Chapter 1: Beginning of the Kingdom
It had been about a week since I’d announced the founding of the New Eintorian Kingdom, and I was now stressing over something very important: what statuses, positions, and ranks should I give to my subordinates?
Their treatment and job titles couldn’t remain the same. Up until now, they’d all either had no noble titles or been provisionally continuing to use whatever title they’d had under the Runan Kingdom. However, now that I had become king, my retainers couldn’t just remain as they’d been.
At the same time, I couldn’t make everyone a duke. I had founded the kingdom, but that wasn’t the finish line. I needed to keep on expanding it. And to do that, just fighting wars wasn’t going to be enough. I needed to pay attention to internal politics as well.
The subordinates who had followed me all this time possessed loyalty beyond question, but having a clear goal in the form of titles would help motivate them.
Maybe it would be fairest to have them all start on even footing as counts? Sure, I’ll make all of them landless counts. I also need a second-in-command who can unite all of my key retainers.
Erheet fit the bill perfectly.
If I were looking strictly at ability scores, then Fihatori would’ve also been a candidate. He likely had a greater aptitude for domestic politics than Erheet did. But he was still young. Erheet was the only one among my retainers whom the others would recognize without question. They wouldn’t follow someone who lacked his level of accumulated experience and achievements.
In that case, Erheet can be a duke. That’ll make him the only person in the New Eintorian Kingdom with the title of duke, but he’ll be one in name only for a while longer.
Normally, dukes were really high-ranking nobles with domains of their own and counts as their retainers, but I didn’t have a large enough domain to start handing out territory to my retainers just yet. For now, the title would have to remain honorary.
Obviously, once the country expanded, they’d all get their own domains. We were going to keep on gobbling up more and more land. That was the only way to clear the game, so it needed to be done.
The only one I couldn’t give a title to was Euracia. Although she had been following me since the fall of the Runan Kingdom, she was still a princess of Rozern. If I gave her a title when Rozern still hadn’t fallen, they’d think I was treating them like a vassal state, and it would cause a diplomatic incident.
In the time of the Ancient Eintorian Kingdom, the Rozerns had been a ducal house. So, from a historical perspective, you could say she was already a duchess of my kingdom. Regardless, at the present juncture, I couldn’t just go around openly calling her one of my vassals.
I also couldn’t give Gram or Celly titles. They simply hadn’t accomplished anything. Not yet, at least.
With all of that said, I had made up my mind about title assignments for the retainers of the New Eintorian Kingdom.
The next thing to settle on was what jobs to give them.
Currently, the New Eintorian Kingdom had three domains, including the royal capital Brinhill. But because we had taken in refugees, our population had outgrown our land, so I planned to expand into the vacant territory to the east soon.
Yes, into the lands of the former Brijit Kingdom, which I had destroyed.
Because this land currently belonged to no one, I could just send someone with an army to claim it once things settled down.
In addition to the issue of overpopulation within the kingdom, there was a mountain of other things to take care of. These included mitigating a food shortage, developing our farmland, and improving our finances.
I’ll give each of my retainers a job to help tackle all of the problems we’re now facing.
I opened up the system.
You are now the king of a nation. Congratulations.
Kingdom Mode has been added.
A strange message popped up. This one had never appeared in the game.
No, maybe it came up during my fourth playthrough...?
I had recently started to notice that my memories of clearing the game back in the real world weren’t perfect. The gameplay experience just wasn’t in my mind anymore. It was like someone had put a lid on my memory, and recalling anything from back then was like searching through written records.
Looks like this Kingdom Mode is one of those things I forgot.
Anyway, I tried opening up Kingdom Mode in the system.
The change was immediately apparent.
The ability scores I’d been seeing for everyone up until this point were now broken down into more detail, and this mode also added new entries.
Politics and Charisma.
These were clearly stats for internal politics. Up until now, I’d only been able to estimate Politics using Intelligence, and Charisma using Command. However, now that these values were visible, I could make more accurate decisions about aptitude when assigning positions to my people.
Currently, the stat I was most interested in exploring was Euracia’s Charisma score. She had a Command score of 97 with the treasure bracelet Rinkitsu equipped. However, this was an item that raised her Charisma, not Command directly.
That meant her Charisma score had to be over 97.
Euracia
Charisma: 99(+2)
Knew it. Euracia’s got a score of 101, putting her in S-class.
In her case, that high Charisma paired with her high Martial was what gave her a high Command score.
Anyway, I’ll look over all of this later. I need to find out what else Kingdom Mode can do.
With that thought in mind, I looked through the system until I came across another entry that caught my attention.
It was a mode called Manipulate Information.
I pushed the button, and a message appeared.
Will you send a Spy to Manipulate Information in an enemy Castle?
