Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thors Stone

Thats the gist of it. Thats all for the general overview of things. Did you manage to get all of that?

Well, somehow, I suppose.

Right, of course. It would be impossible to completely master the tax system used in noble territories in such short a time. More comprehensive details about things I talked about today are written in these books. Here. There are four books in total. I will give you all of them, so I hope you can use them as references once you start governing your fief.

Oh, these will definitely help a lot. Thank you. I was wondering about what Id do earlier.

Of course, it would be difficult to learn from books alone. Although these are well-written books, they do not cover all the complexities of the tax system. It would still be best if you could hire someone who has deep knowledge regarding the tax system of this country.

I see. Thats true. But I have no idea just what kind of people I should hire, and where I could hire them though

Rumors regarding Alan-sama being conferred with a noble title have already spread all over the royal capital. Im sure that if you put up a notice now, there should be a flood of hopeful applicants that want to get hired by you. Of course, thats only if you were going to be granted a normal territory.

So thats the case. Id be happy if it really turns out that way.

Oh, by the way, I still havent told you about something important. In the case of newly opened territories, they should be exempted from paying taxes to the crown for a total of three years.

Hou, thats very good news! If we only need to successfully get our territory up and running smoothly within those three years, I suppose wed be able to manage somehow.

The castles chief accountant, Nadalus, taught me all about various aristocratic customs, rules, the tax system, among other things. But honestly, I doubted if I would be able to understand all of the topics in such a short time.

For example, I thought the tax system they employed would be a bit more simple, but the rates were quite varied, and that made it more complex than I first thought. There were even a lot of fairly suspicious policies and details I was tempted to question. I suppose Nadalus suggestion of hiring experienced and knowledgeable personnel would be for the best.

There was a knock on the door, and a chamberlain entered afterward.

It is about time for the title conferment ceremony. Alan-sama, please come with me.

So its finally time for the conferment ceremony huh. Im feeling a bit nervous.

Guided by the castle chamberlain, I followed him up some stairs. According to Chief Protocol officer Zard, the ceremony venue was located on the fifth floor of the castle and was a very grand and spacious hall.

Almost all of the nobles residing in the royal capital and those of neighboring territories rushed over to attend todays event, and all in all, about fifty percent of the nobles in the kingdom would participate in the conferment ceremony.

The chamberlain stopped in front of the largest door I ever encountered in the castle by far. So I was supposed to wait in front of the entrance to the hall until the ceremony begins huh.

After about ten minutes, the bell toll signaling that it was now four in the afternoon finally resounded all throughout the royal capital. By the time the bell finished ringing, the door to the ceremony hall finally began to open.

Whoah, it certainly was a very spacious and grand-looking hall alright. It should be about 15 meters wide and 30 meters long. The left and right walls were elegantly decorated, and the kingdoms nobles were lined up on both sides. The entire hall was absolutely quiet.

I continued forward to where the king was waiting while making sure to keep my line of sight down in order to not directly lock gazes with him. I then knelt on one knee when I reached a spot about fifteen meters away from the king, as indicated by Chief of Protocol Zard.

Now then, I suppose this is where this little play of ours begins.

Your Majesty, this subject is the one who managed to subjugate a dragon. This subjects name is Alan. I believe it would be appropriate to reward this humble subject who managed to get rid of a beast that had caused your fair kingdom much grief.

The one who spoke was the kingdoms prime minister, Marquis Villis Burke.

Hou, so it is this one. Prime Minister.

Alan, His Majesty bids you come closer.

Yes.

I moved forward to a position just five meters away from where the king and prime minister were.

The one called Alan, you may raise your head. I permit you to address me directly.

I was finally given permission to look up, so I moved my gaze upward and took a look at this countrys king.

This is!? I couldnt help but get surprised. I heard that this countrys current king was a 21-year old young man who was famed for his beauty, but what surprised me was his face.

His eyes and nose shape really resembled Clerias features.

I heard from Cleria that the current king was her relative, but I didnt think they would actually look so similar.

So this is this countrys ruler, His Royal Majesty, King Amado Bertie huh.

Alan, What do you wish for as a reward? It does not matter what you want. As long as it is possible, I shall grant it to you.

If this humble subject is permitted, I request to be granted a seat among this fair kingdoms vaunted nobles. Other than that, I wish for nothing more.

This exchange of lines was already pre-arranged. It seems it was important for the protocol that I was the one to put forth a request to become a noble.

Well then, I shall grant you the title of this kingdoms baron for your achievements. From now on, you are a proud baron of the Kingdom of Belta.

Yes! Thank you for your generosity. I swear that my sword shall wholeheartedly serve Your Majesty and this fair kingdom from here on out.

A chamberlain brought over my mithril coat of arms that was placed on top of a cushion and placed it in front of me. Just like I was taught earlier, I received the emblem and pinned it to my chest. I then deeply bowed to the king once more.

Yosh. With this, the conferment ceremony was over. The prime minister should be declaring the end of the ceremony anytime soon.

By the way, Alan.

Thats what I thought, but the king suddenly called out to me again. I raised my gaze once more and locked gazes with the young king.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I was told you also regularly capture bandits in addition to felling that dragon. You were given the moniker Bandit Hunter, I believe.

Yes, that is correct, Your Majesty. There are many such vile characters in the kingdoms border regions, and I was driven by necessity to hunt them down.

I hear that there are many such bandits terrorizing the areas around our royal capital, and my people have been suffering from their hands. How about it? Can you use your reputed skills to take care of all of them?

Yes! If it is Your Majestys will, then I shall immediately move out to eliminate these bandits. However

However what? What is your concern?

Your Majesty told us to wipe them out, but just how many bandits should we capture, and just how would we prove that we have eliminated them.

Fufu, what an interesting fellow. How about it, Prime Minister?

Fumu. No matter how numerous these bandits are, I am sure they wont exceed five hundred.

Are you telling me that there are five hundred or so bandits infesting this royal city? Just what are the soldiers doing?

No, Your Majesty. The number I quoted includes the bandits prowling the nearby towns as well. And some of these despicable bandits brazenly live inside this royal city in the guise of normal citizens as well. In fact, they are nearly indistinguishable from the commoners. With the number of our soldiers as they are now, it would be difficult to perform a thorough investigation.

(How about it, Iris?)

The number of criminals and suspected criminals whose whereabouts are confirmed is currently 987.

I had Iris investigate the hideouts and the hidden bases of criminal organizations in the city suburbs, but I didnt think there would be nearly a thousand of them. However, with this, capturing five hundred criminals was plenty doable.

If that is truly the case, then I shall definitely capture more than five hundred bandits and present them before you, Your Majesty.

Hou. Our prime minister estimates that there should be less than five hundred, but you mean to capture more instead.

Your Majesty, Alan, no, Lord Corinth is a very talented young man. If he is the one saying so, then he will definitely accomplish it for you. I am sure of it.

The prime minister turned my way and smiled brightly. To be honest, his smile felt kinda creepy. He looks like a completely different person from the arrogant noble I met a few days ago.