Part 3 – Chapter 006 (Chapter 343)
Title: His Excellency the Count
T/L: IonMan
Editor: Zioming
Raw Chapter: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9511bs/396
– – – * * – – – ** – – –
Year 7448, Month 5, Day 6
““… It’s clear.”“
After Ralpha left, I was left alone in the room. I called out to the shadow beside my bed.
“As usual, Ral is …”
Zulu appeared from behind the bed. Miduchi’s scimitar hung on his waist, and his left hand was still gripping the handle. One of its effects, [Raise Hiding In Shadow Rate], was just used by Zulu, to confirm its effectiveness within the room. Miduchi was a natural in assassination, and I just thought, that Zulu would be the right replacement. It would appear, that the effectiveness of this skill was quite high in situations like this.
“Don’t say that. This is quite difficult.”
“Haha, sure is.”
Zulu provided his opinions, while removing the scimitar from his belt.
“So, who you do think would do?”
I asked my faithful head slave, that knelt on the floor, as I received the scimitar.
“Yes. In my opinion, Marl [1] and Lindsay [2] … and then, Ben [3] and Eri [4].”
Zulu gazed straight up at me and answered. I was a bit worried about the subtle pause in the middle of his response.
By the way, Ben and Eri were the oldest slaves working in the sausage factory, beside Marl and Lindsay. Since they both turned 14 years old at the beginning of the year, they asked to become combat slaves, along with the other slaves of the same age. The two managed to pass the test, of running the course around the city of Baldukk in under two hours, so, on a sunny day about a month later, they moved in to the inn Shuni as combat slave apprentices, to practice swords and spears and run with everyone every day.
ED Reminder: Shuni was a mid-class inn in Baldukk where all of Al’s slaves lived.
Basutoral also taught them reading, writing, and mathematics, on top of all the combat-oriented skills.
For those, who thought that their physical training was sufficient, it wasn’t unreasonable, to let them experience the labyrinth exploration around autumn.
“Fumu. Marl and Lindsay are fine, but why do you believe in Ben and Eri so much? You think they can do it already?”
Marl and Lindsay’s levels had recently reached eleven, thanks to the forcible cultivation they underwent since the beginning of the year. Besides, since they were the weakest among the fighting slaves until last year, they were working hard to lay the groundwork as labyrinth adventurers without any remorse, nor complaining, in every exploration, even though they both came back tattered each time. If the party members and senior fighting slaves told them to “push on”, it could be said, that they both had the courage, to rush forward immediately, even against the most terrifying monsters.
However, Ben and Eri had only just learned the basics of handling weapons. They shouldn’t have had any actual battle experience, other than fighting between children, and their abilities were still unknown.
“That’s right, overall, they’re pretty good. I didn’t really pay them too much attention, until I got a report from Jesu … When I asked him, how the two were doing, he indicated, that ‘I think Marl is more talented than Lindsay. He puts in more effort during their rest days, which is certainly quite good. Ben has a good physique and strength for a hyumu at that age. And especially Eri, since she’s got good motion perception.’”
Good motion perception meant, that you could see the difference, between the enemy defending and attacking, in the way they shifted their body weight, and react accordingly. It’s an ability, that anyone can cultivate in general, by using repetitive training, and employ during actual battles, but there are individual differences.
“Heee. Is That so? If everything goes well, until next year, that will be fine … I understand.”
It’s fine by me, if the head slave Zulu gives the OK.
“Haa. I thank you for listening to me.”
I placed the scimitar down onto the table, next to the opened map, as I looked down at the awe-inspiring Zulu, and drank the now completely cold bean tea.
“Ooh, that’s right. Then as for Zulu. Do you have anything you want to ask of me?”
“Ha? No, not particularly …”
Zulu answered in surprise.
“Fu ~ un. Well, since you say that ~ it’s fine. But, if you have something to ask, please do. It’s quite troublesome when you’re on edge.”
I waved my hand to calm Zulu down, as I talked to him.
… the slave girl at Murowa, what were you going to do with her? Well, I wasn’t going to do anything about it, unless you told me to.
ED Reminder: There was a slave girl who worked as a waitress at the Murowa restaurant, where the Slaughterers often met, who was in a romantic relationship with Zulu.
The Golden Week came to an end, for this year.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
Year 7448, Month 5, Day 24
It had been a little over a month, since the report delivered to me, as the new lord.
I didn’t know, if the officials were getting tied up with their work, just slacking around, or if they were afraid to ask questions on unclear points, since there was an increase of incoming reports.
