Volume 4 Chapter 28 Siblings
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Kent’s Perspective
Once Lydiane’s recruitment was complete, the officers and soldiers I had listed were successfully persuaded.
The Administrative Officer recruited by my mother-in-law was quickly assigned to various departments and began their work.
Although the bureaucrat is affiliated with the Estfort army, they are also handling the permits and administrative decisions for my territory.
My mother-in-law divided the work into 4 departments: the Military Affairs Department, which oversees military supplies and maintenance; the Commerce Department, which manages permits and interest adjustments for traders; the Civil Affairs Department, which handles petitions from the residents and manages cards and registrations; and the Engineering Department, which oversees public works and flood control projects.
The Administrative Officers acquired this time are being evaluated for their abilities and assigned to their respective departments.
Currently, there are just over 30 Administrative Officers, but there is a significant shortage of personnel compared to the workload.
In the southern region, the priority is to fight monsters, so more people choose Combat Skills or jobs rather than administrative skills.
Therefore, it is quite difficult for civil officials to develop in this environment.
Even so, my mother-in-law chose to nurture them steadily.
With the [Talent Discovery] Skill, she was encouraging promising individuals to assist with administrative tasks at above-market wages, promoting them to acquire administrative jobs. It seems she intends to hire them as low-level officials in the future.
On the other hand, Ane’s cavalry unit scouted 20 recruits, filling their quota, but the horsemen with riding skills that were recruited this time were at a novice level.
They could ride horses, but they lacked the horsemanship necessary for military maneuvers.
Ane judged that the new recruits were not accustomed to mounted combat with heavy equipment and decided to treat them as light cavalry.
However, since that was thought to be a lack of attack power, part of the Elitzina, which was enlarged in the Gunslinger chamber, was converted into a short barrel, a short stock, and a lighter Elitzina carbine, and was used as an official equipment for light cavalry. I decided to pay it.
The Elitzina Carbine is a magic gun with an overall length kept to 80 centimeters, which can also be treated as a short spear if a bayonet is attached to the tip, and the position of the sling ring has been altered for easier handling while mounted.
However, Aida mentioned that it has a drawback of increased recoil, muzzle blast, and firing noise, which negatively affects accuracy and shortens the lifespan of the gun itself.
The light cavalry equipped with magical guns changed their name to ‘Gun Cavalry’ and were organized as a mobile fighting force, but their current abilities only include suppression fire and delivering close-range shooting after a bayonet charge.
Ane was aware of this and trained the gun cavalry to thoroughly execute hit-and-run tactics against the enemy.
By limiting their tasks, the gun cavalry seemed to be becoming capable of enduring combat movements.
It appears that the cavalry has also succeeded in expanding their new combat forces.
Furthermore, Godard Village, which was being developed as a relay base in the southern region, quickly transformed into a lodging base equipped with barriers made of ditches, earthworks, and wooden fences, thanks to the cooperation of hunters eager to establish a hunting base.
The head of development, Akebus, was surprised at the number of hunters who volunteered to participate in the improvement of Godard Village.
It seemed that the hunters were also eager for a base of operations in the southern region.
One reason for the increase in participants was likely that after the massive invasion, intermediate-level or higher hunters could only find tasty monsters in the southern region.
Regular horse-drawn carriages to the developed Godard Village left Estfort twice daily, in the morning and evening.
It was also reported that traders handling monster materials began to open purchasing sites in Godard Village.
So far, there are no permanent residents, but it seems that there might be settlers soon.
I have no intention of stationing troops, so I requested the Hunter Guild to assign a quest for guarding Godard Village.
Due to the notification from the True Demon Kingdom that the southern region is up for grabs, the restored village of Godard has become my territory.
However, the surrounding area is a dangerous zone where monsters roam, so development will likely begin after hunting reduces their numbers.
Furthermore, by improving Godard village, we have received updates on the situation at Felward Fortress, which had been cut off from communication.
Currently, it seems that the garrison is recovering survivors and has a force of about a thousand troops engaged in monster extermination.
The one in command of the fortress is said to be Garvey, an officer from the Majin Clan; while I don’t know the details, he was a low-level officer in the garrison and is now the highest-ranking officer.
Under strict military discipline, the soldiers and lower-ranking officers have united under him, determined to defend Felward Fortress.
I promptly decided to send supplies and food to Felward Fortress by questing the hunters.
After consulting with my father-in-law, I also decided to send an order appointing Garvey as the commander of the Felward garrison.
The commander of Felward Fortress holds a General-class important position, tasked with monitoring the ever-open Abyss Gate, the greatest threat in the southern region; however, it was a post typically held by someone demoted or disgraced from the central command.
However, when it was newly established, Felward Fortress was removed from central command and became a direct force of the southern army, so it was no longer a place waiting for death.
It has become a frontline for monster hunting.
Therefore, this personnel change is a promotion to reward Garvey for his achievements in defending the fortress.
Special bonuses will also be distributed to the soldiers and lower-ranking officers at the fortress.
His thousand soldiers under his command are a force that the southern army desperately desires for gate defense.
If he refuses this order, I believe I will have no choice but to personally confront him at Felward Fortress.
While thinking about this, I was signing documents in my office when there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock.
”It’s open, so you can come in.”
”This is Kondrad. I have brought the Schweiger siblings with me.”
””Pardon my intrusion.””
