Chapter 3:
The Fight for Anheim
~Strategy and Reunion~
JUST AS IN THE MIDDLE AGES OF EUROPE, EVERY town in this medievalesque world had a plaza at its center. Summer festivals were held there, and when merchants came, that’s where they’d set up shop. At times, it was host to crowds that gathered for political action, or sometimes the backdrop for a show, and occasionally, it was the scene of a crime.
One big difference between this world’s plazas and those of my old world was that religion wasn’t what towns here revolved around, so the biggest churches weren’t built facing the plaza. Some plazas had fountains and some didn’t, though that was probably because fountains required a magic pump to operate.
“Execute them!” With my declaration, the three soldiers who served as executioners severed the heads of the men on the block. Dagover’s head flew especially far, earning a cheer from the audience.
The heads were stabbed through with pikes, and each soldier carried one off as if it were an offering. The townsfolk crowded around them and followed them off. They looked a lot like the processions that would carry portable shrines back in Japan, though it was quite a grotesque sight, considering they were carrying decapitated heads rather than gods. This time, there were friends and families of the victims in town, so the crowd was especially large.
Usually, criminals from the higher classes were executed by decapitation and the rest were hanged. It was kind of similar to the medieval ages of Japan where samurai would commit seppuku and the rest would be decapitated. It seemed like using status to decide execution method was a constant in any world.
Still, I had decided to use decapitation this time. When you hang criminals, their bodies get left there to send a message, but I decided to put just their heads on display. I had a platform with chopping blocks built for just that purpose, based on the gokumondai or “prison platforms” of old Japan. I had only ever seen them in period dramas, but the fact that using them was so rare in this world had drawn my attention.
Maybe it was because I still had my memories of being Japanese, but I watched the merry crowd coldly. Still, I made sure to keep that off my face. I couldn’t forget that executions being a form of entertainment was normal in this world, not an aberration, even if it never really sat right with me.
According to the natural sciences, all human life was equal, but from a political or military perspective, you couldn’t place the same importance on the life of your enemies as you did on the life of your comrades. Unfortunately, I had to view things from the latter perspective.
Even if it was to protect those near and dear to me, I couldn’t honestly say I had no qualms taking my enemies’ lives. But since this was the course I had chosen, I couldn’t let others see that. I didn’t want to forget that feeling. Maybe this was the difference between reason and emotion. Humans have always been full of contradictions after all.
I collected myself and returned to my office to have a discussion with the councilmen. I gave my thanks and promised rewards for those who had cooperated with me. I also entrusted them with more work and asked that they prepare more jobs for the refugees. It wouldn’t be long before we’d need all hands on deck, so I wanted as many people as possible on the simple jobs.
Conversely, I made sure to deal with any malcontents accordingly. Sir Behnke had already gathered the evidence of their tax evasion, so I slapped them with appropriate fines, which seemed like they’d yield some pretty huge stacks of coin. When it came to Mangold, I let them off with a reprimand.
I was pretty sure that the reason the councilmen had been so tame was because of the display of decapitated heads they’d just witnessed—a novel punishment for people of this world. They were wary of me. I had punished them like high-class men but treated them like the lowest of the low. Of course they wouldn’t know where they stood.
Once we’d all finished probing each other, I sent messengers to all the domains close to the capital to gather intel. “While I was at it” might be a bit of a poor way of saying it, but I also had the Iron Hammer deliver a letter and some goods to my father at the Zehrfeld’s manor in the capital.
When I was done with that, I dealt with the spoils of the bandit mission. It wasn’t an issue I could ignore, so I hurried to finish the job.
“…I do not see any issue,” Sir Kesten said after reviewing the tally of loot and my proposal for distributing rewards.
“Great. In that case, have Schünzel take care of handing out rewards,” I said. “Neurath, I want you to deliver the rewards to Sir Goecke and his mercenaries instead before the day ends.”
“Yessir.”
“Frenssen,” I went on, “pack these documents in a crate. They regard reparations for the bandits’ victims, so don’t let me forget about them.”
“Understood.”
Some of the soldiers would be getting weapons, while others got gold. Some of the knights would even receive horses. In my old world’s terms, rewarding them with horses was like rewarding them with top-of-the-line bicycles, so very few would get them.
