Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 548

"B-Bold of you. If you're going to say that, then why don't you prove that you can handle beast transformation?"

I placed my hand on my chin and pondered Gabriel's remark. "Hmm..."

Originally, I brought the members of the Second Knight Order here to show that I value them highly.

Additionally, this might be a good opportunity to let others see their strength.

"Alright, I understand. Since we're here, let's have the members of the Second Knight Order demonstrate their beast transformation."

"W-What...?!"

As the nobles in the room stared in shock, the children of the Second Knight Order stepped forward.

I recently learned that in Zveela, it's quite rare for beastkin children around my age to be able to handle beast transformation. The main reasons are likely the lack of teachers nearby, poor living conditions, and insufficient access to nutritious food.

"Everyone, when you demonstrate your beast transformation, try to suppress your magical power as much as possible. We can't have the room getting blown apart."

"Understood."

Shortly after the response from the Second Knight Order, a faint wave of magic swept through the room, and the members revealed their beast forms.

Simultaneously, gasps of amazement could be heard from the nobles. "Whoa...?!"

It's not often that you get to see the beast forms of all the beastkin tribes in Zveela.

The sight of everyone transforming together is always impressive.

After a brief pause, I signaled with my hand, and they quietly reverted to their human forms.

"Well, Lord Gabriel, and all the nobles here. Do you now understand the 'light'?"

"Ugh...?!"

Gabriel frowned in frustration, and the nobles who had been loud earlier now looked deflated.

"Lord Lid, I think I mostly understand the 'light of fire.' But what do you mean about the smoke? You can't see smoke at night, so surely it can't be related to economic activity or something like that, can it?"

Lemos, perhaps sensing the awkwardness, quickly changed the subject.

What can you learn from examining the 'light of the night' from above?

Anyone with a bit of wisdom would understand after some thought.

In my previous life, there were research institutions that used satellites to study the night lights of various countries.

No matter how much you try to fudge the numbers, as long as people are living their lives, the electric lights at night won't disappear.

There's no more objective way to assess a country's development than this.

If you just look at that, you can immediately tell which parts of the country are thriving and which aren't.

In this case, Amon and I spent several days flying around to see things firsthand.

After all, there are no satellites here.

Still, traveling through the night sky without landmarks was quite challenging without coordinating with the ground knights.

Well, I was shocked to see how dark the Foxkin territory was.

Lemos's question about the 'smoke' was likely an attempt to probe what other information we had gathered besides the 'light.'

"Yes, that's right. The information you get from smoke is a bit different from the light."

"Indeed. So, what did you learn?"

"The poverty and food shortages caused by the previous regime's policies."

As I answered, I glared at the nobles in the room and continued to explain.

With Aria's help, Amon and I flew over the territory at dawn, but we saw almost no cooking smoke from any of the villages or towns.

In some places, there was none at all.

At first, I thought it might be a cultural difference.

But when we landed, I quickly realized that wasn't the case.

In every village and town we visited, there was no food to cook, nor any fuel to start a fire.

The crops grown by the villagers were all taken as taxes by the nobles, and in return, they were given only the bare minimum to survive.

Looking at the villagers, you could see that none of them had any vitality, and most were small in stature.

The children in the villages were emaciated, with hollow cheeks.

In the end, they were desperately chewing on weeds, roots, and tree bark, calling it 'snacks' because they had nothing else to eat.

The sight was so grim that I was left speechless, and I resolved to improve the situation as soon as possible.

After discussing with Amon and the others, we decided to include a 'five-year tax exemption' for the villagers in the Foxkin Reconstruction Five-Year Plan.

"...Given the situation, there's no smoke rising from the villages and towns in the morning, noon, or evening. However, in the capital Forneau and the mansions where you nobles live, smoke rises at all those times. The 'light' I mentioned earlier and the 'smoke' I just explained—these two things make it abundantly clear that the distribution of wealth in the Fox tribe is heavily skewed."

Lemos and Gabriel frowned, while the nobles looked uncomfortable.

I took a deep breath and deliberately narrowed my eyes.

"Still, I can't help but wonder. With the people suffering so much and considering the current financial state of the Foxkin tribe, where exactly is all your money coming from? It's quite puzzling."

"B-But even so, a full exemption is too much. At least..."

"Enough. Understand this already."

As Lemos tried to argue, I glared at him, releasing a bit of magical energy.

"Baldia didn't come here to negotiate. We came to implement the necessary reforms for the reconstruction of the Foxkin tribe. This plan has been approved by Amon, the tribe chief. In other words, all you need to do is follow along. If you don't like it, be prepared to face Baldia in battle."

"W-What...?!"

This is exactly what I meant when I told Amon and the others during our preliminary meeting that 'I would play the villain.'

Amon's relationship with the nobles isn't deep enough yet.

If Amon were to make strong statements in this situation, it would inevitably create friction.

As an outsider from the Baldia family, I don't mind being disliked, and my position means the nobles can't easily retaliate.

Though the nobles were stunned, I paid no mind and continued.

"To begin with, the reason we gathered you here isn't to ask for your opinions. It's to inform you of the future plans decided by Amon and Baldia. Right, Amon?"

"Ah, that's correct. The old regime's symbol, the tribe chief's mansion, has burned down, and many documents were lost in the fire. This is an opportunity for the Grandork family to fundamentally reevaluate everything. Without that, the reconstruction of the Foxkin tribe is impossible."

"W-Wait a minute. Lady Lafa, do you also agree with this plan?"

Lemos's desperate expression drew everyone's attention to Lafa.