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Chapter 231 – Cleaning Up Afterward Is The Hardest Part
As I was flirting with Amalie-san, my worries, or rather, my sinking mood, went away.
Eh? I did something naughty, you say?
I didn’t do it by my standards. I was just tickled by being touched here and there on my body. Though Amalie-san came back to her senses, turned red, apologized to me, and left as if running away.
Perhaps because she grew up in an environment full of women, Amalie-san’s sexuality may have been distorted… and she may have been confused. I don’t want to confuse everyone with my own speculation. Let’s wait and see. If anything, I think I’m the one who distorted it. It’s all the fault of that son of a bitch who stabbed me with a poison dagger.
“We will stay at least three days to a week to take control of Gleiseburg. We will be scouting the area and mopping up monsters and bandits while the civil servants will take administrative control of Gleiseburg, and the Adol clergy will be doing their part.”
Danan looked around at the people gathered in the conference room of the lord’s mansion with a serious expression on his face. The people gathered here are Danan, who leads the elite soldiers, two platoon leaders of the gunners, Pirna of the Harpy, a winged civil servant who is in charge of organizing the civil servants, Ellen, Amalie-san, and Bertha-san from Adol, and a male priest whose name I don’t know. That’s ten people, including me.
Amalie-san is trying to look nonchalant, but every time our gazes meet from a while ago, she blushes and looks away. Ellen doesn’t notice because Amalie-san is standing behind her, but Bertha-san, who is standing next to Amalie-san, seems to have noticed Amalie-san’s condition and has been giving me and Amalie-san quizzical glances since a while ago. I’m afraid I’ll get in trouble if she gets too suspicious, so I’ll just let it go. It may be too late for that, though.
“Fortunately, most of the guards and soldiers of the Holy Kingdom are cooperative. It seems that not so many of them are ardent comrades of the bishop. I wonder how many of the citizens share his views.”
“What are you going to do about them?”
The winged civil servant asked with the same serious expression as Danan. He is a winged man with brown speckled wings who used to work as a slave for a certain trading company in Erichburg. He had been a slave, but he had been deeply involved in the management of the trading company, such as keeping the books of the company.
“There was nothing I could do about it. Of course, if a slave is being treated unfairly, I will deal with it properly according to the law. It is the job of the Adol clergy to deny the teachings of the mainstream and to spread the correct teachings. Am I correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Ellen nodded at Danan’s question.
“If the unjustly acquired slaves are gone, and the ideas of those around them do not agree with yours, they will naturally leave this city. I don’t think you should directly touch them unless you have something to do with it.”
“I understand. You mean that our audit is important. How will you deal with the freed slaves?”
“For now, we will take care of their food, clothing, and shelter until they regain their strength. After that, we should try to meet their wishes. Please make good arrangements in that regard. Her Majesty and the Prime Minister have given us permission to use Kosuke as much as we want, so let him do as much work as necessary.”
“Yes. I will work.”
The two people Danan refers to are Sylphy and Melty. The two heads of state are so outstanding in their fighting abilities that it’s encouraging to know that there’s no need to worry about assassination at all. Hahaha.
“What about the funds?”
“Kosuke is taking care of it from Her Majesty. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, I’ve got them. There are a lot of them.”
It is true that I have received a good amount of money from Sylphy for this mission to pacify the country. Well, the source of this money is the gems and metal ingots I dug up and the proceeds from the sale of crops from my fields. Even if I run out of money on hand, I can get gems, mithril, gold, and silver by swinging a pickaxe at the rocky outcrops, so I don’t have to worry about money.
“I don’t want to tell you to spend like hot water, but you don’t have to worry about funds. Ask for as much as you need.”
“All right, thank you very much.”
The winged civil servant bowed his head in agreement.
“With regard to Kosuke, if there is a need for him, Adol religion can also use him as necessary. As for the funds and supplies, please do not hesitate to ask for them.”
“I understand. That is my intention from the beginning.”
“Yes, you will.”
Unconditional surrender. If it results in more people being happy and at peace, that’s fine. Well, what we are going to do is basically the same as what we did in Erichburg and Merinesburg. It would be a bit easier, though, because of the smaller size of the city.
“Kosuke has already repaired the lord’s mansion and the city walls, so you can start moving right away tomorrow. Kosuke will basically be working with the Adol clergy, correct?”
“Yes. Tomorrow, we will offer mercy to the wounded and the sick. It would be more helpful if he stayed with us.”
“I see. Shall I leave the funds with you while we are here?”
“Yes. As long as it is in the lord’s mansion, it should not happen often, but it should be managed with the utmost care.”
“Understood.”
After receiving Danan’s attention, I took out a wooden box containing gold and silver coins from my inventory and placed it on the table in the conference room. Each box contained one thousand coins, and I put out three boxes each of small gold and silver coins. I can’t say for sure because prices are different, but my image is that each silver coin is worth about 10,000 yen, and each small gold coin is worth about 100,000 yen.
“…One box of small gold coins should be enough.”
“Really?”