This definitely existed in the game too.
Since it hadn’t come up before now, I’d just assumed it had been removed, but apparently, it was exclusive to Kingdom Mode.
Manipulate Information could be used to spread misinformation in the enemy castle. This fake intel could lower Morale or influence the enemy lord to act in a desired manner.
The Intel skill is required to use Manipulate Information.
Intel is a skill that can be gained by building an education center.
Building an education center requires the Education skill.
Why’s it so complicated? In the game, I could just leave it to a character who was good at being sneaky.
Here in reality, Intel was a specialized skill that only literal spies had any use for. To raise those spies, I needed an education center. And of course, before the center could operate, it needed to be staffed with someone who could educate people.
I can build the education center, but do I have anybody who can run it?
I wanted the facility up and operational as soon as possible.
Manipulate Information was a fairly powerful skill, and because of that, it had been hard to use, even in the game. No doubt it would be even tougher in reality.
But the Intel skill was incredibly useful in and of itself. It wasn’t only used for Manipulate Information. Intel could also be used to send agents into another country and gather information. And the more spies I had access to, the more information I could gather.
Since I was going to continue launching wars of conquest, the ability to learn what was going on in enemy territory would be incredibly important.
Just for testing purposes, I think I’ll take a look at Brinhill’s domain information.
Brinhill
Population: 1,220,000
Opinion: 99
Manpower: 52,000
For starters, there’s the basic information. Now, if I look at the details for Manpower, it should show information on Morale and Training.
This was all info I’d had access to before Kingdom Mode, but now, I could see more detailed info too.
Brinhill Castle Walls
Wall Endurance: 91
East Gate Endurance: 88
West Gate Endurance: 82
South Gate Endurance: 98
North Gate Endurance: 90
It even gave me stuff like this.
In war, this was the most important, core type of information, but obviously, the system wasn’t going to display this much detail for the domains in other countries. I’d have to go to those places if I wanted to check that information.
Still, if I raised spies at the education center and sent them to infiltrate enemy territory, the system would let me learn these things from a distance. And the ranks of the spies I raised in the education center would change the depth of information they could gather.
If the spy had a B-rank Intel skill, they would only be able to gather basic information. However, the higher their rank, the more important the information they could gain access to. I’d definitely have to focus on educating them.
And if I raise spies, I’ll be able to use Manipulate Information.
Manipulate Information could lower Opinion. In hostile countries where the lord was unpopular and Opinion was already low, a little manipulation could really tank an enemy’s Opinion score. And when Opinion dropped below 10, it would cause an uprising like the one I’d experienced in Luaranz. It would be incredibly easy to occupy a domain after that.
On the other hand, if the spy’s rank was low, or if there was someone with a high Intelligence score on the other side, Manipulate Information’s success rate fell.
Furthermore, whether they used Intel or Manipulate Information, there was an increased risk of discovery with a low-rank spy. That was why I wanted to set up a system for raising high-rank spies as soon as possible.
In order to use the system effectively, I needed to assign the right personnel to the right places. To do that, I pulled up the full status list for all of them.
Hadin Meruya: Martial 60/Intelligence 57/Command 70 + Politics 75 + Charisma 65
Bente: Martial 49/Intelligence 38/Command 82 + Politics 21 + Charisma 52
Jint: Martial 93(+2)/Intelligence 41/Command 52 + Politics 2 + Charisma 61
Yusen: Martial 82/Intelligence 60/Command 90(+2) + Politics 71 + Charisma 88
Gibun: Martial 70/Intelligence 34/Command 76 + Politics 14 + Charisma 67
Mirinae: Martial 5/Intelligence 74/Command 10 + Politics 56 + Charisma 80
Euracia Rozern: Martial 87(+3)/Intelligence 57/Command 95(+2) + Politics 42 + Charisma 99(+2)
Erheet Demacine: Martial 96/Intelligence 70/Command 92 + Politics 54 + Charisma 90
Fihatori Delhina: Martial 81/Intelligence 85/Command 89 + Politics 94 + Charisma 85
Ganid Voltaire: Martial 30/Intelligence 60/Command 61 + Politics 43 + Charisma 55
Bertalman: Martial 80/Intelligence 50/Command 78 + Politics 43 + Charisma 45
Serena Dofrey: Martial 2/Intelligence 77/Command 72 + Politics 89 + Charisma 95
Gram: Martial 45/Intelligence 81/Command 70 + Politics 95 + Charisma 75
Celly: Martial 11/Intelligence 62/Command 50 + Politics 75 + Charisma 76
Vintora: Martial 23/Intelligence 68/Command 88 + Politics 87 + Charisma 81
Heina Berhin: Martial 60/Intelligence 81/Command 55 + Politics 76 + Charisma 68
I looked over all of them. Their Politics and Charisma scores, which I had needed to use Command to estimate before now, were about what I expected them to be.
