“It’s them.”
The ones Esty had captured were a rough-looking bunch. Whether big or small, it was clear each of them had a nasty temper.
“I see. These are the ones who caused the trouble?”
“They were gathering food. By force.”
“Hah…”
No matter where you go, these types always appear. They were parasites—creatures that lived off others to prolong their own lives.
‘It hasn’t been that long since I cleared them out. I suppose the ones who just arrived wouldn’t know.’
I despised such people. My hatred for them was one of the reasons I had cleared out the underworld in the first place. Yet, despite the recent cleanup, there were already people trying to create back alleys in the new settlement.
“Capture them all.”
“I’ve already given the order, but… as you know, these types are good at hiding.”
“Damn it.”
“Even if we catch them, more will just spring up.”
We were already short-handed as it was. I had already assigned a large number of the administrative officers we had siphoned off to the newly established settlement.
Normally, I wouldn’t give such missions to defectors. While it was good they had switched sides, there could still be issues with their loyalty. Because of that, I had originally intended to use them for other tasks.
‘I was originally planning to open an Administrative Academy.’
Since they had experience working as administrative officers, I wanted them to teach classes at the new academy. It was a way to utilize their knowledge to the fullest, even if I couldn’t put them on the front lines.
But in the end, that plan was pushed back. We were just too short on manpower. The number of refugees was increasing at a rate beyond my imagination, and we lacked the personnel to control them.
Even though I utilized the Guard Corps, administrative officers were the experts in this kind of management. So, I had settled the defected administrative officers here as well.
‘They did a pretty good job. The problem is the underworld that sprouted up here.’
Aside from their loyalty to me, there were simply too few people.
“Then there’s no other way. Leave this to me.”
“Understood.”
I was at the point where I’d take any help I could get. There was one person perfect for this job.
Reton. He was a genuine product of the underworld, born and raised in it.
“It’s been a while.”
“I-it’s been a long time, my Lord!”
Reton was clearly tense.
“Look at you. Have you gotten slicker while I was away? Did you enjoy yourself because I wasn’t in the castle?”
“Haha… Of course not.”
Perhaps he had found some peace of mind, as his complexion looked much better. It meant his mind and body were stable. And…
‘He’s gotten stronger. At least he’s been training hard.’
His circles had thickened. It was clear he had properly digested the few theories on Magic I had taught him. Surprisingly, Reton was someone specialized in multi-casting—casting several small spells rather than one large one. I had taught him various calculation methods for that, and they were finally starting to show results.
“You could probably win even if Max came back to life now, couldn’t you?”
“You noticed. Hehe. I think it would be possible now.”
Despite that, his frivolous personality remained the same.
“How are the kids?”
“They’re doing well. You saw the ones I brought, didn’t you? They’ve grown strong.”
Reton had brought fifty members of the Iron Fist with him. They were the ones I had specifically entrusted to him, and they had somehow managed to grow stronger under his command.
‘He definitely has a talent for teaching.’
It seemed Reton had observed how the other Iron Fist teams grew stronger and then adapted those methods to teach his own men. While they lacked a distinct flair like Gajei’s or Sian’s subordinates…
‘They’re similar to Birence’s.’
Much like Birence’s subordinates, who all took after the leader of the Iron Blacksmith Sect, it was clear these men had learned a variety of styles.
“These guys are strong in many areas. And oh, they’re perfect for dealing with the underworld.”
“I suppose that counts as a specialty.”
“Yes. I figured that’s exactly what you’d need right now. Am I right, my Lord?”
I nodded at Reton as he tried to flatter me. As he said, I needed people like this more than anyone else right now. I didn’t need the Iron Fist members who had only become heavy and stoic like Gajei. I needed those who, like Reton, knew how to be weak to the strong and strong to the weak.
“Then go and clean them out immediately. Unify them completely.”
“Yes, sir!”
That day, Reton and the Iron Fist began to reorganize the underworld of the new settlement. Those underworld thugs, who weren’t even small-fry, were suppressed in an instant. And…
“Try to stay alive. If you can, that is.”
They became the second generation of the Iron Fist. New blood had been transfused.
—
“Thankfully, they haven’t been seen lately.”
“I suppose so.”
The underworld was completely organized. It was a situation that had been easily settled by Reton without me even having to step in. However, the work piling up in the new settlement remained the same.
“The problem is the chronic issues. How is the procurement of administrative officers going?”
“They’re just not coming at all.”
“Hmm…”
Manpower. We didn’t have enough. I had even placed announcements in the capital where the royal family resided, not just in our territory, but too few were coming.
‘This is strange.’
Normally, those who attended an Administrative Academy were the elite of this world. It was a top-tier position where they could find employment immediately upon graduation. No matter how much people might look down on them, there were many places eager to take them.
Even so, I had promised better treatment than any other territory. For them still not to come was strange.
“Where are you going?”
“I have somewhere to go for a moment.”
I needed to know the reason—and the solution. There was no better place for such information than the Information Guild.
The Information Guild had already established its place in the new settlement. As if it were their preference, it was once again a tavern. The one I met after being guided inside was, as expected, Arne.
“It’s been a while.”
