Just as Planned (7)
"A knight...?"
"Yeah," Yohan replied instantly to the Lord of Balifield's question.
The Lord of Balifield fell into deep thought for a brief moment, then nodded as if he had quickly sorted out his thoughts. "So, you're offering to clean up the southwestern wilderness in exchange for recognizing your dominion over it?"
"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?"
In truth, Yohan had secretly worried that the Lord of Balifield might not be familiar with the knightly investiture system, but fortunately, his fears proved groundless. In that case, all that was left was to appeal their worth as much as possible to secure that official recognition.
"As you well know, my Lord, my friends and I have been rolling around in this dirt for quite some time. If you lined up all the wanted criminals we've taken down, they'd stretch four abreast around a training field twice over."
"I am aware. The sudden, complete disappearance of those wanted outlaws was likely the work of you and your companions."
"Mhm, exactly. Honestly, we could do without the bounties, but we needed to make sure everyone knew we were the ones cleaning house."
"To establish that your 'knights' are the ones maintaining public order in the southwestern region of Balifield?"
Yohan nodded repeatedly. This man... self-preservation instincts aside, he hadn't ruled this region for so long for nothing. The Lord of Balifield grasped Yohan's intentions far quicker than anticipated.
"And... well, we ended up building a village within your territory."
In this world, establishing a settlement in the wilderness beyond the reach of a king or lord's authority wasn't particularly shocking. However, if that settlement's population reached two thousand, that was a completely different story.
"Take a look at this first." Yohan pulled a document from his breast pocket. "I've compiled a rough summary of how the village is running."
The document he handed over contained general information, including the village's population. The Lord of Balifield initially scanned the contents with an indifferent expression, but his eyes widened when he reached the section detailing the village's monthly crop yields.
"A single village is consistently producing this much yield?"
From grains like barley and wheat to various types of fruit, completely unaffected by the climate. In truth, the report didn't even cover everything. It was an open secret that even after producing such a diverse array of crops, they had so much surplus that the villagers were brewing their own alcohol in various ways.
"Logically, these numbers are unbelievable."
The Lord cast a highly skeptical gaze at Yohan, but Yohan remained completely unfazed.
"And yet... you don't look like you're lying."
"Of course not. Why would I come all this way just to spin a yarn?"
The Lord crossed his arms, tilting his head once more. Then, he locked his eyes back onto Yohan.
"Does this have to do with the deity you worship?"
Yohan hadn't expected him to deduce that so quickly. Both Yohan and Falco, who stood beside him, couldn't help but look inwardly surprised.
"Yeah."
To be precise, it was the result of planting crops on land blessed by the Unnamed Goddess and then using the Guardian Deity's Ring to accelerate their growth, but Yohan kept that to himself.
"If this level of yield can be sustained and the village expands... no, it could completely resolve the food issues of my entire territory, and perhaps even all of Westania."
"Well, that'd be nice, but it won't be easy," Yohan replied with a shrug.
For now, they were only producing enough crops to feed about two thousand people. But what if the mouths to feed multiplied to tens or hundreds of thousands? No matter how broken the power of the Guardian Deity's Ring was, Falco, as its owner, still had to personally channel her strength into the fields. Forcing her to roam around agricultural lands tens or hundreds of times larger than their current size to bless them individually was basically telling her to work herself to death.
Furthermore, even farmland blessed by two deities couldn't yield massive harvests indefinitely. It lasted longer than ordinary soil, but repeatedly farming blessed land would eventually deplete its nutrients entirely. The power within the Guardian Deity's Ring didn't create something out of nothing; it worked by amplifying the existing strength of the soil where the crops were rooted and drawing it out all at once.
"Anyway, if my village officially becomes an administrative district of your territory..."
He could collect taxes in kind, including massive amounts of crops and high-quality wine.
"..."
The Lord fell into deep thought for quite some time.
"That is not all. The Church of the Goddess is already a religion officially recognized by the Central Church."
At that moment, Annie, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward. This was, of course, a pre-planned move coordinated with Yohan, and he naturally stepped aside to give her the floor.
"My Lord, you must be aware that the Holy Kingdom categorizes the religions whose activities it permits."
There were three main ways the Holy Kingdom treated religions other than the Central Church. First, Heresy. Worship was banned unconditionally, and anyone involved was hunted down and punished. Second, a stage where their activities were tolerated, but they remained under the surveillance of the Central Church. This usually applied to the religions of nations that had friendly relations but were clearly inferior in power. Lastly, the third stage, where they were treated as equals to the Central Church, far beyond mere tolerance. This stage existed solely for the Imperial Orthodox Church.
However, that rule had recently been shattered, naturally due to the outbreak of Madness in the Holy Kingdom and the active role played by the Church of the Goddess. A small, rising religion under the protection of the Central Church—and incorporating the very village they used as a base into his official administrative territory. Aside from the financial benefits, this was a golden opportunity for the Lord to elevate his own political standing within Westania.
"I am aware. We have already verified those facts on our end, hard as they are to believe," the Lord replied after listening to Annie's explanation.
"By the way... have we met somewhere before?"
He stared intently at Annie for a moment, then suddenly gasped, his face filling with shock.
"Wait a minute. You... no, you are..."
"So that's how it is," Yohan muttered, shrugging after hearing the explanation.
