When they said they would send the 99th episode, they should have gone. (3)
“Ugh! What the heck?”
Claude jumped back in surprise at Kaor rushing at him out of the blue.
He never thought he’d actually charge at him.
‘This guy’s territory is full of lunatics.’
Ghislaine didn’t need to be mentioned, and all his followers were just as crazy.
The sword flew towards Claude with the momentum to slice off one of his arms in one go.
Clang!
However, at some point, Gillian’s axe had blocked the sword.
“What the heck! Old man, aren’t you going to move? I need to teach that guy a lesson! You want to take a hit too?”
“Don’t mess around. How dare you draw your sword in front of the Lord? Do you want to die?”
“Damn it, is it okay if I use an axe?”
“It’s fine since I’m trying to stop you.”
The two began to growl at each other.
Belinda pretended to be surprised by covering her mouth with her hand, but her eyes were laughing.
Looking at the two, Claude chuckled.
They had completely forgotten about him and started bickering among themselves.
“Enough.”
Ghislaine calmly said and threw a sword towards the two.
Thud!
Without waiting for anyone, both stepped back simultaneously.
The sword stuck deep into the ground where they had just been.
“There are people around, you know? Save the fighting for outside.”
While scolding the two, Ghislaine couldn’t hide his smile.
He had to maintain his authority as a lord, but honestly, he really liked the free-spirited atmosphere.
It reminded him of the mercenary group he had spent time with in his previous life.
Ghislaine glanced at Claude.
‘Looks like he’s starting to show his true colors as well. Back in my past life, he used to curse at me and ended up getting hit more than once.’
Claude was quite proud of his abilities.
He spoke without hesitation.
He didn’t know how many times he’d clashed with hot-headed and ignorant mercenaries.
‘Ah, those were some fun times.’
Claude would nag the mercenaries, and just like Kaor, those who got riled up would charge at him.
Before long, other members would join in, throwing punches, and then they’d all end up drinking together and passing out.
Ghislaine watched this from the back, chuckling as he drank. If he got a little restless, he would jump in the fight too.
There was no sign of courtesy or order, but during those times, he could laugh without a single worry.
‘But things can’t be the same as they were back then.’
“It can’t be the same, right?”
Ghislaine shook his head, feeling a bitter sensation.
He reminisced about old memories and moved on without a word, but the officials working in the Penris Territory couldn’t do the same.
“What kind of mess is this? Fighting with swords in front of the Lord!”
“Were all the followers mercenaries? This is beyond crude.”
“Are we just going to laugh it off? The Lord has gone mad!”
These people, who had always lived trapped in rigid etiquette, simply couldn’t understand the free-spirited attitude displayed by Ghislaine and his followers.
The previous Lord had certainly squeezed the territory residents dry, but at least he maintained a minimum level of dignity.
Other retainers would engage in elegant verbal duels with the Lord, but there had never been anyone as unruly as this.
“It feels like a bunch of bandits have come. The Lord is no different from a mere mercenary.”
“This territory is truly finished.”
Everyone averted their eyes, pretending not to see, while cold sweat ran down their backs.
They had no courage to argue about etiquette with a Lord who had already taken several lives.
Ghislaine misunderstood why the officials were so distressed and calmly continued speaking.
“I understand your concerns about assigning a lot of tasks to someone whose abilities are not yet verified. But don’t worry; he will do well. Right, Claude?”
“Uh….”
Claude stood up, dusting off his backside while glancing around.
Everyone in the great hall seemed to be pretending not to look at him.
Feeling somewhat hopeless, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Where did it all go wrong?
Ghislaine had surely said something magnificent.
– “Come to the Penris Territory of Ruthania. I will give you wings to unleash your potential.”
He had been given wings, but those wings were a bit too heavy.
“Damn it, I can’t back out here.”
He had already been called a gambling addict, an idiot, and even someone whose brain was malfunctioning; now saying he couldn’t do it would just make him a joke.
It was true he was in lifelong debt, so he had to give it a shot.
Claude sulked and lowered his head.
“I will try my best…”
For now, he had no choice, but if he scaled down his work situation gradually, he felt like he could manage somehow.
Then Ghislaine smiled and added a sentence.
“Yes, it looks like there’s a lot to do, but that’s just at the beginning. You can handle it just fine.”
He said it sincerely.
In his previous life, Claude had accomplished this kind of task every day. Sometimes he had even handled more challenging jobs.
Given how wrecked the territory was, it needed someone meticulous to confirm everything and nurture it.
In the large framework Ghislaine had envisioned, there weren’t many who could fill in the details and respond swiftly to sudden situations.
“You’ve got that level of ability, right? Don’t you?”
He seemed a bit overwhelmed right now, but he would adapt soon enough.
Ghislaine looked at Claude with a relieved smile.
Eventually, Claude let out a deep sigh and nodded.
If the Lord was saying something like that, it would hurt his pride to slack off.
“Well, I’ll give it a shot, and if it gets tough, I’ll let you know.”
“Great. Do you need anything else?”
“No, please just stay still. Don’t try to add anything more.”
Claude waved his hands in dismay. Ghislaine then asked the existing administrator managing the territory about its status.
Ghislaine asked the former administrator managing the territory about the state of the domain.
“How many knights are left?”
“Almost all died in the war, and the few who survived have left the territory.”
Once the lord who swore allegiance died, those who gained their freedom weren’t likely to stay in such a harsh domain.
