Chapter 11: I’ve Grown.
Three years have passed since I saved Liese with the power of gold, and the stage of the otome game is finally about to begin.
If you ask what I was doing during those three years, I was completely absorbed in managing my territory.
To put it bluntly, the Aegrid Territory was in a really bad state. The reason Arnaud had advised me to impose heavy taxes was to keep away so-called villains like corrupt merchants and ruffians.
The idea was that villains wouldn’t approach someone as outrageous as me.
But then I reincarnated, and by lowering the heavy taxes, strange folks started popping up.
First, on the positive side, merchants, seeing the low taxes, came to do business in the Aegrid Territory. That’s a good thing.
However, when merchants come, it also means that bandits targeting them, and bad guys using merchants as a cover, also slip in.
I had to sort through those kinds of people.
Furthermore, even among those who originally lived here, while those whose lives were hard might be helped by the reduced taxes, those without jobs couldn’t be saved.
In other words, I had to secure jobs for them. So, I granted the right to cultivate farmland and the right to lease it out, thereby increasing jobs.
But then, bandits appeared there too.
Distinguishing between the bad guys and the good people became a complicated matter, so I’ll skip the details here, but suffice it to say, a mountain of troublesome things came rushing in.
When you try to manage a territory seriously, it truly involves a wide range of things. With Arnaud and Maria supporting me, and securing personnel to resolve issues, three years passed in a flash.
“Lord Serios, Knights Commander Kanon-dono has arrived.”
“Ah, show her in.”
“Excuse me. Lord Serios, Knights Commander Kanon has arrived.”
“Ah, thank you for coming, Kanon. Maintaining public order has been going quite smoothly recently. Is there anything troubling you, or do you need anything like rewards?”
“Are you sure?”
Her name is Kanon. She’s a tall, beautiful woman with a mature air. Her age should be younger than Maria-san’s, but her demeanor is calm and composed, level-headed.
I scouted her, as she was originally a mercenary, and had her become the Knights Commander of the Aegrid Family.
While her skill is a factor, I also hired her because she is a woman.
Originally, there was no Knights Order; a security force had been formed. But it was full of men, and what’s more, they were mostly idlers. When I requested them to subjugate bandits, they failed every time.
Since there were even some among them who tried to make advances on Liese, who was becoming more beautiful by the day, and Maria-san, who was beautiful to begin with, I disbanded it once and reformed it centered around Kanon.
The world calls it my “harem Knights Order” or something, but I haven’t laid a hand on a single one of them.
“Then, I would like to request new weapons and uniforms.”
“Understood, Arnaud. Provide them with new weapons, armor, and uniforms, and improve their living conditions. Finally, give each of them a bonus.”
“As you wish.”
“You don’t have to go that far!”
“You all have been doing excellent work.”
Indeed, many of the Knights Order members Kanon brought were women. But they are skilled and, on top of that, do their jobs diligently.
I don’t regret giving them bonuses. It’s far more valuable than the money I’ve wasted until now.
“Thank you very much! I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve Lord Serios.”
“No, I’m the one who’s grateful for your help. Bandits really do pop up like cockroaches, you know. As a lord, they are the only ones I cannot forgive.”
At first, there were times I thought of showing them mercy, thinking they were human too, but it’s no good. If it means letting bandits live, I’d rather cherish my people.
I don’t even know how many times my people have been harmed by those damn bandits.
“My Lord, you’ve also improved your skills recently, so how about participating in actual combat?”
“Ah, you’re right.”
In this otome game world, besides bandits, monsters and demons also exist. So, in addition to my three years of work as a lord, I trained myself relentlessly in training grounds and through practical experience.
Now, instead of the slovenly body of a villainous noble, I’ve developed a well-trained man’s physique.
“I’m planning a large-scale bandit subjugation. After that’s finished, I intend to enroll in the academy. I’ll need your help with that, so Kanon, please make preparations.”
“Understood.”
In the office, after Kanon left, Arnaud and I returned to our duties.
“Lord Serios, you’ve truly become admirable.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. This has been since Liese and Maria came, hasn’t it?”
I can’t exactly say it’s because I reincarnated before that, so I’ve made it seem like I changed after finding those two.
However, the fact remains that Liese and her mother were driven to near death due to the heavy taxes I had imposed.
If Liese ever realizes that fact and bears a grudge, the route where I’m condemned might still exist.
That’s why, at the academy after the otome game starts, I’ve sworn to support her no matter who she ends up with.
I know it’s a cowardly thought, but as long as I have Maria secured, Liese probably won’t try to condemn me either.
“Lord Serios.”
“Hm?”
“Are you not going to… make a move on Liese or Maria?”
“Wha?!”
“I had assumed you secured them for that purpose? Maria is healthy and a very beautiful woman. And in three years, her daughter Liese has also grown into a lovely young woman. When they were brought here, I must apologize, I thought they were both dirty, but now I do not doubt Lord Serios’s foresight.”
It seems Arnaud wants me to experience the pleasures of love.
Nobles also have the problem of succession. Even if I myself am condemned, if I can pass it on to a child, with Arnaud and the others here, the Aegrid Family will remain.
“I’m thinking about various things.”
However, if I were to make a move on Liese before the otome game starts, and it led to my condemnation, it would be too disastrous to even contemplate.
Things have been going so well up to this point thanks to the power of gold.