Cleaning the Kingdom (2)
The next morning, early.
Outside the royal palace, Seria's knight order stood fully prepared for departure, alongside Elisa and Roxanna, who had come to see me off.
And of course, the Gorani were there too, shrieking their heads off.
—BLEEEEEEEEEEGH!!
—IIIEEEEEEEEEEK!!
—KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!
"…Are those the deer you were talking about, Ian?"
"Yep. Look tough, don't they?"
"They… they sure do…"
I grinned playfully as I spoke.
Roxanna's face contorted in disgust as she clamped her hands over her ears and backed away.
Even she, a Sword Master, seemed to find the Gorani deeply unsettling.
'If you spend enough time with them, they're actually kind of cute.'
"Setting aside whether they're tough or not… they're disgusting! Ugh…!"
Roxanna yelled, utterly freaked out.
Just then, the lead Gorani carrying Seria trotted over and snorted hot breath right at Roxanna.
—PFFH! Sniff sniff.
"Aagh! Get that thing away from me!"
The corner of Seria's mouth, seated atop the Gorani, lifted slightly.
It seemed yesterday's lesson in discipline had left an impression — she looked like she wanted to tease Roxanna a little.
"Seria. That's enough. Roxanna might actually get mad."
"Yes, my lord."
Seria pulled the reins, and the Gorani snorted in what sounded like disappointment before backing off.
Roxanna, still making a face of pure revulsion, kept her distance from the creature and said to me,
"Ugh… anyway, be careful out there! Don't get hurt! Got it?"
"Don't worry. This'll be over before you know it. Elisa, let's go."
"Yes, master."
Leaving my childhood friend's farewell behind,
I climbed into the carriage with Elisa.
'Oh right, the helmet.'
I absolutely had to wear the helmet.
After donning the leather helmet, I used the communication spell I'd developed to issue my orders.
"All forces, advance on the Baller County in the southwest!"
The moment my command rang out, Seria and the thirty-two knights began their advance in unison.
The knights who had looked so disgusted at the sight of the Gorani at first now wore calm expressions — either they'd gotten used to them, or it was the helmet's doing.
With the helmets on, the Gorani's cries were barely audible.
Since I was wearing a helmet too, the creatures' noise didn't reach me all that loudly.
'Not that you could use them for stealth operations.'
But the whole point of riding the Gorani this time was to maximize the terror factor.
And I had no plans to have the cavalry ride these things forever.
The existing warhorses were probably undergoing special training right about now, learning to get used to the sound of gunfire at the training grounds in the capital and the territories.
—PFFHPFFHPFFHPFFH!
—KIIIYAAAAAARGH!
Watching the Gorani cavalry charge like madmen outside the window, I let out a small chuckle.
If I had seen that sight as an enemy, I would have felt genuine terror.
But since they were on my side, the knights riding those strange deer just looked absurdly entertaining.
"Elisa. How long until we reach Baller County?"
"If we maintain this pace, we should arrive near the territory by tomorrow afternoon."
I nodded at Elisa's answer and leaned back against the carriage seat.
'The inspector arrives first, and if they get rejected, we charge immediately.'
Honestly, I wanted to just charge in without thinking, but if I did that, Rowen's hair might fall out even faster.
Baller County, located in the southwestern part of the Espada Kingdom.
In the reception room of the county lord's castle, Count Baller and Baron Monte were leisurely sipping tea.
The reason Baron Monte wasn't at his own manor but was instead spending his time in Count Baller's reception room was simple.
Whenever he was at home, his wife and children would cling to him incessantly, whining for money.
Exhausted by the demands of his family and relatives, who knew full well that the territory was overflowing with wealth,
he had chosen to pass the time in the reception room of the one person he could at least say he got along with — Count Baller.
Count Baller didn't dislike Monte's visits either, since he too had no real friends.
And Monte's sycophantic skills were nothing short of excellent.
Worthless wretches only needed to see each other's faces to feel a sense of camaraderie.
"Ugh… as soon as I step inside the house, it's dresses from my wife and jewelry from the brats — they're all desperate to squeeze money out of me! And it's my blood-money they're spending!"
"Hahaha! Isn't a family's reckless spending also a noble's privilege, my friend?"
"Don't even mention it. She wasn't like this when we got married, but now? Ugh. It's terrifying just thinking about going home at night."
Baron Monte's wife had been, in her maiden days, one of the most beautiful noblewomen in the kingdom—not quite in the top ten, but certainly within the top thirty.
But as time passed, she had become the spitting image of the stereotypical noble lady he had despised in his childhood.
What he failed to realize, however, was that he himself had become the spitting image of the stereotypical corrupt noble.
The two nobles were giggling over such trivial chatter when—
—Knock knock.
The reception room door opened, and the adjutant who entered spoke with an urgent expression.
"My lord, a royal inspector bearing His Majesty the King's command has arrived from the capital."
