The next day.


　The 【Deed】 that was in the name of the brave party was successfully overwritten into my name.

　With this, I'm the 【Lord】 of that territory, both in name and reality.




''Howdy, Eiga-dono. ''Hey, Eiga-dono, you look quite imposing.


　After receiving the Bronze Sword as a proof of appointment from the Great King, the Minister came up to me with these words.


"Oh no. I was very nervous as you can imagine.

'Wahahahaha! That would be true. ...... By the way, Lord Eigha. What are your plans for the future?

Huh. Well, I think I'm done with my business, so I'm going to head back to the estate.

Before that, why don't we stop at Maro's mansion?

Well, my train's not even on the clock yet, so I'm going to have to come in for a quick visit.


　That's why I left the Great King's Palace and headed to the Minister's 'main residence' in a carriage.


　Pow! Pow! ......


　The Minister's main residence was even more luxurious than the mansions of the imperial court.

　It was an elaborate garden, with two large buildings, one in the West Wing and the other in the East Wing.


　The minister let me into the west wing's guest room.

　The drawing room has a table set and lesse curtains.

　A maid in a headdress offered me a cup of Darjeeling tea, brewed into a flower-patterned cup, and I took two or three sips of it.


　I took a couple of sips of it.

　Tontonton: ......

　I heard a banging on the door of the room and put my cup on the saucer.


'Excuse me,'


　I look at the entrance to the room and see a woman in a grey ladies' suit with her head down.


Hi, how are you? Come in here.

　The woman made another small bow and ducked behind the minister.


Well, Eiga-dono. Igarashi-kun, who is working as Maro's secretary.

I'm Etsuko Igarashi.

　The woman bowed to me this time while naming herself.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it.


''Could it be ...... you mentioned yesterday?''

'Yeah. She is still young, but she is a very talented person. I'm sure she will be useful to you.

Are you sure you want to go to ......?

Hahaha. To tell the truth, Maro also has a secret plan. You are a professional in [training], right? If that's the case, I'm sure that if you send your best people out to work for you, they will come back bigger and better in the future. ......

　That made me think that this minister was the only one I should not make an enemy of.

　The minister continued, "And I heard that Igarashi's hometown is in Tohun," he said.

The minister continued: "Besides, I heard that Igarashi's hometown is Tokumo.

'What! Really?

　I looked at Igarashi-san and asked him.

Yes ......

　She didn't even smile, just nodded so.


''And so, Igarashi-kun. Igarashi-kun, you are going to be useful to Eiga-dono and gain experience, okay? Wahahahaha.



　◇



　On the return train, Igarashi-san got a first-class seat for us.

　It's not something you can get on a train or a ship as long as you pay for it, so this is the first time in my life that I've had it.


''Eiga-sama is already a lord level, so it's only natural.

　Mr. Igarashi said.


　The first class seating was in a private room.

　The chairs are reclining and there is a desk.

　It is called an attendant's seat (which means that the person who gets the first-class seat is supposed to have an attendant), and Igarashi was sitting there.


　Gatan, Goton: ......


　Her ponytail swayed faintly as the train went by.

　The high strands of black hair tied up in a high knot were shiny, and the tight skirt on her slightly thicker thighs reminded me of the smoothness of a mare.

''......''

　And yet, yet it was almost expressionless, not moving slightly.

'You know what? ......'

Yes, sir.

Is it true that you're from Tokumo, Igarashi-san?

Yes, sir.

How long have you been in the Imperial City?

Since college.

What college?

Imperial University.

'Heh ....... How old are you now?

I'm 24 years old.

Okay.

......


　No. I can't carry on a conversation.

　I don't know what kind of university Imperial University is.

　Igarashi-san, try to expand the conversation a bit more.

　You can also ask about my age, for example.

　The silence is suffocating because it's just the two of us in a private room.

......

　He doesn't look at me one bit and doesn't smile at me. ......

　She's beautiful, but her eyes are sharp and scary.


　I'm not sure if she didn't want to be followed by me this time.

　I'm not going to be able to talk to you, and then we didn't have a single word to say to each other.


　Even at ......, when such an inaccessible-looking woman 《human》 looks at you with her "goddess eyes

Latency: wife.

　So I don't know what talent is, right?



　



　Now, when I arrived at 'Sukahama' and met up with Garcia, the 'lack of conversation' with Igarashi-san became even more noticeable.

"...... Sir. What's that woman's name?

　Garcia whispered.

'A new companion. This is Igarashi-san, who will be my secretary from now on. You should get along too.

'I've been told to get along: ....... I am. I'm not very good with that kind of woman, you know.

