Chapter 41

"Is this enough for the explanation of the tools?"

Having finished explaining all the tools he had laid out on the table, Ichiryo looked at Nelson and Zirconia, who were tasting the minestrone divided onto plates.

Havel, who had returned to the room a while ago, was also participating in the tasting, bringing the minestrone to his mouth along with Isaac.

"Yes, they are all excellent items. Thank you for the explanation."

Nelson placed the spoon he was holding on the plate and expressed his gratitude with a smile.

"Then, I would like to request an explanation of the situation within the territory."

"Understood. Zirconia, the documents."

"I'll bring all of them. Isaac, help me carry them."

"Sure."

When Nelson called out, Zirconia took Isaac and quickly left the room.

After the two left, Nelson glanced at Barin and Barret, who were sitting next to Ichiryo.

"The documents I will show to Kazura-sama are all highly confidential, detailing the situation within our territory. I'm sorry, but I cannot show them to the two of you..."

"Hmm, I see."

Accepting Nelson's words, Ichiryo nodded and looked at the two sitting next to him.

While Ichiryo, who had gained Havel's trust as Graciel, could be an exception, it would not be appropriate to show the documents to Barin and Barret, who were accompanying him to explain the village situation.

"Nelson-sama, if it's alright, I can listen to the history of Gracia Village from Barin and Barret in another room while you explain..."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Kazura-sama, is that alright?"

"No problem. Havel, I think you understand..."

Ichiryo, about to say, "Don't try to pry out unnecessary information," received a smile from Havel.

"Yes, I will definitely keep my promise to Kazura-sama."

"...Promise?"

Nelson, who did not know about the verbal agreement made in Gracia Village, asked Havel with a puzzled look.

"Yes, when Havel and the others asked for Arcadia's support, we made several promises."

Upon hearing the word "promise," Nelson momentarily directed a sharp gaze at Havel.

Havel, who was glared at, reflexively straightened his posture, but his expression remained relatively calm.

"What kind of promises?"

"That I can do whatever I want in Gracia Village, and you will not interfere in any way. That's the first one. The second is that you will not treat the village or its people unfairly. Specifically, you will not exploit the knowledge that the residents of Gracia Village, with whom I have a close relationship, have gained from me. The existing laws regarding tax obligations and other regulations can remain as they are, but you will not change the laws later to do anything else. If you break these two promises, I will withdraw my support for Arcadia."

Nelson, who had been wondering what kind of promises were made, sighed in relief after hearing Ichiryo's explanation.

If the content was only to this extent, it was not a problem, as he had already planned to handle Gracia Village with caution.

Moreover, it was a relief to be allowed to govern the village within the scope of the existing laws.

Even though it was a small village with a population of just over 100, the sudden loss of tax revenue would be a significant blow to the current Istearian finances, which were already in a precarious state.

Of course, Ichiryo believed that the economic benefits from his support would outweigh the loss of tax revenue, but he wanted to avoid a situation where the management of the village would be out of his hands.

"Understood. I will also keep this promise, so I kindly request your support... Havel, take the two to another room."

"Yes. Barin, Barret, please come this way."

Prompted by Havel, Barin and Barret stood up and followed Havel to the exit of the room.

As they left, Barret sent a worried glance at Ichiryo, but she quickly left the room at Havel's urging.

A few minutes after Havel and the others left the room, Ichiryo was reading through a large amount of documents with a serious expression.

Next to Ichiryo, Zirconia was sitting, and across from her, Nelson was explaining the situation within the territory to Ichiryo.

In addition to the documents spread out in front of Ichiryo, there was a pile of documents at the end of the table, and Isaac was fetching them as requested by Nelson and Zirconia.

"The damage in the southern and eastern parts of Istearia is not that severe, but the western and northern parts are devastated. Due to chronic drought, most of the crops that should have been harvested this season have withered, and the soil has dried out so much that it is impossible to plant seeds for the next crop. The price of food within the territory is also rising, and the people living in Istearia are becoming economically strained."