Two young officers entered the room, led by Kondrad.
They hid their faces behind plain white masks and wore cloaks that concealed their body lines.
They appeared in a way that would be alarming if encountered at night in a dark place.
”Um… are you the Schweiger siblings? Anyway, which one is the older brother, Alphonse?”
”Yes, I am the elder brother, Alphonse. I would like you to remember me from now on, Your Excellency Kent.”
The one who stepped forward was the officer on the left.
He is supposedly the brother Alphonse.
However, both were indistinguishable with the same masks, cloaks, and hairstyles.
”Ah, so you are Alphonse. Nice to meet you. By the way, what’s with this outfit?”
At my question, Kondrad stepped forward, kneeling in a plea.
”Your Excellency! If you feel it’s disrespectful, please forgive us! Alphonse insists he will not appear unless dressed like this. Please allow him to make an appearance in this attire!”
”Ah, no. The outfit is fine, but I just can’t tell which one is Alphonse and which one is Veronica.”
At that moment, the one who claimed to be Alphonse advanced on Kondrad.
”Lord Kondrad! It appears that Your Excellency Kent is indeed trying to make my sister Veronica his plaything! That’s why I didn’t want to appear. I can’t bear the thought of my dear Veronica being used by Your Excellency!”
The pushed Alphonse was grabbing Kondrad by the collar, shouting.
”Wait, Alphonse, hold on! Your Excellency isn’t saying anything like that!”
It seems Alphonse is rather protective of his sister.
Alphonse appears to think I am interested in his sister, Veronica, and trying to take her from him.
Amidst the commotion, Veronica approached me and spoke.
”Your Excellency Kent, I believe my brother’s illness has caused you some distress, but my sibling and I will serve you with our lives, so please forgive my brother’s reckless behavior.”
The other masked man, presumably the sister Veronica, bowed deeply and pledged his loyalty to me.
Seeing that, Alphonse lunged at me.
”Your Excellency! What do you intend to do by putting my sister in such a position? You were thinking something lewd, weren’t you?”
What a bothersome man he’s brought along.
I shot a glance at Kondrad, who was wiping the sweat from his forehead, looking quite embarrassed.
”Your Excellency! As long as I am healthy, I will not let even a single finger touch Veronica! Gah!”
Veronica had delivered a backfist to Alphonse’s belly.
”Your Excellency… my brother has been very rude… I will prepare for the consequences…”
”Well, it was just a man’s display of brotherly love… I’ll overlook it today.”
”What! …I thought that with this, the bothersome brother would be gone…”
Veronica seemed exasperated by her brother’s excessive interference.
I did think Alphonse’s actions might have been excessive for an adult sister, but I also wondered about a sister wishing for her brother’s downfall.
I turned my gaze back to Kondrad.
Kondrad was wiping the sweat that looked like pearls on his pale forehead.
”Lord Kent… Alphonse may be that kind of man, but he excels in organizing information. Please take a look at the documents I brought.”
Kondrad handed me a bundle of papers he retrieved from Alphonse’s pocket.
It contained maps of various resources thought to be mineable in the southern region, a distribution map of monsters, and terrain maps suitable for battles of various scales.
Even I, who struggles with reading documents, could grasp the necessary information immediately.
The thought that this sis-con guy made this material makes me feel a bit complicated, but as Kondrad said, he is undoubtedly good at organizing information.
Showing it to my mother-in-law should help with resource development, and for Kondrad, it contained very useful data for monster hunting.
”The original information for my brother’s material was obtained from traders and hunters in this land. It took me a bit of time since it was an unfamiliar place, but I ensured the accuracy of the information I gathered. I believe there are no errors.”
”You collected it? Your brother let you do that?”
”My brother doesn’t know that I’m collecting information. The only ones who know are Sir Kondrad and Your Excellency Kent. So please keep it a secret from my brother. I actually quite enjoy information gathering. If he finds out, he would make me stop right away…”
”Alright. I’ll keep quiet. Feel free to gather information; tell Kondrad to cover the costs from the military’s confidential expenses.”
Veronica once again bowed deeply in gratitude.
”I gratefully accept Your Excellency’s consideration.”
At that moment, the revived Alphonse lunged at me again.
”I won’t let you! I won’t allow it! Damn Kent Blackdagger! Don’t touch my sister or she’ll get pregnant! Ah!”
I reflexively threw a punch as he came at me.
The punch landed cleanly on Alphonse’s jaw, causing him to crumble to his knees.
I felt like he had said some terrible things, but considering his ability, I decided not to question it further.
After that, Veronica left her unconscious brother behind, and when Alphonse realized he was alone, he suddenly seemed to regain his calm demeanor and began to speak gently.
”I sincerely apologize for my disrespectful behavior earlier, Your Excellency. It’s a lifelong disgrace for Alphonse. When it comes to my sister, I can lose control of myself.”
Alphonse was repeatedly bowing in apology alongside Kondrad.
He seems to be quite a competent officer, except for his obsession with his sister, which makes him a dangerous person when she is involved.
So, I decided to propose something to Alphonse.
”Alphonse… I have a suggestion. Regarding Veronica, it would be dangerous to keep her by my side, so I think we should assign her to the bureaucrat as an Administrative Officer. What do you think?”
”Your Excellency… are you planning to make Veronica a civil servant? Well, I suppose… she isn’t suited for combat… she might be better off as an office worker.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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