Chapter : 76

Still, as Magician Agpiel had advised, I couldn’t just neglect my bad relationship with the Emperor.

While dealing with my backlog of work, I pondered what might win the Emperor’s favor.

‘Hmm….’

The problem, however, was that I couldn’t think of anything to give the Holy Empire’s Emperor right now.

On the contrary, I could only think of things that would piss him off.

I was currently growing closer to the Holy See, with whom he had a bad relationship, and in the upcoming War of Aragonese Succession, I was poised to stand on the completely opposite side.

But I couldn’t just stand by.

To placate the Emperor who would be furious when he received a report on this later, I needed at least a minimal connection.

“Aha, that would be good.”

A decent idea suddenly came to mind.

I immediately had an attendant summon one of the city council members who had been with me before.

“Y-You summoned me, Your Excellency.”

‘?’

The city council member who came at my summons was unusually deferential.

At a glance, he was trembling, and I wondered why he was acting like that. But that wasn’t what was important, so I paid it no mind and spoke.

“Hmm, as I understand it, you were a pro-emperor faction council member…. Is that right?”

“Th-That is true, but. It has been quite some time since I contacted that side, Your Excellency-! Please do not misunderstand. I only engaged in exchanges for the sake of trade.”

At my words, the city council member frantically waved his hands in denial.

Like a city noble sensitive to rumors, he seemed to have noticed that I was on friendly terms with the Prince-elector of Bohemia. He was too busy making excuses, sweating profusely.

“I have no intention of falling out with the Emperor, though?”

“Ah? Is that so.”

At that, the city council member’s face lit up, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes. What benefit would I gain from turning my back on the Holy Empire’s Emperor? It has long been said that one should make friends far and wide.”

“Oh, that is right. The Holy Empire’s Emperor is a bit rough, but he is a man of great spending. He is a person worth being on friendly terms with.”

Only then did the city council member cautiously express his opinion about the Emperor.

Currently, Mangtong City was teeming with the pro-Holy See faction.

Thanks to that, the pro-emperor faction was in a situation where the guillotine loomed.

In such a state of affairs, the fact that I, the ruler, was showing interest in improving relations with the Emperor was news like welcome rain in a drought.

“Is there anything you need?”

The city council member asked with a slightly tense expression.

“I will send an envoy to the Emperor for the sake of friendship. I plan to bring a gift of a high-end pencil set with the Emperor’s family crest engraved in gold.”

“With that, the Emperor will be very satisfied.”

“Yes, it is a great relief that you, who have ties to the Emperor, say so. In that sense….”

“Yes…?”

As I trailed off, the city council member became extremely tense.

What if the words he had spoken so far were to test him?

His mind racing with endless imagination, the city council member, thinking of a miserable end, began to tremble.

“Oh dear. Are you ill?”

“N-No, Your Excellency. Please do not worry about me and continue what you were saying.”

“Really? Hmm….”

I was suspicious, but since he said no, could I really press him? I shrugged and continued.

“If you say so, then it must be so. In any case, my vassals do not know the Emperor well. Since you know him well, I would like you to take responsibility and be dispatched as the envoy. How about it?”

“Uh…. Th-….”

As if quite taken aback by my proposal, the city council member’s eyes were shaking wildly.

“Why? Do you dislike it?”

“H-Hiik. No. Dislike it? I will do it unconditionally.”

“?”

“On top of that, I will cover the expenses for the envoy. Your Excellency. Please, entrust this to me.”

The city council member then pleaded and begged. As if it were a job he absolutely had to do.

“F-Fine. I understand.”

I had nothing to lose, but it was so strange that I tilted my head.

And at the same time.

-Tiriring!

[Notification: Infamy has risen.]

‘???’

It was a truly incomprehensible event.

What did I do-!

* * *

“So, you’re saying he seemed to be overreacting?”

“Yes, Magician Agpiel. It was as if…. he would die if he didn’t listen to me.”

“Eheheheh.”

Magician Agpiel chuckled heartily.

It seemed this young noble had forgotten what he had done.

“Wasn’t that friend the one who was with you when you broke into the chairman’s house?”

“Ah-?”

“As I recall, I heard you went on quite a rampage there? From his perspective, having seen that clearly with his own two eyes, it would be stranger if he didn’t react that way.”

“Umm….”

After hearing the story, I finally understood the city council member’s reaction.

He was the only one in the city who had witnessed the battle scene.

Me, smashing, splitting, and shattering.

Me, advancing while slaughtering all obstacles in my path.

So, to the city council member, I must not have seemed like a benevolent noble who saved the citizens from the bishop, but like a monster who massacred knights and soldiers.

“Oh dear….”

No wonder his reaction was so strange…. My infamy didn’t rise for no reason. Finding my reaction amusing, Magician Agpiel spoke cheerfully.

“Well, you saved some money, though, right? Since that friend said he’d cover the expenses. Our money-sensitive Margrave must be very happy, eh?”

“Ugh. Stop teasing me, Magician Agpiel.”

