Using the scroll Noel had prepared, we moved, and the scenery changed in an instant.
We had arrived at the place that would become the territory I was to govern, even using a spell so expensive that even Mina—who often said time was gold—did not employ it lightly.
And right before our eyes stood the Cyclops factory Mina had invested in and built. Looking around it,
Erika nodded and said,
“Wow. I expected it, but there really is nothing here.”
“You can say that again.”
Originally, this place had been created by forcibly lumping together areas that weren’t even treated as territory around the mine.
If you went by size, wasn’t it actually smaller than the Arclight potato territory, which was already a rural domain?
Mina nodded and said,
“Life as a lord, starting from a place with not a single subject.”
“There isn’t even anyone to appoint as a proxy.”
Normally, if someone like me suddenly became a new lord but couldn’t stay in the territory continuously because of reasons like attending the academy, it was common to have a representative manage it.
But if there was truly this little here, there was no need for a proxy or anything else.
At a glance, you’d want to call it a truly ridiculous situation, but—
“Still, if you look at just the geography and location, it’s quite a welcome spot.”
Noel nodded as she checked what looked like a map.
It wasn’t a map with detailed terrain, but a simplified one that only indicated what territories were where, centered around the royal palace. Apparently, this too had been copied by her family.
Pointing to a large territory near the royal palace and close to the north, Noel quietly said,
“This is roughly where the Nexia ducal family’s territory is. Ah, our family usually stays in the capital, so representatives manage it.”
“And if you go up from there like this, it’s the Phoenix County.”
“The academy is here.”
Erika and Mina each pointed them out one by one.
Between the Nexia Duchy and the royal palace, which we hadn’t passed through last time, was the academy.
And if you went up quite a distance from the academy, past what looked like empty land, there was the Phoenix County.
If you connected the academy, the Nexia Duchy, and the Phoenix County into a triangle and marked roughly the middle of it…
“This is your territory.”
“It’s a really choice spot.”
Honestly, just looking at the location, it was rather surprising.
It sat exactly in a position that one might pass through when traveling from the Phoenix County and the Nexia Duchy to the academy.
And if you went farther from there, you were right at the capital.
“It’s strange that there hasn’t been a territory here until now.”
“That’s because there are a few different interests tangled up.”
The mine had originally belonged to the royal palace, and right nearby were the Nexia Duchy and the Phoenix County.
It was also the kind of position where, if you tried to throw your weight around, you’d be perfectly placed to get beaten down by all three, so it seemed everyone had instead avoided it on their own.
The mana metal coming out of the mine wasn’t of extraordinarily good quality either, but just around lower-middle grade, so the moderately developed land and its surroundings had simply been left unmanaged.
As the price for the duel Gilford had caused, the royal family handed over the mine, and since they were handing it over anyway, it seemed they had also dumped the development of this entire area onto me.
“Really, they never just live while taking losses somehow.”
In any case, I had obtained a barony, and a territory with a mine that produced mana metal.
And since there was no need to develop the mine from scratch, as long as I developed the surroundings properly, revenue would steadily come in.
The location was also in a place that could become a route connecting Nexia and Phoenix to the capital, and since someone unlikely to cause friction with the two families had been seated here, there would probably be little to stop the development.
And if it became a route connecting two massive territories, it would be possible to steadily create taxes and offer them up, so from the palace’s perspective, they had given away a mine and created a territory that would continuously bring in money.
“I did do some lobbying, but it’s not as though the lobbying worked for no reason.”
According to Mina, lobbying apparently played the role of increasing the chances when there was already a reasonable possibility, not some all-purpose tool that made the impossible possible.
“The palace isn’t always ignorant and taking losses. The chancellor is a person who has his own thoughts, too, so maybe the lobbying worked well. We finished the discussion with taxes being deferred until the development is complete.”
“Hold on. How were you able to lobby someone on that side?”
“If interests align, most things work out as long as you match your words properly.”
Even so, I couldn’t help but think she had lobbied someone far too high up, but Noel and Erika seemed to accept it.
“Well, she is the Saintess… It doesn’t suit her, though…”
“Shut up.”
Putting Mina’s words aside, there were plenty of positive aspects.
However, it was about time to look again at the preconditions for all of this.
“…So, what exactly are we supposed to start with first?”
Mina’s factory was running actively, and it was good that goods were coming and going from there.
Since there was also the royal palace’s mine, there were at least lodging and dining facilities that seemed to have been used there, as well as accommodations that nobles could use.
But that was all.
