NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Seriously Being Harassed Here! / You are Our Lord and Master!
“Phew… (Ah~~~ finally arrived at this remote place…! I just wanted to live peacefully in the city).”
A few days after my baron appointment.
I, along with the 1,000 troops (+ one war-criminal beauty) who had joined me as my territorial army, arrived at the easternmost lands of the country.
It’s a beautiful place with lush forests and the sound of the river flowing.
It would be perfect if not for the enemy country just beyond the thick forest! Hahaha!
But,
“…The territory seems completely undeveloped (Eh?).”
What’s going on here?
I was quickly banished to this borderland following my baron appointment, all because the “Shurehito family,” close to the royal family, said everything was ready for me to move in.
That’s why I couldn’t refuse the territorial assignment, but…
“Captain Alvatros, what’s going on here? The land is cleared, and stones and timber are piled up everywhere…”
The one who spoke was Nina Shubain, the silver-haired, curly, golden-eyed beauty.
By the way, she’s dressed in a maid outfit, as she’s become a servant of mine now that I’m a noble.
“Nina… (Ah, perfect in appearance, but zero in substance).”
She’s the cause of my headaches.
She gained incredible support from soldiers and radicals for her actions against guerillas, even though she was a criminal. Well, she is a beauty.
Because of her actions, the trial’s decision became more cautious and delayed, and then she became my subordinate. Why me?
Raiden, tell me…! (※Raiden: An elite graduate from the military academy. He was a bit arrogant but occasionally held open-air classes for illiterate soldiers. Died from a stab wound by a guerilla kid. His last words were, “Mom…!”)
“Darn, not even a shack! What was the Shurehito family doing!? They want us to sleep in the open!?”
Nina is getting heated.
I want her to calm down, but the other subordinates look equally bitter.
They’re not yelling like her, but their expressions are grim.
“This is not what was promised. Are we supposed to camp out?”
“We can endure, but making our great captain, the star of the Black Wing Mountain in the sky, sleep on the ground…”
“What is the Shurehito family thinking…!”
Geez. When a thousand soldiers get upset at once, it’s intimidating!
And I’m fine with sleeping rough. I used to do it all the time as a low-ranking soldier.
“Sigh… (Oh well. Anyway, we need to talk to the Shurehito family about this).”
I don’t want to talk to nobles, but if I stay silent, who knows what my subordinates will think?
Ah, I don’t want to do this…
While I was feeling gloomy inside, a large group approached us.
“Well, well, the famous Baron Alvatros… As handsome as in the portraits!”
The man who greeted us was a gentleman with a splendid hat.
Clearly, from the upper class, his presence stood out among his shabby entourage.
“Oh, my apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I am Jean-Jacques von Shurehito. Pleased to meet you?”
The moment the man introduced himself, my subordinates tensed up.
Especially Nina, she was furious.
“You, Shurehito! What’s this about the territory!? Weren’t we promised prepared buildings!?”
“Oh, how rude… Reflects poorly on the master, doesn’t it?”
“What did you say!?”
Hold on, hold on!
Sure, Nina lacks manners, but why is Shurehito provoking her!?
Wasn’t he supposed to be an ally as a noble relative?
“Haha, it seems there’s been a misunderstanding. Indeed, I said I would ‘prepare the buildings,’ but I didn’t mean constructing them. I meant preparing the materials so that you could build them.”
“What!?”
Oh man, that’s misleading, Shurehito!
Nina’s about to explode in rage. Stop it; she might roast these refugees.
But why such a malicious trick?
Did I do something wrong? Sad.
“It seems there was a miscommunication. Such a pity. Let’s overlook this minor issue and discuss the future.”
“A minor issue, not having any buildings ready!?”
“Quiet, dog. ― So, Baron Alvatros, you must prepare the territory as the vanguard against the invasion from the “Urus Kingdom.” To help you, I’ll generously offer 2,000 of my precious people.”
“…”
Shurehito gestured to the people behind him with a gracious motion.
Ah, so they’re his people.
It’s nice of him to offer them, but they all look thin and unenergetic.
“Oh, feel free to use them up. After all, they’re just slum dwellers from the poor areas of my land, contributing nothing in taxes.”
What? They’re not precious at all!
They’re practically bad debts! Don’t give me that!
“So, please cooperate with them to build up the territory. Otherwise, the 3,000 people you brought will have to live in the open. It would be terrible if diseases spread.”
“…”
I get it now.
I’m being completely antagonized.
“By the way, you need to provide food. A lord must feed his people. Of course, if it’s too hard for you, I might sell you some, but only if you sincerely beg.”
Sigh… I don’t mind being made fun of. It just brings me down a bit.
But I can’t just stay silent.
If I keep getting mocked, my intimidating subordinates will surely lose faith in me, calling me a “pathetic leader.” Especially the war criminal Nina, who lacks any sense of norms. She’d likely say, “I won’t recognize a weakling like you as my superior! Die!” and come to kill me without hesitation. Yikes…!
So, with fear but mustering courage…
“――You maggot, worm.”
“Gah!?”
I grabbed and lifted Lord Shurehito as if he were an object.
“Ugh, you…!?”
“I’ll kill you.”
I don’t want to do this, but I have to squeeze tighter!
Is everyone watching, subordinates?
“Gaaah! I’m… I’m dying!?”
Oops, he’s about to die!
His face turned pale, and I threw him away at that moment. Sorry about that…?
“Ugh! Cough, ha… What are you…!?”
“My apologies. Coming from the battlefield, I mistakenly thought I saw maggots on your neck and tried to brush them off.”
