Chapter 32 - 32 Early Summer Events
Duchy of Namibia, Capital City.
In any great noble house, the second son was the one in charge of territory management. This was true for the Klaus family, and it was true for the Kaoz family as well. The Lord and the eldest son were in the Imperial Capital, attending to political affairs.
For about one month after returning from the wedding, I decided to thoroughly investigate these two territories. And there was something I learned. Both Namibia's second son and Kaoz's second son were loose with women, loved gambling, and acted like thugs. They were idiots who felt happy when thugs bowed their heads to them.
Then, over 2 billion in massive funds vanished from the Namibia Lord's Manor safe. While the second son was in a daze from drinking plenty of alcohol, I whispered such things to him.
"Isn't it fine? It's just a bit of money that vanished. What of it? Your father and older brother fled by pushing the responsibility onto Chairman Alphad. They're criminals, aren't they? They push responsibility onto their subordinates, only to let them die or kill them. The money you spent on gambling and women will eventually find its way back to enrich the territory. You don't have to say you used it foolishly. You can just say a thief broke in and blame it on a thief, can't you?"
The second son muttered, "That's right! It's not fair that I'm the only one being attacked. Even though my old man and my brother are good-for-nothings! They do nothing but complain whenever I spend money!"
I wonder when he will notice the empty safe?
Next was the Kaoz family territory. Here too, to make it seem as if the second son had embezzled over 1 billion of his own, I made him gulp down alcohol and gave him the devil's whisper.
"It's just money, right? Thanks to you, the world is enriched. Your father is a villain who sends his third son in to embezzle from the territory and then lets him die, isn't he? Your older brother is taking bribes through connections with the Kingdom of Rhodesia, so why are you the only one being blamed? Surely, a thief broke in? You should just play dumb like your father and brother, acting as if you know nothing. Don't you think so?"
Nodding repeatedly, he said, "That's right. I enriched the territory. I've done nothing wrong. I am the victim of a break-in."
As a side note, I also stole food from both territories and distributed it along with the money to the villages and towns of each territory.
When I distributed money and food to the villages and towns of the former Hermann territory, the people who had been suffering under heavy taxes were delighted. Of course, I also distributed it to the village where Fai is, but I still had a large amount of money left.
Since Fai's husband was the type of person one felt sorry for, I secretly gave him a Slave Mark, and Fai took charge of him. Fai's orders and instructions were absolute. After that, I made sure he loved working like a beast of burden.
When I met Fai after a long time, she said with a smile, "Ufufu. God really does exist! I heard the Internal Affairs Officer passed away? Surely God has handed down Divine Punishment!"
When I said that was good, she looked at me and smiled, saying, "He is such a kind God, I love him!" She also told me that because I brought money and food, the villagers were starting to think I was someone from the state's special intelligence agency.
"I don't care what they think, as long as they understand I am not an enemy."
"To me, you are like a God!"
Fai showed me the gold coins I had given her and struck a praying pose.
"I'll come again!"
"Yes! Anytime!"
With that, we parted.
When I returned to the Lord's Manor, I began working on creating a pool, fitting for the Water City.
In the plaza in front of the Lord's Manor, there were two types: one simple enough for even children to enter, and one more authentic, equipped with things like a Water Slide.
To make the two types—one like a simple slide and one that spiraled and spun around as you descended—I used earth magic to make them slippery.
Since beach balls and float rings seemed like they could be made from Slime Solution, I tried making them, and they turned out surprisingly well. For swimsuits, I had them made at the workshop at my family home, using monster skin that was also water-repellent.
"I'll use the designs for underwear! A tankini? Ah! I can do it!"
The Aunties at the factory hurried to make them. In this way, they made various types, from extreme bikinis to types that wanted to hide their body shape.
Within the territory, thanks to Passo reporting it in the newspaper every day, it became a topic of conversation for everyone.
"It's a good thing for women to wear thin clothes!"
"More importantly, this giant slider? My kid wants to slide down it!"
Even in places like the Imperial Capital, it seemed to be a topic of conversation already thanks to the newspaper. Sera seemed to be saying she "wants to go" after her interactions with Aria.
Recently, complaints had been coming from the village head.
He said that because the main roads were 12m wide, they were difficult to cross and accidents were occurring.
"I will raise the roads with elevation differences and create underground passages."
I researched several places where roads were needed and decided to build them in a few spots. In this way, I worked busily for two months following the wedding.
