Chapter 106

Chapter 106: The Taste of Power

The Taste of Power
Chapter 106. The Taste of Power

Having heard their opinions, now it was Ferda’s turn to speak.
— I have understood your intentions well. I express my gratitude for your hard work, laboring day and night to build a new village under the Grand Duchy.
Unlike the words of gratitude, his gaze contained the momentum to split them at a molecular level.
Ferda, aware of this, stabilized his emotions with a single deep breath.
— Recently, due to an unpleasant incident, there were 30 casualties. Among them, 4 deaths occurred, and all were civilians. Their deaths are not light to you, nor to me.
That was the truth.
— So, currently, I plan to divert the manpower focused on buildings to concentrate it on the erection of walls. It is planned for an area where approximately one thousand citizens can live comfortably, and up to a maximum of three thousand can be accommodated.
Although Hanson called them laborers, he was someone who had dabbled in the construction industry.
He could roughly estimate how large that area was.
— The people who build that wall will surely start from a place far from the village, correct?
— Of course.
— Then, how will you guarantee the safety of those laborers?
A countermeasure to the countermeasure.
It was something that could be answered truly simply.
— Isn’t there one already?
— What do you mean by that?
— The alarm bell installed in the middle of the village. What do you think it is? It is an object created by the Chancellor of Escolleia, the city of scholars.
At that, a foreman who knew a thing or two made a fuss.
— Chancellor of Escolleia? That means he is the lord of those bookworms, isn’t he?
— If he is the lord, he must be the smartest.
Upon mentioning the Chancellor of Escolleia, trust was formed.
In reality, he was a scholar in an ambiguous position in the upper ranks, but people like this wouldn’t really know that.
Ferda continued speaking.
— I improved the alarm function of the monster spawn prediction device and transformed it into the shape of an alarm bell that signals danger. With that, we detected the approach of the monsters, and a swift evacuation was carried out. That is why the casualties were so few.
Ferda tapped the paper placed before him with his finger and spoke.
— However, weren’t there deaths?
— It is minimal damage. More people could have died.
Ferda spoke firmly.
— If you are curious about cases of monster invasion, I will tell you as many as you want. Recently, there were more than 30 cases of incursions, and if we compare with those, I can also explain to you how perfectly we blocked them. Do you want an explanation?
His words were cold and hard, like steel.
It felt certain that striking with a soft fist would only break one’s own hand.
— Of course, I know this position is not to boast of my knowledge. What all of you need is not an early warning, but rather the power to kill monsters, is that not so?
Ferda closed his eyes.
And after a moment, as if he had decided something, he said to them.
— Soon, I will have the magitech rifles that Marquis Vernel will produce distributed to all of you. What do you think?
Most of the foremen were startled.
The fame of the magitech rifle had already reached the common plebeians.
— Do you mean that object that killed that monster wolf with a single shot?
— Yes.
At those words, Stefan was startled and spoke cautiously.
— Regent-nim, that part… allow me to discuss it with you first—.
— Why should I do that?
— Well, the place that should be supplied with that prototype is another first, and we need to appeal to them…
Ferda looked at Stefan and frowned.
— This is an object made for the security of this Far East. The people who work in the Far East come first; distant things are none of my concern, right?
— Of course, that is a very correct statement, but…
— There is no ‘but’. I will not allow further comments, Stefan Pascal.
— I, I apologize.
Stefan stepped back with a groan.
Ferda turned his gaze back to the foremen.
— So, what do you think, interim union leader?
Hanson glanced at the expressions of the foremen.
Their faces looked as if they wanted to accept it right that very instant.
He couldn’t just end it by accepting like that, so Hanson carefully raised an objection.
— Of course, if you do that, we will be grateful for Regent-nim’s grace, but as we lack instruction, it is questionable whether we will be able to handle such objects well.
— There is no need to worry. That part is being handled by the geniuses I recruited.
Precisely, it is the idiot who handles it, but even so.
The geniuses are probably pulling their hair out because of the idiot today as well.
— With one bullet used for that object, a monster wolf can be hunted, so, in the worst case, five people can handle one monster.
— Oh…
— Five people against one… what an incredible object…
People were making faces as if they would fall for it the more they listened.
They were all country folk who had come to the capital to earn money.
They might not have had contact with monsters created by demons, but goblin raids were a common occurrence.
What they needed was not a standing army, but the power to protect their own bodies.
Or means that corresponded to that.
Ferda can give the power to kill monsters.
Even the means to kill monsters that even mercenaries who work for money refuse to face.
It was an object that possessed profound value that could not be bought with money.
He said without hesitation that he would give such an object.
Even at the risk of ruining relations with the empire’s great tycoon.
“Truly, a person who thinks of the East.”
