Chapter 96 - 95: Suspicious Cordo
Duke Schweitzer was in a good mood.
"Just yesterday, I created over a thousand soldiers! I'll have the slave trader put slave marks on them and send them to the front lines! Thoroughly clear out the slums!"
Soldiers were being thrown in one after another, and it seemed the darkness of the slums would be swept away.
"Shivans. Do you have any other ideas?"
"I do, Your Excellency. Wicked moneylenders who are profiting from usury, and apothecaries selling dubious items at high prices, not knowing if they are even medicine. If you force them to cough up their money and distribute it to the common people, I believe Your Excellency's reputation will undoubtedly rise!"
"I see. I hear some apothecaries are dabbling in illegal drugs. There may also be vassal nobles or merchants betraying me," the Duke muttered, then immediately ordered, "Investigate thoroughly! It will kill two birds with one stone!" and his subordinates all moved at once.
Apothecaries with bad reputations in town were arrested one after another. "Hey? I'm going to use poison on you, so heal yourself. Of course, if it's not a fake, you can heal it, right?" they were told. When they asked, "W-What kind of poison is it?" a venomous snake was brought out.
When it bit their leg, the apothecary screamed "Ugyah!" and writhed in agony.
"You've been selling ineffective medicine at high prices, haven't you? If you confess honestly, I'll treat you. What will you do? You don't actually have any knowledge, do you?"
"I-I'm sorry... I was just dispensing things that looked like medicine... I was selling what my father made... After my father died, I just used the leftover medicine, I don't know if it works... I told the truth! Treatment! Please!"
The apothecary was given a remedy I made and was saved, but was captured along with his family. On top of being made a soldier, his house was sold and all his assets were confiscated. Like a chain reaction, the names of officials and merchants came out, and the villains were captured one after another.
At the moneylenders' places, thugs were defending them, so it became a state of war with the soldiers. It was just like a siege battle.
"You bastards! Keep your hands off our wallets!"
"Shut up! The crime of deceiving and making the common people cry is heavy! Capture them!"
Outnumbered, they were captured one after another.Gradually, the villains who had held sway in the slums were cornered. However, even so, the army did not reach ten thousand, and one of the old soldiers muttered this.
"In the old days, many peasant soldiers gathered. Armies of thirty or forty thousand were formed quickly. Now, not even ten thousand gather. Do you know why?"
When I honestly said, "Is it because it would be a rebellion against His Majesty?" he replied, "That's part of it. But young men are conscripted for war and don't return. And, more than anything, the Duke has changed. In the past, he was a good lord who cared for his people. Now, he talks of strange things like wanting to become Emperor..." he said sadly.
(No matter how you struggle, he'll probably only gather twenty to thirty thousand at most. Even so, will he still go to war?)
I sneaked into the Duke's mansion and read his mind.
I don't have much time left. I once dreamed of being Emperor. Now is my last chance. It's more about my stubborn pride than winning or losing. Having such a sum thrust upon me, I cannot simply stay silent and die!
I knew the Duke's grandson was a criminal in the Imperial Capital, but 10 billion is certainly harsh. Well, if the country is exhausted by civil war, it won't be in any position to fight other nations.
(Tracing it back, both are of the Emperor's bloodline, so does that make him even more stubborn?)
I returned to the Imperial Capital and flew to His Majesty the Emperor.When I told His Majesty about the Duke's army, he grinned broadly.
"So it's an army of twenty to thirty thousand at most. That level won't defeat us, but we will take damage. Some other nobles are also watching for an opportunity, depending on the Duke's move."
His Majesty the Emperor also seemed to be preparing the Imperial Army, composed of the Imperial Knights and the sons of nobles, for deployment. On top of that, he planned to add a group of adventurers and criminals captured from former noble families and throw them against the Duke's army.
When I petitioned for the continuation of Sarna and Emina's knightly house, he laughed, "Very well! There's no need to crush a house of that level! Ahahaha!" and granted it.
Thinking I came to the Imperial Capital, I stopped by the hospital.In the nursery, the nurses were playing with the children. Among them was Maron. When she spotted me, she waved and ran over, calling "Sensei!" A refreshing breeze flipped up Maron's skirt.
