Chapter 88: Me, a Lord?
After that, Yume-san went on a warrior’s training journey with Uncle.
She left Yuri-san with the words, “I’ll definitely win next time.”
I wondered if it was okay for Uncle to go with her, but it turns out he had properly gotten permission.
The pretext was that he was useless as he was now, so he was going to retrain.
He probably won’t get much training even if he goes with Yume-san. Uncle is the same as ever.
And so, my peace was protected, or so I thought…
Because of the match with Yuri-san, my training with her resumed, and I ended up being treated strictly.
It was good that we started going to the Abyss together, increasing our time together, but for me, who wanted things to be more heartwarming, it was a slightly unwelcome outcome.
In recent days, news finally arrived that the Mildrad Royal Capital had been completely brought under control.
I had heard about the progress, but this time too, there were zero casualties. Apparently, they surrendered without a fight.
It seems Mildrad no longer has the strength to resist.
However, Lestall apparently hasn’t made a move yet.
They say it’s likely because they’re having trouble consolidating their internal affairs.
I’m worried the Empire might advance its army, so I want them to take Lease quickly and secure it, but I also understand that they can’t provoke the Empire until preparations are fully complete.
I hope they just stay put.
While listening to the discussion in the meeting and thinking such thoughts, my name was called, which was unusual.
“Rui, I want you to govern Leben for a while. Can I ask you to do that?”
“Eh… That’s the one at the northernmost tip, right?”
Yes, it’s one of the northern territories we first asked Lestall about.
Even among the less fertile lands, it’s the gold mining area that seems to have the most potential profit.
“Yeah. It’s Leben, the town of slaves.”
Mines, slaves… I had a general idea, and when I heard more, it was just as I expected.
It seems to be a place in Mildrad that no one wants to go near, serving as a forced labor camp for sinners.
“We don’t have a slavery system, but what will happen to those miners?”
“…I don’t know. That’s the tricky part.”
Huh?
What do you mean, you don’t know?
When I gave him a deadpan stare, he explained the situation.
Apparently, it’s not just sinners; there are also many who were tricked into slavery or simply abducted.
Mildrad, where false accusations are rampant.
He said they can’t determine who should be made to continue laboring and who shouldn’t.
“You can decide everything based on your judgment.
It’s okay if you fail, so just give it a try, won’t you?”
No, that’s way too difficult.
Even if I conduct interrogations now, if someone lies and claims they were falsely accused, it’ll just pass.
But then again, there are probably people who were genuinely falsely accused.
I see. So that’s why Pops said he didn’t know.
For now, there’s the option of pretending not to know and just keeping them working.
Or rather, for the time being, it feels like that’s the only option.
Releasing heinous criminals is out of the question.
Since we can’t investigate, the most we can probably do is grant amnesty to those who work diligently.
This is a really troublesome role.
However, I also feel indebted because I was messing around for a while when everyone else was working.
“Is it really okay for me to do anything?”
“Yeah, I’m entrusting you as the Lord. You can decide at your discretion, Rui.
Even if things get terrible, we’ll back you up. Will you do it?”
Resigned, I agreed, saying, “If it’s just for a while…”
“That’s a help. I’ll give you fifty soldiers. It’s not many, but you should be fine with that, right?”
“Well, it’s an unknown experience, so I can’t say for sure… But if it’s okay to fail, I’ll do my best.”
It’s a town I’ve never even seen. Honestly, I have no idea what to do.
But, apparently, they did comply with the surrender advisory.
“Apparently” because the Lord had already fled and disappeared, and the leader of the private soldiers accepted the surrender in his stead.
First, I have no choice but to contact that guy and ask about the situation.
Once the discussion settled, it was decided that I would head to Leben.
In that case, I figured I should consult Yuri-san first, so I told her about the meeting.
“So, for that reason, I’ve been appointed as the Lord…”
“Is that so? Then let’s go!”
Yuri-chan, smiling happily about the outing.
I asked if she properly understood the situation, but she just said, “You’ll be fine, Rui-san,” and didn’t seem particularly concerned.
Her trust, which should normally make me happy, stings.
I have no confidence that I can do something I’ve never done before well.
Unaware of my feelings, Yuri-san left, saying she’d tell her parents.
No, maybe I don’t need to do it well.
To be blunt, it’s not a strategically important location militarily, so even mediocre governance probably wouldn’t cause any problems.
That’s probably why it was entrusted to me, and why I accepted it.
Yeah. If they see how mediocre my governance is there, they’ll probably give up on various things for me.
And so, with that half-hearted feeling, Yuri-san and I visited Leben, but…
“Eeh… What is this…”
“It’s like a battlefield, isn’t it?”
