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“What’s going on here?”
“Huh? How could this be?”
Everyone was dumbfounded by Galfredik’s return. He had set out to rescue the Fransil family’s heir but had returned with Brodia’s king instead.
“Uhaha! Well, here’s the thing…” Galfredik burst into laughter and recounted the events of the previous night. No one could hide their astonishment after hearing his story.
“His Excellency Eugene Batla is truly a knight loved by god,” Edmund said while drawing a holy symbol in the air.
Pranbow and Wolfgan shook their heads in disbelief.
“It’s not only your god. Even the spirits of Brantia must be looking after His Excellency the Duke. Haha…”
“A lucky man will have meat shoved into his mouth even if he falls backward. This is just unbelievable.”
The two muttered, and Galfredik responded with a shrug, “Beats me. Anyway, Lanslo, Master, and I have already taken care of everything. Get the troops in there and crack down on the residents.”
“Understood,” Lanslo responded before giving orders. The squad captains acted on his words and spread throughout the City of Brodin along with their troops.
***
There was little resistance and opposition from the city’s residents since Eugene and Galfredik had overpowered the king and the city’s leaders so quickly. On the contrary, there was a strange, unexpected response from the city’s residents. Almost all of the city’s residents welcomed the fully armed foreigners from Eugene’s army.
“Sirs! Sirs! Please, give us something to eat!”
“My child has been starving for two days now. Please, anything will do. I beg of you, sirs!”
The residents of the city clutched the legs and arms of the soldiers and begged. Mercenaries belonging to Eugene’s army were properly armed, which caused the residents to mistake them for knights. Although the mercenaries couldn’t understand Brantia’s language, it was quite simple for them to infer what the residents were saying from their desperate expressions and bony appearances.
“Uh… What should we do? Hey, do you have anything to eat?”
“I have some emergency ration.”
The mercenaries contemplated sharing food with the residents. Partec shouted at the mercenaries, “Oi! Gather all the emergency ration you have! There’s quite a few here who won’t make it past the next few days!”
“Got it!”
The mercenaries didn’t hesitate to take out jerkies and black bread from the small packs hanging from their waists at their captain’s orders.
“F-Food! It’s food!”
“I was first! Over here! Give it to me first!” the residents screamed desperately and rushed toward the food like frenzied ghosts.
“Everyone, stop! Line up! Line!”
“There’s more food here! More food! Line up!” Glade and Lavan roared while glaring at the people, and the frightened residents started forming long lines.
“Ah, by the way, Brother Partec. Are we allowed to do something like this?”
“Wouldn’t His Excellency the Duke say something?” the two men voiced their concerns.
Partec responded with a grin, “Say something? He’ll probably praise us for doing this.”
The best way for a foreign army to encounter minimal resistance from the natives was to distribute food or wealth. Moreover, considering Eugene’s actions thus far, Partec was certain that the duke wouldn’t give up a city for just a few coins, not when it had been occupied without shedding a single drop of blood. This was why Partec was confident in his actions this time.
However, he had no idea that Eugene was extremely disappointed to find that the royal family of Brodia was basically a group of beggars on the verge of bankruptcy.
“I will go find Sir Edmund. You guys stay here and make sure everything’s under control,” Partec said.
“Yes, of course.”
Partec hurried away, thinking that it would look better for a holy knight to provide relief for the starved residents.
***
“Nothing?”
“Kieee… nothing.”
“Dammit.”
“Daaaammmmit!” Eugene and Mirian howled simultaneously. As soon as he overpowered all of Brodia’s leaders with Galfredik, Eugene started scouring the royal castle for wealth and money. However, even after he mobilized a certain spirit who specialized in sniffing out treasure, he was met with nothing but disappointment.
Cameron the Third didn’t lie. The Brodia family had no hidden treasures. Instead, they were on the verge of bankruptcy. The only thing in their possession was a few sets of old, rusty armor, stone statues, and portraits, which had no worth selling.
“Kieek! What kind of a castle is this?! They’re flat broke! Kieeee~ Sir, you should at least confiscate the king’s crown!” Mirian shouted.
“Hmm…”
Eugene caught himself being swept by a strong temptation.
‘Hmm?! What’s wrong with me?’
Eugene shook his head and quickly drove away the greed luring him to cross the line.
“You’re so persistent. Cut the crap and look around the castle once more. Just in case,” Eugene said.
“Got it! I’ll find something, even if it’s a scrap of silver! Even if it’s just gold dust, I’ll find it!” the greedy spirit shouted with fiery determination before flying away. She just couldn’t give up on the smallest possibility.
‘Tsk. Should I be glad that the nobles had some wealth?’
Eugene clicked his tongue before slumping into the throne.
“Hiek!” The few slaves squeaked before inching closer to the wall. They didn’t dare to their heads out of fear for the vampire duke, who had seized the castle in a single night.
‘Hmm. Should I sell them?’
Eugene looked for ways to soothe his disappointment.
A group of knights entered the great hall with Lanslo in the lead.
“Your Excellency!” The knights called out joyously.
“Yeah,” Eugene answered. The knights felt rather strange after witnessing Eugene’s expression. For a person who achieved the impossible with only one other companion, Eugene’s face was much too sullen.
“Is something wrong?” Lanslo asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little disappointed,” Eugene answered.
“Disappointed…?” one of the knights asked.
“Well…” Eugene explained how he had searched every nook and cranny of the royal palace after hearing about the Brodia family’s current financial situation from Cameron the Third.
