Chapter 269: Cooperation of the Merchants

A month later. Just as the usual Seatoh Village routine had fully settled in, a rare visitor arrived.

It was Apollo of the Merchant Guild.

“It has been a while, Lord Van.”

“Apollo-san! You have brought a massive number of people again today!”

I went out to the castle gate to meet him and immediately said that upon seeing Apollo. Apollo smiled his usual placid smile.

It was understandable that Van was surprised. After all, a huge procession of large carriages filled the road behind Apollo. I couldn’t even tell how many dozens of them there were.

“Th-that is incredible,” Arte exclaimed, also surprised by the sheer number.

Bell and Rango, whom I mainly deal with, couldn’t contain themselves and, after a cursory greeting, ran toward the carriages.

“O-oh! These are precious fabrics from the Central Continent!”

“This is amazing too! Valuable ceramics, silver tableware, and paintings…!”

Ignoring the commotion the two of them were making, I looked at Apollo.

“Could it be imports from the Central Continent? I would think it’s too early for that, though.” I asked, surprised.

Apollo gave a smile that, for him, showed a slight hint of confidence.

“…Yes, I prepared this to deliver it to you sooner than anyone else. Lord Van, congratulations on your victory in the war.” Apollo said, smiling.

“Ah, thank you. Did you perhaps travel all the way back to the Central Continent during the war, and then traverse the Kingdom of Yelenetta along the coastline?”

“A keen observation. The border was blockaded, so I was waiting in the southeasternmost town of Yelenetta. I thought it would take a little longer, but to achieve victory by making the Shelvia Confederation a vassal state alongside Yelenetta is truly remarkable.”

“No, no, that was His Majesty’s strategy, you know? You shouldn’t phrase it like I brought the victory,” I said, worriedly pointing out his phrasing.

Apollo’s eyes widened visibly, and he bowed his head.

“Ah, I failed to realize that… My apologies. Now then, about the main topic, is there a place where we can have a private conversation?”

“A private conversation? Let’s go to the Lord’s manor for now.”

After that exchange, I guided Apollo to the Lord’s manor. Incidentally, I had the carriages moved to the edge inside Seatoh Village’s castle wall. It was too dangerous to leave them outside, and the plaza in front of the Lord’s manor was clearly too small.

We went to the reception room of the Lord’s manor, and I asked Till to bring tea and sweets. Remaining in the room were Arte, Khamsin, Esparda, and, by extension, Bell and Rango.

I had asked Esparda to join us because this involved imports from the Central Continent, which was more complex than mere exports and imports.

Only Apollo, Bell, and I were seated. The others stood around the table.

“First, an explanation of the situation.” Apollo began, spreading a map on the table. The table wasn’t very tall but was wide, and the map covered almost the entire surface.

Seeing the map, Bell immediately spoke.

“Oh! Is this a detailed map of the Central Continent!?”

Hearing that, I studied the map carefully. On the left side was the name of the western continent, Grant continent. And on the right side was a slightly long, vertical continent. Is this the Central Continent? Its name was the Reese Continent, and it seemed to be about the same size as the Grant continent. A surprisingly large northern half of that continent was the territory of the Solstice Empire.

This nation seemed comparable in size to the Kingdom of Scuderia after its annexation of the Kingdom of Yelenetta and the Shelvia Confederation.

“…I’d almost like to see how they manage to maintain such a huge country,” I said, tracing the Solstice Empire’s territory with my finger.

Seeing this, Khamsin looked up.

“Is it difficult to manage a large country?” Khamsin asked a genuine question. Arte also looked at me with interest. Did she become curious as a noble? I decided to give a brief explanation before proceeding with the main discussion.

“To maintain a large country, you need really solid laws. Also, it’s hard to find people to govern distant territories, right? Logically, if you have good laws and perfect administrators who can perfectly manage every region, then no matter how much you expand your territory, it should be fine. But it rarely works out that way. If the laws are full of holes, lots of people will do bad things and the public security will worsen, and if you have someone who’s bad at operating the Knight Order, they might get invaded by another country. Furthermore, if you entrust a far-off place to a corrupt administrator, people who secretly make money for themselves might appear. In the worst case, they might even start a rebellion.”

I used the Solstice Empire’s territory to explain the risks of expanding a country. Khamsin groaned with a serious expression.

“I see… Indeed, with nobles having so many different ideas, it seems like the country could easily fall apart.”

When Khamsin said that, Arte pointed at the Kingdom of Yelenetta with a slight look of anxiety.

“Th-then, what happens when the Kingdom of Yelenetta and the Shelvia Confederation become vassal states, like now…?”

I nodded slightly at her words.

“The current situation isn’t good. They were our enemies just recently. Governance won’t succeed if there’s a strong distrust of the Kingdom of Scuderia. So, we need people we can trust as administrators. And those people must have the capability to prevent the former enemy nobles and knight orders from acting freely.”

“…It seems difficult. Are there people capable of that?”

“That’s what laws are for. If you can fully integrate those laws over a long period, management isn’t difficult. Giving the vassal states or territories a certain degree of autonomy might also be a good idea. They can maintain their own culture and way of life, which might prevent dissatisfaction from building up.”

If I recall correctly, the Roman Empire and other historical nations governed in such a way. When I said this, recalling vague memories, Apollo surprisingly spoke up with an emotional look.

“Oh…! That is wonderful! In fact, that is precisely what I came here to suggest! How to manage the vastly expanded territory of the Kingdom of Scuderia. I was going to inform you of the Solstice Empire’s methods of governance as a reference, but it seems that was unnecessary.”

Apollo said this with a wry smile and looked at Esparda.

“It means that Butler Esparda has provided such extensive education. I am truly humbled. There is no doubt that the highest quality of learning is taking place on this continent right here.”

Since Apollo knew that Esparda was my tutor, he praised Esparda’s accomplishment without reservation. However, Esparda shook his head with a stern expression.

“No, while I certainly conveyed the methods of incorporating vassal states and territories under centralized command when teaching about territory and governance, it was not in this much detail. Especially the usefulness of granting discretionary autonomy to vassal states—I do not believe I taught that.”

When Esparda answered, everyone’s eyes turned to me.

I can’t possibly say that it’s knowledge from my previous life in a different world. I thought for a moment, then answered by incorporating what I genuinely felt.

“Well, I thought of it when Esparda was teaching me. If you assume your country is a town, I didn’t know what was happening even at the edges of the same town back then… I realized that when I saw Khamsin about to be sold as a slave. It’s not easy to know who is trying to do what. If it’s the next town over, it’s absolutely impossible, right?”

As I spoke, the conversation started to make sense. Everyone was listening with serious faces.

“…I think the fact that every town and every territory is governed peacefully without rebellion is due to the Kingdom’s laws, the local ordinances, the existence of the Knight Order, and the power of the local lords. If you look at it that way, when expanding territory, the important things are the laws and the lords. But the old ways won’t work for land that was formerly an enemy nation. I thought that when I first came to Seatoh Village.”

When I said that, Esparda stroked his chin with his index finger and thumb, groaning thoughtfully.

“…I see. Indeed, Lord Van immediately questioned the Kingdom’s laws and the village’s governance when he first arrived at Seatoh Village.” Esparda nodded slightly several times and replied.

“…A prodigy. Although I thought I understood this before, my recognition was still too naive.” Finally, Apollo summarized with that thought. Oh, I am thoroughly misunderstood. It’s only natural since I’m not actually ten years old inside, but I can’t explain that.

I had no choice but to smile vaguely and refrain from answering.