Chapter 193
『Translator: RainTL』
༺ Miruam Elizabeth El Rath (5) ༻
“What’s with this proposal?”
Deputy Minister of Administration, Barohk tilted her head after seeing one of the documents that required her confirmation.
“Who’s the one that sent this through?”
It was by sheer coincidence that Barohk found that document, during the busy times of recruiting an army against demi-humans.
“Tell them to revise this again. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to pass something like this in this time and age? Huh? Do you wanna die?”
She was in the aristocratic faction and was a devout follower of the Old Faith. Therefore, she heavily rebuked ‘Count Manoska’ for passing a bill like this. After that, Count Manoska…
“So uhh… I couldn’t get it to pass.”
“Haa…”
He quickly sent the news to Renya and Josephine who were waiting at the royal capital for the bill to pass.
“This is a little bit of a problem.”
“I, I have done my best! So please do not expose my hobbies!”
Without caring about the count, who was worried about his cross-dressing hobby being revealed to the public, Josephine went to Korin.
“Who’s the problem?”
And came back with Marie Dunareff.
………
……
…
The one who returned the bill that Count Manoska tried to pass was Deputy Minister Barohk of Administration.
“She’s a pure blue-blood to the core.”
“And she’s a faithful believer of the Old Faith.”
In just the span of an hour after Marie Dunareff arrived at the capital city, she gathered all sorts of professionals from the Dunareff company.
There was only one goal in mind.
It was to pass the bill that Korin wanted to pass.
“Would it be possible to persuade her?”
Marie’s question was answered by Toroppo, the branch manager of the royal capital’s Dunareff Supplies.
“It would be possible, but that depends on what level you are willing to permit.”
“Level?”
“I mean the level of pressure. We could bribe the servant who takes Barohk to and from her mansion to find her secrets. It’s a strategy we used often in the past to withdraw restrictions in agricultural and marine product trades, and it works quite well…”
“That’s too aggressive! And we don’t have time either! We have to deal with it by tomorrow!”
“Hmm… So we don’t have much time at hand.”
“Wouldn’t it be faster to go straight to the Minister? I believe that gentleman was a quick-thinker.”
“The Minister is currently on an inspection in the East. The two strongest authorities right now in the Administration are the two Deputy Ministers.”
The task force brainstormed more to find the fastest route to have the bill pass, including the time it would take to send the bill for a reexamination.
That was when Renya from the Intelligence Guild added a statement.
“Ah~. By the way, Deputy Minister Barohk is allergic to potatoes.”
“Haht…!”
“Hmm!”
“Oh dear…!”
It appeared that she wasn’t blessed by Mother Earth. The Dunareff Family lamented at the fact that there was such an unfortunate person in the world.
That night, after returning home from work, Barohk went out to have food and had a sudden allergic reaction after having bread made with potato starch.
The fact that that restaurant belonged to the Dunareff Merchants, and how a sudden one-day free meal ticket was sent to Barohk ‘by coincidence’ was a secret hidden from everyone.
***
Gorgol, the Deputy Minister of Administration, went to the Administration Department for work after lunchtime.
Today was supposed to be his day off, but he had to work because the other Deputy Minister, Barohk, suddenly got sent to the hospital for an allergic reaction.
“Hah~. If only she was a bit more careful…”
Thanks to that, he had to work on his day off.
-Knock knock!
-Deputy Minister. Count Manoska is waiting outside.
Count Manoska — he was a noble transferred from the western regions of the Kingdom and was immediately sent in as a relatively high member of the department straight after his post began due to his status as a count.
It was strange why a count bothered to start as an official of the Administration department. Normally, nobles tended to follow an elite course that allowed them to become a Minister or Deputy Minister, instead of becoming an official.
“Tell him to come in.”
However, Deputy Minister Gorgol was also a noble himself and was unperturbed by the status of the other party. He straightened his collars and permitted his entrance.
“Deputy Minister Gorgol. I am Team Leader Manoska.”
