WITH FORTRESS CITY MURCIA FINALLY COMPLETE, it was time to head home. I gathered everyone by the front gates that faced Scuderia to offer them my gratitude. “It was quite the project, but we’ve completed all of His Majesty’s requests. Thank you so much, everyone!”

“Yessir!” replied the Chivalric Order.

In the front row stood Murcia and the temporary commanders of his Chivalric Order, Dee and Arb. Behind them were two hundred members of the Seatoh Village Chivalric Order, roughly a hundred of Murcia’s personal guard, and ten or so adventurers who would stay behind with Murcia and the rest. Boy super-genius Li’l Van, meanwhile, stood with his beautiful fiancée Arte, the lovely maid Till, and Khamsin, the boy who would one day be the strongest knight of all. I also had Lowe and Rango, Paula and her machine bow squad, and another ten adventurers to protect and guide us through the mountains.

“The Bell & Rango Company will begin doing supply runs here shortly, so feel free to use up all the spices and booze you have now,” I said with a smile. Murcia nodded.

“Thanks, that takes some of the weight off my shoulders. Food is key, after all. I’m sorry to make requests of you, but it would be a great help to receive reinforcements sooner rather than later. I hate to admit it, but I’m terrified of another attack by Yelenetta.”

I nodded, quickly putting together a plan in my head. “Of course. Since Fortress City Murcia will be the front line of this war, I plan to maintain a certain number of fighters in Seatoh Village and send others to you as reinforcements as soon as I can. We should be fine over there since we also have the Esparda Chivalric Order. Then, if our plan to populate this place goes well, we’ll be able to send even more reinforcements.”

Murcia’s tense expression finally relaxed. “That’d be very helpful. I’m an elemental mage, but I’m not talented enough to change the course of a battle on my own,” he said matter-of-factly.

That got me thinking about the best ways to use his magic. An air rifle came to mind, but the most effective course of action would be to use his wind magic to detonate traps remotely. We could build a decoy stone bridge that only looked tough, for example, and then, when the timing was right, have Murcia could destroy it with his magic from afar. Something like that would be effective against our enemies.

And if we prepared multiple such traps, our defensive capabilities, even in a war against a massive nation, would increase by leaps and bounds.

“No,” I said finally, “I have a better way to use your magic. Let me think on it a little bit.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. Your magic is so rare, I want to make the most effective use of it possible.”

That concluded our conversation. I offered more words of appreciation to the people lined up in front of me, then explained the importance of defending this stronghold. Finally, I turned to the people who would join me on the trip home and informed them that it was time to once again traverse the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range. My demeanor was grave; the path ahead of us was chock full of enormous monsters, and no matter how much road work I did, we couldn’t afford to let our guards down.

As it turned out, that was all for naught. Just like our last trip through the mountains, having skilled adventurers, ballistae, and my machine bow squad made for a peaceful little tour through the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range. Monsters were spotted way before we reached them and dispatched before they could become an issue.

And with our carriages able to progress quickly over the road, we experienced way fewer dangerous incidents.

Our journey being what it was, spending the night in the wild was unavoidable, but we even managed to mitigate that issue. I built three large rest facilities in the open areas we came upon. They were by no means complex, but we could rest there with peace of mind. Because of all this, our journey home was even quicker and calmer than I anticipated.

The true hell came after we arrived in Seatoh Village. While my first night home was relaxing, Esparda summoned me for an emergency meeting the very next day.

“G’morning,” I mumbled, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

Esparda, clad in his usual work attire, nodded. “Good morning, Lord Van. It is time for work. Let us begin with the business we discussed previously.”

“Uh, what business was that?”

He locked his eyes with mine. “You proposed that we train talented people.” Surely you have not forgotten? went unsaid.

I panicked and racked my brain, trying to remember what he meant. “O-oh, yeah! Of course! I remember! You’re talking about that one girl you have working under you, right?”

He stared at me, almost as if he was counting each drop of sweat that rolled down my face. “Correct. Including her, I have finished training five individuals to level one.”

“Five?! That’s amazing! It’s remarkable that you managed to get them ready to go in under a year… Wait, what’s level one?”

Esparda raised a hand, palm out. “I split their curriculum into five steps. Level one means that they can manage things only during a time of peace. At level two, they have memorized the fundamentals and can handle a variety of situations. At level three and beyond, I can trust them to deal with unforeseen situations on their own.”

“Huh. I guess I must be level three, right?” I asked modestly.

He narrowed his eyes. “Lord Van, in matters of war, you are level four. Likewise when it comes to your studies. However, you are only at level two in internal administration, and for diplomacy and dealing with nobility, I would put you at level one. Oh, and on the business end of things, I would say you sit at level three.”

