The One with a Title of Border Count
Victory was only a fleeting joy.
"I don't even have time to straighten my back, for heaven's sake."
There were quests piled up all over Ho-yeong—some from the status window, some from the territory’s residents.
"What am I supposed to handle first, dammit?"
The lord had turned one of the least-damaged houses in the ruins into a temporary office.
"Hmm, what do you call it again? Handing out rewards and bestowing honors on the meritorious. Bureaucratic stuff?"
He muttered with his chin propped on a desk that looked as if a troll’s stone axe had split it in two.
If you mean bestowing rewards and honoring meritorious service, I recommend handling that first. However, before that, supplies—
"Right, rewards and honors. That's what I meant."
Rebuilding the territory they had defended was urgent.
Before distributing rewards, supplies—
"Ah, sorry. Someone seems to be looking for me again? Can you tell them to come back later?"
Ho-yeong cut Daliha off mid-sentence at the knock on the door.
"My lord. Dispatch Guard Captain Shrakhim is requesting an audience."
"Haa. He keeps popping in just when he's getting on my nerves. Tell him to wait a little longer."
The new lord, buried under a mountain of work, had far too many people who needed things from him.
Even the privy, though it was buried in rubble, was the one place where he could at least breathe a little easier while taking care of business.
"So the living standards in this world are actually pretty high, huh? Not only the capital, but even some backwater city like this has water and sewage. They really do care about hygiene. The royal palace even had a toilet enchanted with purification magic, so I guess that makes sense."
Brushing dust off the toilet paper and soap, Ho-yeong muttered to himself.
"I mean, even in medieval times, cities supposedly had aqueducts. And all that crap about streets overflowing with filth so people wore boots, or perfume being developed to mask the stink because nobody bathed? Total bullshit, apparently."
You are quite knowledgeable.
"...Are you making fun of me for getting the word 'rewards and honors' mixed up? Yeah, I graduated high school, so what?"
Ho-yeong was thoroughly put out.
"I might stumble over difficult words, but hey, I'm a cultured person, you know? Nowadays web novels—especially alternate-history stuff—take care to get the details right, so there's plenty to learn. I used to help my younger siblings with their homework, so I was always hanging around knowledge sites. And when I was raising our youngest, Nayeong, I read her all sorts of books, okay?"
He launched into a heated defense at the status window, which had only meant to praise him.
The status window accepted it all with deadpan composure.
As you said, the civilization level of the Western Continent—especially the Kain Kingdom—is quite high compared to other continents. Do you know the basis of that development?
"I do. When the founding king, Kain, led his people out, the four angels stacked all sorts of buffs on them, and the fifth angel, Hariad, came down in human form... or whatever the hell that was called? Incarnated? Anyway, she showed up and taught them all kinds of things."
"Excellent."
"Ahem. It's nothing special."
He didn't need to borrow Joren's knowledge.
"I already binge-read the webtoon and web novel adaptation based on the game's story, and I paid close attention to the in-game lore and dialogue too. There are useful hints buried in there."
Thanks to that, he had a decent grasp of the game's setting.
"But what are you getting at? Skip the stuff I already know and get to the point."
The blessings the four angels bestowed upon the Kain Kingdom are gradually losing their power. In addition, due to the large-scale monster attack three years ago, a significant portion of the infrastructure in the current Tamer territory—formerly Auphocalypse City—was destroyed.
"Just like the toilet I'm sitting on right now."
The instant Ho-yeong stood up, cracks spread through the stone toilet.
Accordingly, many personnel and much funding are required to rebuild the territory. The more you invest in restoring facilities, the more military spending will be reduced, so you must make careful decisions.
"So you're telling me to put off eating and living well for later and prepare for the next stage that's about to hit. Easy to say. If I drag people in and make them build walls and train all day, how am I supposed to deal with the complaints? Keep the soldiers sleeping in tents forever with no homes? Sure, if I wanted to, I could probably do it. But if it were me, I'd desert."
Ho-yeong let out a sigh.
"How long was it again? The maintenance period until the next stage starts."
98 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes.
A little over three months.
It's a weirdly short time and a weirdly long time. And this is only because the clear rank was S+.
If they had received the lowest rank, D, the maintenance period would have been only seven days.
"Could you at least tell me what monster is going to come out?"
As I have repeatedly stated, you lack sufficient RP (Renown Point). Revealing the monster list that will appear in Stage 2 requires 50 RP.
"Man, they're really stingy. Hmph."
Ho-yeong walked over to the washbasin and asked with a bland expression.
"Does that monster walk on two legs?"
I... cannot tell you that.
The status window answered before it could stop itself.
"Ha! Gotcha. So it's not a flying type, huh? Nice. That's a relief, at least."
He had used the twenty-questions trick he often played with his youngest sibling, A-yeong.