At the adjutant's report, Count Baller set down his teacup and stroked his mustache.
"Hoh, so we poke at the Commoners' Council a little, and our gracious King deigns to intervene personally. Show him in. We must maintain proper etiquette for the dignity of the royal family."
A moment later, the royal inspector entered the reception room with a stiff expression, accompanied by two knights.
At the waists of the two knights hung long metal rods.
"Oho, won't you sit down and have a cup of tea while we talk, Inspector?"
Without even glancing at the tea offered by the count, the inspector produced a parchment sealed with wax bearing the royal crest and unfurled it.
"I bear a royal decree by His Majesty the King's command! Count Baller and Baron Monte are to immediately come to the capital and explain yourselves concerning the corruption involving the bribery of the Commoners' Council! Furthermore, you are to fully disband the private troops you have unlawfully augmented during wartime! Finally, you shall open your gates, accept the royal inspector, and hand over all ledgers pertaining to this territory!"
The inspector's loud voice echoed through the reception room.
But Count Baller merely smiled leisurely, stroking the handle of his teacup.
"Inspector. You must be tired after your long journey, but His Majesty's decree is quite… perplexing."
"…Perplexing?"
"Indeed — corruption, you say? That's a misunderstanding of the highest order. His Majesty knows well how devoted I have been to this kingdom."
Count Baller struck his chest as if deeply wronged.
"Augmenting private troops during wartime is a lord's duty — to protect the people of the territory from the monsters and bandits appearing on the outskirts."
His expression was that of a stage actor.
"And as for bribing the Commoners' Council? I merely added a small, purely charitable donation out of a desire to see the poor common folk live better lives. To slander that as corruption… truly, it breaks my heart."
Baron Monte, standing beside him, also adopted an exaggerated expression to back up the count's words.
"Hear, hear. And while you ordered us to open the gates and receive the inspector, are you not already standing in this reception room, having passed through those very gates?"
Baron Monte continued with a deeply irritating expression.
"However, since our territory serves as the logistical hub of the south, the ledgers requiring verification are piled higher than a mountain. It seems difficult to hand them over immediately."
The inspector listened quietly to the two nobles' performance disguised as excuses.
As if he had expected them to react exactly this way.
"…So what you're saying is, you can neither hand over the ledgers immediately nor disband your private troops."
"That is correct. It would take at least three or four months to sort through all those dust-covered documents, wouldn't it? In the meantime, I shall arrange a humble inn outside the castle for you to rest. Do make yourself comfortable."
As Count Baller openly spoke of stalling, the inspector let out a sigh, as if this was exactly what he had anticipated.
"Is this your final answer? Am I to interpret this as your refusal of His Majesty's royal decree?"
"Refusal? I am merely asking for time to exercise my legitimate rights as a lord!"
Count Baller continued with another exaggerated gesture.
"If you truly wish to brand us as traitors, then return to the capital and convene a noble's trial. Until a lawful verdict is reached, we shall guard this territory steadfastly and await it patiently."
At the count's answer, the inspector rolled up the parchment he had unfurled and tucked it into his coat.
"Very well. I shall convey Count Baller and Baron Monte's intentions to His Majesty the King without omission."
"Hoh. Now we're speaking the same language. Farewell, then."
The inspector gave a curt bow without lingering and turned around.
"Let's go."
He walked out together with the two knights who had entered with him.
—Thud.
The moment the door closed, the reception room erupted with laughter from the two nobles.
"Hehehe! Did you see that, my lord count? The way that bastard tucked his tail and ran!"
"Even if he goes back and convenes a noble's trial, by the time a verdict is reached, our private troops will have had more than enough time to surround the capital! Hahaha!"
Count Baller and Baron Monte firmly believed that as long as they hid behind the shield of legal procedure, even the royal family couldn't immediately turn their swords on them.
But just as the two were celebrating—
—Bang.
The adjutant, who had just left, burst back into the reception room, his face pale as ash.
"My, my lord count! This is a disaster!"
"What is it now?!"
Count Baller shot a glare at the adjutant, who wouldn't stop running around without any decorum.
"It's… it's not that, it's the knight order! His Highness Ian has led a knight order straight to the castle's main gate!"
"What?"
Count Baller couldn't understand what the adjutant was saying at all.
The inspector who brought the royal decree had just left, and now a knight order had arrived?
"Have you lost your mind?! Attacking a territory without any lawful procedure?! Send out the private troops at once!"
"That, that's the thing… the warhorses won't listen to commands…! And on top of that, they're firing some kind of magical device that sounds like thunder — there's no way to stop them…!"
Before the adjutant could even finish his sentence, a tremendous noise erupted from outside the window.
—BLEEEEEEEEEEGH!
—KIIIIIYAAAAAAARGH!
—BANG! BANG!
—KYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAK!
"Wh… what in the world is that…?!"