Chapter 126: The Trash Crisis

It was a weekend afternoon.

I took a tour around various parts of Perias.

This was to understand how waste disposal worked in the capital.

“Ugh! The smell is insane. Why on earth did you come to a place like this?”

Everywhere I went, garbage was piled up and overflowing.

And that was not all.

The clogged sewers were filled with half-rotten filth, and the streets were littered with landmines.

Ah, landmines in a fantasy world, you ask?

What else but livestock and human shit.

Things were somewhat better in the provinces.

Less garbage was produced, and it could be taken farther away to be dumped.

But the capital had the highest population density in the entire empire.

Moreover, there was no proper waste management system in place at all.

“It gets much worse the deeper we go into the slums.”

“Of course. That’s because people are packed together like sardines.”

“Hmm.”

I fell into deep thought as I observed Perias.

Surprisingly, the city already had water supply facilities installed.

It made sense—with this many people living here, there had to be water.

But it only applied to the districts where nobles lived.

The rest of the citizens had to rely on small reservoirs on the outskirts of the city.

Building more aqueducts would help, but it’s not an easy task.

It was extremely difficult to install large-scale infrastructure in a city where people had already established their foundations.

Especially an aqueduct system that had to reach all the way into these slums.

It would be impossible without tearing down all the nearby shanties.

For now, let’s start with garbage collection.

Just doing that should prevent the city’s sewers from getting blocked.

The facilities were originally built to drain rainwater, but because people dumped anything and everything into them, they had completely lost their function.

That was why massive flooding occurred every rainy season.

Rather than struggling every spring to clear the sewers, it was far better to manage them properly in advance.

But why was I suddenly concerning myself with something the government should be handling?

Because the bureaucrats aren’t doing it.

It was a project that required significant funding, yet there were no visible changes.

In that case, they would only get cursed at for misusing taxes.

Of course, I had a clear reason for doing this.

Wouldn’t it give me a proper reward?

When garbage rots, it breeds rats and insects, which become the cause of diseases.

The Black Death had also spread through rat fleas, after all.

It would likely have a broadly positive impact on the local community.

Then the system should reward me accordingly.

“Let’s head to the imperial palace for now. I need to request an audience with His Majesty.”

“Suddenly?”

Cordell McNeil looked surprised.

It seemed he was asking why I was doing this on a weekend when everyone else was resting.

But I simply shrugged lightly.

Working on the weekend was common back in the hellish peninsula.

Besides, I was so busy during the weekdays that this was the only time I had.

“Isn’t it only natural? This concerns the entire city of Perias. I need to get the owner’s permission first.”

If I were only running projects within the Carius Duchy and Midias, I could do as I pleased.

But those places already had decent waste management.

To earn the reward, I needed to expand it to Perias as well.

I went straight to the imperial palace and requested an audience.

However, the reply was that I would have to wait quite a long time.

What’s going on? He usually calls me in right away.

Up until now, Emperor Karon had never delayed meeting with me even once.

He would summon me immediately upon request, but today his reaction was different.

Waiting endlessly with the imperial guards.

Rather than just standing around, I figured I might as well win some goodwill.

“You all must be working hard. I brought these for lunch—let’s each have one while we wait.”

“Ah, no, we’re on duty right now…….”

“Aren’t we the only ones in the reception room anyway? No one will say anything if we relax a bit. You’re knights, but you’re still people. You need to know when to cut corners too.”

I opened the lunch boxes I had brought from the mansion.

The contents were nothing special.

Just sandwiches with vegetables and meat stuffed between bread, along with some water.

But it was right around the time when people get really hungry.

Since they were waiting because of me and couldn’t even eat, offering this much was the least I could do.

Even though it was only two portions, four grown men finished it in an instant.

“Thank you for the meal, Your Grace—”

Knock knock!

“It is time, Your Grace.”

Just as the guards were about to thank me, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Everyone immediately straightened into attention as if nothing had happened.

I nearly laughed at the absurdity but kept a straight face.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“Not at all. This way, please.”

“Yes.”

As I followed the senior knight, I glanced back at the reception room.

When I flashed them a meaningful smile and a wink, the corners of the imperial guards’ mouths curved into smiles.

We soon arrived at the inner sanctum of the imperial palace.

Emperor Karon sat on an ornate chair with his legs crossed.

“You have come.”

His face was as pale as usual, and his expression was blunt.

But why did I feel such a strong sense of unease?

“Have you been well, Your Majesty?”

“I live because I cannot die.”

I froze at the completely unexpected answer.

The emperor then bared his teeth in a laugh.

“Kukuku! If you freeze at a joke like this, how do you plan to handle bigger matters in the future?”

“Since it came from such a high personage, I could not help but think deeply about it.”

“Oh? Now you even lecture me on choosing my words carefully. My younger cousin is trying to teach his older brother.”

Perhaps because we had not seen each other in a while, this damn uncle’s sharp tongue had gotten even sharper.

Ugh, why are you being so cranky today?

I frantically racked my brain, recalling the military seniors who used to pick fights for no reason.

I needed to find some way to escape, even if it meant using dogshit logic.

“That could not be further from the truth. I am someone who constantly seeks to learn. I am merely grateful for the teachings Your Majesty bestows upon me. How could I possibly commit such disloyalty?”