For example, Jint only has a 2 in Politics. It sounds obvious now that I say it, but that really fits him to a T.
Erheet was popular, so his Charisma was high, but his Politics wasn’t that impressive. That was probably because he was such an honest man, both for better and for worse. He wasn’t made for politicking.
Meanwhile, the practical Fihatori, who’d betrayed Ronan, had a high Politics score, which was just as I’d expected. Well, Fihatori was solid across the board. There was a high probability that he would be one of the most important people in the Eintorian Kingdom in the future.
Serena secretly had a pretty high Politics score too... Okay, maybe not so secretly? After all, she was using her political marriage to maintain the balance of power between the different factions in Luaranz.
Gram really was specialized for internal affairs. That was clear just looking at the numbers.
In that case, he might be a good pick for the education center. He’d already been recognized for his ability as a scholar in the Runan Kingdom, and this showed in his Intelligence and Politics scores. Of course, his Education skill must have been high too.
From what Erheet had told me, Gram was a master of many practical subjects, including military science and agriculture. He wouldn’t just be useful in intelligence gathering, but also in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and any number of other areas. But for now, I wanted his Intel.
So, I decided to call in Gram.
＊
“You called, Your Majesty?!”
“How’s Brinhill been suiting you?”
“I’m grateful that you’ve loaned me a place that’s even larger than what I had in Runan! And my daughter...is happy too.”
Gram had started out so cheerful, but his expression darkened a little when he mentioned Celly.
Well, that was to be expected. She was depressed over the sudden departure of Valdesca and constantly sighing. I always knew she must’ve had a crush on him. That’s a private matter, though, so there’s not much I can do about it.
“Don’t let it worry you too much,” I told him. “She’ll calm down soon enough.”
“You...were aware of it, then, sire?”
“Vaguely. She was always hanging around Valdesca, after all.”
“O-Oh, I see. I don’t know what to say. To think she’d be in love with an enemy.” Gram hung his head, looking depressed.
“Let’s not dwell on the matter. I’ve called you in today for something more important. I have a job for you.”
“Do you really? I was just starting to feel bad about fooling around all the time,” he said jokingly, his expression brightening just a little. “I, Gram, will humbly endeavor to do my best! Now, what sort of work did you have in mind for me?”
“I was thinking of building an education center.”
“An education center?”
“Not just any education center. An academy for intelligence operatives. In a time of turbulence like this, information is the most important asset, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Well put!” Gram nodded repeatedly. “Information is the foundation of warfare. It’s no exaggeration to say that the fight’s only begun once you know the enemy inside and out!”
“I’ve heard you’re versed in military science. How are you at this aspect of it?”
“I can’t claim that it’s one of my specialties, but with some time to research, I’m confident I can achieve the results you’re hoping for!”
“It’s in your hands, then. And of course, I’ll offer you all the support you need, both in terms of finances and personnel.”
“Do you really mean it?! I-If you’ll do that, then I’ll definitely get you results! I swear on my life!”
Gram was exceedingly pleased with his new job.
＊
So, on that note, Gram was put in charge of Intel. His job title would be something like “first director of the education center.” I’d be putting him to work training people, not only in Intel but in all types of abilities.
The next problem to solve is agriculture.
Mirinae was already doing research, but since she was working on the project all by herself, things hadn’t improved all that much. Even though she was a former farmer, it wasn’t like she had a wealth of specialist knowledge. She also lacked experience with actually conducting research, so there were limits to how far Intelligence could take her on its own.
Come to think of it, I could use Kingdom Mode to view the Agriculture values for the country as a whole and each of its domains.
New Eintorian Kingdom
Agriculture: 55
Agriculture was tied to provisions, so it was every bit as important as Intel. As such, I needed to assign some more personnel to the task.
If I could raise our Agriculture score, then next year’s harvest would be larger, even if we used the same fields. Honestly, if our score didn’t increase by then, it would probably put pressure on both our food stores and our finances.
The one-year tax exemption period was coming to a close, but I couldn’t just suddenly hike taxes at year’s end. Even if I did, without sales or a harvest, there would be nothing to take from the people. First, I needed to increase the harvest and help the people achieve a stable lifestyle. This would also give the kingdom a wealth of provisions.
Mirinae was on good terms with Euracia, so I was having the latter help out with research, but...frankly, Euracia wasn’t cut out for it. Her abilities were more attuned to war, which was the furthest thing from farming. Besides, she was a princess. She’d probably never tilled a field in her life.
If I wanted results, I’d be better off choosing Vintora instead. In fact, he was just the man for the job.
