Damn, I recarneted As A Judge in Fantasy World

Although it was a small city, it still had a population of over 100,000. What were the chances of meeting Count Schultz in such a complex place? It made more sense to have waited from the beginning.

"You don't have to come out to pick me up. Is something wrong?"

Count Rufus Schultz answered with a rather troubled expression.

"Please spare me, Your Majesty!"

Dump!

Suddenly, he got down on his knees and caught everyone's attention. This made Abel sound like some kind of bad person.

"Please get up. Let's go in and talk."

Abel didn't know what the hell had happened, but he had a feeling he had the wrong number. Could this be the emperor's scheme?

"Oh, really. I'm on vacation!"

---

Since there were so many eyes watching, Abel decided to move his seat first. Count Rufus Schultz guided them to the upper office. But something felt a bit strange.

"Didn't they say it was a successful upper-class area in the South? But why does it look so shabby and empty?"
Enjoy new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Afternoons at the top were usually noisy and bustling. It was when goods were coming in and out, so there were bound to be a lot of workers. Yet, there wasn't a single ant to be seen around the office. Abel stared blankly at the teacup that Count Schultz had personally brought.

"It's not porcelain?"

The glasses made in the workshop streets of the Carriers Duchy were very popular. They were so inexpensive that they couldn't be sold, but even the most noble people had them because a large quantity was released. One thing that Count Schultz brought was just a goblet made of iron. It was the very thing that made Abel order the maid to check the handle temperature.

"Ahem! Please forgive me for the circumstances; I have no choice but to do this."

Count Schultz's face turned red, perhaps because he felt a little embarrassed about pouring tea into a small cup.

However, Abel wasn't particularly interested in luxury or pretense. As long as he didn't feel neglected, that was fine.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. By the way, how did it end up like this? No matter how I look at it, it's not normal."

"As expected, you have a keen eye. In fact, our upper division is facing a great ordeal."

Soon the story began in a gloomy atmosphere. Count Schultz's dark expression and feeble speech seemed to desperately demonstrate the gravity of the situation.

"Our Schultz upper division has recently expanded its scope of activity to the sea."

"Aha! So, that's why your office is near the port."

"Yes, do you see that structure over there?"

Where the trembling hand pointed, there was a long pier. However, there were only four small boats anchored, even though numerous ships were coming and going from other docks nearby.

"Yes, it's completely empty."

"This is our exclusive upper dock. We built it ourselves, and we used to operate dozens of ships."

"What did you do with it?"

"We visited small island nations nearby or the mansion islands of nobles. The transportation fee was expensive, so there was a huge profit margin."

"From what I can tell, it looks like trade has stopped."

"The upper class started to decline when a pirate group called Billygut showed up. They only targeted our upper-class ships."

Abel tilted his head at Count Schultz's words.

"No, isn't that strange? There's no reason for pirates to target only certain ships. If they're going to do it for a living, as long as it's not a military ship, it shouldn't matter."

"Is there any weak point on the Schultz ships?"

"That's not true. Most of them are newly built, sturdy, and well-armed."

"Does Billygut not target other ships at all?"

"That's not necessarily the case, but the scale of the damage is clearly different. When ten of our ships are stricken, only one or two of the other ships are damaged."

If this was true, the situation was more serious than expected. If that's the case, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that there was a huge conspiracy.

"I guess it's understandable to want someone to fail. But to do something like this by colluding with pirates? This is absolutely unforgivable."

Abel was about to ask Count Schultz a question, but then he abruptly changed direction.

"Prosecution..."

The current imperial investigative system was truly pathetic. The prosecutor's office had no power outside of the capital, including Perias. There was absolutely no capacity to care about such a distant place. Count Schultz probably never even thought of seeking help from the investigative authorities.

So Abel quickly changed the question.

"Is there any person or organization that you feel a grudge against? I think they would be influential in the South."

"No one in particular comes to mind. I don't really have a bad reputation."

Although the Giovanni noble faction was quite moderate, it only showed this in the Imperial Diet. When they returned to their home regions, they were just ordinary, tyrannical people. Exploitation of the local people and taking away the property of lower-class nobles and wealthy freemen were the basics. If there was a justification, such things could have been done at any time.

"But this person doesn't look like that."

Just as each person has a different personality, the nobles were the same. Surprisingly, there were quite a few lords who carried out selection. There wasn't much contact, but considering his tastes and the reputation of those around him, Count Schultz was a fairly well-to-do nobleman. Even in the character information window, no words related to 'evil deeds' appeared at all.

"Then that means a purely bad guy is after this person... ... ."

He was also a major business partner of the Dapan Group, so Abel couldn't just ignore him. He nodded slowly and got up from his seat. Then Count Schultz said in a bewildered voice.

"Hey, are you leaving already?"

It seemed that Count Schultz mistook him for someone trying to reject the request. So, Abel smiled broadly to reassure him.

"No..."

"Khuuuuuuuuu! Zuuuuuuuuu! Your Majesty is the last hope left for our family. Please look down on us here and do not reject us!"

Count Schultz suddenly fell to the floor and cried out loud. It seemed like he was in a lot of mental anguish.

Actually, Abel was going to give in anyway, but he liked the way Count Schultz had asked. The hot tears of a man who had thrown away his pride. Additionally, he was concerned about his employees' safety first, not his own. Isn't that what a true leader looks like?

Abel slowly reached out his hand. Then, Count Schultz's face, which had been covered with tear stains, changed. His expression turned surprised.

"How could I, as the chairman of the Dapan Group, ignore the difficulties of my business partners? Don't worry too much and just take good care of your employees. I'm telling you, things will go back to normal soon."

"Your Majesty..."

"Send the peddler away as if nothing had happened. We need to get Billygut moving."

"It's a bait operation!"

"Okay. Then I'll take my leave."

"At our villa… ... . Oh, no."

Count Schultz wanted to invite Abel to his house. But soon, he realized something and shook his head vigorously.

"You're pretty smart, aren't you?"

If Abel stayed at this man's villa, the operation might have gone awry. If the scared Billygut didn't take action, everything would go wrong. Maybe a big-name guest would be able to help. But what if Abel just went to the villa as originally planned?

"You'll think I rejected an excessive request."

Then, the pirates would attack the ship again, as they had before. That would be the chance to subdue Billygut.

"Then I will go. Don't come out."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After seeing Count Schultz off, Abel left the upper office without looking back. Then, suddenly, Cordell McNeil snapped his fingers.

Exactly!

"Ah!"

It seemed like Cordell had realized something. He suddenly spoke to Abel.

"Your Highness?"

"Why?"

"Surely I won't have to move this time either?"

Abel looked at Cordell and smiled meaningfully.

"Sir McNeill."

"Yes?"

"You've become really perceptive these days. Are you going to an academy or something?"

"No, we're on vacation right now. I think it's right for you to take care of overtime work."

Cordell McNeil spouted out a brilliant tirade. Where was the overtime for escort knights? It was basic to have 24-hour close security. Besides, from the beginning, this person didn't even properly fulfill his duty. He would leave the room, saying he was going to meet her at the beauty salon.

Abel shook his head firmly, shutting out the nonsense at its source.

"I'm sorry, but Your Majesty, you only granted me the leave, not Sir McNeill."

"No, why is that?"

"If you don't move properly, I won't let you see any women for a whole month."

"Huh? Is that possible?"

"I don't mind just staying in the villa."

Just the fact that there were no trials or work to do was like heaven to Abel.

Anyway, it's fun; there's not much difference between Periqs and grand cape