Volume 1 Chapter 11 [Kingdom SIDE] There's No Easier Example of 'Smart But Stupid' Than This.
The eldest son of Count Imodeth was rude to a hero's master and got beaten down.
If they leave this alone, the whole kingdom might be criticized by the international community.
Therefore, King Valzeil, who also owes a 'favor' to the Count Imodeth family, will pay off their debt from the royal budget.
The Count family will have their property seized, keeping only a minimum amount of funds, and they will be exiled to the borderlands.
The debt of the Count Imodeth family is 20,000 gold coins.
There's no way the Count family can pay it back alone.
...The big reason the debt grew so much is probably the 'adventurer mortality rate.
The Luster Report, a hero community, is an 'adventurer community' until the Demon Lord is defeated.
They earn a lot of money by defeating powerful monsters and then lend it out.
In other words, since there's a high chance of 'dying in an accident,' there's a good chance they won't have to repay it.
Well, whatever the reason for the growth, I asked the adventurer guild in the capital to set up a 'reception room' for members of the hero community.
There, 20,000 gold coins were delivered.
The debt of the Count Imodeth family was paid off, a receipt was issued, and the debt was officially settled.
It was reported to Rangella and the others via a communication magic tool, and of course, Horace would find out too.
* * *
"Your Majesty! It's terrible!"
"...What is it now"
"This!"
Valzeil accepted the documents brought by his subordinate with a grimace.
And after starting to read for a few seconds.
"Wh, what is this! What on earth are they doing!"
The documents contained outrageous information.
"They're causing trouble and violence at hero community facilities everywhere!? Do they want to destroy this country!"
"I, I've at least asked their people for their side of the story"
"What did they say?"
"That's... all it took for the Count Imodeth's heir to pull out a holy sword on the hero's master, only to get beaten back. And with the Count family's debts repaid, and the lord and his son exiled to the frontier, the 'case was closed'..."
"Case was closed?"
"They made the proud Count family co-sign on a massive debt, then deliberately provoked the son into saying something outrageous to cause a scene. After that, Your Majesty stepped in with a public apology and repaid the debt. In the end, a few noble houses—like the Count's—get destroyed, and the whole debt issue just... disappears."
"Are they making a fool out of me!"
If he actually read the reports, most of the kids who committed assaults are arrested.
Protest letters have been sent to each Count family, and they're being pressured to respond.
"...Anyway, it seems like nothing will be solved unless I bow my head."
"Among the protest letters, there's even a line that says, 'Could it be that the kingdom is showing hostility towards the hero community'..."
"Why is this happening!"
"That's..."
"If you know something, say it!"
"A-after we prepared a document for Your Majesty to offer 20,000 coins, it seems there was some sort of 'study meeting' led by the Duke family..."
"So, everyone jumped on this foolish act. Were they really that stupid!"
Valzeil bellows.
Of course, he knows it's useless to tell his subordinates.
But, he couldn't help but yell.
The worst choice.
But even so... when it comes to "the value of bowing your head to the Hero and forming an alliance," it's obvious that just any old noble lord isn't nearly high-ranking enough.
This is a Hero who defeated the Demon Lord.
That title alone carries immense weight—and treating it lightly is simply unforgivable.
"Don't they understand the weight of the title 'hero'!"
Valzeil slams his fist on the desk.
But, barking doesn't change anything.
"...Damn it, why can they make such decisions"
By setting a manageable Count family as guarantors, provoking their child to create a scene with rudeness and violence, and then having Valzeil apologize and repay from the royal budget, the problem is contained.
Yes.
Anyone who can analyze the surface of the Count Imodeth case has a clever yet foolish mind that led to that theory.
And the person who thought of it was with Duke. Because they had a 'study group', this stupid thing happened in many places.
They want to get out of their big debt.
The people involved in this are just doing it for that reason.
"Before the bad words and violence, the Duke family said this. 'Just get rid of the Count family' and everything will be okay! We are better than the community with only commoners.'"
"..."
Valzeil couldn't say anything.
The people who caused the problem didn't know that the Count Imodeth family was 'special'.
The Count Imodeth family and Horace were there.
That's why it was 'special', with 'adjustments' and 'balance'.
The 'thinker' of this big problem didn't know that.
If the Count Imodeth family was 'normal', their actions would be very good.
But they didn't have the 'imagination' to see that the Count family was 'special', so this big problem happened.
"...How much is the total debt?"
"1 billion gold coins..."
Maybe that's the debt to the Luster Report of the 'whole Diamante Kingdom'.
"How can they get that money? Our country's budget for a year is 10 million gold coins. Did they really think we could pay back 100 times that amount now?"
20,000 coins would be okay.
The Count Imodeth family was a 'Baron family' before they got the Holy Sword.
They weren't even nobles in the law.
So, the 'noble budget' was only 200 gold coins a year.
That's small compared to this big problem.
But 1 billion is no joke.
He can't even laugh.
"They... were they laughing at the adventurer community that makes that much money? Did they look down on them? Did they only see the money as numbers? Did they not know how to make that much money..."
The Diamante Kingdom is vast, with over 400 noble families above the rank of Baron.
They were undoubtedly scattered all over.
But it was incredibly foolish.
Certainly, 'the royal family paying this would solve the debt' is without a doubt.
After all, 'it's not just the noble family's problem; it can't be solved without the top of the country bowing their head.
To hesitate with money at such a time would be impossible for the royal family's prestige.
But where is that money?
"Guh, damn it, DAMN IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Valzeil barked.
He no longer knew any solutions.
His roar echoed hollowly through the office.
Supplementary details to help make the numbers more understandable
In Chapter 8, I mentioned the in-universe currency: "In a somewhat rich country, you can buy a loaf of bread for one copper coin."
In other words, 1 copper coin ≈ 100 yen, which is roughly $0.65 USD.
From there:
- 1,000 copper coins = 10 silver coins = 1 gold coin
→ So 1 gold coin = 100,000 yen ≈ $650 USD
### Now, let's scale that up:
- The Diamante Kingdom's national budget is 10 million gold coins per year
→ That's 1 trillion yen ≈ $6.5 billion USD annually
- Its national debt is 1 billion gold coins
→ That means 100 trillion yen ≈ $650 billion USD in debt
Huge, right?
---
And one more historical comparison:
Thinking 400 noble families sounds like a lot?
Well, during Japan's Edo period, there were around 300 daimyo (feudal lords)—you might've heard the phrase "the 300 domains."
So 400 nobles isn't that unusual in a big kingdom context.
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