"What's the reason for this?"
Of course, I had no intention of apologizing for this matter. As I've learned well in my social life, apologizing means losing. Apologizing only increases compensation and yields nothing in return. So, I feigned ignorance. No matter how logical the lord's arguments were, I planned to deny everything to the best of my ability. After all, with the personnel transfer issue being pushed through, there was no way this lord could take Seiri back.
"What's going on right now? How dare you take one of my citizens like this?"
The lord was trembling with rage, having lost one of his citizens. Even without checking his status window, the thought *'The lord is furious!'* flashed in my mind. He really looks like a tanned, blonde bear.
"Ah, are you referring to Seiri's personnel transfer?"
"Yes, that's right. Why did you take our Seiri?"
Ordinarily, lords don't memorize the names of nuns. Even I don't know the names of most of the employees and church members in our mansion. I've never even called the head maid by her name; I just refer to her as 'head maid.'
That is, the fact that this guy knows Seiri's name means he's been keeping an eye on her, and if an NTR-obsessed creep is watching her, it means he's setting up an NTR scenario. Later, even if he tries to cause trouble, I'll have to kill this bastard, but for now, I lack a valid reason, which is frustrating.
"Since when has a lord been involved in the personnel transfers of the Great Celestial Church? As the Southern High Priest, I've been entrusted with all personnel transfers of nuns and priests in the southern region."
Of course, that doesn't mean I have nothing to say in response to the lord's protest. As I mentioned earlier, I'm the Southern High Priest. Among the southern priests, I'm the king. Unless I'm throwing an orgy with priests, no one can interfere with my personnel decisions.
"That's... but Seiri's parents are natives who grew up on my land. How can you take not just the nun but her parents too? Citizens raised in the territory are its assets. This is...."
Why would I take them? Because I don't want you to hold her family hostage and set up an NTR scenario. But there's no need to say that outright. I replied,
"So, it's about taxes in the end. When I transferred Seiri, I thought it wouldn't be right to separate her from her parents, so I called them over on my own, but there seems to be an issue there. Since I'm originally a religious person, I'm not well-versed in territorial matters. Thank you for pointing out the important issue."
"Oh, no problem. Then..."
"Well, since we've already brought the two of them to our territory, it would be awkward to send them back. How about we apply your lordship's tax rate separately and send you the taxes instead?"
"What?"
"Still, we can't leave the transferred child alone in a foreign land, so it's only right for her parents to stay with her. However, if we just bring them, as you said, it would be like depleting another territory's assets. We'll take care of the citizens, and we'll send you the taxes. We'll also designate land near the border of our territories for you."
"Is that really necessary?"
The lord seemed puzzled by my offer to go this far for the parents. Honestly, it would've been better to just send the parents back home, so his confusion was justified. But if I sent Seiri's parents back, there would be a valid reason for Seiri to return to this lord's territory. Since I can't follow her, I wouldn't be able to intervene in whatever happens there.
The lord shook his head and argued again.
"There's another issue. Seiri's parents owe me a huge debt...."
"I'll pay off that debt."
As I've said before, I receive additional funds for maintaining my dignity and donations from the southern churches. Paying off an old couple's debt is nothing to me. For their age, they owed a considerable amount, but it wasn't a big problem for me. The wealth gap between a lord and common farmers is that significant.
"Then, it's not like we're depleting your territory's assets, and with one field freed up, if you manage the land well, you'll actually gain more income, right?"
"That's true, but...."
The lord trailed off. Even though I'm paying off his debt, sending him taxes, and designating land near his territory for his convenience, he still seems dissatisfied. Despite all these concessions, he won't back down?
This means one of two things: either he wants to sleep with Seiri's parents or use them to sleep with Seiri.
"Is there a reason you're taking such care of Seiri's parents?"
"Ah, no. But, making them pay off the debt could negatively affect the citizens...."
"Since we're on the topic of debt, may I ask why Seiri's parents owe such a huge amount?"
The debt Seiri's parents owe is nothing to me, but it���s an amount no ordinary farmer would casually borrow. Even Karl, who gambles, only owes a few golds, while Seiri's parents owe around 50 golds.
"Ah, that's... it's a territorial matter, so I can't say."
"I see. Then, I suppose this conversation is over?"
"What?"
"Do you have anything else to say? It seems both our desires have been met."
"Uh, yes. I paid off the debt, and the transfer... it's... done. Hehehe...."
The lord laughed uncomfortably and slowly backed away. I sent him off through Robin and sat in my office, lost in thought.
No matter how I think about it, this neighboring lord feels unsettling. He won't do anything immediately, but the unease remains. What's more annoying is that I lack a valid reason to kill him right now.
