「Halfren. Augusta. Sorry for calling you here so suddenly.」
「Don’t worry about it, brother.」
Maybe because this wasn’t an official meeting, my idiot aniki casually greeted everyone as he walked into the room.
Now that I thought about it calmly, I had basically acted the same way even when meeting the former king…… Yeah, worrying about it was a losing battle.
The king’s office had already passed on to the next generation and now belonged to the new king, Schnitt.
And meanwhile, the retired old man was relaxing on the sofa in the room while leisurely drinking tea.
「Father’s become quite the decorative ornament himself.」
「Indeed. I’d like to shove all the work onto someone else and retire completely already.」
「It would trouble us greatly if you retired so soon, Your Majesty.」
「The king is you now. Just treat it that way.」
While I handed the sweets I brought to the maids, the family conversation somehow started and ended on its own.
「So, aniki. Why were we called here?」
「If someone caused trouble, it would be that idiot aniki over there. Recently I haven’t caused any problems at all.」
「……The citizens are complaining about you and Noie—」
「Ah～. I can’t hear any of that pointless jealousy～」
I was already restraining myself from kissing her, and now they wanted to ban us from even riding the same horse together? Absolutely outrageous.
Maybe it was time for me to become a tyrant and oppress the citizens with an iron fist.
「I would like to propose a law stating that anyone who interferes with the loving activities of a happily married couple shall face capital punishment.」
「Rejected.」
「Rejected.」
「Die, idiot.」
My perfect proposal was instantly crushed by the nation’s top three leaders.
Wasn’t this strange? Were their heads okay?
「Putting that aside, Augusta.」
「Yes?」
Onii-sama turned his gaze toward me.
Strange. I hadn’t done anything…… right?
「We gathered here today because of the Anti-Dragon Battalion under your management.」
「Our battalion?」
「That’s right.」
Onii-sama, seated at the magnificent desk and chair placed in the center of the office, gave a small nod.
How should I put it? When a handsome man stood in the right place and acted the part properly, the image really did become exactly what you’d expect.
「When we separated it from the Royal Guard, we temporarily designated it as a battalion…… but realistically, there’s no way its scale can continue expanding.
There are several reasons. First, there’s no replacement for Noie, so increasing the number of squads is impossible. Second, there was also a proposal to promote Noie and increase the battalion’s size by adding ordinary soldiers…… but that received severe backlash because it would allow the battalion alone to monopolize all the profits generated from dragons.
And the biggest problem of all is your daily words and actions that show no fear toward the royal family whatsoever.
The nobles fear that if you gain military power on top of that, you could potentially destroy the kingdom.」
「……I seriously don’t want to become king or anything that troublesome though?」
When I answered honestly from the bottom of my heart, onii-sama gave a bitter smile.
He probably understood that those words truly were my genuine feelings.
「Everyone in this room understands your personality. More than anyone, we know how far removed you are from ambition. However, most nobles live while denying the fact that they themselves produce no wealth. Meanwhile, you openly declare that incompetent people who create no value have no right to live. In other words, they fear that if you gain power, they’ll be purged.」
I understood what he was trying to say, but…… honestly, this was such a pain.
If that’s how they felt, then maybe they should work themselves to the bone.
My wife spends every day cheerfully hunting dragons while covered head to toe in blood splatter, you know?
「So then, what should we do?」
Onii-sama gave a small nod.
「First, the battalion will be dissolved and its size reduced. We also want to clearly define its currently ambiguous position.」
「Ambiguous position?」
「Yeah. First, it will be completely separated from the Royal Guard. Halfren will personally oversee this and ensure that no Royal Guard duties are sent to Augusta’s side anymore.」
「That’s a pretty harsh order.」
The idiot shrugged his shoulders and tried to refuse. At this point, I really should be allowed to complain seriously about him.
But onii-sama, who actually understood how I felt, turned a harsh gaze toward the infuriating idiot prince.
「Give up. That’s an order.
Next, Augusta’s group will be reorganized as an independent unit.
Augusta will serve as the unit commander, and while your actual duties won’t change much, every dragon Noie defeats will become that unit’s income.」
At those words, both my idiot aniki and I froze.
Wasn’t the whole reason for dissolving the battalion to prevent exactly that from happening?
「Aniki, isn’t that—」
「Wait. I’m not finished. The earnings will belong to the independent unit, but all costs for dismantling, transport, processing, and related work will be paid by Augusta’s side. Naturally, you will also compensate the kingdom for any burdens caused whenever Noie takes time off.」
「Ah～. So basically, our side becomes fully self-supporting, and any cooperation from others gets paid for accordingly?」
Apparently, I got it right, because onii-sama gave a broad nod.
「Yeah. Otherwise the kingdom’s finances won’t survive.」
「Finances?」
Onii-sama let out a deep sigh at my tilted head.
「To begin with, nobody expected Noie’s dragon hunting to grow into an industry of this scale.
As a result, the flow of money was shaped however the powerful people of the time found convenient. Because of that, the funds generated by the dragon industry now contain multiple unaccounted expenses.」
「Right. So the money’s been disappearing somewhere along the way and ending up in somebody’s pocket.」
「Exactly.」
That made sense.
Noie had been hunting dragons for four years now. Which meant the people in power four years ago had dumped responsibilities onto subordinates without thinking, and only now had the problems started exploding.
「So basically, the retired former king over there drinking tea is the one at fault.」
The decorative former king spat out his tea.
「……Augusta. Could you not phrase it so harshly? At the time, we were already overwhelmed handling national defense against dragons.」
「No thanks. Because of you, I’m stuck handling this ridiculous ticking time bomb of a problem…… I’ll report this to the head maid later and have her discipline you.」
Just then, the office door quietly opened.
「Did you call for me, Augusta-sama?」
The one giving a beautifully elegant bow was the most terrifying head maid in all of Univance, who somehow always appeared at the perfect timing.
The former king let out a terrified squeal and turned pale.
Apparently, he was genuinely terrified of her.
「……Later is fine, but please make this retired old man experience true fear.」
「As you wish. Though I would never desire to do something so cruel…… if it is your command, then I have no choice.」
Wearing a devilish smile, the head maid laughed in delight.
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