“Th-thank you very much,” I managed in the face of this blast of critique.

Seeing my shoulders droop in dejection, Esparda gently caressed his beard. What was he thinking about? “In areas where you excel, you show remarkable knowledge and initiative. You are unmotivated, however, in matters of etiquette, relationships with the nobility, and international diplomacy. You must work harder to overcome your weaknesses.”

“Y-yes, I understand…”

Essentially, he was telling me that we would focus on all the subjects I hated going forward. How sad for Li’l Van! I had zero interest in learning about some count’s banquet or which viscounts a marquis invited to a ball, and negative desire for a promotion to some key position in the kingdom. I planned to stay holed up in my territory; joining a faction would end with me having to attend banquets and balls every month, which was not remotely enticing.

My ideal diplomatic relationship was the one I had with Panamera, who came over to hang, take a nice bath, and have some drinks with me and my friends.

These thoughts hardly befit a member of the nobility, so I was careful not to say any of them aloud. But Esparda sighed, seeing right through me. “I know you loathe such annoyances, so I have trained two people to administrate things in your stead. One is a former noble girl who, due to her background, is very suspicious of others. The other is the eldest daughter of a knight; I have judged her more than talented enough for the job. Going forward, I will proactively include them in matters involving other nobles. I have released them from their slave contracts and taken them in as adopted children.”

“Wait, what?! You can’t just drop something like that on me out of nowhere!” I couldn’t believe my ears, but Esparda just nodded, his typical poker face intact.

“When dealing with nobility it is crucial to obscure one’s intentions. Bright, compulsively honest individuals are the first to be taken advantage of. By contrast, nobles who have lost their houses and families and become slaves often possess excellent talents.”

Here he was, cooly introducing his new children (?!) like a professional recruiter. It was all I could do to grip my head and nod. “Fine, I get it. I’ll leave them in your capable hands, so make sure to train them well.”

“Of course. As for the other three individuals, I was able to teach them to manage our public finances, our commodities, and the city infrastructure respectively. I would like you to meet each of them so that you can personally decide how much discretion they should be allowed.”

“Is it possible to let you handle all of that?”

“Not at all. You are the true leader of this territory.”

“…Fine.”

Having more land sure came with growing pains.

Ugh, he is so serious! Too serious! So hard-headed, like a big stone block!

But he was incredibly loyal to me, too, and he had a keen sense of responsibility. That was why he was so strict with me and even the others. Honestly, it was because of that strength of character that I gave him full authority over everything. He was in charge of not only managing my territory and its defenses in my absence, but also deciding who could move here as a new citizen and even managing the monster parts and their sales, our primary source of income.

If Esparda wanted to take the money and run, he could easily have done so the next day—that was how much discretion I gave him. Which was precisely why I could trust him to pick whichever individuals he needed to support him or manage our various duties. Esparda always left the important decisions to me, though. It was never about his own accomplishments; everything he did was to prop me up.

Yet I had a feeling his true intentions lay elsewhere.

Thinking that over, I glanced around the room, a space we used for hosting special guests. Five individuals sat in chairs equidistant from one another. Behind them stood Esparda and Lowe, staring at the backs of their heads. To my left were Khamsin and Till, both standing, and on my right sat Arte, looking at the five people.

The people before us were clearly nervous. They trained their eyes on me and me alone. I looked them over once more and said, “It’s time for the final interview! Starting from the right, please introduce yourself and tell me about the field you specialize in!”

What with the whole thing having the vibe of a Japanese group interview, I decided to really throw myself into the role. I expected my words to surprise them a bit, but the man I’d pointed to on the far right quickly rose to his feet.

“Yes sir! M-my name is Giu Giaro, and I am a former slave. Before that, I worked in construction and design, but I saw a major decrease in work after another company began to monopolize jobs, and I became a debt slave. As a slave I feared for my future, but then the Bell & Rango Company purchased me, giving me the opportunity to live here. I would like to offer you my sincere gratitude!”

So began Giu’s very serious introduction. It was immediately clear to me why Esparda had selected him. These serious-looking men and women introduced themselves one after the other, until finally it was time for the fourth person to speak.

She was a young girl named Giulietta Berlina, and she was a member of the nobility—the girl that Esparda had mentioned earlier. A cute girl with short blonde hair, she seemed to almost always have a smile on her face, and she spoke as if subtly ascertaining how the person opposite her was responding. She also voiced words of agreement and sympathy like she was trying to grasp her conversation partner’s emotions.