"Oh no... You saw my panties, didn't you?"
"That's because your skirt is so short, right?"
Quickly moving behind the nursery, she said, "Jeez! If you send such a hot gaze at a married woman's thighs, my pussy will get wet, you know?" while lifting her skirt, crouching in front of me, and giving me fellatio.
"You naughty boy... Are you planning to cum in Maron's mouth?"
I made her deep throat and poured my semen down her throat. "Do it here too!" she said, shifting her panties and showing her pussy.
"Not outside... What if someone sees... Ahn!"
"You say that, but it's already soaking wet, you know? You're excited, aren't you?"
"I'm going to! Ahn! Someone will see my boobs too! Nooo! I'm cumming!"
Covering her mouth, she endured her voice while cumming multiple times. After I came inside, Maron performed cleaning fellatio.
"Despite what you say, you like outdoor sex too, don't you?"
"I love it anywhere if Sensei does it with me! Oh, right! My period is late! I hope my womb is receiving Sensei's sperm!"
She looked happy, but when I asked Maron about her husband Marco, she declared, "After all the trouble he's caused me, I feel no guilt!"
Laughing, she told me recent stories.
"Those dickless men you brought are getting along well, you know? They said seeing women gives them headaches and nausea, so maybe they turned homo?"
Thinking we needed manpower, I had put slave marks on the men who were criminals and made them work seriously, and they seemed to be useful.
Apricot, also in a short skirt, showed off her slender legs to me, then bent down without bending her knees to pick something up off the hallway floor. Doing so, with no panties on, her pussy was completely visible, inviting me.
"Why are you not wearing panties?"
"Because I saw Sensei! We can have sex right away, right?"
Making slurping sounds, she gave me fellatio in the shadows and immediately begged, "Put it in!" Apricot also said, "My period is late... I can have the baby, right?" so I said, "Of course!" and came inside her.
I was worried about her situation, with me gone and no husband, but she said, "Even during Gappa's time, he was never around. And here, everyone is like family, and it's comfortable, so I'm fine!"
Fran was in the newly built sauna.She has now become completely famous as a beauty who lost a dramatic amount of weight. With the addition of more saunas, a flood of customers rushed in. Beside her, like a set, were Lime and Lina.
When I called her to my room, Fran immediately took off her clothes and latched onto my cock.
"Such a neat and beautiful woman... you're too eager, aren't you? I'm about to cum in your mouth, okay?"
When I said that, she pulled her mouth away and said, "No! Just giving fellatio makes my pussy this wet! Until I get pregnant, use this!" and spread it open.
After Fran, Lime and Lina were waiting. After holding them properly too, I went to check on Athena and the other three.
When I checked with Appraisal, it seemed they were fertilized.
"I can't wait for next spring! I'll give birth here!"
They were also studying to become doctors. Athena was suffering from morning sickness, but was delighted, saying, "I'm so happy I could get pregnant!"
After leaving the hospital, I headed to the Military Police, had Salt of the Salt Trading Company, who had been captured, released, and went with him to the Salt Trading Company. There, first, since Salt and his sons, the brothers Etta and Ette, were present, I gathered the three wives and the employees.
Then, identifying myself as Shivans, I said, "This is an imperial decree from His Majesty the Emperor!" and showed the letter, causing everyone to prostrate themselves.
"The three of you, Salt, Etta, and Ette, have bad habits with women and seem to have relations with the female employees of the shop. And the head clerk and senior clerks turn a blind eye to it, don't they? Confess everything honestly! If you lie, the death penalty is possible!"
Because I spoke while applying Intimidation, everyone prostrated themselves, nearly wetting themselves. Hearing the death penalty, the male employees turned pale. The female employees glared at Salt, Etta, and Ette with demonic expressions, blaming them.
"We cannot allow a shop like this to continue as is in the Imperial Capital! However, upon investigation, Sakura, Mito, and Plum have conducted business honestly, and it has been decided they may continue. Therefore—"
I told the employees to support Sakura, Mito, and Plum, to strictly train Salt, Etta, and Ette from the apprentice level up, and if they restored the shop to its proper former state, the employees' crimes would be forgiven. The head clerk stepped forward.
