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Chapter 99: Should Have Gone When They Sent You. (3)

“Ugh! What the?!”

Claude was startled and jumped back upon seeing Kaor charging at him without warning.

He never expected him to actually come at him.

‘This territory is filled with lunatics.’

Not only Ghislaine, but even the followers beneath him were out of their minds.

The sword flew toward Claude with the intent to sever his arm in one clean cut.

Clang!

But somehow, Gillian’s axe had intercepted the blade.

“What the heck! Old man, are you not moving aside? I gotta teach this punk a lesson! Are you itching for a hit too, old man?”

“Don’t be reckless. How dare you draw a sword in front of the Lord, do you want to die?”

“What about the axe, huh? That’s fine?”

“That’s just to stop you, so it’s fine.”

The two began to growl at each other.

Belinda pretended to cover her mouth in shock, but her eyes were smiling.

Claude chuckled at the sight of the two.

Before he knew it, they had forgotten about him and started bickering amongst themselves.

“Enough.”

Ghislaine quietly muttered and threw a sword right between the two.

Swish!

Both of them backed away simultaneously, as if they were connected by an invisible string.

The sword embedded itself deep into the ground where they had stood.

“There’s a crowd here, right? Save your fights for outside.”

While admonishing them, Ghislaine couldn’t suppress a smile.

He needed to maintain authority as a lord, but honestly, he found the current free-spirited atmosphere quite delightful.

It reminded him of the mercenary band he had spent time with in his previous life.

Ghislaine stole a glance at Claude.

‘Looks like that guy is finally starting to show his true colors. After all, it wasn’t the first time he got smacked for flipping me off in my previous life.’

Claude had a strong pride in his abilities.

He was the type who freely blurted out whatever came to his mind.

He must have clashed heads countless times with hotheaded and unruly mercenaries.

‘Ah, those were some fun times.’

Claude would poke fun at the mercenaries, and those like Kaor would rush at him in retaliation.

Eventually, other members would join in, resulting in a tussle, and before long, they’d be drinking together and passing out without a care in the world.

Ghislaine would watch their antics, chuckling and sipping his drink. He’d join in the fights when the urge hit him.

There was no decorum or order to be found, but those moments allowed him to laugh without a care.

‘But I guess things can’t be like that anymore.’

Ghislaine shook his head, feeling bittersweet.

He let the nostalgic memories fade without saying more, but the officials working in the Territory of Penris couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

‘W-What kind of mess is this? Drawing swords and fighting in front of the Lord?!’

‘Did he say all his retainers were mercenaries? This is beyond crude.’

‘He just brushes it off with a laugh? Our lord must be insane!’

The ones who had lived their lives confined by rigid protocols couldn’t comprehend Ghislaine’s and his retainers’ free-spirited demeanor.

The previous lord had exploited the territory’s residents, but at least he maintained some semblance of dignity.

Other retainers would have civil verbal exchanges with the lord; no one had ever been this rough around the edges.

‘A bunch of bandits have shown up. The lord is no different from those mercenary scum!’

‘This territory is finished for sure.’

Everyone averted their gazes, pretending not to see anything as cold sweat dripped down their backs.

They lacked the courage to bring protocol against a lord who had already taken several lives.

Ghislaine misinterpreted the officials’ disarray and continued calmly.

“I understand your concerns about assigning many tasks to someone whose abilities haven’t been verified yet. But don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Right, Claude?”

“Uh…”

Claude stood up, brushing off his backside as he looked around.

Everyone present was pretending not to look at him.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, he closed his eyes tightly.

Where did it all go wrong?

Ghislaine had clearly made a grand speech.

― “Come to the Territory of Penris in Ruthania. I’ll give you the wings to unleash your abilities.”

He did give him wings. It’s just that those wings were a bit too heavy.

‘Damn it, I can’t just back out now!’

He had been labeled a gambling addict, a fool, and even someone with a damaged brain — it would be ludicrous to now say he couldn’t do it.

It was true that he was drowning in debt, so all he could do was give it his best shot.

Claude hung his head, almost on the verge of tears.

“I’ll… do my best…”

While he had no choice for the moment, he figured he could alleviate his workload bit by bit according to the situation.

Just then, Ghislaine smiled and added,

“Yeah, it seems there’s a lot to address, but it’s only the start. You’ll manage just fine.”

It was a genuine sentiment.

Claude from his previous life had handled such tasks daily. Sometimes he had faced even more grueling situations.

Given that it was a territory already in ruins, he had to ensure every detail was meticulously checked while rebuilding.

Within the big framework Ghislaine had envisioned, there were many factors that needed filling in, and there weren’t many who could respond quickly to sudden circumstances.

“You’ve got that kind of capability, right? Right?”

He seemed a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but he’d adapt soon enough.

Ghislaine looked at him comfortably with a smile.

In the end, Claude sighed deeply and nodded.

It felt like his pride would be wounded if he slacked off when the lord was relying on him this much.

“Well, I’ll give it a try, and if it gets too tough, I’ll let you know.”

“Great. Do you need anything else?”

“No. Please just stay out of it and don’t try to add more onto my plate.”

Claude exclaimed, waving his hands in a panic. Ghislaine then inquired about the state of the territory from the existing administrator.

“How many knights are left?”

“Most have died in the war, and the few who survived have fled the territory.”

It was hardly a surprise; those who had sworn loyalty to a lord who died were not likely to remain in such a desolate territory.

Ghislaine nodded silently, having anticipated as much.

