The fat clerk trembled on the ground, looking up at Hajin with wide eyes before a desperate sneer forced its way onto his face. He pushed himself onto his knees, his hands shaking while he attempted to regain some semblance of authority.

"You cannot just fire us," he stammered, his voice cracking slightly, "that is not how this region works, My Lord."

Hajin stared down at the sweating man, crossing his arms over his chest while Loccy let out a low growl beside him.

The greasy-haired clerk quickly joined in, sensing an opening to manipulate the young noble.

"The local houses handle the employment of the registry," the thin clerk explained, wiping dust from his coat, "the ledgers are incredibly complex, taking years of training to even understand the basic tax codes."

"If you throw us out, the entire supply chain will collapse," the fat clerk added, his voice gaining a sliver of confidence, "the local lords will withhold the food shipments, leaving these people to starve completely."

Hajin remained completely silent, letting the two corrupt officials dig their own graves with their obvious threats.

He swiped open his system panel, glancing at the stream chat that was already laughing at the desperate manipulation attempts.

[SwordMaster99:] They really think a guy who kills monsters cares about their fake ledgers.

[DailyHunter:] Look at these rats trying to negotiate while sitting in the dirt.

[LuckyStar:] Hajin should just let the bunny girl eat them.

He dismissed the panel with a thought, shifting his gaze back to the terrified men on the ground. He stepped forward, the sheer weight of his stare alone causing the clerks to freeze in place.

"So you are telling me that you are the only ones who know how to read these ledgers," he stated flatly, "and without you, the town starves."

"Exactly, My Lord," the fat clerk nodded eagerly, trying to stand up, "we simply want to help you maintain order during your transition."

"Then I suppose I should just execute you right now," he said coldly, "because maintaining an extortion ring is treason against the crown."

The three corrupt clerks instantly turned pale, scrambling backward on the ground while throwing up their hands in a panic.

"Please, My Lord, you do not understand the politics of this region," the fat clerk begged, pressing his forehead against the ground, "the local houses will be furious if you interfere with their registries."

"If you kill us, they will send their knights to burn this entire town to the ground," the greasy-haired clerk added, his voice shaking with desperate terror.

Hajin tilted his head, genuinely unimpressed by the supposed threat of the regional nobility.

"If they are that much of a problem," he replied flatly, "then I suppose I might as well wipe out the local houses today too."

Loccy let out a sharp, excited laugh at the suggestion, her eyes gleaming with anticipation while she stretched her arms above her head.

Before the terrified clerks could process his complete disregard for the ruling class, a cold, aristocratic voice suddenly cut through the dusty air.

"Is that so?" The voice asked, accompanied by the heavy clatter of armored boots marching into the square.

Hajin turned his head, watching a group of heavily armed knights spreading out to surround his carriage, their polished armor completely out of place in the ruined town.

Leading them was a sharp-featured man wearing a high-collared coat, his chest bearing the golden crest of a local noble house.

The three clerks gasped, immediately scrambling to their knees and pressing their faces back onto the ground in a deep, submissive bow.

"Lord Vance," the fat clerk whimpered, his entire body trembling under the nobleman’s cold stare.

Hajin looked at the new arrivals, letting out a tired sigh as he realized the actual problem had just delivered itself directly to his front door.

The clatter of armored boots multiplied as two more groups of knights marched into the square from the side streets, completely cutting off any routes of escape.

At the head of the new formations walked two more noblemen, their expensive coats bearing different crests but sharing the same arrogant, calculating expressions as Lord Vance.

The three local lords converged in front of the registry, forming a massive blockade of over a hundred fully armored knights against Hajin’s small group.

"Welcome to our little region, Lord Hajin," Vance spoke up, offering a shallow, mocking bow while his knights subtly adjusted their grips on their weapons.

"We heard the capital finally appointed an official ruler," a heavy-set lord with a scar across his jaw added, "so we came to offer our personal greetings."

The third lord stepped forward, an older man with silver hair offering a thin, condescending smile while he rested a hand on his ornate sword, "it is a dangerous region for a young boy to rule," he warned softly, "many new administrators suffer unfortunate accidents on their very first day."

The threat was not even slightly veiled, the killing intent leaking from the knights making their actual purpose completely obvious to everyone in the square.

The terrified townspeople immediately scattered into the alleyways, knowing the local houses were about to slaughter the new lord and anyone standing too close to him. The three corrupt clerks remained pressed against the ground, shivering violently while they desperately tried to crawl away from the center of the confrontation.

Hajin watched the crowd flee, entirely unbothered by the overwhelming numbers boxing him in from every single direction.

He turned back to the three noblemen, stepping forward to offer a completely formal, polite bow that caught everyone off guard.

"I am Lord Hajin, the new ruler of this region," he greeted them smoothly, keeping his voice perfectly even, "and it is very good to finally meet you all."

Lord Vance narrowed his eyes, genuinely confused by the young man’s calm, unaffected tone in the face of an obvious assassination squad. The scarred lord exchanged a wary glance with the older man, wondering if the boy was simply too stupid to realize he was about to die.

"It is very good that you all came here today," he continued, dropping the bow and resting his hand casually on his sword pommel.

"Oh?" The older lord scoffed, gripping the hilt of his weapon tightly, "and why is that, boy?"

"Because it saves me the trouble of having to come looking for you," he replied flatly, his formal tone vanishing completely.

The three lords frowned at the blatant disrespect, their feigned politeness finally breaking under Hajin’s complete lack of intimidation.

"As of today," he declared coldly, staring directly into Lord Vance’s eyes, "you are all officially fired."

The lords stared at Hajin for a brief second before bursting into loud, echoing laughter that completely shattered the tense atmosphere.

"Fired?" The scarred lord chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye while he shook his head, "do you actually hear yourself, boy?"

Lord Vance took a step forward, a cruel smirk twisting his sharp features as he looked down at the young lord.

"You are just a child acting tough because the King favored you and showered you with unearned praise," he sneered, his grip tightening on his sword.

"You really think—"

The nobleman never finished his arrogant sentence, the threat dying completely in his throat without a single warning.

There was no dramatic clash of steel, no sound of rushing wind, or any visible movement to track.

In the very next instant, Hajin was standing directly next to Lord Vance, slowly sliding his short sword back into its sheath with a soft click.

He held the nobleman’s severed head casually by its expensive hair, letting the dark blood drip steadily onto the ground. The headless body of Lord Vance stood perfectly still for a few seconds before finally collapsing onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Hajin let out a long, tired sigh, completely ignoring the horrified gasps ripping through the massive formation of knights surrounding him.

"I am already getting annoyed," he muttered, dropping the severed head near his boots.