The Imperial Castle, Sandoria...
Everyday, the King of Sandra struggled with pet.i.tions and reports which had ama.s.sed into a mountain on his desk in the office.
“Urggh....” His face was grim as groans escaped from his mouth.
This wasn’t surprising because even though the Kingdom managed to win against the Robutas Kingdom after a fierce battle, the western lord found a chance to betray him, and submitted to the Shugurin Dukedom. Furthermore, as the expenditure from the war was extreme, the castle storehouse was now exhausted. Other than that, he also needed to deal with the settlement’s reduced income and swelling expenses. It really made his stomach churn.
“What should I do..?” He sighed while going through the reports one by one.
As a minor digression, the papers that were used for the reports were a kind of recycled paper. It was developed by a certain country in recent years, and has circulated around the world. Each parchment of this new recycled paper was cheap, costing only 1/100 of the usual 2~3 New Barbanil silver coins (5,600 yen ~ 8,400 yen) per piece.
Returning back to the main subject...
“Excuse me.” An old man entered the office. It was the Chief Advisor.
“What is it?” The king shifted his gaze from the doc.u.ments and to glare at the Chief Advisor.
The king who had his territory robbed was not in a good mood. He feel resentment in his heart, especially toward the Chief Advisor who did not foresee the lord’s betrayal. Nonetheless, neither the Chief Advisor, nor any civil or military officers could have foreseen this, so he didn’t have anyone to take it out on. It couldn’t be helped since the Shugurin Dukedom was able to hide their true aim until now.
“I have received a notice from the person who had headed towards the beastman town.” The Chief Advisor pretended not to notice the king’s att.i.tude and carried out his duty.
Upon hearing the words “beastman town”, the king frowned, his face full of displeasure.
This was because the betrayal of western lord was originally caused by the beastman town.
To be honest, the king was fed up with the beastman town. He definitely does not want to deal with them. If someone told him to attack that town again, he would seriously consider cutting his or her head off without hesitation.
“It seems that the population of the town has increased significantly. They couldn’t be housed inside the houses that were outside of the castle, so they are using tents.” The elderly man reported.
“How much?” The king grunted.
“Going with a rough estimate, it was said to have increased by around 1,000.” The Chief Advisor stated.
“Hmmm...” The king leaned back on his seat and started to think.
The population of Beastman town has increased by at least 1,000 people. That was a large number that couldn’t be ignored.
The reproductive capability of beastmen was low. However, as the population increases, the number of births will also increase, so the low reproduction rate will become irrelevant. This figure of 1,000 could become the key to population growth. It would become a less favorable situation for the Kingdom of Sandra. Nevertheless, they can’t do anything for now. Eventually though, they would have to do something about it.
“Did they come from the western side?” The king asked.
“It seems so.” The elderly man nodded.
“However, what is the meaning of this? How did they know about the existence of the beastman town?” The king frowned. “The Rusiel river flows at the east of the town. Even if they move south along the river, it could be pure coincidence for them to discover the town.
But, from the west, unless the existence of the town was known, they wouldn’t even try to go in that direction.”
The Wolf tribe and the other old residents of the town were the ones who had been driven away by humans. All they wished was to find a place to live in peace in the south of enormous the Rusiel river.
However, the people from west should be based in the sea. So, unless they know about the location of the town, they would not move so far east, and would absolutely not reach the beastman town.
“It is the Shugurin Dukedom. They deliberately informed them about the beastman town. That country seems quite formidable.” The Chief Advisor stated plainly.
However, the king felt that there was something else included in the word “formidable”.
“...I don’t understand what are you trying to say.” The king grumbled.
Was the Shugurin Dukedom trying to gain favor with n.o.buhide by sending him new residents? Such thoughts appear in his mind, but he thought that it was insufficient for the Chief Advisor to use the word “formidable” if it was just that.
Another thing that came to mind was the possibility of the Shugurin Dukedom trying to increase the mouths the town had to feed and create a food shortage. However, n.o.buhide could just refuse to accept the new residents. Besides, given how they gave meals to almost 1,000 of prisoners of the Kingdom of Sandra three times, the town should have ample food supply, enough to not worry about a food shortage at the very least.
After that, he thought that the new beastmen would destroy the town from the inside like poison, but he denied it immediately. The Shugurin Dukedom was a human nation, so for them to make the beastmen rebel was absurd. There was no way a beastman could trust humans.
