The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 299

Episode 299 Now let’s prepare for the next one. (2)

The Fenris administrators were busier than ever, as their territory had expanded significantly and there was more work to do.

Many administrators, including Claude, moved to the Desmond area.

Before coming, Claude had briefly thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be better to die than live a busy life?’, but when he actually arrived at the Desmond area, he had new feelings.

“I can’t believe this whole land has really become ours. I never thought this day would come.”

It was a much more subdued reaction than when they had captured the Cavaldi region. They had been jumping for joy then, so it would have been normal to be even happier if they had captured Desmond, who was much bigger than Cavaldi.

The results were so great that I couldn’t believe it and couldn’t even feel my emotions.

“Is this real? I’m not dreaming, am I? Wendy, can you see my… … Oh, it’s not there right now.”

Claude looked around with hazy eyes.

I vividly remembered the first time I came to Fenris. I thought that Giselle was the successor to the High Lord because she had a lot of money, but I was greatly disappointed.

I was dragged to a beggarly estate and made into a slave, and I suffered greatly. But who would have thought that such an absurd day would come!

“It’s still a dirty situation… … but our lord has become a true great lord.”

When something too big happens, people become dazed. That’s exactly what Claude was feeling right now.

If Jiselle had lost, she would have died too, but she was just glad that she didn’t die.

But his quiet demeanor was short-lived, and as soon as he arrived at the castle, Claude began to get cocky.

‘Ahem, I am the Grand Master of the Great Territory of Fenris. I must now pay more attention to my dignity.’

For some reason, a smile kept creeping up my face. It was hard to hold back the blush that was forming.

Claude muttered to himself in the carriage, his voice clear and his expression dignified.

“I will restore justice to those who have suffered from injustice and evil for so long! From now on, we will create a new era… … Oh, why am I so cool? You will all be impressed, right?”

Claude chuckled and admired his own handsomeness. As he rode in the carriage, he did not hear the people of the estate chattering.

“The person coming now is the general of the territory.”

“The bribery king of the North? He’s a very corrupt and extremely vicious person. Don’t trust him because he always lies when he opens his mouth.”

“There are rumors that he’s a gambling addict. There are also rumors that he’s mentally ill. Either way, he says you shouldn’t stand out.”

“Oh my, how much will that notorious guy harass and rip us off? I’m already worried.”

The people of Yeongji let out worried sighs just by seeing the carriage Claude was riding in.

Claude, unaware that he had been cursed at the whole way, entered the castle with dignity.

“The General has arrived!”

Although he is a slave, he is still second in rank in Fenris. The knights and soldiers waiting outside the castle bowed their heads to Claude.

Claude nodded his head haughtily in greeting.

‘Wow, it was a good thing I didn’t run away. I’m the commander-in-chief of the Great Territory, Claude! I’m the commander-in-chief in this mood, really.’

“Oh, the general is here?”

Belinda waved happily, and Wendy, who was next to her, bowed her head slightly to Belinda and approached Claude.

Claude saw her and cried out with tears in his eyes.

“Wendyeeee! Do you know how scared I was without you? Sooooooooo!”

Claude came running towards her with his arms wide open, sniffling. Wendy quickly pushed Claude’s head away and looked around.

The soldiers and servants passing by were all twitching the corners of their lips as if they were holding back laughter. Wendy bit her lip. I’ve felt this since last time, but this kid really doesn’t know what shame is.

“Vicky… … please.”

“Hehehe! Don’t leave me!”

“Please… … a little… … .”

Wendy’s face turned red with embarrassment. It was quite a feat for an assassin with little emotional change to react like this.

After a few struggles, Claude came to his senses and his arrogant expression returned.

“Ahem, then shall we go and meet the lord?”

Wendy glared at him as he walked ahead brazenly and confidently, shook her head a few times, and followed him again.

Giselle waved happily when she saw Claude.

“Hey, Claude, come in quickly.”

“Hahahaha! Congratulations on becoming a great lord!”

As Claude congratulated her with a hearty laugh, Giselle asked with a look of surprise on her face.

“You’re more healthy than I thought. Weren’t you trying to die rather than work any more?”

“Oh my, where did you hear that? You won’t die because you feel wronged, right? Later, when the territory stabilizes, you’ll just have fun and eat as much as you want before dying in style.”

Giselle responded to Claude’s ambition with a puzzled expression.

“Yeah, well… I hope that day comes.”

“Well, that’s enough of the greetings… … Did you kill everyone who went?”

“huh.”

“Yes, I understand. Only we who are left will die.”

Claude nodded at Giselle’s clear answer. No matter how terrifying something may be, if a person experiences the same thing many times, they become accustomed to it.

Jisel is a warlord. He continues to expand his territory through war. After acquiring new territory, it was obvious what he had to do.

“Then let’s get started right away.”

“Okay, always… … .”

“Yes, yes, quickly and surely.”

