The Impoverished Earldom (2)
The Impoverished Earldom (2)
Brent felt dizzy.
No more need for rye.
'I brought such a huge amount, how can I not sell it?'
He could see one of his attendants was utterly flustered.
It was undoubtedly that bastard's mistake, but now was not the time to press that matter.
"It seems there was an omission. However, transporting the rye all the way here cost us considerable expense. If we cannot sell this, the losses will be enormous, so I beg of you, show mercy...."
"Did you not transport it with Storage Warehouse Magic anyway?"
"There are enchantment costs, and the expenditures required to travel this far north are not insignificant. Head Butler-nim, please, grant us clemency."
Andrea the butler furrowed the fine wrinkles on his face before nodding as if he had no choice.
"Next time, you must not make such a mistake."
"Thank you!"
"After all, the Bakos Merchantry still has the credit it has shown us so far."
Thankfully, the Head Butler showed a generous smile.
In return, Brent discounted the supply price by 20%.
After breathing a sigh of relief, Brent secretly listened in on the conversation between the count's castle servants as they handled the Storage Warehouse Magic-enchanted rye carts.
"But where do we even use rye now? Should we feed it to the chickens?"
"Oh, we'll be able to eat our fill of chicken from now on."
'They feed rye to chickens?'
Words that made his ears perk up.
Rye is a staple food for people, and they use it as livestock feed?
'What in the world is happening in this County?'
Stepping out of the count's castle in a spellbound mood, Brent took in the bustling street scenery full of vitality.
During his last trade trip, the inhabitants of the territory had been worn down by the long logistical support.
But now, everyone is working diligently with radiant faces or heading to their workplaces.
Here and there, children with plump, chubby bodies are running around playing.
'Wait, is it okay to waste children's labor power like that?'
To Brent's eyes, rather than letting children waste their energy playing like that, shouldn't they at least be made to weave baskets?
Just then, Brent saw people standing in a long line.
A new building filled with the smell of baking bread.
The people in line were receiving bread from an employee and returning one by one.
When he tried to approach, a guard appeared and blocked his way.
"This is a restricted facility for outsiders. Please turn back."
"Ah, my apologies."
Barkos thought to himself as he turned away.
'Handing out free bread... His Excellency the Count is truly generous. But where did all that rye come from? Could it be that the capital is really giving that much supplies?'
The central supply had been reinforced after the 1st Army's capital riot incident.
Had it been so abundant that they told the Bakos Merchantry to bring civil engineering materials instead of food from now on?
Barkos thought he had found his answer, but he had no idea that he had been wrong from the start.
"Having the bakery bake the bread for us instead makes things so comfortable and nice."
"Just drop off the flour and they bake it right on time, so I don't have to worry about meal prep. It's so good."
"Perhaps because they're the frontline mages, they really bake the bread beautifully, evenly golden brown."
"How can they bake white sandwich bread so well?"
It wasn't a free distribution facility. It was a public facility that lightened the domestic workload of the territory's inhabitants by baking bread for them if they brought flour.
Fire Mages from the frontline cookhouses, who had lost their jobs, were working in shifts there.
"Wow, look at this bread. How did they bake it so edibly well without any burnt spots?"
"Mage-nim, thank you! We'll eat this deliciously again today!"
Even among the Mage Corps, the cooking support competition was fierce.
This was because, along with corn soup, they could eat bread baked with white refined flour at every meal.
***
Today was the day of the Samgyeopsal party with the Luna Unit.
Hildea and Rebecca were also naturally attending.
Just like last time, I set things up at the Old Official Residence training ground.
"Piel, when will the New Official Residence be completed?"
"It will be done soon. The soldiers are working very hard on it."
Since they were paid flour as an extra allowance, they were all working incredibly hard for their families back in the territory.
"Commander-in-Chief, once the New Official Residence is fully built, can you give me a room there too?"
"Marquis-nim, why do you want to live in my residence instead of leaving your own corps?"
"The 4th Army has been running smoothly under the vice-commander system from the beginning, right? There's no need for me to stay there full-time."
"Either way, my residence is off-limits. Please live in the barracks where you're currently staying."
With the same atmosphere as always, the Samgyeopsal party began.
Rebecca could not come to her senses from the smell of the Samgyeopsal sizzling in the oil.
"P, Piel? How can meat have a fragrance? Is it actually meat from slaughtering the real Kanureus?"
