“Oh! A Secretary from the central administration has arrived… Shopkeeper! What are you doing? Bring out some fish dishes immediately!”
“Haha, Village Head, I am quite all right.”
“Oh, but still…”
“Haha, really, it is fine. By the way, it seems most of the people here are engaged in the fishing industry?”
“That is correct. The lake right in front of us feeds the entire village.”
“Is the catch fairly good?”
“Ho ho ho, it is not as good as last year, but it is still manageable. The Lord was kind enough to reduce our tributes for this year.”
“That is a relief.”
Baron Cambelle’s reputation was quite good. Consequently, no one in the village harbored resentment toward the Baron’s family, and they simply lived diligently within their given environment.
“Are there any inconveniences in your daily life?”
“Inconveniences?”
“Yes. Since I am an official from the Chancellor’s Office, I was wondering if there are any hardships I could reflect in our public welfare projects.”
“Well, asking so suddenly, ho ho ho.”
The village head pondered for a moment. Just then, other customers who had been listening to the conversation between Dien and the village head began to approach one by one.
“Young Lord, I have come from the neighboring Sokomo Village. It is not exactly a complaint, but I do have a bit of a hardship. Would you be willing to listen?”
“Of course.”
The mention of being an official from the Chancellor’s Office seemed to have drawn them in. It was a rare opportunity for rural villagers to speak with an official from the Royal Castle.
“Most of our villagers also make a living through fishing. To get from our village to this lakeshore, we have to cross a hill. However, whenever winter comes, carts slip, and crossing that hill becomes incredibly difficult.”
“I see, it is because the ground freezes.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… If we were to shave down the slope and flatten it, would that make things easier for the residents?”
“What? Yes! If you could do just that, it would be wonderful!”
“Can you show me where that hill is?”
“You can see it from here.”
At Dien’s words, the man stood up and pointed toward the hill.
‘Shaving down a hill of that size… If I use a mana-powered excavator, I could finish it within one week.’
Perhaps this would be an opportunity to prove the power of technology to those who held concerns or doubts about bringing the Ras Mos Merchant Group into the country.
Having organized his thoughts, Dien spoke.
“Once I return to the Royal Castle, I will see that it is handled as soon as possible. It may be difficult, but please bear with it for this year.”
“Oh! Thank you, Young Lord!”
It was a refreshing answer from Dien. The man, who had not expected to receive a definitive confirmation so quickly, bowed his head with his mouth agape.
“Young Lord… just one more thing…”
The residents began to flock around Dien even more. Even the hostess of the tavern, who seemed to have remembered a grievance, began to speak up.
“There is no doctor in our village, so we have to walk a long way past the Lord’s castle to receive treatment. Would it be possible to station a doctor in our village?”
“Hmm… It is difficult to give a definitive answer on this matter right now, but I will convey the issue regarding the installation of a clinic to the Lord. Furthermore, I will personally look into institutional ways to provide doctors.”
“Oh my, thank you, Young Lord.”
As the list of hardships grew, Dien pulled out some paper and began to write them down one by one. If it was something he could handle within his own capacity, he promised a resolution on the spot.
“Young Lord, please try this. This is a rare fish that we do not even offer to the Lord’s castle. It is the specialty of our village.”
Perhaps they felt Dien’s sincerity, for the villagers began to treat him with great hospitality. Even before attending the banquet, his stomach began to fill up with the food offered by the villagers.
***
“Young Lord, where have you been?”
“Haha, my conversation with the villagers went on longer than expected.”
Dien entered the Lord’s castle with a bundle of papers tucked under one arm. The officials from the Education Department were already quite drunk from the ongoing banquet, seemingly busy enjoying the feast prepared by the Baron.
“Young Lord, the fish dishes are exquisite! Hurry and try some!”
“Haha, I have already eaten plenty.”
“Eh? Where?”
“Haha, I will tell you about that later. By the way, where is Baron Cambelle?”
“Haha, he is over there, speaking with the Secretary.”
“I see.”
Dien declined his prepared seat at the banquet and approached Baron Cambelle.
“Greetings, Baron. I am Dien Portran.”
“Young Lord Dien! I have heard much about you. I hear you have already become a person of influence in the Chancellor’s Office? Ho ho ho.”
“You flatter me.”
After a brief greeting with the Lord, Dien spoke softly while gauging the Baron’s mood.
“I visited the villagers in your territory personally today.”
“Oho! Is that so?”
“Yes. Praise for you was echoing throughout the village. Your virtue and generosity are so great that I, as a young noble, found much to learn today.”
“Haha, it makes me feel quite good to hear Young Lord Dien say so!”
The Baron burst into a hearty laugh at Dien’s praise.
“But what is that document you are holding, Young Lord?”
Dien had been subtly showing the documents he held in front of the Baron. As if he had been waiting for the Baron to ask, he held the papers out toward him.
“It is nothing more than a record of the hardships of your residents. Since there may be parts that are difficult to solve at the local level, I wrote them down to see if the Chancellor’s Office could be of any assistance.”
“Ho ho ho, is that so? May I take a look?”
“Of course. I am sure you were already planning to resolve these matters, but I hope I have not overstepped my bounds.”
“Ho ho ho, now really…”
Interfering in another person’s territory could easily be seen as meddling. Thus, Dien presented the documents only after pleasing the Lord with compliments. Fortunately, the Baron treated Dien with a warm smile, and the discussion regarding the handling of hardships began to flow smoothly.