“Hahaha. Well, you should have done better!”

After bickering with Magician Agpiel for a while, we soon arrived at a village near Mangtong City.

“M-Margrave, Your Excellency. What brings you….”

The village elder came running in a hurry at the news of my arrival.

“Since this is now a region I must govern, I have come to see it for myself with my own two eyes.”

“Ah, is that so. I will guide you.”

“Yes. I’ll be in your care.”

The village was relatively prosperous.

As is customary in the Elang Kingdom, it had wide, fertile plains, and the open scenery was impressive.

On the outskirts, there were vineyards and orchards, and it seemed they even produced a fair amount of fruit.

As a southern domain, it was an incomparably wealthier place than my own territory.

“It’s a fine village. The produce is abundant, and the land looks fertile.”

“I think so too, Magician Agpiel. I was wondering how Mangtong City became such a large city, and it was all because of hinterland villages like this.”

For a city to grow, a corresponding food supply was necessary.

In that sense, the villages around Mangtong City were optimal conditions for urban growth.

The village elder watched us and then asked cautiously.

“Is there anything else you would like to see, or anything you wish to command?”

He knew that the new margrave who had become lord was very generous and a noble filled with piety.

But the elder also knew well how cruel a noble who became a conqueror could be.

He had experienced it firsthand as the master had changed twice before.

But I knew the elder’s concerns well, so I did not do so.

“Regarding taxes, nothing will change.”

“Pardon…? What do you mean?”

“I mean you are to pay according to the customs you have followed thus far. There is no need to add anything new, and as long as you do what you have been doing properly, I will not interfere.”

“Oh. A-Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“Thank you so much, Your Excellency.”

The elder praised my generous disposition with thanks.

In any case, there was no long-term benefit to be gained from harshly squeezing such a small village.

Instead, I demanded something else.

“Everything that was managed by the church will be transferred. From now on, you will have to take on those tasks. From surveying the village’s households, to the common property belonging to the village, and various other administrative duties, you will be in charge.”

“M-Me, you mean?”

“Yes. Why, can you not do it?”

“N-No, it is not that. It is just too complicated and difficult for me to do alone….”

‘Oops.’

At the words of the village elder, who was bowing his head, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

I had been too eager.

In the era of [Pangea Universalise], village elders and middle managers were not as systematic as one might think.

Usually, the position of the village elder was hereditary. They were not people who had been professionally trained in administration.

“Right. I will send the necessary manpower soon. Hmm…. No. Rather, I will dispatch an administrator to help you. Learn our domain’s basic formats from them.”

“Th-Thank you, my lord.”

The longer I spoke, the darker the village elder’s face became.

Having an administrator dispatched directly was like having an uncomfortable sister-in-law. It was clear they would monitor and report on his work in minute detail.

But I didn’t pay much mind to the elder’s discomfort.

What could be done?

If I showed generosity, then effort was required to follow it.

Then, Magician Agpiel, who had been listening quietly from the side, asked.

“Will it be alright to transfer everything that was managed by the church?”

“Yes. Since they are heretic churches anyway, no one will take issue even if I reclaim them on this occasion.”

“Hmm, well, I suppose that’s true.”

Thinking that it made sense, Magician Agpiel nodded his head without another word.

With a good pretext and high favorability with the Holy See, it didn’t seem like it would become a big problem.

The only minor point that bothered me was.

“But if you do as you think, won’t you need too many officials? Where do you plan to procure them?”

That was right.

It was the reality of the world of [Pangea Universalise] that clerics handled a certain portion of administrative tasks.

If all of that were to be handled by attaching village elders and administrators, a vast amount of manpower would be needed.

And educated people at that.

But I just shrugged at his words.

“Can’t we just educate and test them to train them as officials?”

“Education and tests?”

“Yes. Anyone who knows how to write and do arithmetic can be actively educated and trained as an official. Then we can ensure selectivity through a public examination.”

I don’t know if you’ve heard of bureaucracy and the civil service examination system.

On this occasion, I planned to break the medieval customs and introduce a systematic system to this huge city.

“Oho?”

Magician Agpiel, who had been listening quietly, was impressed.

This young noble was truly unique in many ways. Sometimes, he pushed forward with things one would never have thought of.

“Then the key will be to find someone to teach and guide them. That will be tricky in many ways.”

“Haha. Do not worry. As it happens, I have the perfect person for this, Magician Agpiel.”

I answered with a grin at his words.

Because it was true.

There was one slave (?) who knew how to handle administrative documents of the standard I wanted and was also an expert in various administrative tasks.

In my domain.

* * *

At the same time.

Treasurer Palmer, who was enjoying his free time for the first time in a long while, was startled and shot up from his seat.

“Heok!”

It was because he had an incredibly terrible dream. A dream where he was suddenly summoned to the faraway Mangtong City and worked like a dog.

It was an ominous dream beyond compare. That was why Treasurer Palmer forced a smile and thought it was just a very unlucky dream.

“No way. It can’t be.”

Without knowing that the saying ‘surely not’ is what gets a man.

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