Chapter 168: A Small Discomfort
After wrapping up the situation with Jessica, I began tackling various administrative matters one after another.
Most of them were routine affairs, which I processed without delay, delegating tasks to Don and Gigi as needed.
There was a modest knock on the door.
Don opened it, received some additional documents from someone in the hallway, and returned.
“These are from the Second and Third Viziers. Here is a summary of the main points, and here are the original documents that I judged you should read in full. And this is–”
“Original documents are rare; I’ll take them.”
“Yes, sir.”
I received the documents from Don.
The original text that had been forwarded was a report from Henry.
To perform administrative duties efficiently, I had altered some of the procedures slightly from my father’s era.
First, the reports that came in from various regions would be reviewed by the Second to Fourth Viziers, who would summarize the essential points before bringing them to me.
Even though these were reports from various regions, some were regular updates, while others were more formal.
To put it another way, despite being reports, many were filled with flowery praises and flattery aimed at curry favor from the Emperor – me.
Such matters would be summarized by the Viziers and sent to me.
Among those, it was quite rare for something to exceed the authority or responsibility that a Vizier could bear, and in those cases, the report would be forwarded to me in its original form without any summarization.
What I held in my hands now was one such report, sent from the front lines by Henry.
I opened the report and read through it from beginning to end.
“…Hmm.”
“What does it say, Your Majesty?”
“It’s about how some individuals claiming to be remnants of Eila carried out a sham declaration, and were wiped out in one fell swoop.”
“I see.”
“No prisoners taken, huh.”
“As expected of the Fourth Prince.”
“Strange…”
I stared at the report, trying to discern if anything was hidden between the lines.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
There was nothing hidden between the lines, only discomfort lingered.
After reading up to that point, I raised my face and explained to Don, who looked puzzled.
“This is not how Henry operates.”
“What do you mean?”
“They carried out a sham declaration. In other words, they claimed to be fakes of Eila’s bloodline.”
“That’s quite common.”
“Exactly, it’s a common occurrence, which is why it’s standard to capture the leaders and execute them publicly to show that their bloodline has been completely eradicated.”
I deliberately avoided mentioning the mercy I had shown to that boy, putting it aside while continuing.
“And when fakes appear, the next step is to capture them and verify their authenticity.”
“Oh…”
“Henry surely understands this. So why did he wipe them out in one go? It’s unnatural.”
“I see… Oh.”
“What is it?”
“Impressive, Your Majesty.”
Don said this and pulled out Fuwawa’s box from among the documents.
There were several Fuwawa boxes in the paperwork, and Don had started to mention a report on them earlier, but I had stopped him midway.
He offered the box to me.
“Is this from Henry?”
“It seems there was a secret report just for you, just as expected of Your Majesty.”
“I’ve been associated with Henry for a long time now.”
I said this and opened the Fuwawa box from Henry.
And I took out the report inside and read through it.
“…I see.”
“May I ask about its contents?”
“Yes, it seems like there’s been some reckless behavior from the duel team led by Neil.”
I said this and handed the report to Don.
The report from Henry stated that it was Neil and his team who had wiped out the fakes.
Neil Noble.
He is still renowned as the strongest general in the Empire, and the fourth son of Damian Noble.
Damian swore loyalty to my father and had no divided heart towards the Empire, but he was also a doting father who used his connections to elevate his children.
Among Damian’s children, Neil was the only one who had not received favors or the benefits of his father’s connections.
I found out that this was because Damian recognized Neil’s talent above all his other children and believed that Neil could rise through the ranks on his own merit.
Upon learning this, I met with Neil to confirm his abilities and immediately promoted him.
I had brought Neil along for the current campaign.
“I see, he was inspired by Jerry Eisen.”
“General Eisen?”
“It seems that seeing that fireworks display made them feel they also had to do something.”
“I see, they were too eager for achievements.”
“Fortunately, the result was the annihilation of the enemy forces, so there’s some relief in that.”
