Boom! A group of soldiers arrived, led by Lachesis, who kicked open the firmly closed door with his foot and entered. Jared followed him in.
"Wow..."
"That's intense. So fiery!"
"Everyone, be quiet!"
What greeted Jared, Lachesis, and the security forces was a room plastered with erotic paintings for all to see. The paintings were numerous, even making grown adults feel embarrassed, and some were overly explicit. Additionally, many of them depicted women well-known in society. In short, the more they looked, the more their faces flushed from the contents.
"Hmm, who might you be?"
At that moment, a man sitting in a chair in the office, sipping from a wine glass, tilted his head in curiosity. Despite being in a position as an administrator, and having duties to fulfill, he showed no signs of embarrassment for indulging in leisure.
"You're Julian!" Lachesis shouted. Having already heard all about his infamy from the territory's people, his eyes were filled with murderous intent. Yet, whether he was being ignored or truly unaware, Julian remained unfazed.
"Yes, that's me. Is there something you need?"
"You...!"
"Sir Lachesis, please hold back. Let me speak," Jared interrupted Lachesis just as he was about to roar.
Before arriving here, Jared had considered Julian a mere incompetent and corrupt official. He had intended to immediately dismiss him and punish him according to the laws of the territory. But upon seeing his face and using his mind's eye to directly assess his stats, Jared's thoughts changed.
'What's going on with this guy?' He grew curious. Until he looked with his mind's eye, he thought Julian's behavior was typical laziness of an incompetent fool. But it wasn't. He clearly had abilities, yet he was hiding them.
[Julian – Lv. 65]
[Strength: 17]
[Stamina: 28]
[Magic: 13]
[Wisdom: 301]
[Agility: 11]
[Charm: 29]
[Physical Defense: 3]
[Magic Defense: 3]
[Special Inclination: Administrative Expert S / Managerial Mastery A / Multi-tasking A]
[General Inclination: Ambition, Money, Alcohol]
[Due to a powerful synergy effect from his special inclination, his wisdom stat has greatly increased.]
'Administrative expert, managerial mastery, multi-tasking? Plus, he has a synergy effect from his special inclination. This guy's a complete domestic all-rounder!'
Jared, with an expression of surprise, studied Julian's traits. Though his other stats were low, making him unsuitable for magical talents, he was undoubtedly a remarkable talent in administration.
'He can handle work in any field and maximize efficiency. This kind of talent is at least B-grade, and depending on his awakening, he could even reach A-grade!'
He was indeed a talent, especially necessary to fill the administrative void created by incorporating the Mallorca territory anew.
Jared calmly continued speaking. "Tell me, why haven't you been tending to the village all this time? Surely you don't get paid just to idle around and drink?"
"You must be the new lord. I apologize. The truth is, the work I wanted to do wasn't such a trivial task."
Julian's answer was sharp. Even with the lord in front of him, he wasn't intimidated; rather, he spoke with emphasis.
"You don't want to do trivial work?"
"Yes, I think it doesn't suit my capacity. I'm not meant to be in such an idle position."
"Ah, this brat dares to spout such insolent words...!"
Swish! Lachesis, unable to hold back any longer, drew his sword. If Jared hadn't stopped him, he seemed furious enough to cut down Julian on the spot.
"Sir, please step outside until I give further instructions."
"Yes, my lord. Apologies. I was at a loss for words upon hearing all this."
"I will handle it."
"Understood."
Lachesis exited with the security soldiers, leaving only Jared and Julian behind.
"Julian."
"Yes, my lord."
"You said you didn't want to do trivial work?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Is it that you don't want to do it, or can't do it?"
"I don't want to do it."
"Can you prove it?"
"Of course. Handling the affairs of a small village wouldn't even take half a day. If you don't mind, would you like to watch?"
"Very well. I will quietly observe, so prove your words."
"Yes. Is anyone out there?"