"I promise! We will support the proprietress and the young mistresses! We will train those three without mercy! We will work our fingers to the bone, so please! Overlook this just this once!"
The other employees were also trembling with fear and prostrated themselves even further.
(Normally, there's no way a private shop would receive an imperial decree from His Majesty, but I'm glad they believed it.)
I went to the Administrative Bureau and had already processed the shop's title deed into the names of Sakura, Mito, and Plum, so I showed it to everyone.
"Proprietress, young mistresses, please step forward."
The three timidly stepped forward.I handed the shop's title deed to the three and said, "You have worked very hard until now. From now on, this is your shop. Also, I have a small gift from me." When I had them look to the side, there was a large quantity of bags filled with salt.
When I had the head clerk confirm it, he rejoiced, saying, "Th-This is high-quality salt!"
Sakura, Mito, and Plum seemed increasingly charmed by me.
Plum clung to me, crying, "Sensei! No, Shivans-sama, thank you!"
Seeing this, Sakura and Mito, with a woman's intuition, sensed something and simultaneously felt jealous of Plum.
I, along with Sakura, Mito, and Plum, decided to have tea and talk in a separate room.
"Plum, how did you seduce Shivans-sama? Or were you seduced? You were held, weren't you?"
Plum explained the circumstances to Mito, who asked enviously.Then Sakura boldly opened her chest and approached me.
"We want you to hold us too... if a woman like this is acceptable..." Sakura said. "But, to show you... it's too..." she said, looking like she was about to cry.
Mito said she lacked confidence in her figure, and Sakura was also worried about her age.
"All three of you should train your bodies at our hospital's sauna. You can leave the children in the nursery, right?"
The three immediately decided to move to the hospital with their children.
"Proprietress! Do your best! Leave the shop to us!"
"Young mistresses, do your best too! We will strictly train those three men!"
The employees were desperate.
"I'll come back beautiful! I'm counting on you, everyone!"
Saying goodbye, I took the three and their two grandchildren and headed to the hospital.
I secretly cast Revive and High Heal on the three, making them younger and beautifully restoring their bodies, a fact they do not know.
When I returned to the White Castle in the evening, the families of Sarna and Emina, who were taking the exam, were there.
"Are you ready? A score of 70 or above is a pass. Now, begin!"
It seemed it would take about an hour, so in the meantime, I made sweet potato tarts and decided to talk with Sarna and Emina's younger brothers and sisters while serving them.
"Have you learned to swim? Is it fun here?"
Everyone looked at each other and said sadly, "We can't swim yet..." but rejoiced, "This place is super fun! It's amazing there's a place like this!"
When I asked, "Is there anything you don't like?" the six of them said, if forced to say, it was that they had to go home in two weeks. The exam ended in a flash, and grading began. The results were announced.
Sarna's parents passed with a narrow margin at 72 points.
"Look, dear! It was just as I said, wasn't it? You don't pay attention to the details at all! Get a grip!"
Sarna's father was being scolded by his wife.Emina's parents got 71 points.
"That was close..."
"Don't be so carefree! You left almost everything to me! If you don't want our children to be out on the streets, we're studying one more time tonight! You took notes, right?"
It seemed this husband was also under his wife's thumb.Sarna and Emina easily scored over 80 points. Both high-fived, saying "Yay!" but the problem was their two older brothers.
Sarna's brother scored 52, and Emina's brother scored 55.
"You got a 52! Take it seriously!"
"Didn't you fail too!"
Sarna and Emina's brothers went to a nearby inn. It was decided they would stay there tonight, and eat dinner at a nearby food stall.
"This is awful... It's a steam bath in a hot room... Sarna, help!"
"And suddenly eating at a food stall. Tomorrow, we're training with the army... Emina. Take my place! Please!"
Refused by Sarna and Emina, the two were laughed at, "You made fun of us while using us as material, so you got what you deserved!" and were chased out of the White Castle.