"Young master. You should rest a little, don't ya?"
"It can't be helped if I want to be a student, Regias."
Everyone knew I was going to the Imperial Academy. The population, which Passo had mentioned was 5,000, had far exceeded that and reached over 10,000.
If you counted the peddlers and travelers, the number of people staying in this Aqua was quite large. Since Vel said he wanted a certain number of people for security, I put Slave Marks on the captured criminals and applied [Skill: Adrenaline] and [Skill: Dopamine], creating people for whom working was their sole reason for living, and I had them perform patrols on 24-hour shifts.
"Thanks to that, the public order is the best in this country, Young master!"
"That's because I'm the one training the dogs!"
At Vel's words, Yaris pouted and complained. In fact, because the dogs wouldn't let criminals escape, it also served as a deterrent for those who were potential criminals.
When roads improve, distribution becomes active, but it's not all good things.
(My father's territory and Viscount Gran's territory also said that criminals had increased. Come to think of it, who will the Internal Affairs Officer be this time? Well, it'll probably be someone I don't know anyway, and they'll likely pass through here without even greeting us.)
Sera was also busy.
It was because she was rushed to secure personnel for the pool.
"There will definitely be people appearing to change clothes, or peeping, or groping! Vel and the others, make sure to guard it properly!"
When I replied with "yeah, yeah," I got scolded.
The Cielo Trading Company, being sensitive to the scent of money, sent a letter saying that instead of just opening a shop, they would also prepare pool staff. After all, the Cielo Trading Company had now become a giant in the logistics industry, and they ran several shipments of carriages every single day to my father Butler's territory. Naturally, they would stop by my place on their way back before returning to the Imperial Capital with various procurements.
They also ran carriages to Viscount Gran's port and the port of the former Hermann territory. Of course, the tires were ones bought from the artisans in the Butler territory.
"As expected of Cielo-san, but where is their true intention? Let's go with them and ask!"
Taking a reluctant Sera with me, I headed for the Imperial Capital via Instant Movement.
"I'm glad you came! Both of you!"
I immediately set about asking Cielo's intentions.
To be honest, I didn't intend to end it with just the summer season; I planned to use mirrors to utilize the heat of the sunlight to boil the water. I intended to use it as a heated pool for a certain degree of the colder seasons, but even considering rainy days or midwinter, it would only be operational for about half the year.
"Just as I thought. Then, let me state my idea!"
First, what he wanted to build was something like an inn, with restaurants and swimsuit sales on the first floor. The second floor seemed to be lodging facilities. He calculated that if they illuminated it with Fluorescent Flowers in midsummer and held night pools, they could expect large profits.
"But we don't even know how many people will come yet, do we?"
"Suppose 1,000 people come a day and each spends 500 G, that's 500,000 G. If we charge 5,000 G for lodging and can accommodate 100 people, that's another 500,000 G. A calculation of 1 million in total can be made."
It was strictly a theoretical calculation, but he said, "But it's interesting, isn't it?"
He seemed to think it wasn't bad if they could expect an annual turnover of 100 million. As a side note, he also seemed to want to build a transport receiving station. I learned that he planned to carry the luggage of general customers as well. If so, the plan was to start with newly built shops rather than existing ones.
Then, his wife appeared.
Her stomach had become large, and she looked happy, but she made a shocking statement.
"Sera. It's okay to come back now. Recently, both Abalon and Abensis have been running after mature women. Abalon was masturbating with my panties, and Abensis was peeping in your bath and masturbating after stealing your panties, right?"
"You knew, Mother? Then why didn't you warn me? They're total perverts!"
It seemed she thought it was fine as long as it wasn't harmful to others. It appeared that Cielo was the only one who didn't know.
"Wh...at...?"
He was lashing out at things around him in anger.
And once he calmed down, he called the Head Clerk and strictly commanded, "Clean out and dispose of Abalon and Abensis's rooms. And tell them never to return to this house until they produce 1 billion in profit! I am not joking! Do you understand?"
For the time being, we agreed on the inn matter, and it was decided that "We will prepare immediately. Leave the operation of the pool itself to us as well. Of course, we will act according to your intentions."
When we stopped by the Klaus family before returning, the Quack Doctor Trio seemed busy.
"The other day, thanks to that book, we were able to prevent His Majesty's poisoning in advance!"
