Chapter 69
At first, I thought he was a lunatic.
I mean, I thought he was Frederick Mk. 2.
“But it's my property to begin with?”
Naturally, it was absurd that they were forcibly confiscating items I'd sold or given away.
Naturally, given the nature of the Gallery, countless requests for a handshake came pouring in, emboldened by anonymity.
- Oh, are you a lunatic?
- A soldier beat the shit out of someone just because he felt like it, and this guy's like, “Don't interfere” ㄴㄴ lol
- Phron is finished.
ㄴ Sigh, there's nowhere else to go now.
Phron was an isolated region.
Behind it were mountain ranges, and ahead lay the Forest of Monsters.
In other words, neither entering nor leaving was a matter of free choice.
- Duke's Proxy) They had not paid taxes for a long time. I merely took goods equivalent to those taxes.
“So he's saying, ‘Do your worst’?”
Was he planning to use the region's isolation as leverage and pick a fight with me?
But surprisingly, that wasn't the case.
Count Mark was a little different from what I'd expected.
Count Mark was a mad legalist.
- Duke's Proxy) However, violence is an abuse of power.
- Duke's Proxy) I will punish them according to the law.
ㄴ Fucking harsh punishment again.
ㄴ Even so, it'll just get swept under the rug again.
ㄴ Severe punishment (one day of reflection)
ㄴ That's how all the high-and-mighty types are.
- Duke's Proxy) I will strip them of their qualifications.
ㄴ What?
ㄴ Wait, what?
“Huh?”
Tax collectors held considerable power, at least in terms of rank.
They also generally had powerful patrons and were often in league with nobles.
So I assumed it would be brushed aside, but he was stripping them of their qualifications?
- Duke's Proxy) In addition, I will impose a fine of 10,000 mana dumplings, pay compensation to the victims, and conduct a further investigation.
ㄴ I didn't want it to go that far.
ㄴ Damn, that's fucking strict;
ㄴ Author) Holy shit, thank you.
ㄴ Duke's Proxy) I merely followed the law.
He was truly a lunatic obsessed with the law.
He was different from Frederick.
No, the problem was that he was too different.
If he had been the mindless dictator Frederick, the people would have cut him down themselves.
- He's a little too law-law, but he's okay ㅇㅇ
- I work at his castle, and I've never seen the Duke's Proxy indulge in luxury.
- When he punished himself for his own mistake last time, I really thought he was a fucking lunatic ㅇㅇ;
He had a decent reputation, too.
“I should look him up.”
Naturally, I became curious.
I opened the activity history for that username, and then I saw the depths of the abyss.
[Collection of Duke's Proxy's Posts]
One day ago / 07:00) For the record, time I arrived at work
One day ago / 23:00) For the record, time I left work
Two days ago / 07:00) For the record, time I arrived at work
Two days ago / 23:00) For the record, time I left work
.
.
n months ago / 16:00) For the record, appointed Duke's Proxy
“Wow, he's insane.”
He had been working a monstrous sixteen-hour day every single day.
And he even went to bed at exactly 23:30 and woke up at 06:30, leaving himself that much time to sleep.
[n months ago / Title: What Should I Do?]
Author: What does it mean when they tell me to choose a username?
“Huh, what's this?”
Then I found the very first post he had written in the Gallery.
It was from before he became the Duke's Proxy.
Wondering what on earth he had written, I clicked in, only to find content just as absurd.
[n months ago / Title: What Should I Do?]
Author: What does it mean when they tell me to choose a username?
Duke Isaac had taken the Crown Prince's hand.
The more that happened, the more serious the situation in the North became.
All sorts of crimes were taking place,
monster attacks were becoming more frequent,
and officials were too busy lining their own pockets with bribes.
What was the problem?
Why did people not obey the law?
Someone had to step up and uphold the law.
[Recommendations 0] [Dislikes 5]
- Old man, are you drunk?
- Go wash your feet and go to sleep.
