chapter 101

Chapter 101: Common Illness Among the Retainers

It was late at night and I was inside the inn writing.

Even when I am away from the Capital, the government affairs are run by a joint decision of Henry and Oscar, but there are still a few matters here and there that can only be decided by the Emperor.

I have to read the contents, think about them, and respond to them during the night.

So even now, I was cutting down on my sleeping time to write a reply.

Knock-knock.

A discreet knock on the door.

"Peiyu, huh?　Come in."

"It's John."

"Hmm?"

I stopped writing.

And then looked up to see the door.

A man's voice, not Pieyu's, had identified himself.

I searched my memory for the name John ....

Immediately the image of a young man came into my mind.

"... Ah, it's you. Come in."

"Thank you very much!"

After the reply, the door slowly opened.

Kneeling outside the door, he opened it, stood up once and carefully closed the door, then reverently knelt and bowed to me once again.

"Your majesty, I–"

"There are no outsiders here, private courtesy will do."

"–Yes!　It has been a long time, Master."

"Umu. You've been well?"

"Yes!"

John looked up and answered with a big smile.

There was once a time when Albert, the former Emperor's first Prince, was a black marketer of slaves.

I bumped into this black marketer on the street and rescued the children who were being forced into slavery and took them in.

One of those children was John.

He did odd jobs in the mansion for a few years after that, but when I ascended to the throne, I sent him out as a deputy.

I looked at him and observed.

"You've gotten a little plump, looks like you've been eating well."

"Apologies!　I've been addicted to fatty rice lately."

"Eh?　Fatty rice."

"It's basically just thickly seasoned fat poured over rice, but it's so addictive!"

"Hahahaha, that's a manly meal. Have you had anything better?"

"I once went to a restaurant to entertain some merchants, but the food was too refined for me. It's elegant, I know, but I got diarrhea after eating it."

"You have a poor palate. However, you should gradually get used to it. If you keep that poor palate when I call you back to the capital in the future, there will be less for me to reward you with."

"Y-yes!　I'll do my best!"

John bowed his head in a grateful, happy manner.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Yes, sir!　I heard that Master was here, so I came to escort him with soldiers."

"Soldiers?"

I tilted my head a little and listened carefully.

Then I felt a slight presence.

Outside the inn, I sensed an air of something that could not have been there in the middle of the night.

"That's over the top."

"No way!　If something happened to Master in a place like this, it would be a disaster. Besides,"

"Besides?"

"I haven't had much opportunity to serve Master since I left the mansion, so let me at least do it on occasions like this."

John said so as he turned his eager eyes on me.

I don't feel bad because I know he admires me.

"Hahaha, all right. I'll leave everything to you."

"Thank you very much!"

John bowed his head, looking happy.

That's when it happened.

Until now, I couldn't hear anything even if I listened carefully, but then I heard an argument going on outside.

"What is it?"

"It might be a drunk. There's nothing to worry about. I've told the staff downstairs not to let anyone in."

"Let the guests through. We're not renting the whole place out."

"Y-Yes!　As expected of Master, Mary always told me to be attentive to such things, but I forgot!"

John said and scratched his head.

Given his history as a farmer and then a slave before coming to my mansion, John's mannerisms and language are a bit of a mess at first glance.

It still shows, but since many of my people come from slavery, I try to laugh it off on occasions like this.

Evelyn was a rarity when you think about it – or so I thought.

Amidst the noise of the struggle, a metallic swordfight mingled.

"Muh?"

"What is it?　Those guys. Excuse me, master, I'll take the window."

"Yeah."

I nodded, and John got up and went to the window.

"Master!?"

Peiyu came running into the room.

I told her that I had something to do and that she could go back to bed, but the commotion seemed to have woken her up.

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Y-yes, ...,Ah, John-san ...."

John was from my mansion and they knew each other.

When Peiyu saw John, she felt mixed emotions, a 'Why' as well as nostalgia for meeting after a long time.

Meanwhile, John stood by the window and opened it at once.

Then all at once the sound of the struggle that had been faintly audible through the window became clear.

"What the hell are you guys doing!"

John roared from the bottom of his gut.

When I was in the Ministry of Military Affairs during the reign of the Emperor, I used to deal with these types of generals a lot, so I'm used to it, but Peiyu, who was not one of them, was horrified and shrugged.

"Aaahh, what is it?　Why are you soldiers fighting with each other? What jurisdiction is this!"

"I-It's John-sama. I am so sorry, I didn't know that John-sama was here."

A man responded to John's yell with condescension.

"Master, this is ...."

"Yeah. John."

"Yes, what is it?"

John stood at the window and turned himself toward me.

"Do you know that guy?"

"Yes, well, he works for me as a gatekeeper at the checkpoint, and he's a real piece of shit."

"I see. He's after me, I think."

"He wants Master?"

John was surprised, his eyes widened.

I told him what had happened during the day.

"Oh, I see."

John's surprise subsided.

I guess he could tell from what I told him that I do this all the time.

When he heard what had happened, he turned around again.

"Come up alone, you little shit!"

"Y-Yes, sir!

Immediately after the man's voice, there was a thud, thud, thud of footsteps, and the man from the afternoon came tumbling into the room, looking flustered.

He fell flat on his face.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, John-sama!　Apologies, I didn't know John-sama was here, and I'm sorry it took me so long to greet you."

"I don't care how you greet me."

John approached and kicked the man.

"Your Master's Master is here, so greet him!"

"M-Master's Master?"

The man tilted his head as if he didn't understand the conversation.

