Chapter 68

I packed the flour, salt, dried meat, and five or six yams in a bag, wrapped them in cloth, and made a food package set.

When I was told that this amount would feed one adult for a week, I couldn't quite grasp it, so I consulted with Yaburov and Ludvik, who are the cooks in our household.

I had Joao, who is in the Tarlagos territory, check the contents and wanted to start mass production immediately, but there was no place to store a large amount of food in the hut where Joao lives.

So, I even built a basement.

I had Zeta and the others harden the basement of Joao's hut, and when I used the return spell to carve out the space, a secret underground warehouse appeared.

I made the entrance to the warehouse under the bed where Joao sleeps.

The door, well, I'll just have Joao put it up himself.

"You're really something, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to be S-rank, after all."

"When can you deliver the food?"

"I'll start delivering it as soon as the preparations are ready. According to the amount of money given by Duke Damsk, it would be about 5,000 packages, but I can add more if needed."

"That's a relief. Still, how much can I distribute alone, and if I need help, it has to be from someone I trust..."

"Is this food to improve Duke Damsk's reputation?"

"No, it's to tarnish Tarlagos and Orozco's reputation."

According to Joao's plan, the source of the food will not be revealed to the residents.

He will only tell them that he obtained it without the knowledge of Tarlagos' people.

He intends to make the residents believe that they are being supported by someone from outside, who is making their lives difficult due to Tarlagos.

Indeed, instead of showing that I am supporting them, it seems better to let them think that someone cares about them and reveal my identity at the right moment for greater publicity effect.

Joao asked me to deliver the food as soon as possible, so I returned to Volsard.

"Sir Kent, to mass-produce the food packages, we only have one scale in the dining room."

"Yes, that's why I'm thinking of making some scales."

"Are you going to make scales?"

"They're not that complicated."

Using earth magic, I made simple balance scales.

By placing a sample bag on one side of the balance and adding the right amount to the other side, I could create bags of the same weight.

With the help of the Kobold team, we made 5,000 sets and delivered them to the basement of Joao's hut, completing Duke Damsk's request.

When I went to report the completion, I was led to Duke Damsk's office to report directly.

"Kent, did you manage to communicate with Joao?"

"Yes, I just finished the delivery."

"What? Does Joao have enough space to store that much food?"

"He didn't, so I made it."

When I told him I created a warehouse in the basement of Joao's hut, he was flabbergasted.

"You're really something... I've never seen anyone so unconventional."

"Thank you, but I don't think it's a compliment."

"I'm not complimenting you, I'm just amazed. Still, our work has progressed by several months, so I can't complain. Kent, I'm grateful."

"I'm glad I could meet your expectations."

After showing the actual food package set delivered to Joao, I received an additional order for 5,000 more.

"Duke Damsk, I can accept this order, but I might not be able to take any more after this."

The food I'm diverting is stolen from Jovelas Castle in the Felsian Empire.

There's still some leeway, but the stock is not infinite.

"Is it because the supply is running out?"

"Something like that."

"Where are you getting such a large amount of food from?"

"Where? Hmm... the Felsian Empire."

It seems safe to tell him where and how I'm getting the food, so I just mentioned the location.

"Huh? The Felsian Empire? That's beyond the Republic of Lanzhelt, the Kingdom of Reisenburg, and the Empire of Balshana. Are you really going that far?"

"Yes, but with the shadow space, travel is not a problem."

"Have you been to Esladoria or Basquedero too?"

Esladoria is a country to the north of Chartain, and Basquedero is to the east.

"No, I haven't gone to any other countries on this continent except the Kingdom of Chartain."

"I see... Is it possible to go there?"

"Well... it's not impossible, but it takes some time the first time."

"Would you accept a reconnaissance mission?"

"That depends on the situation."

While it's good to cooperate with Duke Damsk, I can't be completely devoted to the Kingdom of Chartain.