- Yeah... The law, it sounds nice. But if you follow it, you're just a sucker, so who's going to do it?
ㄴ Author) What do you mean?
ㄴ If I follow it alone while everyone else breaks the law, I'll be the only one going hungry, lol.
ㄴ What other world did you crawl out of? Are you seriously asking about something so obvious?
ㄴ Author) Hmm... I see. I understand.
ㄴ What do you mean?
ㄴ Author) Then if everyone obeys the law, doesn't that mean life will be better for everyone?
“So this is where it all started. Fuck.”
Nobody obeyed the law.
So perhaps he thought that if he rose to the highest rank himself, he could make everyone obey the law.
He seemed to believe that was how he could hold together the North as it crumbled.
- Duke's Proxy) I appreciate the aid, but I would prefer it if you refrained from excessive interference.
In other words, he was 100% sincere about that, too.
The proof was that he was working while skipping meals, let alone indulging in luxury.
“But if the law itself is wrong from the start, then none of that means anything, does it?”
In the end, it would all be pointless if people refused to cooperate even after things reached this point.
In the end, I made up my mind.
“Woohoo!”
-Flop
I threw myself onto the bed and took out some snacks.
Then I opened the Gallery and started rereading the popular posts from a week ago.
“Why should I care?”
In reality, the tax collector who had used violence was punished, and the Gallery user hadn't died.
If I went any further, that would be interference in internal affairs.
It was a little questionable that they were collecting my goods, but even if they took thousands or tens of thousands of them, it wouldn't make much of a dent in my points.
It wasn't as though they were going to use them themselves; they said they would use them to develop the territory, so...
“Hey, over there.”
Just then, something tapped me lightly.
When I turned around, Penny, who had somehow come close, was staring intently at me with a storybook in her hands.
“I finished reading this storybook too. Do you have any other books?”
Her eyes were full of anticipation.
Maybe it was because she'd come here after living outside?
She loved storybooks terribly.
If my routine was food, sleep, and the Gallery, Penny's was food, sleep, and storybooks.
‘Wait, should I try selling a storybook?’
While choosing a storybook for Penny, I absentmindedly wondered what would happen if I tried selling one.
I deliberately hadn't sold any because I thought everyone would be too busy trying to eat and survive to care...
But maybe, on the contrary, they might sell well.
“Here, the next volume.”
“I'll read it carefully!”
When I gave Penny the next storybook, she snatched it and ran to her room.
“But registering it on the Marketplace right away feels a little...”
It would be nice if I had someone who could gauge the reaction beforehand.
And as it happened, I had just the people for that.
My loyal, unpaid slaves: the assistant moderators.
[Admin Chatroom]
(Head Mod has listed ‘storybook’!)
Full-Health Elf: What is this all of a sudden? A storybook?
Die-Standing-After-All: Is it food?
Head Mod*: It's a simple book of short stories.
Head Mod*: Read it when you have time and give me a review.
What if the reaction was lukewarm?
“Well, if it doesn't sell, it doesn't sell.”
I could simply not put it on the Marketplace.
Since I'd started this on a whim, I gave the two of them storybooks without any great expectations.
*
“Hmm...”
The audience chamber was silent.
Erzsebet, sitting beside me on the throne next to the refrigerator, was staring intently at something.
What she held in her hands was none other than a storybook.
“Head Mod sent something strange again.”
Erzsebet narrowed her eyes.
It was a book, but a strange one.
Compared to the books available here, its appearance was incredibly alien from the outset.
Its cover was sturdy, with a flawless finish.
Even the pages inside were smooth and soft to the touch, made of a material that made her wonder whether anything like it existed.
More than anything, what were these illustrations?
“The art style is so round and fluffy... Cute.”
The rough, crumbly medieval paper was ill-suited to holding delicate illustrations.
Besides, artists skilled enough to make them were difficult to find.
“Was there ever an artist with this level of skill?”
