Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Heaven's Net
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Iron Village.
Massive resources were poured into expanding the village.
Mining personnel was increased,
and the number of workshops grew as well.
Those with nimble hands were selected
and trained as blacksmith apprentices.
Even that wasn't enough, so students learning blacksmithing skills at the school were mobilized too.
"Will this be enough to meet supply?"
"Given time, it should suffice. Once the artisans' proficiency rises sufficiently."
"Can't you just teach them yourself?"
"Well, if you order it, I will."
For all his grumbling, Dve's skills were outstanding.
The artisans he'd trained
were now crafting crossbows that matched the perfection of the blueprints.
I inspected Iron Village alongside Dve before returning to my office.
Having seen the site firsthand, it was now time for paperwork.
I read through the documents piled on my desk,
signing each one individually.
'Everything else is fine, but artisans are the bottleneck after all.'
Iron Village's growth wasn't as straightforward as the farming villages.
It was hard to secure core personnel.
'Maximizing the apprenticeship system and adding school education...'
It would take time, but eventually, we could train a large number of artisans.
With the Iron Village paperwork finished,
a thought suddenly struck me.
"I'm surprised by how little I have to do here."
The other villages had always demanded a lot from me personally.
Only I could handle removing demonic energy from key personnel.
Iron Village was different.
Drafting the blueprints had taken ages, but after that, there was little for me to touch.
The miners
and blacksmiths
had increased production on their own.
I cleared away the reviewed documents
and pulled over the next stack.
Having been away so long for the northern subjugation and the merchant caravan ambush, work had piled up.
"Oh... the population has grown a lot."
Sudden demand spikes had made slaves hard to acquire.
So we'd turned to attracting wanderers.
The results were better than expected.
Initially, wanderer numbers had trickled in slowly, but they'd risen sharply over time.
I checked the figures and read the notes below.
[Initially, bringing in wanderers was difficult. ... Only a few settled in Yuran Village. ... Provided them with food, shelter, and jobs (farming).]
I finished reading and flipped to the next page.
[Settled wanderers satisfied. ... Used them to contact more wanderers. ... Increased influx. ...]
"So the early settlers actively brought in their fellow wanderers?"
They wouldn't budge when we tried persuading them, but moved right away when their old companions did.
That swelled the wanderer numbers until Yuran Village reached capacity.
[Dispersed some wanderers to Alp, Terra, and West River for settlement. ... Need new villages and farmland.]
Looks like farmland needs expanding.
As I planned ahead
and worked through the remaining documents,
a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
Hunter entered.
"The Paonia family made no moves again today."
"Good work."
Hunter finished his report and left the room.
As expected, Paonia wasn't making any hasty moves.
They had to know
every eye on the island was watching them.
The next day.
Starting with Yuran, I expanded farmland in Terra and Alp villages too.
The reports were spot on.
Population had definitely surged.
People coming in fell into three main categories.
Slaves, mercenaries, wanderers.
Inflow ratios:
Wanderers >>> Slaves > Mercenaries.
More wanderers were arriving than even during our peak slave-buying phase.
"Can one village handle this volume?"
When expanding monster territory, we'd built four outposts.
Three now had villages,
one remained unused.
Even building there, though, didn't seem enough for wanderers to settle comfortably.
"We need a large farm... a mega-farm unlike anything before..."
Conveniently, such a place existed.
The Frontier commercial city of Plain.
Visiting to investigate the Pianas, I'd seen vast plains stretching to the horizon.
"No wonder they named it Plain."
The word for plain or field used directly as the city name.
It grew into a commercial hub despite being on Monster Island.
On the mainland, it could've supported massive farms.
"The city manager position is vacant too... this could work."
.
.
I visited Plain city with Isaac.
At the entrance,
guards lined up on both sides.
And at their head,
"Heir! At your ser~vice! Plea~se!"
stood the guard captain.
"You're working hard."
"Thank you!! I'll escort you!!"
Escorted by the guard captain and his men, I toured the city.
Checked the city scale, climbed the walls to gaze at the endless plains.
"What do you think?"
"Perfect for farming."
Vast plains.
No trees filling Monster Island either.
All timber around Plain had been felled and sold.
"But my lord, this isn't your land."
West of River was my territory, with granted autonomy.
Plain city was different.
"I'm recommending you to Father as Plain's manager."
"Me!?"
Isaac asked in surprise.
Plain city manager was a key post.
Upper echelon among retainers.
"You're more than capable. It's right up your alley too."
Isaac had overseen agriculture since I started farming.
Lately, he'd joined village construction, becoming proficient there too.
We'd built four villages,
and the last one, Yuran, he'd managed entirely on his own.
"His Lordship might think the same."
"I'll handle Father. You just prepare the mega-farm."
"Understood, my lord."
Frontier front lines.
Main lord's camp.
Command tent.
Reports had been flooding in lately.
It started with the caravan ambush.
Nothing too concerning at first.
Then things took a strange turn.
The third-generation loyal Paonia family was wiped out.
The patriarch died,
followed by his son Nielsen in combat.
That could happen.
Compared to the next news, though.
Frontier's lady of the house.
Brilda's suicide.
Brilda had died in the heart of Frontier,
in the safest lord's manor in South Castle.
Countless reports poured in on this.
No signs of intruders.
Brilda had been under severe stress lately.
And her suicide note.
Putting it all together,
Brilda had felt burdened by her rivalry with Elwin.
Being named a suspect in the caravan ambush had made things worse lately.
Officially, that was the conclusion.
She herself probably believed it.
If Elwin's separate report hadn't arrived,
with its new details.
Brilda had been assassinated.
Prime suspect: maid Anna.
Backed by the Paonia family.
Frankly,
it all sounded fishy.
1) Brilda died in Frontier's core, South Castle. The safest spot: the lord's manor.
Assassination seemed unlikely.
2) Suspect Anna.
I'd crossed paths with that maid many times. Nothing stood out. Her as an assassin?
The report even claimed she might be a skilled spy or killer.
3) Backers: Paonia.
Brilda's birth family.
Them killing her? Hard to fathom.
"Elwin's report does raise suspicions, of course. But..."
No hard evidence presented.
"You called for me, my lord?"
"Sit."
The newcomer was a 5th Circle earth mage who'd studied with me at the Gray Mage Tower.
Knowing him so long made him perfect for this.
I handed him Elwin's letter, shown to no one else.
His expression grew grave as he read.
Finally, he looked up.
"My lord, is this true?"
I slowly shook my head.
"That's for you to find out."
The mage carefully folded the letter and set it on the desk.
Then he stood.
His face remained stern.
This incident was gravely serious.
The lady suiciding versus being murdered was worlds apart.
"You're the only one I can entrust this to, old friend Harper."
"I'll uncover the truth."
Harper left,
leaving the lord alone.
His marriage to Brilda hadn't started with love.
Back then, the territory's situation was worse than now.
Many had approached, offering aid.
And recommended one person.
Brilda, daughter of Paonia.
Marry her, and more support would follow.
He had only one son then, so he'd felt the need for marriage.
In case something happened to that son, another heir for Frontier was needed.
That was how the marriage began.
Perhaps because of that.
No great sorrow came with news of Brilda's death.
Instead, another emotion surged fiercely.
Anger.
"If Elwin's report is true, the Paonia name will vanish from the earth."
The fury stemmed not from Brilda's death,
but from the death of Frontier's lady of the house.