I Am the Knight of This Town, Part 4
It was a promise Yohan had made to Wilhelm: he would take charge of Junk Town and its surrounding areas. To persuade the Lord of Balifield, Wilhelm had even gone so far as to leverage his family's prestigious name. Therefore, Yohan had to carry on Wilhelm's will and govern Junk Town, no matter what. This went beyond merely honoring his loyalty to Wilhelm; it was a sacred promise he had to keep as the Apostle of the Unnamed Goddess, the deity of justice.
"I didn't just mishear you, did I?" Yohan asked. His tone was casual as usual, but his face twitched as if he were about to explode at any second. He had agreed to bow his head and become a nominal knight under the lord's banner because it seemed mutually beneficial... but stabbing him in the back like this was a different story.
Of course, as a follower of the Goddess's teachings, he couldn't resort to unjustified violence... but protesting an unfair treatment a little "vehemently" didn't exactly violate any doctrines. In fact, the Goddess's faith actively encouraged thorough retribution when one was deceived and put in an absurd situation. Though, of course, the individual had to bear the responsibility for any consequences arising from such personal vigilante justice.
"I understand your anger at not having your demands met. However, I had my reasons as well."
"..." Yohan's expression didn't soften at the lord's excuse. Instead, he slowly released a fraction of the Apostle's power he had been keeping tightly under wraps. The oppressive pressure he exuded made everyone in the room gulp in unison. At that moment, they finally understood exactly what kind of terrifying power this man had used to hunt down countless wanted criminals.
"Let's hear these reasons of yours first," Yohan growled in a low, menacing voice. Even Charles, standing right beside him, looked slightly intimidated. The lord, however, didn't seem particularly fazed. Despite having cowered before Wilhelm and Yohan in the past, he remained remarkably composed this time. It was as if he had anticipated this exact reaction from Yohan from the very beginning.
—Using a display of force to seize the upper hand at the negotiating table is a fine idea, but I do not believe the man before you is so simple-minded as to fall for such a trick. The Goddess's voice echoed in his mind. Yohan gave a subtle nod and withdrew the divine pressure that had filled the room.
"I will get straight to the point. The distance between your village and Junk Town is simply too great. If I were to designate the entire wasteland surrounding Junk Town as your fief, there is no guarantee it could be properly managed. Furthermore, it would severely damage my prestige."
Yohan had been ready to teach him a lesson if he tried to twist the terms in his favor with some absurd excuse. However, the reason the Lord of Balifield presented was one that Yohan had to admit made sense.
"To be honest, I couldn't care less about your prestige," Yohan replied, his tone much softer than before. Despite the blatant rudeness of the remark, the lord didn't show any sign of offense.
"But I admit my demand was a bit unreasonable. Setting my village aside, if we include Junk Town in my fief, the territory becomes too vast for a single knight to manage." Unlike the lord, who had practically abandoned Junk Town, Yohan would have a duty to properly govern both settlements once he was officially knighted. Traveling between the two villages took about a week on horseback, and there was no teleportation magic circle connecting them. Unless he could split himself in two, it was practically impossible for one knight to oversee both. However... while Yohan only had one body, he was uniquely free from spatial constraints.
"I am glad you are quick to understand. Therefore..."
"But I'm actually fine with it. I can teleport, you see." Well, technically it's the power of the Goddess I serve, Yohan added silently in his mind.
"Ah... that is true. I did confirm that through the messenger's report." It seemed the lord, having rushed to the negotiating table, had temporarily forgotten that Yohan could teleport at will.
"I understand that you can travel freely between the two locations. However, granting you Junk Town as a fief is still out of the question."
"Hmm..." This wasn't going to be easy. Judging by his attitude, the lord was determined to prevent Junk Town from becoming part of Yohan's fief. The primary reason was indeed his own reputation. Granting a large fief to a single knight wasn't the issue. The real problem lay in what came after. Geographically, Junk Town sat between the southwestern wilderness and Balifield, acting as a buffer zone that blocked all sorts of unsavory characters from entering the city. Moreover, the citizens of Balifield were all aware of Junk Town's existence and kept a close eye on it. If the lord handed Junk Town over to Yohan, public opinion in Balifield would accuse him of giving up on cleaning up the lawless slum himself and dumping the responsibility onto someone else. After contemplating for a long moment, Yohan came up with a compromise.
"Phew... fine. Let's try this instead." The lord tilted his head at Yohan's words. "Let's just erase Junk Town from the map entirely."
A week had passed since Yohan's visit to Balifield. In Junk Town, which would normally be bustling with neighborly brawls or the occasional cute explosion, a heavy silence hung in the air.
The lord's territorial army, which usually stationed itself at the castle and nearby barracks, had gathered around Junk Town. Over a hundred heavily armed soldiers stood in formation, radiating an intimidating presence. At the very front of this military force stood a messenger representing Baron Berriman, the Lord of Balifield, flanked by Yohan and Wilhelm.
