「There are two main paths your future can take. Do you know what those are?」
The boys who had been one-sidedly beaten up by the girls they wanted and exhausted by Buono-sensei’s thrashing, were very quiet. The teacher was pleased to see them quietly taking their seat.
On the contrary, I don’t think they’re even listening to the teachers, but I guess it’s better to be quiet than to be noisy.
The boys sit in front three rows and the girls sit a row behind them. From left to right were Mira-chan, Nasha-chan, Lina-chan and me. Why am I sitting in the girls’ row? Well, Lina-chan asked me to sit with her so I did.
「Yes. Lords and Knights」
「You’re right. You studied」
Nasha-chan raised her hand to answer Buono-sensei’s question. Sorry that I didn’t have enough studies.
「The foundation of this country is supported by the Kiryu, it’s divided into two main groups, Lords and Knights. The Lord governs and protects the territory, and controls the shield of this country. Knights are the sword that spreads this land free of foreign enemies」
He draws a simple diagram on the blackboard making clack clack sounds. This country is divided into smaller areas, and the lords are the center of each territory. Then the knights make their mark with an arrow going out of the territory.
「The main prerequisite for being a lord is their military might. But, it’s preferable to have knowledge to maintain and develop the territory. Most of the work in the territory is left to the Zatsuryu and the common people, but it’s an issue when the superior gives instructions without understanding the nature of the work.
If we compare the territory to a company, Kiryu would be the president, Zatsuryu would be the staff leaders, then the common people would be the ordinary employees. If military force isn’t required, even common people may be welcomed as staff leaders of the territory.
「The lord’s job is hard. It’s a heavy responsibility. However, the Lord also is popular. Why is that?」
Leonard-kun raised his hand.
「Because the Lord gets a lot of money!」
「Yes. That’s right. The Kiryu would be lord, strong, wise, and prosperous」
Looking at the classroom, Buono-sensei concludes solemnly.
「–In other words, they’re popular with women. We know from what we’ve seen so far that the marriage rate of the Kiryu who are Lords is very high…」
They’re making a fuss.
As Buono-sensei talks about being popular with women, there was a ripple effect in the classroom.
The atmosphere of the room has changed completely, and the boys leaned forward to listen to Buono-sensei. The girls looked fed up with the stares of the boys, but they didn’t notice it.
「The important one is wealth. You need money to support your house and livelihood, and the more the lord develops his domain, the more his income increases in taxes. On the other hand, a lord that manages their territory poorly and cannot defend it will quickly fall as his people will leave and monsters will ravage his territory」
“Developing the territory and taxes” were written on the blackboard.
「What do you spend your hard-earned tax on? Aaron. Do you know how to use it?」
「I don’t know, how do I?」
「Hmm. You’re brash with your replies. There are many ways to spend taxpayer’s money」
Gourmet, entertainment, art, decorations, housing, subordinates, and servants.
There are so many ways to use money and no amount of money will suffice if we try to have all of them at a high standard.
「Aaron and everyone may not feel that way at the moment. The details will be covered in future classes, but if you’re considering marriage, you should assume that all of them are necessary. A husband must have the dependability to give his wife what she wants」
I see. Buono-sensei’s talk is very informative. I too had a vague idea about my future with Lina-chan, but I guess I need to make a lot of preparations after I graduate from school.
It would be unbearable for Lina-chan to live a life where she has no money and can’t afford to eat for the day.
「Well then, I said that Lords can make money, but that doesn’t mean that there’s an endless supply of territory. It’s not as simple as saying that everyone who aspires to be a lord can be a lord」
“Different from knights,” he writes on the board.
「Those who fail to become lords become knights, who are first divided into three categories; the knights who served the country, the knights who serve the lord, and the knights who don’t belong to anyone. In short, it depends on who they get their pay from」
A civil, company, and part-timer?
「And it’s the knight’s job to cultivate the territory. Enemies are natural beings with magic, such as monsters and Shinryu. By defeating them and capturing the enemy territory, they can make it their own. That’s the knight’s job」
So it’s reclamation (fighting) It suddenly starts to smell like blood.
「Of course, our enemies won’t die so easily. The work of repelling and defending against invasions by their subordinates and others is also necessary.
If you take out the obstacles and ensure the security of the territory, then you can be promoted from a knight to a Lord. Those who want to be knights and make a name for themselves are still struggling at the front lines of the border」
In this world, it’s said that bloodshed camp battles still take place daily. I had an inkling, but it’s really barbaric.
Huh? I have a question as Buono-sensei’s talking. I’ll ask for Lina-chan then.
「Buono-sensei, I have a question」
「Hmm? What?」
Buono-sensei’s staring this way with curiosity. I’d like to think that it’s my imagination that she’s looking at me and not Lina-chan.
「I get that there are lots of students who want to be Lords, but does that status open up so quickly?」
The Kiryu in this world have long lives, so they can work for long. So if all the heads are jammed together, how can they be a Lord?
「Good Question. It’s indeed rare for a lord’s seat to be vacant. But, that doesn’t mean that they never come up. After all, some lords lose their lives defending their territories」
「…Ah, I see…」
It’s simple when you think about it. In this world, it’s not that unusual for the Shinryu or other powerful monsters to come and kill the Lords. The lordship candidates will start competing with each other for that vacant seat.
「In other cases, a newly inherited fiefdom may be divided because it’s too large to manage, or sometimes, a bandit knight may break into a small fiefdom, kill the lord, and occupy it. You may even be given a vacant territory if you kill those infidels」
Scary? A bandit knight? Those are Kiryu who fell off, right?
I don’t know why a Kiryu would be doing bandit stuff, but I guess they’re kind of a robber.
「Well, bandit knights are dropouts. Any decent lord wouldn’t be so slow」
After that, Buono-sensei taught us a lot of things, but in the end, he concluded that if I wanted to become a Lord, I should be strong and study. The boys were motivated and said that they wanted to become a Lord, and it was a great success in motivating them.
「 Hey, do you want to become a Lord?」
「Hmmm, I wish I could be, but It’s hard」
Lina-chan asked me, but honestly, I think it would be hard to become a lord.
What’s required from the lord is their defensive capability. Especially wiping out the monster hordes. If weak, but numerous monsters attack my territory, then I would be unable to deal with it because of my lack of ranged attacks, and it would probably kill a lot of people.
In such situations, it’s the domain of those with attributes.
「Hmm, I see」
「(We’ll talk about the details later when we’re in our room)」
「(Okay)」
Well, we can also make Lina-chan the Lord and support her in administration, but we’ll discuss that later.
「Aim to become a Lord! You’re a man, aren’t you?」
While Lina-chan and I were whispering to each other, Nasha-chan stuck her face in. Seems like I put her in a bad mood for not doing the manly thing of aspiring to become a lord.
But I’m a Zatsuyru with no attributes, I think my chances of being recognized as a lord are very slim.
That’s more likely to be LIna-chan or another Kiryu trying to be a lord by proxy.
「Geez, I can’t believe your ambitions are too low! What’s this? Are you serious?!」
Nasha-chan’s red on her cheeks and gives me some punches on my back. She seem to have studied enough and she might be suited to become a lord.
I grabbed Nasha-chan’s slender arms, embraced her, and whispered to her.
「Nasha-chan, how about we have a mock battle later?」
「Hyaii?! I-It’s Anastasia!」
Nasha-chan jumped out. Lina-chan pinches my armpit with a glare, but I smile and cover it up.
Well, there’s a lot for later. I’m looking forward to it.