Chapter 39
Rex County—or rather, the capital of the domain that had now become a marquisate.
The capital, where people were worked to the bone as though weekends did not exist, finally saw a weekend arrive.
On that weekend, when even the lord was resting, a shabby carriage hurried across the capital.
“Father. We’ll arrive soon.”
“Yes. I should get up.”
“Please get up carefully.”
The old man’s name was Clambel.
He was a gnome who 'had been' the adjutant of Duke, commander of the Jörmungandr Guard.
Given his age, he had now retired from his position and was an old man serving Rex loyally in another line of work.
The old man was nearly as famous throughout the domain as Duke and Rex.
That was because, despite being the de facto third-in-command of the domain, he neither flaunted his position or authority nor indulged in luxury.
If one wondered just how frugal he was, one need only look at the fact that when he needed to purchase a carriage, he did not buy a new one but used one rusting away in the former lord’s storehouse.
Even that had been a compromise made only to ensure the minimum safety required of the third-in-command.
As a result, the wheelchair was the most expensive possession among all the things the old man owned.
“Father. Sit here.”
The old man sat in the most expensive wheelchair he owned.
A special-alloy wheelchair bestowed upon him by his superior, the commander of the personal guard.
Of course, the old man had initially refused, saying that one ought not indulge in luxury with a wheelchair—but
- “You are Lord Rex’s face. Your frugality is admirable to behold, but for the sake of authority, you must pay attention to your appearance.”
After being told that, the old man could no longer refuse the wheelchair.
Of course, Duke had only made up that excuse because he felt guilty about having to buy expensive equipment and luxuries for himself in the future, but the old man never suspected his superior’s true intentions and was neatly convinced.
After that incident, the old man indulged in the minimum luxury expected of one who stood above others, but even to this day, he had never indulged in anything more extravagant than his wheelchair.
The old man was helped into the wheelchair his son pulled.
“Karan. Let’s go.”
“Yes, Father.”
The young man called Karan was a beastman.
Clambel had never married and had no blood relatives.
But he was a man who believed that a family was connected not by blood, but by convictions and beliefs.
Thus, although Karan did not share a single drop of blood with him, he was unquestionably Clambel’s son.
Karan, too, sincerely followed the old man who had not only rescued him from slave traders but had taught him academics and opened his eyes to wisdom.
The father and son approached a building that rose like a tower.
It was the tower prison that had once symbolized oppression, now remodeled into an archive.
After showing their permits to the two elite knights guarding the archive’s entrance and undergoing a strict inspection, the two entered the building.
“Karan. From now on, you must carry on my work.”
Karan nodded, swallowing tears of sorrow at the knowledge that his father had little time left to live and tears of emotion at the honor of rising to this glorious position.
The old man smiled fondly and picked up a book with trembling hands.
- <The Annals of House Providence>
The old man gently stroked the book before giving his son some advice.
“Only a chronicler appointed by Lord Rex may read and amend these annals. You are becoming the glorious bridge that will carry this great history into future generations.”
The old man opened the book.
“Now I’ll show you how to record things.”
***
=============
Rex Providence, Year 0, X Month X Day
As the Providence domain began, Sir Duke proposed to Lord Rex:
“A people who forget history have no future.”
And thus, he created the office of chronicler.
Beginning with Sir Duke’s proposal, Lord Rex refined it, and, fearing that future generations might misuse the records, established strict rules.
“No official other than a chronicler may read these annals, and the lord shall be no exception.”
This was to ensure the chronicler’s objectivity and impartiality,
“Nor will I allow an eraser to intrude upon a record once it has been written.”
This was so that the recorder, too, would be careful with what they recorded.
Thus, the greatness of House Providence was glorious from its very beginning and shall shine forevermore.
*
The chronicler comments.
Lord Rex’s benevolence is as vast as the sea, and he is so incorruptible and··· mumble mumble
- <Recorder : Arabella White>
==========
The old man showed him the first page.
“You simply write down every conversation and event accurately like this. Adding the chronicler’s commentary at the end is not mandatory, but I recommend doing so whenever possible.”
In the original story, this institution of keeping annals had not existed.
Even so, Duke had proposed this system not for the sake of future generations··· but
- ‘Someone has to know how awesome I am.’
Even playing at being the final boss needed witnesses, and Duke naturally did not want it to end as a one-time event.
He had started this institution because he wanted to pass down impressive stories to his descendants in the future.