The town of Leben, seen from the sky, had several pillars of smoke rising, and residents were being chased by soldiers clad in Maso.
Wondering if the Empire had invaded, we descended to the ground, donned our Maso, and started running.
As we advanced through the town to gather information from a nearby source, we stumbled upon a home invasion in progress.
It was the work of a duo clad in Maso. They kicked down the door and barged into the house.
“Wait! I’ll give you money! So please don’t lay a hand on my family!!”
“Huh? We’re gonna take everything that’s worth money, obviously!!”
The man, presumably the homeowner, was sent flying by a kick and lay motionless.
“We never thought a tiny house like this would have enough money to satisfy us in the first place.”
He sneered at the fallen man and spat on the floor.
At that moment, Yuri-san tried to charge into the house and attack, so while holding her back, I extended my Maso and enveloped the robbers.
After wrapping their limbs with Maso, I used Mana Manipulation to forcibly create handcuffs behind their backs and also shackled their feet, immobilizing the two criminals.
Realizing they were weak enough to be restrained by Mana Manipulation alone, I lowered my guard.
“Wh-what is this!?”
“You bastard, what did you do!!”
First, to make them quiet down, I stomped on and broke their legs.
To the two who were screaming and writhing, I pointed my sword and said, “Answer my questions. The moment I judge you’re trying to deceive me, I’ll kill you.”
“What country are you from?”
“M-Mildrad…”
Eh, why are soldiers attacking the town from Mildrad… Could it be an anti-government organization?
Not understanding, I asked, “Why is the town in this state? Explain,” but he seemed to be thinking about something, saying, “Wait.”
Just as I moved the sword closer to his neck, urging him to hurry, the woman who was trying to tend to the homeowner spoke up.
“Are you stupid!? These guys are obviously the slaves from the mines!!
They’ve escaped and are attacking the town, so why are you talking so casually!!
Hurry up and kill them all! You incompetent fool!”
The woman glared at me as if asking what I was doing. Another, older woman was trying to stop her, murmuring something, but the first woman didn’t seem to be listening.
“How rude!” Yuri-san started to get angry, but I told her, “Don’t bother with her. It’s a waste of time,” and ignoring the woman, we left the house, loaded the two restrained sinners onto a cart, and moved on.
“We should have come with soldiers… Considering the cleanup, we can’t handle this alone, can we?”
“Yes. That, and I never expected to be spoken to like that by someone we rescued.”
It was indeed terrible. While replying that she was probably just a fearless, unintelligent person we happened to encounter, we continued towards the Lord’s mansion, restraining rioters along the way.
However, during that journey, most of the words directed at us were curses.
There were some who thanked us, but the majority were—
‘What the hell are you doing, you slowpoke! Hurry up and kill them!’
‘This happened because you guys aren’t doing your job!’
‘Take responsibility and give us money! Right now!’
—nothing but words filled with malice.
By the time we reached the Lord’s mansion, Yuri-san’s and my heart had grown very cold.
To the point where I thought maybe I didn’t need to stop Yuri-san from drawing her sword out of indignation anymore.
In front of the Lord’s mansion, which we reached with such cold hearts, a battle between rioters and soldiers was unfolding.
Roughly, it was a hundred rioters against twenty soldiers. However, the soldiers’ skill level wasn’t very high either.
Still, the rioters seemed to be a weak group, enough that the soldiers were managing to defend this place.
First, I had to announce myself, so I raised my voice.
“I am the one dispatched from Belfast to be the Lord of this land!
I will now suppress the rioters. Guards, fall back as you are.
I won’t be responsible if anyone who can’t follow orders gets caught up in this!”
For now, I used Light Magic to drain their Magical Power.
Immediately after, I restrained them with Maso, and as expected, they were all small fry, with no one able to break free, so they were suppressed just like that.
I didn’t even need to attack… They’re too weak.
The rioters were making a racket, but I ignored them and spoke to the soldiers who had been defending this place.
“Like I said earlier, I came because the King of Belfast appointed me as Lord, but do you guys know that Leben has accepted surrender?”
To them, who were nodding with pale faces, I told them, “Don’t worry, I have no intention of restricting the freedom of those who aren’t Sinners,” to calm them down, and then asked if they intended to work under me from now on.
“Yes, sir! If you’d employ us under the same conditions, we’d be delighted!”
Contrary to my expectations, the soldiers showed a disciplined appearance, lining up and saluting.
“We can discuss that later,” I said, “but for now, I need your help to protect the Town…”
That’s right, I’ve only gathered the Rioters who were conspicuous on the main street.
There are probably many more.
