Chapter 178: Feltron’s Method

The one who suddenly appeared before me was Feltron.

He stood with his hands on his hips in a dignified manner.

A white bat the size of a fist doing that carried absolutely no dignity whatsoever.

I looked around. Everyone else wore equally dumbfounded expressions.

First of all, the very fact that a bat was speaking like a human was surprising.

The problem was that this guy did not look strong at all.

I snatched Feltron up and spoke.

“What exactly are you going to do?”

—You said you wanted to get stronger, right? I can help with that.

“How?”

—Did you forget? How terrifying my subordinates were back in the north?

“But they all ended up dead…… Never mind.”

—Eek! You’re suddenly bringing up painful memories again!

“Ah, sorry. Go on.”

I waved my hand roughly.

In truth, it was Abel Carius before the possession who had completely wiped out Feltron’s subordinates.

So I felt no guilt whatsoever.

Even if I had done it myself, I would not have felt sorry.

After all, Feltron and the northern tribes had invaded first.

The Empire had only moved in self-defense.

Anyway, I was curious about what this guy was trying to say.

Ah, before that, I needed to figure out the identity of the person who had suddenly knelt in front of me.

I roughly have an idea already.

Still, it was better to confirm properly.

“First, please reveal who you are. That should come before anything else, should it not?”

“I am sorry. I was in such a hurry that I…… My name is Kazan, the acting lord of Lelbrant Barony.”

It was exactly as I had guessed.

He looked exactly like his father, after all.

Kazan continued with a serious expression.

“Our territory has always had unstable public order. In the past, bandit groups ran wild, and now monsters are rampant. My father and I have done our best, but we are increasingly feeling the limits.”

Baron Lelbrant had invested most of the money he earned while working as a central bureaucrat into the territory.

A great deal of funds had been required.

It was because he had neglected internal affairs for so long.

The fact that Theo had caused so much trouble also meant recovery took quite some time.

To think I did not even know about the hardships of my most loyal subordinate…… I feel quite sorry.

Baron Lelbrant had always only said that everything was going well.

He probably did not want to talk about the unstable situation in the territory.

It might also have been because I was so busy that there was no opportunity.

Anyway, it was fortunate that I found out before things got worse.

If the damage grew beyond control, it would require much more time and money.

“This does not seem like a conversation to have out in the open. Why don’t we go inside first?”

“Ah, yes. I will escort you to the castle. This way, please.”

Following Kazan through the fortress, I finally got a proper look at Lelbrant Barony.

It looked completely different from the gloomy state it had been in before.

The bandit groups that used to set up camps everywhere and act tyrannically had cleanly disappeared.

The people were working with lively expressions.

It was the very picture of a developing territory.

It does not look bad on the surface.

While I was thinking that and getting out of the carriage, Kazan spoke up.

“It looks quite peaceful, does it not?”

“Yes, it has improved a lot. Back then, it was hard to even see it as an imperial territory.”

“But the situation at the lord’s office is getting more difficult by the day.”

“I am worried about what kind of problems might be lurking.”

“It might not seem like much from Your Highness’s position. However, we are feeling a tremendous crisis. Here it is.”

Kazan led the group to the lord’s office.

He went straight to his own office and held out a thick ledger.

It was not parchment, but a book made from paper produced at the Midias paper factory.

Even so, it was enormously thick.

Evidence that he kept the ledger meticulously. He is quite diligent.

I admired him inwardly and was about to turn the pages when I stopped.

Then I called Shugl and Feltron.

“Hey, you two? Get started.”

There was no need for me to check it the hard way.

When it came to simple errors or verifying data, half-demons were extremely efficient.

They had far higher concentration than humans and were very good at simple repetitive tasks.

—Eh? Captain? Are you sane?

—What are you talking about? We came all the way here just to review documents! I still have civil engineering work to do.

Of course, the downside was that they did not listen well.

That was something I could cover with my own abilities.

“It is a competition quest. The half-demon who reviews it fastest and most accurately gets 1,000 vitality points.”

—Kuaaah! It is a match, senior!

—Of course there will be no concessions, junior!

Papapapak!

The half-demons began flipping through the ledger like mad.

Soon after, they wrote something down on a blank sheet of paper.

I glanced at it and saw a table summarizing incorrect figures and missing content.

Since I can adjust and give vitality, something like this is possible too.

From now on, I would probably be able to make more active use of the half-demons’ help.

Soon, Shugl raised his hand first.

—This body is done! Look at this. I organized it perfectly.

—D-Damn it!

Clearly, when it came to tasks that required using one’s head, Feltron felt slightly behind.

I gave Shugl the reward.

Then I also sent 100 vitality points to Feltron.

“I am giving this because you worked hard. You know you were originally getting nothing, right?”

—To think our captain is overflowing with affection like this! He has finally become human!

“Wow! He is openly feeding me scraps. Do you not want it?”

—Of course not! How could that be?

