Medieval Knight System: Building the Strongest Empire Ever!-Chapter 21: Society’s Dirty Darkness

The next day, Rüdiger sent me two soldiers.

Ted Meyer (16) and Oscar Greifs (16).

They’re inspector unit soldiers who just graduated from training camp and were newly assigned. I could check their status through the Manager Scouter. Tension and surveillance. That alone told me what role they’d been assigned. Both soldiers have the disposition of honesty (good).

Honesty (good) means they have a kind heart but are faithful to orders. So they’ll do their best to carry out orders from superiors. Rüdiger definitely put careful thought into the personnel assignment. He wouldn’t assign anyone willing to compromise even a little.

This is how I’m being tested and monitored at the same time. They assign rookies with no combat experience and tell me to investigate the dangerous brothel district. Just as I thought. I didn’t even expect anything. Anyway, since they did attach armed personnel, I can’t complain.

It’s obvious what kind of carrot they dangled.

They probably called these young guys in, sat them down, and promised rewards or a promotion if they monitored me well and reported back. They probably didn’t even explain that it’s a dangerous position. But since I learned their intentions through the scouter, I can use them too. There’s such a thing as disinformation.

"Wolfgang von Streit. I assume you’ve heard all about me?"

"Yes. I’m Oscar Greifs, assigned to you, Sir Streit, though temporarily."

"Ted Meyer. Please give us your orders."

Maybe it’s their first mission, but they seem really fired up.

It’s a complicated mission, but well, first impressions aren’t bad.

True to honesty (good), they’re polite and have decent character.

"Have you two seen actual combat?"

Ted and Oscar just blinked.

"We haven’t seen actual combat yet."

"Inspector, sir, have you ever killed anyone?"

What a bold question. The sensation of killing still lingers.

Drawing on that sensation, I stared intently at the rookies before me.

"I’ve killed seven people. Is that enough?"

When I grinned and answered menacingly, the two young soldiers froze. That should be enough to establish dominance. When Sabine said breakfast was ready, I asked the two young soldiers—I’d heard their stomachs growling.

"Did you eat?"

"N-no. We came in a hurry and didn’t even get our rations."

"Oh my. Temporarily or not, since you’re assigned as my subordinates, I’ll feed you."

I had Sabine bring two more servings.

The two boys stared at Sabine, unable to take their eyes off her. Our head handmaid is pretty, isn’t she? She’s 12, but she’ll definitely grow into a beauty. The biggest factor is feeding her well and letting her sleep well, improving her nutritional state. Daniel worries about what to do if other men covet Sabine’s beauty.

"Fräulein, I’m Oscar Greifs. May I know your name?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I’m Sabine Flamm. Nice to meet you."

"M-me! I’m Ted Meyer! Fräulein, please remember me too."

I wonder if Sabine will remember these two guys’ names. Anyway, it’s the psychology of boys wanting to look good in front of girls, and since it wasn’t flirting, I didn’t stop them. But thinking of Daniel, I sent Sabine inside. Sabine’s match is Daniel.

I felt the boys’ dissatisfied, regretful gazes, but I brushed them off with a snort.

"Hans, what are you doing?"

"I’m very proud."

That guy hasn’t been able to wipe the grin off his face since yesterday. Even when Sabine asked why he was acting so disgustingly, Hans just chuckled happily. I thought I’d gotten dragged into something awful, but Hans, not knowing the circumstances, can’t escape these waves of emotion.

I tried to keep it secret, but seeing him like this, I doubt it’ll last even a week.

"Dispatching two whole soldiers. As expected, you’re receiving trust from high-ranking people. As the first retainer of the Streit family, what could make me prouder than this?"

"...Aren’t you a bit too happy about it?"

"If my master becomes a high-ranking person, doesn’t that make me a retainer of a high-ranking person too?"

Yeah, be proud and happy all you want. Ignorance is bliss. From Hans’s perspective as someone from poverty, if his master advances, he advances too. I can understand that. The treatment itself will be different. I could see Sabine’s and Daniel’s expressions brightening even more.

Sometimes when I see the two of them laughing, chatting, and showing affection, my heart warms. Probably because of my middle-aged sensibility. Hans still seemed to want to marry Sabine off to a good family, but considering Sabine’s housekeeping skills, I think letting her go would be a loss in many ways.

She’s head handmaid material for the Streit family. And Daniel has the potential to grow splendidly too. If Sabine is the head handmaid and Daniel is the butler, won’t they devote themselves to the Streit family for a long time? The Streit family has nothing, so those children will become its history.

