Ch.8181. Lord

Now it was time to leave the Imperial Capital.

It was a decision I made while reviewing the Futures Transaction contract.

Of course, just distributing emergency funds wasn’t enough to resolve the Cordana situation.

To be honest, even using the word “resolve” was a stretch. The significance was in reducing the scale of the disaster that would hit from early summer (wheat harvest season) this year.

Nevertheless, my decision to leave the Imperial Capital was prompted by something Bingo, who was handling the practical matters beside me, said.

“Hey, Erick. There’s an inquiry from the Grand Duke’s family.”

The Grand Duke was the Emperor’s younger brother.

A member of the imperial family who ruled a city in the direct territory with the title of Grand Duke.

He was by no means someone to be ignored. Not simply because of his noble bloodline, but because the population of the city he ruled exceeded that of an average count’s territory. His wealth was also incomparable to that of ordinary lords.

When I heard it was an inquiry from such a powerful figure, I was initially anxious about what trouble might have occurred, but fortunately, it seemed to be nothing serious.

“He wants to borrow your villa for a few days. The Grand Duke’s son got into the Academy’s magic department on his own merit. His grades are quite good too. So they’re planning a grand celebration…”

“So they want to enjoy themselves somewhere quiet.”

“Yeah. Of course, they said they’ll pay for it.”

I did actually own a villa among my real estate properties. I had purchased it while diversifying my assets after selling off Cordana.

It was a villa I had acquired from the Marquis of Clodein family, one of the Empire’s most prominent wealthy families, and it was luxurious enough that it wouldn’t be strange for the Grand Duke’s family to request it for a banquet. Since they offered to pay, I could certainly lend it to them, but…

Upon receiving this proposal, I finally realized something.

I had never stayed at that villa even for a single day.

“I’ve been living like a madman. It’s not even that far away.”

“The caretakers there were asking what you look like. They said they shouldn’t fail to recognize the owner if you visit.”

“Huh.”

“And honestly, it’s not just the villa you haven’t visited.”

All true words. Since the Delirose County had become the Wellesley County, I had never visited the place.

Fortunately, the Wellesley County itself was running more or less smoothly. At least according to Bingo.

I had even recently gained a vassal beyond my station. Garland, one of the Hero’s pursuit team and my senior knight, had agreed to come to the county. It wasn’t that I recruited him with a large sum; it was Garland himself who wanted it.

“I can understand Sir Garland’s position. There aren’t many territories where a member of the Hero’s pursuit team can settle. Whether they directly invested in Cordana or not, no family is free from its influence.”

“Many people do misunderstand short selling.”

“Plus, we decided to distribute rewards this time. The nobles probably think each pursuit team member got about 8 billion in their hands.”

So he had settled in Wellesley County where he wouldn’t have to be concerned about others’ perceptions. He probably just wanted peace of mind.

It was extremely unfair that the pursuit team, who had worked tirelessly to arrest Gwon Heejin and those women, and even recently eliminated a thousand beasts with an additional guest member, was being treated this way. It was due to the country going crazy, but still.

“But from your perspective, Erick, it’s not a bad thing. Someone who has experience handling security and defense in a territory several times larger is coming to help.”

“That’s true.”

“Oh, and Viscount Hyde is also working very hard. He seems to be struggling a bit to manage the territory where the atmosphere has gone to hell.”

Just because things were running somewhat smoothly didn’t mean that I, as the lord, could ignore it.

After some consideration, I decided to stay at Wellesley County for a while.

Strictly speaking, I should be residing there permanently and governing the territory, but in the current situation, even a temporary departure required resolve. Though I wasn’t sure if I could rest even when I went to the territory.

“I should tell Amelia to prepare. Bingo, you prepare too.”

However, before leaving, there was one thing I needed to check. It was due to a problem that had arisen—seemingly trivial, but not something that could be dismissed as merely trivial.

***

The problem occurred at the mint.

The mint. Strictly speaking, it was just a foundry with tight security. I had transferred all the ransom money there with the permission of the imperial palace.

But they said a problem had occurred during the minting process.

Ancient gold coins or ornaments with high proportions of impurities?

That wasn’t a problem at all. I was just annoyed at the Demon Lord’s army’s attempts to reduce the value of the hostage ransom they gave me. That quantity had already been transformed into gold coins or gold pieces.

The problem was the golden statue of the Hero.

Not Gwon Heejin, but a sculpture of a Hero who probably lived hundreds of years ago.