Claude waved his hand as if he understood everything and turned around. He looked like the real governor of a great territory, with an air of composure.

“Hey, you’re not finished talking yet… … .”

Giselle called out in bewilderment, but Claude left before she could finish her words. Left alone, Giselle laughed in vain.

“Yeah, first we need to assess the situation and stabilize it. I’ll talk to you later.”

Claude immediately led the managers to assess the current situation of the territory.

‘I got caught last time when I tried to steal it in a hurry. This time, let’s try to steal it secretly!’

Claude muttered, having first checked Count Desmond’s personal property with a grand heart.

“Why… … are you a beggar?”

In fact, he wasn’t a beggar, but his wealth was similar to that of ordinary lords. I expected it since he was the owner of a large estate, but compared to Count Cavaldi, his wealth was less than half.

“Was Count Desmond such an upright and innocent man?”

Not to that extent. He wasn’t extravagant, but like a nobleman, he spent a lot of money to maintain his dignity.

Claude frantically searched through the other vassals’ private belongings and even the storehouses of the estate.

“What! Why are you all beggars!”

In every warehouse, there was nothing special.

In Claude’s mind, Desmond was the embodiment of evil. So he should have embezzled and amassed more wealth than the evil lord Count Cavaldi.

“Who already stole it?”

Claude, who had been running wild, finally understood what was going on after checking the piled up documents.

“Wow, these guys are really serious.”

The war was started by gathering all the assets of the estate, including the soul, in order to kill Jiselle. Most of the assets of the estate had been exchanged for food and weapons.

“Hey, man, these aren’t going to be of much help to us.”

After Giselle dealt with Desmond’s main force, the supply corps that followed naturally surrendered. Thanks to this, they were able to obtain a lot of weapons and supplies, but they were not of much help to Fenris.

Food was already overflowing to the point of rotting, and all iron weapons and tools were being replaced with galvanium.

Even if I had acquired a lot of weapons, it was obvious that it would only cost more in labor costs and time to melt them down again. If I had to pick something useful, it would be siege weapons.

“Hmm, since they’re armed, I can’t sell them off. No, should I just sell them cheaply to the royalist faction and show off?”

If I had other resources, I would have used them somehow, but now that the entire Desmond estate was in ruins, it was just a headache.

It seems that they confiscated all the property of the people there. Still, it was well organized to see how much was confiscated from each household, perhaps to compensate them later.

“The Earl of Desmond wasn’t such a bad guy after all.”

Even while gathering supplies, he did not just take them without permission. It was like Harold, who was full of aristocratic thinking and pride.

After getting a rough idea of ​​the situation, Claude prioritized his work.

“Hmm, I guess I should first distribute food to the people of Yeongji.”

Desmond is a place with a lot of food production. Not only wheat, but various crops are abundant. However, the situation has been bad due to the drought that came after selling a large amount of food to Giselle.

In the meantime, the giant tower was blown away, and the remaining food supplies were all confiscated as war supplies. So the situation for the people of Yeongji could not have been good.

As was always the case when conquering new territory, the top priority now was to calm public sentiment.

When Claude appeared with a large cartload of food, the people of the territory looked at him with complicated eyes.

“That was all ours originally… … .”

“Maybe they’ll take more. They said it was a poorer estate than ours?”

“Damn, how did we end up losing to those country bumpkins?”

The faces of the people of Yeongji were filled with worry and discontent.

If only he had won the war, he would have been greatly rewarded. Count Desmond was a fearsome man, but at least he was not a petty man who broke his promises.

But since they lost the war, they were not given any compensation. The situation was already bad due to the drought, and now it was really hard to make a living.

In fact, they were left penniless because Earl Desmond, confident that the war would be won quickly, took almost everything, leaving only a little for food. However, they were wrong about where they were putting their resentment.

This is because they feel that the rewards they would have received if they had won the war were lost because of Jiselle. In particular, the people living in the center of the territory were more dissatisfied because they had great pride in their territory.

Claude looked around at those people and scratched his head.

“It’s strange. Why does everyone hate us when we come?”

I guess you’ll like it later anyway.

Claude, who had been grinning, soon shouted loudly.

“We will pay the compensation that Count Desmond promised. And double it!”

“……?”

The people of Yeongji opened their eyes wide. They had not expected it, so they couldn’t believe it when they heard they would be given twice as much.

A neatly dressed old man came out from among the people watching and asked.

“Is that true? Are you really going to give it to me like that?”

“Yes! I have never lied since I was born!”

The people of the estate all looked distrustful. Strange rumors about Claude had already spread throughout Desmond’s estate.

Claude, not knowing why he was receiving such stares as soon as he arrived, became furious.

“I’ll distribute it right now! I’ve set up temporary distribution centers here and there, so bring the certificate you received from Count Desmond! However, since each person has paid for different items, I’ll distribute it as food in order to process it quickly!”

