Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

>I grab the hand with the knife and grip tightly.

「Ow, ow, ow!」

After the knife drops to the floor with a clang, I release the man.
Normally, I would kill anybody who tries to kill me, but since he let me enjoy his wife, I’ll be lenient with him or else it would come back to bite me.

「It was your wife who approached me first, so you should learn from this and stop setting these kinds of traps.
You have an especially sexy woman, so I don’t see why you would want to let other men sleep with her.」

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Understanding the great difference in strength between himself and me, the man doesn’t pick the knife back up.
As I’m about to leave, I suddenly realize something.

「I’ll give this to you.」

I place 10 gold coins in the man’s hand.

「G-gold coins!? Ten of them!?」

「Since your wife really had a nice pussy, some really thick stuff came out.
She’s probably pregnant with my child, so use this to take care of it.
」

With that said, I take my leave.
The man was left speechless, although when he went back inside the house, he let out a despairing cry at the disastrous state his wife was left in.
I’m sure they’ll stop their trapping now.
It’ll contribute to maintaining the public order within the town.

Now I’m worried about what to say during dinner time when I tell Celestina about the day’s events.

One Week Later

「You’re going back already?」

Celestina sits dispiritedly on the throne.

「Yeah, I am also in possession of territory, so I can’t leave it unattended for too long.」

「Boo……it would have been better if you stayed here forever.」

She’s gotten quite attached to me after just two weeks.

「I know, I’ll grant you a title here in the Malt Kingdom! Viscount? Count? Even Marquess is fine?」

If she does that, there would be Marquesses everywhere.
Brutus seems tense while remaining expressionless.
The only ones smiling broadly are the Lord Regent and the previous King.
I’m not concerned about those two brothers, since they’re unpleasant people.

「No thanks, I humbly decline.
Besides, if I become Your Majesty’s subordinate, I would not be able to chat casually with you due to the respect I need to show you.」

「Muu, that won’t be good.」

The girl hops off the throne, runs up to me and hands me an expensive-looking ring and a half-eaten confection.

「I’ll give you this as a souvenir.」

It’s funny how she was so reluctant to part with that snack.

「Well……if fate allows us, then we shall meet again.」

「Umu, I’ll be waiting for you.」

Pablo mutters ‘never come again’ under his breath, but I reply back with ‘I’ll be looking forward to another match, Royal Brother’.
After that, I exit the audience room.
Celestina frantically waves her hand until the last moment.

As I approach the entrance with Brutus, who sends us off, our eyes meet.
He looks at me with a strict expression as if probing for something.
Thinking about the young Queen, the laid-back former King, the two idiots, and this troublesome guy, I unconsciously smile.

「Tsk!」

Right at that moment, he scrunches his face.
Aah, I guess what Tristan said was true.
I don’t have concrete proof, but this guy will eventually turn traitor.
I’m pretty confident.

Side Story: Recruiting Miners

Adolph and Claire face off against each other in the conference room of the head office of the Flitch Company in Rafen.

「The operation of the mine, the provision of required human resources, the construction of the simple city, and the procurement of materials will all be done by our company.」

「That’s appreciated, but the tax will not be reduced.」

「Well yes, of course.
But I would also like the feudal lord-sama to fulfill his duty.」

「And what would that be?」

「Maintenance of public order.
The miners will be quarrelsome when the black beasts are appearing near the city even at this point in time.
There’s a limit to how much the vigilantes can handle.
Especially now when people have gathered in the city, the black beasts have sniffed them out and herds of the beasts can be spotted.
If they attack all at once, there will be many casualties.」

「If you want the army deployed, you would have to negotiate with Leopolt-san again.」

The duties are clearly split, with Adolph taking care of domestic affairs and Leopolt taking care of military.
Public safety can fall under domestic affairs so Adolph can mobilize the guards and vigilantes, but if more strength is needed he would have to speak with Leopolt.

And right now, he’s prioritizing the reinforcement and training of soldiers so he can’t easily move the soldiers to a far away place with no clear enemies like the mine area.
He will undoubtedly tell Adolph to let the vigilantes handles it.

If the feudal lord himself were here, he could make the decision immediately, but he is unfortunately absent.
Similarly, the mountain nation won’t mobilize if he isn’t here either.

「Should I make this an urgent matter?」

「If possible, I want soldiers to be dispatched today.」

「I understand……I don’t know if it can be done today, but I’ll ask for a departure tomorrow.」

Since the company is handling everything from arranging for laborers to construction and procurement of materials, some sense of reliability needs to be shown from the opposite side too.

「By the way, have you gathered all the miners necessary?」

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「Pretty much, but you are welcome to add any extra help if you have some.」

「How did you- well, you’ve gathered them.」

Mining is hard physical labor and a dangerous occupation, so very few people choose to do it.
The workers in the mine are often slaves or prisoners so it’s mysterious how a merchant could gather them in such a short time.

