Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!-Chapter 16: The Finance Minister’s Call

While I had developed regular habits during 8 years of working, compared to my current self, that was nothing. Waking up at 6 o’clock, doing a simple morning jog, and training while building my body was genuinely enjoyable. I’d never understood the concept of exercise addiction, but experiencing it firsthand, it made perfect sense.

And after hiring Sabine and Daniel, I no longer needed to fetch water to wash in the morning. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

It wasn’t something I had specifically asked Sabine to do, but seeing that I washed frequently, Sabine began fetching water in the morning, afternoon, and evening so I could use it anytime. That’s why I rated Sabine so highly as a handmaid.

Having to live off her aunt’s charity at a young age had probably made her quick to read the room. Daniel was the one who actually hauled the water, but it was Sabine who gave the instructions. Cleaning the yard was Hans’s job by default.

Breakfast was always German food.

My palate was thoroughly geared toward modern cuisine, but at the very least, I was German now.

I tried to reduce my aversion to German food.

Sabine’s cooking skills were decent too.

Weisswurst, which had spread from Bavaria and grown popular, was a wonderful southern German dish for breakfast. Sabine knew how to prepare it, having learned from the cook employed by her textile merchant uncle-in-law. I’d eat breakfast with pretzels (rolls) bought from the bakery.

Of course, since I usually filled my meals with points, I rarely ate in one place with my retainers. So I ended up pairing the dishes Sabine made with modern food. For example, tossing bratwurst into beef stew to make something like gumbo—things like that.

And prayer time was added to the daily routine.

Hans and Sabine were devout believers who donated even a little to the church.

Especially Hans—muttering prayers at random moments had become second nature to him.

Daniel was devout too, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Hans.

So seeing them stop to pray every time the bell rang, I couldn’t quite get used to it.

The medieval era could be described as the age of contracts centered on nobles and the height of dogmatism. Among commoners, the authority and influence of the Church were absolute. Fortunately, it was an era when the power of the Church and the nobility was balanced, so things didn’t tip too far to one side.

What would happen if the Church witnessed my system abilities?

Whenever I imagined such scenarios, nine times out of ten they ended with me being burned as a heretic. That’s why, even though my retainers’ favorability toward me was maxed at 100, I kept it hidden.

Even room cleaning had designated times. I had firmly drilled into them that they could absolutely not enter my room unless I permitted it. They must have found it puzzling, but since it was the master’s order, they had no choice but to obey. Anyway, I was living carefully like that.

However, I gave different excuses when it came to goods.

Sabine was very curious by nature.

So in my house, which had many tools and goods rarely seen elsewhere, she’d try this and that while peppering me with questions. She was especially interested in fabric. What caught her eye was my underwear. While outer clothes like tunics and surcoats were easy enough to come by, underwear was a different matter. So I bought underwear sets from the shop.

"What kind of fabric is this made from? I’ve never seen fabric this soft yet sturdy," Sabine wondered aloud.

"That’s made from expensive fabric. I heard it came from the East? Handle it carefully."

When Sabine occasionally held and examined my underwear, it was a bit embarrassing, but I just waved it off, saying it was made from expensive fabric from a distant land. Before Sabine came, I had done hand laundry daily. So when Sabine took over the laundry, I couldn’t have been more relieved.

The typical method was to dissolve cheap soap made by mixing animal fat and other substances with lye water (alkaline solution) produced by filtering water soaked in wood ash in hot water, but instead of cheap soap, I supplied laundry soap.

Detergent seemed impossible to explain away given this world’s common sense, and high-quality soap was enough to satisfy Sabine. Incredibly fine soap that nobles use. Something along those lines. Hans was no different. The scent was pleasant and it removed dirt well, so Sabine looked cheerful as she pounded the laundry with her paddle.

Being employed by a noble family that freely used such expensive tools (though I brushed it off as such) meant freedom from anxiety about the future and a guaranteed livelihood. Plus, I was a courageous master who had even drawn his sword to protect Sabine.

Anyway, Sabine took great pride in her work as laundry specialist.

Though she did faint when she had seen my clothes covered in blood that one time.

Shiiik.