In this Midraeland, the gamey stench of poor-quality meat was considered normal.
So meat that was bled and butchered from the superior breeds of modern Earth with an industrialized touch seemed to make them feel like it had a fragrance.
I looked around at the 201 knights who had each claimed one iron plate.
Perhaps because they were all wearing US military field uniforms, it felt exactly like a KATUSA outdoor dining event.
"Don't mind the commander's table, everyone eat freely!"
"Yes!"
If I could do as I pleased, I wanted to wrap a Ssam and put it into Hildea's mouth, but aware of Rebecca and Luna's eyes on us, I just gave a demonstration.
Rebecca tried wrapping a few Ssam to eat, but after that, she was just dipping the grilled meat in salt and stuffing it into her mouth.
"Piel, Ssam is delicious too, but I'd rather taste the meat flavor more clearly. Mmm, it's good, so good, how can it be this good...?"
Meanwhile, Luna was...
"I have a small mouth, so wrapping a too-big Ssam is uncomfortable. But this thing called rice is really delicious."
She eats meat dipped in Ssamjang, eats rice, eats grilled Kimchi, chives, and bean sprouts, and finally puts the lettuce into her mouth.
It's not like I'm decomposing and reassembling Lettuce Ssam...
"Luna, you don't realize that eating that way won't let you taste the original essence of Samgyeopsal Lettuce Ssam."
Hildea, following what I had taught her, diligently completes the full-package Lettuce Ssam and puts it into her mouth.
Chewing, she sends me a glance that asks, 'I did well, right?'
"Well, everyone has their own eating style. I don't always eat full Ssam every time either. Sometimes I eat just like Commander Rebecca."
Taking out the Samhae Gwiju, which was 300 budget per bottle, was too burdensome, so I took out the cheap Jim Beam Whiskey.
Still, all three of them liked it.
Especially, Rebecca showed a reaction that reached the pinnacle of ecstasy.
"Piel, you're crazy! This is a revolution! Even the Empire's emperor couldn't have imagined this kind of gourmet food, right?"
"Most certainly."
"Really, once this taste gets out, nobles will be volunteering to serve in Ainshuvan, every last one of them."
Luna, who was drinking whiskey for the first time, also had her eyes wide open, thoroughly immersed in emotion.
I leaned over to whisper into Hildea's ear.
"It's a bit lacking compared to Samhae Gwiju, isn't it?"
"Hmm? No. This is delicious in its own way. Everything you give me is just delicious."
Hildea is truly a woman worth feeding.
Ding-ding-ding! Ding-ding-ding! Ding-ding-ding!
An emergency bell rang loudly through the barracks.
But no one was surprised. Everyone just calmly continued eating.
"That's Raid Number 2 today."
"Lieutenant Colonel Piel, give this officer more alcohol..."
"Lieutenant Colonel-nim... may I put the meat on? Just give me the tongs too..."
Luna subtly took the tongs and scissors.
I set up a screen to block the view between the knights and us.
Not seeing each other makes for a more comfortable eating experience.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
After the sound of mortars exploding rang out a few times.
Deeeeng! Deeeeng!
This time, the bell signaling eradication completion rang out.
Whether it was a plant, a beast, or a wyvern, I didn't know, but it was the bell that said the subjugation had finished without damage.
The four of us leisurely ate cheap whiskey and Samgyeopsal while conversing.
"I'm worried that if only the Luna Unit gets to eat well, the morale of the other knights and soldiers might drop."
"No soldier in my corps would have such an insolent thought. The Luna Unit are heroes who fully deserve this kind of treatment."
"The Commander-in-Chief is right. Such shameless bastards already all died off long ago in Ainshuvan."
"We, the ones from the 1st Army, are just grateful for the Lieutenant Colonel-nim's grace..."
"Wow, is that really the Luna I knew? I feel like you're not the real Luna."
Luna lowered her eyes and glared at Rebecca before saying one crisp word.
"Rebecca, don't."
I was momentarily surprised.
"Oh, Captain Luna. I just now figured out what Commander Rebecca meant."
"L, Lieutenant Colonel-nim. That's not what..."
From a figure like a leopardess crouching in the forest, she instantly reverted back to a chick's expression.
Giggling, I poured drinks for the three women.
***
While thoroughly enjoying the bountiful gourmet party, Hildea's eyes suddenly caught Luna's expression.