When I wondered what they were talking about, it seemed the three of them had also been serving as His Majesty's Court Physicians recently. Since it was written that it was good to change tableware to silver, they had changed it, and the next day, it had discolored. They said it was by a hair's breadth.
"I'm glad I could be of use."
While having such a conversation, I was called by Klaus.
Wondering what it was, it was the talk of this wedding.
Apparently, Namibia and Kaoz had not admitted their crimes to the very end. However, since the current His Majesty has power, it didn't end with a simple "Oh, is that so." He said an apology was unnecessary and ordered them to bear the 15 billion in wedding expenses.
And, the breakdown was that Namibia paid 10 billion and Kaoz paid 5 billion.
"That must hurt. They won't be able to raise war funds with this, will they?"
Klaus laughed loudly.
He seemed happy, thinking this was all thanks to me cornering them at the Inquiry Committee.
"Such a massive expense for that wedding?"
"There's no way. Even after subtracting the road costs and the wedding expenses, there will be change left over."
In reality, 10 billion hadn't even been spent on road construction. It was likely about half that.
And one more thing. He said the Internal Affairs Officer for the former Hermann territory had been decided.
"Is it someone I know?"
He shook his head and said, "It is the First Imperial Prince."
When I wondered why such a person, he told me. To put it simply, it was because a 14-year-old boy had become a monarch and developed a neighboring desolate territory.
The reason was that a 16-year-old girl was in charge of finances and boosted the economy all at once. A 17-year-old girl served as a general, and by slaying 80 out of 100 bandits, public order had stabilized.
Therefore, His Majesty had provoked the First Imperial Prince, who would become the next emperor, by saying, "If you can't perform even that level of feat, being an emperor is impossible. If you'd like, I'll let the other princes do it instead?" It seemed the First Imperial Prince had no choice but to respond.
"Goodness... so I was used as a pawn? Won't you be resented?"
"In reality, if you can't rebuild a territory of that level, can you steer the rudder of this country?"
If you put it that way, he was right.
And when the topic turned to the pool, he asked, "When is the opening?" so when I told him, "I hope to open it soon," it seemed they were all coming.
"It's a rumor in the Imperial Capital that it sounds interesting. His Majesty is also showing interest."
Are you serious... I'll have to do various renovations and improvements, or it'll be bad.
When I was invited to have tea, Klaus and I headed to the hall.
There, a fruitless argument was unfolding.
"Are you an idiot, Aristo! Victoria-sama is far more beautiful than Aqua!"
"Father, you are wrong! At that party, the most beautiful one... was Mother more than anyone! Shivans! What does Shivans think?"
At that, he spoke while looking at Aria next to him.
"Aristo-sama. What do you think is the thing married women in the world hate most? They hate it when their husbands keep saying their mother is the best and being compared to her somewhere. Do you understand how Aria-sama, who is sitting next to you, feels right now?"
Startled, I looked at Aria, and she was looking down with a sad face.
"N-no, Aria... I'm not a mama's boy!"
"Fufufu. You mama's boy who can't even wean yourself! I, for one, have never once thought my mother was beautiful. Much less..."
Just as he was about to finish, Windam was blown away.
"Whether you are a mama's boy or not is a separate matter! Who said she wasn't beautiful?"
Windam had teary eyes, saying, "I'm sorry..."
"You love Mother so much! You mama's boy! Enough already!"
As Aria left while crying, Sera chased after her.
"Wait... Aria... it's not like that! I'm not a mama's boy..."
Aristo glared at Windam while crying.
"Because of Father... I've been hated..."
"That is incorrect. It is that Aristo-sama is perceived to view the marriage with Aria-sama as a political marriage. Aria-sama has always felt lonely because of that. Since you like her, you probably realized this time that she doesn't have those same feelings, didn't you?"
A stunned Aristo muttered, "Political marriage... no feelings...?"
"That's right! It's because you have no feelings! I am not at fault!"
Windam's words didn't sound like they came from a father, but he was being beaten up by Klaus, who was shouting "Dorya!" as he sent him out into the garden.
Windam returned, having turned into a zombie again.
"I, too, once experienced the same feelings as Aria. I poured all my love into raising you, and I was happy that you became a kind child. But, the current Aristo, though the partner is different, is the spitting image of Windam, isn't he?"
"I hate being like that father!"
"That's going too far, Aristo? I became like this because I was raised by those parents. It's not my fault!"
