Chapter 119 — Appointing a Magistrate for Gantz part2
After adjournment, I kept Leister and his son back—time for the inward-facing talk. We needed to hash out how to actually run Gantz.
Present were me, Ria, Elna, and Dalshim. One other person was waiting in the next room with Serena and Sharon. At my signal those two would bring him in.
「So, I’m honored to be appointed, but how should Gantz be administered in practice?」
Leister got right to the point.
「Alan?」
「You’ll ‘reside’ in Gantz as Magistrate, but that title is mostly for show. Hand the day-to-day municipal administration to the Commercial and Adventurers’ Guilds. Policy-wise, we stick with what we discussed—popular measures. Katolle will handle the nitty-gritty on Ares–Gantz trade. What I’m actually asking of you is to… carve up the Belta Kingdom.」
「What—. With the men I have, conquest will not proceed apace.」
「Right—the ‘conquest’ I want is intrigue. Split the nobles belonging to the Prime Minister’s faction and attract any neutral ones to our side.」
「Now that is a task worth doing. But I lack both personnel and funds.」
「We’ll cover the funds—and we’ve lined up a first-rate deputy. Erwin, come in.」
「It’s been a while, my lord.」
On cue from Serena and Sharon, Erwin entered—timed perfectly. The delivery impressed both Leister and Ria.
「Erwin! So you truly did enter Margrave Corinth’s service.」
「I failed to unmask the Prime Minister’s plot. I owe you an apology.」
「He fooled me as well—it was not your fault. If anything, that was my failing.」
「I knew you were old acquaintances. Good. Erwin will serve as your aide—until we’ve taken the Belta Kingdom. His clan also has other roles, so in an emergency I may recall him. Otherwise, the two of you will approach promising nobles and bring them over.」
「Excellent. Nothing would please me more than to see Burke repaid in kind. Leave that task to us.」
「I’m counting on you, Lord Leister. You too, Erwin.」
Both bowed deeply at Ria’s words.
「What terms do we offer for joining us?」
「I’d like to say ‘whatever they wish,’ but we can’t spend what we don’t have. Alan?」
「We’ll promote by results—more land, higher rank. If they turn on us, we crush them. Tell them this: we intend to rule the Belta Kingdom.」
「What do you think, Lord Leister? Is it feasible with these conditions?」
「Yes, under these conditions, I will certainly gather allies for our cause.」
Brimming with energy, Leister left with Erwin in tow.
Our clan home is currently serving as the provisional lord’s manor; from now on we should give Leister the Magistrate’s office as his study.
A handful of Count Gantz’s retainers still remain at the original manor. We could seize it outright, but managing it would be a hassle. Better to leave it be. We want to preserve the royal-mandate fiction—and it’ll play better with the people.
Dalshim, Ria, and I moved to final checks. Since I’d brought Erwin in, we called Serena and Sharon back too.
「Deputy Dalshim, fetch Serena and Sharon, please. Let’s do a last quick huddle with this group.」
「Understood.」
「First, we need to send a team to the gold mine and bring the artisans out. They’re still scared of the Cecilio Kingdom’s army. I want them freed quickly.」
We decided to pair Viscount Zeifried with Kenny’s squad for this. Zeifried had volunteered to handle it.
「Send the two of them as soon as they’re ready. I’d like to bring any new members to Ares if possible, but Viscount Zeifried will probably have to follow after.」
We’ll take Ursula and Viscount Barten to Ares. Showing them the city will make deciding their futures easier. Zeifried should be fine if we leave a guide for him in Gantz—the road’s straightforward and with an escort, monsters are not a problem.
「Ria, we need to leave several Satellite squads in Gantz, right.」
「A city this size needs three—no, four squads,」Elna answered for her.
We’ve only got ten squads—one hundred men; even adding the members we freed in the capital makes eleven. That leaves seven squads for other tasks. We need bodies to keep the highway safe, and we can’t afford to look thin to allies. It’s tight.
「Even if we rely on the city guard and the Adventurers’ Guild for public order, we’re short on people.」
How many of Leister’s former vassals will show? He has the prestige, but his clan was annihilated. Even he can’t know how many will answer until he tries.
「Let’s leave four squads, pull the rest, and focus on forming the Margrave’s Army.」
Dalshim had it right. I nodded.
「How big is the Alois Kingdom’s army, anyway?」
Serena asked.
「During the final battle in Ludvic territory, it was forty thousand to six thousand, I’m told. If their mobilization capacity is unchanged, fifty thousand’s a safe bet. Total strength is likely higher.」
「So at least fifty thousand,」Serena sighed.
With our current headcount, raising fifty thousand is a pipe dream. We’re stretched thin just housing and feeding Ursula’s cavalry.
「They’re a bigger country—more like two nations welded together. Twice Belta’s size, easily.」
「Even if we mustered every soldier in Belta, we might not hit that number.」
「We can beat fifty thousand with thirty thousand with enough preparation. But right now, we are very far from those numbers; we really need more people.」
Even with noble defections and Leister’s old guard, there’s a ceiling. Building a core army to serve as a foundation is urgent.
「We’ll recruit and train to face the Prime Minister’s faction.」
Even counting the newly added Royal Army soldiers, Ursula’s troops, and surrendered volunteers, we don’t even have 3,000 soldiers. Realistically, we’re a bit over 2,000. However we slice it, we’ll need more than 10,000. First step is to prepare the infrastructure to receive them.
But even 10,000 troops are too many for our current economy and population. If we cap soldiers at roughly ten percent of the population, we need our two cities to top 100,000 people. Gantz is the only city we have that is decently populated at 60,000. We are still far from the minimum goal.
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