Chapter 81 : Follow-up Measures
Chapter 81. Follow-up Measures
An army of thirty-eight thousand had gathered under the Duke of Dawn. While in his tent, the Duke of Dawn received word that follow-up units were steadily assembling, and at the same time heard that the King himself had sent a letter from the capital.
“…….”
The carefully sealed golden envelope delivered before him bore the seal symbolizing the royal family.
Upon seeing the emblem of the Trombon Dynasty, the Duke of Dawn, Gaston de Valcroix, was consumed by rage.
“That was supposed to be my seat!”
That Lui, who had held only a perfunctory coronation, could afford the leisure to send not only the royal ring but even a letter.
Suppressing his fury, he took out the letter. If it was filled with nonsense about surrender, he intended to ignore it and march forward.
A high-ranking noble would be practically plastered head to toe with magical tools.
To guard against long-range ambushes, he wore a ring enchanted with the 「Arrow Ward」 spell, a krellsite necklace prepared for magical assassination attempts, and gloves that neutralized poison upon contact with the hands.
-■■■■■■■■■■■
Yet even so, upon reading the contents of the letter, the Duke of Dawn was struck with shock.
“Th-this, what is this?”
His stomach began to churn. It felt as though some signal, uncontrollably amplified, was endlessly reverberating inside his head.
“H-he, help…….”
Just outside his office, only a single step away, his escort mage and escort knights were standing by.
At the moment he tried to call out to them for help, he began to vomit blood. Blood burst forth from every opening in his body, quickly leaving him drenched in red.
Thud.
When he collapsed from his chair and died, the guards waiting outside sensed something amiss and rushed in.
“An ambush!”
“There was an assassin!?”
The guards immediately began administering emergency treatment to the Duke of Dawn while simultaneously analyzing the surroundings.
There were no traces of anyone having entered. Inside the envelope, only a blank sheet of paper remained.
* * *
Lui’s spies immediately spread the news of the Duke of Dawn’s assassination from within, and it spiraled out of control in an instant.
“To decide the outcome with such a cowardly method!!”
“No matter what method was used, this is an assassination!”
“He died after receiving a letter from Lui Trombon. But the letter was blank.”
“Are you saying there exists magic that can kill someone just by looking at a blank sheet?”
“That’s impossible! Even if it did exist, he was wearing a krelsite necklace that could withstand even a grand spell at least once.”
“That’s not what matters! The problem is what we do now!”
“Other than the Duke of Dawn, who will become the core of this army?”
The moment the assassination succeeded, Lui immediately mobilized his troops.
And to the enemy leadership, he effectively extended a pardon.
[The traitor Gaston has received divine punishment and is dead! Even now, if you change your banner, all your past crimes will be forgiven. However, if you resist to the very end, I will annihilate your house.]
It had been an army gathered to place Gaston, the Duke of Dawn, on the throne, yet that very Gaston had suddenly died.
The successor lacked the Duke of Dawn’s charisma and had no power to unify the forces. Though the troops gathered in disorder were numerous, no one proposed going to fight.
Gaston’s successor was far down the line of succession, and the enemy was united.
And after receiving a hint from his advisor, Lui sent both carrot and stick at once.
[Those who change their banner first will be treated favorably, but those who change it last will be beheaded as an example.]
Starting with some of the wavering nobles betraying the cause, the army began to splinter.
Lui began his advance. With every engagement, he continued to win.
At first, his forces were clearly inferior in numbers, but with each engagement concluded, Lui’s army steadily grew.
The moment he declared that even the defeated remnants would be accepted into his own army, troops began to gather under Lui’s banner.
Major General Godfrey Bachet displayed a feat of magic by reorganizing them on the spot and forming them into regiments.
* * *
And then, a month later. On a day when early autumn rain fell, the Frangia Civil War finally came to an end.
After the distribution of rewards was concluded, Yul received nothing. Rather, he himself kicked it all away.
“You really won’t take a countship?”
“How am I supposed to manage something sitting in the middle of the mainland?”
“Manage it? You just leave that to a steward.”
