novelraw Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
After meeting separately with the immigrants, I divided the troops.
First, I made ‘Horn Assault’ into their own unit, while the remaining people were sent inside the castle.
Horn Assault’s side was in decent condition, but the atmosphere among the regular soldiers and knights wasn’t good at all.
They looked as if they had been through a lot, their spirits completely drained.
‘Burnout? Depression? Whatever it was, they clearly weren’t normal.’
Patrolling inside the castle or blocking monsters approaching the farmland was an important task, but the workload was on the lighter side.
It was the kind of job where you could calm your mind and recover.
So I decided that we would start with adaptation first, then move on to the next stage.
‘If I have twelve knights, I should consider forming a knight order unit later.’
It wouldn’t be too difficult to reach thirty if I could secure a few more capable soldiers.
Now that we had properly discharged magical forces, and with the Golem School builders ready to maintain the knights’ equipment at any time, it was doable.
“This is Administrator Nilson. Back in Haken, he worked in finance. He’s a very meticulous man.”
“It is an honor to meet you, my lord.”
Among the people who migrated to Johnson Territory, there were retainers who had previously worked in Haken Territory.
The first one introduced was Administrator Nilson.
This middle-aged man, who looked to be in his forties with a strict impression, was an official who had worked in finance under Haken Territory.
He handled matters with great precision, but because of his excessive meticulousness, he had conflicts with those in higher positions.
If he worked together with Butler Harold, I felt they could make a solid pair managing the territory.
‘In our land, there aren’t any high-ranking people he has to tiptoe around, so it won’t be a problem. And no one’s here to line their own pockets either.’
It just so happened that this was the period when we needed professional financial management.
Thanks to the Golem School builders’ contributions, the standard of living among the residents had improved, but the consumption of mana crystals had also increased.
After all, all daily life magic ran on mana crystals.
Daily life magic activated by using a mana crystal as a battery, and once it ran out, it had to be replaced with a new one in order to keep enjoying its benefits.
Mana crystals may appear and multiply naturally during winter, but when used at a territorial level, their inventory needed to be managed properly.
And we had to think about the future as well.
Right now, there were no issues, but if external merchant groups entered the territory, there was no guarantee that some wouldn’t sell off the mana crystals used at home and then claim they had none left to supply.
Human greed was something difficult to calculate.
By then, the territory might run on wages and taxes rather than rations, but since we were still operating on a ration-based system, preparing in advance gave peace of mind.
Even just adding one meticulous financial officer could prepare us for a lot.
-Isn’t selling off rationed mana crystals a crime?
‘Logically, yes, but we don’t have any regulations for punishment right now.’
In our territory, there were no proper laws, and even punishments were dealt out in a makeshift manner.
Like how I punished the beastman who stole the horned rabbit entirely at my own discretion.
Crime was so rare that it wasn’t a matter I had paid much attention to, but as the population grew, it was something I’d have to address.
That’s why the person being introduced now was particularly important.
“This is Lord Venice. He worked as a legal officer.”
“Oh, a legal officer.”
In this world, a legal officer was a position similar to a judge.
It was a heavy responsibility, enforcing the laws of the territory and punishing its residents accordingly.
Until now, things had been handled loosely and roughly, but if we wanted fair procedures, a legal officer was necessary.
And considering the future, it was unavoidable.
‘We’ll need to establish territorial law first.’
So far, we had no experts in this area and had left it neglected, but now that we had a proper professional, it would be good to start here.
“He’s an upright man. You can expect a lot from him.”
“Ah, really?”
Like Nilson, Legal Officer Venice was also someone who had fallen out of favor in Haken Territory.
In any organization, there would always be a ‘go along to get along’ mindset, especially in the upper ranks, but Legal Officer Venice had the kind of personality that absolutely could not tolerate such things.
Even just looking at his firm mouth and thick caterpillar eyebrows, he seemed like someone who lived exactly as he appeared—rigid and principled.
Despite that, his popularity didn’t seem bad at all.
Five trainee legal officers had even followed him here.
That wasn’t just a matter of quitting a job, but of deciding to migrate.
Clearly, he was more than just a superior—they trusted him deeply.
So, his professional ability and reputation were solid, but his political skill was nonexistent?
He was a typical example of someone who gets weeded out in large organizations.
“I’d like to start by organizing the legal code.”
“I have heard about it. This territory has many beastmen, does it not? I will prepare laws that consider both beastmen and humans, so they may be recognized and respected by all.”
At least in terms of his work, he wasn’t narrow-minded.
He clearly understood the nature of our territory, where beastmen and humans lived together.
That was honestly my greatest concern, but since he approached it this way, I felt I could trust him with the task.
“I also heard about how you punished the beastman warrior who stole meat by locking him up in front of the smokehouse and starving him. To be frank, I was impressed. It was a simple yet effective punishment. An excellent example.”
“Ah, that.”
Still, he held my petty and underhanded punishment in high regard.
I hoped punishments for beastmen wouldn’t all end up being handled in such a way.
Even now, the lion tribe warriors couldn’t look me straight in the eye.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I’ll be the one punishing them anyway, right?’
Now that we had a legal officer, I decided to leave all matters of punishment to that man.
“Hehehe.”
With two solid officials added, Butler Harold’s face had brightened noticeably.
He had been terribly burdened by having to oversee the territory’s affairs alone, but now he said that burden was eased.
