Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

942 – Exchange is Thorough – 2

Automatic hunting is a double-edged sword with clear pros and cons.

First of all, the advantage is that it is literally automatic. Even if I don’t get involved or stay at my desk, the work is done automatically. I can enjoy my free time while leaving the annoying work to be done. I can be sure that this is the wish that all people in this world desire.

However, there is no such thing as only advantages. In addition to the overwhelming convenience, automatic hunting has strong disadvantages that can never be avoided.

‘I can’t handle it 100% because I’m leaving it to someone else.’

The problem is that there is no guarantee that the person acting on my behalf will act as I wish.

Each person has different abilities and tendencies. Even when faced with the same incident, the way they view it and how they deal with it are bound to be different. This is a cruel fate that even blood brothers cannot avoid.

And sadly, our brother Crassius could not escape his fate either.

– I heard that His Majesty has granted some of the land belonging to the Kingdom of Galan to my brother.

“what?”

– I plan to choose a territory that is connected to Wiridia for easy management.

“what?”

I felt like my head was turning white when I heard Erich’s words.

The Emperor’s visit to the Imperial Diet? That was quite expected. With six large-scale relics discovered in one territory, there was no choice but to discuss it with the members of the Diet in order to designate it as a cultural special zone. If the Emperor hadn’t visited the Diet, they would have been anxious, thinking, “What is that b*stard doing to stay quiet?”

Compensation for designating a cultural special zone? This is also within the acceptable range. When a cultural special zone is designated, it is good for tourists and scholars, but for landowners, it is like losing half of their good land to the state. Providing compensation proportional to the damage is the same as the belief of the empire.

But I didn’t know that the compensation would be land. I thought that they would put the compensation in my wallet as a lump sum or give me a generous share of the tourism revenue.

“No, why were you just watching that!”

Soon, his hardened head began to accelerate violently and cried out at Erich.

As the representative of Count Tilglehen, you are in the Imperial Diet and you are just standing by and watching your brother suffer? If this brother gave you the position of representative to a mere baron, you should do your best to repay the favor. You should have gritted your teeth and blocked any bills that were unfavorable to your brother.

If I were in the parliament, I would have done everything I could to stop it. At the very least, I would have tried desperately to prevent it from being set on the day itself, and I would have gone to the Emperor’s office to try to compromise.

But that guy ruined it. It was ruined because of that guy who was worse than the fake mobile game AI. Who knew that the harm of automatic hunting would be this fatal?

– Of course I should just watch. Things were going well even without me stepping in, right?

“What the hell is that─”

– Thanks to you, I am now a Marquis in the Kingdom of Leon. I was worried about how I could repay the favor I received from you, but why did you stop His Majesty from granting me a fief?

Those words took my breath away.

This kid. Are you still thinking about that time? Are you resentful of your uncle’s consideration for wanting to save his younger brother, the baron, and pass on high-ranking noble titles to your nephews?

– And this is something only I know.

Erich quickly glanced left and right and tilted his head toward the communication port.

– Officially, the territory that will be granted to you is a baronial territory, right?

“That’s right. Some of the county was damaged, so I can’t give up the entire county.”

– You were going to give it to me.

“…what?”

– The original fiefs that His Majesty was going to grant were count-level fiefs. And there were three of them.

This time, it wasn’t my head that went blank, but my eyes.

What the hell is that? The damage was done to a part of the county, so how can the compensation be three county estates? Are you doing a double event with real estate?

‘It’s not even double…?’

It’s confusing. How many times is this event? Shouldn’t it be at least 10 times?

– But you didn’t say it in front of the other members. The members of the House of Lords were finishing the first vote and were about to leave, but Your Majesty said it to me directly, so I’m the only one who knows.

“To you directly?”

– Oh. He spoke to me very kindly in a whisper.

After the vote, Erich was trying to escape quickly. The Emperor approached Erich and whispered in his ear, “Your brother’s territory was supposed to be three counties.”

Even just imagining it made me laugh out loud. I think I know why they did such a bizarre performance.

‘Don’t rebel, just accept it obediently.’

Erich says he whispered so that only he knew, but the problem is that the Emperor whispered to a certain noble in the first place. The content of the whisper is not important.

It is excessive compensation to grant a fief as compensation for designating a cultural special zone. It is bound to cause gossip among the nobles, but I see the Emperor whispering to my brother Erich? Perhaps some kind of deal has been concluded between the Emperor and Count Tylglehen.

Then the opposition of the nobles, especially the members of the House of Lords, will quickly subside. It would be a problem for the same Imperial Counts to blush.

‘Fuck.’

I ended up touching my forehead without realizing it.

Is this reward simply a mockery, or is it a reward for praying for the blessings of the situation?

The former is frustrating, and the latter is difficult. Refusing to repay is also a form of rudeness.

