Chapter 158: The True Motive Behind the Request

After the banquet ended.

I returned to the villa and sank into thought.

On the surface it looks like there are no big problems.

The Crawford Principality was one of the ordinary small countries of this era.

If there was anything special about it, it was probably its rather deep ties with the Enpher Empire.

Aside from that, it was no different from the western nation alliance.

A place where nobles ate and drank in luxury while free citizens and serfs had their blood sucked dry.

In fact, even the empire—the most advanced nation one could call it—was no different, was it?

Things had changed a little since the Dapan Group appeared, but the distant provincial territories remained exactly the same as before.

But then why make a request like this?

Had the elderly Peilly III suddenly attained enlightenment and awakened?

Honestly, the chances of that were not very high.

Then there was only one conclusion.

“The royal family must be facing some kind of threat.”

There had to be something they wanted to change even at the cost of handing me real power.

There were probably circumstances they could not speak of lightly either.

Threat? What do you mean all of a sudden?

Shugl, who had grabbed my finger, suddenly asked a question.

I had been lost in thought and tapping the desk, and it seemed to have bothered him.

This guy always came and did this whenever I was working.

He was not even a cat.

“What would you do if you knew?”

• It has been a while since we came to a nice place, so this body could personally lend a hand, you know?

“A nice place?”

• There are lots of mountains.

“Ah……”

I had forgotten, but Shugl was a mountain demon.

Naturally he would be able to exert stronger authority in terrain like this.

“If you are a mountain demon, then what is Feltron?”

• That guy is the domination demon.

“Domination?”

• He enjoys making subordinates. Look at him now. He has already taken control of the surroundings.

Feltron was in the middle of giving a speech to a large gathering of crows and bats.

It was too far for the telepathy to come through clearly, but I could roughly guess what he was saying.

If he was puffing his chest out so grandly, it was obvious.

“Perfect timing.”

I had been needing some information anyway.

I headed straight out to the backyard of the mansion.

Then Feltron’s ranting voice became clearly audible.

—The squad leader is extremely disappointed in you all.

“Caaaw……”

• How can your formation flying be that pathetic! How long have you been training for!

“Caw.”

— Can you do better from now on?

“Caw!”

When Feltron shouted forcefully, the crows stood at attention and cawed in perfect unison.

The sight was so absurd that I nearly burst out laughing.

I barely held it in and continued watching when Feltron suddenly moved toward the trees.

He then yelled at the bats hanging upside down.

— I am in the middle of training! Who is moving!

“Squeak……”

— Do you not know the at-ease position? Hey! Bat number 15, stop swaying!

“H!”

The bat number 15 answered while saluting with its wing.

I could not hide my dumbfounded expression.

A bat squeaking while saluting?

The bat’s cry was more surprising than Feltron’s military drill.

I mean, think about it.

You rarely ever encounter them in daily life.

“Hey, Feltron.”

— Oh! You are here, Boss.

“I need to put your subordinates to use.”

— What for?

“You know what you are good at. Information gathering.”

— Helping is not difficult, but resources are a bit lacking here.

“Resources? What resources?”

— These are all the guys I can command.

“Why?”

— If they go near the slums they all get eaten.

“Huh?”

At first I did not understand what he meant at all.

Bats I could understand.

But crows were fast—how could they get eaten just by entering the city?

— The poor people there eat anything. You can hardly even find rats.

The Crawford Principality had a lot of mountainous terrain and therefore low food production.

Food prices were basically high, so most people lived in poor conditions.

Then what about the slums?

I get it now.

Still, even if the number of subordinates was small, it did not matter much.

The people I needed to watch were not that many anyway.

I immediately told him the key figures.

Focus surveillance on the Crawford royal family and the Soltri house.

“Correct.”

— As long as we avoid the slums, we will not lose any subordinates.

“So you will do it?”

Tap tap.

Instead of answering, Feltron lightly tapped my leg.

He gave a meaningful smile.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

— Come on, you know why.

“What?”

— For something like this, prepayment is the rule.

“Geez……”

The way he openly demanded vital energy was ridiculous.

Still, I could not complain.

I had already made the promise.

“Send the guys out first. You follow me.”

— Yes sir! I get to eat before the senior!

“Is it that good?”

— Cold water has an upper and lower side, but vital energy does not. The one who takes it first wins!

Heh heh heh!

Feltron flapped his wings vigorously, and his subordinates moved in perfect order.

I placed him on my shoulder and walked a full lap around the mansion.

Whenever I met the workers and received their respectful gazes, vital energy charged up.

Of course I could not guarantee the purity.

Everyone was living well thanks to me.

To the point that they felt they owed me their lives.

Then I suddenly noticed people packing luggage and leaving the villa.

“Hm? Who are those people?”

• They are not our workers. I have never seen their faces before.

Since Uncle Brandon was not stopping them, they did not seem to be thieves.

I headed straight to the mansion entrance.

“What is going on? Where are you going?”

“Ah, Duke, Your Highness. These are the existing employees.”

“But why are they leaving?”

“It is normal for the staff to be replaced when the owner changes.”

It was only natural.