It was unfortunate, but Ghislaine already suspected as much and nodded without saying anything more.
“How about the soldiers?”
“Due to being dragged into the war, only thirty-two remain.”
Ghislaine hesitated for a moment and sighed.
“Since we’re so short on troops, I’ll decide who will take command later. Belinda will take on the butler role and manage the servants. As for a house tutor… it seems it’s better to skip that for now.”
“Understood.”
Belinda replied with a bright smile.
‘It’s a bit disappointing to step away from being a tutor, but managing those who serve the lord is important too.’
Ghislaine also assigned Gillian and Kaor to continue training and managing the mercenaries for the time being.
He had separate plans for them in mind.
After tending to his close followers, Ghislaine looked back at Claude.
“Then let’s get started right away.”
“Huh? Already? I haven’t even assessed the state of the domain yet!”
“Well, you can figure that out while you work.”
“No… but how can I work without knowing what to do….”
Before Claude could say more, Ghislaine issued the order.
“Start with a population survey. This territory has been pillaged for so long that there are likely many firewood farmers hiding in the mountains. Make sure to find every last one and bring them down to the village.”
“Uh, okay….”
“Since the territory residents are starving, we need to import food in bulk. Prepare enough to last at least six months.”
“We won’t know how much to buy until the population survey is done… how much should we purchase?”
“That’s something you need to figure out.”
“Me?”
“Or should I do it?”
“…….”
With that statement, Claude had nothing to say.
The administrative work was entirely his responsibility now.
Ghislaine only needed to provide direction.
It was true that these tasks had to be done eventually, so Claude sighed and nodded.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
A flood of commands poured out of Ghislaine’s mouth.
“I’ll also plan to improve food supply. Assess the arable land and check if there’s more we can secure.”
“Identify the aging facilities and prioritize what needs to be repaired first….”
“I’ll reinforce the castle walls and gates, so prepare for that. They looked like a total mess on the way here. Prioritize the military’s access….”
“Repair the roads connecting the various towns and villages in the territory. Connect all the way to the Forest of Monsters in Perdium….”
“Assess the status of military supplies and replace worn-out equipment….”
“Find out how many functional wells there are and construct a waterway. Fill up the reservoir….”
“We also need to improve the territorial hygiene. Tear down all the toilets, check the drainage. Set standards for the pit as well. They can only be installed at designated spots….”
“Construct a warehouse… including runestones, medicinal herbs, ores, and materials….”
“This needs to be done… and that needs to be done….”
As the list of endless tasks grew, Claude’s complexion turned pale.
The other administrators listening were similarly affected.
Fearing that they might catch the fallout, everyone was bowing their heads low.
He was completely hunched over.
Ghislaine was ordering him to completely tear down the territory from start to finish.
And it was all up to Claude alone.
Ghislaine’s words showed no signs of ending.
Claude, driven by his survival instinct, suddenly raised his hand and interrupted the lord’s speech.
“Rather than dying from work, it’s better to take a beating now!”
“There’s just too much work for me to do it alone!”
Ghislaine raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“I gave you the authority to hire people, right? So, hire some!”
“Oh.”
Claude looked around.
The people who had treated him like garbage just moments ago were now all avoiding his gaze.
Claude pointed to a random person and asked,
“What did you originally do?”
“I just managed the cavalry horses…”
“Oh, really? Then you can also manage the supply logistics! Work with me…”
“I was actually planning to retire soon because of my chronic illness… cough cough”
Claude shook his head as he looked at the others.
Ghislaine told him to choose the necessary people, but there were no suitable candidates.
Senior officials who had participated in the war had long since lost their heads to Ghislaine’s wrath.
And it was impossible to elevate junior officials to higher positions; it would be useless to assign them tasks they weren’t familiar with.
The positions they left vacant would still need to be filled by someone else.
‘Well, if there were capable people, I wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess!’
When Ghislaine piled a mountain of responsibilities on him, he had expected a lot of work.
But this was beyond imagination.
Even the prime minister of a kingdom wouldn’t be able to handle the tasks Ghislaine had assigned.
In the end, Claude couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted out loudly.
“Damn it! In the end, I have to do everything myself! I can’t do it!”
At that, Ghislaine smiled brightly and said,
“Oh come on, have you tried? You can do it. Just give it a go.”
“There are way too many things to do at the same time! Do them one by one, one by one! I’m a person too!”
“Nope, there’s no time for that.”
Ghislaine replied decisively.
The Duke Delphine was currently focusing on the royal family and needed to expand his influence as quickly as possible.
But Claude, who didn’t know the underlying circumstances, had completely lost his will to even try.
“I also can’t! I don’t want to die from overwork! If you’re going to kill me, just do it cleanly!”
Claude shouted boldly. Ghislaine narrowed her eyes and gestured to Kaor.
Kaor, excited, began to spin his sword around.
“Wait, are you really going to cut me?!”
Claude stumbled back, retreating.
He desperately glanced around for help, but the officials were all avoiding eye contact, and the mercenaries were blocking his escape route instead.
‘This isn’t a joke! This crazy guy, is he even human?’
He had already admired how truly insane he seemed several times, yet he kept doing more crazy things.
Having incurred debt to such a person, Claude felt that his life was effectively over.
He was going to work like a slave in this pathetic territory until he died.
Thud!
As this thought crossed his mind, Claude felt something explode in his head.
‘This territory is doomed. My life is also doomed.’
Faced with the shocking reality, Claude fainted.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
