Chapter 77 – The Butterfly Effect
“Recently, there are disturbing rumors circulating among the knights.”
“It’s a disturbing rumor. What the hell is that?”
The appearance of Agnes hesitating for a moment after continuing the report.
“It’s… So absurd…”
“There’s no need to notice, so just say it without adding or subtracting.”
I don’t know what kind of rumor it is, but if it’s enough to reach Agnes and me, it means that it’s already spread throughout the unit.
If so, there is a high possibility that the members are already affected in some way.
Up until yesterday, nothing had happened. There is no way that a misfortune occurred in one day, and it was only belatedly that I discovered a problem that had existed before.
“There are rumors that the captain is planning to make adjustments to the personnel of the Knights. As the reputation of the Knights has grown, he will weed out inferior talents and hire new talents.”
I frowned at the extremely embarrassing sound, revealing my displeasure without hiding it.
“It’s really absurd. Who the hell is the source of the rumors?”
“I think we’ll have to investigate that further… But according to the report of the leader of the Decen, Rowen, rumors started to circulate around the time right after we won the Grand Tournament of Knights.”
“This…”
What kind of bullshit is this?
I don’t know what kind of scandalous person it was, but if they were caught, I wouldn’t let them go.
“I’m sorry. As vice-captain, I should have paid more attention to the internal affairs of the unit. I am responsible for this situation.”
Agnes murmured with her head hanging down as if she had no face.
After calming down my emotions, I spoke as calmly as possible.
“No, wasn’t your work quite overwhelming until recently. If the rumors that started circulating before then only reached my ears now, I can’t blame you. Raise your head.”
“Yes. But, if only I had paid a little more attention…”
Agnes was full of energy even just on her way to work. I didn’t want to see her, who was the energy of my daily life, who had died.
Also, she didn’t have to feel unnecessarily guilty about this. Did she become like that because she got angry in front of her?
‘I don’t like this kind of atmosphere.’
I jumped up from my seat and hugged Agnes’ petite body and gave her a pat on the back.
“Kyaaah?! Captain?”
“Who told you to stay so depressed?
“Ha ha…!”
If it was a relationship between a normal boss and a subordinate, it wouldn’t be possible to unwind the atmosphere like this, but it was possible because it was a romantic relationship.
When Agnes, her face flushed red from her brief hug, quickly regained her original form, I smiled and gave her her order.
“First of all, muster all the centurions. It’s better to have several head to head than two to use dragons. We have to listen to their reports.”
“Yes!”
In this kind of work, finding a solution is the first thing to do, rather than trying to figure out what’s wrong.
In addition, the weight of this incident is relatively light compared to the discomfort.
It’s not like there’s been an accident yet, and if it’s just a rumor spreading, it’s enough to fix it right now.
When all the centurions gathered in the meeting room, I briefly summarized the situation and asked for their opinions.
“… So, do you have any guesses?”
“Um…”
As if they were already aware of this incident to some extent, they glanced at each other and started to notice each other.
In the end, the first person to open fire was Raul, who was in charge of the 3rd Centurion’s acting job.
Originally, in such cases, the youngest member of the leadership, Kenneth, the 5th Centurion, was supposed to step in, but he, along with the other centurions, stood arm in arm and watched the situation.
It seemed that he was quite happy to finally get out of the role of the youngest, but he seemed a little satisfied that didn’t fit the situation.
“Mr. Ha… That’s what I mean… No, in my opinion, it’s probably because of a twisted misunderstanding caused by the retirement of Sir Carol, my predecessor.”
“Really? Come to think of it, the grace period was until today.”
“Yes. Actually, it’s been a while since Sir Carol announced his intention to retire. He started showing signs of it little by little from the day after the headmaster expressed his aura, and he must have already made up his mind when he visited the headmaster.”
“So, how is that related to this situation?”
“That, that’s…”
Sir Raoul, who is just learning to be a centurion. He looked a bit clumsy as if he hadn’t yet let off the tee of his days as captain of the decathlon.
In this kind of place, I have to explain only the core of the incident. Aren’t you just hanging around on your side?
The 1st Centurion, Royce, who couldn’t see it, sighed as if he was frustrated and continued the explanation on behalf of Raoul.
“Huh, I’ll explain instead. Currently, the news of Sir Carol’s retirement has been circulated within the unit, and rumors are spreading that this is not a voluntary retirement, but a measure close to dismissal due to lack of ability.”
“What?”
Listening to his words, it is only now that I begin to slowly understand what has happened.
After listening to Sir Lois’ explanation, Agnes swallowed her silence and put the situation in order.
“Then, the rest of the subordinates, following the example of the centurion, Sir Karl, must be thinking that from now on, the relatively underachieving members will be taken away one by one.”
Hearing that, I suddenly had a question and asked the centurion.
“Why on earth did none of you report this to me?
Then the reaction that came back was a little dumbfounded because I couldn’t get enough of my strength.
“Uh, wasn’t that what you were actually planning to do?
“Neither do I.”
“I…”
So, are you saying that the happenings caused by the lack of communication that can happen in any organization have happened in my unit right now?
This was the evil of the culture of ‘handling the work well and neatly’ unique to the imperial knights.
Now that the situation has come to this point, I even think that this is my fault for neglecting my duty as a knight commander while spending a lot of happy time with my lovers recently.
Like Agnes said earlier, if she or I had paid a little more attention, none of this would have happened in the first place.
The successive success must have made everyone loose their discipline in many ways. I pressed my brow and scolded my subordinates at the stifling feeling that began to soar.
“I’ve never heard that word come out of my mouth, but do you guys believe in the rumors that are floating around and get things done?”