(Of course, Rex had opposed it out of embarrassment, but when Duke threatened him with a seppuku show, he approved it.)
However, it looked different to everyone else.
“You once said that a knight must never do anything that would shame himself or posterity.”
The old man smiled with his eyes.
There was no means in this world of holding the knights and the lord in check.
Before overwhelming martial power, philosophy and religion were nothing more than empty cries.
Duke had been wary of this phenomenon and introduced records as a means of holding them in check.
It was a very minor measure, meant to make knights and officials mindful of their actions, just as everyday trivialities came together to form honor···
the gnome adjutant interpreted.
Karan nodded, deeply moved.
“As expected of him. He is a model for all knights.”
“Therefore, you must not leave out a single deed of that gentleman or Lord Rex.”
“Understood, Father. But when you say the recorder is Lady Arabella···”
“She is the head maid you’re thinking of.”
When personnel had once been severely lacking, she had served as Rex’s aide and chronicler.
Since it was a position that allowed her to legally stalk Rex, she had readily agreed.
Of course, everyone else believed that she had accepted the position out of loyalty.
After hearing his father’s explanation, Karan nodded.
“Then may I record things alongside her?”
“No. She is no longer a chronicler.”
===========
X Month X Day
As the fairness of Chronicler Arabella White’s records was seriously in doubt, the lord dismissed her from the office of chronicler.
Thereupon, Arabella White cried out,
“I have a duty to leave Lord Rex’s countenance for future generations.”
she said,
Thereupon, the commander of the Third Company of the personal guard stated,
“Your workplace is not somewhere for you to indulge your personal interests. Stop your complaining and focus on your duties as a maid.”
he said.
The chronicler comments···
-<Recorder : Clambel>
==================
“This is what happened.”
“Uh···”
Karan was left speechless.
He had seen the unvarnished faces of the people most idolized in the domain.
“Father··· can we record things like this too···?”
“A chronicler has a duty to record everything.”
“Won’t this shake their authority?”
This was an age in which rulers were deified and governed their people through charisma and fear.
Karan had learned as much in political theory.
But the old man thought differently.
“Ordinary people do not want their disgrace recorded. But Lord Rex and Sir Duke are different.”
In the records, Arabella’s image suffered a little, but their authority was not damaged in the slightest.
Rather, it gave the impression that they, too, were human beings who continued striving despite possessing such human flaws.
Professionally speaking, this was called gap moe.
“Sir Duke once said, <Between someone born good and living that way, and someone who acknowledges their evil impulses and overcomes them through effort, whom should we praise more?>”
The old man showed his son the record of Duke’s statement from a cabinet meeting.
Of course, it was something he had picked up somewhere, but to the old man and his son, it was profoundly stirring.
“So do not be afraid. Record everything, and keep thinking only of recording it honestly.”
Because it was such an important point, he repeated it three times.
At that point, his son was convinced as well and nodded.
“Understood. But do we record matters concerning national security?”
“We do. In the first place, even the lord is forbidden from reading these annals. Most of the security information you record will have a lower clearance level than these annals.”
The old man opened a page.
===========
Rex Year 4, X Month X Day
Lord Rex declared that all the people beneath his name were equal, but, wary that there would be lawless people who mocked this,
Sir Duke created the undercover knights.
The first undercover knights were Sir Duke and Hedonius, who headed southeast,
while the second undercover knights were Zayo and Kello, who headed north···
=============
Undercover knights were a Level One state secret that only Rex, who appointed them, was allowed to know.
Yet such secrets, even including appointments made only yesterday, were recorded in detail.
“All of these records are here too. It was designed to prevent people from doing shameful things in the name of national security.”
“That’s amazing. But Father, I’m sorry to keep asking questions···”
“Not at all. Ask me everything.”
The father was pleased.
His son’s questions were not useless ones; every one of them struck at the heart of the matter.
That showed just how strong his enthusiasm for this position was.
The old man was happy that even after he closed his eyes, his son would be able to carry on this position admirably.
“What are you doing? Ask your question already.”
“Come to think of it, if only chroniclers can read the records, is there any point in writing them?”
“The lord had already anticipated that as well.”
The conditions under which anyone other than a chronicler could read the annals were quite stringent.
First, the lord and his bloodline could never read them, no matter what.
Second, officials could read them only during a crisis in the domain.
Third, if the lord died and a successor lord was appointed, the people could read the records of the previous lord.
“The third clause is effectively useless.”
In the eyes of the people, Rex’s tier was Tier Eight.
