"Rest, be careful!"
"Lord Rest, please don't wander off!"
When he told Viola and Primula about his plan to visit the academy, both immediately insisted on coming along.
Once they arrived at the academy, they refused to let Rest out of their sight, clinging to him like bodyguards on VIP protection duty.
"Um... it's not like we're in a cage of wild beasts. You don't have to stick to me quite so closely..."
Rest gave a wry, troubled smile.
The reason he had come to the academy today was to scout talent for the development of his domain.
They had already entered the school grounds and were walking across campus toward the main building, but for some reason, Viola and Primula were on high alert.
"Um... are you two on guard against female students trying to get close to me?"
"That's right. We have no idea where they might approach from, so stay on your guard!"
"Sister! Behind the building on the right—there are two girls there!"
"Copy! Three more coming from behind. Stay alert!"
"Are you two seriously on guard for assassins or something? Isn't this a bit much?"
Just how much did they hate the idea of women getting close to Rest?
As the object of their jealousy... he had to admit, the feeling of being loved this intensely wasn't exactly unpleasant.
"...It's fine, really. Whether he takes more wives or concubines. I'm a noblewoman myself, and Rest is strong and amazing."
"Exactly. The problem is insignificant women trying to get close."
Viola and Primula spoke with unusually serious expressions.
"If it's a woman who's politically useful, someone talented who can actually support Rest, then that's perfectly fine. We wouldn't mind even if they got close."
「The problem is... they're just after money, gold-diggers looking to become their mistress.」
Viola carefully scanned the surroundings while Primula puffed out her cheeks.
「They want to seduce Lord Rest, get him to keep them, and then just collect money, buy them dresses and jewels and mansions — if those kinds of women start gathering around, it'll be a real problem. We can't let women who would only corrupt Lord Rest get close to him!」
「Ah... yeah, that type probably does exist.」
Right now, Rest had enough money in his pockets to keep an entire town's worth of women.
For the predatory ladies out there, he must have looked like an incredibly tempting catch.
「...I'll be careful. I won't fall for any strange honey traps.」
「Yes, please do. By the way... what are you going to do now? Head to the classroom?」
「Hmm... let's wait in the dining hall until lunch break. There are probably students who don't have classes during this time slot.」
The academy had already resumed its lessons, but... Rest had no intention of attending.
He was a count now. As a member of the nobility, he needed to prioritize the frontier development and management of his domain.
Of course, he had gotten permission from the academy.
It seemed there were quite a few other students who weren't attending due to family circumstances, and some enrolled students barely showed up at all.
In exchange for not attending, he'd been given a massive pile of assignments — but that couldn't be helped.
Rather, he thought this was more than generous. As long as he submitted the assignments, he could receive a "successfully graduated" credential without ever setting foot in the school for a single day.
(Since it's a school for nobles, after all... they're probably pretty flexible about that sort of thing.)
「I'll recruit people in order. First, classmates. Then students from other classes in the same year. After that, upperclassmen and students from other departments. For now, I want to put out a call for people willing to hunt monsters, with compensation offered. It'll probably only be on holidays since there are academy classes too, but...」
Even part-time work would be fine. He'd cast a wide net and recruit anyone willing to help.
And for those who performed well, he could offer them positions as retainers of Count Rest.
Last time he'd shown his face at the academy, plenty of aspiring retainers had approached him... but honestly, most of them were probably just people looking to ride the coattails of Rest's success.
His plan was to take the mixed bag of talent, actually put them to work, and weed out the competent ones—that was essentially the task Rest was about to undertake.
"I'll also try gathering people through the Ladies' Society. There must be some who are looking for a lord for their lovers or fiancés."
"I think I'll consult the student council. I can try asking the connections of the executive members."
"The student council... Right. There was also the method of reaching out to the student council enforcement."
The student council enforcement was an elite group among the students of the Royal Academy, particularly skilled in combat.
They had also been active as a rescue squad during the recent Magic Hunt Festival.
"Since they're used to dealing with monsters, maybe I should ask them later."
A policy had been decided.
Now all that was left was to execute it.
Rest walked into the school building, flanked between Viola and Primula.