Neighborhood Visitor (11)

A new security officer was appointed, and a new executive order was issued to strictly punish actions that disturbed public order.

And I regularly visited the barracks to conduct training and appropriately distributed rewards and punishments.

The carrot and stick approach gradually took effect, and the soldiers began to think that things were different now, and finally, public order began to stabilize.

I removed the cancerous elements that hindered the city’s development, including Rieden, reformed the tax system, and strengthened public order.

Now, what remains is to properly manage the reformed tax system and establish order.

Dedran City.

The head of the City is usually the lord.

And under the lord, there are various departments through which the city’s policies are implemented.

If the lord is a count, the heads of those departments are usually lower-ranking nobles like barons or viscounts.

However, a formal lord has not yet been appointed, and in Dedran City, where all the former nobles have been arrested, the heads of those departments are vacant.

But the nobles were only nominal heads, and the actual operation of each department was handled by administrators.

It feels similar to the role of Ibang or Ajeon ¹ in the Joseon Dynasty.

So I first summoned those administrators.

I planned to promote those who deserved it to boost their morale. Of course, it was also necessary to punish those who deserved it.

It’s similar to how I encouraged the soldiers.

“Everyone knows that Dedran City is rotting away. Therefore, restructuring the system is necessary. Do you understand what I mean? Restructuring the system! Come to see me one by one if you want to remain as an administrator. Only those who quickly understand the meaning of this will be able to keep their positions for a long time.”

I gave a strange smile, with a touch of greed in my expression as a bonus.

Dedran City is rotten. But there must be some decent people even among the rot.

However, the Greek boy, not understanding the implications, asked El with a puzzled look.

“Master, what does it mean if you want to remain as an administrator? I am too lacking to understand at all.”

At the boy’s question, El just smiled.

“Figure that out for yourself as well. Of course, it’s not just about the surface level.”

El looked at the boy with an expectant expression.

Seeing El reorganize public order and stabilize people’s lives, the Greek boy began to wonder what El was planning this time.

At first, he was surprised that El had been appointed as the lord.

He nodded in understanding at the explanation that it was to stabilize the city using old connections.

His Master, the magician.

And given the appearances he had shown so far, I never thought his past was ordinary.

Moreover, he was again surprised when El said he would incorporate this territory into Greek City and told him to observe and learn.

But El was resolute.

He meant that he would soon return to the restaurant.

And this was a Royal decree, and considering Berna, he told him to run this City properly, so he had nothing to say and had been sticking around like glue, observing the city’s operation.

But he couldn’t understand this time.

Interpreting El’s words, it seemed like he was asking for bribes. But his Master would never accept bribes.

Because of such thoughts, the Greek boy’s head was filled with confusion. No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t figure out El’s grand intention.

Blaming the limits of his own mind, the next day arrived.

From that day on, administrators who took El’s bait began to appear one by one.

“My Lord! You summoned me, so I came to see you. I am Bendenk, in charge of tax collection!”

Bendenk respectfully presented a package to El.

When El opened the package, the gleaming light dazzled his eyes. If Rurin had been awake, she would have reacted strongly.

In a way, El was glad it was morning, and he showed a satisfied smile. However, the Greek boy had a very confused expression.

“Aren’t you quick-witted? You’re the first.”

“I have always been quick-witted since the time of that Dedran guy!”

Calling him ‘that guy’ is not an issue now that Dedran is no longer a count or anything, but using such a term in front of the Greek boy showed a lack of tact.

But El just smiled.

“Then leave it here and be on your way.”

“Understood. It’s an honor if it pleases you!”

“Yes. Gold has a way of captivating anyone. Actually, I was planning to replace all the officials this time, but I will let you keep your position as the tax collector.”

“Thank you. Thank you!”

With El’s declaration, Bendenk started to bow with an expression as if he had gained the world. As soon as Bendenk left, the Greek boy ran up to El and asked,

“Master, what is this…?”

“The tax collector is a very important position that directly collects Dedran City’s taxes.”

“Of course. But to have such a person in that position…!”

“I told you that you shouldn’t just look at the surface.”

El just shrugged, while the Greek boy, full of questions, could only tilt his head in confusion.

Soon, rumors about Bendenk spread rapidly among the administrators.

“See, I thought this new Lord would be different, but in the end, they’re the same.”

“It’s the Emperor’s order to restore the city to normal, but it seems like they’re trying to extract more by increasing the amount.”

“I don’t know, but we need to keep our positions.”