Since nothing clever came to mind, I went with the straightforward approach.

Lowering myself while elevating the other party was the standard method of flattery.

Of course, it probably would not work on someone as sharp as Emperor Karon.

He would surely see through my honeyed words.

But today, perhaps because my cousin brother’s mood was decent, he let it slide without much issue.

“It seems your loyalty is not completely nonexistent.”

“I am Your Majesty’s hands and feet. Use me as you wish and simply enjoy the results!”

“Huhu! I like that. Indeed, you do handle your tasks quite well.”

The emperor lightly flicked his finger.

Chamberlain Adit appeared immediately and poured him a glass of wine.

Wait, is that guy a ghost or something?

I had not even noticed him until now.

He must have received Black Agent training.

“So. It does not seem like you came just to greet me. What brings you here today?”

“It is nothing major. I simply wished to bring a small amount of joy into Your Majesty’s daily life…….”

“Enough with the nonsense.”

“Yes, sir.”

I had tried to drag out the conversation a bit more but was immediately shut down.

So I straightforwardly stated the purpose of my visit.

I had already played along enough, had I not?

When I brought up the waste management project, the emperor’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Is this not something for the bureaucrats to handle? Why do you want to do it yourself?”

“I am not saying they did it wrong. I am simply saying I can do it better.”

“Hmm! Is that so? From what I hear, the costs will need to come from the government budget.”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

There was no such thing as a volume-based garbage bag system here. How could they collect fees from every household?

Moreover, since this was a public environmental project, it was only right to fund it with taxes.

This was something that required the emperor’s permission.

I quietly waited for his answer.

The audience chamber fell into silence for a while as he seemed to be deep in thought.

Eventually, the emperor broke the icy atmosphere and spoke.

“Starting today, you are the Mayor of Perias.”

“…Pardon?”

“I permit you to hold concurrent positions. From now on, you shall also oversee the city’s administration.”

I had only planned to get a reward through the waste management project.

What was this sudden workload dump?

I wanted to ask that, but I could not object to the Iron-Blooded Emperor’s decision.

Damn it. I tried to get something for free and ended up getting screwed instead.

Although I had suddenly been saddled with the position of Mayor of Perias, there were quite a few unexpected benefits.

First, the number of days I had to attend court at the courthouse decreased by two.

Additionally, I grew closer to the bureaucrats.

They were initially flustered by the sudden change, but most of them seemed quite pleased.

After all, I had a reputation for getting things done properly.

“If you have anything to report, please visit me without hesitation. You may come to my office at the courthouse as well.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Then let us begin by grasping the current state of affairs. Are these all the documents I need to review?”

“No. There are more in the secretariat.”

“Bring them all.”

“Yes!”

In terms of operational complexity, comparing the city hall to the Dapan Group was impossible.

This place ran on an extremely haphazard system.

In reality, the mayor’s position had mostly been for show—the previous mayor had simply occupied the seat and acted important without doing much actual work.

That was the original purpose of the position.

Well, it could not be helped. This is the emperor’s city, after all.

If someone tried to actually accomplish something, they would easily fall out of favor and lose their head.

Of course, that did not apply to me.

I would simply attribute all achievements to the emperor.

As long as I get the system rewards, I do not need the fame.

There was no better political technique than this.

In any case, I dove into understanding the work at an incredible speed.

Since the previous mayor had done almost nothing, I had to learn all the practical tasks the bureaucrats were handling.

During this process, I realized something important.

“Oh, there really is not much to it.”

The population registry was not accurately maintained like in Korea.

The only area where administrative power was exercised aggressively was tax collection.

Everyone was obsessed solely with gathering taxes.

As a result, unless it was harvest season, the bureaucrats basically just sat around guarding their positions.

No wonder the sewers were constantly clogged and garbage piled up like mountains.

“What does this mean, you guys?”

-That you have a shit-ton of work to do?

-Kyah! Senior, spot on.

As expected, these half-demon bastards were only ever sincere when it came to making me stressed.

They were usually brainless idiots who showed no interest, but at times like these, their heads worked perfectly.

Still, I could not really argue with them.

Because that was the correct answer.

“I have no idea where to even start.”

The Perias City Hall was wrong in every possible way.

Changing it to run as cleanly as the Dapan Group would not be possible in a day or two.

Moreover, I was not even sure my words would carry any weight here.

They would follow orders if I gave them, but would the results actually come out properly?

Humans do not burn with passion without clear rewards and future prospects.

A simple example:

Would people be happier finishing work on Friday evening?

Or on Sunday evening after resting and playing to their heart’s content?

One hundred out of one hundred would choose the latter.

People were that future-oriented.

But if I expected that kind of motivation from these bureaucrats, I would only be disappointed.

They were already wealthy enough and held comfortable positions.

So what should I do?

I have to take away their rice bowls first.

Of course, I had no intention of plundering the bureaucrats’ personal wealth.

Why would I do something so ridiculous?

But what if that money had been accumulated through illicit means?

The saying that the one who eats the blind money first owns it applies here too.

There was a similar saying in Korea.

It was not that the country lacked money, but that there were too many thieves.

So what should I do?

“I will govern them cleanly.”

I smiled meaningfully and took out Hector Punisher.