Bonus Chapter
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Chapter 35 – Start of Career
My uncle Rodrigue has left, and today my life as a fortress owner begins in earnest.
Normally, greetings with people in the city would have taken up a lot of time, but my uncle introduced me to the Mayor and Council members, which helped.
As expected, the help of relatives is reliable.
…When my uncle’s son starts working, I have to help him…
Rodrigue’s son is still young, and his future is still a long way off.
I gathered the squires and guards to greet them.
There are about 30 guards, but there are also night watchmen, so not all of them were there.
There are 17 squires (including Jean and Rolo).
It was a spectacular sight when nearly 50 armed men gathered together.
However, these guards were acting poorly.
It’s just lame.
[I ordered you to gather right away, right?]
When I asked the captain of the guard, he grinned and said, [No, it’s a different movement than usual].
It’s obvious that they thought I’m just a young guy and were dismissive.
The captain’s attitude was clearly different from when I was with my uncle Rodrigue.
This is a common occurrence.
A veteran in the field is showing his influence to a newly emerging elite boss.
It’s really lame.
[Okay, then let’s meet at the same time tomorrow too! Disband!!]
I nodded at the captain of the guard’s words and dismissed them without even greeting the new members.
The guards were complaining, saying things like [What the heck?] and [Such a pain.].
[Varian-sama, isn’t this a bit of a problem?]
[Yeah, let me kill some of them as an example.]
Rolo and Jean frowned in annoyance.
[No. Let me try handling them first. Of course, kill some if necessary.]
Jean had a point, but killing some of them after only the first time would be too much.
For me, it’s a rule of three. There’s a proverb『Buddha’s face can only be seen up to three times』.
On this day, I went around checking out the local terrain with my squires.
The area around Portu is blocked by mountains and there is only one road, but there are roads that are wide enough for a group of people to walk.
I confirmed all of them.
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The next day, the gathering of the guards was still bad.
[Captain of the guard, it’s too late to gather.]
When I questioned the captain of the guard, he grinned and said, [No, like I said yesterday], and started making excuses.
……now!
I punched the captain of the guard.
The captain of the guard was caught by surprise by my tall body and landed on his butt in front of everyone.
[I thought I’d overlook it just once, but what’s wrong with disrespecting me so many times!!]
The captain of the guard was probably seething from a hurt pride after having been beaten by a young man in front of his subordinates.
His face suddenly turned red.
[You are demoted.]
[But, that’s….]
The captain of the guard stood up and started to cry out in protest.
[Are you going to talk back?!]
I slammed the captain of the guard to the floor and kicked him in the stomach with my foot.
[Fortress Lord-sama, please forgive me!]
[Fortress Lord-sama, Fortress Lord-sama!]
The guards were calming down around me.
It seems that even such a worthless man is popular.
[Very well, then I’ll forgive you guys. Tomorrow, gather at the same time tomorrow too! Disband!]
When I ordered them to disperse, the guards left without a word.
The captain of the guard had a frustrated look on his face, but I ignored him.
[Varian-sama…this is…]
Tanqueray was trying to say something.
They were probably worried about me getting into trouble with the people at the scene.
[Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to do something so outrageous without Tanqueray and the others here.]
I faced the squires and said, [If the need arises, I’ll ask for your help].
The squires showed fierce smiles and nodded.
==============
Furthermore, the next day, there were clearly fewer soldiers gathered at the meeting place square.
It appears that about 12 to 13 soldiers boycotted.
[What’s going on here?]
I asked the young guard nearby.
But, he was surprised and could only mumble incoherent words.
[I won’t blame the people gathered here. What happened?]
As I continued to say more, the young guard seemed to find it difficult to say it, but eventually relented and began to speak.
The story is simple. A group of people who admired the captain of the guard were angry at my treatment and abandoned their duties.
It seemed that they were barricaded in the barracks.
…This is a chance.
The guards were shaken, but on the contrary the squires’ faces were full of fighting spirit.
I thought to myself, [I can do this], and gave a fist pump.
