Chapter 11: Brother-in-Law Hans (Part 1)

I was surprised when I returned to the mansion.

It was immaculately clean. Not a speck of dust remained, and everything was stored in its proper place. The garden was free of weeds, and various flowers bloomed proudly in the flower beds.

"Is this really my house?" "Welcome home, master," Yung greeted me with a smile. "Amazing, it's unrecognizable." "This is just the minimum standard."

I settled in the living room and looked up at the smiling Yung. I began to feel that I should get married sooner rather than later. "As a reward for my achievements in this war, I've been granted a territory of 3,000 mouths in the southern part of the royal capital, though it's detached from my main territory. I'd like to ask Fiyorudo to manage it, what do you think?" "Congratulations! I'll dispatch a steward right away." In this country, the size of land is expressed by population. No matter how vast the area, if the population is a thousand people, it's referred to as a thousand mouths.

"I believe it's a place called Danaubu in the south. Do you know of it, Yung?" "Did you say Danaubu?" A man I didn't recognize suddenly interjected.

"Who are you?" I asked Yung in surprise. "Ah..." Yung introduced him with what seemed like an apologetic expression. "This is Hans, my brother." "Why is your brother here?" "Hans loves making and improving various things. He loves inventing and conducts all sorts of experiments for that purpose..."

Yung appeared extremely uncomfortable. Had something happened? "Did he perhaps make some huge mistake that forced him to leave home?" "..." "..." "That's exactly what happened, isn't it?" "..." "..."

"What did you do?" "Hans is particularly fond of weapons. He made catapults and crossbows, which were somewhat useful, but then he tried to recreate Archimedes' ancient fire and accidentally burned down part of the mansion," Yung said, looking anywhere but at my eyes. "Accidentally?" "Well, about half of it..."

Isn't that a major incident? Burning down a mansion is surely problematic. So they came together to dump this troublemaker on me. It seems rather harsh, but what can I do? He seems like a problem child, and I could refuse, but... Looking at Yung, I noticed she averted her gaze. She seems to be in quite a predicament.

I began to feel I could accept him for Yung's sake. If she's grateful for it, that might be worthwhile. Perhaps I should talk with him a bit more and decide after seeing what kind of person he is.

"So Hans, what do you think about all this?" I directed the question to Hans.

Hans was a small man with curly brown hair, thin and wearing glasses. However, his eyes darted around observing everything, suggesting strong curiosity.

"That was a failure, yes. But I found areas for improvement, and next time I'll make it work. I have ideas for large crossbows and various other weapons as well. Please let me work here," he appealed to me with sparkling eyes, showing no remorse whatsoever.

This is a scholarly fool. He has no malice, but you never know what he might do. Still, he seems talented and quite interesting. His personality doesn't seem bad either. He might turn out to be an incredible find. If properly supervised and kept in check, he could prove useful.

"My family has offered to cover his research expenses. May I also ask for your consideration?" Yung asked me apologetically. If that's the case, I suppose it's acceptable.

"If you're fine with conducting your research facility on the outskirts of town, away from residential areas to prevent casualties in case something happens, I'll consider it. How does that sound?" "Location doesn't matter at all. As long as I can experiment, I'm satisfied." "Thank you, Johan. I'm in your debt," Yung said happily. These siblings must have a decent relationship. Well, earning my fiancée's gratitude isn't such a bad thing.

"About Danaubu," Hans brought up the land I had received. "What about it? You know Danaubu?" "Know it? It's right next to Hochberg territory." "Oh, so you're quite familiar with it then?" "This is divine providence. Danaubu has a small population but expansive land. A large river flows through it, creating widespread wetlands, which limits farmland and population. But if drained, the farmland could be expanded considerably."

"Is that so?" "And the neighboring Hochberg territory lacks sufficient water, preventing them from expanding their farmland. If we draw water from Danaubu, Danaubu would dry up and gain more farmland, while Hochberg would receive water and be able to expand its farmland as well. It's beneficial for both parties," Hans explained with gleaming eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. I've always thought it would be wonderful if water could be drawn from Danaubu, but the previous lord wouldn't even consider it. This must be divine will," Hans said with a gesture as if offering prayers to the heavens.

"I believe Hochberg family will cover the costs. Please approve the waterway construction. I'll oversee it," Hans pressed, his eyes shining even more brightly. "No, let's leave that to the experts. Fiyorudo, can I entrust these arrangements to you as well?" "Gladly. I'm pleased that a longstanding challenge for the Hochberg family might be resolved all at once. We also make this request."

"I'm asking too, dear. This will put my family in your debt," Yung said with a satisfied smile. "I wanted to take command myself, but I understand. I'll focus on my research," Hans conceded. "I'd like Hans to consider developing new siege weapons if possible." "Siege weapons?" "Yes, I have a feeling we'll need them soon."