Before the words were even finished, Julian called for his subordinate. Jared quietly stepped back and sat in a corner of the office.
"Yes, Administrator."
"From now on, I'll take care of the backlog of official duties. Spread the word to gather everyone from the village. I'll handle everything from minor disputes."
"Yes, understood!"
"My lord, if it's alright, could you help take down these erotic paintings? I've put up too many without much thought. Hahaha."
"With your talent in painting, you could have been an artist. I can't just tear down such fine works, so I'll be cautious."
Jared chuckled as he joined Julian in taking down the paintings that densely covered the walls.
'He doesn't bother with trivial manners, and he has quite an open mind. Instead of getting angry at me, he chooses to have a leisurely conversation.'
Julian, with a smile on his lips, was surprised by Jared's demeanor. In fact, it hadn't been long since Julian was beaten by a subordinate sent by Horcus. Of course, he couldn't argue since he hadn't been taking care of the territory, but after that day, he was contemplating leaving the territory.
Julian wanted to find someone who could make full use of his abilities. However, being of common birth, he had to fight against numerous prejudices. In the empire or kingdom's official exams, even with perfect answers, he would often be disqualified for being a commoner. In most territories, after conversations with Julian, they would treat him contemptuously, calling him full of vanity.
As a result, he was pushed and pushed and ended up in the cold northern part of the continent. To sum it up, the previous lord was trash. He didn't even know the basics of territory management, and Julian had half the mind to teach him a lesson through a beating. But this new lord was different. As soon as he took over the territory, he stabilized the public order and then began inspecting the administrators—a sure sign of someone who knew how to run a territory properly.
Julian had deliberately put on a public drinking session from dawn, hoping news of him would reach Jared's ears.
Thud! Thud! Thud! As soon as the work resumed, a never-ending procession of territory residents came with numerous complaints.
'Can he really... handle it?' Jared's curious eyes were fixed on Julian.
"......"
Julian, with his eyes closed, was merely fingering the fountain pen to be used for work.
'This reminds me of when Liu Bei met Pang Tong in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.'
Reflecting on what transpired between him and Julian, Jared recalled a scene from the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that had deeply impressed him in his youth. Like how Liu Bei acquired Pang Tong, Jared hoped to gain another competent retainer.
Is this what they mean by a feast for the eyes?
I was greatly astonished by Julian's smooth handling of the village affairs. Quite perplexing cases came piling in, but Julian reached conclusions without a hitch. More surprising was that whether one was the plaintiff or the defendant in a lawsuit, no one objected to Julian's judgments. Everyone was satisfied, and when someone occasionally questioned it, Julian calmly explained his reasoning one by one. Then they all understood, nodded, and withdrew.
Furthermore, he easily calculated errors in the process of sending the village's produce to the lord's castle using mental mathematics. In doing so, he realized there were lost grains and immediately called in the person responsible and imprisoned them. The loss occurred in the middle management, and the one handling it was the only person in charge.
As Julian had proclaimed, the pressing matters in the village were resolved within half a day. Seeing as I had guessed it would take at least a month of rough handling to resolve the issues, I felt ashamed.
'There's a reason for his confident arrogance.'
Having seen it with my own eyes, I couldn't dispute his skills. The same went for Lachesis, who bore a look of surprise throughout. Witnessing how he smoothly resolved the village's affairs without a single common conflict was truly impressive.
'He's the right person!'
It seemed there was no need to go far to find new talent. A hidden dragon was right by my side.
A while later, outside the cramped office, Jared and Julian began a private conversation while strolling along the village's pathways.
"Your confidence is perfectly understandable. I watched attentively."
"I apologize for not properly attending to the village affairs until now. However, since the issues weren't dire or urgent, I merely postponed them."
"There wasn't anything particularly severe or pressing."
"Yes, my lord. As long as someone can clearly distinguish between public interests and private gain, it's not a difficult task unless one is a parasite living on bribes."
