Chapter 104

There's a term called 'cultural victory'.

It's a term that originated from a certain famous time-machine game, a conditional victory method that becomes possible when one's cultural influence overwhelms the opponent, even without waging a war of conquest.

Similar terms in reality would be K-pop and the Hallyu wave.

Of course, a strategy-focused game like Warlord Saga doesn't have such a thing as a cultural victory.

In the first place, this world is much more backward compared to the modern era. To do business, you need a cultural foundation, but here.

Here, no matter how well you sing and dance, you're just treated as a lowly clown. Frankly, it wasn't even fun.

So, would you raise idols and hold concerts here, or raise a theater troupe and go on tour?

That's why in Warlord Saga, artistic cultures like painting, sculpture, statues, and architecture are the mainstream.

This is because they create large, beautiful things that are easily visible to others and use them as political propaganda.

It's as if it shows how capital dominates art.

These works of art have the effect of raising the patriotism and happiness of the people, so making them is semi-essential.

It's not wrong either; you have to have at least one cool and outstanding thing in your town to be able to claim that you're better than other towns, right?

It's not for nothing that people go up Namsan to hang padlocks on the wire fence, or spend hundreds of years building a single grand cathedral.

So I decided to take the plunge and invest in Fasa's underdeveloped cultural industry, but I received a refusal from the Painters' Guild.

"No, why on earth? They don't want it even if I'm giving them money?"

The new mayor of Fasa, Emilio, shrugged.

"They said they can't take orders for the time being due to guild circumstances. I don't know the exact reason because they didn't tell me, but it seemed very busy."

"Really? Well, if they're busy, it can't be helped. That's a shame. I was thinking I had to do it this time since I couldn't last time."

"Indeed. At this rate, will people even remember that they were liberated from the pirates?"

Emilio grumbled, and I agreed with him.

Normally, I should have made this kind of propaganda material when I subjugated Tospol as well.

But at that time, I just let it slide because I had no money.

There were so many places to spend money in this small city.

But this time, the story was different.

Fasa had defeated the coalition army and taken the position of Hegemon of the South. The national treasury being rich with money extorted from here and there was a bonus.

So the citizens' shoulders also shrugged up with pride. Their noses also turned up to the sky.

Who are we? The great citizens of Fasa!

Ah, but something's a bit disappointing. We don't have anything to boast about to others, do we?

Thus, the citizens came to petition Mayor Emilio to make something to commemorate this time for sure.

This is all because Fasa has nothing to be proud of.

It's a bit much to keep boasting about the skull of the dead ogre from Tospol to others, isn't it? Honestly, it's a monstrosity, so it's not something to keep on display.

Even the most rational citizen of Fasa, Matriarch Costanza, went so far as to say, 'You don't have money? If you don't have it, I'll lend it to you, so make something. Right now.' That says it all.

I didn't borrow the money because she said no to an interest-free loan.

So this time, I had to make something for sure.

No matter how much authority I gained from this war, it's hard for me to ignore the citizens' petitions.

So the pressure on the first-term mayor Emilio was needless to say. Is he not going to run in the next election? Quit after being mayor just once?

Internal affairs are this difficult.

"If the Painters' Guild is busy, it can't be helped. Did a big order come in from somewhere without my knowledge?"

"Still, we can't just not do it. Should we look for artists from abroad? There should be workshops in Messina or Pescara too."

"No. We can't do that, for Fasa's sake. It wouldn't look good to the guild people either."

Making a souvenir is important, but bringing in foreigners to do it is a bit much.

It's not like Fasa doesn't have workshops, so people won't like it either. If that's the case, I'd rather not do it at all.

Emilio was lost in thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Does it have to be a painting?"

"No. Not necessarily."

"Then why did you choose a painting?"

"Because it seemed like the result would come out the fastest. It's also good for people to look at. Isn't that how it usually is?"

At that, Emilio made a troubled expression. As if something was wrong.

"It seems Duke Gryph has misunderstood something. A painting doesn't necessarily come out faster than other things."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Especially a huge mural can take several years just for the work itself. It might be faster to commission a statue or sculpture from a workshop with many assistants."

That was something I didn't know. I guess I was thinking too much like modern ready-made works.

Well, in the game, it was made right away if you just ordered it.

But this is reality, and in reality, different rules apply than in the game.

"Then let's order a sculpture from the Masons' Guild instead of the Painters' Guild. That side should be able to take orders without any problems, right? While we're at it, let's not just make one, but order several, including the one from last time."

"Let's do that. Does Duke Gryph have any requests?"

"Uh, no."

I don't know much about art either.

Let's leave the details to the artists.

Then the experts will take care of it.

"And for the next agenda item. I've heard that the crime rate in Fasa has gone down a lot lately."

"Really? That's very good news. I wish it were like this every day."

Good, of course.

The crime rate reported to the mayor is usually for serious crimes like duels, kidnappings, robberies, assaults, and murders.

Misdemeanors like spousal fights, pickpocketing, and public urination don't even make it into the statistics.

In other words, a decrease in the crime rate also means that the thieves' guild is losing its power.

Well, they're guys who fight amongst themselves all the time anyway, so something must have happened this time too.

Or maybe we're seeing the effects of Selvi spreading terror every night.

I should give Selvi an award for meritorious service.

***

"Me? No? I haven't been out at night lately 'cause I've been workin', sir."

"Huh? Really?"

After finishing the meeting with Mayor Emilio, I went to find Selvi, only to receive an unexpected answer.

He said he hadn't been able to go out for several days because he was busy with work.

Selvi, as if he didn't like my surprise, pointed to the documents piled up on his desk.

"Boss, in the first place, sir. With this much work, there's no way I can just go out."