Well, that was fine and all.
The reports provided by the officials were mainly about the agricultural productivity and mining volume of the territory in the end. For example, “It seems that oats were a good harvest last year”, and how much the production has increased, compared to the average for the previous decade. Because they were based on an estimated number calculated from the tax revenue, they didn’t accurately reflect the actual yield, but they were accurate enough to get a general idea. In short, a job even a child could do, just read the data and check, if anything sounds off in my head. Unfortunately, it being a highly confidential information for Count Riguru, and by extension, the Kingdom of Rombert, it wasn’t really a task, I could pass onto someone else.
I’d rather ask them several additional questions, like “Why did the oats grow a good harvest?”, “How can I maintain a good harvest?”, “What was the area, covered by the tax, for that year, in that village?”, than just read a simplified report.
Unfortunately, there was no official, who could give me a satisfying answer to these questions.
The problem was, that the official who was in charge of the farmland areas, along with the newly cleared land, and the official in charge of tax revenue, were different people, as the two jobs were just too much for a single person in the first place, and on top of that, I was of lower rank, than the official who was giving the report.
Although I knew about the things, they briefed me on, there was plenty more, that I needed to know about, before leaving.
After all,
“It is the role of the lord to oversee things and order his vassals to complete the actual tasks.”
I agree.
That was the established proper way to do things.
But for now, wouldn’t I at least like to know the cause, when someone had a yield increase of oats harvested in the village?
It was fine if it was simply proportional to the increase in the area of farmland subject to tax for the year.
That was only natural.
However, there was a possibility, that a new farming method had been developed, or that the working population had increased.
I thought those kinds of things were important.
Oh, tax revenues were not usually lower, than for the previous year, by the way.
In the case of the Rombert Kingdom, a standard tax was levied, set roughly as “this is the volume of harvest we expected to have this year, so 60% of it would be about this amount”, according to the cultivated area, after taking into consideration the yield in previous year.
A good harvest was a good sign. Once the tax was paid from the harvested amount, the retainers and nobles, who owned the farmlands, reaped the excess.
Of course, one had to remember, that the tax would get adjusted and increase by the excess amount in the following year.
However, even if there was a poor crop yield, the already calculated tax amount for that year could not be forcibly removed.
It could be taken into consideration, if the crop yield was too low, but that had nothing to do with me.
That was why, it was not up to me to decide, whether or not to reduce the tax on the retainer, in the event of a poor harvest (although it could be reviewed, in such circumstances), but it fell within the responsibilities of the lord, who owned the village or town.
To be honest, you could say, that I was only responsible for delegating tasks to the lords of the villages and towns under my control, and as long as they properly paid the amount I told them to, I couldn’t care less whether they had a good or bad harvests in their territories.
In truth however, in cases when the yield was low, the owner of the land could not just reduce the amount of tax they had to pay. And even if the retainer wasn’t able to pay the full amount, the lord above them would still have to pay their full expected amount, or otherwise I would end up being short on the amount, I had to pay to the king.
Unless a terrible famine, that lasted for years, took place, there would be no tax exemption for a large noble, who owned a territory, like me.
It was only natural, that no one wanted to make up for the difference in tax from their own pocket, and as a result, the actual cost to pay for such cases often fell on the serfs, at the very bottom.
This was also the reason, why many owners (retainers and nobles alike) took care of all food, clothing, and shelter in rural areas, for their slaves, instead of paying them higher wages.
Because they wanted to pool the asset as much as possible, in case of an emergency, they tried to spend as little as possible.
If that wasn’t enough, you could reduce even the existing small salary, further reduce the amount or quality of food you distribute, or even sell the slave off, if you needed to quickly gather some money.
Because of this, there were many tearful stories about the slaves, who wept and cried, because their owner couldn’t pay the taxes, and the slave’s younger siblings ended up being torn apart from their families, and sold off. That’s why everyone dreamt of advancing in rank, as just the fact of being a noble, a commoner, or even a regular free man, and owning some property, meant such a thing was much less likely to ever happen to them.
This was my gift to all the Slaughterers. Almost none of them inherited their family titles (the only exception being Zenom), so, except for marrying the head of another family, there weren’t many other ways for free people like them, to advance in rank.
I’ve made that dream a reality (I probably shouldn’t let my guard down just yet, at least not until the information of me being the new Count Riguru spreads, after the formal investiture.), and now I would be able to live my life with peace of mind thanks to that. That was my responsibility to everyone who believed in me and followed me.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
I was finally freed from this ridiculously boring report, that I just memorized, when someone spoke to me, as I stepped onto the stirrup to straddle my beloved horse, which was tied to the hitching rail.