Then, the Chief Advisor said. “It was reported that they saw a fish tribe.”
“A Fish tribe? That Fish tribe?” The king raised his eyebrows.
“Yes.” The elderly man nodded.
There was a reason for the king to say that fish tribe. The cause of the beastmen being driven from their ancestral lands was because the church “prohibited war among nations”. Before that declaration was made, before the present king of Sandra ascended the throne, the Fish tribe had been expelled from the Kingdom of Sandra. That was because the Fish tribe attacked human villages recklessly.
“But, what about it? The ones residing inside the town are beastmen. Aren’t their relations with other beastmen good?” The king questioned.
“No. The Fish tribe is cowardly, arrogant, crafty, fierce, and very selfish. At the beginning, they will ask for help. That is how they approached their target village. When life is difficult, they will ask for help. In exchange for food, they will work hard as villagers. The Fish tribe will work seriously in the beginning. However, once the Fish tribe obtains peace, they will reveal their true nature soon. They will begin to complain about working under humans, forgetting the kindness they received, and begin to attack the village.” The Chief Advisor explained smoothly, speaking as if he had seen it. “Their pride knows no bounds. As soon as their safety is guaranteed, their pride will swell up and they will try to fill their greed. For these people, they won’t differentiate between races. They will act as they desire. The Fish tribe is such a tribe. Since Fujiwara has welcomed them, it will be a matter of time before something big occurs.
“I see… So this is the Shugurin Dukedom’s aim huh. Using the fish tribe as a deadly poison...” The king nodded, convinced.
In addition to the war with the Kingdom of Robutas, the Shugurin Dukedom had also extended their dirty hands to s.n.a.t.c.h the western region of the Kingdom of Sandra.
“So, what should we do? If we inform Fujiwara about the Fish tribe, will that guy’s heart not lean towards us a bit?” The king asked.
“Let’s see how things go for now. If a rebellion occurs, the Shugurin Dukedom would also move. At that time, we can profit while they fight. If the beastman town was defeated by the Shugurin Dukedom’s scheme, we can just give superficial help to Fujiwara to make him feel grateful.” The elderly man advised.
“Hmm...” The king mulled over his options.
There was no actual need to help the beastman town. The both of them were well aware of how strong the town was. However, if the Kingdom of Sandra meddled and created friendly ties, it would damage the Shugurin Dukedom while giving n.o.buhide a strong impression, which might cause him to reduce the price for [Spice].
When he finally thought to that point, the king grinned. This was truly a smile from the bottom of his heart after these months full of stress.
“Alright, strengthen the intelligence on the Shugurin Dukedom. Hopefully, there is an opportunity to regain the western region.” The king ordered.
◆
This is n.o.buhide Fujiwara’s diary.
Day X of May
Humans armed with weapons showed up at the north of the town. They numbered about 1,000 people, but it was unclear which side they were from. Immediately, I made the people living in the houses on the western side enter inside the stone walls, and the town entered into its battle formation.
The opponent army simply advanced, and there was no messenger sent for negotiations. Therefore, in case they are not enemies, we gave a warning bombardment.
Sh.e.l.ls were fired and landed hundreds of meters in front of the army, and they stopped moving. Then, the troops dispersed in every direction opposite of the town. They were clearly enemies, so it was not necessary to go easy on them any longer.
By my orders, we fired at the them mercilessly. However, the enemy escaped after a few shots. It was simply too disappointing.
Perhaps they were only scouting?
I did not pursue the enemies who ran away because their equipment was too poor. Even if I caught them, it would not be profitable. For now, let’s listen to the stories from the wounded enemy soldiers.
It turned out that the enemy was from the Shugurin Dukedom.
Day △ of May
A few days after fighting against the Shugurin Dukedom, led by the Fish tribe, those who lived outside of the town came to say that they wanted to live within the stone walls.
Because an enemy actually attacked, I can’t deny them and say that they’re being selfish. I also want to do something, but there was no s.p.a.ce to let everyone live inside comfortably.
Although I can arrange it for either the Crow or the Snake tribes, it’s hard to please everyone. If you give preferential treatment to one of the tribes who came in the same time period period, those who were not given preferential treatment would become dissatisfied.
So, while asking them to be patient, I treated them to liquor. Liquor is very convenient at such a time.
