TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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After tidying up affairs with the nobles, Ian engaged in brief conversations with them in a more friendly atmosphere.
"What are you going to do with Baron Yurdo?" one of them asked.
"Well... we'll have to execute him, won't we?" Ian replied.
In truth, there wasn't really any other suitable option.
The fate awaiting a failed assassin? Death, of course.
None of the nobles objected to Ian's opinion.
Moreover, Baron Yurdo had brought palace guards for the assassination attempt.
There was a huge difference between attacking with a sword and attacking with a bow.
"Baron Yurdo. I didn't think you had it in you. You're truly a despicable man," one noble comnted.
"He brought this upon himself," another agreed.
The nobles unanimously condemned Baron Yurdo.
If the baron had attempted assassination with a sword, he wouldn't have been cursed this much.
Because... the sword was a 'weapon of honor'.
To kill soone with a sword, you needed the 'skill' to defeat your opponent.
If Baron Yurdo had charged in with a sword and died because the other party couldn't handle it?
Ah, the opponent's skill was lacking! Their will to live was insufficient!
That would have been the conclusion.
It sounded crazy, but it was true.
Sword fighting was a 'fair contest', and the loser had an obligation to accept defeat to the winner.
It was 100% knight's logic.
But bows were different.
Bows were weapons used with the premise of killing.
They were lethal weapons used to 'kill' not just ga, but large monsters!
And to shoot an arrow at... a person?
Damn, that was too cruel!
With a sword, there was a chance the victor might rcifully spare their opponent, but with a bow, there was no such thing - it just killed the other party.
In other words, it was the perfect weapon for a fight to the death.
But most nobles in the dieval period were knights or of knightly origin.
They had trained in swordsmanship all their lives and were confident in their sword skills.
So when they lost in a sword duel, they were prepared to accept the result.
Thinking, "I must have been lax in my training, that's why I lost...!"
But if the opponent used a bow?
You... you weren't planning to fight fair and square?!
You were just after my life!
That was why Baron Yurdo, who had targeted Lucy with a bow, found himself in a situation where no one could defend him even if they wanted to.
"Well... since he signed the oath of loyalty, I won't punish anyone else," Ian said.
Knowing this, Ian had made a deal with Baron Yurdo, who was locked up in prison.
He'd said he'd end things with just the baron if he ford a master-servant contract with Lucy.
The baron had agreed to the deal.
The other nobles were moved by Count Talian's rciful decision.
"Oh... so you're sparing his household and knights too?" one asked in surprise.
"Of course," Ian confird.
"Count Talian is truly rciful!" another exclaid.
If he'd wanted, he could have killed everyone associated with Baron Yurdo.
In Lucy's domain, her word was law.
Even if she killed soone simply because 'they annoyed her', it would still have been considered just.
But Ian didn't do that.
"If it were , I would've definitely exacted blood paynt!" Baron Lantro declared.
"It's fortunate that Count Talian doesn't resemble you, Baron Lantro," soone else remarked.
Baron Lantro scratched his head, embarrassed.
He was a typical imperial noble who acted on impulse first and cleaned up the ss later.
He belonged to the category of those whose brains had deteriorated from living like kings in their domains.
Why think when I'm the king here? That kind of ntality.
'It's better to create more debts,' Ian thought to himself.
Ian hadn't spared Baron Yurdo's family just for fun.
If he'd killed all of the baron's family, the inheritance of the domain would have gone to so completely unrelated person.
Like the son of the younger brother of a cousin living in so far-off foreign country.
Or the emperor might have reclaid the domain and given it to soone else.
Lucy lacked the justification to extend her hand to Baron Yurdo's domain, so she would have had to watch helplessly as so nobody played at being a lord.
But by making Baron Yurdo her vassal, things beca easier.
Now Lucy and Baron Yurdo were in a lord-vassal relationship, so she could exert influence as much as she wanted!
"Very well, barons. Let relay Count Talian's ssage," Ian announced.
"Speak," they urged.
"Now that you barons have beco vassals of the count, you must support the count's war according to the sacred contract."
The barons fell silent.
That was right.
Since the barons now served Lucy as their lord, they had an obligation to support their lord's war according to the feudal contract.
If their baronies had been intact, they would have had to gather soldiers and knights under Lucy's banner.
"B-but as you can see, we have nothing..." one baron stamred.
However, the barons were currently beggars.
Not in a figurative sense, but literally beggars!
They were in a state where they were eating free als distributed by Lucy every day!
"I'm aware," Ian said with a gentle smile.
"Our rciful count has decided to accept gold instead, for the sake of you who have no knights or soldiers."
The barons remained silent.
"Of course, you don't have any gold on hand right now, but once you recover your domains and the economy starts moving again, you'll repay the debt, won't you?"
The barons nodded glumly.
Ian's words were very simple.
Lucy would defeat the dragon for them, and in return, they should pay up.
'The dragon will attack anyway,' Ian thought to himself.