“When is this vote?”

– Four days later. You don’t need me then.

‘Four days.’

It is not a lot of time, but it is not a short one. That is enough to understand the Emperor’s intentions and come to a compromise.

‘I have to go out for a bit.’

Finally, the sigh I had been holding back came out.

It is sad to stay in Wiridia because of the ruins. Now, I must return to the system to understand the Emperor’s intentions. Instead of going to the mansion after work is done, I must go to the Emperor’s office for work.

It’s really a shame. That’s why I don’t associate with guys with yellow hair.

As I entered the office, the Emperor greeted me with a smiling face.

You damn b*stard. Are you laughing at the fact that you made me come all the way here? You know better than anyone that I had no choice but to come if you offered me the territory as a reward.

“Welcome, Count. I see you have heard about what happened at the council.”

“Isn’t your younger brother an honorable member of the council? I am sorry that I cannot fulfill my duty as an Imperial Count, but my eyes and ears are always turned to the council.”

“Is that so? The Count is truly loyal.”

After saying that, the emperor moved from the desk to the seat of honor and gestured for me to sit down.

“That is why it is so unfortunate. The treasure of mankind has appeared in the land of the loyal subject, but we cannot give it a proper reward.”

As soon as I sat down, I got to the main point first.

Well said, you punk. If you’re going to talk about proper compensation, you should give it in money, not fiefdoms. What kind of crazy emperor would replace compensation for excavating relics with fiefdoms?

“Your Majesty. I heard that you are considering awarding me a barony as compensation for designating me as a cultural special zone. Even that is already excessive, so how can you say such a thing?”

“That’s too much. The relics discovered this time are a great heritage that will rewrite the history of mankind. If we’ve found six such heritages, it wouldn’t be enough to give us not one barony, but three counties.”

“I just happened to find it buried in the ground.”

“The royal family failed to make that happen.”

I bit my lip secretly at the firm voice.

It was a short conversation, but it was clear. This firm and serious attitude. No matter how you look at it, Sergeant Baron is not joking, he is serious.

‘I’m going to go back.’

It is difficult. Considering the emperor’s personality and record, it may have been meant as a joke or a joke, but its basis is definitely compensation and repayment.

Rejecting the rewards handed down by the Emperor himself, the rewards given to the Imperial benefactors? This is a disaster directly related to the Emperor’s authority. It is like making the Emperor and the Imperial Family debtors forever.

‘I have no choice but to accept it.’

In Wiridia, they came to the system with loud promises of compromise and understanding of intentions, but as soon as they arrived at the system, they gave up their resolve.

There are things in this world that cannot be achieved no matter how hard you try. Unfortunately, this incident falls into that category of ‘impossible’ things.

“Count, while you’re here, why don’t you take a look at this?”

Whether he knew my sorrowful feelings or not, the emperor unfolded something that had been rolled up on the desk.

It was a map. Judging from the shape, it was an enlarged map of the Galan Royal Territory.

“I had a hard time deciding which territory to bestow upon the Count. First of all, it must be a territory adjacent to Wiridia, and if possible, it must be a wealthy territory, so the Count would be happy.”

“If Your Majesty’s grace is upon me, I will be content even with a remote swamp─”

“So now that we have selected the right candidates, the Count only has to choose from among them.”

The emperor ignored my words and turned the map over to show me the back side.

‘What is this?’

Then, instead of a blank space, the back had a huge circle drawn on it.

To be exact, it’s a circle with several lines and names written on it, just like looking at a roulette.

“Your Majesty, this is not possible.”

“The excavation of this relic is the work of the Count. However, it is truly a coincidence that there was no protection from heaven at all.”

The smiling emperor patted my shoulder, then for some reason took a dart pin out of his pocket.

“So, let’s leave it up to the heavens this time too. What kind of territory will the heavens grant to the Count?”

I blankly looked back and forth between the emperor and the dart pins.

I see. This kid is trying to give me the title of ‘Nobleman Who Acquired a Territory with Darts’.

‘Damn it.’

What the hell is being decisive and serious about? Things were going well, so why is it heading in this direction?

‘Should I pretend to make a mistake and throw it at this kid?’

At that moment, such a desire surged. Should I pretend to throw it at the roulette, pretend my hand slipped, and throw it at the emperor?

It’s not a bad idea. It’s a dart pin, not a sword or spear, so if it hits you, it’ll only sting a little and be over. Surely you wouldn’t accuse me of treason just because I got hit by a dart pin?

“Yes, Count.”

As he held the dart pin with that thought in his mind, the emperor quietly opened his mouth.

“I will give you what you have pinned, so if you match my burden, I will have no choice but to give you the throne and the empire.”

At those words, he quietly threw the pin on the roulette.

In this way, I became the only noble who obtained a fief through darts.