This was exactly the kind of girl who could become the empress of a place like Kabukicho. If I still lived in Japan, I might’ve ended up spending my monthly salary on her…not that I’d ever done something like that before.

Anyway, after her introduction, it was time for the final person. She was a tall woman, probably around twenty-five years of age. She had purplish hair that she wore tied back and a powerful gaze that gave her the aura of a female warrior. My initial impression: she was beautiful but also a little scary.

The woman straightened her back and said, “My name is Emira Khomi. I was born into a house of knights, but our family collapsed after my father died on the battlefield. I sold myself into slavery to save my mother and little brother. Fortunately, I was able to come here, where Sir Esparda selected me and began training me to work as the acting lord. I am giving my all to that goal so that I can live up to Sir Esparda’s expectations and be useful to you, Lord Van.”

She bowed deeply. Of all the introductions, hers was the simplest, but for some reason her honest personality really shone through. I found myself feeling quite fond of the woman, so I decided to ask her a few questions. “Emira, got it. You said you were born into a house of knights, right? Do you have any knowledge of swordsmanship or battle strategy?”

“Yes. Father was not particularly blessed when it came to having children, and when he finally did conceive, he had a daughter. It was not until I turned ten that my parents had my little brother, so until that point my father trained me vigorously in the ways of the sword. I am confident that my skill with the sword and spear is at least on par with the average knight’s.”

I nodded, then glanced over at Esparda. “How far into her training is she?”

“I believe she could perform her duties as the acting lord of a small town. She is more than capable of managing finances, resources, and human affairs, not to mention personal problems and water-related issues. She is still learning about taxation, but as we do not yet collect taxes from our citizens, I believe we can put that off for the time being.”

“Gotcha. In that case, let’s have her handle Espa Town for a month as a trial run. If there are no problems, I’d like her to act in a supporting role over at Fortress City Murcia. The plan is for Murcia to eventually take over other towns and fortress cities; when that happens, I want her to become the acting lord in his stead.”

But before he could react, Emira’s eyes went wide. Despite her calm demeanor, she was clearly surprised. “Acting lord of a fortress city? M-me?”

I loved these kinds of reactions. As a gift, Li’l Van will give you a ballista! You can even use it at Fortress City Murcia!

Esparda stroked his chin, looking serious. “I see. It is true that they have a greater need for personnel, and she would be of great assistance to Lord Murcia. However, my original plan was for her to manage Espa Town and Seatoh Village. I will have to find someone else to train…”

I couldn’t quite understand his reluctance at first. Only after I stared at him for a moment did it occur to me.

“You’re trying to push me into handling all of His Majesty’s requests, aren’t you?” I asked, squinting at him. Esparda averted his gaze disapprovingly. “Jeez, that’s terrifying! You want to have an acting lord in place for both Seatoh Village and Espa Town so that I can go out and do everything His Majesty asks?! You know I don’t want to leave the village!”

Esparda frowned as if he weren’t scheming behind my back. “The truth is that you should not turn down any of his requests, especially now that he has put so much trust in you.”

“No, no, no! What about what I want? If I end up doing everything he asks, he’ll make me go to the capital!”

I didn’t mean to get into a full-blown argument with Esparda, but there we were. My five interviewees must have found it super disconcerting, but this was something I had to make clear right then and there. I didn’t care who it was: nobody was allowed to get in the way of me living a nice life away from conflict and others’ expectations.

Arte cleared her throat adorably. Everyone stopped and turned to look at her. She looked back at us, a kind smile forming on her face. “Lord Van, what shall we do about the group interview?”

Despite her gentle tone, I found myself straightening my posture. “Right! Um, let me explain everything to the people who will be managing territory going forward,” I said, and cut to the chase.

That single sentence from Arte was all it took to get me back on track. It was time to talk to my interviewees about the future. “This conversation is only between me, the people in this room, Dee,

Arb, and Murcia, okay? Make sure you guys keep quiet.”

“O-of course!”

“Absolutely.”

All five of them agreed to keep their lips sealed and I saw in their eyes that they were not lying. I nodded and continued, “Then listen carefully. We’ll be increasing the population of Seatoh Village in the near future. Once we’ve done so, I’m going to select another ten people to manage things and ten more candidates for command of the Chivalric Orders. While these individuals are being trained, we’re going to invade the Kingdom of Yelenetta.”

The five interviewees tensed up, their eyes wide. Their responses were all over the place, but nobody’s reaction was outright negative. “I-invade Yelenetta?” said one.

“We’re at war, so I was prepared for this,” said another.

