Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Great Cleanup (1)
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The Independent Knight Brigade Leader had summarily executed Administrative Officer Sutreng and annihilated Garen's faction.
This news sent shockwaves throughout the entire Hermel region.
The powerless common folk who had suffered at the hands of Sutreng and Garen's group cheered in delight.
They clapped and praised how a proper Holy Knight had finally arrived to administer justice.
Meanwhile, the other underground organizations showed a variety of reactions.
Not all factions had been friendly with Sutreng or Garen, so plenty reveled in their downfall with cries of satisfaction.
But there were no small number of groups tense about the possibility that this new Knight Brigade Leader's blade might turn toward them next.
Amid that atmosphere... I proceeded with my tasks one by one.
* * *
"I'm sorry for the late greeting, Bishop."
"Oh, no, not at all."
Bokwang, the bishop overseeing the Holy Spirit Church in the Hermel region, wiped the sweat from his brow and bowed his head repeatedly.
The Holy Knight Order was originally an organization under the Holy Spirit Church to begin with, and a bishop outranked even a Grade 1 Knight from the Independent Knight Brigade. Yet Bishop Bokwang was exceedingly deferential in front of me.
"On my account, I lacked the ability to play any real role in the community... but Knight Brigade Leader, you've accomplished something tremendous right from the start."
"Not at all."
The Holy Spirit Church was originally supposed to handle many roles in the community, on par with the administrative offices.
For instance, they often managed education and welfare services.
But the Holy Spirit Church organization in Hermel was extremely weak. That was why they hadn't been able to do much.
"Bishop, all I can do is maintain public order. To set the Hermel region straight, we'll need the Holy Spirit Church's power."
"B-But what can someone like me possibly do...?"
"Lishuri, the administrative officer from the administrative office here, will assist you."
"P-Please treat me well."
Lishuri, seated beside me, bowed her head.
She was the official who'd dealt with me when I visited the administrative office, and she seemed like a decent person, so I wanted to give her some backing.
"Bishop Bokwang, I've heard you compile detailed regional statistics every year."
"Yes? Ah, I majored in statistics at seminary..."
The Holy Spirit Church had traditionally been strong in statistics.
They had accumulated population data continuously by handling baptisms, funerals, weddings, and the like since ancient times.
"Please share those statistics with Lishuri and analyze them together. It'll help with administrative reform."
"I-Is that really okay?"
"Bishop, please! The administrative office's data has been tampered with by Sutreng's faction—there's nothing reliable there!"
"W-Well then, shall I take a look at those materials too? I think I can get a rough sense of how they were manipulated."
"Thank you!"
Sutreng, the corrupt bureaucrat, was dead, but if someone similar took his place, it would all be for nothing.
I had to empower reliable people like Lishuri to reform the administrative office from within.
"Well then, everyone, I leave it to you."
"Y-Yes, Knight Brigade Leader!"
"Thank you!"
There wasn't much I could do regarding administration.
All I could do was entrust it to reliable people and wait for results.
What I could do... was exercise force as the Knight Brigade Leader.
* * *
"Ah, come on in."
When I entered what had been the garrison used by the Holy Knights previously stationed in Hermel, Lieselotte was mopping the floor.
"This place is so filthy and rundown. Wouldn't it be better to find other lodgings?"
"Nah. Who knows how long we'll be here anyway—just need shelter from the rain and wind."
As I replied and headed inside, I saw Edwin, head wrapped in a cloth and wearing an apron, cleaning with great enthusiasm.
"Ah, Lord Sion! How did things go at the church?"
"Fine. What's this room?"
"This is the Knight Brigade Leader's office. Your workspace, Lord Sion."
Edwin thumped his chest with his fist as he spoke.
"I'll take full responsibility and make it sparkle."
"Easy does it. As long as there's no dust."
"I won't leave a single speck of grime behind."
"I said as long as there's no dust."
A quick glance around showed it was already plenty clean.
Edwin was good at cooking too, and seemed skilled at housework in general.
A top-tier marriage prospect...
"I've cleaned all the upstairs rooms too. Your luggage is unpacked—please check them."
"Got it."
I left the Knight Brigade Leader's office and climbed the creaky stairs to the second floor.
There were about five small rooms up there, and the one at the far end was assigned to me.
It was a narrow room with just a bed and a wardrobe, but it felt cozy enough.
"Lieselotte said she bought new sheets and changed them..."
I lay down on the bed experimentally.
It was more comfortable than expected, and drowsiness came over me naturally.
"Oh my, Lord Sion. You can't lie on the bed without changing clothes first."
"Don't nag..."
Lieselotte poked her head in with a comment, so I grimaced and sat up.
"If you're taking a nap, shall I sing you a lullaby from the side?"
