Chapter 57. Domestic Affairs (2)
The Corse Territory.
It was the only territory in the Franche Kingdom made entirely of islands.
In the past, it had been a strategically important territory ruled by a margrave.
However, relations with neighboring countries had improved.
Combined with the royal family’s policy of weakening regional power, Corse had been downgraded to a viscounty.
At one of its harbors, several men were leisurely fishing.
They were all sitting in a row with fishing rods in broad daylight, during hours when everyone else should have been working.
Anyone looking at them would think they were unemployed.
“What do you think we’ll catch today?”
“Hopefully we don’t get unlucky and catch squid.”
“Unlucky? I heard people in Marcel can’t get enough squid.”
“I don’t understand that. Eating something that looks like a demon?”
“That’s prejudice. Try adding some correctness to your thinking.”
“Fuck off.”
The men seemed to be doing more talking than fishing.
Each one was large and had a fierce face.
Anyone who saw them might mistake the group for a gathering of bandit chiefs.
Then a man approached them.
“Berix, Pirel. It’s been a long time.”
The group stared at him in confusion.
Then they finally recognized him.
“Axel! My god! How many years has it been?”
“Axel, is that really you? Hahaha!”
“It’s been more than ten years. Good to see you.”
The three large men embraced and laughed loudly, overcome with joy at seeing childhood friends again.
It was not exactly a beautiful sight.
Still, the others fishing nearby watched with warm smiles.
Berix introduced Axel.
“This is Axel. He trained at the knight school with me.”
“You mean this is that Axel?”
“He’s Knight Commander of Marcel now.”
At the mention of Marcel, everyone’s expressions brightened.
Marcel had become a rather famous place recently.
Berix laughed.
“These are my fellow knights. Well, former knights now.”
Axel greeted everyone.
Then he grinned.
“I know an inn with good wine. My treat.”
“Oh?”
“Did you hear that?”
“Let’s empty his wallet.”
The men immediately abandoned their fishing rods.
* * *
The drinking party at the inn began with six men.
More people arrived after receiving invitations.
Eventually, fourteen men filled the room.
By the time there were more empty barrels rolling across the floor than men, people began collapsing drunk one after another.
“By the way, Axel. Why did you come all the way to this backwater?”
“Hehehe. Took you long enough to ask.”
Berix suddenly became serious and placed a hand on Axel’s shoulder.
“You came alone, so this probably isn’t a vacation. You aren’t here to do anything harmful to Corse, are you?”
His hand was heavy with aura.
Axel removed it.
He could immediately feel that Berix’s strength was still comparable to his own.
“...You haven’t stopped training.”
“I’m not joking. I may no longer be a knight of this territory, but this is still my homeland.”
“Berix, aren’t you being too sensitive?”
“All the pirates from Cagliari are currently in Marcel. Of course I’m worried.”
Even though Eric had turned those pirates into slaves, neighboring territories still viewed Marcel with suspicion.
Corse in particular was geographically close to Cagliari.
Its people had watched pirate attacks for years.
Naturally, they were highly cautious of Marcel.
Realizing that, Axel decided to get directly to the point.
“Fine, fine. I’ll tell you. But...”
Axel looked around.
There were many ears.
“Don’t worry. Everyone here is my comrade. They were all honorable knights I trusted.”
Axel nodded.
Then he said,
“Listen carefully. Come to Marcel with me.”
“...Is that a marriage proposal?”
The entire room burst into laughter.
Axel frowned.
“You crazy bastard. Lord Eric Marcel is recruiting knights.”
Silence fell.
The drunken men who had been lying around immediately became more alert.
“All of you should come to Marcel and take up your swords again.”
“All of us?”
“Yes. Bring your squires too.”
“Why is Marcel expanding its knight order in times like these?”
The Franche royal family was actively weakening the military power of local territories.
Expanding a knight order was difficult.
Axel explained.
“You just mentioned the reason yourselves. Marcel has taken in an enormous number of criminals and slaves. We need more knights to maintain security.”
The men who had until moments ago looked like unemployed drunkards suddenly straightened themselves.
One even slapped a collapsed knight awake.
“Hey! Wake up! This is important!”
Berix looked at Axel and laughed.
“Seems like we should be paying for the wine now.”
“Nonsense. I brought plenty of operating funds. Want another barrel?”
“Bring enough to make all our noses crooked, Knight Commander.”
A few years earlier, Corse had been downgraded from a margraviate.
The royal-appointed viscount had reduced the size of the knight order.
Berix and his comrades lost their positions as retainers.
Their poor territory had even reclaimed their manors.
They had financial problems.
Still, knights had their pride.
They did not want to live as ordinary laborers.
So they spent their days fishing, doing occasional manual work, or escorting merchant caravans.
Axel’s proposal was exactly what they had been waiting for.
“Oh, there is one condition from Lord Eric.”
“What?”
“Bring your parents, wives, and children with you. He doesn’t want enemies using your families as hostages.”
Berix misunderstood the meaning.
His expression brightened.
“How merciful! If he wants us to bring our families, that means he intends to grant us manors!”
“Uh?”
That was not something Eric had said.