Day ○ of May
The chief of the Fish tribe told me to be careful of the Crow and Snake tribes. When I asked for the reason why, he said that they were cowardly, arrogant, crafty, fierce, and extremely selfish. He also said that they were very vulgar and liked to lie.
I kept the warning in mind just in case. I also told the chief of the Fish tribe to never say it again. Even though the town was in good shape, I would still like to be spared from conflict between the tribes.
Day × of June
I celebrate my breaking through to 500 billion yen. Finally, the amount of [Funds] has exceeded 500 billion yen after trading with the Kingdom of Sandra. It seemed like [1 trillion yen funds] can indeed be achieved in less than 2 years.
Regarding the other condition of having a population of 10,000 people to change the [Era Setting] to [Modern], I am currently considering if I should attack the Shugurin Dukedom for that.
Nevertheless, what should I do if the [Era Setting] becomes [Modern]? In my heart, I want to teach the beastmen how wonderful the modern era is. I am sure that the beastmen will be surprised at how convenient modern technology is, and be able to live better lives. It would definitely make me happy because I lived in the modern era in my previous world, and I am very proud of it.
Day ▽ of June
Someone from the Crow tribe told me to be careful of the Fish tribe and the Snake tribe.
He said that they were cowardly, arrogant, crafty, fierce, and extremely selfish. They were also extremely vulgar and liked to lie.
They were lines I had heard from somewhere before.
Day □ of June
Recently, I feel that the people in the town have become lazy. Is it because of the summer heat?
According to Chief Jiharu, people, who were lagging behind on their jobs, were scattered everywhere in the morning.
This wasn’t good.
I gathered the chiefs of each tribe and braced myself to warn them.
No, well... In the first place, I am the laziest, so they might not want to hear about it from me...
Day ▲ of June
I was told to be careful of the Fish and Crow tribe by the Snake tribe. The content was almost the same as what the Fish and Crow tribe had said before.
Honestly, I really wanted to glare at them and yell “again?!”.
At this point, they don’t need to warn me anymore. Since they’re trying to sabotage each other, it is not necessarily a lie, I suppose.
However, I think that it’ll be okay as long as I keep an eye on them.
June
I received a report from the Wolf tribe that there were less camels in the ranch than usual. When I asked people from each tribe, they said that some of them had run away. Well, it is hard to say that the camels have gentle temperaments, so it can’t be helped if they escape.
The surroundings were basically a wasteland, so they would return if they become hungry. However, I told them to report anything as soon as possible from now on.
By the way, I feel that the atmosphere around the town was becoming tenser recently. Sometimes, there seems to be fights occurring.
Day ○ of June
A report from Chief Jiharu stated he found that gambling was taking place inside the town. The organisers were the fish tribe. Night after night, they have been drinking and gambling till late, and that is the reason why the people in the town have become lazy. This may also be the cause of the bad atmosphere in the town.
Of course, I banned the gambling. The chief of Fish tribe also prostrated on the ground and pledged to never do it again.
Day × of July
“How long are we going live in this house?”
“Let me live inside the town!”
“Because humans are scary, I would like to drink liquor and make myself less nervous. So, give me liquor.”
Recently, the three races, including the Fish tribe, that were living outside the stone walls had come to me to demand something.] Their original modest personalities couldn’t be seen any longer. In addition, they do not seem to be working that much.
As expected I also became mad, and told them that I’d cut down their meals if they don’t work.
However, they argued that the other tribes didn’t work too, so why should only they be punished. At least, that was what the Fish tribe had said. The newcomer Fish tribe is outrageous, but the original diligence of those beastmen who came here before them was gone too.
Did they gamble until late in the night?
But, when I asked everyone, they just shook their heads.
It was not gambling. If so, did they become accustomed to being given things, and lost their motivation to work?
Anyway, this is useless. So, I appointed those of the Wolf tribe whom I trusted the most to be vigilante corps. Although it’s a bit forceful, I also published a notice that anyone who didn’t listen to directives again and again will be punished by being hit firmly with a stick.
In the end, it’s only to those who do it “repeatedly”. I didn’t not want to do this. However, if they do not listen to what I say, then there is no way other than to penalise them.
I hope that everyone would wake up with this action, but...
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Happy bitting fingers day for all those lonely singles out there.
here a Chocolate for Every Beautiful or Cute Singles Ladies out there