He even said he could now return to his original duty, which made him happy. But to me, his words were hard to understand.
“Original duty?”
“I am a butler, am I not? I should now focus on looking after the Johnson family.”
“The Johnson family is just me alone, isn’t it?”
“That is the problem. It is time you considered marriage and securing an heir.”
“Ah, that.”
“Yes, until now you were too busy, but I intend to prepare in earnest from here on.”
What, this was coming up now?
It was already bothersome having Rudick push me about this, but now an even more formidable opponent had latched onto me.
With Rudick, I could simply crush him with authority, but Butler Harold wasn’t someone I could treat that way.
This man was like a father to me.
“Recently, I’ve noticed quite a few fine ladies in the territory. Beastman women as well, and among the newly migrated folk, there are several worth keeping an eye on.”
And now his eyes were already gleaming as he scanned the surroundings, leaving me with nothing but trouble.
‘Ah, so the butler actually preferred it when he was busy.’
Having two officials added might end up being more of a nuisance for me.
The territory was stabilizing quickly.
Even the once-awkward relationship between immigrants and existing residents was gradually improving.
Truthfully, back during the Great Cataclysm, the concept of a “hometown” didn’t really exist.
If you grew attached, that was your home.
If you were unlucky, wandering from place to place every year wasn’t unusual.
The last ten years of relative stability had been the first true period of settlement, so unless they were born-and-raised natives, even those who had lived in Haken were originally outsiders.
‘Well, our residents are like that.’
The long-isolated people of Johnson Territory, with no outside influx, welcomed immigrants warmly.
They knew all too well that the more people there were, the safer the territory became.
Welcoming the Rabbit Tribe and the Lion Tribe wasn’t only because they were good fighting power.
If someone was human—or beastman—they were recognized as good companions first and foremost.
That was both the virtue of this region and its way of survival as a backwater land.
“Perhaps I should prepare a festival come spring. There’s no better way to bring people closer than letting them play together.”
-Is there alcohol? A festival without alcohol isn’t a festival.
“That’s true. Should I ask Peter for that?”
-Planning to dump more work on him, master?
Even though the Golem School had joined us, in Johnson Territory it was only natural that the phrase was: ‘Have the alchemist do it.’
Since the Golem School builders could now produce basic magical items, if they joined forces with alchemists, perhaps they could manage to make distilled spirits?
“Ah, but that would be tough. You need grain for that, don’t you? Unless we’re making fruit wine.”
No wonder there wasn’t any alcohol in the territory.
It wasn’t something that could be solved immediately.
In a land where not even fruit, let alone grain, was properly supplied, there was no way liquor could exist.
After his wife ran away, where on earth had Iron’s original body found the alcohol to drink his sorrows away?
‘First, he got wrecked by the mining development failure, and second, by drinking… No wonder the territory’s finances were a mess.’
But unlike then, I now had reliable insurance.
Once trade with Haken opened, I could consider taking part of the horned rabbit payments in alcohol.
Nothing raised the residents’ morale quite like alcohol.
“Unlike the somewhat awkward residents, the builders were completely ecstatic.”
After solving the housing problem in the territory, the Golem School builders were now working on the walls.
From the southern wall, which had been heavily damaged by the late frost in spring, to the northern gate fortress wall, which would be the fiercest battlefield this winter.
There were many aged, crumbling walls, so the builders had their hands full.
-Calling it hard work would be wrong. They were downright thrilled.
‘So, they’re workaholics in their own way, huh?’
Well, good is good.
For magic-related fields like builders, skills improved the more experience one gained.
Once the walls were restored, there would be maintenance work to do, so you could say they had more than enough work.
Good is good, so I hoped that the Golem School, now monopolizing Johnson Territory’s projects, would take this chance to become even more skilled builders.
Johnson Territory’s military forces:
The existing knight order, Johnson 1st Knight Order (30).
The newly joined Johnson 2nd Knight Order (30).
The Black Lion warriors.
And finally, Rangers (30) and Rabbit Tribe Rangers (60).
To that, Crimson Comet (30).
Horn Assault (40).
Knights from Haken Territory (12).
And on top of that, other soldiers and Lion Tribe trainee warriors.
All the troops of Johnson Territory were busy clearing the entrances to the Forest of Illusions and the Monster Mountains.
It wasn’t because of any special incident. It was simply that this was the season when the territory always did its cleanup. This year, the newly joined forces also took part.
Since there were so many fresh troops joining this year, joint training doubled as a way to coordinate them.
With the consumption of mana crystals having risen recently, this became a good opportunity on multiple fronts.
With the sudden increase in knight-level forces, the burden on the soldiers had decreased significantly, raising morale across the territory.
“If it’s the Monster Mountains, that’s basically my backyard. Why the joint training?”
So complained Leisha, uninterested in cooperating.
“Um, could we maybe keep the mana crystals from the monsters we hunt this time as spoils of war?”
The Rabbit Tribe rangers still kept eyeing the mana crystals greedily, but the training itself proceeded smoothly.
When they became too bothersome, I threatened to reduce their meat rations, and they fell silent.
-Isn’t that a bit petty, using food as leverage?
‘If you don’t like it, then be the lord yourself.’
And so, as the joint training concluded and all forces returned to the territory—
Winter was now fully stretching itself awake.