“And the soldiers?”

“All were swept into the war, leaving only thirty-two behind.”

Ghislaine pondered for a moment and sighed.

“We’ll hire someone later for military command since we’re dreadfully short on troops. Belinda, you’ll manage the servants as the head maid. As for the tutor… it might be best to avoid that for now.”

“Understood.”

Belinda replied cheerfully with a smile.

‘It’s a bit unfortunate to let go of the tutoring role, but managing those who serve the lord is important too.’

Ghislaine also tasked Gillian and Kaor with training and managing the mercenaries for the time being.

He had separate thoughts for them.

After making sure his close retainers were taken care of, Ghislaine turned back to Claude.

“Alright, let’s get started right away.”

“Wait? Already? I haven’t even grasped the situation here yet!”

“Well, you’ll figure that out as you work.”

“No… but how can I work without knowing what to do…?”

Before Claude could finish, Ghislaine issued another command.

“Start with the census. It’s a territory that has been plundered for so long; there are bound to be many firewood farmers hiding in the mountains. Find every last one and bring them to the village.”

“Ah, yes…”

“We need to import food in bulk as the residents are starving. Prepare enough to feed them for at least six months.”

“Shouldn’t we know how much we need after the census is done…? How much do I need to buy?”

“That’s something you need to figure out.”

“Me?”

“Should I do it instead?”

“…”

With that, Claude was left utterly speechless.

All administrative duties had now fallen squarely on his shoulders.

Ghislaine only had to provide direction.

It was something that had to be done eventually, so Claude sighed and nodded once more.

But that was not the end of it.

A flood of commands cascaded from Ghislaine’s lips.

“I’ll also be improving the food supply. Identify the arable land and see if we can secure more.”

“Assess the outdated facilities and prioritize what needs repair…”

“I’ll reinforce the castle walls and gates; I noticed they were in shambles. Focus first on the military’s access routes…”

“I’ll repair the roads connecting each town and village in the territory to connect to the Forest of Monsters in Perdium…”

“Get a handle on the status of military supplies and replace any worn equipment…”

“Find out how many usable wells are left and construct waterways. Fill the reservoir…”

“We need to improve the sanitation in the territory as well. All toilets need dismantling, and the drainage system needs assessing. Set the specifications for the pits, so they can only be installed in designated areas…”

“Build storage facilities… including runestones, herbs, and raw materials…”

“We also need to do this… and that…”

The endless list of tasks left Claude’s face pale.

The other officials listening felt the same way.

Fearing they might catch some of the fallout, everyone buried their heads and broke a cold sweat.

Ghislaine was commanding Claude to overhaul the entire territory from top to bottom.

And he had assigned it to Claude alone.

There seemed to be no end to Ghislaine’s orders.

Left with no further recourse, Claude shot his hand up in a panic, interrupting the lord’s verbal barrage.

“It’s too much for me to handle alone!”

Ghislaine raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“I gave you authority. Hire people and delegate.”

“Oh.”

Claude glanced around.

Just moments ago, those who had treated him like trash were now all avoiding his gaze.

He quickly pointed to one random person nearby.

“What did you originally do?”

“I just managed the warhorses…”

“Oh, really? Then you could manage military supplies too! Come work with me…”

“I’ve got a chronic illness and was just planning to retire… cough! cough!”

Claude shook his head as he scanned the room.

Ghislaine had instructed him to hire the necessary personnel, but there wasn’t a single candidate in sight.

The high-ranking officials who participated in the war had already lost their heads to Ghislaine.

He also couldn’t promote lower officials to higher positions; they were equally useless when it came to unfamiliar tasks.

Even the vacant positions left by those high-ranking officials had to be filled by someone else.

‘Well, if there were usable people, I wouldn’t have been dragged here in the first place!’

Ghislaine had expected to pile work onto Claude when he handed him all these roles.

But this was beyond imagination.

Even a prime minister from another kingdom wouldn’t be able to handle the work assigned by Ghislaine.

In the end, Claude couldn’t contain his frustration any longer and shouted out.

“Damn it! At this rate, I’ll have to do everything by myself! I can’t!”

Ghislaine merely smiled brightly and said,

“Oh c’mon, have you tried? You can do it. Just give it a shot.”

“There are too many things happening at once! Do one thing at a time, I’m only human!”

“No, there’s no time for that.”

Ghislaine said decisively.

The Delphine Faction was focusing on the royal family; they needed to strengthen their influence as quickly as possible.

Yet Claude, unaware of these underlying circumstances, found his resolve completely shattered.

“I can’t! I don’t want to die buried in work! If you’re gonna kill me, just do it cleanly!”

Claude yelled bravely. Ghislaine narrowed his eyes and nodded at Kaor.

Kaor, excited, began to twirl his sword.

“W-wait! Are you serious about cutting me?”

Claude stumbled backward in panic.

Looking for help, he desperately scanned the area, but all the officials were avoiding his gaze, and the mercenaries had blocked his escape route.

‘This isn’t a joke! Is this lunatic even human?’

He almost felt like he had already exclaimed multiple times that he was truly crazy, yet he kept raising the level of his madness.

With a debt hanging over him to such a person, his life was effectively over here.

He was destined to toil away like a slave in this miserable territory until his last breaths.

Wham!

As the thought hit him, Claude felt something snap in his mind.

‘This territory is doomed. My life is doomed.’

Confronted with a shocking reality, Claude lost consciousness.

 

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