77
秋。食欲の秋、スポーツの秋、読書の秋。
そう、レオルドがゼアトに来てから初めての秋を迎える。とは言っても、これといって大したことはない。
特別な行事があるわけでもなく、レオルドはいつものように書類と向き合っていた。
(やばい。死んじゃう。まさか、過労死まっしぐらの生活になるなんて)
レオルドが領主代理になってからは多忙な毎日が続いていた。中には休む間もなく書類仕事に追われる日もあった。
肉体的にも精神的にも限界が訪れそうだった。早急に文官を見つけなくてはならないとレオルドは奮起する。
しかし当てがない。レオルドは人脈がないのだ。いや、正確に言えばある。ベルーガに頼めばいいのだが、既に断られている。
そして、もう一人いる。こちらは頼ってしまえばどのような目に遭うか分からない。
だが、公爵家当主であるベルーガ以上に人脈はあるだろう。なにせ、第四王女シルヴィアなのだから。
「ないない。無理だ」
考えたがやはり無理だ。どのような要求をされるかわかったものではないと早々に切り捨てる。気分転換に町へ降りようとするレオルドはギルバートとイザベルを呼んだ。
二人を護衛に、レオルドはゼアトの町へと降りる。すでにレオルドが領主代理となっている事は知られている。
住民達は最初こそ噂を信じて恐れていたが、多くの騎士が慕っている光景を見て怯える事はなくなった。
そのおかげで、レオルドが町に出てきても住民達は怯えてしまうような事はない。
「うーむ。文官候補は見つからないか」
「王都のように大きくありませんから、市井に優秀な人材が眠っているようなことはないでしょうね」
「くそぅ。このままじゃ過労死まっしぐらだぞ」
「坊ちゃま。やはり、殿下に頼んではいかがでしょうか?」
「ギル。殿下に頼めば確かに優秀な文官を派遣してもらえるだろう。だが、見返りが恐ろしい。何を要求されるかわかったものじゃない」
「私の主を愚弄するような発言は控えてもらいたいですね」
「お前が殿下に報告してる事はこっちも把握してるからな!」
「ですが、このままだと坊ちゃまも限界を迎えるでしょう。なにか手を打たねばなりませんぞ」
「わかっているが......」
「レオルド様って人脈がありませんものね」
「うるさいわっ!」
人望は最近増やしつつあるものの人脈は父親とシルヴィアしかない。むしろ、シルヴィアというこれ以上ない立場の人間と関わりがあるのは凄い。だが、使い辛い。王族に対して無礼ではあるがシルヴィアは関わりたくない人種であった。
「育てるか......」
「時間がありません」
「誘拐でもする気ですか?」
「イザベル! お前は俺をなんだと思ってるんだ!」
「敬愛すべき主ですわ」
「嘘おっしゃい!」
「はて?」
「可愛らしく首を傾げても俺は騙されんぞ!」
「そのようなつもりはないのですが、褒めて頂けるとは」
手を顔に当てて顔を赤く染めるイザベルにレオルドは見惚れるが、演技だと判断してツッコミを入れる。
「お前のそのメンタルが羨ましいわ!」
もうお馴染みとなってしまった光景にギルバートは和んでいた。二人の間に割って入ることは出来ないが、レオルドが楽しそうにしているようでギルバートも嬉しく思っていた。
最初はイザベルのレオルドへ対する態度に注意をしようとしたが、レオルド自身が気にしていないこともあり、ギルバートは何も言わなかった。それに、他人のことを言えるギルバートではなかった。
自分も孫娘に甘かったせいで主であるレオルドに対して許されない無礼を働いた。だから、ギルバートはレオルドが何も言わないのでイザベルに何かを言う事は決してない。
「坊ちゃま、イザベル。ここは往来の場ですぞ」
「むっ......行くぞ」
「もう少し戯れても良かったのですが、ギルバート殿に従いますわ」
レオルドは先頭を歩き、先へと進む。しかし、大して大きくない町だ。あまり、見るようなものはない。強いて言うならば砦くらいだろうが、今は見に行く価値はない。
レオルドは左右を見回しながら、文官に向いてそうな人材を探すがピンと来ない。やはり、涙を飲んでシルヴィアに頼むべきだろうかと悩み始めた頃、騎士団の兵舎へと辿り着く。
(ふむ......そういえば騎士の中にも文官はいるよな? そこからヘッドハンティングでも......いや、騎士団にとって文官は貴重そうだからやめておこう)
アポ無しの視察という訳で、レオルドは兵舎へと足を進める。中に入ると、訓練場の方から暑苦しい掛け声が聞こえてくる。
恐らく、訓練に励んでいるのだろう。レオルドも身体を動かすのは、いい気分転換になるだろうと思って訓練場に顔を出す。
すると、レオルドに気が付いた騎士達は訓練を中止してレオルドへと挨拶をする。レオルドは訓練を続けろ、と手を振って制する。
しばらく騎士達の訓練を見ていると、バルバロトがレオルド一行に歩み寄ってくる。
「今日はどのようなご用件で?」
「ああ。実は文官候補を探してるんだが中々見つからなくてな。町を散策してたら、この近くまで来たから見学にでもと寄ってみたんだ」
「もしかして、騎士の中から探そうとしてます?」
「まあ、否定はしない」
「ふーむ......」
バルバロトは文官候補に見当があるのか、考える素振りを見せている。レオルドも期待してバルバロトを見ていると、視界の端で雑用をしている騎士を捉える。
「なあ、バルバロト。雑用係は騎士にもいるのか?」
「ええ、まあ。その、雑用係は言い難いのですが剣の才能が無い者ばかりです。ですから、掃除、洗濯などと言った雑務をさせております」
「引き抜くことは可能か?」
「可能でしょうが、文官が務まるかはなんとも言えません。ただ、あまり言いたくないのですが、雑用係は我々にとっては必要な存在なのです。
騎士の大半は戦う事が得意であっても、そのような雑用が苦手という者も多いので。雑用係はそういう意味では重宝しているのです」
「なるほどな......ん?
雑用は戦いが不得意な騎士がやっているんだよな?」
「はい。どうかしましたか?」
「ああ。少し、改善策を思い付いた」
不敵に笑うレオルドに、ギルバート、バルバロトの二人は期待を寄せる。そして、イザベルはレオルドがどのような改善策を見せてくれるのかと興味が湧いた。
Ch 77
Autumn has arrived
