While the organization would be decided on by Excel, Glaive, Ludwin, and the other military officials, they had looked over my proposal and found they had no choice but to give it their stamp of approval.
While we worked, Liscia and I were silent. There was an awkwardness between us.
…No, I was likely the only one feeling awkward. Liscia was acting the same as always.
That day, even as I’d told her that Georg Carmine had committed suicide in his cell, Liscia’s expression hadn’t changed in the least. Her face had been emotionless, and my report had only elicited a quiet “I see…”
It wasn’t that I thought she would lose her composure. It wasn’t as if I thought she would blame me for it. Liscia wasn’t that kind of girl, and I was well aware of it.
But I hardly expected her to be able to go about her daily routine this way, like everything was normal. I thought she would look at least a little distraught. There was no way this wasn’t painful for her, no way it wasn’t heart-wrenching, but when I saw Liscia acting like nothing had changed, I couldn’t find the words to say to her.
It would have been easier if she’d lashed out at me a little…
“Why didn’t you spare Duke Carmine?!”
…Yeah. No, that wouldn’t have been any better.
Just imagining Liscia insulting and demeaning me was enough to depress me.
If she would just punch, and we could forget it all after that… But, no, the only one that would make feel better was me. Honestly, what was I thinking? After running my mouth like that to Georg, could I not even protect the heart of the girl closest to me?
“Souma,” she said.
“Huh? What?” I raised my head, and saw Liscia looking at me with her head inclined to the side questioningly.
“Your pen’s stopped, you know?” she asked.
“…Oh, sorry.”
That’s no good, I thought. I have to keep it together.
I went back to work. Right now, I have to focus on taking care of all the little tasks in front of me.
While I worked with that thought in mind, there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” I said, and the head maid Serina entered.
“Pardon me,” she said. “The preparations are complete, and your presence is requested.”
“Right.”
We stopped working, and I donned my royal cape and headed towards the audience chamber. Today was a day for rewarding those who had distinguished themselves in the war with Amidonia.
“Glaive Magna,” I said. “Your loyalty was truly remarkable. In recognition of that loyalty, I grant you Randel and its surrounding region to rule.”
“Yes, sir,” Glaive said. “It will be my pleasure.”
“Very good. In addition, while this is only provisional, I also grant you some of the powers Georg held as General of the Army. Until they are folded into the EDF, keep them in good order.”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “I swear I will do my utmost to meet Your Majesty’s expectations.”
In front of me as I rose from the throne, giving commendations in a grandiose tone, Hal’s old man, Glaive Magna, bowed deeply. We weren’t broadcasting this, so I wasn’t keeping up with stiff formality, but there was a secretary in the corner dutifully recording my every word, so I had to act kingly. That was to ensure that future generations who read the records didn’t look down on me, or so my chamberlain Marx had sourly told me, but… honestly, I didn’t really care what people would think of me after I died.
In the war with the Principality of Amidonia, the Elfrieden Kingdom might not have gained any territory, but we had secured hefty war reparations. Furthermore, we had been able to collect ransoms from Zem for the return of their mercenaries, and I’d been able to confiscate the corrupt nobles’ land and assets. The dismantlement of the Carmine and Vargas duchies had been decided on, too.
For all of those gains, there was little need to reward the troops. Most of the troops mobilized had belonged to the Army and Air Force. They were under suspicion of treason, and this had been a battle to clear them of that suspicion, so no rewards needed to be paid.
Additionally, for those who had taken a wait-and-see approach to the conflict, the nobles whose forces were part of the Forbidden Army, I didn’t need to pay for any rewards to them, as they hadn’t participated. It meant they had missed out on a good opportunity, but that was their problem, not mine.
The only ones who need to be rewarded were the Navy and my directly-controlled forces in the Forbidden Army. Those of the nobility or knightly class in either force would be given land, but that would come from the former fiefs of the corrupt nobles and the dismantled Carmine and Vargas duchies. Those who were of lower status would be given a cash bonus.
And so, today, I was to give personal rewards to those who had contributed the most. It was standard to give titles in the peerage and land, but if they wanted something else, they were welcome to negotiate for it. If it was within my power as king, and a suitable reward for their efforts, it would be granted. If they wanted cash or rare items in the possession of the royal family, that was fine.
Long ago, there had been a knight who’d used this system to request the right to marry a princess he was in love with. There’d also been one who’d used it to request a corrupt noble be brought to justice. This was a situation where you never knew what crazy requests might come flying, so I opted not to air it over the Jewel Voice Broadcast.
This time, the people to be rewarded were as follows:
The turncoat from the Army who had led them in the battle with Amidonia, Glaive Magna.
The Lord of Altomura who had stalled for time and delayed the Amidonian forces, Weist Garreau.
The commander of the marines who had, likewise, delayed the Amidonian forces at the Valley of Goldoa, Juna Doma.
As well as the one who sent reinforcements during the battle outside Randel, the chief of the dark elves who lived in the God-Protected Forest, Wodan Udgard. Sir Wodan was Aisha’s father.
Normally, the Admiral of the Navy, Excel Walter, would have been first in both rank and in terms of her contributions. However, she was foregoing any recognition of her achievements for herself in order to seek clemency for the two Varguses, so she wouldn’t be receiving a reward.
Also, before giving the aforementioned five their rewards, I formally gave Aisha, who had been defending me as my self-declared bodyguard, the newly created post of kochiji.
If I were to explain what that changed, it was that before she had been like a mercenary I was paying out of my own pocket money, but now she was a proper knight with a salary.
Incidentally, her title, kochiji, came from the a bit of wordplay on the nickname of Cao Cao’s bodyguard Xu Chu, read Kochi in Japanese. The original’s name was written “Tiger Fool” and meant “a fool who is strong like a tiger,” so I chose to write hers with the character for “Eastern Wind” instead.
…Not that there was much point in me obsessing over how it’d be written with kanji in this world.
In addition to that appointment, I gave Aisha a gauntlet from the treasury in the castle that was enchanted with a spell that reduced physical and magical damage (it was called the Iron Wall Gauntlet, apparently). To be honest, I had wanted to give her a shield, as it suited the image of her position better, but Aisha used a two-handed greatsword, so I’d opted for this instead.