Chapter 91: Mine Inspection
The next day, I diligently prepared lunch at the lord’s manor, gathered the soldiers, and held another meeting while we ate.
“Lord-sama, is it true you destroyed the Hunter’s Guild with a single magic spell?”
“Hey, idiot!” one of the soldiers who had been with me tried to stop him.
“Wh-What are you talking about? Oh, you mean how it got half-destroyed during the battle with the Dark Guild?” I said, trying to cover up my embarrassment for overdoing it, while stuffing my face with a mountain of pasta.
“Rui, you should practice reducing the power of your magic more,” Yuri said.
“No, no, I can do it, okay? That time was an emergency, so I increased the power!”
While being scolded that I’d overdone it no matter what, I took out money from my pocket money to rebuild the guild.
“W-Well, even if things get broken, they can be fixed. So, I’d like you to rebuild it with this…”
“No, fifty Large Gold Coins is really too much…”
I didn’t know how much it would cost to rebuild, so when I asked how much would be enough, it was surprisingly cheap. Apparently, half of that would be more than enough.
In that case, I handed over thirty coins and asked them to use the leftover amount for personnel training allowances for the reconstruction.
More than half of them had been members of the Dark Guild.
Figuring it would surely be quite tough, I gave it to them, including an inconvenience fee.
“By the way, how are things at the mine?”
Yes, I had them investigate what happened after the Sinners escaped.
Though, my private soldiers are already too few. I only sent one person to check on the situation.
“Yes, the remaining slaves were at a loss, so I ordered them to stand by until further instructions and distributed the food from the warehouse.”
Oh, so not all of them escaped.
As I listened while thinking that, it seemed all the guards had indeed been killed.
Many of those remaining are women and children, and they say it’s difficult to make them work as before.
“Understood. I’ll go inspect that place today. And what about the Chamber of Commerce President?”
“Yes. I went to see him this morning too, and he’s still tied up. He seemed quite weakened.”
Well, even if it’s just one day, that’s twenty-four hours of standing.
“Alright then, when you get a chance, try to find out where his assets are. The hidden ones, of course.”
The assets in the Chamber of Commerce have already been seized.
All the supplies too. Even now, I have them taking turns guarding just the Chamber of Commerce warehouse.
“Next is recruiting guards… what should I do…”
This is, after all, a Town with a population of about a hundred thousand. It’s not an area that can be managed by twenty soldiers.
So I should recruit, but I don’t need any disrespectful punks.
However, even if I add my fifty, it’s still nowhere near enough for the current situation.
“Um, are there any acquaintances of yours who could properly serve as soldiers?”
When I asked, they said there weren’t many, but some existed. So I asked them to reach out.
“Fifty capable soldiers will also be coming from Belfast, so I know it’ll be tough until then, but please bear with it.”
When I told them that, I was hesitantly asked when payday would be. Apparently, because the previous Lord disappeared right before payday, they hadn’t received this month’s wages.
So, I gave the captain enough for everyone, asking him to distribute it properly without missing anyone. After receiving their pay, they perked up and returned to their duties in high spirits.
“Well then, shall we go to the mine today?”
“Yes! Will there be another little play today?” Yuri asked.
Apparently, she’d taken a liking to those exaggerated theatrical gestures and playful way of speaking.
“If there’s a chance,” I said evasively, then took off from the garden towards the mine.
Flying there, I saw an outer wall, even though it was supposed to be within the Town. As soon as I crossed the wall, the scenery changed to a desolate one, and beyond that was a place surrounded by an outer wall like a Fort.
The gate was destroyed, and there were bloodstains here and there in the vicinity.
It was probably the aftermath of a fight between guards and prisoners.
Wondering if my soldiers had cleaned up, I went inside to find a cremation currently underway.
Apparently, the remaining prisoners had cleaned it up.
I approached a Stern-faced Woman who was standing with her arms crossed, frowning and glaring at the blazing fire.
“I’m Rui, the new Lord of this place. You’re the ones who cleaned up, right? Thank you.”
“…What did you come here for? We haven’t left this place.”
Her gaze was wary and rejecting, but that was probably a natural reaction.
“I understand. That’s why I won’t do anything to you. On the contrary, as an apology for the trouble caused by our incompetence, I was thinking of treating you to some grilled meat. Also, I heard that the Mine Operation is difficult. We need to discuss the future, don’t we?”
“Is that so. It’s true, with just our people, we’re definitely short-handed…”
For now, when I asked her to gather everyone, she said, “They’re gathered in the dining hall right now. It’s just over there. It’d be faster if you went, but what do you want to do?” So I followed her.
And so, I was led to a dilapidated dining hall. Inside, there were about fifty children.
Far fewer than I expected. Subtracting the number of Rioters, there should have been about two hundred more.
“Is this… everyone?”
“Yeah, everyone else ran away. Don’t know where they went, though.”
I see. It seems there are others who fled separately from the Rioters and are now in hiding.
Well, either way, that’s for later. First, I need to discuss the future with these people, I thought, stepping forward in front of the dining hall to gather their attention.
“My name is Louis von Belfast. I am the new Lord of this Town. I came here because I believe we need to discuss your future.”
Their eyes, reflecting deep anxiety and resignation, were fixed on me, so I changed my demeanor and said, “Before that, how about some food?”
Using Maso, I created a large Platform and plates, then took out about a hundred kilograms of dinosaur meat and started chopping it.
I had come intending to treat those who remained here to a meal, so I also brought ready-made seasonings.
I vigorously arranged the meat and started grilling it.
Meanwhile, I had Yuri distribute the tableware and sauce I made with Maso, and placed the cooked meat on plates as it was ready.