I hadn’t received an operating territory; I had truly just been handed bare land, so honestly, it was overwhelming.
“That’s something you, the lord, should think about.”
“Lord Aizen, you don’t know much about territorial management, do you?”
“Mark was the heir to the Arclight territory.”
I was treated like a stone that had rolled in from elsewhere, so I hadn’t received even the slightest bit of education in that area.
It was a bit strange to say this, but by the standards of the nobles here, I was apparently quite undereducated.
Since I had absorbed plenty of knowledge related to golems, that might sound like a rather laughable statement, but if you considered how much I didn’t know about things like noble common sense, etiquette, or territorial management, you couldn’t exactly call it wrong.
“Then we’ll have to help you quite a lot.”
Noel said with a gentle smile.
And while Mina’s and Erika’s expressions changed ever so slightly, Mina reached out a hand and said,
“For now, why don’t you use that building over there, the one the mine supervisors use, as your residence and start by tidying it up appropriately? We had just decided that we could stay there as well, anyway.”
When you hear “mine supervisor,” it gives off a very rough image, but since this was a mine managed by the royal palace, the residences they stayed in were naturally buildings used by nobles.
In fact, the furniture placed inside was the kind you could call “for nobles,” so it could be considered the highest-ranked building here.
At least the judgment to use that building as the residence probably wasn’t wrong.
“And in preparation for something like this, I had already arranged for a retainer and servants from my house. They’ll arrive in a few days, so if you continue managing it, it should become a suitable place for you to handle your duties. If you decide what tasks to prioritize, that person will be able to help you. Of course, I’ll help as well.”
The advantage of having the Nexia ducal family’s territory nearby was already showing.
With this, I worried that the Nexia ducal family might take a tremendous stake in the development of the territory, but I also wondered what kind of stake dispute could matter in a place with not even any subjects.
And just as Noel smiled and was about to say something,
“Ah, come to think of it, Father said he would send support to the territory as thanks for maintaining public order and for the Cyclops.”
“Support?”
“Yes. Logistics, and especially preparations for laying roads… or so I heard. Because this place will become a transportation hub.”
Was it a coincidence, or was Erika actually subtly keeping Noel from monopolizing things?
Noel’s expression was all smiles, but since Erika had an innocent side as well, she seemed to be seeing it as the former.
“…The count is moving quickly too.”
“He would, wouldn’t he? If this place develops, the Phoenix County will benefit greatly as well. He said he would provide support and investment if possible. If Aizen wants, he’ll also accept applications from people who wish to migrate here…”
That was genuinely huge.
It was no different from saying he would send people who would pay taxes, even knowing his own tax revenue would decrease, to a territory with not a single person in it.
Of course, since the Phoenix County was on the front line, there would probably be quite a few people who actually wanted to migrate, so there was a high chance he would do it while also improving his reputation, but it was still an enormous expense.
That must be why Noel was impressed.
“And he told me to convey that he looks forward to continuing good relations.”
“He did?”
“He also told me to say that I look forward to it as well.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
At Erika’s words, Noel’s expression darkened slightly.
“…In any case, that support won’t arrive immediately either. Shall we go look at the residence first?”
“That’s true. Noel’s support won’t arrive immediately either. Let’s look at the residence first and decide on our lodgings.”
At Erika’s brisk words, Noel nodded.
And so, just as I was about to be led by the two of them toward the mine,
“It’s here.”
Mina suddenly looked somewhere and muttered that.
And then—
From far away, a familiar sound of tracks began to be heard.
—Kwadudududu…
“That’s the Caterpillar Golem. You lent it to her, didn’t you?”
“Before coming here, she said she had to move the Cyclops and the technology demonstrator, so I lent it to her…”
After that was done, Mina had said she would use it a little longer, so I had lent it to her.
There was no reason not to lend it, and since I didn’t think Mina would do anything strange, I hadn’t gotten it back yet.
That machine was returning.
However, of course, it wasn’t coming back alone.
“…Why are there so many people?”
“And materials too…”
There were a lot of containers behind the Caterpillar Golem. Some were containers whose contents couldn’t be seen, and others were loaded with what looked like lumber and stone materials.
There were also plenty of people, as if matched to the speed.
“What is that, Mina?”
“A surprise.”
After saying that, Mina soon pointed to one corner.
The place she pointed at was the building we had just said we would use as the residence… beside it.
“I’m going to build a building there.”
“What kind of building?”
“My building.”
Mina smiled leisurely as she said,
“I’m going to station the Christa Company here.”
Mina’s company, which had supposedly been in the capital, was moving in.