The next week seemed like one continuous blur.
Konrad worked all day, every day, but felt he had done almost nothing.
Or at least nowhere near enough.
If there was one crime Otto Ostfeld committed, it was the complete lack of documentation.
How was he even running Halaima? It seemed like his only goal was to—
Well, do nothing.
He took over much of the duchy in the name of the Church, and that was it.
There was no administration. No tax collection. Not a single thought behind anything he did.
As if he were the classic, one-dimensional villain without a plan—but Konrad knew better. He only didn't know what that plan was. And, for now, he didn't even want to find out.
One thing was sure. The Inquisitor didn't fill his coffers by extorting the local nobles.
He imprisoned most of them, while the rest went into hiding, and the fields remained empty.
The whole duchy, uncultivated, left out to rot.
No secret treasury hidden in the catacombs—the Inquisitor was broke as much as he was.
As if he were mad at the king, or the whole world, and wanted to punish everyone involved in the Code of Conduct. Congratulations, he did it, and now it was up to Konrad to fix it.
To fix everything, without knowing what they were.
"What about the northern territories?" he asked, scratching his head as he looked over his papers. The first half of the week went by with him traveling the lands.
The duchy was enormous.
"No owners, Master," Eyna noted, running through a list of names. "Likely an old Halstadt fief."
Yep, that was his, then. He had more problems to deal with.
"Ugh, and I thought becoming a landowner would be fun," he groaned. "What am I supposed to do with it? I don't have workers, and it's way past the season of sowing anyway."
"The tribes could use them as pastures this year," the girl offered. "And then, we'd—"
"How am I to pay the king's taxes from that?" Konrad sighed, interrupting her.
There were many noble houses he had to restore and inventories to take.
He had no hope of taxing them when they had nothing left, either. If anything, he had to aid in rebuilding and try to earn their trust. Which also meant he had to talk to people.
Strangers, abused by the previous system. People who looked at him with suspicion.
"Whose idea was to make me a noble anyway?"
Statistics and logistics were his true element. He could have dealt with that, but this scale—
"The mercenaries finally paid their ransom and were set free," Eyna noted. "It's a handsome sum, Master. With the adamantite you created from the last bracelet, it will be enough."
She was all business and didn't let him slack off either.
He might've taken advantage of her too much, but she preened at every compliment he gave her. And when Konrad was this grumpy, she would only work even harder.
He had to choose his words, but he couldn't help complaining.
"It's a huge sum for some random guy, but for me, it's a drop in the ocean. What am I to do after the king's men leave? It's not even granted that I get to keep the title yet, and the ruins—"
"One step at a time, Master. Halaima needs you," Eyna offered a smile, and he sighed.
Right. Becoming a noble didn't mean riches. It meant obligations and problems he had to solve. Without the girl's constant and steady presence, he would've lost his mind already.
She might have been the weakest of her haremettes, but she was by far the most useful one.
And the least annoying, too. Stable, reliable, and beautiful.
Not in a perverted, distracting way like Lily, or even that sleepy dragon, nor cold as Gabrielle.
Yes, it was all thanks to her that he was able to keep his sanity.
And thank the spirits, there was someone else who didn't lose her mind—again.
Stella Nord.
In fact, she had a noble house of her own, one with her as the sole survivor, inheriting vast fiefs. Despite her name, her lands were south of Halaima.
Konrad sent her off to recuperate there and hide while the king's examination was ongoing.
"Lady Gabrielle offered a crop exchange. And to send experts to help with the reconstruction. If we survive the first winter, Halaima will be reborn stronger than ever."
Eyna had a way with words, but he couldn't share her enthusiasm. Not yet.
And that Lady Gabrielle had a hidden agenda involving him, and the demon lord of this world.
"She's no charity," Konrad noted. "We'll have to pay back the Schwertburgs soon enough, and it will be crippling. Is she with Stella now? What happened with the ex-executioner's lands?"
He had to delegate some tasks as he couldn't be everywhere at once.
He accepted the fact, but it didn't help with his anxiety.
"Um, yes. Her lands are fine," the purple-eyed girl reported without missing a beat. "The manor was never restored, but the Church fed their troops from her crops. It's ready for harvest soon."
"At least we won't starve to death." Konrad nodded. "And how's our little prodigy?"
His haremettes were right about Brigida.
Eyna found her parents immediately.
Elena and Joachim Brave were barons on the western fringes, running a tiny fief. Whether they lied or not, they claimed that they had no idea their mute daughter was a magical girl.
And a strong one at that. Konrad still cringed whenever he remembered her lightning strikes.
Once reunited—freed from the mines and Otto's clutches—they became the first to move to Halaima. Now they acted as his representatives for internal affairs, seeking out other nobles.
Many never returned from hiding.
They were suspicious of Konrad, even after the Church took Otto away.
But with them becoming the face of his actions—
"She learned voice magic from Lady Maple," Eyna said with a bright smile.
She and the dragon hit it off right away, once the latter woke up from her multi-day slumber.
They both loved the child, too—of course, because she was adorable.
If someone didn't get a taste of her lightnings—
Konrad was still not over that. He could never be.
"Will she be able to speak?" He raised an eyebrow, a bit jealous.
He decided to learn new spells, because he couldn't rely on luck and his intuitions forever.
With the power and the potential he had, he couldn't find excuses for his lack of training anymore. But he had no time—and with the dragon busy playing, no teacher, either.
"She can make sounds with her mana, but it will take a lot of practice," Eyna nodded.
"Hmm, can't wait to hear her apologize," Konrad said with a smirk, returning to his statistics.
Things were hard, but they weren't bleak. He made steady progress every day.
The question was, if he could make enough of it before—
"The king's steward has arrived," Vargas reported, almost kicking in his door.
Way to ruin his mood. Konrad rolled his eyes, feeling like screaming inside. Well, it was only a matter of time anyway. He was waiting for this moment with dread, rather than confidence.
"I guess we'll soon find out how long I'll remain the lord of these ruins, then."