Daniel, who had been thinking for a long while, soon nodded.
“At present, there are practically no people in the territory, and there is a major precondition, so parts of it remain uncertain, but…”
Daniel, who had read through the planning documents again and again, soon nodded and said,
“I believe this is enough to give you a passing mark.”
“That is a relief.”
I let out a small sigh of relief.
Strictly speaking, I was the lord here, and basically his employer, so if I disliked him I could have told him to leave. Still, since I was being evaluated, I wanted to receive a passing mark if possible.
And since I had unexpectedly discovered a flaw of my own, it was a relieving situation for me.
So, at the same time, I made up my mind.
“Then, from now on, please take care of things when I am absent.”
“Pardon?”
Daniel was momentarily flustered.
Then, as if realizing his mistake, he spoke again.
“Um, I realize this sounds absurd after what I said, but me, as your representative?”
“You came here asking to be employed, did you not?”
“I assumed I would surely be working as a guard or something of that sort…”
So after doing something so brazen, he was trying to tuck his tail now?
Thinking this was my chance, I answered with a smile.
“I believe you were the one who said that since I had accepted you, you would test your master, correct?”
“Ah, that was…”
“And you were also the one who said I had passed.”
“Certainly, it was a splendid…”
“Then I am in a position much like your employer, which means I can entrust work to you, can I not?”
“Surely there is someone more suited than I…”
“Suited or not, I was handed this territory with almost nothing to my name, so I have no one to entrust the work to.”
“The Duchy of Nexia or the County of Phoenix could…”
Daniel stopped there and grew flustered once more.
After all, he had said those words himself.
“You said my territory must be handled under my own initiative, and now you are telling me to receive help from another territory?”
Daniel was left speechless.
And Noel spoke with a slightly flustered expression.
“I-it seems he is saying that because it would be a heavy burden. Then perhaps the administration should be handled by another place on your behalf…”
“It would not look good for us to interfere in an issue where Aizen must take the initiative.”
Mina answered Noel, and Noel was flustered again.
However, she quickly glanced around and swiftly replied.
“Still, if you think about it, the people who can currently be called residents of this territory are those who came from the County of Phoenix, so for the sake of adjustment, that side should…”
“I believe the proper form would be for Sir Daniel to become this place’s representative, while we assist him.”
Sir Galed cut her off first.
And Erika nodded.
“This is undeniably Aizen’s territory. Even if we helped out of goodwill, it is also true that we worked to the point that it looked as though Aizen had no initiative. So even if they are our territory’s people, I think it would be right for us to step back. Though, as neighbors, we can still offer an appropriate degree of assistance.”
“No, but still…”
Noel looked troubled.
And in the meantime, Daniel seemed to have regained his composure.
“Ah. Come to think of it, the Margrave of Phoenix seemed to regard Lord Aizen as a son-in-law, so perhaps on this occasion…”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
A little startled, I immediately asked back.
And Daniel, seeing his chance, raised his voice.
“According to what I heard when I came from the county with the immigrants, they were told to sing a song in the territory…”
“Ha ha, Mr. Daniel, you must not say too much.”
There was definitely something going on.
And Noel glanced sideways at Erika, while Erika tilted her head.
“Lady Erika?”
“I know nothing about this.”
“Lord Margrave, surely…!”
Noel began to look shocked.
And perhaps thinking this was a chance to protect his master, the attendant behind Daniel suddenly opened his mouth.
“A red-haired maiden, bring her into your home~ and harmony will fill the house~ A red-haired…”
“Stop. What song is this?”
Noel and her people caught on.
Immediately, they shouted toward Sir Galed, who looked like the culprit.
“No wonder the immigrants were going around singing among themselves! A red-haired maiden, what?”
“What do you mean? A song is just a song! It has been famous since long ago, the song of Princess Elita the Red-Haired, one of the ancestors of the House of Phoenix…”
“There is no reason for that person to suddenly come up! And more importantly, that princess lived hundreds of years ago, so why is she being mentioned now? Don’t tell me you are trying to tie the baron to someone from your family…!”
People began to argue.
Noel was looking at Erika with a smile.
“Shall we have a little talk?”
“I-I have nothing to say, though?”
“I do, so that will be enough.”
Noel’s attention had completely turned in an entirely different direction.
The place I had clearly arranged for the announcement of my own proactive policies was turning into the scene of a brawl.
As expected, it had grown far too noisy, so I quietly walked backward.
While I was at it, I grabbed Daniel, who was just trying to sneak out toward the entrance.