An island at sea might have been one thing, but a countship planted in the middle of the mainland was something Yul could not manage.
However, Lui argued that since he had already bestowed the name Count of Provence and even executed the local lord, it would be a problem if Yul refused to accept the countship.
“First of all, I’m a Seaborn.”
“Even if you were an elf or a dwarf, I would’ve given you that countship.”
“Hm.”
“It’s a countship where gold coins keep rolling in, even if you just sit still, you know?”
“Money’s nice, sure, but it still needs managing.”
“I’m telling you, just hire a professional steward.”
If Yul were to receive the countship, he would inevitably keep worrying about it and managing it himself.
“If you like, I’ll select and send a steward from our family who will manage the Count of Provence territory for generations. Just keep it in your name.”
Faced with Lui’s insistence, something he hadn’t seen before, Yul had no choice but to accept.
There were quite a few advisors under Lui who had seen Yul in action, and on top of that, Yul had secured decisive victories in crucial battles during the early, most difficult days, giving him ample justification.
If someone who had rendered such merit did not receive a reward deemed appropriate, issues of fairness would inevitably be raised.
“So then, how much is the income?”
“About eight thousand six hundred ducats annually.”
“That’s substantial.”
“And do you remember the merchant named Hugh Retel? My father’s court merchant, and also the one managing your assets.”
“Of course I remember. What happened to him?”
“He’s still alive. And I’ve summoned him here.”
A man who looked to be in his mid-thirties appeared outside the office.
It was a familiar face. Born the third son of a count’s family and having made a name for himself as a wealthy merchant, Hugh Retel was the one who had managed Yul’s assets on the mainland.
In particular, with a portion of the proceeds from krelsite sales allocated to him as well, he must have amassed tremendous wealth.
He removed his hat of fine quality as he greeted them. His regrettable donut-shaped bald spot was laid bare.
“Greetings. I am Hugh Retel.”
“This is Yul. Do you remember him?”
“…Pardon? Sir Yul is an orca.”
“Circumstances changed along the way.”
Yul pointed to the gem embedded in his forehead. Lui, standing beside him, nodded and spoke.
“I vouch for him. He is indeed Yul the orca, though his appearance is different now.”
“My goodness, Sir Yul! You’re alive! We lost contact after the Great Catastrophe, and I was worried! And to think you have this human appearance!”
“After becoming a Seaborn, I gained a Polymorph skill.”
As he approached Yul, he clasped both of his hands and shook them.
“Have you been managing my assets properly?”
“Of course! Separately from my own property, they’ve continued to be operated without interruption.”
Even amid all the chaos, Hugh Retel had preserved Yul’s assets intact.
He had brought documents detailing the assets, with transaction histories recorded transparently.
Where profits were gained and where losses were incurred, the general outline of events up to now was all recorded.
‘As if it were company funds, he didn’t touch a single coin.’
Lui handed over a new document. It was a passbook made of pimlin paper.
“Here. Your account records from the Frangia Royal Bank.”
Yul compared the account details and records from the Frangia Royal Bank and confirmed that Hugh had properly managed the assets.
“I, Hugh Retel, take pride in having faithfully managed my client’s funds for ten years.”
“Thank you, Hugh. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange if you’d vanished in all this chaos. While we’re at it, I’d like to entrust you with one more asset to manage.”
“Anything you wish, please entrust it to me.”
“The delegated governance of the County of Provence.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m thinking of delegating authority over personnel matters, tax collection management, financial ledger management, and the mediation of legal disputes.”
“Th-then is this the delegation of the highest administrative authority?”
“Yes. An Inspector-General, was it?”
There are ranks among stewards as well. An 'Administrator' is a rank that manages practical administration, and a 'Judiciary Officer' is a rank involved only in judicial and administrative disputes.
And an 'Inspector-General' was a position that managed the entire territory, including finance and personnel administration.
Upon becoming an Inspector-General, one immediately belongs to the Frangia Administrative Office and gains the status of a 'Nobility of the Robe'.
Lui spoke.