Ferda examined their expressions.
It was clearly visible that almost all of them had been convinced.
“Just as Stefan had predicted.”
The operation to propose the distribution of magitech rifles was actually an operation Stefan had devised.
Three days prior, while discussing with Stefan, who had arrived, they drew up several scenarios.
One of them was pretending to grant a favor.
Originally, the very purpose of the magitech rifle’s existence was for civilians.
And he intended to commercialize it, targeting the residents of the Far East first.
The laborers were simply getting it a little faster.
“Besides, if the situation gets complicated, they can also become reserves.”
They get the power to kill monsters,
And Ferda gets troops he can mobilize in emergencies.
It was a strategy that seemed beneficial to both parties.
Of course, the guy shouldering the burden, Hanson, wouldn’t want to end it with just that.
Because it was content quite separate from their demands.
— We sincerely thank you for the grace granted by the Spouse of the Great Fire, but we would be grateful if you would also consider our demands.
— Of course. This is separate from your demands. I do not know that part well, so I will pass the baton.
The one who took that baton was Stefan Pascal.
He greeted them with a shameless expression.
— I am Stefan. I serve as the head of the headquarters of the Pascal Company, and I am scheduled to become the president of the entire company later; currently, I am also the interim manager of the former Dandolo Company.
The president of the largest company in the empire, and a man who managed even the second-in-command group.
Although he was not a noble, he was a commoner who possessed power incomparable to that of most nobles.
The reason for such a long introduction was, of course, to intimidate the people.
— According to what I have confirmed, your employment is currently subcontracted through the administrator of Hestia Village.
— That is correct.
— Certainly, with so many laborers, the fact that a union has not been formed is something I also consider a serious matter. In any case, you need someone to represent your voices.
Stefan spoke as if he understood their situation.
— The need for a union is something I also feel for the peace and prosperity of the Far East. Therefore, I officially support the establishment of the labor union of the Grand Duchy of Valdrova, that is, the Far East Labor Union.
Stefan turned the paper and responded to another demand.
— Furthermore, the current wages of the laborers and foremen will be maintained at the increased rate of 50%. And each foreman will be paid differential compensation according to the number of laborers they supervise, performance-based bonuses will be awarded, and housing support in the residential area of the Far East will be provided according to years of service.
It was an unprecedented deal.
To the point where one wonders why they had not voiced such complaints until now.
— I hear there was an agreed-upon matter among you regarding the union head. Have you decided to recommend Mr. ‘Hanson’?
— Yes.
— Understood. I will take it as the appointment of Mr. Hanson as head of the Far East Labor Union.
Swish swish, he wrote the name, and Stefan clasped his hands politely and requested.
— Then, from now on, we will move on to the conversation with the union head. Is it alright if only those at the site manager level and above participate for the content beyond this?
At that, a foreman frowned and challenged.
— Do you know what kind of plan you are scheming?
— Speak now.
— Originally, it is a principle to speak with the union head, but given that you voiced your concern, we are allowing site managers to observe.
Including Hanson, there were a total of 3 site managers.
With faces denoting displeasure, but unable to help it, they left their seats.
With the foremen now out and only the site managers remaining, Stefan began to speak in a clearly different atmosphere.
— Now then. Shall we have the real conversation that executives have?
— Whatever you do, we will not flinch.
— Because it is not something that needs flinching. The reason I excluded the foremen is because it is content related to nobility.
— Content related to nobility?
Hanson retorted actively.
— Under the code of the Grand Duchy, citizens currently do not have suffrage. So, even if one becomes head of the union, it is practically a position worse than that of a village chief.
— That is correct.
— Having discussed this matter beforehand, Regent-nim said he intends to turn the head of the labor union into the figure of a citizen representative.
— A citizen representative, you say?
— Yes. In some western republics, suffrage is granted in this manner. In terms familiar to the empire’s code… you can think of it as a quasi-baron.
Quasi-baron!
Strictly speaking, it was not a noble, but it was a position that could hold noble privileges.
Wasn’t that the noble position Hanson had desired so much?
— Therefore, if one becomes a citizen representative, suffrage is guaranteed, and tax reduction and commercial activities can also be linked. And a dignity allowance will be paid quarterly.
Every line recited was engraved perfectly into his ears.
Not even the daily wage received at dusk would leave such pleasure.
Hanson found it terribly difficult to control his expression.
“Just as that mage said?”
Complaints make people troublesome, and that trouble leads to rewards.
Hanson felt it was a waste not to have devised this sooner.
— Of course, this is limited to the position of union head. If you resign from the position of union head, the citizen representative qualification disappears. Understood?
— Does that mean that if I resign as union head, I become the same as an ordinary citizen?