“Hmm~. What brings you here, Count Manoska?”
“P, please speak more casually, Sir.”
Count Manoska was a rather fragile yet good-looking man with fine lines. His body was so slim that people might mistake him for a woman from a distance.
“A, actually, I’ve come here for your permission regarding this bill. It is urgent, so I was hoping you could stamp it as soon as possible…”
“All things have procedures for a reason but… Let me read through it.”
Deputy Minister Gorgol read through the document as his face slowly started to turn stiff. After finishing it to the end, he threw the paper at the count and raised his voice.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“Uhkk…! I, I’m a count…”
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a count or not! Don’t you know what this agenda will imply?! The royal court is resolute with its subjugation army. Do you know what will happen if we let this through?!”
-Deputy Minister? You have another guest.
“Who is it now…?! Tell them to wait—”
-It’s Lady Marie from the Dunareff Dukedom.
“What?! Dunareff?!”
Was this the Dunareff of the South? Gorgol immediately shot out of his seat.
“You step outside! No, wait! Get rid of this document! Quick! I’ll help you!”
After a weird situation where the Deputy Minister personally picked up all the papers that he himself threw, he quickly told his secretary.
“T, tell her to please come in!”
Marie Dunareff stepped into the room after hearing that, and Deputy Minister Gorgol gulped in nervousness before quickly bending his back.
“Lady Dunareff. It is a great honor to see you. I am Count Gorgol Lucard.”
“Ah…! Hello, Count Gorgol. You were here too, Count Manoska?”
“Ah, do you know ‘Lord’ Manoska?” Gorgol asked.
“Yes. He has some relations with our dukedom.”
Damn it. Had Gorgol known that he had a connection with the Dunareff, he certainly wouldn’t have tossed the papers at him.
“Is Lord Duke still well? I would love to greet him one day but…”
“Ah, it’s okay. Dad’s very busy after all.”
It sounded like a normal response but Gorgol saw it otherwise – there was no way that someone like Duke Marde would bother spending his time meeting someone like him. That cold-blooded duke and an emperor of his own empire would never bother seeing a mere Deputy Minister.
There was a time when the Administration department had requested the Duke of Dunareff for assistance to send through a new law regarding crops. The Minister had to beg the South for 3 months straight to barely pass the bill.
“M, may I ask… why the Young Lady has visited this little office?”
“Ah~ it’s nothing much, but our family runs a small farm, right?”
A small farm? Were 2 million hectares small?
The amount of farmland under the influence of the Dunareff family was roughly 5.7 million hectares. It was the lifeline of not only the Kingdom but the entire continent.
Running the biggest farm on the continent and calling it a small farm was… very modest of her to say the least.
“My dad has been very worried these days. Because of depopulation(?), there have been a lot of young people going to big cities.”
“Haha. I see.”
That was his first time hearing such a thing.
Weren’t there plenty of people in the South? Weren’t the lands so rich there that a few potato seeds could let them support raising a child, hence their massive population?
“So it’s hard to find people to work these days… Wahh~ Look at thisss!”
She sounded like a machine reading a textbook. What Marie turned to while saying that was the document brought by Count Manoska.
“Wow! I can see this is a very important agenda!”
“Sorry? It’s been less than 3 seconds since you’ve started to read…”
“This will solve all of my dad’s concerns!”
“Really? I don’t think…”
“‘Deputy Minister Gorgol.”
Marie looked straight into his eyes with her golden eyes.
“Can you please work on this bill immediately?”
At this point, Gorgol clearly knew what she was asking for. She was telling him to pass the bill right now, right at this moment.
“B, but…”
However, he couldn’t do so readily because this was like a political suicide. It could have negative implications on the subjugation army formed directly by the royal court.
Casting dirt on the royal court’s plan was something he could not dare do, as someone who wished to become the next Minister in about 10 years and work in the royal palace.
