Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

Some of the newcomers such as Edgar and some others were of same blood, then there were also some men and women who decided to take the opportunity of this migration to stick together as husband and wife, so in the end, 24 people, including the single ones, fit into 11 households.

Now, Noein, the lord, and Edgar, the representative of newcomers, were in the middle of discussing who should be given what area of land.

“My own land, thi- this is my own land? no…”

“My land, this is my land …”

“I can have my own farmland again …?”

The newcomers were in tears as they expressed their gratitude as each of them were allocated their own land by their new lord. Some of them broke down crying and sobbing.

“It seems you’ve already won the hearts of the newcomers, Noein-sama.”

Behind Noein, some distance away, Yuri called out to Matilda, who was also following Noein.

“We are all very grateful to Noein-sama for his compassionate acceptance of us. So, It’s no surprise the newcomers will also.”

At first, Matilda didn’t even want to talk to Yuri and the others, but recently she has been responding to their requests for help, and sometimes she even asks them to chat with her. It seems that she is at least trying to build a smooth human relationship with people other than Noein.

“… Not only were they given refuge but also land under their own names, this reaction is to be expected.”

“Isn’t it normal to give land to your people?”

Matilda tilted her head with a dubious expression. She was enslaved as a child and grew up with no knowledge of society, all she knew was the old mansion and now the Arkvist territory.

“… No, it’s not normal. For exiles like us and these guys, being given a decent piece of land is a huge deal. Unheard of.”

For Noein, who has his own estate and uses golems to effortlessly cut through forests and dig up dirt to cultivate, land may be just a piece of ground, but for a commoner, that piece of ground is a priceless asset.

This is because, by nature, land is something that one’s ancestors struggled to cultivate in nature, or something that was bought at a high price.

For a refugee who had no place to stay, to be given such land, at that even one that’s suitable for agriculture, dug deep and cultivated, was an unimaginable gift.

Even Yuri was dumbfounded when Noein said, ‘This farmland belongs to you,’ and he expressed his honest gratitude.

How grateful would they be if after wandering anxiously with no hope in sight, to be given fertile and rich land and told, ‘From this day forward, this land belongs to you.’

Once you are a refugee, you are grateful to be accepted in some city or village as a small farmer or simple laborer, but what if you are given perfect farmland as your own?

It’s more than just loyalty. They probably have feeling of adoration towards Noein. The gesture is nothing beyond a powerful drug that grabs the hearts of the refugees.

Yuri explained this to Matilda.

“I see. Is that how it is?”

“That’s how it is.”

Yuri replied to Matilda, who finally looked convinced.

“By the way, when the land was ‘given to us by our lord’ instead of cultivating it on our own, I and they decided to dedicate ourselves to Noein-sama for the rest of our lives. I didn’t realize it at first, and I don’t think they did either. I don’t know if Noein-sama is doing this unconsciously or if it’s a calculated thing.”

“… I think Noein-sama is giving them the land knowing that this will happen. He is more concerned about winning the love of his people than anything else.”

Matilda realized why Noein had said with such conviction yesterday, ‘After they come to the settlement, they’ll never think of rebelling.’

He must have accepted the refugees because he knew this would happen. He had land ready and prepared even before there were enough people in the territory to claim it. Perhaps he had planned for this from the very beginning of their reclamation work.

When she imagined this, she felt goosebumps.

“In order for you to love your people, you must first create a situation where they can’t help but love you. That’s a very Noein-esque way of thinking. …… Oi?”

When Matilda stopped answering, Yuri turned to look at her and was startled.

She was looking at Noein with the ecstatic expression of a maiden in love, even though she usually shows little emotion.

“… What’s the matter?”

“Maybe, Noein-sama had been planning for this all along, from the moment we entered the bezel forest. When I think about it… I was so impressed with Noein-sama’s thinking, he always has our future in mind .”

Yuri was getting confused, struggling to understand what was so impressive about what he just said.

I believe we were talking about the fact that ‘Noein-sama’s method of calculating and gaining the respect of his people is quite formidable.’ not that, ‘Noein-sama is wonderful.’

“You’re too fond of Noein-sama.”

“Yes. I have devoted my body and soul to Noein-sama.”

“I know. I see it”

・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・

The population has grown rapidly, and the settlement is now bustling with activity.

Although we are still living like a group camp, we can say that we are slowly into more of a territory.

Having been given the land in the first place, the hearts of the newcomers had been completely captured by Noein. Everyone bowed their heads and greeted Noein politely when they saw him, and Noein always responded with a smile.

Each household has its own field and lives in a tent next to it.

On the other hand, Yuri and the other ex-mercenaries became Noein’s entourage as old-time residents, maintaining security in the settlement, patrolling the area around the settlement, and hunting monsters. Noein buys the monsters they hunt and sells them to the Miles Trading Company in Retvik.

Noein’s golem has been dismantling the lumber that used to be left around the settlement, and a wooden fence is being built around the settlement for protection. Common wells, bread ovens, and other living facilities were also being built.

In addition, the road from the entrance of the Bezel Forest to the place of residence is gradually being improved, making it more traversable.

The environment of the settlements and roads is maintained by the newcomers who are free to do the farming. Since this was the first year of the settlement, it was not possible for the settlement to be self-sufficient in food, so Noein recruited workers for this kind of work, and in exchange for their labor, Noein provided them with food in kind that he had purchased in Retvik.

“… The number of people has increased, so it’s time to devise a monetary policy and raise money.”

Noein muttered to himself as he worked with his golem to cultivate the area.

“A money raising plan?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be winter. If possible, I want to build a mansion for us to live in, and I want to build housing for our people to live in.”

Noein explained the reason for his words to Matilda, who had asked him.

Even after deducting the cost of food to distribute to the people, Noein’s funds had increased slightly thanks to the profits from the monster hunts. However, there was still not enough money to invite craftsmen from Retvik to do the building work.

While Noein and Yuri use good quality tents, the people using poorer quality ones are likely to freeze to death in the winter.

They could buy quality tents for everyone by cutting down on Noein’s personal savings, or if you feel like it, you can build something like a shack out of the lumber they had cut down in the forest so far, but Noein wanted to make sure they had a proper home if possible.

Besides, there were many other things Noein wanted to do besides building a house. He wants to build a large facility like a water mill as soon as possible, raise livestock, attract blacksmiths and other artisans, and try to cultivate products that can be made into specialties. For all this, he needs as much gold as he can get.

That’s why Noein was thinking of ways to make money.

“It would be nice if I could find something nearby that would pay for itself. ……”

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