“Oh, Greed. About the dragon, I heard earlier, you were the one who defeated it! That was amazing!”
Vested Knight Kendus of the First Knight Group!
Baron Logan retired at the end of the last year, and was now succeed by Viscount Takurado (Taku) Gendail. Viscount Gendail had been the first company’s commander before that, and now that seat was given to the second company’s commander, Vested Knight Vishuru (Visshu) Barkis, who’s vacant seat was assigned to the third company’s commander, Vested Knight Sagan Kendus. I heard that the position of the third company’s new commander will go to my sister’s current platoon leader, a woman named Maribel Lardock [5], a commoner of the Bunny-kin tribe, who was also awarded the title of the Vested Knight as a part of her promotion. Based on the announcement of the involved personnel, only about one-third of the third company had been deployed on the battlefield this time around, yet it was very effective during the skirmishes.
ED Reminder: Takurado (Taku) Gendail is a son of a Marquis. Probably that’s why he’s a Viscount, and not a Vested Knight like the other company commanders.
“Ah, Commander Kendus! Hello.”
There must be a reason why he was here!
I hurriedly took my foot off the stirrup and greeted him.
It seemed that he had just returned from the Dirt Plains, and shown up at the Knights’ headquarters to submit his report.
“Haha, you can relax. Knight Greed is also safe. I think the other guys are still looking at the dragon at the gate. You should go there. They will be very pleased.”
ED Reminder: By “Knight Greed”, he means Al’s older sister, Mill, a member of the 3rd company.
Hearing that, I couldn’t really help myself.
I headed for the castle gate for greetings.
Upon arriving at the castle gate, there were more than a dozen members of the First Knight Order, in addition to my sister, that surrounded the dragon’s head. It appeared, that the people of the Third Company were asking the castle’s gate guard various questions about it.
“Awesome, this was defeated by the Greed Company’s President’s party!”
“Mill could probably also do it, right?”
“Ehehe. No, I don’t think I’m at that level just yet.”
“It’s hard as stone.”
“If it’s this size, how big was its whole body?”
“So then, was it this big!?”
“No, I think it was bigger.”
“Oi, you there. Has this thing been displayed here since last month?”
“We remove it at night, but we have requested the court magician to add ice and redecorate it every morning. When the wyvern was removed last year, we were flooded with complaints, that they wanted to see it more, so the decision was made … “
“Eh? A wyvern?”
“Didn’t you know?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Since when did you guys …”
“Oh, we left at the beginning of July.”
“Then it’s no wonder you didn’t know. The wyvern was killed and decorated in mid-July.”
“I wanted to see that too.”
“It was a lot smaller than this dragon, though it was still great.”
“Even so, at least I’m able to see this dragon …”
“By the way, where was the wyvern from?”
“Right, just like this dragon, His Excellency Greed killed it in the Dungeon of Baldukk.”
“Wait!? His Excellency? “
“That’s correct, His Excellency Greed is now a noble.”
“Is that so, even if you say he’s a noble, he’s the same rank as I, isn’t he?”
Muhihi. TL Note: SFX of Al snickering
I slowly approached them while pulling the reins of Uranus.
“Hey, aren’t these the members of the Third Company? Thank you once again for your service.”
I called out to them intentionally.
“Eh? Al?”
“Oh! It’s the company’s president! I just heard about this amazing thing!”
“Was the dragon really strong?”
“Please tell me the story about it.”
“That’s right that’s right, let’s move the Rhokid’s [6] riverbank!”
“Sounds good!”
“Wait, what about the report for the headquarters?”
“Don’t worry about it, the captain will handle that! Is it okay to be late for about a day?”
I was surrounded in no time.
“Ah, my older sister is here. This is a quite a festive mood. Let me introduce myself, I’m the new Count of Riguru.”
I introduced myself proudly. They were struck in awe by my majestic noble figure.
“Ooh?”
“A Count!?”
“What is going on?”
“President Greed has become a Count.”
“Ribul or Riguru … wait, Riguru!?”
“Eh? Is Riguru a territory?”
“That’s awesome. Congratulations!”
“You’re a Count. This is hard!”
Hahahaha. It felt good!
“Is Riguru County over there?”
“It’s west of Count Ransell’s [7] territory, where we went this time.”
“It’s in the Dirt Plains …”
“It’s in the Dirt Plains …”
“It’s in the Dirt Plains …”
What’s this, I suddenly felt sick.