“Deputy Minister. Do you know the Secretary of Law, Wolpe Schacht?”
“O, of course. Isn’t he the widely respected gentleman of the palace? Ah…!”
As expected of an elite official, Gorgol immediately realized what she was implying.
Viscounty Schacht – a collateral family of the Dunareff Dukedom.
Wolpe Schacht, the head of the family and the head of the Ministry of Justice and Public Affairs was a bigshot of the central government. That wasn’t the end.
Secretary Tocqueville, Minister Lamartine, and Director Darlan… There were many big shots of central politics that were from the South.
Although the Southerners tended to remain in their region without bothering too much about the central affairs, they needed people to represent their voice in the central government, and the above-mentioned were the representatives of the South.
“Next month, there will be a small party in our house to celebrate the harvest.”
Marie passed him a ring – it was a golden ring with a potato flower.
“It’s a party where only the really really close ‘friends of the South’ are invited to. If you come with this ring, my dad will treat you as a friend.”
“Ohh…”
This was the entry ticket of the royal club – a free pass ticket dedicated to the true higher-ups of society.
Dunareff was in a whole different league to Manoska or himself, who had peerage and nothing else.
The Dunareffs were actual nobles.
Unlike the aristocrats nowadays, who were losing power, and how the central nobles had to buy the favor of the royal family as officials instead of feudal lords, the Dunareffs were a true family of nobles with their land and private soldiers.
The conservatives of the South were still in possession of a great amount of land and were huge supporters of the primary industries of the Kingdom, and even the royal court could not dare touch them with ease.
That was the type of family the Dunareffs were.
A true untouchable dukedom with everything in possession, whether it be history, customs, authority, or finance.
And now, he was given a chance to enter the Dunareff.
As long as he passed this ‘bill’.
“I, is this really… the only thing I need to do?”
“Yes, and you will become a ‘voice of the South’, Deputy Minister. Why don’t you work as a Minister next year? And after retirement, maybe you should become one of the presidents of our companies.”
Become a minister in just one year, instead of the 10 years that he had been thinking about? And a post-retirement measure like none other on top of that?
Now this was a connection; this was background!
Elite courses meant nothing! That was like a stem whereas this would be like a root connected directly to Marie, a future head of the dukedom!
“...”
His mind was very confused by the sudden turn of events. It was such a good deal for him, but he became concerned instead.
What would happen if he took on this deal?
Unfortunately, the Young Lady of the Dunareff family did not wait for him to finish that natural line of thought.
“Hmm~. I suppose you’re not interested. I will have to visit Deputy Minister Barohk then.”
Deputy Minister Barohk, his rival for ministry. Hearing her say that she would visit his rival put Gorgol in a hurry.
“W, wait…! L, let me stamp on it right now!”
“Are you sure~? Shouldn’t you read through it one more time?”
“No need to! If it could help out Lord Duke Marde, then why would I even need to revise it? Let me stamp on it right now!”
-Bang!
The bill was passed.
………
……
…
“Oh right. Count Gorgol?”
“Yes, what is it, Lady Marie?”
Marie fidgeted her fingers with a blush and barely managed to add more words.
“This is… umm, a very… personal question.”
“Yes yes. Please ask me anything.”
Now that he had officially become a voice of the South, Gorgol was so submissive and respectful that he could lick her boots if she told him to.
“If I hand in… a registration of marriage without the spouse’s permission, can you still pass it through?”
“Excuse me?”
It was a rather petty question to ask a Deputy Minister of Administration. Before Gorgol could even process the question, Marie blinked her eyes and took a step back.
“I, I’m just joking! Forget it! Ahah~”
Was that really a joke though…?
***
Miruam advanced the army as soon as the contract forged by the mages was reduced to ashes.
I wanted to reactivate the Sun to stop them on their tracks but… it disappeared before I could even fully materialize it and I just ended up wasting mana. The fight against Bres had utterly drained me of my mana.
All we could do was destroy the walls of the canyon with the help of our mages to buy time.
