Chapter 274: Announcement of the New Structure

I sent a letter to Fortress city Murcia, requesting that they return to Seatoh Village for the first time in a while.

Since we had sent half of both the Seatoh Village Chivalric Order and the Esparda Chivalric Order there, they had sufficient manpower for the defense of Fortress city Murcia. Now, not only was there a solid road constructed from Seatoh Village to Fortress city Murcia, but there were also heaps of adventurers willing to help with travel and transport. They would likely return in about two weeks.

Things were going to get busy for a while. I felt this acutely as I looked at the mountain of documents piled up in the lord’s manor.

“Now, the first important matter is regarding the change in structure. If Lord Freightliner is to be appointed as the magistrate, I would like a handover period of about two months. Also, I have brought the administrators and civil officials I was training, so let us assign duties to each of them.”

“Administrators and civil officials?”

As I stared resentfully at the desk piled high with paperwork, Esparda said something that caught my attention. When I inadvertently asked him to repeat himself, Esparda’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Have you forgotten?”

“U-Uh, they were the former slaves, right…?”

I hurriedly searched my memory and answered. At that, Esparda stroked his beard with his fingers and nodded.

” …Well, let us say that is acceptable. As you recalled, Lord Van, I selected five talented individuals from among the slaves and educated them. I also selected two outstanding individuals from those who immigrated to Seatoh Village later and provided them with similar training. The first five, in particular, are capable enough to serve as magistrates for a small town.”

Saying that, Esparda called out to a maid and had her guide the people into the office. The group that appeared consisted of men and women in their twenties and thirties. Their training period should have been only about a year or two, yet the seven of them stood with their backs straight, exuding an atmosphere like that of soldiers. It had been about a year, but I clearly remembered the first five.

“Mr. Giu and Ms. Giulietta… huh? Wasn’t Ms. Emira assisting brother Murcia?”

Wondering why she was here, I asked, but Esparda shook his head.

“Emira returned immediately after the victory in the battle against the Kingdom of Yelenetta. I had anticipated that we would receive requests to accept more immigrants from His Majesty, so I intended to have you, Lord Van, reconsider the personnel allocation.”

“Ah, then that worked out perfectly. How was it over at brother Murcia’s place? It must have been especially tough while His Majesty was there…”

When I asked that, Emira got a distant look in her eyes.

“Yes, very much so… Thanks to the cooperation of everyone in the Chivalric Order and the servants of the various nobles, I managed to fulfill my duties somehow…”

It seemed she had survived quite the ordeal. I actually started to feel sorry for her.

“R-Right. Well then, the number of immigrants will likely increase in the future, so maybe we should dispatch a few more people to Fortress city Murcia.”

“Please…! I beg of you, please do…!”

Emira bowed her head, her voice sounding as if she were coughing up blood. The other members sent her looks of sympathy.

“Aside from that, does everyone feel ready to serve as magistrate assistants?”

When I asked, Esparda nodded.

“Indeed. The five who began their education first will have no issues. The remaining two should also be able to perform reasonably well. Regarding the human resource development of ten magistrates and ten knight commanders that you instructed a year ago, Lord Van, we have currently completed these seven. As for the ten knight commander candidates, Sir Dee has not had enough time, so their education is not yet complete.”

“No, this is sufficient for the current stage. To begin with, my initial thought was that we would be advancing while suppressing the coastline to strike at the Kingdom of Yelenetta, which I assumed would be resisting desperately. The only new territory we have so far is Fortress city Murcia, after all.”

When I answered, Esparda let out a short breath.

“There is no doubt that it will increase eventually. One can never have too many talented people… Now, let me introduce the two who are currently undergoing new training.”

As Esparda announced this, two people who had been standing in the back stepped forward as if they had been ready and waiting. The first was a thirty-five-year-old man. He was a former butler of a lower-ranking noble house, and it seemed he had become a slave as a prisoner of war when the house he served fell into ruin. He answered briskly regarding his own abilities.

Then, finally, a young man introduced himself.