Don't talk to me like that, son.


　When we arrived at the deserted port of Tokumo on a wooden boat, more problems arose.


"Well, we can't afford to stay in the open anymore, can we?

There's a woman in there.

'Oh, but. I heard she's from Tohun, so she should have a family home, right?

That's okay. Let's go with that.

Well, you, go ahead and ask him.

Well, your husband should go ask him!

　Jeez.

　I'm trying to give you a chance to talk.

　Huh. .......

　I asked Igarashi-san about it because Garcia is useless in that area, and he said

My parents live at ......, sorry.

　And shut up.

　Does that mean he doesn't want me to stop by a private place like my parents' house?

'No, it's fine. As long as Igarashi-san alone can stay at my parents' house, me and Garcia will do whatever it takes to stay in the field for now.

No, you can't do that!

'Oh, oh ....... Right.

　Igarashi-san glares at me with a snap and says

''You bothered to camp out in your own territory. Eiga-sama is a new lord, so you should be aware of that.

Ha, ha. I'm sorry.

...... There should be a shrine at the end of "Nakamura". It's called Gohara, but in the meantime, it's the only place you can get a suitable place to stay for a lord.

　I wasn't sure what the kabali was, but I followed Igarashi-san anyway.



　The shrine, as I see it, was indeed built on a hill on the outskirts of 'Nakamura'.

　The stone steps are steep, and as usual, Garcia was heaving and groaning as she climbed, but Igarashi-san skipped up the many steps with her skirt slit taut and puffy.

　It kind of reminds me of the grandmother in the mountains.


　Zach, zach, zach: ......


　As I climbed the stone steps, I saw a fifty-year-old man dressed in white, who looked like a priest, sweeping the precincts with a bamboo stick.


“Sorry, sir. Excuse me, Uncle.

Mm, what is it? You.

It's been a while. I'm Etsuko Igarashi.

'Igarashi......! By any chance, echan?!

　I see, this is definitely her hometown.

　Igarashi-san explained that I was going to be the new lord of the city and asked me to stay in a hotel room for the time being.

"Oh no, Etschan. You've become a beautiful woman. Please come this way, quickly. My lord.

　The man leads us to the innkeeper's room, saying, "I am Yoshioka Juzo.

'I am Yoshioka Juzo, the head priest of this shrine. Two generations of my father and son have been running this shrine. My son should be back soon, so I'll have him say hello to you later.

''Uncle. Please don't call Shohei.

　That's when Igarashi-san muttered like that with a thump and a puff of his chest.

''Huh? Etsuko?

　And a young man who looked to be in his twenties was peeking out from behind a paper door.

　He was wearing the same white robe as the priest, but was stained with mud in places.

'Dad. Why is Etsuko here?

Echan. I've been assigned to be the secretary to the new lord here.

My lord?

Hello. I'm Aega, the new lord.

Hi.

　The priest's son, as expected, bowed his head to me once, but immediately turned to Igarashi-san.

I see. So, Etsuko, it's finally a left turn, huh? Well, don't lose heart.

'It's not a left turn! The minister asked for applicants, so I volunteered to follow Master Eiga.

　Huh? Really?

　I didn't hate it.

"You need to step aside. Your clothes are dirty.

So help me. I just built the embankment.

You know, the one by the river near the village?

　I ask, and my father replies.

'My son is the leader of the dike building program.

Yeah. You're pretty good at it.

No, no, no, I'm not that good a person.

　The godfather's son blurts out like that to me.

　But.

'Oh no, I thought there must be someone with a good leader for such a big project.

　What do you say?

Well, well. Well, well, it's almost time for the rice paddy to be raised, so the construction work is temporarily suspended until today.

　He seemed to be holding back the lifting of his nimble cheekbones in a bit of a huff, saying things like

' ......

　Igarashi-san just barely glares at such a Shohei with her usual sharp eyes.

"Eiga-sama. But this man throws a crawfish at you.

　What are you jealous of, Igarashi-san, who makes such a telling remark to me.

''Etsuko! That was when you were a kid!

And it was Shohei who took the head off the stone statue at the shrine.

'Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ......'

　Igarashi's rapid offensive, Shouhei started to fight back.

''Etsuko, you were the one who 'wetting the bed' until you were 12!

What? ......

What, did you wet your bed before you were 12? ......

　Garcia donged out.

　You're not being very polite.


I'm not!

　For some reason, Igarashi-san grabs my chest and says, "Echan, you can't lie to me!

Ecchan, you can't tell a lie.

'Just once!'

　Igarashi-san shouted while fidgeting with the buttocks of her tight skirt.

''Whahahahaha!''