[It’s a rebellion! Suppress it!]
I ordered my squires to head to the barracks immediately.
There were more people who followed the captain of the guard than expected, but I didn’t care.
The remaining guards also moved to follow the squires.
It seems that the soldiers barricaded in the barracks did not expect to be suddenly attacked, and as they were unprepared, they were quickly subdued and surrendered.
If they were seriously planning to rebel in the first place, there was no way they would half-heartedly barricade themselves in the barracks.
They would have aimed for me or ran away.
From the beginning, the captain of the guard’s actions were a pose meant to convey that “the scene won’t work without me”.
He probably wanted to negotiate a wage increase with the young fortress lord.
I understand that, and in the past, I might have allowed for a slight pay increase, saying, [As long as things run smoothly on site].
Yes, if it was the past me.
The captains of the guard were pinned down and dragged in front of me.
It appears that several people were injured, but there were no fatalities.
[Declare punishment for those who plotted and participated in the rebellion.]
When I asked a guard who seemed to be a veteran nearby, the captains of the guard started to make a fuss.
[No way…]
[What rebellion…]
[That’s not what we meant!]
[Please forgive us!!]
The guards were begging for forgiveness, I’m sure they never expected it to become this big issue.
[Say it.]
When I asked again, the veteran guard answered, [It’s the death penalty], with difficulty.
Hearing this, the rebel group let out a scream.
[But some of them may have unintentionally joined the rebellion, what if that’s the case?]
[….please reduce the punishment.]
The veteran guard looked sad.
He doesn’t want to kill his colleagues.
[Five lashes. The captain of the guard will also be demoted to vice-captain, and you will become the captain of the guard.]
[I…I understand.]
When I gave the order to the veteran guards, everyone moved quickly.
This is because they didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire of a rebellion.
The sentence will be executed immediately.
I felt that 5 strokes of the whip was too light for a punishment, but giving him 10 or 20 strokes may end up giving him a fever and he’d be unable to perform his duties.
In the meantime, I ordered Rolo to go get the money.
[Good, I will reward those who take part in swiftly suppressing the rebellion.]
I distributed the money that I sent Rolo to collect to the guards and squires.
30 ducats per person…it’s not a huge amount, but it’s meaningful to give it away.
By the way, it’s my pocket money. Approximately 1,000 ducats…it’s quite painful.
It was a blatant use of candy and a whip, but it was surprisingly effective.
At the meeting the next day, they were perfectly lined up before I arrived.
This is good. After all, a disorganized army is worse than bandits.
A business book that I read when I was young said something like 『Should leaders be admired or feared?』.
Now that I think about it, it was a weak story, like the third or fourth rendition of Machiavelli.
However, I was impressed when I was younger, and this book remains vivid in my memory.
I think it doesn’t matter whether you are admired or feared.
The point is, it’s fine as long as you don’t get criticized.
When I was Tanaka, I used to give cakes to older ladies in order to be liked by everyone at work, just so they would side with me when needed.
There were many times when I could have been saved by having big-voiced old ladies on my side.
Well, putting that aside, it meant a lot to the guards that I became a “scary but generous boss”.
Not only the guards, but also the attitude of the other residents had clearly changed.
What was especially surprising was the man who had been demoted to vice-captain…his name was Caesar Poncero, and this Poncero seemed to take a strange liking to me, and he started to cooperate with me in some way.
Poncero is a stern man with messy silver hair and a stubble beard…he looks old, but apparently is still in his 20s.
He is good enough to serve as the captain of the guard, and has a certain level of skill and leadership ability.
It would be a waste to let him play, so I think I’ll give him a new job before long.
At the end of the day, my career began here.
In that sense, this place became a memorable place.
…However, Sumina’s village is now far away. Though there are probably some prostitutes in Portu too…hmm.
The 14-year-old’s body is full of tension that will explode if you hold it in for even a few days.
I’m fine with adult entertainment, but…can STDs be cured in this day and age?
I was feeling like my young, healthy body was too much for me, and I worried that I was losing focus.
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