The Story of Hero Among Heroes ~The Founding Chronicles of Arestia Chapter 64

Chapter 64 – Clean Up

The next day, in the Brittany Federation’s capital Trahn .
Ares’ arrival was greeted with welcoming hands by the merchants . Everyone had a smile on their faces .
This made Ares uncomfortable .

[Welcome to Trahn city . ]

[Please follow me; the chief is expecting your arrival . ]

Ares followed the merchant while keeping his thoughts to himself . They guided him to an extremely large mansion even for a wealthy city such as Trahn .

Ares was directed to the mansion’s main hall where 5 fat men were already waiting for him .

[This would be our first meeting . We five are the executives responsible for Brittany Federation’s administration . ]

One of them spoke up . Apparently, this one acted as the representative among the five Brittany Federation executives . The other four were simply staring . In their eyes were both resentment and relief .

(It seems to be working as I thought)

Ares laughed inwardly as he stealthily observed those executives .

[Well then, pardon us for we are still in an emergency . As you can see, Trahn city is full of mercenaries…]

Ares cut off the speech by presenting a sheet of paper .

[What is this?]

[A letter from His Majesty Emperor . I believe it’s directed to all of the upper echelon of Brittany Federation . ]

[Hoho . Then I’ll be pleased to read it . ]

Having said that, the representative read the letter . Soon, his face turned pale and he started shaking .

[Ho, how can this be? Confiscation of 90% of the commodity owned by merchants involved in politics; moreover, banishment from Trahn city!?]

[What!?]

[That unfair!?]

[Madness!]

[Bulls.h.i.+t! They dare to do that!]

The other four executives immediately raised their voices in protest .

[It wasn’t us, the mercenaries did it . We have nothing to do with what they did on their own accord . ]

The representatives tried to explain .

[I can’t talk with this young man . I need someone who would understand…]

When the representative said that, Ares presented another letter .

The representative crumpled that letter instead .

[Outrageous…]

[Do you not want to know the content of that paper?]

Ares spoke up, interrupting the representative .

The representative hesitantly fixed the crumpled paper and his face turned even paler .
A plundering permit and some words of encouragement written there .

[Are you alright? Don’t tell me you want to refute the fact here . ]

And right there, Ares hammered the table with his hand, shocking the merchants present .

[We are the victors of this war . You have no right to say anything . Otherwise, I can command the five thousand soldiers outside to go on a rampage . ]

The merchants’ face turned blue at Ares’ threat . Ares then continued .

[You are disqualified to be a ruler once you allowed your people to be plundered . I don’t need any of you, so you must go away . Moreover, I did my personal investigation, and I found out that you guys at the upper echelon really love to do some exciting things, don’t you? Bribery, blackmail, sometimes even a.s.sa.s.sination…]

Ares then leaned forward .

[This city and the entire Brittany Federation won’t grow any further while any of you still around . You guys are nothing but parasites . ]

[Screw you! Guge . ]

One of the executives had had it enough and attempted to attack Ares, but was immediately cut down by Sigurd who was on standby at the back . The merchants screamed in terror; some even fell on their b.u.t.t .

[So… somebody… help…]

[Yes, that’s what we originally intended to do . I told you to leave and I’ll even leave some for you to live… . But you just had to do that . ]

Ares said so as he moved his face closer to the representative’s .

[Can you tell? This is the reality of what happened if you lose a war . You may not know it since you were always busy with sipping soup in a warm room called the power of money, but this is what happens in the outside world nearly everyday . This is the reality . ]

The representative lost his mind upon hearing that .

Vulcas spoke to Ares as he watched the merchants being taken away into custody .

[What will become of Trahn city then? I need to inform Silvisama who is currently rus.h.i.+ng here on who will govern this place…]

[About that, I actually have an idea already . Looks like he’s just arrived . ]

There were a couple of men heading towards them . Apparently merchants and craftsmen, but they didn’t show any sign of fear despite coming here .
One of the men asked Ares .

[What do you want from us? We have no money, nor we are educated people]

[No, I don’t particularly need anything from any of you . The upper echelon has gone . In exchange for that, I’ll leave the commoners to govern this city, and later the entire Brittany .

Everyone was caught surprised by those words .

[Can you tell us why?]

Another raised a question

[There are a lot of things I’m going to need to know here if I were to govern this place myself . But there are already people doing business here and there and they should know the situation better than me . Above all… if I let you do business properly without any backhanded methods, then wouldn’t that bring profit to the city itself?]

All of them seemed fascinated by that reasoning .

[However, it’s not like I’ll let you go scotch free . I want you to make the city prosper in 1 year time . If you can’t do that, I’ll naturally find a replacement . ]

The man asked once more

[Will you give us some time to consider?]

So Ares replied .

[Of course I’m not forcing you to give your answer now . But if possible, I hope that there will be a reply by tomorrow . I’m planning to march out of this city tomorrow . ]

That revelation was the most shocking .

[What!? You’re just going to leave the land you’ve conquered!?]

[As I said, I’m leaving the governing of this place to others . Using my forces to suppress this place won’t bring me any benefit]

Therefore Ares took the man’s hand and said .

[The rise and fall of this city will be up to you . I believe it’ll be one h.e.l.l of a challenging job . ]

=====
◆

Ares looked on at the merchants through the window . All of them had a complex look on their face as they returned home with a lot to think about .

[Can you please tell me why?]

Ares turned around and saw Vulcas standing there .

[Normally one would station a deputy officer to govern the land they’ve occupied . But I will not do that here . Can you guess why?]

[The residents won’t be convinced if a stranger suddenly takes charge?]

And that’s why Ares sought those merchants .

[Have you seen those merchants’ face? Normally, if given such an offer, anyone will just jump in at the first chance . But they didn’t . That’s because they know how hard it is to govern . Knowing that, they’ll think things through first before giving a reply . ]

[But they have no political experience]

[There is always a first time for everyone . Although reluctant, they’ll keep trying…and hopefully, they’ll eventually find their way . I believe they can handle this] .

Ares turned to Vulcas once more .

[I’ve sent a messenger to Her Highness Silvia the other day . I will also conquer Trevoir before Her Highness arrives . ]

[What?!]

[You probably didn’t think that Brittany will fall this fast, did you? We’re aiming for something big here . And as much as possible…I want to reduce casualties to a minimum… for both allies and enemies alike . ]

Ares continued on while keeping eye contact with Vulcas .

[I can’t take a break yet . I need to make preparations so we can leave as soon as we get their reply!]

After saying so, Ares headed out to the door .