Published: January 4, 2026
Jerry called some men over to clean up the bodies.
The middle-aged men who arrived were shocked when they saw the corpses, and even more surprised when they saw me.
Still, they said nothing unnecessary and silently followed Jerry’s orders to clear the bodies before leaving.
“Who were those guys just now?”
“As expected of my Lord, you notice everything.”
“Hmm?”
“They’re the ones who were saved by you that day, along with me.”
“Ah.”
I see. That explains why they were surprised to see me.
“So there’s no way they’d betray you now, like those filthy insects.”
“That’s right.”
“Good. Now, tell me—after the Empire’s army was routed, how did you manage to regroup here?”
I asked Jerry about that.
It all started when Eiler Noof betrayed us, and the Empire’s regular army suffered a crushing defeat.
That led to my personal military campaign.
I had received reports, of course, but I wanted to hear directly from someone on the ground.
Last time, I’d been too busy with the fire at the food warehouse to ask.
This was one of the reasons I came to see Jerry.
“Sir! Do you want a rough summary, or should I explain in detail?”
“Ha ha ha, what happens if you give me a rough summary?”
“As usual, we were skirmishing on the frontier when that filthy insect betrayed us, and since then it’s been a matter of buying time day by day.”
“I see, a rough summary then.”
I nodded and smiled broadly.
“So the food warehouse fire was also part of that time-buying strategy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you think was the reason we succeeded in buying time?”
“That would be your prestige, my Lord—”
“Spare me that kind of talk.”
“—Yes, sir.”
Jerry nodded, blushing.
He seemed ashamed that I stopped him from flattering me.
“The reasons… there are two, no one—wait, two?”
“Not quite settled? It’s fine, tell me everything.”
“Yes, sir. First, the locals hated the enemy but liked us.”
“Does that make a big difference?”
“Normally, not so much. But the second reason—because the enemy acted like the Imperial Army, that changed things greatly.”
“…I see. The mainstream path can’t be walked without the cooperation of the people.”
“As expected of my Lord.”
I nodded quietly.
If it was just some barbarians or rebels, they could do as they pleased.
But Eiler claimed to be emperor.
If you claim the title of emperor, governance is naturally required.
And governance needs the cooperation of the people—or more bluntly, winning the hearts of the people.
Yet here the people were cooperating with a hostile force (Jerry’s), despite Eiler’s claim to be emperor—that was like being tied hand and foot.
“…Jerry.”
“Yes?”
“When the Empire recovers its lost lands, spread the rumor that taxes will be waived for a year.”
“That sounds good, but… are we really going to do that?”
“Yes.”
“Is that safe? I mean, in terms of resources and such.”
Jerry made the classic gesture of making a circle with his thumb and forefinger.
“No problem. Once we defeat Eiler, we can confiscate his assets.”
“That’s true, but… isn’t it normal to use those as rewards for battle achievements?”
“This time I will be present. If I gain prominent battle achievements, I can keep things under control.”
“Ah… wait! Are you playing the figurehead role now—”
“It’s the flow of things. This is my first battle in a personal military campaign, so I planned to scoop up the battle achievements for the future, but the idea about the money just came to me.”
“I see, as expected of my Lord!”
Jerry was impressed again.
“Well then, I should be going… what about the mule?”
I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to ask about it amid the sudden assassination attempt.
“Ah, yes! It’s prepared outside. It’s cramped, shoved into a narrow carriage.”
“Understood.”
Together with Jerry, I headed from the back yard to the front, standing before the cage confining the mule.
We took a winding path to leave the area, and outside there was the carriage Jerry described.