Territory Status Inspection (1)
Harriet territory's village chief had given a rough overview of the village's economic situation and industrial structure before departing the office.
Left alone in the office were none other than Harriet Baron Park Jeong-jae and his aide Jenis Hacker. With no one else around to eavesdrop, the two picked up where they'd left off earlier, diving straight into the topic of the bandits.
"Those bandits—are they in cahoots with the villagers?"
Jenis cut right to the chase with her sharp deduction. Jeong-jae nodded.
"If they weren't, the first complaint out of their mouths would've been about that. If there's a bandit gang as big as Hacker Count described lurking around here, the only thing a newly arrived powerhouse noble lord like me could expect is a demand on that front."
"Villagers colluding with known outlaws... Yeah, that makes prying info out of the locals a risky move in itself."
"Exactly. If we show any sign of wanting to wipe them out, the villagers might just hide them even deeper. No point kicking the hornet's nest anyway. We handle this quietly—just you and me."
"This'll be the first time we've tackled something just the two of us, Professor. Hope there are more chances like this ahead."
Jenis let out a soft huhu, a light chuckle. Jeong-jae nodded, a faint smile crossing his face.
"Plenty of chances, I'm sure. You're the only reliable, capable person I can trust in this territory right now. Anyway, let's think about how to tackle this."
"The alliance between villagers and bandits. First off, we gotta figure out how that's even possible. Assuming that's the case, of course."
"I considered the bandits intimidating the villagers with force or hostages. But low odds on that. The vibe here's too peaceful for that kind of oppression. People under duress like that always give off a certain... scent."
"Didn't pick up on anything like that myself. We can rule that out."
"Bandits' raids benefiting the village? Nah, scratch that too. No other humans or demihumans nearby to fleece, and hitting passing merchants would just hurt the village. With this territory's short farming season, exporting seafood and importing crops is essential. If bandit rumors scare off trade, folks here'd be eating fish dipped in shrimp paste year-round."
Not a terrible meal by any means, but three squares a day of nothing else would definitely cause nutritional issues. Jenis nodded in agreement with Jeong-jae's assessment.
"Our family directly manages the economic structure of small territories like this under our influence. The count's estate essentially acts as their proxy for trade, meeting the villagers' needs. Raiding those merchants would make enemies of the count's house."
"Right. Hacker Count would've mentioned if the bandits were hitting his own lands too. No such complaint means they're not preying on outsiders."
One reason the Hacker family wielded such sway over regional nobles was their aggressive intermediary trade, leveraging proximity to the capital Caprice. Hacker wasn't a greedy man. He knew chasing excessive profits might push other nobles to carve out direct routes to the capital, which would hurt him more in the long run. He took reasonable cuts, and most nobles were content. The tribute they funneled his way was like a tax for maintaining ties with a powerful count's house—no one grumbled, and the family's authority only grew.
"So the bandits have no revenue stream. They can't rob the village or trade caravans, leaving poaching or hunting. But even then, a full bandit gang scraping by on game alone? Hard to build up enough meat to trade with villagers and foster goodwill."
"A skilled hunter might manage. But that's not the point. Let's think about why a bandit gang exists here in the first place."
Jeong-jae zeroed in on the core issue. Jenis mulled it over, eyes darting, then snapped her fingers with wide eyes.
"Draft dodgers! Guys who refused the conscription call and fled to the hills! The village chief must be turning a blind eye to keep more young men from bolting—secretly trading with them. The villagers are probably supplying them with food and essentials!"
Jeong-jae grinned. "Spot on. If that's true, the villagers won't exactly welcome the baron's return. An outsider lord sitting in judgment is their worst nightmare—their secret lawbreaking exposed."
Jenis sighed at Jeong-jae's words. "If your theory's right, Professor, they've broken imperial law outright. Can't go easy on them."
"Not planning to. But if the whole village's sentiment leans their way, we handle this carefully."
"You've got uncooperative subjects on your hands."
"Tragedy of the times. My burden to bear."
Silence fell between them for a moment. Jeong-jae had gauged the territory's state from reports, but even this tiny village had issues that could stump a novice lord.
