The Empire's Reach
How many people are there on this planet?
I don't know for sure, but it's probably between 50 million and 100 million.
But that's only because they live by hunting and gathering.
If we learn how to farm properly, their population could exceed 500 million.
And if we start accepting civilization properly, it could double that. 5 billion.
5 billion!
The population of this planet will be close to 100 times what it is now.
And the leader guiding this planet is me.
Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.
The capital life I've dreamed of for so long is just around the corner.
The time has come to realize my ambition.
After the war victory.
Our army invaded the main base of the Wild Dog Tribe.
The elderly warriors and slaves who had been pushed to the front lines resisted, but they couldn't match the army armed with guns.
I led Kumpa and wiped out all the warriors of the Wild Dog Tribe, and gave freedom to the remaining slaves.
Some of them submitted to the Zakum Tribe, and most returned to their original tribes that they had been part of before becoming slaves. They thanked our army repeatedly as they were freed.
After freeing the slaves, we distributed all the stored rations of the Wild Dog Tribe to the village.
There were 2 months until the harvest season. The Wild Dog Tribe's stored food was just a little over a month's worth.
First, we had them eat all the meat and vegetables stored by the Wild Dog Tribe, and fill in the shortage. Men were sent to hunt, and women to pick fruits.
By doing so, we secured food until the harvest season, and soon the harvest season came.
The members of our tribe, who no longer had to pay tribute, happily began harvesting wheat.
Then, 3 years' worth of stored food was created.
How to use this to contribute to the tribe's development? I racked my brain to the maximum.
'First, I need to improve the wheat seeds. I don't know much about farming, but according to the information I researched using this watch, the wheat yield per unit area on fertile land is 5000 to 5500 erans per baor. However, our production is only 2500 to 3000 erans per baor. It's only half of the expected yield. It might be a climate or soil issue, but I think the seed problem is bigger. From what I see, the wheat eaten in the Empire and the native wheat of our planet are slightly different from the beginning.'
Using my watch, that is, Verata, I summoned the wheat eaten in the Empire. Comparing the standard wheat and the wheat grown on this planet, they looked quite different.
'It's not that our planet's wheat has no commercial value. Martinez and his subordinates tasted the native wheat and were quite impressed. Even my taste test, the bread I ate in my previous life was less delicious than the bread eaten here. It's not just a matter of mood or environment. I think our planet's wheat is definitely good-tasting despite lower productivity.'
Lower productivity but good taste. What does that mean? It means we can sell it under a premium strategy. Good wheat! Special wheat! By creating this image, we maximize wheat exports.
'This seems good. We maintain the production of native wheat as is, but for newly planted wheat, we introduce seeds imported from the Empire. The wheat bought from the Empire is for domestic use on our planet, and the native wheat of our planet is for export. In this way, we can feed many people and make enough money.'
If things go as I think, a huge amount of money will come into my hands. Thinking this, I immediately called Hildegard.
"What is it?"
"Hilde, is the beacon still working?"
"My beacon uses stellar energy, so there's no need to worry about battery issues. If you're worried, you can buy a few backup beacons that switch to batteries in case of failure."
"I'll ask Martinez about that. By the way, can you call Martinez again?"
"Um, are you thinking of selling wheat?"
"Yes. In exchange for selling wheat, I want to buy wheat seeds."
She smiled slyly.
"Native wheat is a rare species, so you're thinking of selling it expensively and feeding the Empire's standard wheat with good productivity to the people?"
"You don't have secrets from Hilde. How did you figure it out?"
"Because I had the same thought as you. I was going to suggest the same idea, but now I don't need to."
It seems our minds are in sync. The fact that Hilde also had the same thought seems to prove that my thinking wasn't off.
"Then, I'll call Martinez using the beacon. Depending on where Martinez is, it might take 3 days to 2 weeks."
"Yes. I hope I can buy from Martinez. Merchants might turn into pirates at any time, so I want to trade with known faces as much as possible."
"I agree. Martinez is a reliable person. Above all, the spaceship is small and has few people, so from our perspective, it's relatively not scary. Even if a military conflict comes, we won't lose."
"It's a bit sorry to say to Martinez."
"Indeed. Haha."