As the former mayor of the largest village outside Luaranz’s capital, he was a specialist among specialists when it came to managing farmland. He was also highly regarded, so I could expect him to be able to communicate well with the farmers.
That’s why I chose Vintora as Mirinae’s partner. Euracia seemed a little dissatisfied when I broke the news, but when I looked behind her, I could see that Mirinae looked a little relieved. She must have been through troubles I couldn’t possibly imagine...
After that, I called in Serena. I had something for her to do too.
“Serena, I wanted to talk to you about the people we brought from the Dofrey Domain.”
“What about them? They haven’t caused you any problems, have they...?”
I’d cut to the chase far too quickly, and my words had brought a worried look to Serena’s face.
“No, it’s not like that,” I clarified. “I’ve just been too busy to talk to you about them before now. I was thinking I’d like to have a meal with them.”
“Really? Everyone will be delighted, I’m sure. And even if they aren’t... Well, our country used to be hostile to yours, so some of them have been worrying that they’d be mistreated.”
I’d never do that. After all, I needed them to crew the grand fleet I had brought back with us from Luaranz. There had just been no time to talk to them properly, so I hadn’t been able to learn about their abilities and personalities yet. And from their perspective, they probably saw me as a mystery man who’d come out of nowhere.
I needed to arrange an opportunity for us to sit down together sometime soon.
＊
“Celly! Celly!”
“Ungh... What is it, dad...?”
Celly was buried under the covers. She spent her days cursing Valdesca over and over, while at the same time being tormented again and again by memories of him.
“Get up now! How long are you going to lie there? Come on, His Majesty’s given me a job!”
“Hmm...?” Celly mumbled sleepily. “What kind of job?” she poked her head out from under the covers to look at Gram.
“What kind? It’s a job! I have to go there right now, so you’re coming along too! We’re going to be busy from now on!”
Gram started forcefully dragging her out of bed, and Celly hurriedly protested the treatment. “H-Hold on... Dad! Okay! I get it, so let go! I can’t go out dressed like this!”
“I-I guess you’ve got a point.” Finally coming to his senses, Gram reached out and touched Celly’s messy hair.
Sometime later, the father and daughter had changed into formal attire and were headed for one corner of Brinhill’s central plaza.
“Excuse me, but would you happen to be Lord Gram?”
“Yes, I am.”
When Gram and Celly arrived at the designated location, a robed man appeared. His appearance was rather distinctive. His face was far too beautiful.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Vinay Shanes. I’ve been ordered to show you around. Now, please, come this way!”
The man who introduced himself as Vinay took the lead. Gram and Celly followed behind.
“Erm, Sir Vinay, was it?” asked Gram. “Who exactly are you...?”
“Aah, I was a scholar in Brinhill. Much like yourself, Lord Gram. Mana circles were the major focus of my studies. However, after the brilliant defeat the Brijit Kingdom suffered in the war, the country was ruined, and I was out of a job. Hah hah hah!” Vinay let out a refreshing laugh. “I was at a loss for what to do, but then, who should take me in but His Majesty himself! Now, obviously, mana circles are primarily a tool of war, so I’ve also dabbled in tactics and strategy. But, well, the circles I can use myself aren’t so powerful. They do such things as emitting light or changing a person’s hair color... Ah, we’ve arrived! Here it is!”
Vinay smiled broadly and pointed to a domed building made out of marble.
“Hee hee,” he continued, “this building is the New Eintorian Kingdom Intel Education Center! It was previously the Great Library of Brijit, but we’ve remodeled it. Lord Gram, I’m told that His Majesty will be giving you the entire building!”
Gram’s jaw dropped. Beside him, Celly let out a squeal of delight.
Erhin had said he’d do everything to support them, but Gram had never expected to be given a facility of this size.
When they went inside, the support staff were lined up and waiting to meet him. This had previously been a library, so it had a wealth of documents and offices.
“Starting today, we, the staff of the Intel Education Center, are at your disposal. In short, you have command of this entire building! I envy you... I only have a tiny office myself, you see.”
Vinay gave a sad sniffle and pointed out the window to a small, detached building.
Gram was confused by this whole situation. “I-Is that right?”
“D-Dad! Are all of these people working for you?” Celly’s shocked eyes looked ready to jump out of her head.
Gram was already incredibly grateful to Erhin for how well he’d treated him and his daughter. If the king was going to give him such an important task, then he’d have to make sure he lived up to expectations.
He hadn’t anticipated this kind of support. It did put a lot of pressure on him, but that only fired up his academic spirit even more. Though he’d been funded by nobles in Runan, this was on an entirely different level. The occasional donations he’d received from Erheet had been the largest, but Erheet hadn’t owned a particularly wealthy domain, so he hadn’t been able to offer a lot of support.