"That means you're objective, then?"
"The only person who can entice or cajole me is myself. I represent no one's interests and protect no one's gains."
"A commendable sentiment. Julian."
"Yes?"
"Please speak candidly. What position do you desire?"
Jared was the first to make a move. Julian was a talent with outstanding abilities as an administrator. Even with just the Administrative Expert S trait, he could efficiently handle the administration of a large territory. With only two minor territories to manage, work would be as easy as pie.
Julian, with a subtle smile and a soft voice, replied to Jared's inquiry.
"Allow me to ask you in return. Are you different, my lord?"
A simple question, yet it carried significant implications. He wanted to know if Jared was different from the countless ordinary lords.
"I can't say I'm different by my own mouth, but I strive to become so. I constantly put in effort to grow myself, and I put the same effort into my territory."
"Good. Then, can you accomplish what I speak with your power?"
"If it's within my capabilities, certainly."
Jared nodded. Based on his experiences in Paradiso, Julian's level of skill seemed capable of managing at least five large territories. Missing such talent right in front of him would be a failure resulting in sleepless nights from regret.
Jared wanted to let Julian, the dragon hiding its claws and waiting for the right moment, soar with all his might.
"My lord, what is your dream? Won't you share it with me?"
Julian suddenly asked about his dream. Though Jared often asked himself this question, he never imagined hearing it from another. But he could answer confidently; he always had his goals and dreams engraved in his mind.
"I will become the protagonist of the Nas Continent. Not an anonymous lord governing a small local territory, but the protagonist of the world."
Jared wanted to surpass the protagonist of Paradiso and become the true protagonist.
"Surely that's not an empty boast?"
"Haha, it depends on how you see it. But I have never just offered flowery words without making any effort."
"My lord, you said you wanted to extensively utilize my abilities. Please promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"I want someone I can always look up to and genuinely revere. If there's a lord who is disrespected by their retainers, it's not the retainers' fault but the lord's."
"That’s a good point."
"Before the end of this year, please rise to the rank of count, or conquer another minor territory to form a unified mid-sized territory. If you fail, I will leave the territory without hesitation."
"A count or a mid-sized territory...?"
"I want to serve a master under whom I can broadly spread my wings. I don't want a master who holds out hands for dirty money from the underworld or is mired in hollow formalities and discusses the nobility or baseness of status."
Julian's words pierced deeply into Jared’s mind, sounding like a sharp critique aimed at society.
"Alright, I promise. I will achieve one of those goals. If I do, you won't leave my side?"
"If you consistently stimulate my admiration, there would be no reason to leave your side. Additionally, my storeroom would become fuller, wouldn’t it? As the workload increases, my pay should increase as well, shouldn't it?"
"Hahaha."
Jared laughed out loud at Julian's candid words. It was refreshing to be faced with such open desires. It was preferable to this rather than someone scheming behind the scenes with hidden motives.
He sensed Julian would likely never hold back from offering direct advice to him anytime.
"Very well. I appoint you as the Chief Administrator overseeing the entire internal affairs of Mallorca territory. But."
"You mean I need time to prove my abilities to the other retainers, don't you?"
"Quick wit. Show the retainers and the territory's people what you showed me today. It's an excellent opportunity to demonstrate whether you're just a theorist or a skilled practitioner in administrative work."
"Yes, I understand. A week’s probation period should suffice. I'll prove my capabilities, or I will leave the territory cleanly."
"I look forward to it."
"I too have great expectations of you, my lord. May you become a lord who never looks back."
As the conversation ended, they mutually bowed politely to each other. Julian then showed a thumbs-up towards Jared with a vigorous voice.
"I'm betting all my abilities on you, my lord. May it return as a good dividend."
"I promise to tempt you with my abilities so you cannot leave my side."
Jared raised his thumb in response. Now, he had another goal. A definite reason to strive diligently without complacency to avoid losing a talent.
End of Chapter 45