“Is this sort of thing normal?”
“…Were they planning to make excuses like, ‘The mercenaries went rogue’? Or somehow blame us? It’s certainly a rare case, but I can’t say it never happens.”
“…I was a bit too caught up in my own common sense.”
“Not at all. We should have advised you.”
After throwing the captured Lord, his son, and some of the nobles into the literal jail, I talked with Jake.
“However, considering we’re the same people within the same country, it’s rare for nobles to allow looting. I swear on that.”
“So, it’s just that the Lord next door happened to be that type of person? But for the surrounding nobles to not only not stop it but agree with it…”
They burned down two villages along the road when they invaded our territory.
Unbelievable to do that to people living in the same country.
Originally, I was only thinking of them as military exercise opponents for the Knights. With the difference in numbers, I was planning to have them repeat hit-and-run tactics to some extent, and then retreat before we suffered any fatal damage. In the end, I was going to repel them with the base’s soldiers and the individual outstanding forces of Barbatos-san and Beatrice-san, but since they caused actual damage to us, it was no longer a situation where we could hold back.
That’s why I decided on all-out war and showed them that we were overwhelmingly stronger.
Well, from their perspective, they were blown away by a Magic Launcher from over two kilometers away, so they probably didn’t know what happened.
Anyway, it’s enough if the fact that we won the war without suffering a single casualty spreads around.
“My father is very sorry.”
In front of me, as I was having that conversation, was a man with restraints on his hands and his Magical Power sealed. His face was swollen, and there were signs that he had been beaten. This guy is the son of the Lord next door. He bowed deeply.
But don’t get me wrong. We didn’t hit him. His father hit him.
…When we put him in the same cell, we noticed his face was swollen. Apparently, he was a problem child who kept complaining to his father and the nobles who ordered the looting, and tried to dissuade the soldiers and mercenaries who were happily carrying it out, thus lowering their morale.
You could say he had a general sense of morality.
“But I see. The nobles we drove out gained influence over there… I apologize for causing you trouble in that regard.”
“No, it was Dad who decided to accept them.”
Even if they’re nobles, their means of transportation are limited to horses and carriages. It’s natural for relatives to live nearby. When you think about it, it’s only natural that the nobles we drove out of our territory would rely on their relatives or their spouse’s family in neighboring territories.
The nobles who fled to the next territory whispered to the Lord and the surrounding nobles that now was their chance to attack, fueled by their resentment of being driven out.
Well, in reality, it was a chance if you thought about it normally. Changes to the administrative system, major changes to the laws within the territory, changes to the tax rate, and a change of capital, it was a lot.
We could only field about 500 Knights, and even if we gathered soldiers, slaves, farmers, and Adventurers, it would only amount to about 3,000.
“Should we have cleaned things up neatly?”
“Ho, ho, ho, that’s quite a problematic statement.”
“Well, maybe.”
We stripped the nobles who caused problems of their status and turned them into slaves. The ones who remained but were only driven out were those who hadn’t committed any notable crimes, but didn’t listen to orders, didn’t work, or took a rebellious attitude towards us. And those who hadn’t committed crimes themselves, but were related to the former Lord or former Magistrate and couldn’t be left in the territory.
If we investigated in detail, we might find various crimes, but we didn’t have time for that. We didn’t want to spend money on people who didn’t work, so it couldn’t be helped.
As a result, capable people and people who work properly, regardless of their abilities, are the ones who remain.
“Anyway, Clangit, I want you to take over as Lord. And pay us for a while.”
“Leaving aside the payment of reparations, is it really okay for me to inherit the Earldom?”
“If someone else inherits it, there’s a chance they might feign ignorance about the payments.”
“Well, I won’t deny that… But I don’t have any achievements.”
“Oh, it’s fine if you take back any of the captured people you want. I’ll also release the Subjugation Magic. Successfully negotiating with us after the defeat and bringing back the personnel needed for the territory is a sufficient achievement, right?”
Finally, I confirmed with Ject just in case.
“Of course. We have also made a list of the members of each noble’s house, so please check it. We also look forward to individual payments.”
“…I guess I should say thank you, but…”
The former Lord, Bombagit Novak, is the most important war criminal this time. We can’t release him. However, it’s meaningless to keep him detained, so we’ll execute him when the time comes.
But if the Novak Territory next door is in turmoil, it will affect us to some extent.
To suppress that, we need someone decent to take over. Well, I’ll bind them with Oath Magic just in case.
“Well, it’s troublesome, isn’t it?”
“My Dad would have been active for another twenty years, so I thought my child would be the one to inherit the Lordship. Well, since he was like that, I only studied.”
“That’s excellent.”
“And don’t try to run away, okay? I won’t accept offers from anyone other than Clangit.”
“Guh, you’re sharp.”
“Even though it was your father who started it, you didn’t oppose the invasion itself, did you?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Apparently, trying to cut off a nearby territory is normal for people in this country, so he didn’t question it.
But I think you should question it?
In the first place, land is something bestowed or entrusted by the royal family, right? Don’t you think it’s strange to snatch it from the side?