When I’d read stories about the Warring States Era of Japan in my past life, sometimes I’d see items that made me think “how the hell is that a reward?” Things like shoes or rags. But once you held command yourself, you started to understand the importance of recognizing people’s service not just with words, but with material rewards.
While it was rewards of honor and not gold that really grabbed people by the heart, you still had to offer them something tangible. In that sense, a plate or even just a glove received from the deputy directly appointed by the king had more value than money. I was wrong to make fun of those items. I apologized to all the warlords of my old world.
So, while I did understand the necessity of these things, it was still obnoxious work. Being unfair in my rewards would only lead to more complaints. So, with a litany of complaints running through my mind, I went over the documents and signed them, piling them up on my desk.
Sir Behnke watched this and nodded, seemingly moved. “I see you are quite skilled in the practical aspects of this business as well.”
“Thanks to you putting everything together for me. I’m only used to battles.”
In reality, Sir Behnke was much better than me at handling the bureaucracy of internal affairs. I was getting by because all the papers had been prepared for me, and I had plenty of knowledge about previous ways spoils had been divvied up in other cases.
Plus, I had done the job of reviewing battle records after Finoy as well, and it wasn’t like dealing with documents wasn’t something I had to do in my previous life. Of course I knew the basics of how to do this type of work efficiently.
With that in mind, I continued my work, but that’s when Sir Behnke’s next statement had me almost choking up. “No, most people your age would twist their faces at the thought of dealing with such papers. I see the count has educated you well.”
“I’ll tell my father you said that.”
That’s right. I was still young enough to be a student. I felt like I’d had a similar conversation before, and I realized that what I was thinking of was the time a classmate said I knew how to study effectively. Mazel was an exception, but I had boys and girls alike asking me for studying tips back at the academy.
Had it been my previous life, they’d have paid me back by buying me lunch, but that didn’t really make much sense for a noble in this world. Instead, they’d give me intel about the best products from their domains or rumors going around the court. I knew that the time you spent as a student became precious once you grew up, and I wondered if I would ever get to return to the academy.
No, that didn’t matter right now. This was no time for reminiscing. I turned my thoughts back to reality. That was when there was a knock at the door. Frenssen answered it and turned back to me. It seemed like dealing with the bodies took more time than we were expecting. It made sense considering the crowd.
“Lord Werner. Rafed, Sir Goecke, and the other man you called for have come to see you.”
“Let them in.” Rafed and Goecke entered alongside a man who had been involved in the execution. He dressed in the armor of a lowborn soldier and was older than me, but I doubted we were more than ten years apart. I put my papers to the side.
“Is it over, Lord Eickstedt?”
“I thank you deeply for your kindness, Dear Lord Viscount.” He suddenly got down on both knees and bowed his head to the floor. I wished he wouldn’t. Being called “Dear Lord” was enough to have my skin crawling. I had already filled in Sirs Behnke, Kesten, and Frenssen, but I once again introduced the man before us.
“Formality like that is only going to make it harder to talk. Everyone, this is Lord Eickstedt, from one of the counties of Triot.”
“I’m merely a refugee who has escaped death.”
“I didn’t call you here to listen to you debase yourself. Stand up.” Secretly, I wasn’t quite sure this was the attitude I should be taking, given I was talking to someone who surpassed me in age and rank, at least until his house had fallen with its kingdom. He had also been a bandit, and given how he had kowtowed before me, I could hardly take any other tone with him. Now, he might be comparable to what would have become of me had I run away from defending the capital.
“I’m sorry this is all I could do for you,” I continued.
“No, there are no words that could properly convey my gratitude.”
While a bee sting didn’t spell certain death, he did well to survive all that. It must have been tenacity alone that kept him alive. While that impressed me, I was also taken aback at how potions had completely healed him.
“I’m sure you can’t say you’re feeling completely cheered up, but at least it’s all over.”
“Indeed. Now, I can face my wife and daughter.”
I didn’t know what to say, so instead, I silently nodded. The reason we had kept Lord Eickstedt alive in the first place was so we could question him about how they had managed to gather water up on that hill. I couldn’t deny that just about anyone could have served that purpose.
But as we spoke, I ended up asking why he became a bandit. After hearing it, I decided to help him out. Or really, I just couldn’t help myself.