Sewage Treatment (1)
The day Friday came to an end. The people who should have been smiling with the joy of finally clocking out somehow looked downcast instead. I couldn’t even guess how deeply my carelessly spoken words had wounded them.
These were people who had barely survived in this medieval world with no welfare to speak of. The hope that they might finally live like actual human beings (by medieval standards) must have been an enormous source of strength for them. I would never truly understand it. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t trying. That was why I stepped forward before them.
“Ah…! Ah…!!”
The moment I tried to push through the crowd and climb onto the platform, someone waved their arms wildly, clearly desperate to say something.
“Out of the way! Didn’t you hear the order to stay away from the department head?”
Soldiers immediately moved in to drag the person off. I raised my hand.
“It’s fine. Let’s hear what they have to say.”
“Understood.”
I had no intention of blaming the soldiers. Right now I wasn’t acting as the official Breeder and department head; I was simply one of the territory’s key figures holding the department head title. Protecting me from sudden actions by the public was their natural duty.
At my permission, the soldiers brought forward a woman they had been holding by the arm. Despite still being young, she was painfully thin from long-term malnutrition. Her skin clung to her bones, especially noticeable in her tragically flat chest. I wondered what someone like her could possibly want to tell me so urgently.
She placed her left hand on her chest with the back facing up, then used the edge of her right hand to tap the back of the left two or three times.
“Auu! Ah!”
Apparently thinking I wouldn’t understand, she kept bowing her head while making sounds that didn’t form proper words. I gently gripped her shoulders to stop her from bowing again, then clenched my fist and tapped my chin quickly two or three times with my pinky finger extended.
“Ah…!”
When she realized I had understood her, a smile bloomed across her face. She bowed once more and slipped back into the crowd.
“…You know sign language too?”
“Of course I do.”
“…Hmm~ Should I learn it as well?”
Elisa, who had watched my earlier gestures, asked with clear interest. She no longer dismissed commoners outright, and the fact that she was showing curiosity about sign language—which she would have ignored before—was a good sign. Just because someone couldn’t speak properly didn’t mean their abilities were lacking. It would be ridiculous to let such talent rot simply because communication was difficult.
I leaned in close to Elisa’s ear and whispered softly.
“Obviously you should learn it, you bitch. Master it and I’ll reward you. Study hard.”
“Eut❤︎ If you say things like that where everyone can see… I’ll give it my absolute best.”
Elisa’s face flushed bright red and her body trembled. She had clearly reached a light climax from nothing more than my breath against her ear.
Erika was staring intently at the two of us. Jealousy? It made sense. Erika had been my assigned handler from the very beginning and had spent the most time with me. Seeing other females pulling ahead was bound to stir up envy. I resolved to teach her the pleasures of being my bitch as soon as possible.
“Ahem. Ahem!”
Standing on the platform, I cleared my throat. I tested whether Elisa’s magic was working properly, like checking a microphone. When a soldier in the distance raised a flag to signal that my voice carried, I knew the spell was functioning perfectly.
The moment I finished speaking, the square erupted.
“Waaaaaah—!!”
“He’s a god!!”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
Some wept tears of joy, others praised me as a god, and many simply shouted their gratitude. These people were actually thankful for being given a six-day workweek. For those who had lived as the socially weak, barely earning enough to eat in a single day, a five-day workweek would have been far too harsh. Most of them couldn’t even put food on the table even when working every single day. That was why six days had become the standard. If they worked themselves to the point of collapsing and missing several days, it would defeat the whole purpose. So after compromising with those who wanted to work every day, six days became the basic schedule.
“It was true… Sob. To think I doubted such a saint…!”
After I reassured them about the minimum employment period—the issue that had worried them most—I stepped down from the platform. Jemel approached with both hands clasped reverently, tears streaming from the eyes visible beneath her mask.
…Now I understood why the nobles called her a weirdo. Jemel really was eccentric. Not in a bad way, though. Her desire to help and care for the less fortunate was genuinely good.
The environmental beautification project was progressing very well.
“Spending the territory’s money so recklessly! Those beggars would have smiled and worked for half that amount! Alpha! Have you truly gone mad?”
The problem was Wellington Bicken, Ertia’s father and the lord of this territory. The incompetent, balding Beta Male constantly complained about everything I did.
“My lord, please calm yourself. Thanks to Alpha distributing money to them, the territory’s economy has actually become more active.”
The finance minister appropriately came to my defense. While I had given him money directly, the real result of spreading currency among the people was genuine economic stimulation. If you want to revitalize an economy, money must reach the poor rather than the rich or the middle class—especially those who struggle to survive day to day.
In the modern world it would have been impossible, but this was the medieval era. These people had likely never eaten their fill in their lives. When I gave them enough money to eat heartily and still have some left over, the economy boomed. They bought beer they had never even dreamed of, purchased armor for the future, or treated themselves to slightly more expensive food. The commoners whose sales had jumped began saving, but they also indulged in small luxuries—buying wine to keep at home or purchasing expensive clothes to wear. Money circulated, and the territory’s economy grew lively.
Of course, this effect would slow once the socially weak became somewhat well-fed, but for now it was extremely effective.
“My lord, the finance minister is correct. Recently more people have been buying goblin and orc hides, which has increased the knight order’s independent revenue as well.”
Leona provided timely support as well.
“Haa. Is a good economy everything? Our administrative workload has doubled! Paying daily wages instead of monthly or contract salaries forces us to handle administrative tasks every single day. This is clearly harming the territory!”
On the other hand, the administrative department—suffering because of me—supported Wellington’s opinion, as if the gold coins I had given them had lost their effect. It was unavoidable. Disabled people in the medieval era were so often cheated out of their pay that they might not have joined this rather favorable environmental beautification project if it hadn’t been daily wages. Most of those who showed up on the first day had only come to test the waters anyway.
“Enough. Isn’t this money Alpha earned by selling soap? From now on, the administrative department will handle all internal affairs that don’t require approval on their own.”
The moment Melania finished speaking, Wellington’s face crumpled. Lately she had been openly shielding me at every turn. As expected, even this female was drawn to me, an Alpha Male. Just as I felt attraction toward her.
Still… I needed to get rid of Wellington soon. His constant interference was becoming far too annoying.
“How was the morning meeting?”
Jemel asked when I returned after finishing the meeting.
“It was the worst. The baron asked why I was wasting so much money on those ignoramuses.”
“What? Hmm… Baron Wellington…”
Jemel muttered with clear displeasure and began scribbling something on a document. It looked like… a list of poisonous herbs. Surely not? Although, if she poisoned him, Ertia would become lord, so it might actually be beneficial.
“Ahem. Department Head. I have a report.”
“What is it?”
While I was relieving the stress from the meeting, Elisa approached with an awkward expression.
It had better not be trivial.
“The mages say they can’t continue anymore.”
“Pardon?”
Mages. The mages in Bicken Territory were all roughly the same level. You could tell from the fact that Elisa was the strongest mage in the territory. But they had been tasked with the most important job right now… If even they were going on strike, the situation was clearly serious.
“Let’s go immediately.”
I headed straight for the building where the mages had begun their strike—the water treatment plant responsible for processing sewage.