Translator: Cinder Translations
...
After the group of pirate captives was taken to the basement, Paul noticed another unfamiliar figure standing beside Schroder. Despite the scruffy beard and ragged clothes, it was clear at a glance that this attire wasn't something an ordinary civilian could afford.
He spoke up, "Schroder, who is this?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention. He claims to be from the Foster family of the Angle Bay Alliance, who came on an expedition to the Northwest Gulf months ago and unfortunately got kidnapped by pirates."
The young man immediately stepped forward in a noble gesture, flawlessly composed.
"Your Lordship, I presume you are the lord of this place. Allow me to introduce myself. My father is Marquis Foster, a member of the Council of the Angle Bay Alliance. I am his second son, Quiller Foster. On behalf of the Foster family, I extend my utmost respect to you and thank you for rescuing me from the pirates."
Upon hearing the young man's introduction, Paul managed to stifle a smile and responded, "You're too kind! It's my duty as the lord."
Marquis Foster sure knew how to name his children. Since he must be a prominent figure in the Angle Bay Alliance Council involved in trade, he named his son "Quiller." Despite knowing it was merely a coincidental pronunciation in Chinese, Paul couldn't help but inwardly comment.
"Are you Quiller Foster?" After the young man introduced himself, the members of the Lichman Adventurer's Guild all turned to look at him.
"Indeed, that's me." Quiller Foster smoothed his hair, somewhat self-consciously. These fellows were clearly commoners; there was no need to be as courteous as he was with the Count just now.
Captain Meru Hemer was furious, "You brat—do you have any idea how much effort we put into finding you?"
Quiller Foster looked bewildered, his face full of question marks. "Uh... do I know you?"
"Aargh! I can't take it anymore, you're such a wilful young master. Your family hasn't heard from you in two months. They've been beside themselves with worry. The Marquis entrusted our adventuring party to find you. After we arrived here, we learned you were held captive by pirates. We nearly lost our lives trying to rescue you."
"Um, I was too impulsive. I worried my family."
"Hey hey! The main point of what I just said is in the last sentence."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Argh! I don't care. When we commissioned you, we only said we were looking for someone, not that we were going to fight pirates. The commission must be doubled, no, it should be tripled."
Quiller Foster snapped his fingers, closed his eyes, and said, "Hehe, it's nothing! I have always respected adventurers. The Foster family will definitely fulfill your wishes."
His attitude was so indifferent.
"You didn't even ask what the initial commission price was!" In the hall, including Paul, everyone instantly surged with envy, jealousy, and hatred towards the nouveau riche.
...
As they spoke, the various military officers who had encircled the remaining pirates in the port of Frand gradually arrived at the church.
So Quiller Foster and the Lichman Adventurer's Guild were arranged to rest, the townspeople were also disbanded back home, and in a room next to the hall, the camp's upper level military officers were summoned to a meeting.
Staff Officer Joyce was responsible for summarizing the results of this battle, and he stood up and reported, "My lord, this battle was a brilliant success. The pirate gang, the Shark Gang, was wiped out. A total of 123 pirates were killed, including the leader Shark, all others were captured, and we lost 32 men with 55 others injured to varying degrees."
The officers exchanged glances, highly satisfied with the outcome of the operation.
Paul asked, "What about the pirate gang led by someone nicknamed 'Eel'?"
Joyce replied, "We didn't encounter them in this battle. According to the prisoners, it seems they fled back to sea early on."
Schroder added, "While pursuing Shark, we managed to recover several chests of coins they had loaded onto their ship. Rough estimates suggest about 2,000 gold coins, 6,000 silver coins, and tens of thousands of copper coins."
"Wow!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise, astonished at how lucrative a career piracy could be. A small pirate gang had amassed such wealth.
Paul was especially delighted; with this much money, he could finally do some things he had long wanted to do.
"We can use this money to forge more cannons."
"Recruit more soldiers."
"Produce more firearms."
"And establish our own naval force."
The officers all expressed their opinions on how to use the money, even Cecil kept signaling discreetly, implying his intelligence work also needed additional funding.
"But shouldn't some of this money be returned to the coastal residents it was taken from?" someone suddenly raised a question.
The room fell silent, the lively discussion abruptly halted, and after a moment of mutual staring, everyone unconsciously looked towards the Count.
Why is everyone looking at me? Of course, in my heart, I want to return it to the common people, but I don't know if you all want to. If you all want to return it to the common people, that would be ideal, but if you don't want to, and I say it against everyone's wishes, will you throw me out the window?
The Count's mind was in turmoil. Ah! It's frustrating! Who will be the first to speak up?
After a tense standoff that lasted nearly a minute, it was finally the old knight Schroder who stepped forward.
"With our current means, it's difficult to accurately assess the losses of each household. Moreover, the Shark Gang has been marauding the seas for years, and some of the money they stole came from other territories. If we allow the residents to come forward and claim, it would give many dishonest people the opportunity to exploit the situation. For example, someone who wasn't actually robbed might claim to have lost their last silver coin. How should we handle that?"
Everyone snapped out of their daze. Ah, Sir Schroder makes a valid point. In the end, there might not be much money left, and we might even have to put in more.
Cecil quickly chimed in, "Yes, the common people can be the worst—sly and greedy. When I was in charge of forestry, those who were always looking to take advantage were the most troublesome."
Unexpectedly, the young Earl was furious after hearing this remark, slammed the table, glared angrily at the intelligence chief, who immediately covered his mouth, still unsure of what he had said wrong.
Schroder continued, "Therefore, I suggest compensating the residents who suffered losses through other means. For example, reducing some taxes, repairing bridges and roads for the villages that were robbed, or sending people to investigate discreetly and providing some money to households that were genuinely robbed and whose livelihoods were threatened, of course, under a different pretext. This would be better than simply accepting claims at face value."
"What a good idea!"
"Schroder really has foresight!"
"I second that."
The others all voiced their agreement with Schroder's suggestion.
Paul also agreed deeply. Seeing everyone in consensus, he decisively concluded, "Good! It's settled then."
(End of the chapter)