Chapter 14

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Whitelist us. Ad revenue gives additional support to the translator and keeps the site running.

Interested in being a part of the Nocturne TL team?

We are looking for Editors and Chinese, Korean, and Japanese translators to join our team. Join us on Discord and look for Picky Reader#7543 to guide you through recruitment if you are interested.

==============================================================================================

Chapter 14

Arnold Konitz, the head of the Konitz Viscount family, was working on paperwork in his office at the mansion when a soldier from the territorial army came in with a report.

“Your Excellency, please excuse me for interrupting you in your office. There is a group of refugees at the south gate pleading to be allowed into the city, and as the number is too large for us to let in on our own, I have come to report to you for your instructions.”

“How many people are there?”

“I counted 24 people.”

“… There are many. Where are they from?”

“They said they came from a village south of here, near the border with Lancel.”

“I see.”

‘What a hassle’, thought Arnold.

Retvik, the capital of Viscount Konitz’s domain, is the farthest city in the northwest of the kingdom. Refugees who have lost their way often end up in this city after being stranded between one territory and another.

In the past, when the city was still in its infancy, it grew by actively accepting such refugees, but now that the city is an established and stable one, it cannot continue to accept refugees without thinking.

An uncontrolled influx of refugees will lead to a deterioration of public safety. You don’t want them to become vagrants and create slums.

On the other hand, turning away all the refugees would cause another problem.

The refugees, having lost their way, would end up in the Viscount Konitz territory. If they are not accepted there, they might end up as bandits because of lack of a better option.

If the roads to and from the territory start overflowing with bandits, that would be a serious matter.

That’s why Arnold has been donating a lot of money to the church and also supporting the refugees by preparing them meals.

“It seems that the number of refugees seems to have increased over the past year or so.”

We check monthly reports from each gate station, and although Retvik is at the end of the kingdom, the number of refugees arriving has increased noticeably lately.

“I’ve heard that the security and economy of the western part of this kingdom is deteriorating due to the intensifying conflict with the Lancel Kingdom to the west. I thought that might be the influence.”

Even though Arnold inwardly cursed himself for knowing such a thing without being told, he thought about how to respond.

“We can’t simply set a precedent of accepting more than 20 refugees,” he said, “or we may hurt the sentiment of the citizens by using tax money to pay for the meals of refugees we barely know anything about.”

However, we also don’t want to end up with more bandits in our territory. What should we do now?

“… Can that person be used?”

“Huh?”

“No, I was talking to myself.”

Arnold remembered the young man who had come to greet him about three months ago.

Baron Noein Arkvist. He is a nobleman who was given a piece of the Bezel Forest to the west of Viscount Konitz’s domain.

I laughed heartily when a newly grown boy came to me with nothing but a beast slave and a dexterous golem to tell me that he was going to cultivate the great bezel forest.

However, when I looked into the reputation of the ‘Forest Lord’ afterwards, I found out that he had built what seemed to be a settlement in the forest and was doing reasonably well.

Looking back, he was a clever little boy with a frivolous smile on his face, but he certainly didn’t look like a fool. More so than his father, at least.

Of course, Arnold, the lord of the neighboring territory, had heard that the area of the Great Forest of Bezel, which bordered the territory of Viscount Konitz, had been granted to Count Kivileft as an enclave.

The Earl of Kivileft was a man who was known for his infamous story of impregnating a servant and taking a concubine before taking a full wife.

It was about fifteen or sixteen years ago that this news spread. And now, a young man has appeared to inherit the forest and the title that should have been given to the Earl of Kivileft.

It was easy to guess that the young man, Noein, was probably the son of the Earl of Kivileft’s concubine.

“Tell them that we can’t allow the refugees to stay in Retvik, but we can allow them to stay around the gates temporarily. Tell them we’ll try to find them a place to stay. Also inform the church and arrange for food and blankets.”

“Understood, sir.”

After the soldiers had left, Arnold leaned back in his chair and pondered.

I’m sure Baron Arkvist is looking for people to emigrate to his domain. And the Viscount Konitz has its hands full with refugees.

If we play our cards right, we might be able to sell our debt to the young man by simply flushing the refugees directly to the west.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・

“I want to develop a proper road instead of a beast road.”

On the way to Retvik, Noein spilled these words.

Even after the establishment of Yuri and his people, Noein has continued to take the lead in making purchases in Retvik.

The reason behind this was that he had to operate the golem pulling the cart, and he wanted to make friends with the residents of Retvik by showing his face there as much as possible.

The members of this round trip were Noein and Matilda, with Pence and Mai.

“I’d like to know why you didn’t cut through the edge of the forest and build your settlement all the way into the forest?”

“Because the edge of the forest is the territory of Viscount Konitz as it is. If you cut the forest from the edge, our territory will be reduced.”

The official boundary of the territory will be decided after a discussion with Viscount Konitz, but at the moment, the territory of Arkvist starts at the beginning of the Bezel Forest.

If they cut the forest from the edge, they would end up narrowing their own territory. That’s why Noein built his residence in a place that is somewhat embedded in the forest.

“Is that the way to decide the territory? If Viscount Konitz begins to cut down the forest …”

Noein replied, “That’s okay,” to Mai, who was worried.

“There’s no advantage for Viscount Konitz to cut through the bezel forest at a huge cost for a small territory that can’t even be called a village like ours.”

Even if the Arkvist territory develops smoothly and generates a lot of wealth in the future, the benefits and costs will never be worth it if the invasion is done in an inefficient way, such as by cutting all the bezel forests from the edge.

Instead, it would be more beneficial for Viscount Konitz to enrich himself by strengthening economic ties with the Arkvist territory.

So, for the time being at least, there is no problem in defining the boundary of the territory in a vague way, saying that ‘from the edge of the great forest is the territory of Arkvist’. This is based on a delicate balance, but for now, Arkvist territory is safe.

Noein explained these circumstances to everyone.

“As expected of Noein-sama. It’s a clear and wonderful decision.”

“…… It must be tough being a nobleman to have to think about such troublesome things.”

“Really, it’s a lot easier to be a lowly mercenary or a self-made farmer.”

In contrast to Matilda’s usual affirmation for Noein, Pence and Mai seem confused by the complicated story.

“Every lord has the best interest of his own domain at heart. You have to think carefully so that you don’t leave yourself open to the ill intents of others.”

“Everyone who is a lord puts the interests of his own territory first.”

Noein smiled uneasily, swallowing his words inward as he said,

“If there is ever an opening, I’ll get swept up along with my territory.”

==============================================================================================

This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

Related