A month passed, and by the time things had returned to the usual routine of Ceat Village, an unusual guest arrived.
It was Apollo from the Commercial Guild.
"Good to see you again, Van-sama."
"Apollo! You’ve brought quite the entourage today, haven’t you?"
I greeted him immediately as I went to meet him at the castle gates. Apollo smiled with his usual calm expression.
It wasn’t surprising that I was taken aback. After all, behind Apollo was a vast procession of large carriages, their numbers so many I couldn’t even begin to count them. It seemed as though the entire street was filled.
"This is incredible."
Arte exclaimed, just as surprised as I was. Meanwhile, the ever-enthusiastic Bell and Rango, who had been with us, couldn’t contain themselves. They immediately darted toward the carriages, barely sparing a moment to greet Apollo.
"Oh, this is cloth from the Central Continent!"
"And this is incredible too! Rare pottery, silverware, paintings...!"
Their excited chatter was hard to ignore, and I turned my attention back to Apollo.
"Could these be imports from the Central Continent? I didn’t expect them to arrive so soon."
I asked in surprise, and Apollo gave a small, confident smile—just a little more pride than usual.
"Yes, I’ve been preparing to deliver these as quickly as possible. Van-sama, congratulations on your victory."
With that, Apollo smiled again.
"Thank you. Wait, did you go all the way back to the Central Continent during the war and cross through Yellenetta Kingdom? From the coastline?"
"You are correct. The border was closed, so I waited at the southeastern town of Yellenetta. I thought it would take a little longer, but I never expected that we would subjugate both Yellenetta Kingdom and Shelvia Federation and win."
"Well, that was His Majesty’s strategy, wasn’t it? You shouldn’t say I brought about the victory."
I pointed out, feeling slightly uncomfortable with Apollo’s words. Apollo blinked, surprised, and quickly lowered his head.
"Oh, my apologies… I didn’t realize. But now, for the main topic—do you have somewhere private where we can discuss something a bit more complicated?"
"Complicated, you say? Well, let’s head to the lord’s manor."
After that exchange, I guided Apollo to the lord’s manor. The carriages were parked at the far end of Ceat Village, inside the castle walls. It would have been too dangerous outside, and the square in front of the manor was clearly too small to accommodate all the carriages.
Once inside the reception room of the manor, I asked Till to prepare tea and sweets. The room was occupied by Arte, Kamshin, Espada, and, by chance, Bell and Rango, who had stayed on as well.
This wasn’t just a typical trade; after all, Apollo had brought in imports from the Central Continent, so I had asked Espada to join us for the discussion.
Sitting at the table were just myself, Apollo, and Bell. The others stood around us, forming a circle.
"Let’s start with the situation," Apollo said as he laid out a map on the table. It wasn’t a very large table, but it was completely covered by the map.
"Wow! Is this a detailed map of the Central Continent?" Bert exclaimed, staring at it in awe.
At his words, I too took a closer look. On the left side was the name of the western continent, Grant Continent. On the right side was a slightly vertically elongated continent. This was the Central Continent—Leese Continent. It seemed to be about the same size as Grant Continent. The northern half of this continent was controlled by the Solstice Empire.
"This is a country of such a large scale, I wonder how they manage to maintain control of it?" I murmured, tracing the borders of the Solstice Empire with my finger.
Kamshin raised his head, noticing my thoughts.
"Is it difficult to create such a large country?" he asked innocently. This seemed to catch Arte’s interest as well, as she looked at me with a thoughtful expression. Perhaps as a noble, she found the topic intriguing. I decided to explain briefly before continuing.
"Maintaining a large country requires very strong laws. It’s also difficult to assign someone to govern distant territories. Theoretically, if there’s strong, well-enforced law and capable administrators, you could expand as much as you want. But that’s not always the case. If the laws have too many gaps, people will exploit them, and the security will deteriorate. If there are bad leaders in charge of the knights, then an enemy might invade. And if a bad administrator is placed in a far-off place, they could start making personal profits secretly, even betraying the nation. Worst-case scenario, they might even start a rebellion."
I explained the risks involved in expanding a country using Solstice Empire’s vast territory as an example. Kamshin pondered deeply.
"I see… Certainly, with so many nobles having different ideas, it could easily fall apart," he mused.
Arte, seeming more anxious, pointed at Yellenetta Kingdom on the map.
"Then, what about when Yellenetta Kingdom and Shelvia Federation become vassals? How do we manage that situation?" she asked, clearly concerned.
I nodded slightly.
"I think it’s not going to work as it is. After all, they were the ones we were just fighting not long ago. Trying to govern with distrust between Yellenetta Kingdom and Scuderia Kingdom would be difficult. That’s why we need someone trustworthy to manage things. Not just anyone, but someone who can keep the former enemies in check—someone who has the strength to prevent them from causing problems."
"...That seems really difficult. Is there anyone like that?" Arte asked, looking even more uncertain.
"That’s where the laws come in. If we keep enforcing them over time, managing them won’t be that difficult. It might even help to give certain autonomous rights to the territories that become vassals. That way, they can maintain their culture and lifestyle, reducing discontent."
I recalled that the Roman Empire used such methods in its administration, and I shared my thoughts with them. At that, Apollo looked deeply moved, his face full of emotion.
"Ah…! Amazing! This is exactly why I came to offer this advice! How to manage the territory of Scuderia Kingdom, now that it has expanded to such an enormous size. I had planned to bring up Solstice Empire’s method of governance, but it seems that won’t be necessary."
Apollo smiled wryly as he looked at Espada.
"To think that Espada-sama, the head butler, has been teaching such things. I’m truly in awe. This continent’s education system is, without a doubt, the best."
Since Apollo knew that Espada was the one who had taught these ideas, he praised him without reservation. However, Espada shook his head, his expression serious.
"Well, I did teach them about governance and control over vassal states, but not in such detail. I didn’t cover the usefulness of granting autonomy to vassals and how that helps in governance."
As Espada explained, everyone’s gaze turned to me.
I couldn’t exactly say, "This is knowledge from my past life," but I took a moment to collect my thoughts and answered.
"Well, when I learned from Espada, I thought about it. If you treat your country like a town, back then, I didn’t even know what was going on at the far end of the town… I really felt that when I saw Kamshin almost being sold as a slave. It’s impossible to know what someone is planning unless you’re close to them. If it’s another town, forget it."
I continued, slowly piecing together my thoughts. Everyone listened intently.
"...The reason why every town and territory is governed peacefully without rebellion is due to the kingdom’s laws, the local decrees, the knights, and the power of each lord. When expanding territory, what’s important is the law and the lord. But with a former enemy territory, it’s a different story. I realized that when I first came to Ceat Village."
At my words, Espada stroked his chin thoughtfully, nodding as he muttered.
"...I see. Indeed, Van-sama, when you first came to Ceat Village, you raised questions about the kingdom’s laws and how the village was governed."
He nodded a few times, acknowledging my point.
"...A prodigy. I thought I understood it, but it seems my understanding was still lacking."
Finally, Apollo added his thoughts, summarizing the situation.
"Oh, such brilliance! I’ve always known, of course, but I hadn’t realized how much deeper your insight goes."
Apollo’s words made me smile awkwardly. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was clear that I had inadvertently been praised far beyond my expectations.
Since I couldn’t explain the real source of my knowledge, I just gave a vague smile and held back my response.
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