Chapter 19: Unexpected Visitor (1)
The enemy army retreated, and the battle was won.
The number of enemy troops who returned alive was no more than 2,000, which meant that we were able to destroy a large number of troops on the mountain road.
Even though we were outnumbered more than 2:1 and better yet we could eliminate one of their 10 top units.
Bente was in a state of drunkenness as he watched the victory party unfold in front of him.
Even in this state, he never stopped holding the glass and poured the alcohol into his mouth.
He had already drunk so much that his face was bright red.
"Lieutenant Bente! That's enough drinking!" <Soldier>
A subordinate next to him shook his shoulder while stopping Bente.
"Hey, what's the use of not drinking on a day like today! What are you doing?" <Lieutenant Bente>
Laughing loudly in a lisping tone, Bente drank more alcohol.
Finally, he completely stripped off his clothes and went on a rampage.
"Hey, old man, listen to me, okay? The Lord defeated the Visigoth people. He's not like any lord you've ever known. The Ten Warlords of Visigoth? He defeated that guy in one shot! Kuh-ha-ha-ha!" <Lieutenant Bente>
Bente started his nude show.
His men ran up to him and took a stand to stop him.
These actions by Bente spread all kinds of rumors about Aquitania.
I heard we almost got into trouble.
Visigoth's people invaded again, didn't they?
I heard the Lord stopped over 10,000 soldiers.
My son actually saw them fight.
Don't tell me that lord is the one...
I heard it was 50,000, not 10,000.
5,000 men against 50,000 men?
It was mainly Bente who embellished the story.
Because of this, the lord's activities quickly spread throughout Aquitania.
The lord, who was thought to be playful and only capable of tormenting the people with his vassals, turned out to be a strong person who could stop the enemy from invading.
If Visigoth won, all the cities and towns in the territory would be sacked by the Visigoth Kingdom's army.
The men would be killed and the women would be raped, the children enslaved and the babies murdered.
I had already experienced this vicious cycle many times, in some cases i had perpetrated it.
Even if he was known as a vicious lord, the fact that he stopped the invasion of the enemy was certainly an opportunity for the people to feel good about their lord.
* * *
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[Martial Force: 60]
[Intelligence: ???]
[Command: ???]
[Affiliation: Lord of Aquitania]
[People's Spirit: 40]
______________________________________
I'm a very ordinary person.
I can use the system and its perks to increase my strength, but not my stamina.
After fighting all night and running out of energy, I went back to the lord's castle and collapsed into bed.
When I woke up, the day had passed.
After awakening I found that People's Spirit increased to 40.
I don't remember doing anything special, but we won the war so of course the peoples loyalty to their victorious lord would rise.
Does it mean that no matter how bad your reputation as a corrupt lord is, if you stop the enemy army from invading, you will be more or less well received?
If the enemy invades, the people will die or be taken prisoner, if I think about it, the public sentiment may rise somewhat.
Anyway, the important thing is the fact that Aquitania did not fall.
I survived.
From now on, I have to live as Julius, looking to the future.
History has been rewritten, and the future of the Visigoth Kingdom is no longer known.
Will the Visigoth Kingdom force an invasion from the northern border of the Lunan Kingdom, as history has it?
That was something I needed to wait and see.
The butterfly effect of the changes I had made would not be immediately apparent.
Until the situation is confirmed, I'll wait and see what happens in the territory.
"Chamberlain." <Julius>
"Yes, my lord." <Landers>
"Bring me all the information on the estate's finances and tax rates." <Julius>
"You mean the financial documents?" <Landers>
"Yes. I'll have to do some studying. What are you waiting for?" <Julius>
I urged the chamberlain, who was staring at me and not moving.
"Yes, sir!" <Landers>
He quickly turned away and disappeared.
It was obvious that he was distressed about something, but what?
I was curious and asked him as soon as he came back with the materials.
"Chamberlain, do you have something to say to me?" <Julius>
"No, sir." <Landers>
The chamberlain put down the materials and left with the attendants, bowing his head.
If you have something to say, you could show a little hesitation in my question now, right?
Is it my imagination?
Well, that doesn't matter now. I turned away and started reading the tax books and other documents of the lord's castle.
First things first, this is what I have to do now.
In order to restore the territory corrupted by the corrupt lord Julius to its normal state, I needed to know the current situation properly.
Strangely enough, I was able to read the non-earth characters easily.
Perhaps this was another power of the system.
"It's just....It's really disgusting. That's what I call a real villain." <Julius>
I couldn't help but shake my head as I looked at the ledger.
The background of the era was the agricultural age.
It was a time when agriculture was vital.
In such a territory, the tax collected from farmland was nearly 80%.
It was just too much.
At the very least, they should make sure that the people in the territory don't have to live in poverty.
Taking away 80% of the harvested crops is not a normal situation.
According to the laws of the Lunan Kingdom, the tax to be collected from the territory is 50%.
Of the 50% collected, 20% is to be given to the king.
The current Aquitania, however, collects not 50% but more than 80% of the taxes under various names.
The person taking the lead in this was the tax officer in charge of collecting taxes for the territory.
Naturally, he was one of the vassals.
Baron Den Bord, is the one who is robbing the people along with Julius.
He is certainly a vassal that should be eliminated first.
At any rate, it would be better to meet him once to see what kind of person he is.
"Chamberlain." <Julius>
"Yes, Master."
I called the chamberlain again.
Who appeared from behind the study door as if waiting for my call.
If there was one thing I had a question about, it was that at first it seemed as if he was intimidated by me, but that didn't seem to be the case.
He just seems to be thoroughly interested in my good mood.
Well, I don't mind that, since he's a fast and capable worker.
"Call Viscount Bord. I have something to ask him." <Julius>
"I'll get him right away." <Landers>
The chamberlain turned away, still expressing no doubts.
As he left to fulfill my command I continued to pour over the documents that were before me.
"Smash"
Hearing the sound I turned my head to see a robed and masked person crouching on the floor after having burst through the window.
" You're Julius Aquitania right? Please die by my hand now so that the people may be free!" <Assailant>
An assassin?
But I avoided my fate...
Don't hard-code my death you shitty game.
Judging by the voice I'd say female.
Without further say so she charged like a pouncing tiger, a gleaming longsword now in her hands.
I barely had time to draw my own blade, but even as these two crossed paths our strength was basically even.
[Unit Inspection]
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[Yurasia Roserun]
[Age: 17]
[Power Level: 88]
[Intelligence: 57]
[Command: 95]
[Affiliation: Adventurer (Unaffiliated).]
[Loyalty: ??]
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Orngebeard
Orngebeard Thank you everyone whose dropping comments and stones, I'm honestly shocked and amazed at how popular this one's become, but don't worry I'm not dropping it here, I've already written up a good number of chapters just doing some final edits here and there to touch it up before releasing.
Gonna keep the trend of a dual daily release for the next while here as i feel the single chapter release would not be enough :)
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