Ch.104Chimera – Epilogue (4)

Looking back, it had been a few days since the invasion of mercenaries—arguably the biggest incident in the domain—had ended.

“Lord Alzar, I have returned.”

“Good work! Corin, I’m so glad you’re back! Ah, Charlotte too!”

“…My lord, please maintain your dignity.”

“…Ah. I got a bit excited. Thank you, Administrator Charlotte.”

Truly, Corin and Charlotte, whom I had been anxiously waiting for, had returned to the village after completing all the tasks I had assigned them.

“Exactly 50 people?”

“Yes, you counted correctly.”

The first thing that caught my eye was about a dozen or so carts. Instead of using expensive large livestock, these were designed to be pulled by humans and carried the 50 prospective residents who wished to relocate to our village, along with their possessions.

Judging by the state of their belongings, they were mostly commoners or from the impoverished classes who would likely work hard given this opportunity to relocate—just as I had hoped. Among them, there was a particularly high proportion of able-bodied young people.

Of course, including the children, the number would be around 70, but I decided to turn a blind eye to their numbers, following the “common sense” of this world.

In this world where even adults die at the slightest opportunity, more vulnerable children lose their lives all too easily. Hence, until they grow up to a certain extent, they aren’t considered “human”—a harsh reality I had to take into account.

“Then, Administrator Charlotte, those two?”

“Yes. Fresh apprentice administrators rescued from the recruitment office. The top and second-ranked students.”

“How did you manage to recruit such talented individuals… Ah, I did say you could use my name, didn’t I?”

“That’s right. Using Lord Alzar’s letter of recommendation as bait…”

“Ah. That would certainly do it.”

In the Frankish Kingdom, a typical feudal medieval state, high positions are strictly controlled through academic, regional, and blood connections.

Of course, given how dangerous this world is, and how individual power can sometimes overwhelm groups, a ruler’s position can never be held without ability…

But for positions below that level, most appointments go to people connected to those in power.

In such a society, a letter of recommendation from the future lord is essentially an employment certificate.

To put it somewhat extremely, within Baron Alzar’s domain and its sphere of influence, it wouldn’t be strange to be employed anywhere with such a recommendation, and promotion would be smooth sailing.

Of course, knowing the weight of such a recommendation, I understand that it’s directly linked to the recommender’s honor. If these individuals don’t prove themselves capable, I naturally wouldn’t even consider showing them the first letter of “recommendation.”

Anyway, as these newly recruited individuals stood side by side, blankly observing the situation, we could sense what needed to be done next.

“Administrator Charlotte, let’s postpone our conversation for now. For the time being…”

“Understood. Apprentice administrators! Follow my instructions and lead these people!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Perhaps it’s because the bureaucratic system of Baron Alzar’s domain originated from the Holy Empire, where military culture has taken root in society due to the implementation of universal conscription for all citizens.

As they responded with sharp military precision and began escorting the new immigrants somewhere…

“Lord Alzar. Actually, the Baron asked me to deliver something directly to you.”

“…From Father!?”

Since they hadn’t brought any special wagon, the item was likely a personal object rather than supplies.

As I continued my speculation, I accepted what Corin handed me.

It was a small necklace with a gray ornament resembling a snail’s shell.

“What is this…?”

“The Baron had it made by a friend of his. It’s a magical tool with two-way communication capabilities.”

“…Oh?”

Indeed, the librarian who had been my mentor once mentioned such tools, but to think Father would give one to me now… especially when I had something to discuss with him?

“This is perfect timing! I had something to tell him!”

“Something to tell him? What—AHHH!!”

[[[[Grrrrrr….]]]]

At that moment, the chimera approached me, either to show affection or to beg for meat. Corin, naturally startled but acting as my guard, drew his weapon.

“Ah, no! It’s fine! It’s fine!”

Of course, this reaction was resolved when I urgently gestured for restraint and the chimera obediently sat down, leading Corin to sheathe his weapon first.

“Lord Alzar, what is… going on here?”

“…Many things happened. While you were away.”

But perhaps the appearance of the chimera couldn’t be dismissed so easily. Seeing Corin unconsciously gulping at my response, I smiled resignedly before speaking to him.

“About that… I’ll explain later, but first, could you tell me how to communicate with Father?”

※ ※ ※

Baron Alzar, Hugo de Alzar, had been in an exceptionally good mood lately.

The reason was that the manor his son Camille had been given authority over was running very smoothly.

When the Baron first handed over the governance of the pioneer village to his son, he hadn’t expected Camille to lead it successfully as a ruler.

Of course, objectively speaking, his son Camille was not just excellent but a genius knight. However, there’s a vast difference between being strong and being a good ruler.

Hugo, not being naive enough to believe someone with no governance experience would display genius-level talent, had hoped his son would develop the qualities of a ruler through various failures and trial and error.

However, what Hugo overlooked was that his son actually possessed quite good qualities as a ruler.

Objectively speaking, Camille de Alzar doesn’t have the qualities to become an excellent or genius ruler.

He’s not some monster with intelligence beyond genius level, nor can he display divinely inspired administrative abilities as if he had an Excel program in his head.

Moreover, his tendency to avoid forming human relationships isn’t particularly good for a lord, where social skills are highly valued. He’s just a genius knight without any special characteristics.

However, the reason Camille achieved excellent results was due to his inherent nature.

In essence, he was a man who could acknowledge what he didn’t know and entrust it to others.

One might ask what’s so great about something so obvious, but how many people across worlds have failed precisely because they couldn’t do this obvious thing?

Being able to humbly acknowledge and accept one’s flaws and shortcomings—this is the key puzzle piece that completed Camille de Alzar as a lord.

Anyway, perhaps because he was proud of his son who was doing well, Hugo de Alzar had been spending very happy days lately.

The manor (pioneer village) his son was currently governing had grown smoothly despite various incidents, bringing several unexpected benefits in the process.

For example, by incorporating the werewolf tribe from the forest, he had brought in a mid-level magic user and a mid-level warrior. The governance of the village itself was so smooth that it had almost achieved “food self-sufficiency,” the success criterion for a pioneer village.

Additionally, his son had subjugated the basilisk, the master of the forest, hunted an ogre warrior skilled with weapons, and accumulated various legends that could be used for propaganda to stabilize public opinion within the domain.

As both the ruler of the barony and a rising noble in the east, as well as a father to Camille, he couldn’t help but be proud.

For these reasons, the Baron actively helped with the recruitment of immigrants requested by Corin, his son’s attendant, and also with the contract to supply fur to his knight order.

While he might be criticized for using his connections, from his perspective, connections are also a form of ability.

Satisfied that his son was doing very well in the pioneer village and was respected by his attendants, he sent a magical tool through Corin.

It was not only to easily communicate with his son but also to allow immediate contact in case of emergency, given that Camille seemed particularly prone to getting involved in incidents.

The Baron, after pestering his old friend, finally completed it and handed it over to Corin, who had briefly visited the capital…

[…Father? Can you hear me?]

“Yes, I can hear you clearly. What’s the matter?”

At that moment, when his son contacted him through the magical tool, the Baron’s mood soared to new heights.