Chapter 44: Plans, Priorities, and the First Night as Lord

After returning to the Mansion, I was looking over the notes I had written down earlier.

1. Secure military forces
2. Select Administration Officer candidates to manage the Domain.
3. Clear out surrounding monsters by securing military strength
4. Acquire a palisade or wall to protect farmlands
5. Recruit Artisans to repair the shabby houses of the Domain Citizens
6. Manage the yield of the Fishing Village

I was able to confirm all these priorities with my own eyes after touring the Village right when I arrived.

“Let’s see. How should I proceed?”

Based on what I had written down, I considered the numbers I would need.

First was the securing of military forces.

“Eighty people should be enough…”

By my calculations, I needed a force of eighty Soldiers.

The current population was eight hundred.

Honestly, maintaining a standing force of eighty Soldiers with a population of eight hundred was sheer madness.

Out of those eight hundred, only about three hundred would be actually engaged in productive labor.

If I assumed an average of four to six people per household, that made roughly one hundred eighty households.

Since each household paid Tax, that meant about 2.25 households would have to support one Soldier.

Strictly speaking, it was only possible by squeezing the Domain Citizens severely.

And in fact, many Lords on the Continent were no doubt running their Domains exactly that way.

But I had no intention of doing that.

Not even the slightest thought of squeezing my Domain Citizens ever crossed my mind.

For the time being, all the expenses for maintaining the Soldiers would be covered by me alone.

Even so, there were two reasons why I set the number of military personnel at eighty.

‘The first was that I planned to fill that force with Slaves, at least at first.’

The Slaves I had in mind were around fourteen to sixteen years old.

And I wasn’t thinking of Slaves who’d been sold as Noble playthings, but cheap Slaves with no special qualities or peculiarities.

Moreover, not just ordinary people, but actual Slaves.

They would be subordinate to me, unable to betray me under any circumstances, so they would be safe.

And there would be no issue with their growth either.

“If I raise them in the same way as Jenny, it’ll be fine.”

By registering them as pets to stimulate growth, or by personally training them using my education skills, I could raise them myself.

That way, I could reap the benefits of killing two birds with one stone.

If I gave Commoners hope by teaching them the sword so they could become Knights, then later freed them from Slavery—

They would develop blind loyalty toward me, and as they settled down here, the number of Domain Citizens would naturally increase.

Their children would grow up looking up to their fathers, and likely walk the same path.

‘The second reason was to immediately secure military force capable of controlling the Domain Citizens.’

Since I hadn’t been here long, the people might not obey my words right away.

If that happened, there might be times when I needed to take forceful measures, so I needed to be ready with military strength for those situations.

This Domain, run according to the methods inside my own head, would be unfamiliar to the people here.

Naturally, they might resist, so I was preparing for such times.

I wrote the number “80” under item number one.

“Good, next is the Administration Officer, right?”

How many Administration Officers would I need?

For now, one would be enough.

But it was clear the Domain would grow larger, and if I hired one later, it would take time for them to adapt to my policies.

It was better to hire in advance and let them get used to things.

“Three should be enough.”

Of course, out of those three, two would be Administration Officers specializing in their field.

The third would be someone I would select for their versatility—a person with broad knowledge of this world and a mind that could fill my own gaps.

Someone exceptional.

I wrote “3” under the second item.

“Items three to six… I’d need luck.”

Finding outstanding Artisans was extremely difficult.

The rest of the items all required the help of Artisans.

With my shallow knowledge, I could only come up with temporary measures.

Tok, tok, tok.

Absentmindedly, I tapped my fingers on the desk.

One of my oldest habits.

It always came out when I was deep in thought or worry. If I were in modern society, I’d probably light a cigarette at times like this, but since falling into this world, I’d naturally quit smoking.

A cigarette I couldn’t quit no matter how hard I tried in modern society, yet now the only habit left was this.

Tok tok, tuk.

And so, lost in thought, I hesitated.

After about thirty minutes, I made up my mind.

“Screw it, it’ll work out somehow!”

I leapt up from my seat.

I opened the door and went straight to the room next door.

It was the place Cal had earlier referred to as the bath.

Thud

It was pitch black inside.

“Light.”

I used Light Magic to illuminate the interior.

“Oh, this is actually pretty nice?”

If I had to pick my favorite spot in this Mansion, it would be right here.

The large wooden bathtub could easily accommodate both of my legs stretched out. It looked like four grown men could fit lying down.

The ceiling above was open so you could look up at the night sky, though half of it was covered with planks, so there must be a way to fully cover it as well.

“If only there was a shower… Well, that’s not something I can help.”

The thing I missed most since coming to this world was the shower.

Back then, out of laziness, I had Jenny help me wash, and though I was getting used to it, there was nothing quite like standing under a shower and letting the water wash over you.

I stepped out of the bath and called outside.

“Cal!”

Cal showed up promptly at my call.

“You called, Lord?”

“Ah, is it okay if I use the bath?”

At my question, Cal replied,

“Please wait just a moment. I will have the maids heat the water.”

Cal hurriedly summoned Lamia and Remia.

The two must have been nearby, as they appeared at once.

Cal instructed them to heat water and fill the tub.

Startled, I quickly stopped them.

“Stop!”

At my command, the two sisters froze in their tracks. Seeing their puzzled faces, I said,

“There’s no need to go through so much trouble. It’s not necessary.”

“Yes…”

Cal seemed more surprised by my words.

“Do you not know that your Lord is a Mage? Come, follow me. I’ll show you.”