“Chunsik. How much time do you think we’ll be able to buy?”
“If we bombard them with magic… then we can last a few more days.”
“One that doesn’t kill people, you idiot.”
When I smacked the old ghoul on his head, he replied while groaning in pain.
“Uhkk…! If we focus on debuffs, then maybe a few hours…”
“I guess that’s the limit since they have mages as well.”
The biggest problem, however, was the knights. Hundreds of knights would certainly be able to charge their way in through the canyon as long as there was a small path available for them.
“Are you… not going to be firing spells?”
A voice reached us from behind – it was from Ku Shee the werewolf.
“People will die if we do.”
“...This is a war.”
“Right. So many lines and boundaries are crossed in a war like they are nothing. But not yet.”
“...”
Ku Shee blankly stared at me like how he often did whenever I was on a break after duels. He still looked confused.
“Why… are you pushing yourself to this extent?” he asked.
“Didn’t I tell you at the start?”
-Fewer people dying is always the best option.
“...I see.”
“Hey. Now’s not the time to feel sentimental. Tell your men and the vampires to crush some parts of this canyon. We might be able to buy a few more hours.”
“If we use our energy destroying this canyon… we won’t have enough mana for the war.”
“As I said, we’re not going to be in a war. And I’m your leader, Finvarra, right? Listen to me.”
“...Alright. I’ll trust you.”
He seemed a bit different after seeing me stop an army for several days through various means. Without raising any objections, Ku Shee and his beastmen followed my orders and we were able to buy a few extra hours.
However, the thousands of soldiers from the Kingdom were quick at removing debris from the canyon. Right when they were about to catch up and we were starting to hear the sound of their pickaxes…
“Student Korin!”
“Korin…!”
The dimensions opened up as Josephine and Marie jumped out.
“We’re done…! The bill has been passed!”
“Uwaaaht!”
Marie appeared like the goddess of fortune descending from the heavens. I was so happy that I gave her a few pecks on her cheeks.
“K, Korin?!”
“That was really quick! Thank you so much!”
“H, hmm…! R, right!? I had to try my best!”
“It would have been impossible without your help, Senior! You really are the goddess of fortune for me.”
“R, really? Umm… Feel free to give me more rewards.”
-Thud!
That was when pebbles fell from the ceiling. A road was carved up through the broken debris of the canyon and behind the holes were soldiers of the Kingdom.
After receiving the document from Marie, I stood before them.
“All of you. Stop right there…!”
The army ceased their movement after hearing my shout. They were in awe and fearful due to everything I had shown them.
“Now. Have a look at this!”
“Korin… Lork?”
I could see Miruam gazing at me in the distance, while I shook the bill that just passed in the Administration.
“It is an official document from the Administration department that states how the ‘2,895 people of the five Dana Shees’ have been accepted as citizens of the Kingdom…!”
-Citizens?
-What does that mean?
-The demi-humans are citizens now?
The document that I was trying to pass through Count Manoska was the residency registration of all the demi-humans of Dana Shee. Now that this was confirmed, the 2,895 demi-humans of Dana Shee were now full-fledged citizens of the Kingdom.
And what did that mean, you might ask?
“Citizens of the Kingdom have the right to undertake legal procedures before being pronounced guilty!”
From now on, these people were citizens of the Kingdom who had the right to ask for a trial and defend themselves.
“You… Don’t tell me!”
We had a victim and a suspect. As for a lawyer? There was no need for one, and they could just defend themselves.
The most important people in a trial are the judge and the prosecutor, but who am I?
“I, Korin Lork! As a Grade 1 Justice of the Peace verified by the royal family…! Will now begin the trial of the attempted assassination of 2nd Princess, Miruam Elizabeth El Rath!!”
A judge and a prosecutor who had the right to carry out an emergency trial in ‘outer regions’ that were far from the reach of legal action.
That was me.
You weren’t expecting this, were you now?