A few days after receiving word of the territory's final decision.
　A meeting was being held at the Green Hollow Town Town Hall, where representatives from each of the towns and villages in the area were meeting.

　Strictly speaking, it was a briefing on the various aspects of my becoming a lord.

　The attendees were me and the other members of the group, the heads of each town including Green Hollow and other influential people, and Sir Felix of the Silverwing Knights, who had volunteered to witness the meeting.

　First of all, I'll finish with the standard greetings and preliminaries, and then I'll immediately get to the most important subject of all.

''First, let me tell you something. I don't intend to interfere deeply with each town and village. I would like to ask all of you to remain as self-governing as you have always been.

　It's a line that should have been rehearsed many times, but when you finally put it into words in front of them, you almost feel a shiver in your throat from the fierce tension.

''After all, is it correct to recognize that, in effect, the only place to collect taxes is ...... from the Royal Palace to the White Wolf Knights?

　The first to react was the old man who was the mayor of Green Hollow.

　To tell the truth, I've told that man the details of the explanation beforehand and asked him to cooperate in the proceedings.

　Of course, that doesn't mean that I want your full consent, but rather that I want you to help me make sure that the other mayors of the town and village understand the purpose of the meeting.

''Yes, I'm fine with that perception. The Silverwing Knights will be stationed in the Silverwing Knights as before.

　I gave him a look, and he nodded his head instantly, agreeing with me.

　Then the old man, the head of the next town, spoke up.

We've been asking the royal palace to resolve matters that are beyond our control and to mediate disputes between towns and villages. Would it be right for you to take over this area as well?
''I heard that the Royal Palace had ordered the Knights to deal with those things. And from now on, the White Wolf Knights and the Silverwing Knights will work together to deal with the situation without going through the Royal Palace.

　When I told him that this one too will be practically the same as before, the head of the neighboring town backed off in a convincing manner.

　--It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to find a way to make a difference.

　I have no intention of interfering in the management of the towns and villages, at least for now.

　I can't say for sure that this will never happen in the future, but I don't think we'll change our policy unless there's something very wrong.

　In a manner of speaking, just as Garnett and Hild entrusted their fiefdoms to their agents, I'm going to entrust the management of my fiefdoms to the existing autonomous organization.

　Of course, it won't be left entirely to them, and as I answered earlier, if there's any trouble that can't be dealt with locally, they'll have to take responsibility for dealing with it.

　Whether or not you can do that will be the 'upper limit' for a lord.

''A token lord, a measure of expediency only for the purpose of allocating the funding source for the knights involved in the dungeon. ...... Although this is the kind of appointment that has a strong coloration, I will spare no effort to make sure that you all can lead a life that is the same as before. I ask that you all please lend a hand.










I'm tired, man.

　After the briefing was over, I sat languidly in a chair in a room in the town hall and let out a long burst of mental exhaustion.

'Good job. That felt good, I think.

　Garnett brought me a drink while throwing in some laborious words.

　Although it's a subjective assessment, I think this briefing ended on a high note from start to finish.

　It was expected that there would be a lot of complaints, but surprisingly no one complained about the appointment itself, and the majority of the meeting was about confirming the policy on the management of the territory.

''The reason the other chiefs were convinced is because it was none other than Luke-dono, isn't it?

　The mayor of Green Hollow, who was sharing the room with me, nodded with deep emotion.

''If someone with no ties to the lord, there would have been a backlash. If an old resident had moved up, there would have been dissatisfaction.
Because I was neither of those things?
''Everyone who was there understands that Luke-dono was trying to fit in here, and that he was exhausted in the Demon King's War. It's because of this that I think it's folly .......
...... I'm tickled to hear you say that.

　I wonder if my self-esteem is too low to wonder how much I should take it seriously.

　At any rate, it's just a fortuitous thing that he has accepted me as a lord.

　No matter what direction I decide to go in from now on, I must first overcome this hurdle, because it's no good talking about it.

　As I was taking a break from all this, a man from the town hall came to tell me about a visitor.

''Master Luke, the town mayor. Lord Phillip of Huomo Road wishes to meet with you.''
The Huomo Road?
'Philip. Speaking of which, you were here with the Mayor of Walnut.

　Me and the mayor of the town reacted with different attitudes.

　Walnut Town, or Walnut Street, is the next town over in Green Hollow, where Erica, the apothecary who works at our store, is from.

　When I agreed to see him for now, a middle-aged man with a grayish head of hair and a skinny(-) skinny(-) face entered the room with a grim look on his face and a shushed look on his face.

　His attitude, which never seems to be friendly, causes Garnett to step forward and reveal her wariness.

　The man - Phillip of Walnut Street - turned his gaze towards me, not the mayor of the town, and opened his mouth gravely.

''My name is Phillip of Walnut Street. I hear that my daughter is in your care.
Oh, I knew it. You're Erica's parent.

　The words themselves are innocuous and uneventful, but there is clearly a negative emotion hiding behind them.

　However, that didn't seem to be an emotion towards me.

'...... daughter is not bothering you? I can't help but wonder if I've been rude in any way.
No. No. No way. For us White Wolf Merchants ...... and more importantly, for all of us Green Hollow adventurers, they are indispensable.

　He went on to say things that would have made him red and angry if he had been here, without any reservation at all.

　Erica said that her parents denied her dreams of owning her own store in the future, and it was out of that rebellion that she left town and came to Green Hollow.

　I've never imagined that they were inwardly concerned and supportive of their daughter ......, but from the vibe I've heard that's not the case.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have a simple greeting for your employer and lord, or if it's just a way to get your daughter back.

I'm grateful to ...... for that. If you have any problems with your daughter, please give her a call at once. If you have any problems with your daughter, please give her a call right away and we'll take care of it for you.

　Phillip on the walnut road bowed reverently and left the room.

　I let out another short breath as I looked after him.

''Good grief, ...... it looks like the weapons store isn't quite out of it yet, either.