BXBX NOVEL 65 - 65. Negligence Of Duty
But now all they hear is the sound of the wind. The unpleasant smell is carried on the warm wind. There are probably a lot of dead bodies in the town.
"What are we going to do?"
"Burn it all."
A few hours after our brief conversation, the town was reduced to ashes. Just after we had seen that all the work was done, a soldier approached us.
"I have a report. The honorable Marquis de Berthaume has arrived.
"...Finally, you\'re here."
The words came out of his mouth without either of them.
"All troops withdraw!"
They turned on their heels and left.
It was late in the evening when we arrived at Count Krumphal\'s mansion. Squinting at the beauty of the sunset over the sea, we passed through the gates of the house. After informing the soldiers who had been stationed at the house of our arrival, we were led to a spacious reception room where we relaxed for a while.
"I am Jono Reial, Baron of the Empire.
I am Auchet, Deputy Commander of the Northern Army of the Imperial Guard.
These two men are the administrative and military heads who have been managing the Krumfal territory up to this point.
"I apologize for the early arrival, but I would like to start the handover of the territory. The details are in this document. If you have any questions, please ask before noon tomorrow.
Jono handed me a document with a floor plan of the house, a map of the territory, and a list of what, where, and how much was in the house. I took one look at it,
"There are a lot of things you don\'t understand. First of all, what is the current status of this territory? What is the financial balance? I can\'t seem to find those documents?"
All such things can be found in the office of the former Count.
"No, first of all, I would like you to explain the situation of this territory from the point of view of Baron Jono and Deputy Commander Auchet."
No, we were basically left in charge of the house until the new lord arrived, and I\'m afraid we don\'t know all the details.
"The Baron is right. We have only taken over the management of this house for the past three months from our predecessor, Baron Glagorail. Baron Glagorail has been in charge of this territory since Count Krumphal\'s rebellion. If you want to hear more details, ask him.
Auchet replies with a blank stare.
"Baron Jono. How can His Majesty the Emperor entrust you with the management of this house? If you really don\'t know anything, I will report you to the Emperor, Prince Weiras, and the Prime Minister for dereliction of duty, is that acceptable?"
Baron Jono\'s face contorts. Auchet saw this.
"This country no longer has a future. The fields have been destroyed by salt water, and the fishing industry is in ruins as bandits raid the towns. A few days ago, a town was destroyed by bandits. We have been working in this heat to reduce the town to ashes."
"You reduced a city to ashes?
Rico stands up unexpectedly.
"Well, well, Princess Licolette. It\'s been a long time. I\'m sorry I didn\'t recognize you. Congratulations on your wedding. There were many dead bodies left in the town. If they are not burned, demons will come out from the forest to seek the flesh of the dead. Please understand that this is a measure to prevent that from happening.
"Why aren\'t we taking down the bandits who are attacking the town?"
For every 300 imperial knights we have, there are about 100 bandits. And they have a stronghold deep in the forest. To destroy them, we must enter the forest and drive out the demons as we go. We can\'t let the knights do such a dangerous thing.
"First of all, congratulations on the arrival of the Honorable Marquis de Berthaume, who will be in charge of your new residence. You are free to use the house as you please. We have completed our work. We will leave for the capital tomorrow at noon and leave the rest to you. Good bye."
Jono said nothing more and left the room. Auchet followed him and left the room.
"Is that why you told me to ask you anything I didn\'t understand by noon tomorrow?
"Lord Rinos, I think we are going to be left behind!"
Bius, the oldest, shouts in anger.
"But still, what a report! Those two are not in charge of their territory properly!
Liko is also angry.
"Well, I don\'t know what to say now. Let\'s have a meal for now. Rico! Ferris! I\'ll get the food out of the infinity chamber.
Rico and Ferris quickly prepare the food. Quena, Rico\'s companion, helps them. In no time at all, a buffet is ready on the table in the reception room.
"Well, thank you all for your hard work on the road. Eat your fill."
To be honest, we had no problem at all on the way here. It must have been a big factor that we were warded so that they couldn\'t see us. It had been a fun two days and one night camping.
"Is this all you have? That\'s terrible."
"You have been completely derelict in your duties..."
After the meal is over, it\'s time to go. The guys quickly prepared their beds, leaving the cleanup to Quena. I filled a tub with a lot of hot water for them to wash themselves off. Meanwhile, I, Gon, Rico, and Ferris went to the office to look over the documents that had been left behind. There was a safe, but it was empty. It is a spacious house, but it seems that only the bare minimum is kept there.
The only useful document was a copy of the family registers of the people living in the estate. The only useful document was the family registers of the people living in the estate, which contained detailed information such as their names, ages, addresses, and occupations. They are divided according to their occupations. It seems that Count Krumphal made this by himself, a work that shows his excellence.
The rest of the documents may be the ones that were kept by the owner of this mansion. There were some reports addressed to the Count, but they were of no use at all. The reason for this is that they are almost all bullshit reports.
There is no mention of the devastation of Krumphal, and only the most favorable information is picked up. The rest of the report was just a list of rumors about the Count and Rico, which was unpleasant to read. It seems that Count and Countess Krumphal were enthusiastic about educating Rico, but were not good at educating their subordinates. I guess they were the type of couple that once they got their minds set on something, they just went straight for it.
Let\'s check out this territory using my map. This territory has a large forest on the west side of the pavilion, and several towns and villages are scattered along the sea to avoid the forest. The town where the two men were burned to ashes earlier must be about 5 km away from this pavilion. There was no human reaction at all. Perhaps the people who escaped from that town took refuge in the towns and villages scattered near the capital. In other words, this mansion is completely isolated.
And there is one point in the forest where many people are reacting. Perhaps this is the hideout of the bandits. But still, they build their hideout in the middle of a forest full of demons. This bandit may not be to be underestimated.
"This bandit may be surprisingly strong. The head seems to have a good head on his shoulders.
"It will be difficult to attack the bandits when they are off their guard..."
"Well, that\'s a plan, but it\'s late anyway, let\'s go home and sleep.
I\'m going to set up a transitional ward here in my office. I\'ll tell the men in the house to lock up and go to bed, and if anything happens to them, they can report it to me through the warding. I will keep Ilimo and the harpies in the house. The stable is well lined with straw and looks cozy. Quena also decided to go back to our place, and we went back to the Heedata Empire\'s place on the wards.
We enjoy our first bath in two days. When I told May about the Krumfal territory, she said she would try to develop a chemical that would dissolve the salt on the soil. He has also developed a fertilizer that will help the crops Gon and Peris are growing grow, which will be useful in Krumphal Territory as well.
Quena went to bed with Rico, and I enjoyed my first alone time with May in a long time. I knew that May\'s beautiful, large breasts were very, very nice.