“Hey everyone! Calm down for a minute!”
My sister silenced the knights, who made the commotion.
“Excuse me. It has gotten way too loud. But, let me talk a little with my brother.”
After saying that, my sister took the reign from my hand and handed it over to one of the knights. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away.
“Come with me for a moment.”
“Wait a moment please? What’s going on? I’m now the Head of the House Riguru.”
“Shut up for a moment!”
“Okay.”
I was overwhelmed by her sudden action. I was pulled to an empty area behind the castle gate.
“Status open …”
What was going on, suddenly looking at my opened status. Why didn’t you even ask? But, I believe my face had a sloppy grin on it. Come on now, don’t look at it that closely.
“… !”
My sister’s face kept turning back and forth, between my face, and the status window, that was opened near my left hand.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
My sister glared up at me from underneath the eave of her helmet. Fu~u … I still didn’t feel much like an adult, given the situation.
“What did you mean by what you said? It hurts my head to think you’re a count.”
She kicked me in my shin!
“Talk.”
“… you heard it from the gatekeeper. Last summer, I killed a wyvern in the labyrinth. They used the scales to make an armor, and it turned out to be a magic item. It even had a unique name. I presented it as a gift to the throne, and received the reward of a title and territory, like Viscount Grimson.”
ED Reminder: Viscount Grimson was an adventurer who received a title as a reward for presenting the king a fireball wand he got from Baldukk Dungeon
“Is it all true?”
“I can’t help you if you think I’m lying.”
“Then … what about big brother?”
“I showed it to him, when he came to deliver materials last month.”
“No, I’m talking about the title and the territory.”
“That’s why we discussed it together.”
When I reached that point, my sister placed her right hand on my cheek and smiled gently.
“You did your very best … it’s great to see that.”
… Sis. There were times when my sister complimented me in such a fashion.
Mugyu. TL Note: SFX for crying like a baby..as a man. 🙂
My sister stretched her arms out, and pinched my cheeks with both of her hands. My mouth was smashed into a sharp shape, like an octopus ({})
It was pretty embarrassing … Fu-u, enough already, everyone was watching.
Don’t crush the face of His Excellency.
“But what did you mean by being the Head of the House Riguru?!”
More like house Pitiful.
My cheeks were mashed and in pain, elder sister …
“Fu hi eh, I’m late for a meeting with my wife …”
“Ah!?”
This time, my cheeks were pulled to both sides (<>)
“Wa, Wai~! Wife!”
“What was that? Please say it again!”
Sister yelled with her eyes forming triangular shapes. (^.^) (The fearsome Black Witch!!)
“Fu ~ that is, I’m married.”
A snapping sound was heard, as my cheeks were pulled to their limits and then released.
Oh, the pain.
“Ku … Al is ahead of me …”
My sister said in a regrettable tone, with an indescribable face.
“… Why did elder sister have such a change of mood, even after dyeing your hair?”
I knew she’d been feeling blue because of Sir Groholet’s rejection of her proposal, but it seems she was still dragging her feet deep inside her heart all this time. I suggested that it would be a good thing to change her hair color to liven her mood. I felt like I heard a long time ago that women cheered up when they changed their hair colors and hairstyles. In my sister’s case, her hair was short, so there wasn’t much room to change her hairstyle, so I thought it should at least be dyed.
“Fu-n, I look good in this color. It’s gorgeous and a beautiful blonde.”
… I reluctantly agreed with her decision. Although I was pondering whether that blonde looked good on my sister.
“… How is Miduchi doing?”
“Aah.”
“Please bring her next time.”
It felt a bit refreshing now. But, I was going to be bullied again with her difficult personality, and I didn’t need to bring her along, since they had already met. Well, I would tell her about it later.
After that, I was carried like a small kid to the members of the Third Company, and asked my sister when I saw my chance, “You know about the Knight Group Commander position right? ” I solicited her further with “I will give you a decent salary, and even a noble title”, but she refused while saying “This is an important time, so I can’t right now.”
She was apparently aiming for the newly vacated seat of the platoon leader. Compared to the commander of the Knights under Count Riguru, the platoon leader…
… The platoon leader of the First Knight Group probably had more leeway.
I knew it.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
Year 7448, Month 7, Day 21
“… In other words, fingerprints aren’t used during criminal investigations. It’s known that fingerprints differ from person to person, so this is probably because fingerprints cannot be collected.”
I was explaining what I had learned about that week, to Kuro and Mary, during the Slaughterers’ next dungeon exploration. In addition to the two, Miduchi, Zenom, Toris, Bel, Kamu, Binsu, Rodrick, and Ginger were also participating this time around.