Having said that, Windam was sent out into the garden again.
"Dorya!"
"Agya!"
He was being punished not only by Klaus but also by his wife. In a fit of frustration, Windam dropped a bomb. The content was Klaus's affairs.
"Mother! Do you know where Father went yesterday when he didn't come home?"
"Y-you idiot! What are you saying!?"
The wife grabbed Windam, telling him to say it.
"This damn old man was surrounded by young women, saying 'I'm bored of my ugly wife! I'm not coming home today!' and he came back in the morning!"
"W-why are you exposing this! You stupid son! I-it's not like that, Mother... there's a very, very deep reason for this... Gyaaa!"
Seeing that, Aristo looked down at them with eyes as if looking at something filthy, saying, "Even I have the same blood as those two..."
"It's okay, Aristo! Half of my blood flows in you too! Right!"
"That's right, Mother... I won't become like those two!"
I spoke gently to Aristo.
"Aristo-sama. If you have no feelings for Aria-sama, it will only be painful for both of you. Will you be alright?"
Aristo could not hide his agitation at my words.
"I can tell that Aria-sama adores you, Aristo-sama. Do you remember that person who came saying he was a friend recently? He's being treated the same as that guy, you know?"
Aristo shook his head, remembering Frank.
"T-that's pitiful for Aria!"
"Indeed. It is because you acted that way, Aristo-sama. If you wish to repair the relationship, it will take time, but please stay by her side. There are no friends here. How would you feel if you were in the opposite position in the Palace, Aristo-sama? It would be far too lonely, wouldn't it?"
Imagining a situation where he had no one to rely on in the Palace, he shuddered. Since he collapsed from the sofa while crying, I also knelt down in front of him to talk.
"It's just as Shivans says! If I am wrong again, please tell me. You are... strict, but kind. I'll go apologize!"
He dashed toward Aria's room.
Well, since I'm Aristo's mother's lover, I sort of feel like his father. Aside from me kneeling there, the only one in the room was Aqua. She softly leaned in and kissed me.
"Thank you, darling! Both Aristo and I need you!"
"Because you're a cute wife!"
When I said that and squeezed her chest, she writhed, but she whispered, "That thing came today. Shall we do it with our mouths?" so I shook my head.
"I'll hold you plenty the next time you come over!"
"Yes! Because I'll become lewd and indecent! Please cherish me!"
I looked around, kissed her, and pulled away. In the garden, the wife was letting out a war cry. Klaus and Windam were like used rags.
Sera and I were about to head home in the evening, but the men pleaded, "Please stay the night." Aristo probably wants Sera to stay.
Aqua probably doesn't care because of her menstrual pains. Since the wife had a demonic expression, Klaus was praying with his hands joined, asking her to deal with me instead.
However, Sera was different.
"It is the seed they sowed themselves. It is wrong to ask Shivans-sama. Besides, we must return to the city quickly... there is... little time left..."
The women told her to do so. The wife was wearing a devilish smile. It must have been my imagination that I heard a thin scream of "Hii—" the moment we stepped out of the entrance.
Around that time
Namibia and Kaoz were each facing a terrible situation. They were forced to pay what was effectively a fine as wedding funds, and when they tried to take money from their territories, the money had vanished from the safes.
"What is the meaning of this!?"
"Who knows. Seems like a thief broke in. But it's only 2 billion!"
When the second son boasted like that, Namibia and the eldest son were enraged. Normally, for a Ducal house, 2 billion certainly wouldn't be such a painful amount. However, 2 billion after losing 10 billion was quietly painful.
"The thief is you! Isn't it true that there's no such person? You're nothing but lies! Be a little more honest!"
He got heated when the eldest son said that.
"Hah! Even though you flee by pushing your crimes onto your subordinates! Is that how you attack me? You, the older brother, are honest? Look who's talking!"
Namibia stopped him, saying, "Stop it!", but this matter would leave deep-seated resentment for a long time to come.
The Kaoz family was the same.
"Father sacrificed Dona! Brother is connected to other countries behind the scenes and is betraying this country, isn't he? By what right can you two complain to me?"
It felt like this, too, was turning into a quagmire.
(How did it end up like this? Where did I go wrong? To be kicked while you're down is exactly this... no, is it 'poverty breeds stupidity'? Well, either way is fine...)
Namibia and Kaoz were, coincidentally, thinking the same thing.