Yes, it's the first autumn since Leolde arrived in Ze'at. However, there is nothing special about it.
There was no special event, and Leolde was facing  his papers work  as usual.
(Oh no. I'm going to die. I can't believe I'm about to die of exhaustion.)
Ever since  he became the acting lord, he had been very busy. There were days when he had no time to rest and was busy with paperwork.
He was about to reach his physical and mental limits. Leolde was determined to find a civil servant as soon as possible.
But he don't know what to do . Leolde  has no connections. Or, to be more precise, he does. He could have asked Beluga, but he had already refused.
And there is another person. He  don't know what kind of trouble I'll get into if I rely on this one.
However,  He was sure , that person has more connections than Beluga, the head of the duke's family. After all, it's the fourth princess, Sylvia.
" It's impossible."
He  thought about it, but it was still impossible. He quickly dismissed the idea, saying that he didn't know what kind of demands they would make of him. Leolde, who was going to go down to the town for a change, pace  called Gilbert and Isabelle.
With them as his escorts,  he descended into the town of Ze'at. It was already known that Leolde had become the acting lord.
At first, the residents believed the rumors and were afraid of him, but when they saw how many knights adored him, they were no longer frightened.
It is because of this that the residents are not frightened when Leolde comes to town.
"Hmmm. Can't find any candidates for civil servants?"
"It's not as big as  capital so it's unlikely that there will be any talented people laying around in the city.
"Damn it. I'm going to die of exhaustion if I don't do something."
"Maaster . Why don't you ask  Her Highness for help?
"Gil. , if we ask Hr Highness, she will certainly send us an excellent civil servant. But the payback would be terrible. You never know what she  might ask for.
"I would appreciate it if you refrained from making any comments that would taunt my lady .
"I'm aware of what you're reporting to Her Highness!
"But if this continues, master will reach his limit. We have to do something about it.
"I know, but ......?
". Master has no connections, does he?
"Shut up!
Although his popularity has been increasing lately, his only connections are with his father and Sylvia. In fact, it's great that he has a relationship with Sylvia, who is in a better position than him. But it's hard to use it . With all due respect to the royal family, Sylvia was not someone he  wanted to get involved with.
"Grow up already ......."
"I don't have time for this."