Otherwise, there was no explaining how he could wield an interface ability that reached from one end of the vast marquisate to the other.
It was naturally impossible for someone like Rex to die after reaching the end of his natural lifespan, and the idea of him being assassinated was inconceivable.
Of course, whenever he was confronted with this misconception, he offered countless explanations, but the misunderstanding only deepened.
The second condition, a crisis in the domain, was difficult to imagine as well.
That was because they had Duke, their guardian deity(?), behind them.
“In other words, only chroniclers can read the annals for now. But the fourth condition will become valid soon.”
The fourth condition.
If the chronicler who left a given record dies, the records left by that chronicler may be read beginning ten years after their death.
This was a solution intended to maintain security while guarding against the chronicler being targeted for retaliation.
Duke believed that completely hiding history books defeated the purpose of recording history in the first place.
Of course, from Duke’s perspective, chroniclers were not superhumans. They would grow old and die soon enough,
and he wanted people to read his tales of valor beginning ten years after their deaths.
“Do you understand now? Why these chroniclers must not be superhumans?”
The old man looked at his son with concern.
If he dreamed of defying his lifespan and becoming a superhuman, the position of chronicler would be far too harsh for him.
But the old man soon realized that his concern was unfounded.
“Father! Even if it shortens my lifespan, I will leave behind every record!”
The old man smiled brightly upon seeing the light in his son’s eyes.
“Do not overexert yourself. The lord would be sad.”
“Yes!”
The old man stroked his son’s head and opened the most recent record.
=============
Rex Year 5, X Month X Day
Gilbo had arrived, and Sir Duke had subjugated half of the Marquisate of Dracun.
Accordingly, Lord Rex joyfully declared,
“Duke is the greatest loyal subject of all, so I wish to hand the position of lord to him and retire.”
However, everyone residing in the lord’s residence and all the knights prostrated themselves and said in unison,
“Please reconsider!”
Accordingly, Lord Rex returned to his position.
The chronicler comments.
Those who stand above others should possess ambition, but never to excess; Lord Rex, who loves his people and desires no personal advancement, is truly a splendid ruler···
<Recorder : Clambel>
---------------
X Month X Day
Sir Duke completely subjugated the marquisate and obtained the marquis’s unconditional surrender.
On this joyous day, Lord Rex wept, and when his subjects asked why he was crying on such a happy day,
the lord admonished them, saying,
“How can you look upon that domain and not express your grief?”
Thereupon, none of the subjects could raise their heads, and the lord dismissed the meeting that day.
The chronicler comments.
The lord always loves his own people, as well as those who will become his people.
Thus, when he saw the people of the marquisate suffering under oppression, he could not conceal his grief.
However, his subjects were blinded by his prestige and failed to see the suffering of the people; only he empathized with the suffering of the people of that marquisate,
and the subjects who failed to emulate his love for the people could not raise their heads out of shame.
The chronicler, too, confesses this shame.
<Recorder : Clambel>
---------------
X Month X Day
Jane, the commander of the First Platoon of the First Company of the personal guard, spoke about Sir Duke’s past with fellow soldiers while on duty,
and Sir Duke caught Jane doing so.
Accordingly, Jane was sentenced to run three hundred laps around the training grounds.
However, this may not have been retaliation for personal reasons,
"A knight must neither judge others carelessly nor speak about them behind their backs. If you want to hear something, come ask me directly."
The new knights, too, reflected on their deviation from the code of chivalry and fasted that day.
Furthermore, Sir Duke told the chronicler that this was an embarrassing past and instructed the chronicler not to record it.
The chronicler comments.
The chronicler recorded this despite being prepared to be punished, but although Sir Duke knew about it, he did not punish the chronicler.
This was because Sir Duke, too, insisted that history must be fair.
Furthermore, speaking through Sir Duke’s mouth,
Being born with a good nature and restraining evil impulses are both admirable things.
As long as one is human, one may feel evil impulses, but mastering them with one’s good nature is precisely what a person who governs the world ought to embody.
<Recorder : Clambel>
============
And one week later.
Rex, who was checking the officials’ locations through the interface, was horrified.
“Damn··· she was eavesdropping through the wall···”
The new chronicler happened to be a rabbit beastman, and Rex’s privacy decreased even further, but that was a minor matter.
.
.
.
Rex Year 10, X Month X Day
Sir Duke recommended a new martial artist, and Lord Rex welcomed him with joy.
The annals continued with the next record.