"Now that you put it that way, I have nothing to say. Then why has the crime rate dropped so much lately?"

"The mayor said so?"

"Yeah. So I naturally thought you were taking care of it."

"Well, then, I guess the fools are fighting over territory issues amongst themselves as usual. Isn't that what those guys do for a living?"

"That's true. But why are you suddenly talking like that?"

"I'm so tired I could die, so I have to save my words at least..."

"..."

Anyway, Selvi's opinion was convincing.

The thieves' guild is just a bunch of guys who only cause harm to the world anyway. There's no need to care if they fight amongst themselves and die.

Then, I suddenly noticed something I had forgotten.

The people who should normally be in the office were not there.

"By the way, where did Father Ceras and his people go?"

"Ah, the monks from the Holy See? They've been having a lot of fieldwork lately."

"Really? There shouldn't be much fieldwork to go out for."

"Well, no need to worry. They've all learned martial arts, so it's not like they'll get beaten up somewhere. And it's not like there's anyone in Fasa who would attack a priest."

Selvi grumbled. A slight hint of dissatisfaction could be felt in his voice. It seems he still doesn't like Ceras.

But they're not kids, so I can't lecture adults, saying, 'You're both from Caledonia, so you should get along.' I'm not a nanny, so I can't take care of their personal relationships too.

Anyway, as long as Ceras' attention was diverted elsewhere, it was fine.

"By the way, boss. Come to think of it, I've done quite a lot, haven't I?"

"What?"

"Come to think of it, sir. The reason the crime rate has dropped must be because I've been workin' hard at night, right? As a reward, please give me some vacation. Three days should be enough. Hehe."

I refused firmly.

"Hahaha. No."

"Why?"

"Things don't run without you."

"Aaaargh!"

Selvi put his hands to his face like Munch's The Scream and screamed, but no one in the office cared.

Because it was already empty.

With reinforcements coming from all over and priests from the Holy See joining, the mercenary company was no longer plagued by all-nighters like before.

So right now, Selvi is just being dramatic.

"You finish up quickly and go home too."

"Agh. I have to finish my work to go home."

"What about Sir Eleonor?"

"She finished first and left."

Glancing over his shoulder, I saw that the work Selvi was doing was the part I had entrusted to Eleonor.

Eleonor is not the type to push her work onto others, so this is definitely Selvi's own doing.

Perhaps Selvi wanted to foster affection while working late together, but Eleonor didn't notice.

I hope Selvi uses his head more cleverly from now on. And that strange way of speaking of his returns to normal as soon as possible.

Anyway, looking at the empty office.

I felt that it was time to start deciding on the future direction.

***

I decided to take a day off and rest at my quarters.

It was to sort out the things I hadn't had time to think about because I was busy surviving.

"Is it really a vacation?"

"I told you it is."

"Hooray!"

At the mention of a day's rest, Theo immediately took out a novel and lay down on the bed. So quick.

But I, being of high status, could not follow Theo's example, so I sat down at my desk.

And I fell into thought, fiddling with the Emperor's ring. Since it was a round ring with no grooves, it was perfect for playing with. When I put it on the tip of my finger and spun it like prayer beads, my idle thoughts disappeared.

Is this why everyone bought fidget toys?

Anyway.

The end of the war that had swept through the south was almost over.

I had put shackles on Messina, Pescara, and Urdino, and Fasa had become the Hegemon of southern Apennia.

However, a slight disappointment was that no other country had expressed a desire to join the alliance.

Other countries were just watching with suspicion, wondering if the Southern Alliance was preparing for a new war of conquest.

Ah, how unfair.

We were just recruiting franchisees.

The South united as one under the Black Company!

Welcome to the new family!

Just kidding.

As I told my aides before, now is not the time to attract aggro, but to lie low and reorganize.

Isn't there a saying that you kneel to gain momentum?

The real problem is the direction.

Where to fly to.

Should I go north in Apennia as I am, or head south across the sea?

And also, there's my problem.

How on earth can I develop my traits for the better?

On what basis does the system evaluate my actions?

And why does it keep giving me useless traits?

On what basis does the system judge my stats?

I've managed to survive somehow so far, but will I be so lucky in the future?

Is there an answer here?

All sorts of worries spun around me endlessly like they were in a blender.

It was while I was deep in thought like that. A servant of the mercenary company came and brought news.

"Duke Gryph, you have a visitor."

"Who? I don't have anyone scheduled to meet today? Theo?"

"The young master said he's resting today, so I've cleared the schedule."

I looked at Theo, but Theo also shook his head as if he didn't know.

"Who did the visitor say they were?"

"They only said they were the branch chief of the Apennia Mage Guild."

I felt my mind snap to attention.

The branch chief of the Apennia Mage Guild, that means one thing.

The master of the little mage Esil.

Even if it's not, a branch chief would be treated like a count wherever they go.

Theo said excitedly.

"Young master, I don't know why a mage came in person, but this is a good opportunity to get acquainted with a mage."

"Right. And a branch chief at that."

In this world, mages are extremely rare beings. Even if it's a black magician, it's worth meeting them unconditionally.

Even if recruiting them into the mercenary company is impossible, if I get to know them, they might give me a discount on magic items they sell later.

"Tell them to come in. No, I can't do that to a mage. I'll go down. Where is the guest?"

"I've shown them to the reception room for now."

"Good job. Tell the guest I'm coming down right away."

Mages had a tendency to be arrogant in proportion to their rarity.

There's no need to do anything that might displease them.

I dressed neatly in formal attire and went down to the reception room.

And as the door opened,

A bear appeared from inside.

"Huh?"

For a moment, my thoughts stopped.