Survival Strategy for Weak Territories! ~ My Territory Will Be Destroyed No Matter How Many Times It Is Repeated. How Can This Be Saved? ~ - Chapter 37

“Your Majesty, this is not allowed!”

“Yes! Release us now!”

Even after their capture, the minor nobles remained arrogant

At first, Klein wanted to make things easy, but then they said.

“If we fight again, we will win! “

“Don’t let a fluke get the better of you! “

They were making such claims.

The defeat this time does not count because they were careless.

They were developing an unusual theory.

“So, no ransom. Rather, we demand an apology and compensation for the unfair treatment.”

“We have the right! “

“We are the nobility!”

Maybe it’s the closed nature of our land. They were all a bunch of people who thought they were the best in the world.

They won’t even end the “who’s best in the area” battle, Klein sighs.

“Since it all started with your family, we should pretend we never lost the war and rather pay reparations, or…”

I wonder if he has never seen a person greater than himself and believes he can make such a claim.

Well, against the commoners in the territory.

Or, if they were evenly matched opponents who were always fighting each other, they might have been able to communicate.

However, a baronet can be succeeded only up to three generations, and if he does not do anything well, his lands are confiscated, and he reverts back to a commoner.

Their families are all landowners or heads of settlements. In most cases, they were given the privilege of ruling in exchange for being in charge of settling undeveloped areas.

Klein, the head of a seven-generation baronage, is a higher rank than most of them, but he doesn’t care about that.

“I think they even look down on me.”

“I’ve made it on luck alone, they said. That’s a terrible thing to say.”

He’s a wealthy man, and it’s fair to say that he’s suddenly powerful.

But the Asgard family has existed for 200 years, and it is not the time to be called an upstart.

It is just that their ancestors worked hard to become aristocrats, and Klein worked hard to consolidate his position.

Looking at the aristocrats who are still insisting from above at this point.

Hans, who interrogated the prisoners of war in the usual way and wrote the report, also looked tired.

“Huh… really, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

After several days of dealing with this absurd logic, it was only natural that Hans looked tired since he was present at today’s discussion.

At any rate, the two parties’ arguments are parallel.

Klein wants to make them take responsibility for launching a war that makes no sense.

The minor nobles want to get reparations from Klein, who has treated them badly.

Normally, Klein would have tried to make things easy, but he was losing his will to do so as the conversation went on and on.

“Now, I will call the court-appointed attorney general. I’ll let the Ministry of Justice decide which side is right. Do you know about the authority that adjudicates disputes between territories?”

“I hope so! “

The five surviving heads of the five families remained firm.

One of the officials who had been seconded to Asgard from the royal court became the judge and held a summary trial.

“This is a serious offense. Therefore, their lands will be confiscated, and a part of them will be annexed to the Asgard family. The amount of compensation will be… sufficient to confiscate all of their property.”

Two minutes into the hearing, this is the conclusion that emerged.

There was nothing special to say, and the case was closed.

“Hey, Judge! That’s too outrageous!”

“Is this man real! ?　It must be a fake prepared by Asgard! “

“Why is the legal officer in Asgard territory when he is supposed to be in the royal capital?”

The lands and almost all of his property are forfeited. This is too harsh a judgment.

Naturally, protests flew in, but the young man in charge of legal affairs laughed half-heartedly at this.

“This is a medal to show the authority His Majesty has given me. The forgery of a medal is impossible because of the special processing technique. The only reason I’m here is that I’ve been transferred.”

The young man shuts them down, then smiles and points at the badge on his chest.

He, too, is polite to Klein, but he does not seem to have any reservations about the minor nobles.

As he makes his case for justice, he is rightfully met with angry yelling.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing! “

“You are a fraud! “

“…Haa”

The official who has drawn the short straw frown, but he has come too far to back down.

With a very disgusted look on his face, he continues in a nonchalant manner.

“All the nobles of the kingdom should know about this Identification card, but why don’t you know about it?”