Watching her son's back as he walked dejectedly, looking small, Sarna's mother laughed and said, "Maybe we spoiled him too much because he's the eldest son?" Emina's mother said, "In our case, I spoiled the husband too! If I weren't here, we would have lost our territory!" Sarna's mother laughed, "Same here!"
To keep everyone motivated, I cast Adrenaline and Dopamine on them, saying, "This is for your future life."
That Night
Sarna and Emina were held twice each and looked satisfied.
After the two fell asleep, I returned to the Imperial Capital, went to the hospital, and cast Body Fat Transfer, Revive, and High Heal on Sakura, Mito, and Plum.
You three were unlucky with your husbands and had your lives ruined. From now on, I'll let you three start your lives over! I will become your new husband and release your suppressed sexual desires.
Every day, sweetly whispered to in their dreams, the three became inclined. Originally harboring dissatisfaction, they quickly became devoted to me.
Morning, 12 days until the Duke's rebellion.
When I headed to the Tour house, I was not welcomed. Considering the previous incident, it was natural that I received a cold gaze from the father, Tour. I understood this time that the bad reception was due to the presence of a man named Cordo, Myu's fiancé.
Tour, Hamyure's father, also tried to curry favor with Cordo and threw disparaging words at me.
"You filthy adventurer! Don't come near my daughter! You shameless wretch!"
Then Cordo said, "Now, now, Father-in-law," turned to me, and spoke with a sneer.
"Is it you? The adventurer called Shivans? I am Cordo, Hamyure's fiancé. What business do you have here? Hah-hah. I get it! Did you come to extort money? Just like a shameless adventurer would. Very well. I'll pay you!"
Saying that, he dropped a small silver coin on the earthen floor and ordered me, "Pick it up!"
As I endured, suppressing the urge to punch him, he ordered, "Hurry up and pick it up and leave!"
When I ignored him, five roughnecks who were outside appeared and dragged me out.
"Just when we were troubled by that good-for-nothing Mick lurking around Hamyure... now an adventurer shows up. I'm sorry, Father-in-law, but shall we move the wedding date up?"
As I was being taken away, Myu stopped them, saying, "Wait!" so I whispered, "I'll come tonight," and she nodded. Then I provoked Cordo.
"Oh dear. Shouldn't you be dropping small change if you're poor? You're a fool, Cordo-san. A real merchant should take care of their money! Well, I'll be going now!"
As I left, the five chased after me, shouting, "Wait! You made fun of Master Cordo!" but before they knew it, all five found themselves in a Military Police cell. And they would be made to spill all their past misdeeds.
(If he's hiring guys like this, it's only a matter of time before he's caught. Now, what will happen?)
First, I was excited to investigate Cordo's misdeeds.
I flew to the Knight's Territory, the domain of Sarna and Emina, intending mainly to repair farmland, roads, and rivers, and fix aging buildings.
(For now, let's fix up the roads!)
I used earth magic to smooth out narrow, hard-to-pass roads, winding roads, bumpy surfaces, and muddy roads. For places with mountains that were difficult to pass, I decided to dig tunnels.
There, farmers who saw me, an unfamiliar face, called out.
"Hey! What are you doing, big brother?"
"I've been asked by the lord to improve this territory! If you have any troubles, please tell me anything!"
Seeing the roads becoming nicer, the farmers came to consult me about everything.
"Our crops won't grow... Is there any good method?"
"We don't have enough water! Do something! The river is far away!"
"Boars and monkeys are ravaging our fields, we're in trouble! Help!"
"I want to go gather medicinal herbs, but the mountain is dangerous now!"
Requests came one after another.There were also requests from the housewives.
"The roof leaks when it rains, but there's no one who can fix it."
"It's pitch black at night, and the other day something came, I don't know if it was a monster or a bandit, and it was scary."
This... I'll have to come every day... Thinking that, I said, "I'll come again tomorrow, so please discuss among yourselves and decide on priorities. I'll solve them one by one!" and they were pleased.
When I returned to the White Castle, it seemed the two older brothers were completely lacking in physical strength as well.