It had a higher proportion of copper because a pure gold statue would distort, but it was still a heavy lump of gold.

The problem was that the technicians at the mint were reluctant to melt it down. Not because they worshipped the Hero, but for their own reasons.

“It seems the statue was made in the Kingdom of Ether.”

This was what an official from the court ministry told me when he came to my house at my summons.

The Kingdom of Ether. Once a powerful nation, but it failed in its attempt to harm the Hero of that era and eventually incurred the wrath of the Goddess. After that, it gradually declined and eventually perished.

“There are records that the people of the Kingdom of Ether made various sculptures to seek the Goddess’s forgiveness. This might be one of them. It probably leaked into the Demonic Land during the collapse of the Kingdom of Ether.”

“…”

“The technicians seem to feel uncomfortable knowing this fact.”

The technicians surely know that lightning won’t strike from the sky just for melting a statue. If left alone, they would probably grudgingly do it in a few days.

‘But there’s no need to delay.’

After converting the statue into currency, some would be given as rewards to the Hero’s pursuit team, and the rest would be sent to orphanages throughout the Empire.

More precisely, it was for the operating funds of orphanages run by the Papal State. These were the institutions that had become most financially strained as donations dried up.

Of course, I wasn’t helping just out of pity.

In fact, I also aimed to gain the goodwill of the Papal State and observe over thirty territories (those that received funds from me) without employing separate personnel.

The farther a territory was from the Imperial Capital, the more dependent it tended to be on the church. In modest territories, churches often doubled as schools.

If a lord mismanaged things, the priests could request restraint or at least report to the Papal State. Then it would naturally reach my ears.

Some might say it’s cold-hearted to consider efficiency while donating to orphans, but this approach was beneficial for the Papal State too. With the church’s influence already weakened, if local churches collapsed, it would be difficult to train new clergy.

“Alright. Then I’ll handle it.”

I decided to make a brief stop at the mint before departing for my county.

It was somewhat regrettable for the Hero who had been active more than 200 years ago. Just because Gwon Heejin had made a mess, we shouldn’t treat past Heroes with disrespect. Especially a Hero who had nearly lost their life at the hands of humans.

‘What can I do.’

But before I could leave for the mint, a group arrived at my house without notice. They were clergy members, including the bishop of the Imperial Capital diocese.

They hadn’t come to urge me to quickly provide donations because orphanage children were only eating turnip soup; rather, they had volunteered for a difficult task.

“…We heard the news. We will go to the mint. If necessary, we’ll put it directly into the furnace ourselves. It didn’t seem right to burden Lord Wellesley with such a task.”

“I can do it myself. It’s my gold after all.”

“But you’re about to provide funds to the Papal State, aren’t you? Actually, the old priest was even considering… a gift? A method of transferring wine produced by the Papal State. He gave up when he realized it would take almost 20 years to deliver the equivalent amount.”

Since they couldn’t repay with goods, they were offering to handle the unpleasant task instead.

I had no particular reason to refuse. If the clergy stepped in, it would save me the effort. I was already feeling tired at the thought of having to go to the foundry after dealing with dozens of lords.

“Very well. I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Not at all. In fact, we’ve been able to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the donation Lord Wellesley promised. …Children who grow up in orphanages with adequate nutrition and protection naturally develop faith and often aspire to become clergy, but now that nurturing system is in danger of collapse.”

He was saying that the speed of rebuilding the Holy Knight Order might depend on whether they fed the children gruel or stew with plenty of meat.

It made sense, so I readily nodded.

Before we parted after reaching a general agreement, the bishop hesitated for a moment and then left a curious remark.

“Lord Wellesley. It’s not at all at the stage to announce publicly… but there might be a possibility of a new Hero coming. They say signs have been detected simultaneously at several sanctuaries in the Papal State. Previously, the Saintess received a revelation along with such phenomena…”

“But there is no Saintess now.”

“Yes. It’s an unprecedented situation.”

The bishop’s expression wasn’t particularly bright as he said that he couldn’t be certain, that it might have a different meaning.

I could understand his feelings. Even if it truly was a sign of a Hero being summoned, the current reality made it impossible to be unreservedly happy about it.

I thought about what to say to the troubled clergy, but then decided against it. If something happened, I would inevitably be informed anyway.

That evening, I left the Imperial Capital.

Thankfully, or rather, it’s not something to be thankful for, the imperial palace didn’t try to detain me.