“Mr. Daniel? Where do you think you are running off to?”
“What do you mean, Baron?”
His face was calm, but it betrayed the inner voice of someone who knew he had been caught.
Still, I could not allow him to run away in this situation.
“Go and settle this.”
“With what authority would I…”
If he had no authority, I simply had to give him some.
I said with a smile,
“I will be counting on you as my representative from now on.”
“No, wait.”
“Move. And come with me.”
Mina, who had followed right behind, grabbed Daniel and shoved him backward, then swiftly left the meeting room with me.
I began to hear what sounded like Noel’s people and Sir Galed arguing with each other, but I decided to ignore it.
****
The immigrants who had come to the new Arclight territory each obtained houses and began living there.
The majority were people from the County of Phoenix, while the rest were people of the Krista Trading Company. After they arrived, there were brief scuffles and negotiations over what each person considered a prime location, but after reaching appropriate compromises, they were now resting with their families in their respective homes.
“To be honest, I thought we’d be put to hard labor.”
“Baron Arclight is no ordinary man.”
The two men walking down the street spoke leisurely as they looked around.
Normally, when a new territory was being developed, people would be mobilized here and there for work, but from the very first day they arrived, this territory had practically been another world.
It was no joke. If the people of the Krista Trading Company had not told them that this place had truly been an empty plain, they would have thought it was a city that had long since been thoroughly developed, only emptied out by some epidemic.
Thanks to that, they were spared all the hard labor, and while only the already busy people of the trading company were working busily, the actual residents of the territory could do little more than wonder what they were supposed to do now and remodel their houses to their own liking.
“Still, it looks like they left that place empty for field farming… If we get permission to farm this, it’ll be quite interesting, won’t it?”
“I heard Baron Arclight was originally the illegitimate child of a rural noble. They say he has farmed before, and the foundation here is quite solid, isn’t it?”
The land was orderly enough that even the immigrants, most of whom were farmers, judged it favorably.
There were various opinions going around: that with high probability, potatoes, which Baron Arclight supposedly loved to death, would be planted there; that since there was a colosseum, he would make them grow flowers; and that an orchard might be good.
Though the territory itself was narrow, the land was wide to human eyes. Taking an interest in how it would be used, one of the men hummed.
“A red-haired maiden, bring her into your home…”
“Don’t sing while working.”
“What can I do when it’s so addictive? Whoever came up with this deserves praise.”
At the man’s words, the other man chuckled.
Then he spoke with sharp eyes.
“As expected, the Margrave of Phoenix is trying to bring Baron Arclight into his bloodline.”
“If they’re openly spreading a song like that and even relocating their own territory’s people here, then it’s all but certain.”
Though their clothes were shabby, the two men’s gazes alone were sharp.
In the end, one of the men sighed.
“It’s nothing but bad news for the Empire.”
“Our Sword Saint says that even bad news is important so long as we know it, doesn’t he?”
“I’m saying I would have liked to bring back good news if possible.”
The spies of the Empire looked toward the factory.
“We could only hear the sounds with difficulty, but they were making Cyclopes in there.”
“And in earnest too. A lot of them, busily.”
Since it was a facility they regarded as important, the walls were thick, but spies who would use every means and method to obtain information had a variety of measures.
Amplifying their hearing to listen to the sounds inside was a trivial matter.
They also had a magic tool that could see through the interior of a building, but because the other side had prepared defenses to that extent, they had used an indirect method instead.
Because of that, it was easy to tell at least how actively things were moving inside.
“Those damned Avatus bastards. I had my hopes up because I heard their internal politics were serious.”
“In the end, it was still just internal politics. Truly unfortunate. That house surely didn’t want a competitor, yet one has appeared anyway.”
Strictly speaking, the County of Avatus, nobles of the Kingdom of Vespia, and the Argent Empire were enemies, but according to the logic that the enemy of one’s enemy was an ally, they were potential allies.
From the Empire’s standpoint, which did not want the kingdom’s military power to grow stronger, the current situation, with Cyclopes beginning to take root in the kingdom, was not pleasing.
“Even if we cannot seize those Cyclopes, if we destroy the factory…”
“Impossible. Those trading company bastards roam around all night. And the knights of the House of Phoenix did not come here simply to help maintain public order in the territory.”
Sabotage would be difficult.
Therefore, the spies had to make a decision.
“Now, before the territory has properly settled, is our chance.”
Looking at the orders hidden inside his clothes, the spy spoke quietly.
“We either draw him to our side.”
“Or kill him.”
All for the Empire, the spies murmured softly.