“…So I’ll have nothing left after I pay the soldiers’ salaries with the money I took from the nobles. Nothing will be left.” Eugene concluded.
“Ah…” The knights took on strange expressions. It was difficult to tell whether they were laughing or crying. They simply couldn’t believe that their commander, who was also a duke, had been wandering around the palace looking for gold, silver, and treasure alongside a demented spirit.
“Kuagh! Ahk! Kuagghh!” Lanslo had what seemed like a coughing fit, and the other knights shared awkward gazes. They didn’t dare to laugh. Although it was a little ridiculous, they could also understand why Eugene felt so sad and disappointed.
“Your Excellency.”
“Your Excelllenncyy!”
Two figures called out while entering the great hall. It was Edmund and Odd.
“What is it?” Eugene asked bluntly. He was annoyed. Even though he was about to make a loss even after defeating a royal family and occupying their city, the merchant was basically stealing a large sum of money from them every day. Odd’s impish smile bothered him.
“We have successfully carried out your orders and have taken control of the residents and the major areas of the city. However, I have one thing to report,” Edmund said.
“Is that right? What is it?” Eugene asked.
Edmund continued in a cautious voice. “I have received reports that many residents are in critical condition because of malnutrition. I looked into it and found that quite a few residents have been starving for a very long time.”
“So?” Eugene asked. He had a bad premonition.
“We collected and distributed the emergency ration of the troops to resolve the immediate crisis, but it wasn’t even enough to feed the hungry residents for a single meal. As such, I dare ask of you, why don’t you feed the poor people of Brodin in a display of your great mercy, Your Excellency?” Edmund suggested.
“...” Eugene simply couldn’t understand. The holy knight was born in the empire and naturalized into the Caylor Kingdom. So why was he speaking in Brantia only at times like these?
“Oh! That’s a great idea. That way, the people will regard His Excellency and his army as saviors, not invaders. If you want the throne, this is only a natural course of action, wouldn’t you agree, Your Excellency?”
“I agree with Sir Edmund as well. The inhabitants are innocent and not hostile to Your Excellency.”
As if to prove his worries to be true, Pranbow and Lanslo immediately agreed with Edmund’s words.
“What about our troops, then? Do we have enough?” Eugene asked, holding onto his last hope.
“Hehe! I’m always prepared for emergencies like this. I have enough food to last the army for more than fifteen days. If you give the orders, I can procure enough food to feed all the residents in the city in less than four days, Your Excellencyyyy~” Odd answered while groveling as if he had been waiting for Eugene’s question.
Eugene felt the onset of a headache as he asked, “Then… how much will it be?”
“For how many months?” Odd responded.
“One month?” Eugene said.
“Well, surely that wouldn’t be enough, right? Why don’t you get a comfortable amount? What about two months’ worth?” Odd suggested with a smile.
“…So, how much for two months?” Eugene asked.
Odd answered almost immediately, “16,000 silver coins in the Caylor Kingdom’s currency.”
“Your answer, that was pretty fast. Did you calculate it beforehand?” Eugene asked.
“Oh, no! Of course not. It was only possible because calculations are my only talent, Your Excelleeency~”
16,000 silver coins. It was a large sum of money that could be used to hire two or three skilled mercenary groups for an entire year. Eugene could not help but sigh.
However…
“Dark Lord! Dark Lord!”
This time, Wolfgan rushed into the hall with other Beowulf warriors.
“What now? Did you cause an accident?” Eugene asked with an icy gaze. He was prepared to absolutely refuse anything that would cause him further losses.
“It’s nothing like that. The soldiers of the Fransil family have arrived on the other side of the Medio River. They must have crossed the river by now,” Wolfgan answered.
“Hmm?” Eugene frowned after hearing the unexpected news. The Medio River was the border of the Brodia family’s territory. As such, for the Fransil family’s troops to have arrived at the river meant…
“It appears that the Fransil family’s forces have defeated the Brodia family’s soldiers. They must be stronger than I thought,” Lanslo commented.
“Fransil family’s army. How many of them are there?” Eugene asked.
“About four hundred? Most of the infantry looked like mercenaries, and there were about 50 cavalries. All of them looked like knights,” Wolfgan answered.
“All of them should be knights. That’s what the heir said,” Eugene stated. He had obtained quite a bit of information regarding the Fransil family from Reyma on his way to Brodin. Reyma spilled the beans without even being questioned in his desire to build favor with Eugene.
“However, Dark Lord, they seemed to be in pretty bad condition.”
“Right. It looked like they ran all the way here after a battle without a break. Many of them even looked like they had been stabbed.”
“Meat is the best medicine when you get stabbed.”
“Oh, I want to eat meat.”
The beowulf warriors started diverting the topic of the conversation in the blink of an eye. Eugene quickly interrupted them.
“What about Brodia’s soldiers?” he asked.
“I didn’t see them. They probably lost and ran away, right? They looked like a bunch of weaklings who couldn’t kill a single goblin when I saw them depart.”
“That’s right. Their equipment was a mess.”
“Hmm.” Eugene agreed with the beowulfs’ judgment. With the royal family’s vassals in such poor condition, he could extrapolate the status of its forces as well.
‘Hmm?’
A brilliant thought crossed Eugene’s mind.
“Cameron, are you there? Someone bring him here,” Eugene said.
“Cameron? Are you talking about the King of Brodia? Why are you calling for him?”
“I think I might have an idea to turn our deficit into a profit,” Eugene answered.
“…?”
Everyone simply blinked with confusion, but Eugene smiled. He couldn’t be bested when it came to using his brain for such matters.