Even as she diligently grilled meat, her gaze never left Piel's face.
Now that she thought about it, the distance between the two of them was subtly close as well.
"...."
Hildea recalled the first day he had grilled Samgyeopsal for her.
Sitting with her back leaning between his legs, watching his two hands grill and cut the meat.
The moment he put a carefully wrapped Lettuce Ssam into her mouth, and she chewed and swallowed it deliciously, the moment she happily swallowed the clear and fiery Samhae Gwiju.
'Luna... why are you sticking so close to him. At that rate, the oil will splatter.'
Suddenly, Hildea's appetite faded a little.
But the instant Piel refilled her empty glass, her appetite revived in a flash.
"Right, Piel. What happened with the Elf prisoners?"
"Every last individual died, and I disposed of them by burning them thoroughly."
"Were you satisfied with the observation results?"
"It seems they wither and die if completely deprived of sunlight for about 3 weeks. There's likely some variance between individuals."
"You said communication was impossible?"
"Yes. It didn't seem to be a language issue. It felt as if the communication function itself simply didn't exist."
"Hmm... Then what about the records that say we last negotiated with Elves 70 years ago?"
"It is probably a system where communication with external races is only possible for selected individuals."
At some point, the intoxicated Hildea was leaning against Piel's side, eating her Lettuce Ssam with her cheek pressed to his shoulder.
High-level intelligence and cultured conversation flowed between the two of them.
'Now that I think about it, Piel was born a noble. Unlike me...'
"Lieutenant Colonel-nim, the elves' attack frequency seems very different from before these days."
"You felt it too, Luna?"
"Yeah. I didn't feel their sincerity."
Hildea ate her food languidly, adding a word.
"Recently, it's felt more like a friendly sparring match than a duel to the death."
Piel opened his mouth.
"It did feel like they were just lazily sending minor checks while steadily asserting their presence.
In cases like this, you can usually think about the possibility that they are trying to pin down our attention while striking somewhere else..."
"Maybe after experiencing Piel's magic tool firepower, they figured we're not an option and are thinking of projecting their power onto other kingdoms? Ours isn't the only Kingdom of Leodis facing the Elf Forest, after all."
"Is there no possibility that they might bypass Ainshuvan and directly strike the rear?"
At those words, Hildea found herself laughing helplessly.
Rebecca also giggled along with her.
Luna didn't laugh outright, but her expression of holding it in was clear.
"Piel, sorry... I wasn't trying to laugh at you. Anyway, that's impossible. Why do you think Ainshuvan is the foremost defense line against the Elf Forest?"
"Lieutenant Colonel-nim, to bypass Ainshuvan and strike the rear, they would have to pass through the Western Great Lake. But that place is the territory of the Ivory Whales."
"Ivory Whales are extremely sensitive about their territory. And they're very fierce."
"Ah, I see. So Elves don't have the affinity for the Ivory Whale monster."
"Ivory Whales are highly intelligent. There are even estimates that they surpass the level of a 10-year-old child. They are not a species Elves can control like Wyverns."
"Then I suppose we just have to build up our strength while guarding Ainshuvan well here.
Be that as it may, the county's population needs to increase significantly... I am considering a plan to grant 100kg of flour to households where a baby is born."
"What? That's crazy! Why give 100kg of flour as a baby congratulatory gift?"
Hildea smiled a pleased smile and looked up at Piel.
'Piel, as expected, you really do intend to stake yourself in my territory, right?'
***
Western part of Northern Ainshuvan, the Great Lake of the Ivory Whales.
Allowing no access to humans, nor any monster whatsoever, this lake was vast, almost like a sea.
The Kingdom of Leodis, starting from the northwest, was surrounded by this lake down to the 9 o'clock direction.
How far the lake exactly stretched, no completed map even existed.
The territory's inhabitants, who were fishing on the lake for their livelihood as usual, rubbed their eyes at the sight of a white foam rising in the distance.
"What's that? Something like a white cloud is spread over the lake?"
"Could it be waves? But the wind is calm..."
The white foam drew closer and closer.
Only then did the inhabitants realize the foam's true identity and turned deathly pale.
An immense number of Ivory Whales, in formation, were charging headlong toward the land.
"Ivory Whales! The Ivory Whales are charging with strange trees on their heads!"
"R, run away!"
In the west of the kingdom's central-southern region.
The Ancient Tree Legion had landed atop the backs of Ivory Whales.