“Sorry!”
Reflection bursting out all at once. He didn’t even make excuses and humbly admitted his mistake.
Well, I was a little confused, but they are all talented people in their own way. If you do it in moderation, they will take care of themselves.
“Everyone submit the police report… Whoa, let’s just skip this time. But next time, it will be an unconditional punishment. Okay?”
“Yes, I understand!”
Anyway, the cause was identified, and now it was time to find a solution.
In fact, due to the nature of the group called the Knights, this incident was inevitable.
Knights are superhumans who far surpass ordinary humans, and those who constantly sharpen their martial arts.
‘This has become a headache.’
If more than a few hundred such people gather, of course, there is no choice but to distinguish between high and low skills, and if a group war takes place, it is inevitable that the exceptional minority will monopolize the activity.
As such, from the standpoint of those who lack achievement, they are rarely given an opportunity to prove their abilities, so they cannot but feel a sense of crisis or impatience.
I am not unaware of this fact, so I have taken measures to ensure that my subordinates have the opportunity to grow as much as possible through regular sparring or inviting external advisors.
It seems that it has reached its limit after the Knights War.
“Sir Raoul, go and fetch the magistrate.”
“Yes, Captain!”
As a commander, there were two major solutions to this task.
First, as discussed above, to increase combat capability by replacing less capable personnel with more superior personnel.
Second, to somehow polish and polish the existing personnel so that no one is left behind.
The first method has the advantage of being fast and convenient, but there is a concern that the cohesion of the group itself is lowered, as well as the overall loyalty due to resistance from existing members.
On the other hand, the second method is the most ideal solution ‘if it can be realized’, but it has a fatal flaw that the process of achieving it is extremely difficult.
“Did you call. Captain?”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Vias. Let’s sit down first.”
“Thank you. By the way, how did you find the administrator at the commander’s meeting…?”
If this was a battlefield, I would have been forced to choose the first solution.
It is a meaningless luxury to be considerate of the insufficient number of people in a situation where bloody battles risking their lives continue and those who fall behind literally die.
But now it’s different.
“The reward for winning the Knights Competition has not yet been received. There are some remaining rewards for the subjugation of Count Fersen, don’t you think?”
“Yes, it is as you say.”
“Combining the two, the dispatch of a training unit that includes a high-quality elixir that can be consumed by more than 500 people and an instructor who has reached the level of imagery. And the expansion of auxiliary facilities. Can you request all three?”
“…At the moment, I can’t tell you exactly what to say.
“Then let’s do it. We’ll push forward right away from today.”
At my declaration, the centurions gathered here all showed shock.
Officially, all compensation for the achievements of the knights, excluding the basic salary of each knight, is paid in the name of the leader.
It is said that how to distribute it is entirely up to the discretion of the knight commander.
It’s a system that has no choice but to come out behind the scenes, but the law of the empire has a lot of advantages to those who have it. It meant that if there was any dissatisfaction, go up to a higher position.
“Captain! I respect your generosity, of course, but are you really okay?”
“This is true. The captain said he would do it himself, so why are you guys in a mess?”
In other words, without me, the Black Lion Knights would never have achieved this.
Also, as is customary in other knightly orders, it wouldn’t be much of a problem if the main leaders gobbled up most of the rewards and sprinkled the remaining dregs on their subordinates.
However, I wasn’t hungry enough for riches to do that.
If it’s gold, I already have enough to spend my whole life to the fullest, and I tend to enjoy my own luxury enough.
Rather than oiling the pears here, watching the newly acquired subordinates grow step by step after the war will bring me greater joy.
“Well, at this point, I think my intentions have been fully conveyed. Let the rumors be corrected, and tell everyone to focus on training and not thinking about useless things.”
“Yes, I understand!”
Lack of skills and talents can be fully compensated with constant effort and external factors, but it is difficult to obtain human loyalty no matter what.
If this incident can lead to the loyalty of his subordinates, wouldn’t this amount of investment be worth it?
Like that, the happening that started with a trivial rumor ended with a very pleasing result.
* * *
Behind the huge commercial district. A back alley located on a poorly lit street.
The petite woman, wearing a hood that completely covered her face, looked around restlessly as she headed somewhere.
It was clear that he was a knight who had trained mana, or a person of comparable skill, judging from his quick movements that could never be called ordinary people.
Her destination was set.
[Make the night with your lover hotter! A female-only adult store directly run by a succubus]
The woman stared at the pink signboard, which made her feel embarrassed just by looking at it, with her meaningful eyes for a long time before she hurried inside to see who could see it.
“Oh~ Welcome, customer! Oh my gosh~ You’re so incredibly beautiful that I wonder why you came to a place like this? With that face, that chest… Unnie, are you homosexual?”
“I-Absolutely not! I just…”
“Ahaha! Joke, joke! Come on, come on over here! Well, everyone has at least one secret or two they want to keep. Our species is very~ tolerant of those things. Now, what shall I show you first?”
“Ah, ahhh…! Uh, how could these men’s things…”
In an instant, a sky-blue ponytail peeked out from the hood of the panicked woman.
“Oh my God, a drug that produces breast milk even when you’re not pregnant… Is something like this really good?”
“Of course it’s fine! In the name of the tribe, all the items sold in our store are absolutely harmless to the human body! How about buying one?”
“Slutty underwear? What the hell is this? Does it fit? Joe, I’ll look around a little more.”
“Yeah, yeah~ As much as you like~”
The butterfly effect caused by a man’s clumsy push and pull.
As for the outcome, he will have to endure it alone.