“Did you follow me here? Did your superiors tell you to take charge of me?”
“……That’s right.”
It was easy to talk to her since we were already acquainted.
‘So she’s my dedicated handler.’
The Information Guild tended to assign dedicated handlers to important figures. It was a method to ensure they could gather information through frequent meetings. The fact that Arne was assigned to me meant that, in the eyes of the Information Guild, I had become someone worth watching.
“Should I congratulate you? It’s not often our guild finds someone worth watching these days.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense. It just means I’ve gained a stalker.”
“……That’s a bit harsh.”
To think they were starting to watch me—it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
‘It means my abilities have been recognized, though.’
As much as the Information Guild was watching me, others would be as well. For example…
“Duke Jisert planted someone in our territory too, didn’t he?”
“……How did you know?”
“I just took a guess.”
“Oh, dear…”
The neighboring Jisert Marquisate was also rotating spies, much like the Black Crow.
‘Actually, it’s only natural.’
Even if they weren’t as aggressive as the late Marquis of Owen, they had always been eyeing the South. Since the Information Guild was moving, there was no way the Duke’s house wouldn’t notice me.
“Don’t act like you were caught. you just let me know on purpose.”
“……Tch. You realized it after all.”
“You probably wanted to earn some favor or catch me off guard.”
At my words, Arne’s expression turned pouting. She hadn’t leaked the information like a fool; she had done it intentionally. She was a clever woman.
“Anyway, what brings you here today?”
“I’d like to make another request.”
I explained the request. There were two parts. One was a search for talented individuals within this territory.
‘The more talent, the better.’
In other territories, it might be different, but I was confident I could lure anyone within this territory. I was, after all, a young master of a Count’s house. Using my status to persuade people was nothing. Even without that, there was plenty I could offer.
To those seeking strength, I could show them how to become strong. To those seeking money, I could give them money. I could give anything, as long as their ability was certain.
“I’ll accept that one.”
Arne readily accepted the talent search request. And for the next request…
“I can’t do that one.”
“Why!?”
I was rejected immediately. The second request was to spread rumors that I was looking for administrative officers. Since recruitment wasn’t working even with announcements in the capital, I tried to enlist the help of the Information Guild.
Looking at the refugees alone, people had flocked in as soon as rumors were spread through the Information Guild. I thought this method would make it easier to get those stubborn administrative officers than before, but to think she would refuse.
“Is the fee not enough? The down payment alone is 10,000 gold.”
“Of course not. But it’s a no.”
“The reason?”
“That’s also information. Want to buy it? Hehe.”
“Damn it.”
To think she’d try to sell me information in this situation. Arne’s smiling face was simply irritating. She handed over the information immediately. Predicting that I would want this information in advance, she gave me the documents as soon as I handed over the money.
‘She is capable.’
It was just that she was annoying. Her skill was undeniable—enough to make me want to recruit her myself! And the information I learned was quite unexpected.
“Ugh. These damn royals. They’re trying to keep everything for themselves for generations.”
The Kingdom of Malexia. Divided into twelve major districts, the kingdom occupied one-fourth of this land. The rest was ruled by several Dukes, Marquises, Counts, and a single Baron and Viscount who had been granted the territories.
‘Those below them just belong to their respective areas.’
And those who inherited the titles below them received ranks appropriate for their regions and ruled them. Originally, this kingdom started with many enemies from its inception. The Gdun Mountains, which stretched long in the North, were a paradise for monsters. The kingdom and the Empire were divided by those mountains. The rest of the East, West, and South were occupied by other kingdoms.
Like our territory, the kingdom had many enemies. To solve this, the royal family had to receive help from the nobles. The current kingdom was established by accepting local powers as nobles or by giving preferential treatment to those with power to build strength. It was a sort of alliance that wasn’t quite an alliance. The problem was that this kingdom…
‘It has completely stagnated.’
It no longer thought about moving forward and had simply rotted in place. Since they joined forces, the kingdom’s national power itself wasn’t bad. Consequently, invasions from other kingdoms had decreased. Currently, the place where frequent wars continued was the Kingdom of Illin in the West. The Nation of Resen, which we faced, was quiet, and the Kingdom of Miart in the South only had small localized skirmishes.
Because of this, the royal family became obsessed with strengthening royal authority. Rather than gathering strength to send outside, they were busy reducing the power of each noble. They created a Royal Academy for nobles as a pretext, and they even formed a royalist faction.
‘They do every petty thing imaginable.’
They even loudly spread information to make nobles keep each other in check. To such a royal family, our territory…
‘I guess we look like a budding sprout to them.’
It seemed our development looked suspicious. I wondered why it was so hard to find administrative officers even with the announcement, and it turned out the royal family was subtly pulling strings. Since the capital was the royal family’s domain, we were in a situation where we just had to sit and take it. It was difficult to pressure the royal family over something as minor as an administrative officer issue.
A roadblock in manpower procurement had appeared from an unexpected place.
“What to do… When things are blocked like this, I need to break through in one go.”
“Are you troubled by something?”
“I need to get work done, but I don’t have the people.”
“Before that, take a look at this.”
There was a hint in what Esty handed me.