The expressions of the people of Yeongji brightened at those words. It was obviously more profitable to receive it as food. It was necessary for immediate living, and the leftovers could be easily sold to merchants passing by.

As the rumor spread, the people of Yeongji went to each distribution center with half belief and half disbelief.

“Wow! You really gave it to me!”

“I got more than I was promised!”

“Count Fenris is the best!”

It doesn’t really matter to them who the owner of the territory is. The lord who treats them well is the best.

Unlike other fiefdoms in the North, not many people in Desmond starved to death.

So, just by distributing food, the people’s livelihood quickly stabilized.

The poor villagers on the outskirts of the territory were much more enthusiastic about sharing food than the people in the center of the territory.

Unlike the people in the center who had at least some loyalty to Count Desmond, they didn’t even know who Count Desmond was.

I just lived by paying taxes and giving whatever was asked for.

However, since he did not take anything away and instead gave them food, the praise for the Earl of Fenris grew louder day by day.

“Look! I’m telling you the truth! Trust me!”

Claude roamed the Desmond area at great length. As he made his way quickly and appeased the people, the hostility towards Fenris was greatly reduced.

“Yeah, but there’s another problem.”

Even though the hostility was reduced, the atmosphere in the territory did not stabilize right away. This was due to the aftermath of Earl Desmond taking all his troops with him.

Claude blinked his tired eyes and submitted a new report to Giselle.

“There have been too many criminal organizations. Especially since the rumor of Desmond’s defeat spread, all sorts of thugs have been jumping in. They seem to have made ambitious plans to take advantage of the chaos of the Occupation period to establish themselves.”

“You say there are more criminal organizations?”

“It’s only natural that Earl Desmond brought out all the guards. It’s going to take some time to sort this out.”

“Hmm, I guess the people of Yeongji are very agitated?”

“Of course. It seems like they can’t even sleep properly because there are so many people who are after the food we gave them. Some people have already had their food stolen. We haven’t completely taken control of administration and security yet.”

It was a difficult field to deal with right away. The administrative system had to be changed like Penrith, and a lot of management was needed.

In order to maintain security in this vast territory, the military must be deployed appropriately. Although trainees are currently being brought in, there is still a shortage of manpower. Securing security is ultimately a matter of time.

“Hmm… … I need to stabilize it quickly.”

Earl Desmond was just one of the many. He needed to stabilize his territory quickly so he could begin preparing to fight a more formidable foe.

Here too, we need to build fortresses, integrate villages, and construct various facilities. However, if the people of the territory are anxious and cannot focus on their work properly, it will be a great loss.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“We are currently deploying all of our knights and hunters to ensure public order, but it is not easy. We do not know the geography well, and we are not cooperating well with the local residents. It seems like it will take at least half a year to sort things out.”

“Hey, no. It’s taking too long. We have so much work to do right now, and we’re spending months just catching criminals!”

“Ha, is that as easy as it sounds? You know it’s not like you can just grab it and have it end there.”

You can’t go to someone who didn’t do anything and say, ‘You’re a criminal, right? Die.’ That’s why criminal organizations survive secretly and tenaciously.

So, the lords tended to turn a blind eye to criminal organizations as long as they paid taxes properly. It was convenient to use them to do dirty work.

Even if we make a hundred concessions and just arrest them, that won’t be the end of it. We have to confirm whether they are really guilty, and we have to go through a trial to decide how much punishment they will be given.

“You can catch and kill those who commit crimes right away, but the problem is those who hide and do bad things secretly. How can you weed out all those people? They haven’t committed any crimes yet.”

It may seem like a small thing, but it was a more important issue than you might think. If proper procedures were not followed, the people of the territory would start to distrust the lord.

Some people may not know that the people who were caught are criminals, and even if they know that they are criminals, if they do not follow the procedures, they may feel unconscious anxiety and resentment that the blind arrows may come back to them at any time.

That is why even nobles pretend to follow the law and principles, at least on the surface.

Of course, if he were a wicked lord, he would just ignore the anxiety of his people, but Jisel must not be seen as that kind of lord.

“Hmm… … But I can’t just leave it alone, right?”

“Yes. We need to strengthen security and prevent people from installing them indiscriminately. We have no choice but to continue to suppress and monitor them. After some time, things will stabilize. And that’s only natural.”

“It’s so inefficient. It takes up so much time that I don’t like it. I guess there’s nothing I can do. This time, I have no choice but to step up.”

“What… what are you going to do now?”

“Isn’t it enough to just avoid giving the impression that the lord is enforcing the law as he pleases? Isn’t it enough to just avoid rumors that the lord is arresting innocent people?”

“That’s… … right.”

“Then it’s not difficult. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, crime for crime.”

“yes?”

When Claude asked with an anxious look, Giselle smiled faintly.

“Bring me my mask. I will bring down the curse on those bastards.”

As long as you don’t get caught for doing it, that’s fine.

The Plunder King and the 40 Thieves will solve that problem.