Still, Marcel had plenty of land.
Axel figured it would probably be fine.
“Y, yes.”
Somewhere far away, Diego’s wallet cried.
* * *
Meanwhile, I was personally interviewing the newly selected soldiers.
Axel had already chosen the candidates before leaving for Corse.
“Next.”
“Candidate Number 17, enter!”
A young man entered.
He seemed extremely nervous.
Sweat covered his forehead.
“Sit.”
“Yes, my lord!”
He answered loudly, but his legs trembled.
He repeatedly wiped his face.
Yet something felt wrong.
He’s pretending to be nervous.
His feet naturally settled into a military stance.
His hands remained steady.
And every time he wiped his sweat, he only wiped around the eyes and forehead.
It looked exactly like someone accustomed to wearing a helmet.
“State your name, age, father, and the god you worship.”
“Yes! My name is Emeric! I am twenty-one years old, my father is a farmer named Arsene, and I worship the God of Abundance!”
Appraisal.
[Luschein, 24]
[Son of Jamus, a merchant of Le Capital. Soldier of the Royal Guard. Worships Helios.]
Good grief. Not a single thing matches. I don’t even need to investigate further.
This bastard was a spy.
However, I had dealt with a royal spy once before.
If I eliminated another one immediately, it might make the royal family excessively suspicious.
“Accepted.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
There was another reason I accepted the spy.
If I rejected him and allowed him to remain free in the territory, he might still conduct intelligence activities.
Where should I send this one? Deep into the Great Forest? Bird Droppings Island?
Anyway, I wrote a note on his personnel record.
‘Royal spy. Send very far away.’
“Next.”
“Candidate Number 23, enter!”
Unexpectedly, the next young man was a beastman.
A wolf beastman.
I immediately glared toward Raul, Chief of Security Affairs, who was standing at the side of the interview room.
He avoided my gaze and stared into the distance.
“Raul. Explain.”
Raul had been desperately pretending not to notice me.
He flinched.
“Ah, well, um... They’re juniors from my hometown that I met while working as a mercenary. I heard you were recruiting soldiers, so I sent them a letter in advance.”
“Juniors, plural?”
“Yes, yes. There are several more waiting outside.”
“Where did they come from? Surely not all the way from distant Mangalia.”
“I met them when we were in Algiers.”
“Rejected. Raul loses three months of salary.”
Raul almost jumped out of his skin.
“Eek! My lord! Why?! Please have mercy!”
“Mercy for what? You said you told them ‘in advance.’ That means you leaked confidential territorial information.”
“I’ll never do it again! Please forgive me just once!”
It was not actually secret information, and it was hardly a serious incident.
I simply needed to correct Raul’s bad habit.
“Fine. Reflect on it. Never speak carelessly again.”
“Of course! Absolutely!”
Raul’s juniors themselves seemed useful.
I accepted all of them.
* * *
After the interviews, I showed the personnel records to my chiefs.
“Two of the accepted recruits are spies. One was sent by the royal family, the other by the Berber Kingdom. Raul, monitor both closely and hand them over to Sir Axel. Have their duty stations changed so they cannot access important facilities or information.”
“Yes, my lord! I’ll strengthen surveillance!”
Raul was still young, playful, and fond of jokes.
But responsibility changed people.
Whenever national security or spies were involved, he became serious and firm.
“Chloe, among the newly recruited soldiers, choose the promising ones and train them as spies from the beginning. During today’s interviews I realized that people trained as soldiers develop habits that are difficult to hide. Their walk, posture, way of speaking, things like that.”
“...I’ll find a proper training method.”
No matter how capable Chloe was, there was no way she already knew every detail of professional spy training.
I was simply leaving it to her because I trusted her to figure something out.
Then Chloe informed me that we had a visitor.
“A knight was sent by Baron Aniol Gibraltar.”
“Did he bring a present?”
I had taken the lead in eliminating Pirate King Luca, who had been tormenting Catalonia.
The Iberian military had said I would receive a reward.
“Yes. He brought a sword.”
“Tch. I wasn’t expecting much, but that’s still pretty stingy.”
Well, that was the military for you.
They had probably embezzled the reward budget and sent me some cheap gift.
“Anyway, I’ll meet Gibraltar’s knight.”
“I’ll bring him to the lord’s residence.”
A short while later, I received Baron Gibraltar’s envoy in my office.
The knight was someone I recognized.
He had participated in the operation where we baited Luca’s pirates.
“It’s been a while. Is Baron Gibraltar doing well?”
“Thank you for remembering me. Baron Gibraltar is doing well thanks to you.”
“You brought a gift?”
“I apologize, but it is only a sword.”
The knight offered me an ordinary longsword.
It was so plain that if it had not carried the coat of arms of the Iberian Kingdom, it would have looked like some mass-produced weapon.
“You have nothing to apologize for. If this sword lets me remember that battle, that is enough.”
“As expected, you are a merciful lord.”
Internally, I was cursing quite heavily.
But what could I do?
I would treat it as a souvenir.
However, even after finishing his official business, the knight did not leave.
He stood there hesitating.
“Do you have something else to ask me?”