“As for the matter of stationing doctors, the Chancellor’s Office intends to look into institutional preparations.”
“You are right. There are many parts of that which are difficult for us to solve. None of the doctors who graduate from the Academy want to come down to the countryside.”
“Yes. Furthermore, if you have the resources, how about establishing a library within the territory? Providing literacy education to residents who cannot read would be excellent. Surely, some of them will eventually enter the Commoner Academy and become precious assets to your domain.”
“I have been thinking about that for some time.”
To avoid bruising his ego, Dien peppered his speech with compliments.
As the conversation deepened, the two eventually left the banquet hall and headed to the office in search of a quiet place.
The Baron frequently exclaimed in admiration at Dien’s solutions for the hardships. Even though Dien was in a central department, he knew exactly what the central government needed to do for rural territories. It was as if he already understood the struggles of a rural lord.
“There was a reason the rumors about Young Lord Dien reached even this rural estate.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“I mean that you are a rare and excellent official.”
“You flatter me, Baron.”
Dien waved his hand, declining the praise. After finishing their talk, the Baron and Dien shook hands with bright smiles.
***
The following morning, Dien and the Education Department officials boarded the carriage to leave the territory.
“If it is all right, could we stop by that village over there?”
“The village?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The coachman and officials accepted Dien’s suggestion, and the carriage raced toward the village. As the carriage entered the village entrance, the officials looked puzzled at the sight of people gathered there.
“Village Head!”
Dien stopped the carriage and waved his hand at the village head standing in front of the crowd.
“Young Lord! How did it go?”
“Haha, the Lord fully understood the hardships of the residents and promised to handle many of the issues.”
“Oh, Young Lord! Thank you!”
“I will tell you the details of the handled matters now. First, the flattening work will begin as soon as the mana-powered excavator is manufactured…”
Dien delivered the progress on the villagers’ hardships. The Education Department officials watched the scene blankly.
“Young Lord, what are you doing right now?”
“It looks like he is solving the people’s hardships.”
“Really? Wow… Young Lord Dien. That is truly impressive.”
“You are right. To think of the people even on the way back. While we were drunk and playing all day yesterday.”
“His caliber seems far too large to stay only in the Construction Department.”
The shock to the officials was quite significant. They looked at each other with embarrassed expressions.
“This is how things will proceed. If there is anything else you need, you may send a petition to the Royal Castle.”
Having finished his piece, Dien smiled and looked around at the people.
“Oh! Young Lord! We cannot thank you enough!”
“Not at all, Village Head! On the contrary, I am grateful for your hospitality. I still think of the fish dish you treated me to yesterday. I do not think I will ever forget the fish of the Cambelle territory.”
“Whenever you come to this village, we must treat you!”
Soon, the villagers approached Dien to offer their thanks. Watching this, the officials could not help but give Dien a thumbs up.
Dien’s actions continued every time they stopped at a territory. As news travels fast, praise for Dien spread further among the common people and soon reached the Royal Castle.
The change did not stop there. Even the Education Department officials who watched him began to change.
Instead of holding banquets at the Lord’s castle every day, they visited the academies in the territories. After seeing the reality of the rural academies, they began to think seriously about their development.
***
“You worked hard.”
“Not at all.”
As soon as Dien arrived at the Royal Castle, Persian Cherbil approached and patted him on the shoulder.
“There is nothing more to report separately, right?”
“Yes, Chancellor. Everything I reported in the letter is all of it.”
“Right. You must be tired, so go back to your family and rest.”
Persian had many things he was curious about, but out of consideration for the tired Dien, he decided to hear the detailed report the next day.
“Young Lord, you worked hard. I felt and learned a lot while being with you.”
“I am the one who is grateful.”
“Once you are officially commissioned, I would love to work under you.”
Once the greeting with Persian ended, the Education Department aides flocked to Dien.
“I also hope the day I can work with you all comes soon.”
The aides from the Education Department had grown close to him before they knew it. Through this trip, they had come to sincerely respect Dien. In fact, their memories of Dien’s excellence were more vivid than their memories of the inspection itself.
With that, Dien finished his brief greetings with them.
“Young Lord!”
“Nue!”
Nue had come all the way to the Royal Castle to meet him. Happy to see her face after a long time, he walked toward her side in a single stride.
“Has everything been all right?”
“Yes! Everyone missed you so much!! Let’s go back to the estate quickly!”
Dien smiled at Nue’s words and turned toward the estate with her. While they were heading toward the Portran residence…
“Are you Young Lord Dien?”
A cold voice that sent chills down his spine came from behind him.
“Yes, that is correct. Who are you?”
A carriage escorted by men in black masks stopped. The door of that carriage began to open slowly.
“You possess uncommonly intelligent eyes.”
A man stepped out of the large carriage. His bizarre voice made Dien frown.
On the road where darkness had completely fallen, Dien tried to see the man’s face, and soon discovered his eyes, where no whites could be seen in his large pupils.
“May I ask who you are?”
The size of a carriage is often proportional to power. Dien bowed his head slightly and then looked directly into those unpleasant eyes.
“I have come down from the highest point in the Royal Capital.”
The highest point in the Royal Capital. As Dien turned those words over in his mind, his expression darkened instantly.
‘It is Elder Enopoy!’