Hildegard and I looked at each other and laughed. At some point, it seemed that our minds had started communicating a lot.
Surprisingly, the answer came quickly. When I sent a signal to call Martinez using the beacon, a response came immediately.
> I'll come down tomorrow. Please wait.
"Tomorrow?"
Both Sihyun and Hildegard had puzzled expressions. How could it be so fast? It was as if they had been waiting in the sky above our planet.
The next day, when waiting for Martinez, we had no choice but to face a surprise.
The thing that landed on the vast plain, which was always used as a landing and takeoff point, was not Martinez's trade ship, but a warship three times larger.
"Wow, it's huge..."
"It's a warship. It seems they've smelled our scent."
"Smell?"
"This is originally a primitive planet. If someone is sending signals with a beacon in such a place, I suspect they might be the ones chasing us, so I came down to check."
In other words, they came to catch Hilde, the runaway, right? If they find out that I hid her, they'll come after me too.
It's a life-or-death crisis!
"What the hell. Is it over? Then what do we do?"
"First, go and capture them no matter what. We don't know about Hilde. There was an incident where an explorer came by chance before, tasted the native wheat, and gave the beacon back. We'll make up a scenario like that and force it. They can't know if there was an explorer who didn't exist or not. If we force it, they have no answer."
"But... from what I heard, it seems like they are the kind who don't care about means and methods."
"There's no other way. The opponent is a real army. If I use Psy-cast, I can somehow capture a couple of warships, but if that happens, the news that I'm here will spread instantly, and thousands of warships will come."
"..."
"But if they know everything..."
"If they know?"
"You pretend you know nothing. Don't listen to anything from me. Especially, pretend you don't know about the coup that happened in the Empire. That is the only way for you to survive."
What is Hilde's true identity...? Just knowing about her existence is enough to put my life in danger?
Anyway, the sure thing is that a warship has landed. And beyond that clear blue sky, there are probably many warships floating. If I say the wrong thing, not only me but the entire planet could be turned to dust. They have the ability to do such things.
'First, let's try talking.'
Let's see how much they know, what they know.
And if it's really a situation with no answer, I'll sell Hilde. Thinking this, I approached the warship.
When I came in front of the warship, a soldier in a splendid military uniform, guessed to be a noble, came down from the warship. The noble soldier said.
"Where are you?"
"What are you talking about..."
"Playing dumb is useless. We came knowing everything."
Knowing everything? Did they find out about Hilde's existence?
No, the situation hasn't completely turned yet. Let's play dumb first.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"We are the Empire's army. The strongest military group in space. It won't be good for you to be so uncooperative with us, right?"
"But not knowing is not knowing."
I want to pass without any incident if possible. Please just say that you came by mistake.
"There's no way! Martinez said he bought it from a skilled native who spoke the Empire's language here! Then, did Martinez lie?"
"What? Buy? What?"
"This!"
The noble soldier took something out of his bag. Upon closer look, it was wheat. The native wheat unique to our planet. Seeing it, I felt like I was going to faint from dizziness.
'What the hell... they were looking for this?'
It was absurd, and I felt like I was going to collapse. So, this noble soldier, upon seeing the beacon's signal, came to find a place where Hilde might be, not to come to the planet after tasting the wheat bought from Martinez and finding it delicious.
"This is the native wheat of this planet. When I made it into bread, the flavor was amazing. Even I, who am from the capital, was amazed. Some of my subordinates were so moved they cried. In the name of the Empire noble Theodor Rittenberg, I have the duty to feed my subordinates delicious and nutritious food. So, hand it over right now. 10 million erans of wheat, no, 20 million erans!"
20 million erans each, you bastard...
"I want to say two things first."
"What?"
"One. There is no 20 million erans of wheat. It seems we can sell up to 10 million erans even at the upper limit. We have to eat and live too."
"I accept that. In return, I'll come to buy again next year's harvest season. Don't sell to anyone else, only sell exclusively to us."
"Two. Can we receive payment in military currency?"
"..."
As expected, weapons are the best military supplies. Military supplies are delivered only after careful inspection and only the highest quality.
He thought seriously for a while, moving his hand to his chin at my sudden proposal. Then he answered like this.