"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 39
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- "The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~
- Episode 39 - The Hearts of The People
“Did you think I would say that?”
Ryu pretended to apologize and raised his head again. Uncharacteristically for his usually mild demeanor, he had a look in his eyes that seemed to look down on others.
“What kind of attitude is that?!”
“Don’t you feel sorry for the victims?!”
“I think so. ‘Victims of the old Arden people,’ right?”
The current Arden has annexed Mantesa, and its area and population have roughly doubled, making it completely different from before. That’s probably why they deliberately emphasized “old.” People like them, former Mantesa citizens, are not included here.
The former Arden citizens continued to endure the tyranny of the previous lord, and even so, they never abandoned the Arden baronial family, giving their all during the war as well. For Ryu, it must be a truly humbling feeling. The reason he diligently handles the tedious paperwork and dinner meetings every day without a single grimace is to repay them.
“First of all, which noble domain was it that started the war? Come on, say it.”
“……Mantesa”
“Not to mention, you deliberately waited until we were weak and then happily declared war on us, right?”
“From the perspective of the former Arden citizens here, you are just former invaders.”
The craftsmen and the bodyguard knights, including Dylan, seemed to have various thoughts in their minds, and they nodded slightly.
“Your way of speaking is terrible! Are you really a lord?”
“Shut up. It seems that you foolish former invaders lack imagination as well.”
Ryu took a breath.
“What do you think would have happened if we lost? It would have been Baron Mantesa for sure. He would have gathered the beautiful women of Arden and turned them into slaves. Everyone else would have been forced to work like draft horses, destined to be exploited for life. Because under imperial law, it’s permissible to treat conquered territories like colonies. This is a remote area. No one in the empire cares about it. They would do whatever they want.”
“Let’s talk about something more detailed. Basically, all the nobles and military leaders of the defeated side are executed. In other words, I and the deputy commander behind me are the top priority for execution. We didn’t do it, but I’ve heard there are nobles with the bad taste to publicly execute people in the square…”
“Moreover, my mother and sister are beautiful without any bias. If they were to be captured by that filthy Baron of Mantesa, what do you think would happen to them? It’s clear they would be subjected to humiliations so severe that death would seem preferable.”
“Carrying all the possibilities I just mentioned, we Arden turned the tables on you Mantesa. We crawled on the ground, smeared in mud, spitting bl00d, and seized a great victory. Do you former invaders understand how we feel? Hey, say something.”
The former Mantesa fans lost their momentum and couldn’t retort.
“Actually, Arden could make you work like slaves. But they didn’t do that, and they have no plans to do so in the future. On the contrary, they are helping the families of the victims by finding them new jobs like this. In fact, there have been complaints from the people of Arden whose relatives were killed by the Mantesa knights, saying that the treatment is ‘too generous.’ After all this, how can you still act so arrogantly?”
“W-we didn’t declare war because we wanted to!”
“That’s right, that’s right! It was all Baron Mantesa who started it…”
“Then you should have left the territory as soon as the war was decided. If your family member is a knight, you could have made a living as an adventurer or a mercenary. You weren’t thinking that if you defeated Arden, you could reap the benefits later, were you? Hey, Dylan.”
“According to the rumors, by the time the declaration of war was made, a mood of complete victory was already spreading throughout the former Mantesa territory, and the inns were bustling with merchants who had heard the news.”
“……I hear, but?”
The people, completely hit the nail on the head, were now thoroughly dejected and looked down. If they could still argue against this, it would be quite something.
However
The people, thinking that the attack of righteous arguments would continue, turned even paler.
“Let’s erase all those grudges and resentments right here and now.”
“Look, lift your head and see the faces of the craftsmen and knights here. They haven’t completely cleared their minds, but everyone is trying to move forward. Right now, they’re working together to build a port town beyond the forest.”
As if to say “Exactly,” the craftsmen and knights nodded vigorously.
“Yeah”
“As the baron says.”
“Don’t underestimate us.”
“Even in such a privileged situation, are you still going to keep sulking and spewing resentment?”
When asked, they gradually began to speak.
“No, I didn’t come here to insult you.”
“Yeah, I didn’t come here to be a hindrance either…”
“I came here to work hard too.”
“Even I…”
“Even so, those who don’t want to work under me can leave right now.”
The people who were making such a fuss at first ended up not turning their backs at all.
Ryu clapped his hands and bread,
“Alright. Then, from now on, we will begin constructing the garrison for the Grace Knights to stay. Everyone, report to your posts immediately.”
“Huh‼”
After a long speech, the work finally began.
“As expected of you, Master Ryu. You really are skilled at winning the hearts of the people.”
“About half of it was sarcasm, though.”
“Even so, it’s amazing. It’s not something anyone can do.”
“Even if you praise me, nothing will come of it.”
“I’m just genuinely impressed, you know…”
Ryu murmurs while watching the diligent workers.
“Speaking of which, it’s about time for ‘that’ season, huh…”
“What is that?”
“The information in question will leak out of the imperial city soon.”
“Ah, the hero’s”
Ryu hasn’t gotten any detailed information since then, but if by any chance the Empire still hasn’t established the hero summoning technique, spies sent from other countries would start to become suspicious and begin leaking information to their own countries. In other words…
“War might be near.”
“Ah”
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