SSS Transmigration: I Can Extract And Evolve Overpowered Shadows-Chapter 44: The Next Stage (3)

"City Lord, the people have been complaining that their shops have been experiencing leakage after Sterling County started using the stream near the city. There have also been many reports of bandits on the highway, which is scaring off a lot of merchants from coming here, thereby increasing the people’s agitation since they cannot afford to not pay their taxes."

Hinata raised his gaze from the stacks of paper lining his table toward the beautiful young woman standing before him. "Nott, can’t you help me a little with all this?"

Nott shook her head, placing an extra stack of papers on his table. "Most of these matters were handled by the mistress in your absence, but with you here, no one else can handle them."

Hinata leaned back in his chair, pushing up his round, rimless glasses. His hair was packed into a loose bun, held together by a long black-and-purple Chinese hairpin that gave him an effortlessly graceful look.

It had already been two days since he returned to Falmouth, and he hadn’t had a single day of rest.

From meetings with the members of the board to familiarizing himself with the environment and the types of shops that operated in the city, to general city upkeep, his schedule had been utterly exhausting.

He had come back solely to expand his territory, yet looking at the mountain of paperwork before him, he was beginning to doubt he would — or even wanted to — accomplish it.

"Send a few guards to patrol the path toward the main city, and give the merchants a flare to signal when they are in danger. Until we can fully eliminate the bandits, this is the best we can do for them."

Nott, the striking woman with short black hair, blue eyes, and a tiny horn on her forehead, nodded. "I understand, master. What about the leakage?"

Hinata sighed, propping his elbow on the table and resting his face against his palm. "For now, record the testimonies of the people and gather proof that it stems from the Sterling family. Once that is done, we can file a concrete report and secure enough compensation to fix their shops and carry out further improvements in the city."

Nott nodded and bowed. "I’ll do exactly that." As she turned to leave, her gaze drifted involuntarily to the small dragon lounging on the table, picking at a cluster of grapes. She smiled softly at it before hurrying out of the large office.

Hinata watched her go, then leaned back against the headrest and grimaced. "I’m so damn tired."

Goku, who had been sprawled across the table, took to the air and dropped a few grapes into Hinata’s mouth.

Hinata lifted his thumb without shifting position. "Nice."

The small dragon landed on his face and peered into his eyes. "What are you thinking about, Hina?"

Hinata shut his eyes for a moment. "I want to punch something."

Goku poked his nose. "You do know you’ve grown awfully violent, yes?"

Hinata couldn’t help agreeing. He too had noticed how much more violent he had become since arriving on this world. Now even the slightest stress made him want to go around slaughtering goblins.

Hinata jerked forward and slapped both cheeks hard. "Okay, let’s finish one more document!"

He flipped open the new stack of papers Nott had brought him.

The documents detailed events unfolding in the central area of their Western Wastelands.

It was through these documents that he had come to learn more about this world.

The first strange thing he had discovered was that this world was shaped like a flat hemisphere rather than a sphere, with an aether-coated barrier arching above it and sealing it from beneath, creating the illusion of a sphere.

The edges of this hemisphere were where the wastelands began, stretching around the entire world — and the wastelands also held the greatest expanse of land in the world.

According to legend, the wastelands had once been fertile ground until the great war of the gods, which left the land ruined forever.

Since Hinata had no immediate need for further knowledge about the gods, he didn’t pry any deeper; instead, he devoted his time to studying the rest of the world map.

Beyond the wastelands, the continents began.

In the southern region, where land floated overhead and water pooled below, lay Atlantis and Dwarrowdelf. To the north was Voidreach, the land of demons. To the east lay Vaeloria and Rivendell. To the west stood Aethelgard and Avalon, the city of freedom.

Just as Absalom had told him, anyone who truly wished to reach the main continent had to either join a church or a noble family and surrender their freedom — only then would the gates leading to the outer zone open.

Understanding the world had shifted Hinata’s mindset entirely. If he truly wanted to reunite with his classmates, he either had to join a church and use a teleportation gate in the outer or inner zone to reach their continent, find a tower of trials that could send him there upon reaching a certain floor, or travel from the outer to the inner zone of his continent before finally reaching the central zone and beginning his journey east.

Hinata didn’t even consider the first option, and the last would take far too long. He had the lifespan to endure it, and it wasn’t as though he would age, since awakened stopped aging the moment they reached Squire rank.

However, none of that changed the fact that his family back on Earth could be long dead by then. Plus, he didn’t even know whether a single year here translated to a hundred years on Earth.

Hinata covered his face with his palm and sighed. ’What fucking-ass shit.’ He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheer scale of the world, at how insignificant he was within it, and at how impossible his goal seemed.

He raised his eyes toward nothing in particular and called out. "System, how many fool points do I have currently?"

Ding!

[User has accumulated 119,000 points.]

Hinata nodded in approval, then looked back down at the stack of documents.

On one of the papers sprawled across the table, written in bold letters, was the following:

[Count Abelheart requests aid from whatever force is willing to help him in his fight against Count Sterling. If the battle ends in victory, all forces shall be given 100,000 gold, and according to your contributions, you may even earn land.]

Hinata grinned. "Hey, Goku, don’t you think this falls under my jurisdiction too?"

Goku, lounging in his hair, looked at the document with wide eyes. "Don’t tell me you’re planning on joining that?"

Hinata pushed himself to his feet, sending several papers fluttering to the ground. "I think it’s time I taught the Sterling family a lesson for messing with my people and picking fights with children."