“My name is Vel Satis. I am eighteen years old. I was born into a family of former knights, but the house fell due to defeat in the war before I could inherit the headship, and I became a slave. The only skill I possessed initially was swordsmanship as a knight, but thanks to Lord Esparda’s instruction, regarding territory defense, I have learned chivalric order operations, budget allocation, and equipment management. Regarding domestic affairs, I have learned negotiation and coordination with various guilds and trading companies, as well as budget management. I was also allowed to learn about resident management and the maintenance of various buildings and facilities. As for magic, I can use a little fire magic.”

Straightening his back, Vel introduced himself in that manner. All of them were involved in a volume of work that one wouldn’t think could be learned in just a year or two, but Vel, in particular—perhaps due to his youth—had been made to learn an extraordinary amount of duties.

“I educated both of them so that they can manage at least two departments each. Including Giu and the others, if there are three of them in a single town, there should be no problems with domestic affairs. No matter who is placed as magistrate, they should be able to manage the territory.”

When Esparda said this, everyone nodded with faces like knights gripping their swords on a battlefield.

“Are… are they the Seven Samurai or something…?”

“…What is that?”

“N-No, it’s nothing.”

They must have undergone considerably strict education. Imagining it made me tremble with fear. On the other hand, Esparda looked at the Seven Samurai calmly.

“If we are to place Lord Freightliner as the magistrate of the Adventurer Town, it would be best to assign the first three as his subordinates. Giu and Giulietta, in particular, are indispensable. As for Seatoh Village, if I am returning, they are unnecessary. I would like to send three of the remaining four as Lord Murcia’s subordinates, and keep one available to work in any location.”

“Eh? You’re going to manage Seatoh Village all by yourself, Esparda?”

“Sir Dee is there regarding the Chivalric Order, so there is no problem.”

Esparda said such a thing nonchalantly. At those words, the seven people trained in domestic affairs opened their eyes slightly wide. That was only natural. Doing the work of three people by oneself was physically demanding. However, looking at the expressions of the Seven Samurai, they seemed to be thinking something different from me.

“Ohh, as expected of Lord Esparda…!”

“To handle Seatoh Village, which changes so drastically, all on his own…”

“Only Lord Esparda could do such a thing.”

The group praised Esparda one after another. Hmm, it seems their education is complete in both body and mind. Terrifying.

As I was thinking that, Esparda turned to me and answered.

“What do you think?”

“Right. Let’s go with that. Also, I think I’ll appoint Vel as the Assistant Commander of the Esparda Chivalric Order.”

“Eh?”

Vel reacted to my words. The others also showed surprised reactions. Esparda was the same.

“Vel to the Chivalric Order, you say?”

“Yeah. The Esparda Chivalric Order has a Vice Commander who worked his way up the ranks, but you were acting as the Knight Commander, weren’t you, Esparda? Actually, I’m thinking of entrusting the role of Knight Commander of the Esparda Chivalric Order to Arb, so I thought we could try a system with two Vice Commanders first.”

“…I see. In other words, leaving the position of Commander temporarily vacant, and having two Vice Commanders with Vel as an assistant…”

“Fortress city Murcia has brother Murcia working hard as the magistrate, but if immigrants start flowing in from the Kingdom of Yelenetta, which has become a vassal state, he won’t be able to manage them anytime soon. That said, the Murcia Chivalric Order has many knights who have worked under brother Murcia for a long time, so they’re fine. The place where Vel can be utilized the most is the Esparda Chivalric Order where you will be absent, right Esparda?”

When I answered, Esparda crossed his arms and groaned.

“…It may be a better arrangement than I thought. Indeed, it will be a good learning experience for each of them. Considering the territory of the Viscount Van family, the education of the individuals currently in various positions is a top priority matter, just like the recruitment of new talent. It might be a bit demanding, but let us immediately implement the structure Lord Van has proposed for the Esparda Chivalric Order.”

With that, Esparda nodded with satisfaction. Eh? Demanding?

No, no, if it’s everyone trained by Esparda, they’ll be fine, probably.

Thinking that, I looked at the Seven Samurai, but every single one of them had an expression like they were about to commit ritual suicide.