When I asked back, the winged man of the civil service looked at me like I was an idiot. Three boxes of 100 million yen each, three boxes of 10 million yen each, a total of 330 million yen worth of funds… Yeah, I might not be able to sleep easily, even with a single box of silver coins. I don’t really feel it because if I keep it in my inventory, it will never be stolen, but if I’m responsible for keeping 300 million of the company’s money and I’m told to manage it in my hotel room, I would never do it. I’m starting to get scared now.
“Kosuke, I’ve cleared out the room next to this conference room for that thing, so please set it up for me later.”
“Got it.”
By “that thing,” he meant a large golem communicator. It was to be installed to deliver emergency communications, policy confirmations, reports, etc., to Merinesburg. The large golem communicator is the best-kept secret of the Liberation Army―the new Merinard Kingdom, so security and control are strictly enforced.
The existence of the small communicator has long been known to the Adol religion nostalgists, though. They have seen the actual device. But I don’t think Ellen has seen the large one yet. When we were communicating between Erichburg and Merinesburg before, Lime and the others were in between.
“Kernes, I want you to put it to good use.”
“Yes, I will.”
The winged civil servant nodded frankly. His name is Kernes, it seems.
“Then the meeting was over. Get some rest for tomorrow.”
At Danan’s order, everyone got up from their seats. I can’t rest yet. I have to make quarters for our soldiers.
☆★☆
Today was another hard day’s work. From long-distance driving to a siege, followed by a battle for control of the city, repairing the destroyed walls of the lord’s mansion and city walls, and treating the wounded. After the meeting, the old barracks in this town were torn down and rebuilt. The distribution of supplies for the next few days… Hmm, I must have been pretty diligent all day when I put it all together like this, right?
With this in mind, I returned to the lord’s mansion and walked down the corridor to the room that had been assigned to me. The sun was about to set, and the corridor was bathed in glowing red sunlight.
I bumped into Bertha-san in the hallway. She was carrying a basket of freshly baked bread. Is she preparing dinner?
“Good evening, Kosuke-sama.”
“Good evening.”
Bertha-san is a beautiful woman with a deeply carved face. She has a clear nose and powerful eyes. You could say that she has a strong power in her eyes.
“What’s going on with you and Amalie?”
“Nothing at all.”
I tried to hide my agitation, but the question was too abrupt, and I bit my tongue. Bertha-san glared at me.
“Can you say the same thing in front of Eleonora-sama?”
“I will keep silent for the sake of Amalie-san’s honor.”
If I don’t speak anything, I won’t reveal anything. Fufufu, I’m a genius, aren’t I?
“I see. By the way, I have the skill to assist Eleonora-sama as an inquisitor.”
“Inquisitor.”
“Yes. Eleonora-sama’s eyes of truth can detect lies in what is said, so if the person is silent, it will cause trouble. The person who is skilled in the technique to crack such a person’s mouth is indispensable to Eleonora-sama’s side, isn’t it? I also serve as her escort.”
“I see…”
I wonder if it was because of the power or power of Bertha-san’s gaze that she exuded such an atmosphere. Come to think of it, Bertha-san is always accompanying Ellen like a shadow.
“I’m wondering if I should use my skills as an inquisitor on Kosuke-sama.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Really?”
Bertha-san asked me with her eyes that had lost their brightness. I’m scared!
“I was given a lap pillow.”
“Is that all?”
“She massaged my arms and stomach lightly.”
I wasn’t lying. Amalie-san’s touch was a little bit aggressive, and while she was touching me, her nose was breathing a little bit rougher.
“…Well, that’s fine. It doesn’t seem to me that you did anything particularly insolent.”
“If anything, I think she was the one who was being offensive.”
“What is it that makes her like that? Well, Amalie is always in a box, after all.”
She looked as if she was trying to say she was not. Perhaps noticing my gaze, Bertha-san puffed out her cheeks a little. When a powerful and beautiful woman makes a face like that, she becomes childish all at once and has great destructive power, doesn’t she?
“I’m not as much as Amalie. I have seen and heard many things during my training as an inquisitor and in the process of actually conducting inquisitions.”
“I see.”
It makes sense. It seems that the priest or bishop who ruled Merinesburg was also doing whatever he wanted to do in a very flamboyant manner, using his power as a cover. It’s a disgusting story.
“By the way…”
“Yes?”
Bertha-san leaned in close to me as I tilted my head. The aroma of freshly baked bread is fragrant.
“…I probably like being attacked.”
She whispered that in my ear, and then she quickly separated herself and started to walk away. I was so excited to hear her whisper in my ear that my heart palpitated with her sudden action, and I was in no hurry to chase after her.
“What’s the matter? Eleonora-sama is waiting for you.”
“Eh… O-oh, yes.”
Bertha-san, who had stopped walking a little ahead and looked back at me, saw me flustered, laughed a little, and started walking again. U-umm, well, I don’t know what Bertha-san’s character is…! All I know is that she is more aggressive and precise than I thought.
She likes me in her own way… she does, doesn’t she? The action is too abrupt to read now, but I would like to think so.
I wondered inwardly how I should treat Bertha-san and followed her, who seemed to be in a somewhat good mood.