Since the main manor had been destroyed by the undead dragon, Raze stayed in one of the remaining houses within the Viscount's estate. The Viscount himself was locked away in a secured room inside the same building.

Raze had already decided that the Viscount's fate would be settled through a proper trial before the Queen. He wouldn't be the one to deliver the final blow.

He sat inside an office, a sturdy desk placed before him with several stacks of paperwork already piled on top. It had only been one day since they officially took control of Oden, yet the work was already overwhelming.

Seraph was present, along with Fey. The others, Elaine and Ella, had returned to Ribest and weren't here for now. Still, Seraph alone was more than capable of assisting him.

She placed a few documents on the desk in front of Raze.

He picked them up and skimmed through the first page. "What's this?" he asked.

"Letters," Seraph replied. "From the wealthy and influential figures of Oden, regarding your takeover of the town. Some are making demands, some offering suggestions, and others requesting a private meeting."

She continued, "Many of them were led to believe they held real authority here by the Viscount. He used them in many of his dealings."

Raze read through one letter carefully. The writer explained that a significant portion of the town's taxes had been funneled into his pharmaceutical business and requested that Raze continue the arrangement unchanged.

It wasn't the only one like that.

Several letters followed the same pattern, each detailing what they had benefited from under the previous rule, what they stood to lose, and why things shouldn't change, even now that the government had.

Raze stared at the letters for a moment longer.

Then he crumpled them all together and tossed them aside.

"They really believe nothing is going to change," he muttered, rubbing his face in exhaustion. "That's fine. We'll give them something to worry about."

Seraph tilted her head slightly. "What do you have in mind?"

"Right now," Raze said, "they believe they still have influence in Oden. That tells me they've got people backing them, adventurers, mercenaries, maybe even soldiers within the Oden forces. That's not something we can ignore."

He leaned back slightly.

"The first thing we need to do is make sure every common citizen in Oden, everyone who isn't part of their circle, is on our side. If we manage that, then those men have nothing. No support, no leverage."

He waved a hand dismissively. "At that point, they either submit, get arrested and beaten until they comply, or get executed for treason and collaborating with the Viscount."

Seraph considered his words, then nodded. "that approach is viable. I'll prepare something immediately and handle it."

"Thank you," Raze said. "Once that's taken care of, we can move on to rebuilding the town."

He tapped the desk lightly. "The damage caused by the undead dragon was massive. And from what we can tell, the Viscount left Oden nearly bankrupt."

He paused, then looked up.

"Though I don't believe he was truly broke. His money is somewhere, likely wherever his family fled to. We still haven't found them."

"They may be on the run," Seraph said.

"That's possible," Raze replied. "But it's not our priority right now. The problem is that Oden lacks both resources and funds. Which means we'll have to divert supplies and gold from Ribest to rebuild."

He sighed softly. "It'll be a loss on our end. But Oden is under us now. That means we take responsibility, and make the necessary moves."

"There's also the issue of the other organizations in Oden," Raze said. "Oden isn't a small town. It's quite large."

He leaned back slightly. "There's the Adventurers Guild, the Mercenary Guild, and several others. From what we've seen, most of them have ties to those wealthy men, which is a serious problem, especially since we plan to crack down on them."

Raze tapped the desk lightly. "That said, the Adventurers Guild and the Mercenary Guild are structured differently. They aren't guilds originally founded in Oden, they're extensions. Their core authority doesn't come from this town."

He looked at Seraph. "We'll need to meet the leader of the Mercenary Guild here, as well as the Guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild. Both of them hold real influence in Oden. I want talks first. As much peace as possible."

His eyes hardened slightly.

"But you know what to do if things get difficult. Anyone can be cracked down on. This is no longer their town, it's mine. New rules will be set."

Suddenly, shouting erupted from outside.

Voices clashed, loud and angry. Someone was trying to force their way into the estate. The knights from Ribest that Raze had brought were blocking the entrance, but the noise only grew worse.

Raze stood. "I'll check."

He left the office, with Seraph and Fey following behind him.

When they reached the front of the house, Raze opened the door and stepped outside.

A carriage stood in the courtyard. Two men were positioned in front of it, flanked by four guards. Both men were bald, elderly, and wore expressions twisted with arrogance and disgust, as though they had just smelled something rotten.

The moment they saw Raze, their eyes widened.

"So this is the one you people put in charge of us?" one of them barked. "Where is the man who defeated the Viscount?"

Raze didn't raise his voice.

"It seems you didn't get the memo," he said calmly. "I am Raze Grimhold, the current Lord of Oden. The one in charge of you."

His gaze sharpened. "So watch how you speak, unless you'd like to lose your tongue."

This was one of the few times he allowed his authority to fully show.

The man opened his mouth to retort, then froze.

An oppressive pressure bore down on him. Raze's presence alone made it difficult to breathe. He swallowed hard and chose his next words carefully.

"We came to discuss the changes happening in Oden," the second man said quickly. "We represent many of the top figures in the town."

"The top figures?" Raze repeated. "And what exactly makes you 'top figures'? Your wealth? Your businesses?"

He stepped forward slightly. "If that's the case, I suggest you leave now. Continuing this conversation will not end well for you."

The first man frowned deeply and pointed at Raze. "How dare you speak to us like that? We're the ones who helped the Viscount run this town for years!"

"So what?" Raze cut in coldly.

The man recoiled instantly, dropping his hand.

"Your Viscount is a criminal under the laws of the Bermelon Kingdom," Raze said flatly. "And all of you worked with him. If you know what's good for you, you'll stop whatever you're doing and go back."

His voice lowered, heavy with warning.

"Because once we start digging into your connections with him, it's going to get messy. Very messy. And you'll follow him straight down."

Raze looked each of them in the eye.

"Until I decide it's time to speak with you and explain what comes next, you will stay silent and allow the changes in Oden to proceed. Otherwise, your lives will be forfeited for aiding a criminal who committed treason against the kingdom."

He paused.

"Is that clear?"

The threat wasn't empty.

They knew it.

Both men immediately stepped back in fear. Without saying another word, they rushed into their carriage. Their guards followed, and within moments, the carriage rolled out of the courtyard and disappeared from the estate entirely.

Raze watched them leave before letting out a slow sigh.

"Man, this is about to get tiring," he said.

"You could always take the easy route and handle everything by force," Seraph remarked. She knew Raze had the power, resources, and authority to overturn everything without resistance.

Raze shook his head slowly. "This isn't about me. It's about the people. There has to be a shift, from what the Viscount offered to what we offer. And that shift has to happen through diplomacy, as much as possible."

He paused, then added, "On that note, I'll probably be leaving you with a lot to handle here."

Seraph frowned slightly. "Why? Where are you going? Back to Ribest?"

"Not exactly," Raze replied. "The Queen also assigned me a mission, to handle diplomacy between two races, if you remember."

She nodded.

"I plan to leave in a couple of days and deal with it as quickly as possible," he continued. "Since it involves land and bringing new people under Ribest's banner, it makes sense to handle everything at once."

Seraph considered his words, then nodded. "That makes sense."

She met his gaze. "I'll help however I can."

Raze nodded in return, "thank you."

After that, he opened a gate right back to Ribest, he had to set things up from there so that they could begin fixing up Oden.

While he was busy with all this, his clone had been seriously learning demon magic.

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