Feltron drooped his ears with a sullen expression.

I chuckled and picked up the organized table.

“Let me see. The deficit has been getting worse lately, has it not?”

“That is correct.”

“Military spending is quite high.”

“We increased the standing army and raised wages, so it ended up like this.”

It was a natural result.

Generally, medieval local territories did not have much military force.

The average was about two or three knights and around ten soldiers under the lord.

Of course, the Enpher Empire had to be measured by different standards from Earth.

There were special existences called monsters here.

For Lelbrant Barony, having about twenty knights and around a hundred soldiers would have been normal.

But there were already fifty soldiers just at the fortress I saw earlier.

There were probably several more defensive facilities like that.

Sure enough, the cost of maintaining the troops was 1,000 goldens per month.

It was on the level of a decent count’s territory, so they had no choice but to tighten their belts every year.

On top of that, the harvest was not particularly abundant either.

They had only just begun clearing land and were growing cash crops.

If even one harvest failed?

Then Lelbrant Barony would go bankrupt as it was.

“It is more precarious than I thought.”

“That is why we chose the method of elite-ization.”

“It is not a bad idea.”

Lelbrant Barony did not have any particularly valuable resources, so there was no need for an excessively large army.

It was enough to just deal with bandits and monsters efficiently.

“Have you considered bringing in mercenaries?”

“Of course we tried. We even set up a mercenary guild office in the territory.”

“But monster hunters still do not come?”

“They say there are not many profitable monsters to hunt. Even if you catch them, they do not sell for much, and they are all troublesome ones.”

Of course, ogre byproducts were not bad in price.

The problem was that there was only one group, and they were extremely cunning, so everyone shook their heads.

They said it was not worth the cost.

Anyway, this is a territory worth helping.

It was not just because Baron Lelbrant was my subordinate.

When I looked at the records of how the territory had been managed so far, I could feel the warmth.

Kazan did not waste a single coin.

Moreover, every policy was focused on the safety of the territory’s people.

What I liked most was the fact that there had never been a single instance of wage arrears.

Even if it meant selling the castle’s furniture because there was no money.

Perhaps because of that, the loyalty and trust of the territory’s people reached the sky.

This is the first time I have seen farmers voluntarily bringing their harvest.

Surprisingly, even that kind of content was recorded in the ledger.

It was almost like looking at Carius Duchy and Midias.

The only difference was that this place was such dangerous land that defense costs were high.

“Kazan.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You have worked hard all this time. I will provide separate financial support to Lelbrant Barony.”

“But that would be too burdensome.”

Anyone would readily accept money if there were no problems attached.

However, surprisingly, Kazan immediately expressed his refusal.

It was probably because he knew that temporary help would not improve the constitution.

A satisfied smile naturally formed on my face.

But he would not be able to refuse my help.

“I am not just going to give you money.”

“Excuse me?”

“In the future, a dam will be built on Marlow Lake. Then Lelbrant Barony will become the starting point of the waterway heading east.”

“Ah!”

Almost no one knew this fact.

Even the Emperor probably did not know.

Yet I was giving him such high-level information?

There could not be any greater help than this.

“Build inns and warehouses near the lake and create a large dock. Then you will be able to earn an enormous amount of money.”

“But we cannot build ships.”

“Do not worry. Dapan Group will take care of that. I will lend you the initial funds.”

“Aah! Duke Carius Your Highness!”

Kazan’s face brightened.

He must have been imagining the future of Lelbrant Barony.

This place would probably become the center of eastern distribution.

Of course, to do that, it was essential to have sufficient power.

Since so many interests would be concentrated here, conflicts would arise frequently as well.

As if he had realized that fact, the bright expression on Kazan’s face soon hardened.

“We will need even stronger power.”

“Actually, I do not think I can help with matters concerning military force as well.”

“That is right. You are such a busy person……”

There was a slight misunderstanding, but there was no need to correct it.

Only then did I turn to look at Feltron.

This guy’s subordinates had all been northern nomads.

They were ordinary humans.

But they were famous for being stronger than most knights.

He might actually be helpful?

I poked Feltron, who was sprawled on the ledger.

“Hey, you said you could do something, right?”

That is right! I had forgotten for a moment because of the quest.

“You mean making them like your old subordinates?”

—Exactly.

“By injecting authority?”

—No, why would I do something that wasteful?

“Then?”

—There is a way. Shall I try it?

Feltron spoke with a confident expression.

But Kazan looked very doubtful.

How on earth was a white bat the size of a fist going to make a person stronger?

Even I did not really believe it.

—To think there is this little trust? As expected, humans’ suspicious nature is something else.

Would he not gain trust by showing reliable behavior?

First of all, even his appearance looked too weak.

—Ah, that is right. Then how about this?

Fwoooosh!

Suddenly, Feltron was engulfed in black energy.

Before long, his body began to grow rapidly, and eventually……

He became a large white bat.

“Oh? This looks plausible.”