“Ren, Eric. Lou has just agreed to be my spy. From now on, he’ll be providing us with information regarding the queen. This is the first one. Sear it into your memories, and dispose of it.”

“…This is—”

“Wow, the queen is a moron. Well, I already knew that from the time she came to the orphanage.”

At the information brought by Lou, Ren and Eric became flabbergasted.

After succeeding the throne, Sheila made it her mission to eradicate the slums.

She fully believed that those who lived in the slums did so out of their own volition. That they didn’t know the wonder of working and were lazy, hence why they fell into poverty.

As someone who’s never worked a day in her life, she’s one to talk.

“She wants to drive people out of the slums yet provide no employment of any sort. As if the those dwelling in the slums will just listen quietly and leave.”

Eric, who returned Lou’s report to me, sighed deeply.

“The security of the royal capital will be taking a nosedive. It’ll sow dissatisfaction and unrest amongst the people, and they’ll soon blame the queen and the kingdom. What will the queen do when that happens?”

“…Iris, do you intend to cause a riot? Won’t the queen just suppress it by force?”

Ren was sharper than expected.

I saw potential in him, so I pulled him out of the orphanage. Even though he had only so far received education for about a month, he could accurately grasp the information I gave him.

When I compared Ren to the queen, I was once again reminded that status didn’t matter. Rather than the quality of the education itself, what mattered the most was the aptitude and character of the student.

Suffice to say, the queen’s aptitude and character were inferior to Lou, who was from the slums, and Ren, who was from the orphanage.

“Well, I don’t know how this country will develop in the future. The future is always uncertain. However, based on the information provided by Lou, this country will be experiencing rough times.” (Iris)

“Although the queen may be senseless, the same can’t be said about those around her. There’s no way they’ll allow such an unreasonable policy, right?” (Ren)

“No, not necessarily.” (Eric)

As expected of Eric.

After the passing of the former family head and its successor, Eric had to stand in as the head. Despite still having a lot to learn, he had lived as an aristocrat. Therefore, he was more knowledgeable in that aspect than Ren.

Although Ren had a point, when push came to a shove, how many would be willing to do the right thing?

“They may not be senseless, but they’re also cunning. As long as it’s beneficial for them, they’ll side with the queen.”

“I don’t think there are any benefits…”

“Oh, but there is. Namely, the queen herself. The benefit lies in the fact that she’s foolish.”

At my follow-up, Ren tilted his head, seemingly perplexed.

Seeing that he comes from the orphanage, I can see why.

The way the aristocrats schemed was different from that of commoners. The former, who were backed by their status and wealth, were much greedier and viler.

Except for the aristocrats of Lowenberg and their stakeholders, Ren had never met aristocrats. Therefore, he probably didn’t know that there were those didn’t see people as ‘people’ in this world.

“With a queen as ignorant as that, one can just commit all sorts of fraud under her nose. Even if she does notice, it can just be sugarcoated, and she wouldn’t know any better. Truly an easy national ruler, she is.”

“!”

Ren’s face turned a deeper shade of blue.

“Scary, right? To think that our hometown is being managed by such people…”

“I agree…”

I smiled bitterly at Ren’s meek response.

That’s right.

Imagining those self-centered individuals forsaking the people in favor of their own interests was easy. To live in a country operated by such a lot, not knowing when you’d be forsaken, how was one supposed to be at peace?

The former king ruled the aristocracy and governed the kingdom. As a man, he was greedy, and as a parent, he was doting. Nevertheless, he wasn’t incompetent. However, the current ruler didn’t have the ability to suppress the cunning aristocrats like her predecessor.

“They don’t even know the first thing about being a commoner. So why should they care about the slums or the deteriorating security? It’s not like they’ll suffer any drawbacks, or at least not directly. If anything, it’ll be more advantageous for them to go along with the queen rather than against her. With the queen’s backing, they can do whatever they want. That’s how cunning an aristocrat can get.”

“I-I see…”

The slums weren’t the extent of my concern.

The queen had been harboring resentment towards Elda since the time she was a princess. Even Milan, who visited Paides as an ambassador, took note of that.

Upon receiving his report, there was no saying that Elda wouldn’t perceive Paides as a threat.

In this country, there were also aristocrats whose main source of income was arms dealing. When war started, weapons flew off the shelves and the pockets fattened. To reach the same level of success, they could easily incite the queen to wage another war.

“What should we do about those who’re driven out of the slums?”

“I’ll take them in.”

“Seriously? After you welcome them, then what?”

“I’ll employ them to work at an untouched land in the South. I’ll make a proposal to the queen.”

I’ll train them so that they can fight. Of course, it won’t happen overnight. They’ll need several years before they can join the battlefield, but it’s better than sending a bunch of amateurs.

Fortunately, there were many beasts in the Southern end of Lowenberg. Hunting would add to their combat experience.

Who’d have guessed that I’d be training the those of the slums into private soldiers?

---

***T/N: From slum dweller to an adventurer, sounds like an isekai novel title…

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