“All right...”
Gram cleared his throat and slapped his cheeks to get himself into the right headspace.
Then, he gave his first directions to his new subordinates.
＊
Duke Plenett of the Gebel Kingdom was awfully upset.
This was because of the failure in South Runan the other day. Heina had suckered him into sending troops, and they’d returned with massive losses.
Worse than the defeat of his troops, however, was the death of his valued retainer Ruteca. It was an immeasurable loss.
“Damn that conniving wench, and damn Eintorian... I swear they’ll pay for this!” Duke Plenett slammed an enraged fist down on his desk.
Despite his fury, he had not lost sight of the situation. He hadn’t been completely deceived, so it was shameful to complain about how Heina had tricked him. In launching a surprise attack on South Runan, he had let his ambition get the better of him. That was simply a fact.
Besides, Heina hadn’t plotted out the whole thing alone. She’d had the backing of the recently founded New Eintorian Kingdom. That meant Heina had been working on Erhin’s orders from the time she’d first approached him. Unable to see through her facade, he’d been talked into destroying Ronan and his South Runan Kingdom, only to then be forced into retreat by the New Eintorian Kingdom.
Refounding the Ancient Kingdom? What a laugh that was.
The more he heard, the more enraged he got.
What made it worse was that the land they’d chosen for their domain was absolutely perfect.
Duke Plenett would have liked to raise troops and avenge this humiliation immediately, but as he looked into it, he found that there were several reasons why he couldn’t.
First of all, north of the Gebel Kingdom, the Naruya Kingdom was currently engaged in an invasion of the Herald Kingdom. His information indicated that the Herald Kingdom would soon be forced into surrender. If he dispatched his forces to invade Eintorian now, Naruya might well decide to keep on going and send their troops from Herald to Gebel.
Additionally, to the south of Gebel was the Holy Ramie Kingdom. He was already at odds with them over the former territories of the Luaranz Kingdom.
That meant if he started an invasion, there was a high probability they would seek to undermine it, and this would further expose the homeland to danger.
In this situation, it was unrealistic to contemplate an immediate invasion of Eintorian.
Duke Plenett let out a deep sigh to vent his frustration. He was a man of great and violent emotion, but he could also think rationally.
“Your Highness. It’s not as though we have no means at our disposal.”
The one who spoke up now was the very same man who had delivered this report. He’d also offered some advice: “Now is the time to control our anger.”
This man was Duke Plenett’s secretary, Garint. He was a sharp advisor and a gatherer of information.
“What means do we have?” asked Plenett. “Did you not just tell me yourself that now is the time for us to restrain our anger?!”
“I did, yes. However, as I thought about it, a brilliant plan occurred to me.”
“A brilliant plan? Well, what is it? Stop making a big deal of it and just tell me already!” Duke Plenett urged his advisor on with a mix of anger and joy. The anticipation was killing him.
“Soon, the Naruya Kingdom will have fully occupied the Herald Kingdom. When that happens, they will share a border with us.”
“Yes! That is His Majesty’s greatest concern! Honestly, nothing seems to be going right! Nothing! It’s giving me an awful headache! Just awful!”
Duke Plenett stamped his feet, showing off his frustration.
Garint calmly continued on. “I believe we would be able to solve all of these issues through an alliance with the Holy Ramie Kingdom, Your Highness.”
“Work with Ramie?! Impossible! I believe they already offered the Naruyans an alliance and were rebuffed. How could we align ourselves with a nation that lacks even a shred of pride?”
“Their offer simply demonstrates that they view the Naruya Kingdom as a threat. All the more reason they won’t be able to refuse our offer of an alliance.”
“What do you mean they can’t refuse? I might see your point if it was any other nation, but we’re currently struggling with them over the lands of Luaranz.”
Strike an alliance with an enemy? Duke Plenett thought the idea was preposterous.
Garint, however, remained confident.
“Let us suppose for a moment that our Gebel Kingdom falls to Naruya. The Ramie Kingdom would then share a border with Naruya, yes?”
“That’s correct.”
“That would make them next on the chopping block. If they have already proposed an alliance with Naruya, then that is tantamount to a declaration that the Ramie Kingdom cannot oppose Naruya alone. That is why they would form an alliance with us. We can oppose Naruya together. And of the two of us, we will be the first target of Naruyan aggression. The Holy Ramie Kingdom will send reinforcements in the hopes of ending the conflict on our territory. Because if they hold out on us, they only put their own necks in danger.”
The duke didn’t like what he was hearing, but he understood it. Ultimately, it boiled down to the Holy Ramie Kingdom using the Gebel Kingdom to fight their enemies on someone else’s territory. Still, having reinforcements would bolster his confidence. They would be a great asset in the war against Naruya.
