Chapter 388
**The Eastern Capital, Hupples.**
A city with a stark divide between the wealthy and the poor.
In the center of that city, where deep shadows lurk behind the glittering streets, stands a massive mansion.
The owner of this symbol of wealth is **Valerezepe Matthias, Duke of Matthias.**
He is the head of a ducal family in this southern continent.
The lord, while listening to live background music, chewing on a steak made from a rare cut of meat, served by beauties, and enjoying every possible luxury, was listening to a subordinate's report. The scene of women pouring wine, women playing music, and women holding documents—a blend of work and entertainment.
"Your Grace, a report from Herritz, who is in charge of securing craftsmen: The Percy Workshop has refused our demand."
Though he constantly lives a life of wine, women, and song, one might think his body would be soft and indulgent. However, his biceps were as thick as the waists of the serving women, his height exceeded two meters, and his cheeks were taut, giving him a warrior's physique.
"Then they're useless. Crush them.""As you command."
He issued the single order without even glancing at the subordinate and continued his meal. All the while, he kept checking the management status of his territory without looking away from the documents.
Perhaps the energy was needed for his brain, or perhaps maintaining that physique required a considerable amount of food—about 20 kilograms of meat had already entered his stomach. It was clearly excessive, yet it still hadn't reached his usual amount.
In the dining hall, where only the quiet clinking of forks and knives could be heard, an inexplicable tension flowed.
"Hey.""Yes!""The mine's operating rate has dropped. What's the meaning of this?"The reason for the tension was the numbers on the documents.
"Y-Yes, sir! An epidemic has broken out among the mine workers, and the number of laborers has decreased accordingly.""Countermeasures?""Yes, sir! We have sent additional captured criminals to the mines.""Estimated recovery time?""Given about a month, we expect to return to the original operating rate..."The subordinate, knowing that even the slightest hesitation would result in that trained, muscular arm being swung, desperately continued to regurgitate the information he had memorized. His back was drenched in cold sweat, fervently wishing to finish the report quickly.
"Insufficient.""Y-Yes, sir! Then we will send additional personnel immediately.""Twenty percent more. Recover the lost time. Relay that.""Understood!"
His own report was finally over. The subordinate who had received the order bowed and left the room. The next subordinate appeared, handed documents to a beauty, and waited for Valerezepe's words with a tense expression.
The documents he brought were a report on a certain frontier village in the north.Normally, it would be a minor event the Duke wouldn't even notice, but this one was undergoing abnormal development.
"Hey.""Yes!""There's no information inside."Moreover, the security was tight, and information couldn't be obtained. The information they had managed to acquire was about golems obtained before the walls were built and information about a giant golem carving through mountains.
They had grasped that something new was being created inside the walls, but they didn't know what it was.
"W-Well, sir, even if we try to infiltrate, we are blocked by the walls, the security is strict, and their covert operatives seem more capable than ours..."However, saying that honestly would result in a physical separation of head and torso. The sweet fantasy that diligent effort would be recognized did not exist here.
"How much?""Huh?"This Duke's final warning was always this phrase.
"How much money would it take to extract information from inside?"An employer who provides a budget might, in a sense, be an ideal superior.The fact that he provides funds at the named price might make the operative side ecstatic.
But the subordinate couldn't casually name a price.
These words meant that once a budget was provided, failure was not allowed, and responsibility would be demanded.
In the subordinate's mind, he desperately compared the information he had painstakingly obtained, searching for possible methods.
"A-A hundred thousand zeni should suffice..."A hundred thousand zeni—an enormous amount equivalent to one billion yen in Japanese currency. Here, a flat-out refusal was almost unheard of.
"Hey, prepare it.""Yes, sir!"Duke Matthias instructed the treasurer standing by to open the door of the vault attached to this dining hall.
The gleam of gold leaked from within.A mountain of gold coins piled up filling the room, and in front of it, hemp sacks filled with gold coins.One sack contained gold coins worth a hundred thousand zeni—ten million yen. The treasurer carefully prepared ten such sacks, loaded them onto a cart, and brought them before the subordinate.
"Do it.""Y-Yes, sir!"
There was no turning back now.He had been in charge of gathering information on the northern frontier village, but compared to the beginning, recently he had only obtained information about new walls being built and a large number of dwarves entering the frontier village.
Originally, Duke Matthias was not a patient man.That's precisely why this gold was his last chance.
If he achieved no results with this, this subordinate's tomorrow would be as a mine laborer. If things went badly, it wouldn't be strange if his entire family was sent to the mines.
Knowing the current state of that mine, the subordinate absolutely had to avoid being sent to that place, which could be called a living hell.
For a moment, the thought of taking this gold and fleeing to another country crossed his mind, but it was impossible.Everyone knew the border security of the eastern territory was meticulous. It could even be said that getting in was relatively easy, but getting out was much stricter.
And even if it succeeded, Duke Matthias would never forgive betrayal.He would pursue them to the ends of the earth with persistence and exact revenge without fail.
Knowing a former colleague who met a gruesome end as a lesson, the subordinate desperately suppressed his unending fear, accepted the cart, and quietly left the room.
