Chapter 91
Chapter 91 – Administration Reform
Author’s note:
From here to the next few chapters will be more about domestics and politics than battles .
[Well then, Ares-dono, please be careful on your way to Grants . We’ll meet again in one month . ]
[Yeah, in a month, I’ll be expecting you . ]
Both Ares and William smiled and shook each other’s hands .
Ares had spent a week staying in Redgear, inspecting the fertile land and the well-trained soldiers .
The development was actually more than what he expected .
[I assure you, Ares-sama! If I happen to be unable to come, then I’ll come a year later with some soldiers . They should prove useful . ]
(Dear husband, I will quickly recruit and train a lot of soldiers so I can meet you again sooner!)
[Oh, yes… I’ll be counting on you…]
Ares forced himself to smile at Liliana . Zion who watched from the side could only give his condolences .
Over the past week, another detail had been added to the content of Redgear’s pledge:
『Liliana will lead a detachment of soldiers to Grants . And afterward, they will be incorporated into the Grants Army . 』
or so it said .
When Ares visited Redgear palace in the morning, a few days after that bedroom incident with Liliana, William informed him about this, which obviously showed that she had something to do with it .
As he suppressed the dreadful sense of foreboding… Ares finally left Redgear .
=====
◆
Ares arrived at the Grants’ territory three weeks after he left the Royal Capital .
Heinz, the capital of the former Grants Principality, was where the supplies and manpower from the Schwarzer territory was sent to one after another .
When Ares entered Heinz’ gate, he was greeted by the former sovereign Gail and George .
George and the others had gone in advance to start up the administrative movement .
He immediately gathered the politicians of Grants, giving them detailed instructions so that they could act as soon as possible .
[Welcome, Ares-sama . ]
[Welcome back to Heinz, Ares-dono . ]
Ares got off his horse, and went to shake Gail’s hand .
[Gail-dono… are you really in good shape to do this?]
[I… cannot certainly say that I am completely fine . But, after I consumed the medicine that Ares-dono sent me, my condition has steadily improved . Therefore, I was able to show up here . ]
After the capture of Grants, Ares gave Gail the medicine he concocted himself .
Gail then resumed .
[Originally, Darius was supposed to be the one responsible for welcoming you… but he has been sparring with Sigurd-dono unceasingly every day since the latter arrived back here . ]
He laughed as he said so .
[Ares-sama, I’m sure you are tired from the long travel… but I need milord to finalize the plan, so would you please follow me to the administrative office immediately?
Perhaps fearing that the conversation would take too long, George chimed in .
Ares could only laugh wryly at George who already pushed in more work as soon as he arrived .
[Sure, let’s do that . Can you inform Sigurd and Darius to come as well? …and Shion too…]
[They should be already waiting at the office . ]
[… . eh, that’s rare . ]
[They had suggestions and we’ve been preparing for a while after all . ]
And recalling something, George added .
[Right right, there is also new and promising talent . ]
[New and promising talent?]
[Ares-sama should already be familiar with him . ]
After saying so, George turned around and headed to the office .
Seeing this, Ares laughed and followed suit alongside Gail .
=====
◆
When Ares entered the office with George and Gail, the first thing that entered his sight was Shion who was studying a map with an unusually serious expression .
His brain must be working hard concocting battle strategies… Ares thought inwardly . Shifting his gaze to another spot… he noticed a familiar face .
[Elan! You are Elan, aren’t you!?]
[It’s been a long time, Ares-sama . ]
Over there, stood the figure of Elan who was his long time friend but had always been refusing to serve as his retainer due to reasons .
[I’m glad that you are here… but is it really alright?]
[Yes, I’ve left my shop under my brother-in-law’s care . ]
Having said that, Elan continued on .
[I’ve promised Ares-sama before,and now it’s time for me to fulfill it . If you will, I would like to serve as your retainer . ]
Seeing his long time friend kneel before him, Ares rushed forward and urged Elan to stand up .
[Thank you, Elan . Your presence here gives me peace of mind . ]
Ares and Elan laughed to each other… when suddenly the door was opened harshly .
Sponsored Content
[It’s my win this time!]
[It certainly was, but I’m still ahead with a score of 10 to 9 . Don’t be full of yourself just yet!]
[Hah! I’ll surely win again next time and we’ll be even . Just you wait soon…]
Sigurd and Darius entered the office side by side… Ares could only wonder when did those two became close friends .
The two noticed that everyone’s gaze was pointed at them . They laughed in embarrassment .
[Everyone is here already . Shall we now begin?]
George put up the draft of the organization chart on the wall .
=====
◆
In the office, other than Ares, Sigurd, Darius, Shion, George, Gail and Elan… were several people who formerly served as Grants Principality’s generals and domestic officers . Basically everyone who will be the important figures in governing Grants .
Grants was a country of warriors . There are a lot of soldiers, but little domestic officers .
Grants Sovereign Gail had actually governed Grants with this very limited amount of officers .
There are two particularly notable officers in Grants .
The first one was Bergan . A brown-eyed, 40 year old man with solidly-built body .
He has an unusually good political sense for a local and had been serving as the prime minister even when Gail was still a prince . It could be said that he’s [Gail’s Lifeline] when it comes to governing Grants .