“Hmm... I’d like something I can be a little more confident in. You’re certain that they would agree to this alliance of yours, right?”
“Well, you see...the key to this strategy is to let them have all of Luaranz.”
“Wh-What did you say?” Duke Plenett sputtered. “What is this sleep-addled nonsense you’re spouting? You want us to pass up the Luaranzine territories that fell into our hands, all in order to gain an alliance?”
Duke Plenett was even more upset after hearing this, but...
“If the Ramie Kingdom can get their hands on Luaranz for free, I am sure they’ll get greedy for more. The more there is to gain, the more they will want.” Garint calmly pointed to Eintorian on the map. “The first condition of the alliance is that they send reinforcements to the Gebel Kingdom. The second condition, that we will give them Luaranz, is a carrot we are dangling in front of them. And the final condition is that they destroy the New Eintorian Kingdom in exchange. Of course, they will be free to do as they please with the conquered territory.”
“Hm? So in short, you’re saying that you want us to have the Ramie Kingdom put down Eintorian?”
“Indeed. If we were to send our own troops, it would exhaust the power of our nation. Eintorian will not be a particularly easy foe.”
“Basically, what you’re saying is that if Ramie does well, they’ll have destroyed the source of our anxiety for us, and we’ll have gotten our revenge. But even if they fail, it will weaken them, so it’s not an issue. We will come out ahead either way.”
“Precisely, Your Highness.”
Plenett nodded. It was a reasonably good plan.
“That will give us the freedom to prepare for war with Naruya, yes? But more than that, if we can weaken the Ramie Kingdom in the process, it will be exceedingly simple to retake Luaranz from them once the Naruyans have been repelled.”
“Yes, Your Highness. We will be able to focus entirely on the crisis before us while disrupting Eintorian, the threat to our rear. The Ramie Kingdom was slow to act, so they must be frustrated that we were able to seize most of Luaranz before they could. I’ll go in person to secure the alliance!”
“Very well. I will inform His Majesty of our intentions,” said Duke Plenett. “Oh, and bring Adonia to me at once! Now isn’t the time to be playing around. If you mention that the king of Naruya and his men are all elite warriors, you should be able to get that battle-crazed fool to come here!”
After shouting this, Duke Plenett hurried to the palace.
＊
The port of Brinhill was the largest in the former territory of the Brijit Kingdom, but it was still a far cry from Luaranz.
Without proper port facilities, I couldn’t make use of the grand fleet. To that end, I’d invested some amount of funds in expanding the port.
As this work was ongoing, I met with the people from the Dofrey Domain. They were exceptionally pleased that I was holding a banquet for them.
“Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty!”
Now that I had a fleet, I needed sailors. There was a lot of work for them to do. That was why I went out of my way to come talk to them.
Serena enthusiastically introduced me. These people were your stereotypical sailors, so almost all of them had a healthy tan.
The people from the Dofrey Domain came from various backgrounds. Among them were nobles, rank-and-file soldiers, and even commoners. All had been members of the navy, and many had also worked on fishing ships. Because of this, these people would become the core of Eintorian’s fleet going forward.
There was just one problem.
Even if I appointed Yusen or Fihatori as their commander-in-chief, I also needed someone who could actually command the fleet on the battlefield. Naval battles were outside Yusen and Fihatori’s field of expertise. And when it came to the ships themselves, the two of them were even more lost.
That’s why I’d had Serena invite a number of potential candidates who might be able to act as second-in-command.
“Sire, this is Gugen. He was one of my father’s most trusted men. He has a long service record with the First Fleet, so he’d be a first-rate commander for both naval battles and the general running of the fleet!”
“The name is Gugen, Your Majesty! I may be flattering myself, but I’m confident in my ability to operate a fleet!”
This Gugen fellow bent ninety degrees as he bowed to me. He had been a viscount in the Dofrey Domain, and his ability scores weren’t bad either.
However, all of the other Dofreyan lesser nobles who were introduced had broadly comparable stats. That made it a headache to pick out a second-in-command to help run the fleet. Experience alone wasn’t enough. They needed to have the personality for it too.
“Over there is Hoffman. Jeez, I told him to come and say hello, so why is he sitting alone in the corner again?!”
The man Serena pointed to had ability scores that were about the same as Gugen’s. He was also a viscount. But he looked incredibly grumpy. Apparently, he didn’t like the banquet.
Who was the most suitable?
Ultimately, I wasn’t able to choose a second-in-command that day, and I decided to focus on just enjoying the banquet.
The day after, I called Serena in to talk about it again.
However...
“You don’t know who to suggest either?” I asked.