She had seen all sorts of famous paintings and works of art, but this art style was fresh as well.
Her curiosity and questions continued to bloom.
After pondering, Erzsebet slowly began opening the book's cover.
Imagining what on earth could be inside.
[Buy matches. Please buy some matches.]
“!”
The moment she looked at the first page, Erzsebet's eyes went round as a rabbit's.
*
A day had passed since I gave them the storybooks.
“It's about time they sent me their reviews.”
In truth, even a response along the lines of “It was pretty good. I enjoyed it” would have been enough for me to list them on the Marketplace.
After all, weren't these fairy tales masterpieces that had survived into the modern era and inspired countless adaptations and interpretations?
But the response I received was unexpected.
[Admin Chatroom]
Full-Health Elf: Th... th...
One of the assistant moderators was making strange sounds.
“Oh, have they finished reading?”
It was just as I was about to leave a message in the chat.
Full-Health Elf: You evil Head Mod! You heartless, tearless Head Mod! And you still call yourself a Head Mod?!
Head Mod*: ?
Full-Health Elf vented their fury at me, then suddenly began to cry.
Full-Health Elf: How could you write such a cruel story about such a young girl...
Full-Health Elf: (Elf emote unable to continue speaking)
Full-Health Elf: I thought she'd be happy in the end!! Change the story right now, you evil administrator!!!
Head Mod*: ???
Even excluding the illustrations, the fairy tale was so short that it didn't fill two pages of A4 paper.
I'd half expected it, but I hadn't imagined they'd leave a review after becoming this immersed.
It seemed that fairy tales had a tremendous impact in a medieval world where stories and novels had completely disappeared after the apocalypse.
Head Mod*: Tag Die-Standing-After-All) What did you think?
Die-Standing-After-All: .
Head Mod*: Hey.
Die-Standing-After-All: (Meme of them lying face-down on the audience chamber floor and crying)
Die-Standing-After-All: (Vampire emote in a box, squeezing their eyes shut and wailing)
And quite a lot of it.
“This is a hit.”
This was more than the reaction I'd hoped for.
This... would definitely sell!
The response had been proven, so there was no time to hesitate.
“But which ones should I buy?”
Yet I was at a loss over which fairy tales to choose.
But, as always, the Marketplace already knew the answer.
[Category – Fairy Tales/Bestsellers]
[3 Random Books] - 30P
“This is it.”
The system would recommend books at random.
I didn't even have to agonize over the choice.
Without giving it much thought, I placed a bulk order and listed all of them on the Marketplace.
[New items have been added to the Marketplace!]
Without realizing what it might set in motion.
*
Night deepened into darkness.
A soldier entered the Duke's office in Phron, northern Adrian, carrying some books.
“Lord Mark, these are the books you requested.”
“Good. Leave them there.”
“Yes, sir!”
Thud—the three books were stacked on one side of the office desk.
Duke's Proxy Mark looked at them with an odd expression.
“So these are the books Head Mod released on the Marketplace.”
I'd heard there were two books called storybooks and one called a bestseller.
Mark examined the books with an indifferent gaze for confirmation.
“Well, the art style is decent...”
The Little Match Girl in particular boasted quality as perfect as the rumors claimed.
Good enough that he would like to read it if he ever found the time.
But it wasn't the storybooks that caught his eye.
“Hmm, what's this?”
One book lying at the very bottom.
It was a strangely red, rough-looking book.
“I should read it and see whether it's a dangerous book.”
Mark was wary of Head Mod.
A single gesture from Head Mod could shake the foundations of a nation.
At the very least, Mark did not welcome having everything dictated by the hands of one person.
Mark slowly took in the book.
“Phew.”
To determine whether this was truly a dangerous book or a fine work of literature praised by the public.
Mark slowly turned to the first page.
“Hmm, that's an unusual title.”
And there, in his view, was the title.
[Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism]
It was Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, the bestseller published in 1917.