"Matches are used like this," I said.

"Wow, fire lights this easily? Where can I buy these?"

"They’re not sold on the street. Only I have them, so tell me when you’ve used them all up."

"Did these also come from the East? They’re amazing," she marveled.

Y-yeah.

Since medieval people didn’t know much about the East, I used it as a convenient cover story.

Seeing her struggle with flint trying to light a fire, I had felt bad and taught her how to use matches, but since I kept falling back on the East excuse, Sabine developed a fascination with the East.

As a place that produced such convenient tools.

Sorry, East. But you’ll have to be my excuse.

It was fortunate that Sabine didn’t know any better.

And I educated her firmly. These were items used only in our household, so it would cause trouble if word got out. Sabine and Hans, who understood that the master’s word was law, accepted it without much suspicion. Sabine might have been the youngest, but she was a proper head handmaid of our family.

"Brother, are you done cleaning?" she called.

"I just finished," Hans answered.

"Then hurry and chop some firewood. We don’t have enough for dinner."

"Oh no, we used it all already? Got it," he replied.

"My love, Nell. What should I do?" Daniel said warmly.

"Collect the laundry that’s hung out."

Sabine skillfully bossed around Hans and Daniel. The two followed Sabine’s instructions without complaint. Sometimes when Daniel threw out cheesy lines, they’d giggle and flirt with each other, but they always did their work thoroughly. There was a quiet joy in observing this changed daily life.

I felt I’d become quite noble-like by now.

I was trying to push through to the end of the Stage 2 Meisterhau training proficiency. The current proficiency was 80. The only increase had been a modest bump from dealing with the fake guards recently. So I was feeling a bit stuck. Was there some other condition I was missing?

"I say, Wolfgang!"

"What is it?"

I was mulling over sword proficiency when the landlord suddenly came running toward me. This was a time when he should have been busy working. Seeing him sprinting over, it clearly wasn’t an ordinary matter. The landlord, his face flushed crimson and gasping for breath, cried out to me desperately.

"The Finance Minister himself ordered me to bring you!"

"What on earth are you talking about? First, calm down. Catch your breath."

"How can I be calm? I just received a summons from His Excellency out of nowhere!"

The head of the Finance Department was the Finance Minister, but I didn’t understand why he was suddenly looking for me. It must have been a bolt from the blue for the landlord too. As a bureaucrat noble, meeting the top official would be an honor, but at the same time, it was an enormous burden. Like a mid-level manager suddenly being called to the chairman’s office?

Hmm, just thinking about it made my knees weak.

As a former office worker myself, I thought I understood that feeling all too well.

"Whatever the reason, you absolutely must come with me to the Finance Minister’s residence!"

If a noble with that level of authority summoned you, they didn’t need to give a reason. In theory, excluding the grand duke, no nobles could actually order me around, but that’s how the world worked in practice. Refusing a summons from a minister in the central government was simply unthinkable for a lowly knight like me.

In the end, I had to head to the Finance Minister’s residence, dragged along by the landlord.

I brought Hans along as my attendant. Hans was just as dumbfounded.

I was nominally a knight, so visiting another noble family without an attendant would be deeply embarrassing. Of course, Hans, who had been poor, was visibly intimidated by the magnificent scale of the residence and the polished, high-class members of the count’s household who greeted us—which was understandable—but at least I tried not to let my own nerves show.

A man needs backbone, and so does a knight.

There was no reason to be cowed by someone who wasn’t even my direct superior (the grand duke).

"You absolutely must not make any blunders in front of His Excellency! Got it?" the landlord hissed at me.

"Weren’t you going in with me?"

"Absolutely not! I’m just the messenger!"

The landlord turned tail and ran.

Wait, you said you were my father’s friend.

If you bolted like that, who was I supposed to rely on?

I first tried to recall what I knew about the Finance Minister.

From my memory, he should be Count Heinz von Reinfeldt of the court.

When I had played Medieval Knight, I had received several quests from this Finance Minister. From what I remembered, he was known as the raccoon minister. He was a master of rhetoric who maneuvered opponents into giving the answers he wanted. In other words, a high-ranking noble far too shrewd for the current me to handle.