“What!?”
I’m so sorry, Lord Shurehito…
I, Alvatros, hate violence and rude words, but I have no choice because I’m afraid of my subordinates’ eyes…
“That, that excuse is absurd! And you! How dare you speak to me, a border count, in such a way!?”
“Ah, sorry. As you said earlier, I am the master of this ‘female dog,’ lacking in dignity.”
I stroke Nina’s head.
She then smiles blissfully, melting at the term “female dog.”
No, no, Nina-san, I was being sarcastic, quoting Shurehito’s earlier insult. I was planning to apologize later! Why are you happy about this…?
“Fool, don’t mess with me, Baron Alvatros! What delusion is this, laying your hands on me?”
“Come on, forgive me, Lord Shurehito. Didn’t you say earlier? Let’s overlook minor misunderstandings.”
“Gah…!?”
There, now you can’t complain.
I glance back, and my subordinates are smirking.
Seems like they’re satisfied.
“I also want to be treated like a dog by Lord Alvatros…!”
“That newcomer, how enviable…”
“I want to be your female dog too…!”
Stop with the weird comments, some of you!
“You… I won’t forgive this! No food aid for you! I won’t lend you tools for building either! Let your people die in the wilderness, bearing the shame of incompetence!”
“Fine by me. I don’t need your concern.”
“What!?”
Well then, shall we start building our territory?
Now that I’m a noble, I can do anything, right?
“― Strict rules govern the use of ‘magic’ by commoners. It’s forbidden unless authorized by a superior on the battlefield or the local lord during peacetime.”
Some people are born with a unique energy called magical power and a personal spell formula.
These are nothing less than weapons.
Depending on the spell, a mishap in a town could cause a disaster.
That’s why its use by those without status is restricted.
“But now, I am an imperial noble. Within the law’s limits, I can freely use magic.”
I let magical power surge through my body, encompassing the entire land in my vision.
Then,
“Activate――[Creation Magic Formula].”
Instantly, as I snap my fingers, the timber and stones in the area levitate.
They swiftly plunge into the ground, interlocking and piling up, rapidly transforming into a “residential area.”
“What, this is…!?”
I explain to the astonished count.
“[Creation Magic Formula]. My magic can create anything as long as I have the materials.”
I can’t create complex structures like smartphones because I need a clear structural image. Using magic for processing is tough, so turning a forest directly into a residential area is difficult. But this time, having processed materials was a real lifesaver.
“Wha… what is this? I wasn’t informed of this…! Yes, I knew you used production magic, but creating a town in an instant is impossible…!”
“Nothing is impossible. On the battlefield, where life hangs in the balance, one can refine their imagination to speed up spell activation and continuously optimize magical power efficiency.”
Ah, truly, speed and efficiency are supreme.
I remember creating walls while crying inside during enemy charges and striving to minimize magical power use, as running out would cause me to faint…
“Well then, the town is complete. From now on, this land shall be known as the ‘Alvatros Territory.’”
In a matter of seconds, my territory was finished.
A simple yet stylish town with neatly laid cobblestone streets.
The houses all look the same, but I’ll leave the finer details to the professionals.
“――And now, my people.”
I turned to the stunned Lord Shurehito and the bewildered poor people behind him.
“What a pitiful state. Everyone is emaciated, bones showing through their skin due to lack of food.”
The poor lowered their heads in shame.
But,
“Fear not. Now that you are under my command, I will not let anyone fall ill.”
I snapped my fingers again.
Animals from within the territory were drawn towards us, their skins peeling off to become meat, piling up before the poor.
“I declare. As long as you follow me, despair shall not befall you.”
An uproar erupted from the crowd.
“Long live Lord Alvatros!”
“We will follow you for life, Lord Alvatros!”
“You are our new hope!”
The poor people praised me as my subordinates started cooking the meat, spreading a savory aroma.
Phew.
That should avert disappointment from my subordinates and earn at least some goodwill from these rough-looking poor folks!
Oh.
“Shurehito. If you try another foolish scheme, I will kill you. Understand?”
“Eeek!”
◆ ◇ ◆
On this day, the poor witnessed the arrival of a “King”!
It all started a few days ago when Shurehito’s soldiers gathered them and ordered, “You are now to be the people of Baron Alvatros.”
It was clear harassment.
Embarrassingly, the poor knew they were incompetent and would be a burden to the Baron.
Baron Alvatros… I had only heard rumors.
A legendary hero who had been sent to various desperate battlefields and emerged victorious in all.
Surely, he must be capable.
But that was on the battlefield.
When managing a territory, surely even the great hero would struggle with us and treat us like trash.
Or so we thought…
“Fear not. Now that you are under my command, I will not let anyone fall ill.”
The hero exceeded all expectations!
First, he intimidated the distasteful Lord Shurehito with his divine appearance and aura. As Shurehito piled insults while hiding his panic, the Baron strangled him without hesitation!
It was a breath of fresh air.
He didn’t stop there. He outdid the count in wit and then created a “town” from an empty field with his extraordinary magical talents!
And then,
“I declare. As long as you follow me, despair shall not befall you.”
The hero accepted us…!
He provided a place to live, food to eat, a place to exist…!
Words couldn’t describe our joy.
By then, we couldn’t care less about the fleeing ex-lord Shurehito.
“This is the man! Our true lord is Lord Alvatros!”
The poor pledged their heartfelt loyalty.
Unbeknownst to them, the man they pledged loyalty to was thinking, “Ah~~, following the war criminal, now I’ve got another bunch of oddballs to deal with,” yet they continued to elevate their loyalty to the max…!