Chapter 64
Chapter 64 – Clean Up
The next day, in the Brittany Federation’s capital Trahn .
Ares’ arrival was greeted with welcoming hands by the merchants . Everyone had a smile on their faces .
This made Ares uncomfortable .
[Welcome to Trahn city . ]
[Please follow me; the chief is expecting your arrival . ]
Ares followed the merchant while keeping his thoughts to himself . They guided him to an extremely large mansion even for a wealthy city such as Trahn .
Ares was directed to the mansion’s main hall where 5 fat men were already waiting for him .
[This would be our first meeting . We five are the executives responsible for Brittany Federation’s administration . ]
One of them spoke up . Apparently, this one acted as the representative among the five Brittany Federation executives . The other four were simply staring . In their eyes were both resentment and relief .
(It seems to be working as I thought)
Ares laughed inwardly as he stealthily observed those executives .
[Well then, pardon us for we are still in an emergency . As you can see, Trahn city is full of mercenaries…]
Ares cut off the speech by presenting a sheet of paper .
[What is this?]
[A letter from His Majesty Emperor . I believe it’s directed to all of the upper echelon of Brittany Federation . ]
[Hoho . Then I’ll be pleased to read it . ]
Having said that, the representative read the letter . Soon, his face turned pale and he started shaking .
[Ho, how can this be? Confiscation of 90% of the commodity owned by merchants involved in politics; moreover, banishment from Trahn city!?]
[What!?]
[That unfair!?]
[Madness!]
[Bullshit! They dare to do that!]
The other four executives immediately raised their voices in protest .
[It wasn’t us, the mercenaries did it . We have nothing to do with what they did on their own accord . ]
The representatives tried to explain .
[I can’t talk with this young man . I need someone who would understand…]
When the representative said that, Ares presented another letter .
The representative crumpled that letter instead .
[Outrageous…]
[Do you not want to know the content of that paper?]
Ares spoke up, interrupting the representative .
The representative hesitantly fixed the crumpled paper and his face turned even paler .
A plundering permit and some words of encouragement written there .
[Are you alright? Don’t tell me you want to refute the fact here . ]
And right there, Ares hammered the table with his hand, shocking the merchants present .
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[We are the victors of this war . You have no right to say anything . Otherwise, I can command the five thousand soldiers outside to go on a rampage . ]
The merchants’ face turned blue at Ares’ threat . Ares then continued .
[You are disqualified to be a ruler once you allowed your people to be plundered . I don’t need any of you, so you must go away . Moreover, I did my personal investigation, and I found out that you guys at the upper echelon really love to do some exciting things, don’t you? Bribery, blackmail, sometimes even assassination…]
Ares then leaned forward .
[This city and the entire Brittany Federation won’t grow any further while any of you still around . You guys are nothing but parasites . ]
[Screw you! Guge . ]
One of the executives had had it enough and attempted to attack Ares, but was immediately cut down by Sigurd who was on standby at the back . The merchants screamed in terror; some even fell on their butt .
[So… somebody… help…]
[Yes, that’s what we originally intended to do . I told you to leave and I’ll even leave some for you to live… . But you just had to do that . ]
Ares said so as he moved his face closer to the representative’s .
[Can you tell? This is the reality of what happened if you lose a war . You may not know it since you were always busy with sipping soup in a warm room called the power of money, but this is what happens in the outside world nearly everyday . This is the reality . ]
The representative lost his mind upon hearing that .
Vulcas spoke to Ares as he watched the merchants being taken away into custody .
[What will become of Trahn city then? I need to inform Silvisama who is currently rushing here on who will govern this place…]
[About that, I actually have an idea already . Looks like he’s just arrived . ]
There were a couple of men heading towards them . Apparently merchants and craftsmen, but they didn’t show any sign of fear despite coming here .
One of the men asked Ares .
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[What do you want from us? We have no money, nor we are educated people]
[No, I don’t particularly need anything from any of you . The upper echelon has gone . In exchange for that, I’ll leave the commoners to govern this city, and later the entire Brittany .
Everyone was caught surprised by those words .
[Can you tell us why?]
Another raised a question
[There are a lot of things I’m going to need to know here if I were to govern this place myself . But there are already people doing business here and there and they should know the situation better than me . Above all… if I let you do business properly without any backhanded methods, then wouldn’t that bring profit to the city itself?]
All of them seemed fascinated by that reasoning .
[However, it’s not like I’ll let you go scotch free . I want you to make the city prosper in 1 year time . If you can’t do that, I’ll naturally find a replacement . ]
The man asked once more
[Will you give us some time to consider?]
So Ares replied .
[Of course I’m not forcing you to give your answer now . But if possible, I hope that there will be a reply by tomorrow . I’m planning to march out of this city tomorrow . ]
That revelation was the most shocking .
[What!? You’re just going to leave the land you’ve conquered!?]
[As I said, I’m leaving the governing of this place to others . Using my forces to suppress this place won’t bring me any benefit]
Therefore Ares took the man’s hand and said .
[The rise and fall of this city will be up to you . I believe it’ll be one hell of a challenging job . ]
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Ares looked on at the merchants through the window . All of them had a complex look on their face as they returned home with a lot to think about .
[Can you please tell me why?]
Ares turned around and saw Vulcas standing there .
[Normally one would station a deputy officer to govern the land they’ve occupied . But I will not do that here . Can you guess why?]
[The residents won’t be convinced if a stranger suddenly takes charge?]
And that’s why Ares sought those merchants .
[Have you seen those merchants’ face? Normally, if given such an offer, anyone will just jump in at the first chance . But they didn’t . That’s because they know how hard it is to govern . Knowing that, they’ll think things through first before giving a reply . ]
[But they have no political experience]
[There is always a first time for everyone . Although reluctant, they’ll keep trying…and hopefully, they’ll eventually find their way . I believe they can handle this] .
Ares turned to Vulcas once more .
[I’ve sent a messenger to Her Highness Silvia the other day . I will also conquer Trevoir before Her Highness arrives . ]
[What?!]
[You probably didn’t think that Brittany will fall this fast, did you? We’re aiming for something big here . And as much as possible…I want to reduce casualties to a minimum… for both allies and enemies alike . ]
Ares continued on while keeping eye contact with Vulcas .
[I can’t take a break yet . I need to make preparations so we can leave as soon as we get their reply!]
After saying so, Ares headed out to the door .