Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Terra Village
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Frontier Viscounty, third floor.
Brilda's room.
"So, you're putting the village up as a prize to pit the mercenaries against each other? A monster subjugation contest?"
"Yes."
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
Brilda's fingers drummed rapidly on the table.
"Elwin's target is trolls, right?"
"Correct."
"Do we even have the forces for that? Can you really call it pushing forward if the capability isn't there?"
Anna held out the paper in her hand.
"The situation has changed. Since the announcement of granting the castle lord position, well-known mercenary groups have been crossing Vampire's Bridge."
She read the paper while listening to Anna.
The familiar names of mercenary groups were listed there.
If he knew them, they had to be fairly famous.
"If they come... we can hunt trolls?"
"Yes."
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
Once again, Brilda's fingers struck the table.
"Elwin will contract with the top-ranked mercenary group, right?"
"Yes, a contract including a defense mobilization order."
"What exactly does that defense mobilization order cover? Just monster defense? Or does it include threats from humans too?"
"That... hasn't been investigated yet. I'm sorry."
"What's the most likely top-ranked group?"
"Innocent Mercenary Group."
"Make contact with them. It must specify monster-limited defense."
The first contract was crucial.
Whether the phrase 'monster-limited' was included or not would set the precedent for all future contracts.
"Understood, Madam."
Callas Viscounty.
Viscount's office.
"Appointing a mercenary as castle lord..."
Of course, it wasn't a typical loyalty arrangement. They'd explicitly mentioned it was a mercenary contract with a clear time limit.
"Gaining both 'wealth' and 'military might'."
Knock. Knock.
"Father, it's Jeffrey."
"Come in."
The door opened, and Jeffrey entered.
His hands were full of documents.
Ever since meeting Elwin,
the Callas Viscount had started paying attention to succession matters.
Elwin, Jeffrey.
Both were young men freshly of age.
But what about Elwin?
The first day Elwin crossed Vampire's Bridge.
They'd met near the checkpoint mansion.
'Until then, I'd thought of Island folk as beneath notice.'
Monster Island.
The Islanders who lived there.
When the Vampire Duke Family was strong in the past, no one dared ignore them.
But even the Vampire Duke Family was frail before the march of time.
100 years. 200 years.
As time passed, the Vampire Duke Family weakened.
They couldn't tend to other matters.
They focused solely on the war with monsters.
His image of Islanders had been this:
Ignorant brutes who only knew fighting and nothing of economics.
'But that changed...'
Meeting Elwin had shifted his view.
Despite his youth, Elwin was in no way inferior to him.
"Father, I've finished tallying last month's toll revenues."
He stopped his thoughts and looked at his son.
Could Jeffrey become like Elwin?
He was working hard, fortunately... but he wasn't comparable yet.
"How did it go?"
"It's up. With mercenaries flooding to the Island, byproduct trade has noticeably increased. Toll revenues have risen accordingly."
Just as Elwin said it would.
'Import weapons and gear, improve combat prowess to hunt more monsters, increase byproduct output... He called it a virtuous cycle.'
"Support Elwin's merchant group actively when they come next."
"Understood, Father."
Jeffrey carefully placed the documents on the desk and bowed deeply, nearly touching the floor.
Then he turned to leave.
"Wait."
"Is there something you need?"
"What is Freya doing?"
"Sister Freya is taking noble lessons and keeping both body and mind in check."
"I see. Alright, go on."
"Yes, Father."
He'd originally planned to maintain a moderately friendly relationship with Elwin.
Mutual benefit, but not too close.
The Callas Viscount picked up a document from one corner of the desk.
It was densely filled with a timeline starting from the moment Elwin established the mercenary guild in West River.
"Was everything from the start planned up to this point? Is that really the case?"
The viscount instinctively rubbed his arm.
He felt goosebumps.
A chill came with it.
Two months passed,
and the basic construction of Terra Village was complete.
The village had taken shape,
and the slaves and retired mercenaries had moved into their homes.
Outside the wooden walls stretched vast farmlands.
Village square.
Terra villagers gathered there.