"So, what's your plan to resolve it? This is all just speculation—the truth could be totally different."
"Yeah. Gotta verify first. But like I said, no grilling the villagers. And a full-scale search of the area would just spook them."
"Use magic to sweep the surroundings. Piece of cake for you, Professor."
"But that means I have to move myself. Don't want to be seen leaving the territory too often—raises suspicions."
Jeong-jae's reluctance stemmed partly from fear the bandits would burrow deeper, complicating the hunt. But really, he just didn't want this turning into a standoff with the villagers. The ideal was pinpointing the bandits before anyone caught on, then striking decisively—whether negotiation or suppression. If it became lord hunting outlaws versus villagers hiding them, relations would sour from the start, forcing Jeong-jae to tiptoe around the locals forever. Proud Margaret might win hearts with a speech, but that wasn't his style without her pedigree.
"Guess it's on me then."
Jenis spoke up. Jeong-jae nodded.
"You'll draw eyes here too, but less than me. Like you said—don't hunt traces outside. Watch the territory at night for secret food outflows. Might mean pulling a few all-nighters."
"No problem. Came to help you with the grunt work from the start."
Jenis wore a resolute expression, utterly unfazed. Jeong-jae nodded but didn't skip the caveats.
"Good. I'm counting on you. But once you track them, don't act alone—report the location to me ASAP. You're in charge here."
"My first real field op! Kinda exciting!"
Jeong-jae could've handled it himself—superior in skill and experience. But giving Jenis this low-stakes mission, recoverable even if botched, was key to building her experience. She was a rare talent in the empire. Jeong-jae was certain she'd outgrow this post soon—very soon. A botched bandit hunt? He could clean it up. Sure, odds of resolving things amicably with villagers would plummet, but that was life.
"Alright, that's settled for investigation. Let's move to other issues."
Jeong-jae reached for the stack of documents from the chief. The village was small, so financial ledgers and management reports were thin.
"Only five people on payroll here—stands out."
Jenis noted first. The Hackers weren't lavish with servants either, but Jeong-jae figured the count's lands burned huge sums on guards.
"At least they've got a cook."
The male chef must've been drafted; only a female head cook was listed. Lunch hadn't been bad, so keeping her seemed fine.
"One cook, one chief, three guards. Lord have mercy. Trade brings in silver steadily, but nothing going out. Roll that into investments, and we could do some real stuff, right?"
"Invest how? Best case, hire maids or cleaners—but not too many, or it pulls from village labor. No workers for construction, no trustworthy investments. Without people, spare cash is useless."
Money fixed everything only in a world where it could always flex. Trade profits came from Hacker buys, but surpluses persisted because Hacker crop sales were capped. This land lacked self-sufficiency to branch out independently. Hackers weren't stingy or unfair, but economic dependence was dependence. Luckily, the chief seemed honest—no siphoned silver—but in a hamlet, that might just be rational.
"Should I talk to Dad? Push for commercial growth via economic independence."
"No need. The system's too stable to tweak. Surpluses might find uses organically if other plans pan out."
"Got it. If that's your take, Baron."
Jeong-jae skimmed finances and shifted to industry reports. Jenis, glued to his side, gasped at the catch logs.
"They're regulating catches deliberately. Resources must be plentiful."
"Pulling just enough nets—precisely. Given the village's spot, they only need self-sufficiency plus trade surplus—no need to stockpile."
Without special factors like global warming sea changes, maintaining current fishing sufficed. No such thing in this world, so no drastic shifts expected.
"Tampering could wreck it..."
"But fishing could use a tweak, yeah?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Jeong-jae blinked at Jenis. She shrugged.
"No need to alter yields, but with your skills, slashing fishing labor's easy. Free up hands for land reclamation—kick off farming."
"Makes sense. No ag experts, so trial-and-error fails possible, but stable fishing means no big hit."
Jeong-jae was a grand archmage. Magic's might made maintaining yields with fewer people trivial. And it'd be one of his rare chances to boost the whole territory.
"Alright, let's focus there. First day got me fired up."
The spirited young baron declared. His rule upon return was just taking its first steps.