“Yes, that’s right. In such cases, it’s common to endanger allies as well, so considering that…”
“…”
“What will you do, Your Majesty?”
“There’s no choice but to commend them.”
I spoke with a wry smile.
“Will Neil be awarded?”
“It was Henry who brought Neil out, so it wasn’t a unilateral decision. I just pulled out Imperial law from my mind, but since what was done was the annihilation of the enemy forces, there’s no law to judge that.”
“That’s not something that should be decided by law.”
“Neil’s lack of experience and Henry’s insufficient orders. That’s how the conversation will go.”
“Indeed.”
“So officially, Neil will be awarded. Proudly in front of the soldiers.”
“… And behind the scenes?”
“I’ll have Henry lecture him. That’s the only option.”
“Then we will proceed that way.”
“I leave it to you.”
After writing a response to Henry’s report, I handed it to Gigi.
Gigi took it and expressed a desperate look, as if trying hard to imprint the current scene in her mind.
Continuing, I tidied up administrative tasks further.
After clearing the summarized reports, I turned my attention to the Fuwawa box.
When I opened the box, variously sized and irregularly shaped pieces of paper were inside.
I took them out and looked through them.
“… Hmm.”
“What kind of information is that?”
“Prices.”
“Prices?”
Don tilted his head in confusion.
“I recently had them do this. I sent people to various places to investigate prices.”
“Ah…”
Gigi exclaimed.
Don turned to Gigi with a slightly displeased expression.
Gigi understood her role from my explanations.
Based on that, she perceived Don’s displeasure as a reaction to the discussion about administrative matters.
“What’s wrong? Don’t mind me, speak.”
“Ah, yes. Um… Is it about Reiji and the others?”
“Exactly. Gigi got along well with that group, didn’t you?”
“Yes! They always expressed their gratitude, saying their lives were saved by you, my lord.”
“I see.”
I nodded.
Reiji was one of the individuals sent out to analyze prices.
“Reiji was, if I remember correctly… a former slave rescued from Gilbert’s slave trader.”
“Yes!”
“That means he’s been under His Majesty for quite a long time.”
“That’s right. He doesn’t have flashy talents, but he is serious and possesses an almost foolish loyalty.”
From memory, I recalled that most of the former slaves I rescued back then were of that type.
“That’s why I gave them a Fuwawa box and sent them out to investigate prices.”
“That’s impressive, Your Majesty. You provided opportunities even to those without talents.”
“That’s a talent in itself.”
I chuckled lightly and pulled out variously sized papers listing the prices of the items I ordered.
As long as I understood the items and numbers, the rest could be done in a convenient manner.
Perhaps because I ordered it, upon closer inspection, there were not just papers but also shabby scraps of cloth with writing on them.
I read through each one carefully.
“Hmm…”
“Will you be able to gather any information from that?”
“There are various things, but on a larger scale, it indicates signs of rebellion, for instance.”
“Rebellion?”
“There are wheat and rice among the specified items. Rebellions move a large number of people. If it’s plotted, there could be stockpiling of food, in dire situations, it could be due to poor harvests or merchants inflating prices.”
“I see… it makes sense that they should be interconnected occurrences.”
“… Hmm.”
I stared intently at the document that reported the prices sent to me.
I then lifted my gaze and spoke to Gigi.
“Gigi, remember this.”
“Y-Yes!?”
“When doing this, comparing with past numbers becomes important. From now on, that’s how we’ll go about it, so when a report on these numbers comes in, make sure you can promptly retrieve the corresponding past data. It’s vital work.”
“Y-Yes!”
Hearing my words, Gigi tightened her fist and steeled herself.
“Your Majesty… Is there something you’re particularly curious about?”
“Ah.”
I was impressed with Don’s understanding.
“I was thinking how convenient it would be if I could immediately pull up past data for comparison. My memory is a bit hazy on specifics.”
“Is there something specific that concerns you?”
“This.”
I said this and presented a piece of paper to Don.
Don received it and skimmed through it.
“This is… the price of rice in Almeria?”
At Don’s words, I nodded slightly.
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