"So tomorrow, everyone will take a physical fitness test! The younger brothers and sisters will also participate!"
The two older brothers lamented, "Again...?" Since both parents, Sarna, and Emina passed today's test, they could eat a delicious dinner and sleep in comfortable futons, but it was decided the two older brothers would again have no reward and stay at the inn.
"Tomorrow, you guys will share our fate!"
"Rather, we have the advantage because we experienced it today! By the way, we won't tell you what kind of test it is!"
The two older brothers said meanly and left for the inn.
That Night
As usual, after holding Sarna and Emina twice each and putting them to sleep, I went to the hospital and had Sakura, Mito, and Plum become beautiful again with Body Fat Transfer and Revive. With their business doing well and gradually becoming more beautiful, they began to cling to me and obey my every word.
After that, I sneaked into Myu's room on the upper floor of the Tour Trading Company, set up a barrier in the room, and cast Sound Barrier and Perception Block.
"Now it's okay even if we make a little noise!"
Despite having put on lewd underwear and waiting for me, she seemed down. When I held her close, she seemed frightened, so I asked the reason.
"Today, I met my fiancé for the first time... He had an indescribable scariness... I feel like the atmosphere he has is similar to those men who tried to rape me..."
"Certainly, his face was smiling, but what he said was cold, and even his smile gave a cruel impression... He seems like he does bad things, right? Since he has henchmen like that."
Nodding at my words, she explained how this engagement came about.A merchant they were close with apparently introduced Cordo. Her parents were reluctant when they heard Cordo was a stern-looking 33-year-old, but they seemed to have been persuaded.
'There's a suitable man for Hamyure! The man named Cordo is certainly a bit older, but a man isn't about age! He has money, and above all, he's a young man on good terms with Viscount Goat! When I told him about Hamyure, he was very eager! Why don't you meet him once, Tour-san?' they were told, and apparently, they weren't enthusiastic.
"He said he saw me too, and we talked. But the thing he was most concerned about was whether I was a virgin. When he heard I was a virgin, the talks progressed smoothly and led to this engagement... Though I'm already Shivans' woman, so I'm not a virgin!"
Because I had been holding her the whole time, she seemed to calm down and a smile escaped her.
"There are many unnatural points in this story. Cordo is tall and handsome if he keeps quiet. And if he's rich, it wouldn't be strange for him to have many mistresses. Yet, he's in a rush to arrange a marriage with the Tour family, to whom he has no connection? Normally, even if they are the Duke's vassal nobles, you'd think he'd marry a girl close to a viscount family to deepen ties, right?"
Thinking that made sense, she became frightened again.
"I don't want to be held by any man other than Shivans..."
"It's okay! I'll protect Myu this time too!"
When I hugged her tightly, kissed her, and cast Fear Resistance, she smiled and said, "That's right! I have my prince!" and became cheerful.
"How is it, Prince? Do you like Myu's lewd voice?"
She was wearing the lewd underwear she had secretly bought.With an open bra, her breasts swayed, and with crotchless panties, her pussy was completely visible. When I made her assume a 69 position, Myu said, "Aahn... Are we doing something this embarrassing all of a sudden?" but she was quite proactive.
"Just your voice is enough to make me big, Myu!"
"Jeez! It makes me sad when you say it like only my voice is cute!"
I kissed her and whispered, "Of course, your face is beautiful and your body is attractive too! That night, I held Myu countless times, right? I love Myu, who gets lewd for me!" and she made a happy face.
"Myu too! I love the Prince's face! When you hold Myu in your strong arms, I feel incredibly happy! Myu only gets lewd for the Prince, you know? I only show this underwear to the Prince!"
A cute face and voice. And Myu, gradually becoming lewd.
"Prince... Do you want to shoot your view into Myu today too? If you say you want to give the Prince's baby to Myu, I'll let you cum!"
Had she started aiming for a little devil persona?
"I want to cum a lot and knock up Myu! Does Myu want to be made to cum and be impregnated by my cock?"
"Of course!"
Damn it... I finished without being able to make her say the important thing. Because even her moans are cute.