Such words began to circulate naturally.

And eventually, bribes started coming in from everywhere.

Of course. When everyone else is securing their positions with bribes, not many can feel free from the pressure that they will lose their jobs if they do nothing.

But El did not promise to secure the positions of those who came after Bendenk. He only received the bribes with a peculiar smile.

“Master? I really don’t understand.”

The Greek boy still couldn’t grasp the meaning behind all this.

“Do you know why I only confirmed the position to the first one, Bendenk?”

“That is… I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

“It’s all for the rumors.”

“Rumors?”

“Even if they understood my words correctly, many people, especially the cautious ones, would hesitate. Because of this, those cautious ones, despite having committed many corrupt acts, would stay hidden. But once Bendenk, who believes that giving bribes is the correct answer, starts talking, the situation changes. The ones who were hiding will start to reveal themselves.”

“Yes? That, that’s it!”

Only after hearing those words did the Greek boy slap his knee and stand up. He realized once again how foolish he had been.

“There is no better way to distinguish between those to keep and those to discard. Among them, those who sold their own assets to give bribes to keep their positions are of no concern. However, those who were involved in embezzlement while performing duties like tax collection will have given me larger bribes. Focusing the investigation on those cases will help catch the big fish.”

El explained while patting the Greek boy’s shoulder. The Greek boy, realizing the truth, couldn’t keep his mouth closed.

After sorting out some people, El gathered the administrators again. He brought in officials from Greek City and began to seize and investigate documents. Meanwhile, he looked around and shouted,

“Everyone who came personally and brought gifts, come forward!”

At that declaration, most administrators, including Bendenk, with a grin on their faces, began to come forward. In the end, only three people did not come forward to El.

It was presumed that these three were the most trustworthy people in Dedran City. Among them was Mohen, the magistrate.

“Why didn’t you bring anything? I told you to.”

When El pointed at one of them and asked, the middle-aged man confidently responded without showing any sign of being intimidated.

“I have nothing to offer. If I have to give something to keep my position, I’d rather not have it.”

“Hmm.”

“And you?”

This time, El asked a slightly younger man, and a more hesitant response came back compared to the middle-aged man.

“I don’t know about such things. I just do my job. If that’s wrong, I’ll step down.”

It was a very quiet answer, but a determined one. The remaining one was similar.

El nodded deeply. It was fortunate that there were at least three trustworthy individuals.

“Good. Continue working with that attitude. Your positions will be maintained!”

They thought they would be dismissed, but instead received an unexpected answer.

The three looked at El with expressions that asked what on earth he meant.

Meanwhile, the results of the document investigation came out. The Greek boy immediately reported it to El.

After hearing it, El immediately called for Bendenk.

“Bendenk.”

Bendenk, frowning at how things were going wrong, looked at El with a surprised face.

“Wh-what is it?”

“You’ve embezzled a lot. Is the tax your money or the country’s?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Documents were poured out in front of Bendenk, who was trying to deny everything. There is no way good things would accumulate under Count Dedran. With all the nobles arrested, the remaining lower-level officials ended up like this.

“Arrest all those involved in embezzlement immediately!”

Following El’s order, the soldiers began to move.

“Don’t make me laugh! You take our money and return it like this? Shouldn’t you be arrested too?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I plan to return the money given from personal assets and use the embezzled money entirely for the City’s development.”

El said that and turned his back.

“I will not punish everyone who gave me bribes. But those involved in corruption will all be removed. From now on, Dedran City will become a clean city. A clean city!”

And so he declared.

The Greek boy, having watched all this, grew even more respectful of El.

And Dedran City began to recover gradually.

The citizens naturally began to praise the Acting Lord.

“I heard the Lord appointed a new tax collector.”

“Yes, even if the tax system changes, nothing changes if the tax collector remains the same.”

“Hohoho, that’s impressive.”

“Yes, it is impressive! Heeheehee.”

“What?”

Rurin suddenly interrupted the merchants’ conversation. Rurin was eating a new specialty of Dedran City, round cookies, somewhat like lollipops, reminiscent of Chupa Chups.

“I’m in a good mood, so I’ll buy everything here!”

Rurin shouted, swaying her shoulders. She at least knew that the Lord meant El.

Rurin unknowingly liked hearing El being praised more than being praised herself.

Human conversations usually didn’t interest her, but these kinds of stories got through. So, a smile stretched across her face, and she started sucking the candy more vigorously.

Since she bought a lot, she had to eat them quickly.