"Watch him.""Understood."Of course, they wouldn't just trust him and send him off. The Duke gave an order to the butler who had been nearby after he left the room. If he tried to run off with the gold, he would meet an end several times more horrifying than what he had just imagined.
No one worried about what his future held. Quietly, a third subordinate was summoned.
Dressed better than the previous two and walking boldly without any trace of fear, his demeanor overflowed with confidence.A handsome face, gray eyes and hair, a slender yet clearly toned physique.
"Your Grace, I have come to report on the training of the Magical Weapon Army.""Speak."He was **Bermuda Ortus**, the commander of the entire eastern territory's army. An NPC that Liberta also knew, from a lineage of military men serving the House of Matthias for generations.His nature, known in FBO, was that of a pretentious artist. He was capable, with an efficient personality suited for a military man.However, he also had the obsessive temperament of a craftsman or artist, which was said to be his weakness.
To say he wasn't even on Liberta's scouting list gives an idea of his character.
"Yes, sir! Deployment progress is at 20% overall. Training is being conducted by reusing magic items, so overall readiness is at 30%. It is not yet ready for actual combat."The man who could be called Duke Matthias's right-hand man, without the slightest hesitation, piled on negative reports.
"The quality of the magic items also has much room for improvement if we consider actual combat. Securing new craftsmen is urgently needed. However, one point: the items from the Percy Workshop are of exceptional durability and quality, as one would expect. I very much wish other craftsmen could mass-produce items of this level and deploy them to the entire army."Maintaining an army costs money.So, normally, one would try to report something positive to secure the budget, but this man reported the current situation without any hesitation.
"How much is needed?"And he was hit with the same death sentence phrase as before.However, Bermuda was unfazed.
"I think about ten million zeni would be sufficient for now. If possible, ten times that would be even better."He demanded ten times the amount the previous man had asked for. Furthermore, with what could be called brazen audacity, he made additional demands.
"...Three million.""Understood. I shall forge them into elites."Even Duke Matthias hesitated for a moment at that amount. In conclusion, he offered three times the requested sum.
"Then, I shall go crush those attempting to rise up in the southeast, also as practical training.""Do not reduce the labor force.""Of course, I am aware."He would produce results commensurate with the amount provided.The confidently nodding Bermuda referred to "those attempting to rise up" as the people suffering under this territory's heavy taxes.
Rumor had it they had allied with a skilled adventurer clan.Their plan was to raid a mining city, free the laborers working there, and further strengthen their forces.
Bermuda had grasped all of this information.Manpower, guild rank, plans—he had investigated everything.
"Bermuda."Creating a situation of absolute, unbeatable readiness to secure an overwhelming victory.While running that simulation in his mind, he was called back to reality by his name.
His employer, Duke Matthias, had stopped eating and was looking at him.
"You know about that frontier village that appeared in the northern territory, right?""Yes, I have seen the report. I heard they completed walls surpassing the royal capital in just a year. Has something happened?""Investigate. If they don't become a problem, do as you please.""Hmm, I believe others are already investigating..."At times like these, even Duke Matthias, who usually spoke little, would weave longer sentences. Most of those long sentences concerned things of high interest to Duke Matthias, and the person being instructed was one he trusted highly.
"Can't trust them. Their value is the same as mine laborers.""I see. They have failed repeatedly. Understood. Although the management rights for the northern territory have been transferred to the royal family, public order seems to remain poor. I would like Your Grace to petition His Majesty for a military exercise under the pretext of maintaining public order.""Very well.""Also, on that occasion, I would like to have a part of the Magical Weaponry Corps accompany us."As if taking advantage of the situation, Bermuda also requested the accompaniment of the currently reorganizing corps.
"Are they usable?""They need actual combat to become usable. Training is just training. If we don't use them, they are meaningless.""That is true. Do as you wish. But, I will not tolerate information leaks.""Understood."He proposed it because it was necessary and obtained approval.
"Ah, yes. There is one more thing I would like Your Grace to prepare.""What is it?""I would like you to prepare two personal letters. Also, a gift would be even better. One is to be sent to Duke Edelgard, and the other to the leader of that frontier village—what was his name, Liberta, I believe? I wish to deliver it to him."Then Bermuda, with a smile as if saying it was necessary, made a further proposal.
"People find it hard to refuse when courtesy is extended. If one were to turn away someone who merely came to greet them, rumors in society would turn sour. No matter how bad our relations may be, we are currently inhabitants of the same continent; we should build friendly relations. Even if Duke Edelgard were to meddle, if we happen to be nearby while restoring public order, we should at least pay a greeting."When asked with a look why it was necessary, Bermuda cheerfully explained the reason.It was effective against those concerned with appearances, and he explained his malicious actions without the slightest hesitation.
"Even if they are wary, we are not currently enemies. If so, we simply need to go openly from the front. For that, I would like Your Grace to take up your pen.""Very well."If Liberta had heard this conversation on the spot, he would have surely made a face of utter disgust.But Liberta had no way of knowing such a conversation.