　Whenever I laugh like that.

Shit!

　I was sulking a bit," he said.



　◇



　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about that.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to have a meal.

　It's just the people I want to ask for help from now on.

　Since this is the time of year, I spoke again about my intention to complete quests with the 【Territory】 as a unit.


''I understand that the lord-sama is a former adventurer, but... ......

　Then it was Shohei Yoshioka, his son, who had such doubts.

''I don't think the territorial residents will be able to live up to the lord's expectations. In the first place, they have no interest in quests, so no matter how much the 'lord's order' is given, they won't be motivated to do it.

That's right. So if you dragged him into a fight, it wouldn't be a quest, would it?

　Garcia also seemed to agree with Shouhei's opinion.

　Or perhaps this guy was originally amused by 'adventurers retiring and becoming lords,' and wasn't really interested in doing quests in the territory.

　You are a merchant, after all.


You don't understand. The first step in raising them is to make them want to do it.

'Of course, Master Eigha has a plan, doesn't he?

　And it's Igarashi-san who raises the bar.

'Oh well,'

　I said, and I put down my cup of tea.

In short, the motivation for the 'battle' is the same as the 'dyke building'. There are seven villages in this territory, so it seems that the awareness of each village is quite strong, but if there's a common problem such as a 'river overflow' for example, the villages work together to build an embankment. Therefore, if there is a direction to solve the 'motivation for battle' and 'a shared awareness of the problems of the entire territory' in a way that is easy to understand, the same motivation for battle should be generated in the same way.

'I see. That's true, but is there any such direction?

There is.

　I answered Shouhei's question immediately.

　Then, I take a sip of the dissolved miso juice and continue.

''It's the extermination of the monsters that inhabit the west side of the territory.

Oh.

　Garcia exclaimed lightly.

　'Yes. This guy and I walked the west side together, right?

　We didn't meet any people at all, and we encountered quite a few weak monsters.

''The people in this territory all live on the south side of the mountain. That's because there are monsters on the west side, right? It's a good idea to get rid of them with all the people in the territory, so that people can live in the west and maybe even create some kind of industry. ...... Well, even if you don't think about it that much, at least the people are not happy about the fact that they can't live in the west because of the monster, so I'm sure they share your motivation.

''That may be true, though. All of the territorial residents are amateurs at fighting. Will they really be able to defeat monsters?

Eiga-sama specializes in [nurture].

　I wonder if the minister told him.

　Igarashi-san responded for me, but I'm going to be a bit more specific in my answer.

In the future, we will train about 150 people from among the 2,500 villagers to be able to fight. I'll use all the training skills I've learned from my hero's party, so there should be some guys who can fight reasonably well right away. It's a good thing that the ...... western monsters are not so strong. No, to be frank, they are all weak monsters of the elementary level.

　And even by defeating this weak monster, the lordship would gain double the experience through the [Blessing Play].

''Of course. These 150 people don't need everyone to participate in the quest all the time. I'm planning to gather people from various villages, so there will be busy periods for industries in each village. Basically, that's what we want to give priority to. For example, the people from Nakamura should participate in the quests during the off-season. For example, the people from Kimura will have their quests in the off-season, while the people from the dyke building season will have less work to do, so they will be able to participate in early spring. That's how I'm going to rotate them around. ...... Well, I may have a few dozen people working exclusively on quests, but I'm going to be as careful as I can to not hurt the industry as much as possible. If we despise the industry we have now, we're not going to be able to increase our strength in the long run.


　Phew .......

　I'm going to take a breath and then

'I think I'm going to start in that direction for now, but would you be willing to help me?'

　I asked.



'I am only here to study what Master Eiga does.

　Igarashi-san is the first to answer that.

''As for me, if my husband thinks that much, I'll go with him.

　Garcia then answers.

I mean, as long as it doesn't destroy the industry in each village, then it's fine, right? Shohei.

...... Yeah. Yeah.

　Yoshioka and his son also said.


　Can we really say that everyone is cooperating with us now?


So, starting tomorrow, Garcia will survey the economy of the territory.

Yes.

I want Yoshioka and his son to be the intermediary between 'me and the Lords'.

I understand.

　Juzo said and Shohei nodded.


''So, Igarashi-san is ......

Yes, sir.

　And Igarashi-san closes the distance soooooo much with a blank expression.

　Avoiding the fact that our lips are about to stick together in a pithy manner.

You'll assist me and clean the treasury.

　I managed to say something, and then nodded with a sharp look.



　Yeah.

　It's fun.

　I remember this feeling from somewhere.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　It's the same as when Cross and I started an adventurous party and our friends started getting together.