"Are you trying to kidnap me"
"Isabelle! What do you think you're doing "
"You're an honorable man, master "
"You're lying!
"What?"
"Tilt your head in a pretty way, but you're not fooling me!"
"I didn't mean it,  master , but I'm flattered."
Leolde admires Isabelle, who puts her hands to her face and blushes, but decides that she is acting and tweaks her.
"I envy your mentality!"
Gilbert was softened by the scene that had become familiar to him. It's not possible to intervene between the two, but Gilbert was happy to see that Leolde seemed to be enjoying himself .
At first, Gilbert tried to warn Isabelle about  his attitude toward Leolde, but Leolde  himself didn't mind, so Gilbert didn't say anything. Besides, it wasn't Gilbert who could speak for others.
He himself had been unforgivably rude to his master, Leolde,because he had been too lenient with his granddaughter. So, Gilbert never said anything to Isabelle because Leolde never said anything to him.
"Master , Isabelle. This is a place of traffic."
"Mmm. ...... Let's go.'
"I could have played along a bit more, but I'll follow Sir Gilbert's lead."
Leolde took the lead and moved on. But it's not a very big town. There is not much to see. To be honest  there  fort, but it's not worth going to see right now.
Leolde looked around to his left and right, searching for someone who might be a good civil servant, but he couldn't find anything. As he began to wonder if he should drink his tears and ask Sylvia to help him, he arrived at the knight's barracks.
(Hmm ... By the way, there are civilians among the knights, right? From there, even headhunting ... No, the civilian seems to be valuable to the Knights, so let's stop)
It was an unannounced visit, so Leolde made  his way to the barracks. As he entered, he could hear the hot shouts coming from the training area.
They're probably working hard on their training.  he thought it would be a nice change of pace for  him to get some exercise, so  he showed up at the training grounds.
When the knights noticed  him , they stopped their training and greeted him. Leolde waved his hand to stop them, telling them to continue their training.
After watching the knights train for a while, Barbaroto walks up to Leoldo and his group.
"What can I do for you today?"
"Oh. I'm actually looking for a civilian candidate, but I can't seem to find one. I was strolling around town and came across this place, so I thought I'd stop by and take a look.'
"Are you trying to find one of the knights?"
"Well, I won't deny it."
"Hmm. ......"
Barbaroto shows a pretense of thinking, as if he has an idea about the civilian candidates. As Leolde looks at Barbaroto expectantly, he sees a knight doing some chores out of the corner of his eye.
" Do knights have scullery maids?
"Yes, well. It's hard to say, but the scullery maids are all those who have no talent with the sword. So we have them do miscellaneous tasks such as cleaning and laundry.
"Is it possible to get them as civil  servants ?
"It would be possible, but I can't say for sure if they would be good civil servants. I don't want to say too much, but we need scullery maids.
Most knights are good at fighting, but many of them are not good at such chores.
"I see. ...... Hmm?"
"The knights who are not good at fighting do the chores, right?"
"Yes. What's wrong?
"Yeah. I've come up with a few ideas ".
Leoldo smiled fearlessly, and Gilbert and Barbarotp both had high hopes for him. And Isabelle was curious what kind of ide Leolde  have.
Eroge Reincarnation, Struggle of a Golden Pig Aristocrat Against Fate
エロゲ転生　運命に抗う金豚貴族の奮闘記
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/eroge-reincarnation-struggle-of-a-golden-pig-aristocrat-against-fate/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Romance Shounen Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Age Progression Aristocracy Beautiful Female Lead Broken Engagement Butlers Character Growth Complex Family Relationships Cowardly Protagonist Crafting Dense Protagonist Domestic Affairs Doting Parents Elemental Magic Emotionally Weak Protagonist Empires Fallen Nobility Fantasy Creatures Fantasy World Fat Protagonist Fat to Fit Galge Handsome Male Lead Hard-Working Protagonist Harsh Training Kingdom Building Kingdoms Knights Late Romance Lost Civilizations Loyal Subordinates Magic Magic Formations Maids Male Protagonist Management Manipulative Characters Marriage Misunderstandings Modern Knowledge Monsters Naive Protagonist Nobles Reincarnated in a Game World Royalty Sadistic Characters Sword And Magic Sword Wielder Time Skip Transmigration Underestimated Protagonist Weak to Strong Wizards
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4214gk/
名無しの権兵衛