CHAPTER 39: LISTENING TO THE REPORTS

Arthur looked at his food and sighed. He had spent two weeks in this world, yet he still found the food unappetizing. It wasn’t bad, in fact, it was quite nutritious, but he had grown used to the rich flavors of his own world. The reason for the bland taste here was their rare and expensive use of spices.

Still, driven by hunger, he didn’t hesitate for even a second and began eating. Within a few minutes, he had emptied every dish in front of him.

Burp!

’Hmm, I’ve now completely taken control of the barony. All that’s left is to deal with that messenger when he returns, and I’ll ensure my identity remains hidden.’ At the moment, there was no one left in the barony who could threaten him. This bought him another week of safety before he would have to face his biggest problem—**the real Arvan**.

He leaned back in his chair, engaged his mind to its fullest capacity, and began thinking of a solution to his dilemma.

’I have a few days before that bastard reaches the barony’s borders. In the novel, it was said his entourage consisted of ten knights at E-rank, two mages, a healer at D-rank, a sniper, a tank, and a knight—all at D-rank, along with a few prostitutes and some servants.’

’That’s not a small number of followers, but their strength is quite low. Well, that makes sense since the Duke stripped him of his title, and his younger brother lured away all his strong subordinates, leaving him isolated.’

Arvan had two brothers. One was three years older and named Corvius, who, like Arvan, was infamous for being a cunning scoundrel. He was a drunkard and a lecher, but to a lesser degree than Arvan. Unlike Arvan, however, Corvius was more intelligent.

The second brother, Morviel, was four years younger and, unlike his siblings, was a genius scoundrel. He possessed the traits of a cunning and ruthless ruler.

Recalling the events of the novel, Arthur sighed.

’I’ll let the bandits deal with him. All I have to do is remove the protagonist, Novarian, from the equation. That way, no one will save him. But that’s a problem in itself. Novarian is a simple man who follows his interests, so attracting him to my side won’t be an issue, but I’ll need a lot of money.’

At this point in the novel Rise of the Sword Sovereign, Novarian was already at C-rank, which made him a strong individual. Not to mention, he possessed magical artifacts and powerful skills, making him a terrible opponent for anyone at his level.

When Novarian saved Arvan from the bandits, Arvan offered him a deal: serve and protect him for a few months in exchange for fifty gold coins. Naturally, Novarian agreed due to his lack of money and his desire to find a monster-infested area suitable for training.

’Fifty gold coins... If I emptied the barony’s vaults, I could afford it, but that would leave me broke.’

Arthur raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. After a brief moment of thought, he decided:

’I think this is the best time to develop the barony. But that’s a major problem in itself.’

Arthur possessed a vast amount of knowledge, yet he couldn’t apply it directly. He needed time to organize his thoughts.

The modern era he had lived in was the product of knowledge accumulated over thousands of years. Naturally, that era was far from perfect. It faced many obstacles due to unexpected advancements and lack of long-term planning.

This world was also different, so the systems of his previous world didn’t entirely fit. He had to think carefully and place the right ideas in the right places, and ignore anything that wasn’t in his favor.

After a few minutes, Octavia arrived along with the important figures—or rather, the ones he had appointed just a few days earlier. Without delay, he asked, "Tell me everything that happened over the past few days. Don’t leave anything out."

The first to step forward was Isolda, who said:

"My Lord, over the past days, we’ve arrested fifty individuals who tried to leave the barony. We’ve imprisoned them all. Among them were a few children, some elderly, and women. I also noticed that the barony’s people are feeling afraid and unsafe."

Arthur had expected something like this, so he replied indifferently, "Good. Continue the patrols."

Then Otieno stepped forward and said,

"My Lord, following your orders, the soldiers have been undergoing strict training. They’ve begun to show some signs of progress. Their behavior has slightly improved compared to the first day, but it’s still not enough. Two days ago, I caught three of them trying to escape. They are currently in prison."

Arthur sighed upon hearing that.

"Alright. Next."

Alvin then said,

"My Lord, we’ve captured all the soldiers scattered around the barony, per your orders. We disarmed them and stored their weapons in the castle. Fortunately, things went smoothly and we didn’t face much resistance."

Then Selene spoke,

"I apologize, my Lord. Due to your absence these past few days, many of the servants thought you had left for good. Because of that, many slacked off, and some even showed signs of rebellion. I reprimanded them, but I haven’t decided what punishment to impose yet."

"Lower the salaries of everyone who slacked off. As for those who tried to rebel—fire them from their positions."

This was a good opportunity for Arthur to get rid of disloyal individuals. As he had stated in his speech, he would treat the obedient well, but he would not neglect the others either. He would still offer them some benefits—but only modest ones.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, he asked,

"What else? Is that all?"

After a moment of hesitation, Brock said,

"The prison is now full, my Lord, and overcrowded with inmates. Also, because we imprisoned all the soldiers, we’re facing a shortage in manpower. Theft rates have risen in the villages and the town, and the people are very dissatisfied. Some are even demanding the release of their family members who they claim were unjustly imprisoned."

Arthur noticed their expressions were still tense, and asked coolly,

"What else? Speak."

Brock hesitated for a moment before continuing,

"Monster appearances in the forest have increased. Because of this, woodcutters and herb gatherers can no longer perform their tasks. Some villagers and hunters were also attacked. As a result, **five people died** and **ten were injured**. With our current forces, we can’t secure the barony. I believe we must wait until the elite soldiers return."

’That’s my fault, unfortunately.’

Arthur sighed and felt a bit guilty, knowing that his plan had caused the deaths of some innocent people. However, unlike the first time, he didn’t dwell too much on it. He had already anticipated that his decisions would cause various disruptions in the region’s system—but nothing critically dangerous.

More importantly, his subordinates had overlooked the biggest issue—they were **completely broke**. Due to Arthur’s generosity, he had spent a large portion of the tax revenue.

Deep in thought over possible solutions, he went quiet for a long time. This made all his subordinates nervous. They didn’t want to disappoint him, but unfortunately, all the news they had brought was bad.

After nearly twenty minutes of nervous silence, they saw Arthur sigh deeply and lean back in his chair.

Calmly, he said, "Return to your duties. Now."

"Yes, my Lord."

Everyone left quietly, leaving only Octavia by his side.

After a brief moment of silence, he looked at her and said,

"Bring your mother and little brother to the castle. I want them for something."

Octavia’s body froze for a moment. But unlike the first time, she didn’t feel fear—just a bit of hesitation. After a short pause, she said:

"Yes, my Lord."