The other one was Gail’s first son and Darius’ older brother, Ramires Grants . Unlike his little brother Darius, Ramires had little to no talent in martial arts, but he could be considered as a genius in terms of political affairs .
When Gail noticed this, he immediately transferred the heir position to Darius in order to remove the burden on Ramires . Eventually Gail offered the administrative position to Ramires so that he could gain some experience as a domestic officer .
Ramires understood his father’s intention, thus gladly took the post .
[People believe that there are barely any civil officers in Grants… but, that’s not actually the case . ]
George said .
After talking with them and gauging their talent, George was pleased with the result .
With George’s cue, everyone sat on nearby chairs . Even Shion who’s been deep in thought planning strategies stopped what he was doing and looked straight at George’s paper .
[Everyone, today I will show you the policy and strategy that Grants should follow . I will be responsible for political affairs, while Shion will be in charge of military strategy . ]
George kept speaking while looking at everyone present .
[First of all, each one of you will need a positiont . Here are the positions I’ve planned for each of you to take . ]
George pointed at the administrative organization chart . Everyone observed the chart closely .
Firstly, Ares’s name was listed as Chief Administrative Officer .
The chart was as follows:
Chief Administrative Officer – Ares
State Secretary – George
State Counsellor – Elan
Sponsored Content
State Counsellor – Ramires Grants
Consultant – Gail Grants
Treasury Secretary
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Industry
Secretary of Security – Eckhart Grants
Civil Engineering Secretary
Family Register Secretary – Bergan
[Are those the positions we will be in charge of?]
Hearing the question, George continued to explain .
[For now, I will handle mostly everything as the State Secretary . Elan-dono here will act as my assistant, helping me delegate work to the appropriate department . ]
[Do we have enough manpower?]
Shion asked .
[We managed to pull some from Schwarzer territory… You see, there should be talented people too stubborn to leave the Royal Capital despite not getting a proper job, am I correct?]
Shion chuckled in response to that .
[Ah, THOSE people… then let me convince them]
Reverting his view back to Ares, George continued .
[I’d like Gail-dono who has governed this land for decades to join us . But since your sickness has not yet been completely cured, I can only ask you to support us as the consultant . ]
[As long as I can help, I will be content . Thank you]
Gail laughed merrily .
[I’d also like Ramires-dono to be my assistant . Since you’ve been involved in Grants’ internal affairs for a long time, your help will be a great aid . ]
[If it will make this land prosperous, then I’ll gladly take the post . ]
Ramires laughed in affirmation .
[I thought that it’s best if the security is maintained by those who are more familiar with the location, so I’d have to ask Eckhart-dono’s aid in this]
Eckhart was Darius’ younger brother and Gail’s third son . As courageous as his brother, he was mainly involved in external warfare .
Listening to that request, Eckhart complied .
[Also, we will need family registers . I must point out that this is a very important task . Again, this post should go to those who are familiar with the area… therefore I’d like to ask Bergan-dono to take this task . ]
[That’s a work I’ve never gotten to do in the past . I’d be happy to serve!]
Belgan replied enthusiastically .
[The remaining posts will be filled in about 3 months time . So please rest assured . ]
Sponsored Content
Right then, Sigurd raised his hand for a question .
[I have one question… what is a family register?]
[A family register… is very important to indicate who stays where . ]
George explained as he took out a document .
[If we know who lives where and the actual number, collecting tax and such would be easier to do . As I see it, Grants has more residents than we thought, so we need to make sure of it . ]
He said as he unfolded the document .
[Also, should someone die in battle, it’ll be easier for us to contact and aid their relatives . In short, it’s to make people’s lives easier… does that sound easy to understand?]
Sigurd was convinced . Gail was next to throw a question .
[…we had a similar plan… but never got to do it . That will be great . By the way, that document on George-dono’s hand… I am really curious about it . ]
[Ah, this document?]
George replied while tapping at the document in his hand .
[George-dono, that’s…]
[It’s something that should be established in this place, a new law]
Afterward, George once again explained to everyone .
[As a frontier territory, we are given a fairly high amount of autonomy . Therefore, I’d like to create a local law, differing to those existing in Arcadia and govern the territory based on it . ]
After giving everyone a glance, George continued .
[Of course, even Ares-sama will not be exempt from this new law . ]
[!? What do you mean?]
Sigurd protested . But Ares… he simply smiled quietly .
[If the people in the ruling positions have to obey the law, then the people would willingly follow as well . The law will cover and protect both the people and their lords . I can’t divulge the full contents yet… but I can give you the most important of it to serve as a guideline . ]
It could be said that the idea behind the [Constitutional Monarchy] that was later practiced on the Arestia Dominion was born right there .
Once George finished his explanation…
[Of course, the reform of this area has only just begun . The first step we have to make is to enrich our resources . The representatives from Redgear, Trevoir, and Brittany will arrive here next month . I intend to come up with a future policy by then . ]
With George concluding his speech, Ares looked over and said .
[Is there anyone who is against this decision?]
After confirming that none was against it, Ares signed the administrative organization chart .
Right after he signed it, the paper started to glow .
[This paper contains the magic of the church… a holy paper, so to speak . Everyone here should try their best to abide to their post]
[Yes, Milord!]
And so, the foundation of Grants’ politics… the Administrative Organization was formed .