"(Damn, I can read some parts that are not too damaged, but I can't read the technical terms at all... )"

While listening to the explanations from Nelson and Zirconia, Ichiryo was looking at the text in the documents and inwardly despairing.

Although he had been taught the country's script by Barret before, he had only started learning the characters three weeks ago.

He could read simple words, but when it came to sentences with technical terms like those in the documents he was reading, he was at a loss.

Barret's astonishing learning ability, which allowed her to read Japanese sentences fluently in just about ten days, was truly enviable.

"Due to the drought, the amount of support from the Gregorn territory in the west has rapidly decreased..."

While Ichiryo was frozen, the explanation continued to progress.

There was no point in putting on a false front, so he should honestly admit that he could not read the script.

"Nelson, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't read the script of this country. So, it would be helpful if you could read out the key points of the documents for me."

When Ichiryo said this, Nelson and the others showed a surprised expression.

However, Zirconia immediately smiled and said, "Understood," took the documents from Ichiryo, and started reading out the key points as Nelson explained.

---

Two hours later.

Ichiryo was looking at a university notebook with a serious expression, just as he had been earlier.

The notebook contained notes taken with a ballpoint pen of the explanations he had received from Nelson, and the content was all extremely serious.

While the territory will not be devastated within a few days, depending on future weather and security changes, Istearia could suffer a terrible disaster in six months to a year.

"First, we need to improve the food situation in the territory. Next, we need to prepare for the possible floods during next year's rainy season. There are also issues such as urban hygiene and the collapse of buildings in the slums, as well as deteriorating security and chronic financial shortages... There are a lot of problems to address."

"To be honest, I don't know what to do. The food reserves are limited, and if the drought continues, the territory could turn into a famine hell. Such a prolonged drought has not occurred in several hundred years..."

Nelson answered with a helpless expression.

From the explanation Ichiryo had received earlier, it seemed that due to the decline in food production and the rise in food prices, food distribution to the residents of Istearia had recently begun.

However, it was inevitable that the distribution would become precarious.

If the distribution were to be delayed, and given the current food hoarding by the wealthy, the result would be widespread looting and destruction over food.

As Nelson said, it would be the birth of a famine hell.

"I'm concerned about the significant military budget... but since there are reasons for it, I won't interfere."

When Ichiryo mentioned the military budget, Zirconia's expression seemed to stiffen for a moment, but she relaxed when he added that he would not interfere.

Ichiryo had heard from Barret before that there might be a war with the country of Barbeur in four years, and the large military budget was likely for that purpose.

While he was curious about how the budget was being used, there was no point in getting involved in everything, so he decided not to interfere for now.

"Regarding the improvement of the food situation, I will take care of it. However, I will need your cooperation in various ways, so please help me."

"...Oh! Thank you! If there is anything we can do to assist, we will do it, so please let us know!"

When Ichiryo said he would take care of it, Nelson and Zirconia looked as if they were about to exclaim, "What! You can do it!?" but Nelson quickly stood up with a full smile, took Ichiryo's hand, and expressed his gratitude.

In contrast, Isaac did not react much to Ichiryo's words and stood next to Nelson with a satisfied smile.

"Also, please provide more detailed information about flood control and hygiene issues."

"Will you also provide support for those issues?"

"I will try to provide support if I can come up with a solution after understanding the current situation."

Regarding the issues of floods and hygiene, Ichiryo had received a rough explanation from Havel on the way to Istearia.

Based on that, he had decided to provide support depending on the extent of the damage and the implementation of measures.

Of course, only if the issues were within his capacity to address.

"Then, I need you to prepare something for everyone. The time frame... let's say within three days."

"Understood. What exactly do we need to prepare?"

"Well, I need thick cloth bags of this size..."

Ichiryo said this and traced the size on the table with his finger.