I led the three into the bath.

Then, I used Magic.

“Aqua.”

Trickle, trickle, trickle.

Water began to flow from my hand, filling the tub.

Since only a small amount was coming out, I poured in Mana madly, and soon water gushed out like a waterfall.

Whoosh—

In an instant, the tub was full.

“Fireball.”

I conjured a Fireball and placed it in the tub.

Sizzle!

The Fireball spewed out tremendous flames and threatened to extinguish.

I kept supplying Mana to maintain the Fireball, and in no time, the water in the tub was steaming hot.

“Aah…”

The three stared at me, mouths agape.

When the water began to steam and bubble, I retrieved the Fireball, dispersing the Mana.

“All done.”

With a satisfied expression, I declared so.

Clap clap clap clap.

“Amazing, Lord!”

“You’re so cool, Lord!”

Remia and Lamia clapped, showering me with praise.

With their pretty faces complimenting me, my shoulders swelled with pride.

“A Mage Lord certainly means less work for us. I never imagined… Thank you so much, Lord.”

Cal was nearly in tears.

Whenever the Marquess visited, the hardest part was always preparing the bathwater.

He remembered carrying bucket after bucket of hot water from the kitchen.

Now, that ordeal was over.

“Ah, Lord, why don’t you eat before your bath? Everything is ready.”

“Ah, good idea.”

With the three looking dazed, I realized I’d poured in so much Mana that the bath was probably too hot for now—so it worked out perfectly.

The dining hall was full of well-prepared dishes.

From all sorts of fish to a variety of meat dishes, the table was covered in food.

“Isn’t this a bit much?”

No matter how I looked at it, that was all I could think.

It was too extravagant.

“It’s nothing. For you, Lord, this much is only natural.”

“But… it’s really too much…”

It was too much for me to eat alone.

Even for just me and Jenny, it was too much.

So I made a suggestion.

“Come on, everyone, have a seat. Since we’re like Family now, let’s all eat together.”

Cal and the three women all looked shocked by my words.

“That’s not proper! How could we, Commoners, share a meal with someone as noble as you, Lord?”

I’m probably the only Noble in this world who’d ever make such a suggestion.

“But there’s no helping it, is there?”

“Of course, Lord…”

Cal let out a breath of relief at my words.

“This is an order from your Lord. Prepare the tableware and sit with me at once.”

“Lord!”

Cal cried out in panic.

But I’m not a person of this world—I’m Kim Han Sol, a young man born and raised in the Republic of Korea.

What could be so difficult about sharing a meal with those who are now my Family?

I just wanted to enjoy a meal together for the first time in a long while.

That’s why I used the word “order.”

“Are you going to keep me waiting?”

“Hehe…”

Jenny, grasping my intention, laughed.

Then she spoke up.

“Hurry up and get the tableware. Our Lord is a much better person than any other Noble, you know.”

With Jenny’s encouragement, the others, unable to protest, brought the dishes to the table.

Soon, the large table was filled with food and people.

I pulled out a bottle of Wine from my Magic Bag, popped the cork,

Pop!

With a light sound, I smiled and asked for cups, pouring a little into each for everyone.

“Let’s all drink to commemorate becoming one Family from today.”

The Wine wasn’t cheap, so its fragrance was pleasant, and the alcohol content wasn’t too high.

We raised our glasses for a moment, then each took a sip.

“Dig in.”

I was the first to reach for the food, and soon everyone followed.

Cal seemed unsure if this was really okay, while Jenny savored the aroma of the Wine, and Lamia and Remia lingered over the taste in their mouths.

I had Jenny refill everyone’s glass and enjoyed the meal.

Food shared with those I could now call Family was the most delicious I’d had since arriving in this world.

There wasn’t much conversation, and the meal was awkwardly quiet, but I felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

***

After the meal, I relaxed with a cup of tea in the reception room, waiting for the bathwater to cool.

I’d overdone it earlier, so it was still too hot.

I waited patiently for it to cool, and when it finally reached a suitable temperature,

I headed for the bath.

Then, two followed behind me.

Hmm?

As I looked back, Lamia and Remia gave me puzzled expressions.

I wondered what was going on, but for now, I went into the bath, and they came in after me.

Then, they started to help me undress… no, more like they undressed me almost by force.

Even so, they were careful not to touch my body directly, their movements swift and precise, so I was naked in an instant.

Hmm…

With a puzzled look, I watched as Lamia and Remia, without further ado, quickly undressed themselves and rushed over to the bathtub to get ready.

They were preparing to bathe me.

“Wait, hold on. I never ordered this, you know?”

At my words, the two bowed their heads and replied softly.

“Whenever the Marquess would visit, he always had us do this. It was the same for all Marquess family guests who came here.”

“Now that you’re our Lord, it’s only natural that we should serve you as well.”

Then they approached and, very carefully, poured water over me and began to wash my body.

Swish, swish, scrub scrub.

The two worked diligently to wash every inch of my body.

Naturally, my body couldn’t help but react.

‘Damn…’

They were both extremely attractive.

Of course, any man would respond, but today, of all days, my manhood seemed especially uncooperative.

And the two kept sneaking glances at it.

Blushing, shy.

As they diligently scrubbed my body, rinsing away the bubbles,

My self-control reached its limit.

On my first day as Lord of the Domain, I burned.

***

The next morning.

With Jenny, I boarded a carriage bound for the Capital.

It was finally time to secure the necessary people.