When I asked, “Can I count on you?” they agreed without a second thought and immediately went out to suppress them.
“The soldiers seem decent enough…” Yuri remarked.
“I was wondering what to do until our own soldiers arrived, but if they’re like that, maybe it’ll be alright?”
Putting that aside, what should I do with these prisoners…?
Even if they were falsely imprisoned, by doing this, they’re already Sinners.
It’s good that I can put them to forced labor without reservation, but if I take them to the mines, will they just work on their own?
“Rui, are you not going to kill them yet?” Yuri asked, looking at me and tilting her head.
When I asked back, “Shouldn’t these guys be returned to prison?” she replied with a serious face, “They systematically attacked the Town and caused this much devastation, so even if it’s their first offense, it’s the death penalty.”
I see.
Indeed, this is definitely High Treason.
However, even after they’ve been captured and restrained, is it okay to do it without a trial?
Though I don’t even know if there’s a place to keep them.
No, before that, this isn’t the time to be wasting effort on guys like these.
Thinking that, I started strangling them with my Maso, but just as they were losing consciousness, I was struck by the anxiety that this act might be wrong, and I loosened my grip.
I asked Yuri, who looked puzzled.
“I think Sinners are supposed to be dealt with after they’re caught, interrogated, and a verdict is given. Even if the outcome is already decided, is it okay to overturn that process?”
“In a case this serious, the one who passes judgment is the Lord, so you’re not overturning anything, are you?”
Yuri continued, “If there’s no need for an interrogation, it’s customary to cut them down on the spot.”
Is that so? Then, should I just leave a few alive?
But it’s hard to do.
I was killing left and right in the war, so why is this different?
I don’t feel anything when it’s against someone trying to kill us, but it seems I feel something like guilt when it’s someone unrelated to me.
Well, it’s natural to feel resistance to killing those who can no longer move, but I didn’t feel anything at all with Listol.
As I thought about it, I immediately understood.
It’s because no one I’ve accepted as one of my own has been harmed.
Right now, I don’t have the perception that the residents of Leben are my comrades.
There are too many crazy ones; they don’t even fit into the category of allies. That’s probably why it feels like I’ve stepped in to mediate a fight between fools.
I know it’s strange. They were attacking the Lord’s mansion, so they’re Sinners I don’t need to hesitate with.
When I explained it to Yuri, feeling awkward, she nodded firmly as if understanding for the first time.
“In that case, I shall do it in your stead.”
“Wait, wait. What kind of man pushes murder onto his girlfriend just because he doesn’t want to do it!”
That’s what a scumbag would do.
It’s a heavy task, but if the law dictates it, I guess I have no choice but to do it.
Steeling my resolve, I left a few who seemed to be in representative positions. Then, after coiling my Maso around the necks of over a hundred Sinners, I transformed it into blades and decapitated them all at once.
“Ohoho, we just came to get back what you exploited from us, ya know.
You’re doin’ some pretty cruel shit, ain’t ya?”
Towards the voice, a man with a fish-like face, brimming with a wild aura, stood at the gate of the Lord’s mansion. A greatsword rested on his shoulder, and he was looking at us with a sneer.
“What’s wrong? Regretting going out of your way to send your soldiers away now, are ya?”
Huh… Is this guy completely clueless?
If he saw what just happened, he should at least understand my skill in Mana Manipulation.
But it’s helpful that a boss-class enemy has come out on his own.
“Thanks for turning yourself in.
If you’re gonna fight, then come at me quickly. It’s better that way, less guilt for me.”
“Huh? Just two brats actin’ all high and mighty, ain’t ya, ya small fry!!!”
He seems to possess power far greater than the other Rioters.
He charged at a relatively decent speed.
But even so, he was nowhere near the level of a high-ranking Knight. Just as I thought I could easily handle him even in close combat and moved to intercept, the moment I parried his attack, the man’s head flew off.
“Please rest assured. I won’t let you bear this burden alone, Rui.”
More than that, I don’t want to put her on the front lines, but since I’m weaker than Yuri, she wouldn’t listen even if I said so.
But I absolutely don’t want to see her like that again.
Kgh, if only I had won the mock battle, I could have said something…
But, well? If I use magic, I’m stronger, right?
…Haa. This is just making me feel empty, so let’s stop.
I really don’t want to send Yuri to the battlefield anymore.
I think about it while feeling conflicted, but I have no confidence I can persuade her, nor can I find any justification.
In that case, I guess I have no choice but to get used to fighting alongside her.
Ah, I need to get much, much stronger…
“Well then, shall we also head out to handle the suppression?” I said. After tying the Sinners I’d left alive to a tree, though my heart was heavy, I decided to head out into the Town.