Chapter 8
I returned to the castle, where the doctor examined and treated me.
It was my first time experiencing my body and stamina recover through a doctor's healing magic, and it was quite fascinating.
Once I had recovered like that…
Hart chewed me out like mad.
“What would you have done if something terrible had happened to you!!!!!”
Hart was angrier than I had ever seen him in Calix's memories.
The other vassals and I could only cower and watch as Hart shouted at me like a grandfather scolding his grandson after he had caused trouble.
“The lord is House Kron's last remaining heir. Please think of your health. For this old man's sake, please…”
“I'm sorry for worrying you, Grandfather Hart…”
Hart looked as though he really was about to cry—no, he shouted while crying.
Feeling sorry, I naturally called Hart ‘Grandfather,’ just as Calix had in his childhood memories.
Well…even I had to admit that I had overdone it.
Swimming through a typhoon while carrying a child on my back… Now that I thought about it, it was a miracle I had survived.
How did I even make it back alive?
Anyway, because of that incident, I underwent a thorough health examination and was confined to the castle for a week.
I received healing magic every day and was only allowed to hear brief reports from Hart and the other vassals.
And Noah began visiting frequently.
“I'm here, my lord. Are you feeling better now?“
“I'm fine. I've rested so much that my back hurts. But, Noah…you've been coming quite often lately.”
”Of course I should. I'm the lord's 『treasurer』.“
Noah had recently become one of our family's official treasurers.
More precisely, she had become one of the treasurers thanks to Hart's forceful recommendation.
Hart had widened his eyes and said:
‘For the sake of House Kron's future and succession, we should officially appoint Lady Noah as treasurer, my lord.’
Faced with Hart's overwhelmingly forceful recommendation, I could only nod like a grandson being scolded by his grandfather.
After becoming an official treasurer, Noah began commuting to the castle every day as though it were her own home, and she started working incredibly hard.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but she seemed to be working even harder than she had at the merchant guild.
And there was one unresolved question.
…What exactly did ‘succession’ mean?
* * *
Noah believed that she had a fairly accurate eye for judging people.
But this time, she honestly admitted that she had been mistaken.
She had thought Lord Calix was someone who would create a new storm in the Empire.
She had thought he was ‘a somewhat unusual lord’ whose goal was to expand his influence through policies aimed at winning over the people—something no one else had considered.
‘(I was completely wrong. To think I considered Lord Calix merely that kind of lord…)’
While working at the merchant guild, Noah had seen countless lords and members of the imperial family.
They all spoke of the people and their subjects, but not one of them truly acted for the people's sake.
They only thought about exploiting the people and merchants. She swore that not a single one of them had ever truly governed benevolently for the people's sake.
So Noah, too, had given up.
She had given up, believing that an ideal ruler was nothing more than a fairy-tale character.
But on the day the storm came, she saw it.
She saw the young lord throw himself into the water for the sake of his people.
That was precisely the image of the ‘ideal ruler’ she had dreamed of.
It was the image of a ‘true emperor’ who showed through his actions, not his words, that he could lay down his life for his people.
It was an incredibly irreverent thought, but…
If someone asked her who among all the people she had seen was best suited to become emperor…
Noah thought, without hesitation, that the only answer was ‘Lord Calix.’
Once she had reached that conclusion, Noah's decision came quickly.
If Calix was suited to become emperor, then all she had to do was make Calix emperor.
The Empire's emperor was chosen by election.
Not only the emperor's descendants, but also nobles of lordly rank who possessed territories had the right to run for office and vote. After the emperor died, the imperial family members and lords who held voting rights would gather to elect the next emperor.
In other words, Calix, as a lord, could theoretically become emperor as well.
Of course, it would not be easy as things stood.
House Kron's power was still insignificant, while the princes, princesses, and other great lords who were already leading candidates had built vast powers of their own.
But…if she devoted herself fully to helping House Kron…
Noah was certain that in about five years, House Kron could become a great power capable of fighting them.
And so, without anyone knowing, Noah decided to become Calix's 『Kingmaker』.
“Now that things have turned out this way, I will serve you with all my heart from now on, Lord Calix.”
“Um…yes. I look forward to working with you, Treasurer Noah.”
One week later, after I returned to my duties as lord, Noah said this to me with a smile.
I had no idea what she meant by ‘things turning out this way,’ but since a beautiful girl was smiling as she spoke, I simply accepted her words.
But what was this…? It had been a truly beautiful smile, yet it sent a shiver down my spine.
I felt as though some extremely troublesome things had been set in motion somewhere beyond my knowledge.
Was it just my imagination?
“More importantly, did anything happen in the territory while I was gone?”
“Nothing special happened. The storm damage has been repaired, and all the farms have been restored. It is all thanks to the subjects who worked tirelessly of their own accord.”
“Hmm…I see.”
Hart's words made me happy and sad at the same time.
I was glad that the subjects had stepped forward on their own, but the thought of money piling up again gave me a headache.
Ha…Where am I supposed to spend all that money this time?
As I was pondering that, Hart continued.
“And one problem has arisen.”
“A problem?”