“Today is all-you-can-eat. You also have the day off work. Eat your fill, but not so much that your stomachs hurt.”
Perhaps the dinosaur meat was too stimulating for them; they paused every time they chewed. But as they got used to it, their eating speed increased.
Not to be outdone, I grilled more and more.
I kept forcibly placing meat on their empty plates.
Their hands started to slow down, so I stopped grilling, but there was quite a bit left over.
With no other choice, I piled it onto a large platter from the dining hall and said, “Save this for tonight or something,” handing it to the Stern-faced Woman I’d spoken to first, who seemed to be their leader.
“It’s a bit much to say after eating so much, but are you sure about giving us such high-quality meat?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. It’s meat I hunted myself. More importantly, let’s talk about the future.”
Some had happy faces from their full stomachs, so the atmosphere was more relaxed than before, but many still showed anxiety.
“Let me make this clear: as long as I’m the Lord, I have no intention of forcing you to overwork. In the first place, I’m not expecting much income from the mine.”
Yep. If I want to make money, I can easily get it just by selling Mithril.
Since the quantity is rapidly increasing on the market, it probably won’t sell for as high a price as before, but the original price is so high that a few hundred Large Gold Coins should be easy enough.
No, either way, I’m not motivated to earn money and pay out of my own pocket, and in the first place, I have no intention of spending money for those townspeople.
I plan to leave them alone until they at least change their tune to some extent.
I’ll become a corrupt Lord who only collects taxes.
Fuhahaha.
As I was lost in thought, Yuri warned me, “You’re making a wicked face.”
“Whoops, whoops,” I thought, raising my head and returning my gaze to them.
“The previous Lord said that if this place stopped, the Town wouldn’t be able to function…”
“Ah, that’s because it was all being siphoned off to Mildrad’s central government. This country has already changed to Belfast, you know.”
“Huh…?” she said, bewildered. Several others were frozen in astonishment.
The other children were just tilting their heads in confusion.
“That’s why you all are no longer slaves. I intend to grant Amnesty for this incident as well. Depending on the severity of your crimes, most of you should be able to return to being ordinary citizens.”
“W-Wait a minute! You mean we can get out of the slave class?!”
“The ones in the Slave District too?” she asked, and when I nodded in reply, she looked like she was about to faint.
“We don’t have a slave class in our country. Of course, those who commit crimes will be arrested and forced into labor, but once they atone for their sins, they are free.”
Of course, I meant to add a warning that they’d be killed if they committed serious crimes, but they were so dazed I couldn’t tell if they were listening.
After waiting a short while, another woman spoke up.
“Um, by how much will our sentences be shortened?”
“Er, before that, there’s something I need to ask. What did everyone do to end up here?”
Taking the time to ask each one, I found that most of them had resorted to theft because they were struggling to find food.
The woman who first spoke to me and the other adults said they were from the same village, and had ended up here after their village was attacked and they were abducted.
They said they couldn’t prove it, but they’re the kind of people who would deliberately remain here. I think their story is highly credible.
By the way, those who were abducted don’t have fixed prison sentences.
The woman who approached me is one of them. It’s what you’d call a life sentence, in the true sense of the word.
Well, if their story is true, they aren’t Sinners in the first place.
I was thinking of granting them Amnesty, but it seems there’s no need for that.
A five-year sentence for a child who stole because they were starving? That’s way too long.
Apparently, a few years after the previous Lord took over, no one was sent here for minor offenses anymore, so everyone here has been imprisoned for several years.
“Um, well, if that’s the case, there shouldn’t be any problem releasing all of you.
However, you probably wouldn’t be able to survive out there without any money, so how about I pay you to work in the mines?
Of course, you can quit whenever you want, and you’re free to leave this place as you please.
Also, I plan to separate your workplace from that of any new prisoners.
So you don’t have to worry about being bothered by any rough types.”
I tried to string together words that would reassure them as much as possible, but time passed without any response.
Among them, the one who recovered first was the stern-faced woman.
“Why are you being so good to us…? Wouldn’t it be a loss for you people?”
Her expression wasn’t one of relief. It was confusion and wariness. A look of utter incomprehension.
I explained it to them.
That it wasn’t for their sake, but that Mildrad’s actions were abnormal.
That this was normal in both Belfast and Lestall.
“It’s to uphold the laws set by the country.
We can’t be the ones breaking the law.”
They couldn’t quite grasp what I was saying.
I tried telling them that if it sounded too good to be true, they could just accept it for now and see how things go, but it didn’t seem to be on that level.
It seems that for them, this place has been like a home since they were old enough to understand things, so being told to leave now… well, they seemed to feel a certain way about it.
“Sorry, but you’ll still have to leave here eventually.
This is a place where criminals receive their punishment.”
I had casually thought they’d get used to it quickly if they lived outside for a while, but an unexpected remark came out, and this time it was my turn to be speechless.
“If I steal again, can I stay here?”
A boy with round eyes tilted his head.
It even got to the point where some responded to him with an “Oh, right,” as if agreeing.
He doesn’t look that young, though…
“Hey now, you guys…”
When I shot them an exasperated look, as if to say, “Didn’t I just explain it would be a problem if you committed crimes now?”, a gentle, calm-looking woman spoke up, “That’s not it. These children just want to stay with everyone.”
“Ah… I get it. Alright, let’s do this!”
I raised a finger and made a proposal to them.
I’d prepare a place for them to live, so they could all live there together.
When I told them that, the children seemed to accept it for the time being.
Well, even though I say children, their ages aren’t that different from mine.
And so, once things had settled down to some extent, I had them show me around the inside of the detention facility.