Satisfied with the looks on their faces, I nodded again. “We’re going to invade Yelenetta and make our way toward the coast. At bare minimum, we’ll occupy four large cities or fortress cities along the way, culminating with occupation of the capital.” This whole plan must have seemed completely off the wall to them, but I was confident in my explanation. “I suspect that the occupied cities will become mine, so I’m going to end up needing all of your help to manage those new places.”

I monitored their reactions as I spoke, cutting myself off when I saw their expressions grow increasingly serious. That worried me a little bit.

“Um, just to be clear, I haven’t lost my mind or anything,” I reassured them. “Got it?”

They shook their heads and waved their hands at me, looking a lot more panicked than I anticipated. The vibe was like a pack of criminals walking death row. “O-oh, we know!”

I laughed a little and shrugged. “I mean, I get it: what’s a brand-new baron doing going up against a huge foreign nation, right? Well, I happen to have a passion burning in me that makes me unstoppable.” Dropping my voice to a whisper, I added, “I will eat curry and rice again no matter what, and I won’t lose to anyone while I pursue that goal.”

The interviewees looked at me blankly. I ignored them.

“Going forward, I’m going to start making moves to increase

Seatoh Village’s population. If that influx of people includes anyone with the potential to become acting governors or Chivalric Order commanders, I’ll assign them positions regardless of birth or race. At the end of the day, the most vital quality for them to have is a great personality. I’ll select people who are earnest and serious when it comes to their work. I’d like you all to make sure you don’t get left behind when that happens.”

The five interviewees stood up straight.

Emira

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AGES, I HAD THE CHANCE to speak to Lord Van directly. We’d last spoken when he greeted us personally upon our arrival in Seatoh Village.

When I became a slave, I despaired having lost my father, seen House Khomi collapse, and sacrificed my own future for my family by selling myself. Being thrown in a cage and fed like livestock certainly did not help. The other caged slaves said that I would receive favorable treatment because I was a showpiece slave who would sell well in the market, but I found that hard to imagine. Talking to the other slaves on the way to Seatoh Village changed my perception, but at the time, I truly thought my circumstances were as wretched as they could get.

Being a slave meant having a price put on your existence, and that price dangled cruelly over your head. I learned that I was worth four gold. A high price for a slave, perhaps, but that scarred me nonetheless. The Bell & Rango Company bought me in a business deal akin to a mass purchase, done with the same levity one might display when purchasing a large quantity of bread—but I was the one being bought. I thought that my self-esteem had already been beaten out of me, but I must have still had a shred of it left, because even now I recall how hard it was to keep myself from sobbing.

What horrible sin had I committed? How miserable would I have to become before I could be forgiven? Those were the questions that preoccupied me when we reached Seatoh Village and I came face to face with Lord Van. He was an eight-year-old child, but even at that young age he had the aura of a nobleman. That was my first impression of him. But as he spoke to us now, I was forced to rewrite that impression.

What kind of life did he live to become landed gentry at his age, set his gaze to the future, and put his plan into action? Sir Esparda and Sir Dee must have been providing him with an excellent education, but even then, this was unfathomable from someone so young. He spoke of goals to make Seatoh Village stronger and more bountiful. He promised to protect his citizens’ quality of life. With most of the people moving there having no wealth of their own, he provided them with food and shelter, all paid out of his own pocket.

Everything about this was unbelievable. Before I was a slave I grew up in a city that I thought was well-off, but Seatoh Village was something else entirely.

Now, Lord Van continued to make good on his word. When I learned our village would participate in the war against Yelenetta, I braced myself for the worst—but somehow he and the others returned home without a single casualty. Not only that, but rumor had it that Lord Van’s powers contributed significantly to our country’s victory.

Hearing this, perhaps because I was raised by a family of knights, I found a sense of loyalty growing within me, the likes of which I’d never felt before. I needed to work even harder, I thought. I needed to be useful to Lord Van. But that was not the end of things.

Approximately a year after our first meeting, I had the opportunity to speak with Lord Van again. He was nine years old now. While the other villagers had chances to casually socialize with him, the others and I received instructions directly from Sir Esparda, so we never had that kind of free time on our hands. This was the first I had seen of him in a long time.

Something was different about Lord Van. Perhaps he was taller now? Something about his eyes was different, certainly. I sensed a strong determination in them.

And then he declared that we would invade Yelenetta, the very same country that had attempted to invade us. To protect his home country, he would willingly pit himself against a massive, powerful enemy.

That fact alone made me tremble. I wanted to run off that moment and brag about him to everyone whose path I crossed. Feeling my heart racing, I placed a hand over my chest and curled it into a fist.

I understand now. I was born to serve Lord Van.

Perhaps this was cliche, but it felt like destiny. My once gray world was suddenly full of color.