— It passes to the successor, so the successor will obtain the authority of the citizen representative.
— Understood.
— Do the other two have any objections?
The site managers shook their heads.
— No objections.
— It seems fine this way.
— Then, Union Head-nim, please sign here.
Stefan held out the contract to him, and Hanson checked the contents of the contract once more and signed.
Thus, the council concluded successfully.
That night, Hanson drank alcohol pleasantly.
Starting tomorrow, he will go to work not as a site manager, but as Head of the Far East Labor Union.
“Install a nice nameplate and a chair… I also have to look for a house to live in from now on.”
His future was nothing but a flower path.
A smile did not leave his face, and he was dying to contact his relatives and family.
— You seem to be in a good mood.
The voice of the insolent young mage was heard.
Hanson welcomed that voice enthusiastically.
— Oh, heavens! Welcome, Mage-nim!
— Haha, don’t stand up. Don’t even think about trying to take my hand. And how did it go?
— Thanks to you, Mage-nim, I was promoted to union head.
— Congratulations. Then, tell me in more detail.
Drunk and flushed, he told the story of what had happened.
Unlike the heroic tale he was reciting, the mage’s face grew harder and harder.
— So you accepted that content as is?
— Of course. They accepted all our demands, so how—.
— You damned idiot bastard!
A woman who poured out insults without hesitation.
Hanson sobered up instantly at those words.
— W-Why are you so angry?
— Didn’t you hear me, you idiot bastard? No, you’re not even worth what a mole crawling on the ground is. At least they have enough sense not to crawl out! Do you even know what you just did?
— …?
At his bewildered expression, the woman let out a long sigh.
— Dammit, I should have disguised myself as a laborer and joined, regardless of whether that guy noticed or not. It’s my fault for sending idiots like this as is!
— What did I do wrong?!
— What do you mean by ‘what’? You climbed onto the gallows yourself, tied the noose, and put it around your own neck?!
— A hero play?
Ferda expressed doubt. It was a word that contained the core of the operation he had spoken of.
— Doesn’t it end with the death of the Demon King and the victory of the Hero?
— That is correct.
— We know the Demon King dies, but the actor who played the Demon King is not actually killed. It is similar to that.
— So you mean it’s just for show.
Stefan nodded.
— When an incident occasionally breaks out, the union head proclaims himself a hero and steps forward. And he defeats the villain, Regent-nim, and takes the reward. Thus, the citizen representative gains support even from the opposition forces.
Stefan smiled smugly.
— Without them knowing that they are actually in cahoots.
— But Hanson is not on my side right now, is he?
Stefan nodded.
— Soon, he will be bowing his head in Regent-nim’s palm. It cannot help but be so.
— Explain.
Stefan raised his index finger and spoke.
— First, we are in a situation where part of the workforce is leaving to build walls. Therefore, additional manpower is needed for smooth urban planning.
— That is correct.
— Considering the current situation, we will need to deploy 100 more people. Then the labor union will gain an additional 100 people.
— Can we attract them?
— With the daily wage we are paying now, they will have no choice but to come. It is money that can make them postpone the Imperial Dream for a while.
The current count of laborers is 253.
But 98 of them are laborers from Halim, and do not belong to the Far East Labor Union.
Which means there are effectively 155.
100 new laborers are added there.
An astonishing 2/5 are newly arrived rookies.
— Factions will form.
— Factions are already forming as we speak.
— Why?
— This is the second reason. As I said, only with the position of citizen representative can one obtain benefits similar to those of a noble.
— That is correct.
— What do you think will happen if a union head election system is introduced here?
He understood.
— So that is why you pretended to bring the site managers as witnesses to speak.
— Yes. Unlike Hanson, whose eyes were clouded by the power right before him, those two seem to have completely understood it.
Greed for power wouldn’t exist only in Hanson.
Rather, they would think: “Hanson got it, why not me?”
— To maintain the factions for that election, money will be needed. But, do they have the power to win people over with just their wages?
— They will not.
— And what would people who have only handled skills all their lives know about management? About laws? About personnel or financial management?
Just as Stefan cannot do carpentry, and Hanson cannot do management, everyone has things they cannot do.
— In the end, to solve all of that, this is necessary.
Stefan made a circle with his thumb and index finger.
Money.
Money is needed to obtain power, and money is needed to maintain it.
— They will end up looking for someone who provides them with that money.
Who would be the person with a lot of money right before their eyes?
Who would advise on financial flow, laws, personnel management?
— A board without intellectuals is always swept away by the great current.
Stefan was the current itself.
With an inwardly satisfied face, he asked.
— Then, in how many months will the labor union be mine?
Stefan smiled broadly and replied.
— I will make it yours within a maximum of 2 months.