"Kent, would you consider serving me?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm an adventurer in Volsard..."

"Did you get pushed into marrying the lord's daughter?"

"No, I married her willingly. I wasn't forced."

"Hmm, my youngest daughter..."

"No, no, I have enough wives. My body can't handle any more."

"Five wives, huh... You don't look like the type."

He was flabbergasted again, but even without taking Duke Damsk's youngest daughter, the connection is already made with Fideria living together... but I can't say that yet.

I agreed to deliver the additional order to Joao when the current delivery has sold a bit, and returned to Volsard.

"Sir Kent, should we take all the food stored in Jovelas Castle?"

"Can we store it all in the warehouse we made for the explosives?"

"No problem. We can still store more even with the explosives and food."

"Then, let's take all the explosives and the food during the confusion."

I changed my plan to return to Volsard and headed to Jovelas Castle in the Felsian Empire.

"Fred, how's the situation?"

"Bored without the Boar Baron..."

"Prince Monso, the second prince, is following Prince Leif, the first prince, and staying quiet."

"The castle is still surrounded... but there's not much action..."

"Is Prince Leif waiting for his spies to act?"

"But the castle's security is tight... probably can't move..."

According to Fred, the security around the warehouses for explosives and food is still tight, making it difficult for anyone to do anything.

"A complete stalemate..."

"It is now... but there have been some skirmishes..."

Due to the Boar Baron's charge, the castle has abandoned the lowest encirclement.

Not only on the northeast side, but also on the south side, the encirclement at the foot of the hill has been abandoned, and the defense has been concentrated on the three gates.

"So, Prince Monso has advanced to the lowest gate?"

"He advanced once... but now he's back to his original position..."

"Why?"

"The castle side sent horses loaded with explosives..."

The forces led by Prince Monso advanced to near the lowest gate but couldn't launch an aggressive attack due to the fear of the explosives.

The castle side, seeing that the forces were not approaching the gate, sent horses loaded with barrels of explosives.

The barrels had fuses attached, and when the horses reached the forces, they exploded.

With the narrow road and no place to run, the forces suffered many casualties.

Prince Monso retreated his forces further from the gate, and the castle side continued the attacks by adjusting the length of the fuses and the release points of the horses.

Ultimately, Prince Monso decided that it was not a good strategy to hold a narrow road with no place to run and retreated to the same position as when the encirclement was at the foot of the hill.

"Is the second Boar Baron not likely to appear?"

"He was badly beaten at first... and is now hesitant..."

At the encirclement where Prince Monso is, nobles have joined to offer assistance, but after hearing of Baron Gastel's defeat, they remain in the encirclement without moving.

Baron Gastel, who wants revenge, has lost most of his knights and has no plan of action.

"Prince Leif thought that a prolonged stalemate would make the castle side lax, but in reality, the morale of the encirclement forces is dropping..."

"Well, they're just surrounding the castle from a distance, so there's not much to do..."

In fact, when I peeked at the encirclement forces' camp, the soldiers surrounding the road leading up to the castle were neatly lined up, but those a bit further back were relaxing and chatting.

The nobles who joined were also visiting each other's camps to renew old friendships, and it didn't look like they were there for war.

"Some of them start drinking at night..."

"It looks like the nobles are just armed and playing..."

"Probably feeling like they're on a fox hunt..."

The nobles conduct hunting as a form of training for their knights and soldiers, so they can act when needed.

Sometimes, neighboring territories or friendly nobles conduct joint hunts, but the current situation feels like a hunt organized by Prince Monso.

"After a battle with casualties, they tighten up... but it doesn't last long..."

"Is that due to the long period of peace?"

"I think that's a big factor..."

From what I've seen so far, Caleg seems to have more talent in leading an army than Monso.

If I don't take the food and explosives, Caleg will continue the siege, and it's possible that more nobles will join him.

To avoid a prolonged and troublesome situation, let's quickly take the explosives and food.