John scrunched up his chin, and the man looked at me.

Then he finally noticed my presence and gasped.

"Ahh, you!　Your luck runs out here!"

The man became furious and tried to grab me.

At that, Peiyu screamed.

I sat down and didn't move.

John intervened from the side and kicked the man.

The man slammed into the wall and looked at John with a startled look on his face.

"W-why ..."

"I told you he's your master's master."

"Eh?"

The man finally calmed down and began to think things over.

And he looked at John timidly.

"Master, ...."

"Ouu."

"..., master?"

Then he looked at me and mumbled.

After mumbling for a bit, he turned pale.

John was a servant from the Thirteenth Residence.

In other words, he was a servant of the Thirteenth Prince–the Emperor.

That is a fact that anyone at the official level knows.

It is important to know who is a retainer of whom, and ignorance is not an option.

Naturally, this man must know John very well.

On top of that, speaking of John's master–.

The man began to tremble as his understanding progressed.

It was as if he finally understood who I was.

"You have been disrespectful to His Majesty, haven't you?"

"I am so sorry!　I had no idea His Majesty was there!"

"You think you can get away without knowing!"

"No, ignorance is fine."

I interrupted the conversation.

Then took a sip of the tea on the desk, which had cooled down while I was writing…

"Your Majesty?"

"It's written in the imperial law. There is no disrespect for anything I do before I identify myself."

"That's true, but… You are lucky His Majesty is the most law-abiding person in the history of the Empire."

"Ha-ha-ha. yess ...."

The man seemed to have completely lost his nerve.

John, on the other hand, turned himself to me.

"As expected of you, Your Majesty. So, what are you going to do?"

"Fuuh."

I smiled at him.

As expected of John, one of the oldest servants under me.

John knows me well at times like this.

"Demanding more than the prescribed toll at the gate, assaulting the people. He'll be dismissed from his post and forever denied promotion."

"As expected of Master."

John looked at me with deeply impressed eyes.

Then he turned to the still-battered man and said,

"Did you hear that?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Neck, your neck. You're lucky to be alive."

"Y-yes, sir!　T-Tttthank you for your grace!"

The man panicked and bowed his head to me.

He bowed again and again, on his knees on the spot.

"It's getting annoying, get out of here."

John kicked him out of the room.

John followed him, said a word or two to his men who were probably waiting in the hallway, and then came back and closed the door to the room.

Meanwhile, Peiyu closed the window on my watch.

"I'm really sorry for my lack of supervision, Master."

"Don't worry, there are people like that everywhere."

"Yes, I'm sorry. Ah, by the way, Master."

"Hmm?"

"I don't know who might try to get on the master's case here again. so could you please come to my house? As a matter of fact, Mary also wants to see Master. Of course, I will have her cook some of the dishes she learned when she was at Lord's house."

"I see."

I laughed and stood up.

"Then I will be troubling you."

"—-!　Thank you very much."

"Shall we go, Peiyu?"

"Yes!"

☆

We left the inn and were escorted by John's soldiers to his place.

"It's huge"

I muttered to myself as I dismounted from my horse and looked at the mansion in front of me.

The mansion is quite spacious, with a bonfire burning at the entrance.

The bonfire stretched from the front gate to the back of the building as if it were a beacon.

"This is the residence of the Governor, and I'm grateful to be allowed to live here for free."

"Is that so?"

"Mary is very happy with this as it will save a lot of money on rent and stuff."

"Hmm."

I smiled and walked in through the bonfire pathway.

John's position as a government official is a good one.

At the very least, he could command nearly a hundred men with the snap of his fingers, and he could kick the crap out of any official at the checkpoint.

With that said, he is not in a position to talk about "rent-bagging".

But maybe he's just keeping it simple, not accepting ... bribes or anything like that.

Many of my retainers are like that.

It's not uncommon for them to pander to my preferences, but many of them do so as a matter of reality.

"It's fine if you're stingy, but don't force it on everyone else."

"Wh?　But if I set a good example, why don't the people around me become cleaner, too?"

"Fuu, People can't survive on ideals."

I smile and say to John,

"You have the same illness as Evelyn."

"Same illness as sister?　W-What's wrong?"

John's complexion changed.

Because I used the word 'Illness' he panicked.

"Don't be impatient, I'm not blaming you. You and Evelyn both think too highly of ordinary people by your own standards."

"Eh mm… ...?"

"You guys work for me without getting paid much money."

"Of course, I can!　I owe my life to the master, you're my life's savior!"

"But can you recruit good people without paying them much money?"

"Eh ...."

"Let's say for example, there's a person who doesn't feel indebted to me, would that person go to your place for a low salary or to a merchant who pays a high salary? Which would they go for?"

"Ugh. ...."

John stumbled over his words.

"Most people, especially the more capable ones, think they should be making more money than they are."

"T-that's ... true, but…"

"To begin with."

I laugh playfully.

"At the end of the day, I reward you when you work hard, don't I?"

"!!!"

"I don't mind if you kick down your underlings, and even whip them. But don't forget to give them candy as well."

"Y-Yes!　Understood!　I'll do it right."

I smiled a little more gently.

John's the kind of guy who will change his tune if properly told.

"As expected of Master. ..."

"Hmm?

"I've been having trouble pulling in talent lately, actually. Now that you mentioned the reason for that. ... Thank you very much!"

John said embarrassingly.

"Well, you better give me some encouragement."

"Yes!"

Let's watch John for a while.

If he can get the right people, – let's move his position up a bit.

I thought to myself.