Chapter 340: Investigation Results

Khamsin returned an hour later. Luckily, Esparda hadn’t arrived yet. It was rare for the strictly punctual Esparda to be late, but for now, I should just be grateful for it.

“Lord Van, I have the investigation results!”

“……Alright, let’s hear it.”

I rested my elbows on the office desk, interlaced my fingers in front of my face, and replied in a low voice.

What should I do? If they say the work is hard, dirty, and dangerous, and the pay is low……

Though I was trembling with anxiety on the inside, I waited for Khamsin’s report while pretending to be perfectly calm on the outside. Khamsin pulled out a folded piece of paper, opened it, and checked his notes. Incidentally, Khamsin had mastered reading and writing under Till’s tutelage. Currently, he is studying the four basic arithmetic operations.

“Umm, just as you predicted, Lord Van, there were actually some complaints.”

“I-Is that so? No, it’s fine. I am prepared for this.”

As I urged him to continue with my heart pounding in my chest, Khamsin nodded and began to speak. I almost asked him to let me take a deep breath first, but I swallowed the words.

“Well, the most common opinion was that the training is too hard. They said Lord Dee’s training is becoming progressively more intense; this opinion came from those who have been in the Chivalric Order for a long time. Also, there was a request to reduce the number of duty days at Fortress City Murcia…… This came from the people currently rotating guard duty there. They asked if the stay at Fortress City Murcia could be reduced to one week if possible.”

“Dee has been in high spirits because of the recent string of major battles. I’ll try to bring it up to him casually. Fortress City Murcia still needs aid, though…… In that case, we were rotating twenty people at a time, but maybe I should increase the number of rotation squads and have ten people per group? So, what other complaints came up?”

For the time being, the most frequent complaints didn’t accuse me of power harassment. Feeling slightly relieved, I asked for more, but Khamsin shook his head and showed me the paper with his notes.

“No, nothing else in particular…… I asked the people I met if they had heard any other complaints, but the conversation mostly revolved around the duration of the stay at Fortress City Murcia. Aside from that, it seems many people mentioned that Lord Dee’s training is grueling.”

“Eh? So the only complaints are about the training and Fortress City Murcia? What about their salary?”

“The consensus was that they are receiving plenty.”

“Eh, is that so? Really?”

Surprised by Khamsin’s report, I questioned him again. Seeing me like that, Till spoke up with a wry smile.

“You have lowered the taxes, Lord Van, and daily necessities are very cheap here. I believe their salary is more than sufficient.”

Saying that, Till brewed a fresh cup of warm tea for me. As I accepted the cup, I tucked my chin in and hummed in thought.

“Hmm…… If that’s the case, then that’s good, but…… Ah, this is delicious.”

“It is delicious.”

As I relaxed, drinking the rich and delicious tea, Arte, who had taken a sip at the same time, shared her thoughts with a beam. Till puffed out her chest and gave a big nod at that.

“It is filled with love!”

“Ooh, as expected of Till.”

“Ahem.”

I offered words of praise to Till, who responded perfectly as my personal maid. Just then, a voice came from the direction of the door.

“May I have a cup as well?”

“When did you get there……!?”

Before I realized it, Esparda was standing expressionless at the entrance of the room. He is scarier than an assassin.

“I knocked earlier, but receiving no reply, I called out once more before entering. It seems you were investigating the grievances of the Chivalric Order; I believe that is a very prudent mindset. Since the population will continue to increase, it would be wise to conduct a large-scale survey regarding requests and opinions at some point.”

As he said this, Esparda walked over carrying an armful of documents. The pile was placed on the desk, looking heavy enough to make a loud thud.

“……Isn’t that too much?”

When I asked in a hoarse voice, Esparda nodded as if it were nothing.

“Indeed. While I was examining the documents for you to review, new reports came in. It seems the merchant guilds and the Adventurer’s Guild learned of your return and brought over the reports that had been piling up. The fact that they submit reports with such detailed internal information is proof that you are governing well, Lord Van. The number of documents has multiplied several times over because of it, but please consider it a blessing and review them carefully.”

Esparda spoke with deep feeling. I let out a heavy sigh and gazed at the mountain of paperwork.

“……It might be a blessing, but looking at this mountain of documents makes me want to run away. I’ve been on so many expeditions lately, and I want to build some interesting weapons or vehicles, but I don’t have the time…… Maybe it’s about time we reduced the frequency of your study sessions, Esparda? The same goes for training; time is limited, after all. For example, if there are this many documents, maybe we could exempt me from studying and training, something like that……”

“You consistently secure over eight hours of sleep, Lord Van. I was actually thinking that increasing your study time a little would not be a problem……”

“That’s hell.”

Esparda’s outrageous reply caused me to slip into a fake Kansai dialect. Till burst out laughing at that and offered a comment.

“Perhaps you are the one who is most dissatisfied, Lord Van.”

Arte and Khamsin laughed at Till’s words as well. I see. I had been trying not to become a Power Harassment CEO, but it turns out I was the one on the receiving end of the harassment. Esparda Harassment. No, Butler Harassment. That’s new. Let’s call it But-hara for short.

Thinking that, I looked up at Esparda with resentment, and the corners of his mouth quietly curled up.