「Ufufu, that’s a secret.」

Claire smiles and dodges the question, which ends the discussion for the day.

On the way home, Adolph, who has a big pile of work, intends to finish eating quickly and sits down at a food stand.
There is a man beside him, apparently afraid of something and taking tiny sips of alcohol.

「Semir-han, so you were here?」2

「Hiih!」

Calling out to the frightened man is a grinning man and a burly man.
The smiling man appears friendly at first glance, but his wide eyes give off an eerie feeling.

「You know what we’re here for, right? Today is the deadline for the 10 gold.」

「Yeah, I know……but something happened at work and they didn’t give any……」

「Sir, it was the same last week as well, so is it possible you are trying to avoid paying?」

The large man closes the distance while smiling.
This was obviously a loan shark collecting his dues.
Of course, moneylenders with a high interest rate who ruin the people’s lives are forbidden, but it is definitely a problem if money was lent with an interest rate within regulations and wasn’t returned.
Looking at this person based purely on conjecture, he isn’t working when he has debt and is drinking in the middle of the day.
With that in mind, Adolph chose not to interfere.

「Please don’t sell me as a slave! I’m……」

「It won’t do you any good to tell stupid excuses.
We’re just following the law set by the feudal lord-han, and this is legitimate business……so it is how it is, Semir-han.」

「R-right.」

「Money – if you return it, you’re a customer, but if you don’t, you’re just a thief.
A grudge over money can be quite the terrifying thing, you know?」

「Hiiih!!」

The moneylender makes a scary face for an instant, but smiles again as he places a sheet of paper in front of the man named Semir.

「Sir, you can’t return 10 gold just like that while you’re jobless, now can you? So, I’ll help you find a job.」

The paper presented to Semir seems to be some sort of contract.

「Spare me from riding on the wagon! I can’t fight with those black beasts, I’ll die!」

「I know that.
You sir, don’t have the brute strength nor the guts.
But this is something different, and although the work may be a little tough, it is different from a life-threatening battle.
If you work diligently everyday, you’ll be able to pay back the 10 gold in no time.」

「R-really?」

「You are in no position to doubt anyone, since the one who lied about returning the money was you, not us.」

The man doesn’t even have the chance to read the words on the paper properly, but signs the sheet anyways.
The moneylender has a satisfied expression and nods as he wraps his arm around the man’s shoulder and walks with him.

「Where are you taking me?」

「Well you see, it would be rude not to say hello to your employer.
Leave it to me, I won’t do anything bad.」

「……」

Adolph takes a glance at the document from the side.
It was a one-year contract for service at the iron mine, with the wages going towards the loan and interest, and the late charges would be deducted in advance.
The interest rate was extremely close to the permitted limits.

「The moneylenders for this city should all be working under the Flitch company.」

Except for the illegal high interest moneylenders, everything that can be controlled is in the hands of that woman.

「I was wondering why a merchant like that woman would want to have uncool personal lenders under her company……so it’s for this?」

It is somewhat pitiful for the man, but there isn’t any deficiencies or illegal clauses on the document.
Ultimately, the document is one which legally makes him work at the mine.

「What a terrifying woman.」

Adolph quickly finishes the rest of his simple meal and stands up from the seat.
He has to conduct troublesome negotiations with that expressionless man after all.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett.
22 years old.
Spring.
Status: Goldonia Kingdom Count.
Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area.
King of the Mountains.
Friend of the Dwarves.
Citizens: 140,000.
Central City Rafen: 15,000
Troops Commanded: 2400 (excluding bow cavalry)
Assets: 48,100 gold (Labor -200) (Military Call-up -300) (Costs for Deploying Soldiers to Mine Area -200) Loan: 20 000 gold
Weapons: Dual Crater (large sword), Dwarf’s Spear, High-grade Steel One-handed Sword
Family: Nonna (wife), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover), Mireille (lover), Leah (Self-declared Sex Slave), Casie (ghost), Miti (lover), Alma, Kroll (non-virgin), Melissa (lover), Maria (lover), Rita (head maid), Catherine (lover), Yoguri (Neo Neet), Pipi (follower), Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (lover, in the capital)
Children: Sue, Miu, Ekaterina (daughter), Antonio, Claude, Gilbard (son), Rose (foster daughter)
Subordinates: Celia (adjutant), Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby (Luna’s follower and lover), Myla (peace officer), Leopolt (staff officer), Adolph (domestic affairs official), Gido (escort), Tristan (follower), Claire & Laurie (Naniwa’s…3), Schwartz (horse), Lilian (actress)
Sexual Partners: 123, children who have been born: 11