Ranking System

[Charles' POV]

In doing my duties as the city lord, I had to resolve all the issues regarding the nobles. I don't mind the nobles being free-spirited, but I can't have them going around like they own the city.

The city was mine. People call me the city lord for a reason, and since this is my city, I have to set an example for those who don't listen. However, deciding which house I should visit first was a different story.

Should I start with the lower class or the higher-class nobles? It would make sense to start with the lower ones, but when did common sense stick with me?

I have decided to go with the top brass and go from there. Two families stood at the top of Chrome City. The Cross and the Rise family

Surprisingly, on my first day here, I had already had problems with both families. Sheldon, from the Cross family, would surely dislike me because of yesterday's event. As for the Rise family, that was a different story.

"Let's go with the Cross family first. I want to see how Sheldon would react once I saw him." A sadistic smile was shown on my face at the thought of that happening.

"Hey! Do you know in which direction the Cross family lives?" Asking a random stranger on the street. I asked him the location of the Cross family.

"Uh, they live like two hours away from the west." Shocked by my sudden question, he fumbled and pointed in my direction.

"Take this as a reward." After finding out where the Cross family lived, I rewarded the random stranger.

With the location found, I immediately teleported beside the guard blocking the entrance of the Cross family gate and spooked the guards.

"Halt!!! Name yourself and tell us what you're here for!"

"Just call me the citylord." I flaunted my title as the city lord, stepped forward, and faced the guard directly.

With my power and status, the guard I faced stepped back and gulped. He had instinctively felt fear toward me; this reaction from people trying to intimidate me never got old.

"Inform the lord of this household and tell him to come. I know he's inside. I will treat it as a transgression if he doesn't come out."

The guard immediately rushed out to the mansion. If he couldn't convince his master, he knew that the house would be a battlefield. And being in a battle with someone powerful wouldn't do well for these guards.

Moments later, the guard returned with someone I assumed was the current head of the Cross family.

"Hm..." Upon seeing me, he closed his eyes and reopened them with a glare. A sudden meeting with anyone would annoy anyone.

If I were someone without experience, this old man's glare would have struck fear within me. We stared at each other until the old man spoke.

"City lord. What brought you here to our humble household?" Humble was an understatement, but I ignored it and answered his question.

"Since the position of city lord has been instilled in me, I decided to check up on all the nobles of this city."

"If I find the nobles in this city lacking, they will be removed. After all, I can't have some useless waste of space take up resources without having the talent to do so."

Everyone who heard what I said was astonished. The removal of a noble wasn't a small matter.

"Preposterous! Removing a noble status can't be done on a whim! Those who have earned their title should be kept for their deeds for the city." He shouted, enraged by what I had said. I can sense a bit of fear in him. It amuses me to see that in him.

"Is that so? I don't mind keeping those who have earned their title in this generation, but for those who earned it from the previous or the ones before, they might be removed even if their ancestor has contributed a lot in the past."

"..." I continued to speak as he heard what I had to say.

"I may have only been in this city for a day, but I have met a lot of young nobles in a short period of time." Some were lacking, and I needed to check on their families to see if they contributed to this city."

"Now that I have told you my reason for visiting, do you mind letting me in and discussing what business the Cross family does? Do note, you're allowed to refuse."

While I allowed the family's head to refuse, no one would do such a thing. That would mean they're declaring a rebellion against me.

"Please come in." The family head sighed, knowing that it was impossible to decline at the moment.

Just as the family head opened the gate, a girl with blond hair was about to leave. I could see her luggage, meaning that she would leave this household.

"Currie. What are you doing?" For a maid, she sure is well known. Was she the head's secret lover? But the age difference...

"Young Master Sheldon asked me to lure Eliz so he could assault her. He had also asked me to ask the city lord to watch. Nel stopped me and paid me to leave."

"..."

I could feel the old man sweating from the maid's words. I don't know what gave this girl the courage to announce it, but I felt like I hit the jackpot. I wanted to thank the maid for telling me what that idiot Sheldon would do.

"Uh, Master. Who's this?" The maid, known as Currie, asked, just realizing my presence.

"Ahahaha!" I covered my eyes and gave a wild laugh.

"..." The two were silent by my laughter. I could tell Mr. Cross was freaking out.

"Mr. Cross. Is this how you raise your son? He sure has the gal to do something like this." I glared at him, demanding an answer.