“I don’t... I only lived in the domain when I was a little girl. After that, I went to the capital with my father. He spoke of his men from time to time, of course, and I’ve met them on occasion, but there’s a lot I don’t know when it comes to their level of ability and their personalities.”
“Hmm... Well, we can take advantage of that lack of familiarity. I’m sure a lot of these guys will want to be second-in-command of the fleet. I’ll spread a rumor that says you’re giving me a recommendation for the position. The gossip will suggest that the man you push is the one I’ll choose.”
“Me?”
I explained the reason to her.
A week after spreading the rumor, I called Serena again. She came to me in tears.
“Your Majesty! It’s awful... The retainers all keep following me around, and some even begged me to choose them. And those weren’t even the worst of them! Some sold family heirlooms so they could pay bribes to me! I don’t know what’s gotten into them...!”
Serena shook her head in dismay.
However, this was the entire point of the rumor. I wouldn’t be giving the post to guys like that.
“Was there anyone who didn’t say anything?”
“Just one... Viscount Hoffman.”
“Huh. You mean the man who attended the banquet and then just sat in the corner looking like he didn’t want to be there?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“Where is he now?”
“He should be at the port. He’s often there helping with the expansion.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll go meet him in person. I’m curious about what had him looking like that.”
And so, Serena and I visited Hoffman together.
I asked one of the soldiers at the port to call him for me, but for some reason, the soldier came back by himself. When Serena asked why, the man got very quiet.
“His Majesty came in person to see him, so...where is he?” she asked.
“Well, you see... He’s on a ship.”
“What about that is preventing him from responding to a summons? Go call him again!”
“Ah, no, it’s fine,” I interjected. “There’s no point in waiting. I’ll try going to him.”
By now, I was really curious, so Serena and I made our way toward one of the ships that was docked in port.
Hoffman was there, naked from the waist up and fully absorbed in what he was doing.
“Is that task more important than meeting me?”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
When I called out to him from behind, Hoffman jumped up into the air and turned to face me. He then started to grovel. “I’m sorry I couldn’t respond to your summons!”
It looked like he recognized me as king, at least. I’d thought that maybe, since he’d come from Luaranz, he was dissatisfied with the idea of me being king, but apparently not.
“I would have liked to come to you immediately, but I simply couldn’t step away!”
I looked down at his hands and saw that he seemed to be carrying a set of tools used to repair ships.
“I will gladly accept whatever punishment you feel is appropriate for disobeying orders!” he continued. “But please, let it wait until I’ve fully repaired this ship. I cannot leave the ship I was entrusted by Your Majesty in this incomplete state! Especially when the soldiers here are so ignorant of how to care for her! If they try to work on her themselves, they’re likely to ruin her, not fix her... Oh, no, I’ve said too much. Please, forgive me.”
“I’m not here to punish you, so keep on working. I just wanted to come see your work for myself.”
He had taken this job and was fully prepared to lay down his life for it, so there was no way that he could bring himself to stop. Especially not when the job had come from me.
“O-Oh, I see. I’ll get back to work, then. Also, about the banquet the other day... I just wanted to say that if you call me to events like that, it means I have less time to work on this ship.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Then when I have further instructions for you, I’ll come here.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that! But if you’re offering, I suppose it would make it easier to explain things about the ship...”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the way Hoffman trailed off, mumbling to himself. Despite his viscount title, he might’ve been more of a shipwright.
“That’s enough. You can get back to work now.”
With that said, I disembarked.
If there was one descriptor that he made me think of, it was “single-minded.”
That night, his work done, Hoffman returned home. The first thing out of his wife’s mouth was, “Listen here, you! I’m told His Majesty came to see you, but you ignored him to focus on your work. Is that true?”
“How did you know?”
“Haah, how did I know...? You’re hopeless.” Hoffman’s wife slapped him on the back. “People are falling over themselves to lick his boots right now, so what in the world do you think you’re doing, obsessing over your job like this?”
“What, would you rather I let the ship sink?” Hoffman asked earnestly, shaking his head. His wife slumped to the floor.
“We’re finished... Finished. Even if he didn’t punish you then and there, he could still have you beheaded later! And even if it doesn’t come to that, you could be demoted. How will we live then? Ooh... The Dofrey Domain was destroyed...and now we could lose everything after coming here!”
“Well...”
There wasn’t anything Hoffman could say in response. The words just didn’t come to him.
He was this way by nature—earnestly focused on his own work. He was an awkward man, but one highly regarded for his work ethic. He didn’t know how to butter people up, so he’d often been disliked by his superiors in the armed forces of Luaranz.
“Is that really what will happen? His Majesty had an odd look on his face.”
“Haah, have you finally realized the mess we’re in?” Hoffman’s wife shook her head.
“Ah, it’ll work out somehow! Always has before now.”
