The First Magic World War

Baron Fabolais was satisfied with Charles Meklen's attitude and decided not to give him a hard time anymore. He declared from atop the city walls, "Mister Charles Meklen, you have fought for the Empire and made significant contributions. You are hereby promoted to a secondary civil servant of 32nd Rank. His Majesty the Emperor has specially permitted you to establish a private knighthood of no more than five people, with the registration period lasting until the moment of your demise."

Charles smiled faintly, performed an imperial salute, and took the document that Baron Fabolais handed him. He was not very concerned about his promotion, as long as no one interfered, it was a matter of course. However, he was quite surprised and pleased to be allowed to establish a private knighthood restricted to five people.

Only those with a professional rank of 24th or higher were entitled to have a private knighthood. Such private knighthoods were not the formal ones kept by the great nobles but were "assistants" privately hired through the Empire's salary for those who had rendered meritorious service.

Being only a secondary civil servant of 32nd Rank, Charles did not qualify to have a private knighthood, hence the necessity for a special imperial grant of this honor.

Upon reaching a rank above 24th, commonly referred to as an insurmountable class, the salary is locked in place; no matter how many promotions one receives, there will be no further salary increases.

In the Empire, this is touted as "integrity," where the elites and ordinary civil servants have the same income. In reality, however, the income for those above the 24th Rank is no longer tied to their salary,

For example, each knight of the private knighthoods belonging to the elite receives a salary identical to their master's, but it is paid directly to the master.

No one would distribute all the money the Empire paid to their private knighthood to the knights themselves; most would be withheld for oneself, with only a small remuneration going to the private knights.

In other words, it is an indirect increase in income.

The first thing Charles thought of was the three Agile Cats he was raising. It was about time to grant them knight statuses.

How much could raising cats bring in?

Raising a grown person, even at the minimum wage, would cost dozens of Sheng Dings!

Baron Fabolais was quite pleased and said, "His Majesty the Emperor asked me to convey that you should proceed to the front lines. Do not continue to linger at Silver Pigeon Fort; leave it to me."

These words were indeed the baron's own desire. He wanted to take control of Silver Pigeon Fort and, of course, did not wish to have another knighthood remaining on his territory.

Charles showed no hesitation and immediately responded, "I shall depart at once!"

Belisa had been urging him for many days now, and he had no desire to provide a young and handsome young man to the Augusladin High Priest. Leaving this place of trouble was the proper thing to do.

The baron was very satisfied with Charles's understanding and said, "Since Mister Charles Meklen is in a hurry to join the front lines, I won't hold you back."

"The Empress has also heard of your reputation, so she has bestowed upon you a manor. Here is the deed document."

In the Fars Empire, promotions by the Central Office, honors bestowed by the Emperor, and wealth granted by the Empress were already a "conventional" practice that the entire Empire had grown accustomed to.

If Charles did not show understanding, Baron Fabolais wasn't afraid of withholding his manor.

As for the Empress's side...

What a joke; the Empress was his sister.

Charles agreed to leave Silver Pigeon Fort immediately, and the baron was pleased for once.

True to his word, Charles immediately ordered his departure, taking with him the Westwind Knights and the Silver Pigeon Fort militia, and didn't even take much baggage. After all, anything that could be moved had already been sent to Machu Picchu. There was no need to deliberately provoke the baron.

After sending Charles off, Baron Fabolais eagerly rubbed his hands and let out a cry of excitement as he rushed to Silver Pigeon Fort; he wanted to check what wealth was left behind by his predecessor, Baron Felor.

Although he had heard that Silver Pigeon Fort had been robbed once, a robbery could only take away liquid assets. Couldn't shops and land be carried away? Every great noble was a major landowner and the largest property holder in the locality. Baron Fabolais, whose expenditures far exceeded the average noble, still hoped to make up for some of the shortfall with this.

The wealth of nobility isn't inexhaustible.

There are many nobles burdened with huge debts.

Steward Dart, holding the ledger, wiped his sweat continuously. When he heard Baron Fabolais enter the castle, he led a group of servants to greet him.

The first question Baron Fabolais asked was, "How much cash is left in the fort?"

Steward Dart replied, trembling with fear, "Not a single Sheng Ding left, all taken by that damned Lady Southseraph."

Baron Fabolais was prepared, though regretful, he could still accept it. He asked another question, "What about magic items, luxury goods, carriages, decorations in the fort?"

Steward Dart replied in a low voice, "Only the house itself remains in the entire castle, not even the furniture is left, all taken by that damned Lady Southseraph."

Baron Fabolais couldn't help but exclaim; he took a walk around the fort and, indeed, found it entirely empty, not even a candlestick remained.

He could only ask one last question, "Bring out all of Baron Felor's property deeds!"

Steward Dart's heart was in his throat; he had been thrown to Machu Picchu several times by Charles, trained specifically for this scenario, but still, his heart was barely holding up. He cautiously said, "Here are the ledgers."

Having said this, Steward Dart was soaked with sweat.

It was fear, panic, and resignation. "Anyway, it has come to this. Even if the baron hangs me, those properties are gone, all taken by that damned Lady Southseraph." Steward Dart thought to himself, "At most, the baron will kill me in a fit of rage, which is still better than falling into Mister Mecklen's hands and facing a fate worse than death."

Baron Fabolais took the ledger; all he saw were mortgages, more mortgages, borrowing, borrowing even more Aegeus— the entire ledger spelled out two words: No money.

After Charles moved into Silver Pigeon Fort, he burned all the documents in a single fire, then fabricated an entire new set, mortgaging away Baron Felor's farms, shops, residences, manors, and other immovable properties.

He even mortgaged the fort itself for tens of thousands of Aegeus. The money from these mortgages, naturally, all went to benefit that "damned Lady Southseraph"— all taken by her.

Although Charles was a math teacher, not a proper accountant, the books were still impeccably done, not something an old accountant couldn't see through.

On the Old Continent, the profession of accounting did not yet exist, and even much of the specialist knowledge in finance and accounting had not emerged. Normally, the nobles used stewards to manage their wealth, and the mathematical level of a typical steward was just addition and subtraction—multiplication and division already troubled them. Their methods and knowledge systems for managing accounts were extremely backwards. To deceive the natives of the Old Continent with these little tricks, he had the advantage of centuries of knowledge.

Baron Fabolais's vision darkened; he truly hadn't expected that Baron Felor had left him such a mess. Not only did he lack any surplus wealth to fill the gaps in his finances, but he also left a massive debt?!

Enraged, Baron Fabolais threw down the ledger and cursed, "Baron Felor! Good-for-nothing. How could he manage Silver Pigeon Fort, such a wealthy city, into this state? The annual taxes alone should have been enough for him to live a life of luxury, so how could he have accumulated such a huge debt?"

"That damned Lady Southseraph! They are robbers, real robbers..."

Louis Simi and Ross Bard did not follow Baron Fabolais into the city but left Silver Pigeon Fort with Charles. Both were a bit apprehensive.