"Does it use weapons?"
If you continue questioning me in this manner, I will deduct 10 RP per question.
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
Ho-yeong twisted the corroded faucet open, only to nearly wrench the whole thing off.
"Listen, you just talked about military spending, didn't you? I need to know what I'm preparing for before I can prepare! I don't care how hardcore mode this so-called super-hardcore setting is, how does it make sense not to tell me what monster I'm even fighting? I've read dozens of fantasy series, and I've never seen a status window like this!"
I am the sole will that can aid you amid the deep-seated malice spread throughout the continent. Just as variable difficulty is applied to stage progression, the help I can offer also changes according to the bond between you and me.
"What I meant was that this was the most considerate status window I'd ever seen."
At the icy edge in the status window's voice, he hurriedly bowed his head.
"Come to think of it, I don't know anything about you at all. Sorry for speaking carelessly. I'm a mess since I just got thrown into another world... You must have your own hardships too, and I was way out of line. I kept badgering you without thinking. Oh, right, you said you have a will, which means you must have a name too. Tell me, and I'll call you by it."
Then a congratulatory chime rang out.
"Uh... thank you?"
Ho-yeong, who had unexpectedly earned an achievement, looked awkward.
"My name is Daliha."
"Daliha? I've never heard it before, though it also sounds strangely familiar... Anyway, sorry for the late introduction, and please take care of me, Daliha."
When the guardian treated me as merely a status window, I was nothing more than data. When Ho-yeong relies on me, our wills can dwell together and cut through the waves of malice.
Water burst forth from the faucet that had refused to run a moment before.
* * *
"My lord, this is Dispatch Guard Captain Shrakhim."
Chief Administrator Duonoraong led the visitor inside.
"He says he would like to greet you and discuss a matter with you."
Ever since the garrison of the current Tamer territory—old Auphocalypse City—had been wiped out in the crisis three years ago, the city's security had been handled by soldiers dispatched from the nearby Barony of Kihara.
"This is our first meeting, Count of the Border Region."
Rather than kneel in greeting, Dispatch Guard Captain Shrakhim merely dipped his body and nodded his head. Ho-yeong didn't like the sight of it, but he still rose from his seat to receive him.
"A pleasure, Shrakhim."
<Shrakhim> ★
[ Stats | Rank | Base Value ~ Maximum Value ]
Martial Power C: 42 ~ 47 (iron sword-class swordsman)
Intelligence C: 32 ~ 41
Mana F: 1 ~ 2
Charm F: 2 ~ 3
Leadership D: 21 ~ 24
Mental Strength D: 11 ~ 14
Conversion Rate D: 8 ~ 12
Background
An utterly mediocre man in both ability and character.
As Dispatch Guard Captain, he has no interest in his duties and is only waiting for the chance to leave this place.
"Well, well. Both the temporary mayor and the lord are rather sharp-tongued, aren't they?"
"What?"
"I am a respectable near-knight, you know?"
Shrakhim lifted the head he had just bowed in stiffly.
"I brought tea and sna—"
"You should address me with 'sir' after my name, Count of the Border Region."
Peach, who had come carrying tea and cookies, froze in shock.
"Hah. I wondered what he was saying."
Because the lord had been smiling brightly in a way she had never seen before.
"A knight, are you? Did you graduate from the military academy?"
"Why would I bother with some annoying place like that? Only penniless strays with no connections or money go there."
Shrakhim wore a greasy smile on his fleshy face.
"Watch your mouth!"
Peach shouted, her pale face flushed a furious pink.
"How dare you speak so rudely to Lord Ho-yeong, a top graduate of the military academy...!"
"A maid like you should shut her mouth!"
Before she could finish, Shrakhim’s palm flashed through the air.
It was the kind of moment that should have been marked by a sharp slap and a cry of pain.
- Crack.
"Aaaagh!"
Instead, a different sound rang out.
"You're assaulting a helpless girl when you're supposed to be a garrison captain?"
Ho-yeong had seized Shrakhim by the wrist and twisted it hard.
"Gaaaaah!"
"T-that's enough, Lord Ho-yeong, please."
Duonoraong, who had been sweating in a panic, rushed in between them.
"Please, compose yourself."
"Compose myself? Right. You have to hold someone steady when applying a joint lock. Naturally."
Ho-yeong kicked out Shrakhim's leg, forcing him to his knees, then wrenched his arm behind his back and locked in a modified armbar.
"K-kaaagh!"
"Captain Shrakhim, make sure you keep your body steady too. If you move, it'll break."
Duonoraong had gone white as a sheet, sweat pouring from him.
"Shrakhim is the nephew of Baron Kihara. If this goes wrong, it could turn into a serious conflict, so I strongly urge you to stop...!"