“I hear that you, Hugh Retel, are still a commoner? Even though you served under my father as an appointed merchant for so long.”
“Yes, that is correct, somehow it ended up that way.”
“Why not join the Administrative Office this time and become a Nobility of the Robe? It would be good if you could also manage Yul’s territory.”
Yul spoke again.
“The annual salary is 400 Ducats. This is separate from your salary as my asset manager, and as the assets within the territory grow, your salary will grow too.”
“I will do it. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“I’m grateful as well. I’m keeping an eye on your family. Even if years pass, I promise to help if your family ever falls into danger. This is my reward for your devotion to me all this time.”
Hugh Retel’s eyes grew moist.
“Thank you, Lord Yul.”
A short while later.
After he left, Lui spoke.
“Are you planning to leave now?”
“More or less. I’ve achieved all my goals for now.”
The Trombon Dynasty had been stabilized, and Yul’s assets had been verified once more.
“Ah, there are still a few things. Do you happen to know the whereabouts of my ship?”
“A ship?”
“I had a privately owned vessel.”
There had been sailors who moved together with Yul. They had briefly helped him before the Heaven and Earth Resonance, and afterward their whereabouts became unknown.
“I’m not sure about that. But you said they were at sea when the Great Catastrophe happened, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then none of the captains returned. At the very least, we lost an enormous number of ships at that time.”
“I see…….”
Losing Marchand was painful. There had been no captain who supported Yul’s work as well as he had.
“What about Étienne Drake?”
“He also went missing. But who knows. If there was some place at sea that could avoid the Great Catastrophe, that is.”
“Then trade with the Penguin Kingdom must be gone as well.”
“Trade with the Penguin Kingdom? What’s that?”
“Huh? You don’t know?”
Yul looked genuinely bewildered. Back then, the Sun King had decided to begin trade with the Penguin Kingdom.
‘Come to think of it, what was it that delayed the trade?’
Before trade with the Penguin Kingdom, which had been pushed down the priority list, could resume, the world was shattered by the Heaven and Earth Resonance.
‘Looks like that information wasn’t shared with the successor.’
There was no reason to share the king’s duties with his successor, especially if that successor was a wastrel son.
In any case, Yul explained the Penguin Kingdom and also explained that there had been discussions about it with the Sun King.
“S-so such a thing happened?”
“It was important, so he probably didn’t tell anyone.”
“Very well. Then I’ll carry on that will. If a place called the Penguin Kingdom still exists, it would be fitting to make connecting with it our mission.”
“That might be a bit much. Come to think of it, the Penguin Kingdom probably suffered damage too.”
For one thing, two Sorcerer Kings vanished due to the Heaven and Earth Resonance.
Yul had personally confirmed that during the Heaven and Earth Resonance, not only Adol but also his rival, the enemy Penguin Sorcerer King Crocken, ascended.
“We’ll have to check exactly what happened.”
“This is exciting. Yul, did you know that our Kingdom of Frangia is building ships on a massive scale?”
“Oh. Is that so?”
Yul recalled the shipyard along Frangia’s coastline. Aside from that strange, mad knight who had been there, in any case, they had been constructing enormous ships.
“After the Great Catastrophe caused entire fleets to evaporate, every coastal nation has been competing like mad to rebuild ships.”
“Is there really that much lumber left to build them?”
“It’s all being imported from former Imperial territories. Orcs are excellent lumberjacks, after all.”
“Huh? What do orcs have to do with it?”
“You don’t know? The remnants of the Demon King's army, the Orcs, are all being used as slaves after being captured. A significant number of them are being used to restore finances by logging high-quality oak and spruce from the former Empire's territory.”
The continent was organically connected. With the road networks still intact, the chaotic factions of the former Empire had no choice but to sell timber westward to make money.
“In any case, large sailing ships are being built all over the world, whether in Britain or Aragon. If this trend continues, we might see the age of even larger ships than before.”
“The Age of Great Voyages?”
“Oh. That term is excellent. I’ll borrow it.”
“Lui, but for reference, who did you hear that from?”
“Martin Ferrand.”