The Lord of Balifield and Annie were indeed acquaintances. She had previously visited Balifield as a Heresy Inquisitor of the Central Church, during which she had met with the Lord.
"To think an Inquisitor of the Central Church would convert..."
The Lord still looked as if he couldn't believe his eyes, while Annie merely blinked with an indifferent expression.
"Well, let's get back to our discussion."
They still had a hand full of unplayed cards.
"Old man," Yohan signaled Wilhelm with his eyes. "My Lord, you know who this old man is, right?"
At Yohan's question, the Lord nodded silently.
"As I was just introduced, I am the Sheriff of Junk Town, a settlement in the southwestern wilderness of Balifield."
"I know," the Lord replied instantly to Wilhelm's self-introduction.
Wilhelm turned his head slightly, scanning Yohan and the other members of the knights.
"I am resigning from my post as the Sheriff of Junk Town," he declared in a low, heavy voice.
"..."
The Lord of Balifield tilted his head in confusion for a moment, but as the meaning of those words registered, his eyes widened once more.
Junk Town served as a sanctuary shielding those wandering the wilderness from the elements, but it also functioned as a filter, preventing criminals from the fringes of the continent from slipping into Balifield. The Lord of Balifield was well aware of Junk Town's value, which was why he had turned a blind eye to the town's existence and Wilhelm's vigilante activities until now.
If Wilhelm were to step down? He couldn't care less about the outlaws tearing each other apart in the wilderness, but the fallout from that chaos would almost certainly spill over into Balifield proper.
Rustle.
Wilhelm suddenly slid his hand into his pocket, causing the Lord of Balifield to flinch reflexively. In truth, Yohan's group had been thoroughly searched the moment they entered the Lord's castle, and Falco had already surrendered all the daggers hidden beneath her coat. Yet, the Lord reacted this way simply because of the sheer, overwhelming pressure radiating from Wilhelm's massive physique.
Wilhelm pulled out the Waldeck Marquis family crest and held it out to the Lord. It was an emblem heavily adorned with precious metals, looking vastly different from any ordinary identification token.
"My true name is Wilhelm von Waldeck. I am the younger brother of Josepina, the current head of the Waldeck Marquis family and the ruler of the family's fief, including Allen. And this is the crest of the Empire's Waldeck Marquis family."
Wilhelm revealed his true identity in his signature low, gruff voice.
"What?"
The Lord blinked, looking as if he had been struck on the head with a mallet. The vigilante leader who had been staying in the wilderness near Balifield, keeping the criminals in check, was actually a high noble from the Empire?
A mere barony of a small kingdom on the continent's fringes versus a marquisate of the Empire, the ruler of the continent. To say the gap between the two families was vast would be a massive understatement. Of course, since Wilhelm had not inherited the title of family head, the Lord still technically held a higher official rank than him. But that wasn't what mattered here.
"The Waldeck Marquis family of the Empire supports the Lord of Balifield investing Yohan as a knight."
"..."
The Lord kept his mouth firmly shut, staring at Yohan. His gaze seemed to ask: Just what kind of monster are you to enjoy the backing of the Central Church while simultaneously carrying the weight of an Imperial Marquis family on your back?
"Kaaah."
Yohan let out a quiet, satisfied sigh. Yes, this was it. After being suddenly dropped into a toxic fantasy world and suffering through all kinds of misery, he had finally reached a position where he could command this kind of look.
—You foolish child! Do not go puffing your chest out and ruining the mood. Focus on the task at hand!
The Goddess's scolding echoed in his mind, having instantly read his thoughts, and Yohan obediently cleared the idle distractions from his head.
"If you want, I can show you around the village right now. Though we're still under construction here and there."
"No, that is out of the question. Instead... I shall send a representative."
It would be inappropriate for the Lord himself to visit the village. Yohan understood this perfectly. Aside from the fact that he was too busy with administrative duties to leave his post, sending a vassal was the correct decision when considering his personal safety.
"Suit yourself."
"I will dispatch an investigation team to the village in the near future. The final decision will be made after that."
Of course, he phrased it that way, but it was practically an acceptance of the proposal.
Instead of returning straight to the village after leaving the Lord's castle, the group teleported to Junk Town, where Wilhelm resided.
"That bastard stole my wallet!"
"It wasn't stealing, it was a spatial relocation, you idiot!"
The moment they stepped into Junk Town, the familiar chaotic mess greeted them. Normally, Wilhelm would have clicked his tongue or intervened directly, but this time, for some reason, he merely watched the commotion with a complicated expression.
He would curse at the residents and treat them like garbage whenever he got the chance, but perhaps he had grown attached to Junk Town itself. Yohan silently guessed as much.
"In the end, it seems there was no need to bring out the town management records I prepared," Wilhelm said, breaking his long silence as he stood there in a daze.
"Well, who cares? If anything, the Lord already knows how much you've suffered staying in this town, so there was no need to prove it, right?"
"Heh."
At Yohan's comforting reply, Wilhelm finally let out a small chuckle.
"And... Yohan."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. Thanks to you, my sister and I were able to talk through our years of unresolved issues all night."
This was an unexpected reaction. Yohan blinked, temporarily lost for words.
"Ah, whatever. Anyway, you handle wrapping things up around here, old man. We're heading out."
He couldn't stand being here any longer. Yohan replied irritably and signaled his companions to return to the village.
Yes, it was time to prepare for the investigation team the Lord would soon dispatch.