Hart said it matter-of-factly.
His reaction made me think it was nothing serious, so I asked. Then…
“The number of free citizens applying to move to our territory has increased by more than threefold.”
“It has increased by more than threefold!?”
What did he mean, nothing special had happened!? There had been plenty of damn things happening!!
I had plenty to say, but I could not bring myself to say it to Hart, my grandfather, so I focused on understanding the situation.
What I heard from Hart was an even more headache-inducing situation than I had expected.
“Between the pitch-black waves, our lord threw himself in♬ He raced through the black sea, embraced a tiny life, and emerged through the raging waves♬ He placed that tiny life back upon the earth!! Ah! O great Silver Dragon of Kron♪!”
Hart, Noah, and I went outside the castle for the first time in a while to see the situation for ourselves.
Minstrels were singing all over the area outside the castle, and people were singing along as they listened.
There was nothing unusual about minstrels singing in this era.
The problem was that the songs they were singing praised me and were spreading to the surrounding territories at an absurd speed.
“For some time now, songs praising you and our territory have been spreading to the surrounding territories through the minstrels.”
“They've spread to the surrounding territories!?”
“Yes. I hear they have already reached House Blackrose in the west.”
Even though I had done something good, could songs really spread that quickly?
At that moment, my eyes met Noah's, and she merely gave me a sly smile.
As I always found, a beautiful girl's smile was bad for the heart.
“And the free citizens who heard those songs are flocking here?”
“Yes, they are coming in truly enormous numbers.”
I looked toward the castle gate Hart was watching.
There were even more people gathered there than during the merchants' arrival last time, and the gate was packed to bursting.
“Get in line!!!! Please, get in line!!!!!“
That gatekeeper was having a hard time again today.
I would have to give him an extra bonus later.
“But can we handle it if that many free citizens move here?”
“That is…”
If that many free citizens moved here, there would be more than one or two things to worry about.
They would need housing, food, and jobs.
Hart could not easily answer me, as though there were some problem, so Noah, who was standing beside him, answered.
“It will be possible if you invest all the profits you gained from the tariff reform, my lord.
Noah answered with an extraordinarily bright smile, as though it were wonderful news.
I understood why Hart had such a dark expression on his face.
As steward, it must have been difficult for him to tell his lord that there was not enough money and that he would have to dip into the family's fortune.
Of course, this was excellent news for me.
I could waste money on my people! Let's do it right away!!
“Will that really be enough?”
“Yes! I calculated it with the other treasurers. I'm certain.”
I was about to accept Noah's proposal with feigned reluctance.
But when I actually tried to dip into the family fortune, Hart shouted in alarm.
“But if you support the free citizens with your personal fortune, you will reach your limit in no time!”
“It's fine. Once they come here, they are my subjects too. If my personal fortune can support them, I will do so as much as necessary.”
“My lord…”
At my words, Hart entered kindly-grandfather mode and looked as though he were about to cry.
Then Noah slipped between Hart and me with a bright smile and said:
”I think I have a solution to that problem. May I tell you about it?“
”What solution do you have, Treasurer Noah?“
Noah pointed toward the abandoned land by the sea and said:
”We can put the free citizens who have immigrated here to work on reclamation projects.“
“Put them to work on reclamation projects?”
At some point, Noah had put on a pair of glasses and begun explaining it to me.
Where had those glasses come from?
”Kron territory is vast, but because of the salt, there is not much land we can use.“
As Noah said, our territory lay along the coast, and not much of its land was particularly suitable for farming.
It was much like the Jiangdong region where Wu was located in Romance of the Three Kingdoms before it was developed, so we depended heavily on imports, obtaining much of our food in exchange for salt.
”But what if we had the immigrants settle there and reclaim the land?“
Noah explained the policy while mixing in words that were insanely difficult, but the gist of what I heard was as follows:
First, lease the immigrants land that could be used after reclamation but had never been reclaimed because there had been no one to do it.
Second, once they reclaimed it, recognize their ownership for a certain period and give all the harvest, except for taxes, to the immigrants who reclaimed the land.
Third, once the immigrants' lives had stabilized, recover the personal funds House Kron invested at a low interest rate.
“This way, House Kron can save on expensive construction costs, the free citizens can have land of their own, and your personal fortune can be preserved as well.”
Hart nodded with satisfaction after hearing Noah's words, then looked at me and said:
”It sounds like a good plan, my lord.“
”I…I agree! It sounds good to me too.“
To be honest, economics was not my major, so I did not understand everything Noah was saying.
But even from a rough understanding, it sounded similar to the good policies I had seen on the news and YouTube in my previous life.
So I pretended I understood and approved Noah's proposal.
This was the moment when one of my greatest achievements in the not-too-distant future,
Noah's 『Immigrant Land Reclamation Policy』, which would transform Kron territory into the largest granary in the south, began.
“Then let's head back now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Hyah!”
I told Hart, Noah, and Rikain, who had come along as my escort, that we should return.
Just as we all turned our horses toward the castle to head back…
“Aaaah!!!”
“S-save me!!!!”
Screams rang out from the rear of the immigrants' procession.