears, which is composed of only the best experts in information processing.”
Aila shrugged and tapped the pile of approved documents. I always feel it, but her ability is phenomenal. She looked at the remaining documents of mine and Lucy’s and smiled brightly.
“A cup of tea?”
“Please.”
“Woo! I can’t lose either! My pen is on fire! It’s screaming for me to sign the documents!”
“Shut up and work.”
Suddenly motivated, Lucy devoured the sandwich that looked like it weighed about 1 kilogram in one gulp and immersed herself in the documents.
Just a passing thought, but if Lucy could process documents at the speed she eats, we wouldn’t be talking about a lack of administrative power.
The two finished approving the remaining documents about an hour later. Lucy also processed them quickly, as if she were eating food.
“Risel, is this it?”
“The problems that arose with the start of spring have been mostly resolved. The rest can be implemented from below.”
“But how many people would it take to do what we just did?”
“I can answer that. About 30 people.”
“Wow! So that means each of us did the work of ten people?”
“No. Aila did twenty, I did seven, and you did three.”
“Why did I only do three?!”
“Ask yourself. Don’t burn your pen.”
I retorted nonchalantly, and Lucy said seriously,
“I really don’t know. I always took my work seriously! Gambling is a fine tradition of mankind passed down from ancient times!”
“Were you serious?”
Sometimes, a person’s sincerity can be terrifyingly absurd.
Aila looked at the two of us and said with a bright smile. In other words, she ignored Lucy.
“It’s fortunate that there’s relatively little work considering the increase in territory. Originally, controlling occupied territories is the biggest problem. Fortunately, Atzuma, Oksen, and Imperod are heavily influenced by Orknesia. The other places came crawling in on their own, so there weren’t any major issues.”
“Still, the fact that there’s no land transferred from Narvilt here is quite significant. In reality, we should consider the confrontation between Herduke and the Empire to be established as of last year.”
“The remaining places are the Central Empire, Narvilt, and Restart.”
Lucy stroked her chin while looking at the map spread out on the table. The map with the newly drawn border looked even more prominent due to the presence of the Herduke Kingdom firmly positioned in the northeastern part of the Empire.
“Oh, by the way, Aila, what’s Pilledvan been up to lately?”
“Same as always.”
Aila said in an indifferent tone. It was proof that Pilledvan was no longer a person she needed to keep an eye on.
Currently, Pilledvan Salain is a prisoner of war of the Herduke Kingdom Army and serves as a deterrent to Narvilt’s Western Army.
No matter how much Duke Mujaindos is a person who doesn’t hesitate to drive his enemies to ruin, he’s not the kind of person to throw away his son’s life.
The funny thing is that the opponent he tried to ruin is our father, and if the Western Army were to invade, our father, with his strict and fair personality, would weigh the grudge and hang Pilledvan on the gallows. In front of the Western Army, no less.
They probably know that very well too. Attacking despite having a hostage is tantamount to disregarding the hostage, and a hostage who has lost value is nothing more than a freeloader.
If the Western Army were to cross the border as a show of force, Pilledvan’s twenty-something years of life would immediately disappear without a trace in the annals of history.
Lucy nodded and said,
“I guess there haven’t been any rescue attempts lately. It was quite noisy at first, wasn’t it?”
“They must have realized it’s useless. Or maybe they’re going through somewhere else.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still selling information to them?”
“Heheh. Well, who knows?”
Aila hummed and avoided answering.
Ironically, the place Duke Mujaindos contacted to rescue his son was Sky Ears’ window.
She extorted a considerable amount of money under the pretext that it would be difficult to penetrate the tight security here, and then sold detailed information about Pilledvan’s confinement. (I nodded, thinking how Aila-like it was that she handed over unmanipulated information.)
Of course, Aila, in fairness, disclosed the information she sold to me, and I asked Levidian to keep an eye on Pilledvan without a word.
After about three rescue attempts, Duke Mujaindos finally sent a formal request. He asked if his son could write at least one letter a week to confirm his survival.
It was a feasible request on humanitarian grounds, my father asked me for my opinion, and I granted it.
“That Duke’s son is probably seriously contemplating his literary talent by now. Even if he uses metaphors, we can just censor them here. Right, Risel?”
“Indeed. He must be regretting not studying writing.”
I chuckled and agreed with Aila.
Naturally, the letters are first censored here, and if any element that could convey the situation here is found, the letter immediately becomes kindling for the fireplace.
Probably both Pilledvan and Narvilt are feeling the heat. Hehehe.
Lucy, with a faint smile, said,
“Well, if they give even a single piece of wrong information to the next target, they’ll be in big trouble. When is the next battle?”
“Hmm, it’s spring now, and after that, until fall is a good season to fight, so it’ll be sometime between then.”
Since the founding of the Herduke Kingdom, its first foreign affair was war, and the target was Narvilt.