“It’s never worked out before! I hear that everyone else has been to see Lady Serena already! They say she’ll be choosing the second-in-command of the fleet, and everyone lost their minds trying to get her recommendation... Yet here you are, not kissing up to her, and on top of that, ignoring royal commands!”
As Hoffman stared at his wife, not sure what he could say in response, there was a knock at the door. They exchanged looks of surprise. They knew all too well why someone might be calling on them.
“Are you home? I’ve come with a message from His Majesty.”
Hearing the voice outside, they both went pale, thinking the inevitable was upon their doorstep.
“Aah... So this is what it’s come to,” moaned Hoffman’s wife. “What are you doing? Hurry up and run! You may not be much, but you’re still my husband. I don’t want to have to watch you die. I’ll check whether they’re here for your head or just to dismiss you from your post!”
“Hey, who are you telling to run?! I’ve fixed all of the ships I was entrusted with, so if it’s time for me to die, then so be it!”
Hoffman’s wife wouldn’t hear of it. “How am I supposed to live on without you? You’re going to let yourself die just because I gave you an earful over it? Don’t be silly...”
As they were arguing, the door opened. They were still grappling with one another as they looked outside.
“Mr. Hoffman?”
It was Gram. Celly was standing beside him.
The husband and wife had been expecting a soldier, and they didn’t know what to make of the pair on their doorstep.
“That’s me... Who’re you?” Hoffman managed to say.
“I’m a scholar by the name of Gram,” he said with a smile. “His Majesty told me about you. I’m informed that you have a knowledge of fleet tactics.”
“Huh? What’s the matter, you two?”
Celly cocked her head to the side, staring oddly at the way Hoffman and his wife were holding each other.
The couple matched her stare with expressions of utter confusion.
＊
“You met with all the candidates?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I’d asked Gram to interview all of the potential second-in-commands of the fleet. The goal was to have him evaluate how much they knew about fleet tactics.
During his time in the Runan Kingdom, Gram had compiled a record of all the tactics used in the key fleet battles that had occurred in the past. He was the most versed in the theory, which made a conversation with him an accurate way to gauge their abilities.
“They’re all veterans who’ve seen actual combat, so they had a lot more practical knowledge than a mere theorist like myself.”
“So they have a high-average level of ability. Did anyone stand out to you?”
“If I’m being frank...no one stood head and shoulders above the rest. Not as far as I could see, at least.”
This was probably an accurate assessment. They all had similar ability scores, so naturally, their knowledge and depth of experience weren’t that different either.
There was no brilliant commander readily apparent, and yet I still needed to pick somebody I could entrust the fleet to. This was a headache all on its own.
But if their stats and general impressions were more or less the same, I figured I should go with my gut and pick Hoffman for the time being. If nothing else, I could see that he was the most committed to his duties, and he certainly had a strong attachment to the fleet.
I was especially pleased that he hadn’t resorted to bribery. There was basically no chance that he’d betray me out of a desire for money or ambition.
As such, I made Hoffman second-in-command. The grand fleet was now his to control.
＊
In a gloomy forest...
“Why are there so many trees here?! It makes it hard to walk! Swegg! Rollins!”
Medelian Valdesca complained loudly and used the two swords hovering in the air to cut down any tree that blocked her path. But the forest still stretched on in front of her.
“Aaaaaagh! I can’t take any more of this. What is this place?! Where even am I?!”
Why was she all alone in a place like this? Well, it had to do with her being hopelessly lost. She’d headed in the rough direction she thought she should be going, and had trotted off into the forest, only to get to the point where she couldn’t even find her way back to where she’d come from.
However, her pride refused to admit it, and this hubris was leading her to tread yet deeper into the woods.
Craaaaaash!
Cutting a path willy-nilly with her treasured swords, Medelian had been wandering all day and was thoroughly exhausted.
“This is all his fault,” she complained, sitting down in the middle of the mountain path.
Medelian was currently on the run from her brother, Frann Valdesca. Somehow, as she’d darted around, disobeying his orders to join in the war against the Herald Kingdom, she had ended up near Eintorian.
“The problem is that there’re no signs anywhere... There’s no way I wouldn’t get lost! Aaah, and here I was, trying to go to the Herald Kingdom like I’m supposed to!” Medelian griped, as if she expected someone to overhear. This hushed mountain path was starting to creep her out, and because it was so quiet, she felt she had to say something to stay calm.
You might wonder how she could’ve mistaken the road to Eintorian for the road to the Herald Kingdom, but she wasn’t the sort to pay attention to such minor details. She also felt a strong need to exact revenge against Erhin Eintorian for the thrashing he’d given her last time.
For that reason, she got to her feet and glared at the trees once more.
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