A villa was a house whose owner was often absent for long periods.

Leaving it to people you had never met could lead to poor management.

Therefore the family usually dispatched long-time servants.

The manager of this villa had probably been one of Count Schultz’s people.

The condition was not bad, though.

Several months had already passed since ownership was transferred.

The people who had worked here had probably not received proper pay during that time.

Yet the building had been maintained this well even after the manager left?

It meant they had done their jobs properly.

“Please wait a moment.”

When I approached and spoke suddenly, startled eyes lost their focus.

They probably knew exactly who I was.

That was why they could not even meet my gaze and only trembled anxiously.

“There is no need to be nervous. I just want to talk for a moment.”

“Y-yes, please give your command.”

“You are the people who worked at this villa, correct? How long have you been employed here?”

The employees glanced at one another before hesitantly answering.

Their lengths of service varied.

But there was a common point.

At least fifteen years.

The youngest boy’s answer was especially memorable.

He had grown up here since birth and had worked alongside the adults the whole time.

I nodded quietly and asked one more question.

“You continued managing the building for several months even after the previous employees left. You were not even getting paid—why did you do that?”

“It is the work we have done our whole lives. Besides, we wanted to make a good impression on the new owner.”

“Then why are you leaving now?”

“You brought many of your own workers. So naturally……”

“You thought you would be dismissed.”

“Yes. This kind of thing has happened often.”

This was the villa district by Lake Verkal.

It was a place for foreign nobles.

If they had worked here for decades, they would have seen staff replacements many times.

Knowing they would be driven out, they had decided to leave on their own.

But my thoughts were different.

These people would know every detail about this house.

I immediately pulled up their personal information.

I scanned through it; there was nothing particularly bad.

In fact, I liked them even more.

Since they had grown up in a villa, they all had genuine attachment to the place.

“If you are all right with it, you do not have to leave.”

“Eh? R-really?”

“Of course. I will take over your employment. How much have you been receiving so far?”

“If we calculate by monthly wage, about 8 korens.”

The situation here was far worse.

In the empire, ordinary wage workers received around 1 silon.

Even though the world was changing because of the Dapan Group, this place remained the same.

These villas belonged to imperial nobles—why was it like this?

It was obvious.

There was no reason to spend a lot of money.

They simply matched the local conditions.

But I had no intention of doing that.

Loyalty originally comes from sufficient compensation.

Of course it would be difficult to treat them the same as my verified employees right from the start.

They had not been properly tested yet.

“From now on your monthly wage will be 2 goldens.”

“Hup!”

The employees inhaled sharply and widened their eyes.

They looked happy and surprised, yet also wondering why I was doing this.

“The people I employ start at around 6 goldens basic wage. Uncle Brandon over there receives 15 goldens. That is because he has performed faithfully as a coachman.”

“Ah……”

“If you show the same level of loyalty and results, you will receive the same treatment as regular employees. I will be watching.”

“Yes!”

The middle-aged man standing at the front shouted with a rigidly disciplined expression.

I immediately pointed at him.

“What is your name?”

“Antwan.”

I already knew, but I asked as a formality.

If I knew too much about total strangers it would look strange.

“Good. Mr. Antwan. Starting today you are the manager of this villa.”

“I will work hard, Duke, Your Highness.”

Antwan could not hold back the surging emotion; tears streamed down his face.

In truth, if their personal information had been bad I had planned not to take over their employment.

But they were all quite decent.

Then there was no need to drive them all out and hire new people.

“May we go back to work now?”

“Ah, of course. I look forward to working with you all.”

“Th-thank you.”

The employees scattered with deeply moved expressions.

Seeing them move on their own, their duties seemed properly divided.

I smiled contentedly and turned to Feltron.

“Done?”

— Kuuuuh! This is it! This!

It seemed the people’s respect had transmitted properly; he flailed his limbs wildly.

As if some dance party had broken out.

Then Feltron, who had been enjoying himself, thrust out his chest grandly and said,

— Hey, Boss.

“Hey? That tone is a bit disrespectful, isn’t it?”

— Ahem! I was quite impressed by how you copied me. Did you want to resemble me that much?

What nonsense was this again?

What had I copied?

I frowned and stared at him when the earlier scene suddenly came to mind.

Did he think I was gathering the crows and bats?

He seemed to have misunderstood something completely, but I had no intention of explaining.

Whatever he thought did not matter.

As long as the result was good.

Just as I was about to let it slide, a very irritating remark came.

— Uhehehehe! Now I am the boss!

If I left him alone he would probably climb all the way to the top of my head.

In times like this, appropriate punishment was necessary.

“Abel-style secret technique. Piky hammer swing!”

Thwack!

It had been a while since Hector Punisher spat fire.

Feltron flew far away after taking the hit.

He flailed his limbs and screamed convulsively.

— Kyaaack! What kind of piky hammer is this!

I lightly shrugged my shoulders and turned away.

He did not even know what a piky hammer was yet he was complaining.

“I should get some rest since I have to start work tomorrow.”

How I would remodel the Crawford Principality would have to be decided after Feltron’s investigation was finished.