"Not napping, so cut the nonsense."
"Then come downstairs and handle some paperwork. There are a few documents to submit to the administrative office."
"Fine."
Yawning, I went back to the first floor, where stacks of papers sat on the now-spotless table.
Next to them was a plate of assorted fruit slices.
"What's with the fruit?"
"When you went to the church, Lord Sion, the locals brought them over. They said thanks for punishing the bad guys."
"Yeah?"
"Yes, they were really disappointed to hear the Knight Brigade Leader wasn't here."
"..."
Listening to Lieselotte, I picked at the fruit.
Fresh fruit. In a place like this, you'd have to pay a pretty penny for quality like this.
"Feels rewarding to work, huh, Lord Sion."
"It's not like I work for the reward."
I polished off every last piece as I replied.
* * *
Once things were more or less sorted, we began the meeting.
"From what we've investigated so far, 90 percent of the underground economy here is divided among three factions."
"One of them being Garen's group that we crushed."
"The remaining two... Sedian and Mordic's factions, right?"
Lieselotte placed documents on the Sedian and Mordic factions on the table.
"The Sedian faction is a bit larger than Garen's. They rake in money from prostitution and gambling... and they're infamous for human trafficking too."
"There are rumors they even kidnap children. Just like Garen's group, they likely have ties to the Dialogue Church."
"Yeah, we can assume it's almost certain."
"And the Mordic faction is a tad smaller than Sedian or Garen, but they're notorious as a highly violent organization. They used to be a slaughterhouse guild, but now they've taken over various distribution industries and are running rampant."
"No rumors of human trafficking... but these guys are villains through and through."
"Hmm..."
As I reviewed the documents again, Edwin spoke up in a serious tone.
"Lord Sion, you're going to wipe out the Sedian and Mordic factions too, right?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Well, because they're villains..."
"If we suddenly wipe them all out, it'll create a power vacuum. The small-timers who've been kowtowing to the big organizations until now will run wild, causing even greater chaos in the Hermel region."
"Ah..."
Edwin swallowed hard.
"So what do you plan to do, Lord Sion?"
"We leave one suitable organization alive and put it under our control."
It went without saying, but it was impossible to reform the entire region's system with my power alone.
Better to keep one relatively decent group alive and turn it into a collaborator—that was the realistic approach.
"How about this one, then?"
Lieselotte placed one set of documents on the table.
"It's called the Galuan faction. Smaller than the three major ones, but they're respected in the community."
"A faction led by a man who once worked as a mercenary."
"They're famous for valuing righteousness—they say they don't do anything against propriety. They even do charity work."
"Then this one's the best!"
Edwin's face lit up.
"Lord Sion, it seems like a good idea to meet with the Galuan faction and talk. We wipe out Sedian and Mordic completely, and ask them to lead the Hermel region properly from now on."
"One of the people who came by today was from the Galuan faction too. Galuan himself wants to meet, so they asked me to pass that along."
"Perfect. That works, then."
Edwin and Lieselotte seemed eager to trust Galuan.
But I wasn't sold.
"Hmm, doesn't seem all that trustworthy."
"Huh?"
"Lord Sion, what's the problem?"
"Guys living outside the law and profiting illegally, yet dressing it up with talk of righteousness and propriety—it rubs me the wrong way."
Edwin and Lieselotte flinched at my words.
"Charity's fine and all. But it feels like trash trying to hide that it's trash."
"L-Lord Sion..."
"Isn't that prejudice?"
"Maybe."
Stroking my chin, I said,
"Garen mentioned there was an organization connecting them to the Dialogue Church."
"Huh?"
"Why bring up Garen all of a sudden..."
"Doesn't it seem odd? Why did they outsource to Garen's crew instead of handling it themselves?"
"What do you mean..."
"Ah...!"
Edwin looked baffled, but Lieselotte seemed to catch on.
"I see. I get the gist."
"Lieselotte, what do you mean?"
"The ones directly connected to the Dialogue Church... are the Galuan faction."
"Huh?"
Edwin wore a stunned expression.
"The Galuan faction probably got a request from the Dialogue Church to supply kids. But from their standpoint, preaching righteousness and propriety, they wouldn't want to get their own hands dirty. So they subcontracted it to Garen, who doesn't hesitate at dirty work."
"Ah...!"
"Sedian was probably taking commissions from Galuan to kidnap the kids too. Sedian and Garen likely knew what the Galuan faction really was."
The Galuan faction wasn't big enough to threaten Sedian or Garen.
Since they weren't competitors, this kind of cooperative relationship was possible.
"If that's true... they're utter scum."
"Yeah, that's why it's worth cleaning house."
Riffling through the documents, I muttered,
"Alright, so in what order do we do the cleaning?"