Without a valid reason, I'm just a murderer. Even the Great Celestial Church can't protect a murderer. I clicked my tongue and looked at Ira, who asked me with a flushed face,
"Are... are you going to do it?"
"Yes, I have to."
I smiled and replied. Ira was given a new role. The nominal reason for punishing her was 'Ira's rehabilitation,' so there needed to be evidence of her reform. Using my position as the Southern High Priest, I appointed Ira as a nun of the Great Celestial Church.
On the surface, it's a beautiful story. A con artist who infiltrated to exploit the territory's assets is reformed by a wise lord and devotes herself to the Great Celestial Church. This boosts the church's reputation and my own standing.
Doing good deeds for the sake of it is pointless, but having a good image has many benefits. Think about actors who play villains in dramas; no matter how much they donate, they're still criticized by restaurant owners because of their villainous image. Good deeds and a good image are entirely different.
With Ira becoming a nun of the Great Celestial Church, things became more convenient. Since she's still a novice nun, someone had to teach her the doctrine, and Seiri and I took turns doing so. During Seiri's lessons, she taught proper doctrine, but during my lessons, Ira learned firsthand how humans are created.
The irregular 'creation theory' sessions greatly helped relieve my stress and satisfy my desires for Seiri. They also confirmed my preference for larger breasts and hips over smaller ones.
Speaking of Seiri, I haven't had much time to meet her lately due to my lordly duties.
Seiri had just moved into the lord's mansion and was busy helping her parents, often leaving her post.
Additionally, I recently delegated the mansion's accounting duties to her, so she's been very busy getting accustomed to the task. No matter how skilled she is in accounting, handling another town's finances all at once is impossible for a human; it's more like a computer's job.
With her new accounting role, busy with handovers and month-end settlements, forcing her to stay would only lower her favorability. In the end, I could only admire Seiri's graceful waist and delicate shoulders from afar and imagine her while sleeping with Ira.
Ira forgives me even when I call out Seiri's name during sex.
Time passed day by day. Once the busiest quarter-end settlements were over, Seiri would have more free time. I was waiting for that moment. With the neighboring lord quiet and the Demon King not yet revived,
this was the perfect time to pursue the innocent Seiri, whose favorability toward me was high, and with no one trying to rob the mansion.
The usually rampant bandit gangs were unusually quiet.
It was the ideal time to make my move on Seiri.
Seiri still looked at me with an innocent expression, unaware of anything. When I smiled slyly, she turned away, not knowing what to do with herself. Her shy smile was adorable, and seeing her 'innocence' trait in her status window overlapped with her charm, fueling my desire.
I grabbed Seiri's shoulder, and she dropped a few papers in surprise.
"Ah, I'm sorry, my lord."
"Seiri."
"Yes, my lord."
"Call me Lucius."
Though I hadn't done anything, Seiri's favorability was at 89. At this rate, it was about time we started speaking casually. Seiri hesitated before speaking up.
"Uh, is that really okay?"
"Of course."
"Lu... Lucius...."
Seiri's face turned bright red as she bowed her head. I smiled. Is this what they call a fatherly smile?
"My lord!"
Robin, the captain of the guard who enjoys the sweetest life in our mansion, rushed over to me, out of breath. When he rushes like this, it means something urgent has happened. Robin is usually as calm as a guide dog, but when he has to take responsibility or use his strength, he acts like a border collie chasing a Frisbee. I patted Seiri's head and asked,
"What's wrong, Robin?"
"The guards have captured a band of thieves."
"Thieves?"
If there's anyone in this territory who opposes me, it's the thieves. They frequently appear at the territory's borders, harassing people as if they've pawned their lives somewhere. Their looting has become quite severe, so I often call the guards for patrols.
Lately, it's been quiet, but suddenly a battle broke out. They must truly have multiple lives stockpiled. Maybe Lucius spared them once or twice.
"How many guards were killed?"
In a place with few people, every life is valuable. If any of our guards died in this battle, it would be devastating. We'd have to pay compensation and hold funerals. If someone dies in such incidents, we'd have to recruit and train replacements, which costs money. Money, money—to a lord, citizens are essentially money.
"Ah, no... there don't seem to be any casualties this time. The thieves weren't that strong...."
"Were all the thieves captured alive?"
"Ah, yes. The guards discovered a thief squad that came into the village, killed three in the street battle, and brought back five who surrendered."
"Give a reward to the commander in charge, and behead all the thieves and display their heads in the streets."
"Uh, my lo... Lu... my lord?"
Seiri interrupted, grabbing my collar and cautiously examining my expression. Her tone revealed her internal struggle over whether to call me 'my lord' or 'Lucius.' I smiled at her and asked,
"What's wrong, Seiri?"
"The... the doctrine of the Great Celestial Church teaches that even sinners should be forgiven, and the focus should be on rehabilitation...."