“Stop blabbing! “

“I told you I’ve never heard of it! “

They were about to shift to the theory that what they don’t know can’t exist.

But it is a quagmire if you keep getting engaged with them.

So, the official continued with the paperwork.

“Let me explain briefly. First of all, let’s get our points straight…You say that there was an attack by the Asgard family on the area you govern. Is that correct?”

“Yes, we are sure.”

“Don’t make me repeat it! “

This time he seems to be holding back his anger, his fingertips trembling a little. After adjusting his glasses, the official says.

“Then the first thing to do is to send a messenger of protest. Why did they suddenly send a notice of war?”

“Well, that’s… the way our family does things.”

“The royal court forbids private battles… but does your custom take precedence over His Majesty’s orders?”

If the Asgard soldiers had committed a crime, they would have to pay for it.

But there is no evidence that they were attacked, only their testimonies.

Even the testimonies are scattered among different people.

There is no fact of occupation either.

They need to look up the definition of “invasion” again.

And then, suddenly, the war begins.

The way they handled the aftermath of the war and their claims are a mess.

He’s pointing out these facts one by one in a straightforward manner.

The minor nobles lost their tone whenever a good argument was made.

The officials sent from the royal court had been secretly monitoring Klein and Asgard, so they knew that they were not fighting a war of aggression.

So he proudly took Klein’s side in the argument, and he stated his personal opinion.

“If you don’t know anything about the laws of the royal nobility, you shouldn’t call yourself a nobleman. How is a man who does not obey the law and allows his men to plunder different from a mere bandit?”

He said loudly to the intimidating nobles.

With good arguments.

With reason.

He continued to speak plainly of the rules.

“Your Majesty would never allow you to be captured? Shame on a mere baron, baronet, or baronet-quasi-baron to speak for His Majesty!”

He was heedless of the protests of those who still clamor.

Since there were no serious arguments against the points of contention, the judgment to forfeit all the lands was passed.

Usually, the amount is reduced or exempted in consideration of remorse, but in this case, it is the highest amount.

The detailed compensation is calculated according to the regulations. He then submits his report to the central office for approval, which is the story’s end.

This is not a case of favoritism to the Asgard family because he is on loan to the Asgard family. The government forbids for allies to fight each other on their own.

The royal court would allow it if it were a very serious case, but this time, of course, is not an exception.

The case ended with a verdict in accordance with the rules of justice.

“I didn’t call the officials for this kind of thing…”

The officials were brought in to recruit people to develop the territory.

Originally, he borrowed them with the idea that if a person from the royal court were stationed in the territory, he might be able to stop the tyranny of the Marquise of Laguna.

Moreover, if there is an official with jurisdiction in the territory, he can directly accuse the Marquise of Laguna.

In the first place, the people who are transferred to the Marquise are all from prominent families or aristocratic backgrounds.

Therefore, the Marquise of Laguna only wanted to have something to threaten the Asgardians that if they tried to destroy the Asgard domain, their own families would also be involved in the war and would become enemies.

He hoped the Marquise would take a moderate approach to avoid any trouble.

He also had a wish like that.

So we decided to station them for four years, and Klein only needed them to work when Northern Marquis attacked two years later.

“They’ve gone far beyond what I expected… for the worse.”

“… yes, your excellency.”

“Brynhildr didn’t see it coming either.”

“I’ve heard of some troublesome people, but I didn’t expect… them to be this much.”

The group, all of whom were looking subtle, looked uncomfortable as Hans and the other nobles were led away.

At any rate, the war ended without Klein’s death.

“But still, when territories increase suddenly, problems arise, don’t they?…various problems.”

Thus, the “I am the law here! The feudal lords lost their positions. The territory of the former territory was absorbed, and Klein’s territory was expanded.

The population of Asgard was expected to explode further.

However, since most newcomers are starving, the job of rebuilding the rickety north will come with it.

“Sigh… it’s going to be busy again,”

Klein frowns as he imagines the days of postwar processing and paperwork, and his mood grows somber.