Seven days.
Seven days.
The officials from various regions of Shalin waited in Black Water City for seven days, almost like being under house arrest, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new lord, Richard.
During these seven days, they had no idea what Richard was investigating across Shalin, or if he had even started investigating before this — after all, when the carriage from Shaya ca to a swerving stop, a quirky Bi Bi stepped out instead of Richard. Almost no one knew when Richard had left the carriage, leaving Bi Bi to drive alone; perhaps they had separated right after departing Shaya.
Regardless, the day of declaration finally arrived. Seven days later, Richard officially ca to Black Water City, summoning all the officials for a eting.
The officials had waited for this mont with red and weary eyes, their bags under them swollen like eggs. After hearing the notification, they rushed impatiently to the venue. They had thought it would be a more common swearing-in ceremony, where they would pledge allegiance to the new lord and discuss the upcoming taxation from various territories. But upon arriving, they realized it wasn’t quite so simple.
...
Seven days later, a hall in the Black Water City theater.
The place had been hurriedly tidied and arranged into a venue. After the Shalin officials took their seats, Richard walked in, heading towards a wooden table on the stage.
The Shalin officials instinctively stood up, glancing around with the corners of their eyes to guess whether they should pay homage to the new lord or do sothing else. After all, they had never been involved in a situation like this before. They had thought Richard would sit alone as they approached successively to swear their allegiance, but it turned out completely different from their imagination.
Richard noticed the officials’ behavior, waved his hand quickly, and said simply, "No need for formalities. Just remain seated. I know you’ve been waiting for for many days and are quite anxious, so let’s not waste ti and try to end this eting quickly. That way, you can be at ease, and I will have the ti to do what I wish."
The Shalin officials had varying expressions, but after hearing Richard’s words, they couldn’t disobey his order and promptly sat back in their seats.
After scanning the venue and seeing that most were settled, Richard flipped his hand to take out a scroll, laying it out on the table to reveal it covered in nas.
"Next, I will call nas. Those called should respond," Richard said, giving no ti for a response, as he had already begun with the first na, "Gustav John."
"Ah?" A middle-aged man with gray whiskers quickly stood up, looking sowhat flustered, unsure of how to respond.
Responding? Just saying ’here’? Surely not?
The middle-aged man’s eyes flickered, glancing from Richard to those beside him, hoping for so hint. But with no response for a few seconds, sweat started forming.
Luckily, Richard glanced over and gestured downward, saying, "Just be seated."
"Yes." Gustav John seed to be drained of energy, exhaling deeply before quickly sitting back in his seat.
Next, Richard started calling the second na: "Neil Evan."
"Swoosh!"
A fair-skinned man in his thirties stood up, glanced at Richard, and tentatively asked, "Here?"
"Mm," Richard nodded, gesturing for him to sit down. Neil Evan swiftly sat back.
The rest of the attendees noticed this, their eyes twinkling slightly, feeling they had received an important signal.
The attendance process then beca smoother.
"Edison Thomas?"
"Here."
"Baron Adolf?"
"Here."
With those before as examples, those after beca increasingly composed, with so even adding suitable performances.
For instance...
"Mayer Grover?" Richard called out.
"Present, my lord." A man holding a do-topped hat stood up, slightly bent over, and respectfully saluted Richard, "Mayer from the West Shalin pays respects and announces allegiance, wishing my lord eternal health and prosperity."
"Mm," Richard nodded, waving for him to sit down, and called out the next na.
"Simon Tine?"
"Greetings, Lord Richard." A man in a bright red coat stood up, mimicking previous gestures, "Simon from the East Shalin pays respects and announces allegiance, wishing you eternal youth and peace."
"Mm," Richard likewise nodded, motioned him to sit, without wasting words.
"Lynn Kate?" Richard called out another na.
A man in his fifties stood up, his face weathered, hair half-white, with a twisted knife scar like a centipede on the left cheek, looking more intimidating than a villain.
But he was straightforward, calling out "Here" without further performance, then sat down.
Richard treated everyone equally, his tone unchanged as he called out subsequent nas.
For the following few minutes, within the forr theater hall, the voices calling nas and replying resounded, filled with incongruity, though one might mistakenly think it was a university campus on Earth.
Richard wasn’t too bothered by it. Although it was incongruous, it worked, and it allowed him to successfully match the nas on the list with each real-life Shalin official.
Next ca the real content of the eting.
A few minutes later, after finishing the nas, Richard placed the scroll down, swept his gaze across the audience, and calmly said, "Thank you all for your patience over these days. You’re likely aware; I’m your new lord, Richard. Next, I want you to cooperate to achieve sothing for Shalin.
You know, Shalin, like other territories, is divided into several small regions from one large area, with you managing them separately to reduce the workload of the lord. But so orders aren’t communicated smoothly."
Richard spoke no falsehoods; currently, most of the feudal lands on the Main Continent were in similar situations. A large feudal land subdivided into multilayered smaller feudal lands managed by subordinates. This way, the lord only needed to manage his directly-administered territory, while officials would handle responsibilities within their areas and submit taxes tily.
But Richard didn’t intend to do it that way, as in this scenario, the logic of "my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal" made it difficult for his orders to reach the grassroots level. Though collecting money was easy, he wasn’t short on money, and he ca to Shalin wanting to transform it swiftly, unleashing significant potential to support his research.
So then...
Richard paused, looked at everyone, and stated, "Next, I want to establish a new departnt — the Efficiency Departnt."
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