"D-did the sheriff abandon us?" "Dammit..." The residents of Junk Town tried to stand their ground against the soldiers, but fear was written all over their faces. Still, these slum dwellers had survived in the harsh wilderness for a long time. Under normal circumstances, they might have held their own against the soldiers, or even wiped them out. But the soldiers weren't their only opponents. Standing alongside the army was their massive, muscular sheriff, rumored to crush human skulls with his bare hands, and a strange fellow who wielded the bizarre powers of some unknown deity.
"Are these all the people currently present?" the messenger asked, scanning the crowd. Wilhelm gave a slight nod. "A few are wandering outside the town, but this is everyone who was inside." "Understood. The others will hear about it from their neighbors anyway." After their brief exchange, the messenger took a step forward. The crowd of residents immediately began to murmur.
"I stand before you as the representative of Baron Berriman, the current head of the Berriman family, who has ruled Balifield and its surrounding lands for generations!" "See? I told you the lord sent them!" "Dammit, are they really going to slaughter us all?" Though this was a remote corner of a border kingdom, the baron was still a noble officially enfeoffed by the king. To the squatters of Junk Town, even hearing his name was deeply unsettling.
"Why is the high-and-mighty lord suddenly showing interest in this dump?" "Yeah! Are you planning to wipe us out?" Heated protests erupted from the crowd, but the messenger merely waited with an indifferent expression for the commotion to die down. "Calm yourselves and listen. The baron wishes to offer you the opportunity to become official subjects of the Berriman Barony."
"We shall return in one week for your decision. The baron has graciously granted you ample time, so consider your options carefully." After sending the messenger and the hundred-strong troop back to Balifield, Yohan returned to Junk Town alone.
"To become citizens of Balifield, or residents of the Nameless Village... either way, it's a far better opportunity than those bastards deserve."
"Well, if this works out, you won't have to stress over this town anymore, and the lord gets to save face. Isn't that a win-win?" Yohan's plan was simple: officially accept the residents of Junk Town as subjects of the Berriman Barony. In addition, they would be granted the right to settle either in Balifield, the barony's largest city, or in the Nameless Village governed by Yohan. Of course, this offer was strictly limited to those whose identities Wilhelm had already verified as actual residents of Junk Town. This precaution was necessary to prevent dangerous criminals from catching wind of the deal and pretending to be residents just to gain citizenship.
For the residents of Junk Town, who had spent their lives wandering the wasteland without any roots, becoming official citizens of Balifield was an incredibly enticing offer. At the same time, settling in the Nameless Village was also an excellent alternative. Junk Town was essentially an unauthorized shantytown, a slum that had naturally formed outside the city. Naturally, its residents were far from law-abiding citizens; even Sheriff Wilhelm had turned a blind eye to minor offenses like petty theft. To these people, this offer was practically a ticket to a second chance at life. Of course, those who refused both options would have to return to their nomadic wandering. Regardless, once the relocation was complete, Junk Town would be completely dismantled. The haphazardly built shacks, erected without any urban planning, would be torn down to the ground.
"Yohan, are you sure about this? I understand those settling in Balifield, but the rest will become part of the village you worked so hard to build." At Wilhelm's worried question, Yohan shrugged casually. "It's fine. The folks in my village are no pushovers either."
Under Yohan's orders, Annie had previously trained the village youth. She had taught them everything from basic weapon techniques to military drills, transforming young men who had only ever known farm work into capable soldiers. Now that the village's population had exploded, a proper village guard had been established, centered around those very youths who had once rolled in the dirt under Annie's fierce commands. Naturally, Annie was appointed as the first Guard Captain. In addition, several individuals from the Holy Kingdom had joined the ranks, bringing the total number of guards patrolling the village's interior and perimeter to a hundred.
"And besides... even if they're a bunch of rascals, anyone who managed to survive in this town for so long without getting kicked out can't be completely rotten." Yohan suddenly recalled his previous conversation with Wilhelm. The older man had pointed out that perhaps Yohan, being a former tomb raider himself, had grown attached to Junk Town because most of its residents were criminals. "I won't make excuses if I've grown attached to them, just like you said last time. But at the very least, I want to give the folks here a chance to turn over a new leaf and live honestly."
For the first time, he understood why Falco insisted on leaving behind promotional flyers for the Goddess's church after beating up bandits. He had always thought of her as someone whose fists spoke louder than her words, but in moments like this, he realized he actually had a thing or two to learn from her.
"If that is your wish, I will say no more." "Anyway, don't worry. I'm not the type to set up a grand stage like this and then run away." Well, let's just gloss over that time I blew a massive hole in the ceiling of the Balifield Underworld.
"And if you think about it, isn't the reason you played sheriff in this town for so long pretty similar to what I'm doing now?" Wilhelm had governed Junk Town strictly through the law of power, and every single resident had a shady past. Yet, it was precisely because of Wilhelm's presence as a deterrent that the residents never crossed the line, allowing them to lead relatively peaceful lives.
"Tsk. Don't talk nonsense," Wilhelm snapped irritably, turning his head away. Yohan simply looked up at him, a broad grin spreading across his face.