After finishing the meal, I headed to Beien Boulevard in the southern district with Hans and the soldiers. In truth, I’ve never been to the brothel district across the bridge, so I don’t know the geography well. Hans has an aversion to the brothel district itself. Since he’s a devout believer, he views it as sinful.

After the Black Death, it nearly went down the path of decline along with the public bathhouses, but the brothel district still draws many people. When you cross the bridge, a completely different world unfolds. Most prostitutes are required to wear yellow headscarves and ribbons designated by the city, so this place is awash in yellow.

Hans was careful not to even brush against the prostitutes’ clothes, but Oscar and Ted, perhaps visiting such a place for the first time, looked around curiously while following behind me. Unlike the mistreated public bathhouses, this brothel district is managed by a city-licensed brothel guild, and the church has acknowledged it as a necessary evil.

According to the landlord, the tax revenue pouring out of here is tremendous. And 50% of it is spent by monks and journeymen, so Hans, who scorns prostitution as an impious act, looked pitiful. The monks you respect so much are among the biggest spenders in this district.

And the remaining 50% is divided among bureaucrats, nobles, and commoners.

The reason commoners can easily access it is that the fees are cheap. The sleazy landlord once introduced me to a place he regularly visits called The Pauper’s Crown. In an era without the concept of contraception, I’d rather not sleep with prostitutes and end up with a child. The probability of catching a disease was high too.

"But Sir Wolfgang, what are we investigating?"

"For now, let’s wander around pretending to be a young master and his attendants who are curious about the brothel district."

To be honest, I don’t know where to start the investigation either. They told me to find the contact location, but that’s easier said than done. If I could easily find that without knowing anything about the brothel district, I’d belong to the Central Intelligence Agency, not be a former office worker.

Starting from my meeting with the Finance Minister, to the Elsheimer son-in-law proposal, being assigned to the fence case, and receiving scrutiny from Inspector General Adelbert and Deputy Inspector General Rüdiger—the situation is complicated enough. And their attaching rookies as my watchdogs is a kind of message.

Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, because with rookies in a dangerous place, it’s the perfect setup to get killed. That’s why I plan to heap all the credit on Rüdiger while investigating this brothel district. Since they told me not to stick my nose in, I should stick it in even deeper and hand him all the credit.

And only to Rüdiger—nothing to Adelbert.

Then won’t those two, who both covet credit, turn on each other or fight?

I don’t know if it’ll go as I expect, but I consider it a success just to plant seeds of suspicion between them. Rüdiger probably sees me as someone clinging to the Finance Minister trying to steal credit, but he can’t imagine he’ll end up fighting with his successor because I handed him all the credit on a silver platter.

If you receive a gift, isn’t it human nature to want to return it tenfold?

Anyway, understanding the atmosphere and geography of the brothel district comes first. Since I don’t know anything about this place, there’s bound to be a lot I’ll realize only by experiencing it firsthand. Not that I’m going to buy a woman. Maybe someone will approach me while I’m wandering around like this.

And someone really did approach me.

It was a boy who looked even younger than Sabine.

"Sir! I know some really pretty ladies. Shall I guide you?"

Is it all right for a young child like this to be in the brothel district?

Surprisingly, there are many abandoned children in this brothel district.

Parents who abandon their children are more common than you’d think. Usually people turn to the church when abandoning children, but since churches are already at capacity, they often can’t take them in. In that case, most end up abandoned on the streets, becoming street urchins or beggars.

Children who survive and grow up mostly drift into the slums and become residents there; it’s truly an endless vicious cycle. This kid, cheerfully smiling and offering to introduce pretty ladies, is probably one of those cases. Girls obviously go straight down the path of prostitution.

It felt bitter, seeing society’s ugly underbelly.

This child might seem pitiful, but what these children learn is mostly crime. So if you approach them carelessly out of sympathy, you can get burned. Hans, who’s suffered a lot at the hands of street urchins, got angry and tried to chase him away. Even Hans, who comes from poverty, hates street urchins.

"Get lost! Young master, don’t even bother with these guys! They’re pickpockets."

"I’m just trying to guide you. There’s no need to get so angry, is there? Did I steal any money?"

"What? You need a beating to come to your senses!"

"I didn’t do anything wrong, so why are you trying to hit me? My mom said if you’re innocent, you can hold your head high before everyone! Is it so wrong to guide people to earn a few copper coins?"

"You, stop right there!"

He speaks better than expected. The kid said that and quickly ran off. The furious Hans tried to chase him, but how can you catch a kid who’s lived in this maze of alleys? His skill at slipping through a building’s narrow gap was no joke.