"Thanks to everyone's efforts, Terra Village is complete! Starting today, we'll hold a three-day village festival!"
"Woooaaah!!"
"Woooaaah!!"
"Before the festival begins, I have glad tidings!"
As soon as he finished speaking, people waiting below the platform came up.
Russell and Isaac were among them.
"We bought slaves and made farmlands. We expanded the land and built a city there. I couldn't have done it alone. It was thanks to all of you working together!"
"Woooaaah!!"
"Woooaaah!!"
He raised his hand to calm the crowd.
"I have a promise to you. It's slave... release! Here among us are slaves who devoted themselves to me, to all of us."
Starting with Russell, he explained each one's contributions one by one.
After introducing the last person, he released their Slave Seals right before their eyes.
"Woooaaah!!!"
"Woooaaah!!!"
Screeeeech—
Screeeeech—
The massive cheers were loud enough to cause ringing in the ears.
The cheers filling the village didn't die down until five minutes later.
"Work for me. Strive for our community. Then within ten years, the Slave Seals on your bodies will vanish! This I, Elwin Frontier, pledge on my name!"
"Woooaaah!!"
"Woooaaah!!"
"Enjoy yourselves to the fullest for three days!!"
.
.
After the speech,
he returned to his room with Russell and Isaac.
"You've worked hard all this time."
"Thank you, Master."
"Thank you, Master."
"No, that's not right. You're not slaves anymore, so we need to change the title."
"Understood, Liege."
"Understood, Liege."
Were they influenced by recent events?
Instead of Elwin or Heir, they chose 'Liege'.
He didn't dislike the term either.
"Keep up the good work going forward."
"Of course."
"We'll give it our all."
After exchanging congratulations,
he got right to work.
"Mercenary status?"
"The guild tally is 3,200 in total."
In two months, 2,000 more mercenaries had arrived.
It wasn't just numbers; the average quality had improved greatly.
Because promising the Terra castle lord position had drawn in renowned mercenary groups.
"They'll hunt trolls, right?"
"Yes. They're focusing on high-score troll areas. However..."
Russell trailed off at the end.
"It's fine, speak."
"Funds are a concern."
Many mercenaries coming to hunt monsters was positive.
The problem was the subsidies paid out under the request fees.
"That tough?"
"At this rate, we expect deficits."
"That bad?"
Thanks to Monster Island's uniqueness, they were making big money from grains and livestock.
Yet expenses were still overwhelming.
"We can't turn away incoming mercenaries. The year's almost over, and next is Gibson's coming-of-age."
After Russell's report,
he turned to Isaac.
"Agriculture status?"
"Good. We added a large farm while building Terra. Existing farms' output is steadily rising too."
Adding new reclamation wasn't hard.
With money, buy slaves and do it anytime.
Even better was the continuous rise in existing farms' productivity.
This was partly because slaves had adapted to farming, but also due to the system in another sense.
After the reports,
he closed the documents in front of him.
"You two get three days off too. Don't think about work, just enjoy."
Isaac and Russell exchanged smiles, then bowed their heads.
"Have a real blast for three days! No need to report! Don't come see me! Just rest!"
After they left the room,
silence settled in.
'Deficits...'
He'd acted fine in front of his subordinates, but it wasn't okay.
Even after securing the troll zones, subsidies to mercenaries would be needed.
To hold the defenses.
Slave Soldiers couldn't block trolls.
'Can't cut subsidies. Increase income then? Buy more slaves...'
He shook his head.
Slaves required money too.
"Sigh, what to do."
Cheers echoed from outside.
Something fun must be happening.
He wanted to go out and enjoy the festival too.
But the two words 'deficit' killed the thought.
"To grow, money is absolutely essential. Is there anywhere money might come from..."
Then,
a knock sounded.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Russell appeared.
"I said don't come for three days. Rest up."
"We have guests."
Two people appeared behind Russell.
One was Jeffrey Callas, whom he'd met at his sister's coming-of-age ceremony.
The other was a woman he'd never seen before.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Freya Callas."
"Ah... yes, come in."