The size he traced was equivalent to a 45-liter garbage bag commonly used in Japanese households.

"Something like that. Isaac, prepare them immediately."

"Understood."

After grasping the size of the cloth bags, Nelson gave instructions to Isaac.

"Wait, hold on."

Ichiryo called out to Isaac, who had just received the instructions and was about to leave the room to prepare the cloth bags.

"The number... a total of 2..."

Ichiryo said this and showed a slight sign of thinking, to which Isaac started to respond, "Two, right?" but froze at Ichiryo's next words.

"No, I don't want to run short later. Prepare 3,000 bags. Please do it as quickly as possible."

"...What?"

"Oh, right, make sure they have strings like burlap bags so they can be closed. And, Nelson, I need some wagons."

"...How many?"

Leaving Isaac, who was frozen at the door, Ichiryo turned to Nelson.

"I need enough wagons to transport 3,000 bags, each filled to capacity, from Gracia Village to Istearia. Wagons are fine, but carts will do too. Also, please arrange for security to prevent the bags from being stolen. Don't forget the wagon drivers and the people to pull the carts. Additionally, I will need a large number of people for a few days after the bags are transported to Istearia, so... let's say about 300 people. People who can endure long hours of farm work."

"U... Understood..."

"Zirconia."

Turning to Zirconia, who was sitting next to him, Ichiryo saw her shoulders tremble slightly at the sound of her name.

"Ah, I have a meeting with the military officials..."

As she tried to leave, Ichiryo immediately grabbed her left shoulder with his right hand and tightened his grip.

"Please... sit down..."

With a smile that did not reach his eyes, Ichiryo spoke, and Zirconia nodded weakly.

---

An hour after Ichiryo assigned a large amount of work to Nelson and the others, Ichiryo was in the courtyard of Nelson's residence with the three others who were in another room.

In the courtyard, a covered wagon different from the one Ichiryo and the others had arrived in this morning was waiting, with four sturdy men standing in front of it.

The men were all wearing breastplates made of bronze plates, and helmets with cheek guards connected by hinges. They carried round shields on their backs and held short spears or bows in their hands, with short swords at their waists, fully armed.

They were not young but not old either, exuding the aura of seasoned soldiers.

"I will leave here in three days, so please take care of the villagers until then. Even if my arrival is delayed, I will definitely return, so don't worry."

"But..."

At Ichiryo's words, Barret hesitated, looked at Ichiryo for a moment, showed a pained expression, and then looked down.

She was probably worried about Ichiryo, but seeing her face made Ichiryo feel uncomfortable.

"(If Barret were here, it would be a lot easier... but I can't do that.)"

Honestly, Ichiryo wanted Barret to stay with him in Istearia.

Even for just a few days, it was lonely to be in an unfamiliar place, and having Barret, who was skilled at everything and quick-witted, and most importantly, someone he trusted, would be a great help.

If Ichiryo asked, "Stay with me," Barret would nod without hesitation.

However, Ichiryo could not do that.

If he relied on Barret even once, she would always try to be a help to him, and every time he had to stay in Istearia, she would leave her familiar Gracia Village to follow him.

That would not do.

It would mean taking advantage of her kindness and separating her from the most important thing in her life.

"(She studied so hard, yet she refused Barin's suggestion to go to Istearia and stayed in the village. If I separate her from her father for my convenience, I would be a devil, not a god.)"

Ichiryo thought that Barret probably wanted to be by her father's side more than anything else.

Moreover, he did not want to cause trouble for Barret and her family or the people of Gracia Village.

Already, in Ichiryo's mind, the residents of Gracia Village had changed from people to be saved in a crisis to people he wanted to protect at all costs.

As Ichiryo was thinking while Barret was looking down, she suddenly looked up with a teary expression and whispered in a voice like a mosquito's buzz,

"...Please come back soon."

Then, she looked down again.

Seeing Barret like this, Ichiryo smiled wryly and patted her head.