Looking at the map, Narvilt is sandwiched between Azot and Herduke. Furthermore, after I occupied Atzuma last year, more than half of the routes connecting to the Central Empire are closed, leaving them virtually isolated.
Completely occupy Narvilt before targeting the Central Empire. This is the conclusion reached by the upper echelons of the Herduke Kingdom.
However, there’s a problem.
Aila shot an arrow towards the heart of the problem with her sharp gaze.
“What about the Southern Army’s participation?”
“I knew you’d say that. Honestly, that’s the biggest problem. The moment we attack Narvilt from here, the Southern Army will inevitably have to advance north. For the Emperor, Narvilt is a loaded arrow aimed at Orknesia. In addition, the moment Narvilt is taken by Orknesia, the landmass of the Empire and the Herduke Kingdom will become roughly equal. In that situation, Duke Ecoshian will have no choice. He’ll have to help the Emperor.”
Thinking about my old comrade makes me feel complicated.
No matter how much he and I can form a unique bond of empathy that others can’t understand, I can’t ask him to rebel.
Moreover, Azot and the Empire are maintaining diplomatic relations without any issues. The fact that the Empire is maintaining the amicable relationship I practically initiated myself is proof that Duke Ecoshian is still cooperating with me.
Honestly, I don’t want to cross swords with him.
So far, we’ve managed to suppress the Southern Army’s northward advance by citing the unstable situation in the Ruery Three Kingdoms, but the Ruery Three Kingdoms aren’t a land of fools. The people there are probably starting to realize whose hands they’re being played by.
As soon as that situation is sorted out, the Southern Army will likely begin their northward advance.
Aila tilted her head slightly.
“But Grenoian has also been somewhat stabilized, right? People just find it strange that you became the Duke of Grenoian, but we know what that means. It means you can rule that land. Besides, with the monsters in Grenoian decreasing, you wouldn’t need to keep troops permanently stationed at the Barrier if you put your mind to it, right?”
“That’s true. We can now pull out about 150,000 troops from there, right? That’s enough to send towards the Leotasia Mountains, so it can also act as a deterrent to the Southern Army.”
I shook my head slightly at Lucy’s words.
“But the Southern Army hasn’t made any moves yet. And not many people know that the monsters have decreased. The timing of the announcement is delicate.”
“What about the Gray Tribe? If you just gather those who can fight, you’ll have an army unprecedented in the history of continental warfare, right? And you’re the Duke of Grenoian. The people there decided to support you, which is why you were able to become the Duke.”
“That’s true. The monsters have decreased significantly, and it’s also true that I, who informed them of this, became their Hajifsia and have the authority to command the Guard. They wouldn’t listen even if I told them the Hajifsia isn’t a person. Anyway, Lucy, as you said, if I command them, they’ll come running immediately. Then they’ll realize that the metaphor of a swarm of bees is weaker than a toothpick.”
“Then why aren’t you sending them out?”
“Lucy, my friend. How are we supposed to use so many people? You’re a mage. You should know from experience how dangerous it is to use powerful forces indiscriminately, right?”
He seems to have figured it out. That the scale of the Guard’s military force he was thinking of and the actual scale I know are quite different.
With a dubious expression, he asked,
“How many are there?”
“At maximum, 60% of the entire population.”
Not only Lucy, but even Aila was shocked.
Out of the 200 million Guard, if you gather all those who can fight, regardless of gender, the number is a staggering 120 million.
This is information that came along with the news that I was recognized as the leader of Grenoian by my grandmother earlier this year. For reference, this is the manpower capable of combat, not the concept of a standing army.
The Guard originally has a custom of mobilizing all tribe members to deal with Greners. Except for those who are too old or too young, everyone, regardless of age or gender, receives combat training. Even those who cultivate mushrooms in caves can skillfully use combat techniques.
Generally, men can participate in combat from the ages of 13 to 53, and women from 15 to 50. This means that almost everyone from the lower-middle to upper-middle layers of the population pyramid is mobilized.
They’re not professional soldiers, but the Guard is a bizarre group where over 90% of the population has experience fighting monsters. I sincerely think it’s fortunate that they’ve been living together in the Gray Forest without aiming for the mainland continent until now.
Lucy, after a brief moment of being stunned by the astronomical figure I mentioned, said,
“E, even then, if you pick and choose among them, you’ll get a reasonable number, right? If you only choose professional warriors?”
“Of course. An army of 1 million would easily come out. And they’re those who would not hesitate to die if I commanded them. Additionally, there’s a reserve force several dozen times larger, although their level is a bit lower. If this fact were to become known, what do you think people would want me to do?”
“They’d tell you to achieve the classic male fantasy.”
“Yeah. I have no intention of conquering the world, but those with ambition gather around those with power.”
“Like me, aiming for the Imperial mages?”
“Yeah. Like you.”
Perhaps because he included himself in the example, Lucy understood easily. He let out a big sigh.
“Phew, you can’t use that kind of military power carelessly. It’s hard to even call it military power.”
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