“Fingerprint collection?”
Some people twisted their heads to words they were unfamiliar with.
It was common to put a thumbprint on a contract or a proof of sale, so it was mainly known to well-educated people, that fingerprints differ from person to person.
When I briefly explained to them, that fingerprints would be attached to the things they touch, they all looked at me suspiciously. It appeared that they didn’t know how to check for fingerprints.
“In our previous life, we could obtain proof even from a tiny amount of sweat. What was the method? They collected evidence by applying powder with a brush.”
Rodrick declared. Speaking of which, I have seen police investigators performing similar things in TV dramas in my past life.
“Ooh, it doesn’t matter what the powder it is. Aluminum powder is a really good material to use, but the most important thing is the [cellophane tape]. Besides, even if you obtain a fingerprint, you can’t take a [photo]. It would be difficult to keep a record. You can’t create a [database] so it doesn’t make much sense for this process here.”
Toris explained it all in detail. The powder itself sticked to the body fluids which adhered to fingerprints, but it was certainly tough, without a transparent tape, to transfer it over.
“Don’t disrupt the discussion, Toris. That’s not what Al is talking about at the moment. Eh, what were we talking about again? … Ah right. We can’t perform the ‘scientific investigation’ under current conditions, correct?”
… My mouth hung wide open. It would have been one thing if Bel or Miduchi had mentioned it? But it was Ralpha who used the modern world terminology, right? Of course, all the reincarnated people who understood Japanese opened their eyes wide and looked back at where she was sitting in the corner of my room.
It was rare for her to be a part of the discussion sessions in fact, and Gwine was also here as a bonus. When they heard the subject involving “The Knights acting as a police-like organization”, they participated by saying “It’s a necessary knowledge for becoming an upcoming brilliant beautiful spy”. Aside from the fact that a ‘brilliant female spy’ had become a ‘brilliant beautiful spy’, there was no reason to refuse her voluntary participation in the discussion session, so I left her alone.
Bel translated what Toris and Ralpha said into easy-to-understand terms for Zenom and others.
“Oh, oh. I’m sorry … Al-san. Please continue.”
Toris replied with an uncomfortable face.
“… As Ralpha said. Criminal investigations place importance on listening, the connection of relationships, and observation. Among them, the testimony of the nobles involved in the case is the most important …”
Suddenly, Gwine was taking notes with a serious face! A thin board, like a drawing board, was hung from her neck, with something written on it.
Anyway, as for the miso, I didn’t notice it because they were not interested in it until now. Paper was quite expensive, and these guys are getting serious …?
“The first priority for evidence in any crime is the nobles’ testimony. When multiple testimonies disagree, the upper rank is correct. The higher the rank, the better the bloodline. In the case of a similar rank, the newer noble family is prioritized, because the blood of a talented person is strong enough, to start a new noble family.”
Everyone knew that the testimony of the nobles was the most important, but it appeared that they heard it for the first time, about the criteria for proper judgment, when the testimonies conflicted. I was surprised when I first heard it, but I was reminded, that it would be a natural interpretation, in a sense, if the evidence was considered to be provided by the nobles’ side. Even so, I felt strange about the part, where the newer families were prioritized.
Well, that kind of thinking would be insignificant.
That being said, how long would the hype of our little girl team continue, a sight to look forward to?
Previous <Table of Content> Next
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Footnotes:
[1] Marl (マール – Māru) – The oldest boy from among the 22 human orphan slaves bought by Al to work in the sausage factory, previously translated as Maru
[2] Lindsay (リンビー – Rinbī) – The oldest girl from among the 22 human orphan slaves bought by Al to work in the sausage factory, previously translated as Rinbi
[3] Ben (ベン – Ben) – The second oldest boy from among the 22 human orphan slaves bought by Al to work in the sausage factory
[4] Eri (エリー – Erī) – The second oldest girl from among the 22 human orphan slaves bought by Al to work in the sausage factory
[5] Maribel Lardock (マリーベル・ラードック – Marīberu Rādokku) – Bunny-kin woman, new Commander of 1st Division’s 3rd Company
[6] Rhokid (ローキッド – Rōkiddo) – a river flowing through Rombertia, the capital city of Kingdom of Rombert
[7] Count Ransell (ランセル伯爵 – Ranseru Hakushaku) – Lord of the territory in the Dirt Plains, to the East of Riguru County, one of the many titles held by the King of Rombertia, previously translated as Ranseru