Ian was certain that the black dragon would target the Talian domain.
There was no way that beast who had been rampaging through domains would suddenly beco docile.
Even if, at the very best, the beast was satisfied and holed up in the mountains. How could one live comfortably with such a monster as a neighbor, ready to cause havoc at any ti?
"If the count defeats the black dragon for us... we couldn't ask for anything more," one baron admitted.
The barons had no choice but to agree to Ian's proposal.
'... Debts can be repaid eventually,' they thought.
'But if we lose our domains... everything's over!'
The barons' job was being a lord.
In other words, if they weren't lords, they were nothing.
It was to their advantage to reclaim their domains even if they had to borrow Lucy's army.
At least they wouldn't have to work until they died.
"I hear Sir Ian is quite an exceptional wizard?" one noble asked.
"My skills aren't bad," Ian replied modestly.
"Hmm... is that so?" the noble mused.
When Ian replied modestly, the nobles shot him suspicious looks.
Ian imdiately corrected his tone.
It was [Wizard Speech].
"I say my skills aren't bad, and you go 'Hmm~?' Seriously?" he challenged.
"No, that's not what I..." the noble stamred.
"Not what?"
"It's just that Ian seems sowhat modest..."
"Modest?"
"... I apologize, Ian."
"You apologize?"
The nobles fell silent, genuinely flustered.
Seeing this, Ian nodded.
F*cking nobles. They always acted up when you treated them well.
It was all because of their misguided preconceptions about wizards.
This was all because the ancient Golden Empire wizards had created weird customs like [Calling a Wizard].
"Repeat after . 'Ian's magic is decent!'" Ian commanded.
The nobles remained silent.
"You're not repeating?" Ian pressed.
"I-Ian's magic is decent...!" one noble finally stamred.
"That's right. My skills are just about usable. I'm a modest wizard, you see."
The nobles were appalled by Ian's outrageously eccentric manner of speaking.
'This crazy bastard...' they thought.
'Judging by the way he talks, he must be truly skilled...!'
The nobles thought that Ian was undoubtedly an exceptional wizard... one with an eccentric side that enjoyed playing at being modest.
"Let's end our discussion here. Count Talian said she wants to hold a celebration for the werewolves offering tribute," Ian announced.
In truth, it was just a fancy way of saying they should slaughter so animals and feed the people.
The nobles weren't tactless enough to shout, "A banquet? Hahaha! Go fetch the wine!"
"We'd be delighted to attend," they agreed.
"Excellent. Let's head to the banquet hall."
That day, Ian butchered the beasts Lewis had gathered to feed the people, and held a modest get-together with the nobles.
"Long live Lucy Talian!" the people cheered.
"Long live! Long live!"
All to the backdrop of cheers from the domain's people who had received at.
---
---
Thanks to Lewis diligently gathering beasts, everyone in the Talian domain was happy.
The nobles, the soldiers, and the people all filled their stomachs contentedly.
Regarding this situation, most of the commoners thought comfortably:
'Wow~ A werewolf received a divine revelation and offered tribute!'
'The Sky God is truly great! Hahaha!'
The commoners had listened to priests preach about the doctrine of Heaven's Faith since childhood, and no one doubted that this situation was the result of a miracle from the Sky God.
Well, it was an inexplicable situation unless it was a miracle.
But the nobles, who had received higher education and accumulated more knowledge than others, thought a bit differently.
'... They say it's a miracle from the Sky God, but.'
'Can such a comfortable miracle really happen?'
Unlike the commoners, they weren't easily swayed by the word 'miracle'.
They were people who had ruled as sovereigns in their own domains.
All sorts of outlandish events happened in domains.
And 99% of the ti, it was humans who resolved these events.
A miracle from God? That sounded nice.
But God didn't bestow miracles so easily.
If miracles happened this easily, there wouldn't be any humans starving to death during famines.
Therefore, the nobles doubted the 99% reality rather than the 1% miracle.
'This... isn't it the work of a wizard?' they wondered.
When inexplicable things happened in reality, pinpointing a wizard as the culprit was usually the right answer.
In fact, Ian was indeed responsible for this incident.
Using magic to control a contracted monster and plunder beasts from other domains!
However...
'We can't even ask about it,' they realized.
They might be suspicious, but they couldn't outright ask Ian.
Who in their right mind would approach that eccentric wizard?
And even if he really did use magic to plunder other domains...
What did that have to do with the barons?
They had already pledged loyalty to Lucy anyway. There was no need to create unnecessary trouble.
That's how Lucy's barons felt.
But the nobles beyond Lucy's sphere of influence didn't think that way at all.
"My lord! All the beasts in the hunting grounds... have disappeared!" a servant reported breathlessly.
"What?" the noble exclaid in disbelief.
"We've lost wild oxen, mountain goats, even the sheep and pigs we were grazing!"
"Urgh!"
Lucy's neighboring nobles clutched their necks and collapsed.
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