Chapter 24

I'm sorry, the previous description was a bit lacking. I've added some additional details for clarification.

For those who find it troublesome to read it again, I'll explain it here:

First, the distance between King Verm's kingdom and the village of Almus is quite significant, making direct control impractical. Stationing a small number of soldiers would likely result in a rebellion, and by the time reinforcements arrived, the stationed soldiers would have been killed by the villagers. It's also possible that King Rosais' army might have taken over the garrison instead.

Therefore, King Verm has no intention of placing the village under his control.

That's why he only took the tribute and left. His statement about placing it under his control was to maintain his dignity as a king. This part may have been a bit unclear.

Almus' request for autonomy means that, apart from paying tribute, they want to be left alone as usual.

From King Verm's perspective, when he pursued the refugees, he found a prosperous village. Given the food shortage, he thought he might as well plunder it while he was there. However, he didn't want to incur any losses, so he decided to demand tribute instead.

King Verm's subordinates, including the soldiers, were not allowed to conduct investigations. Therefore, King Verm couldn't enter the village to check the actual harvest, so he estimated based on the village's size. Since he intended to plunder rather than collect taxes, he didn't mind if the numbers were slightly exaggerated. He also wanted to avoid any conflict that could result in casualties.

Regarding his demand for eighty percent of the harvest:

King Verm believed that with his current forces, he could easily conquer the village of Almus. However, he would incur losses. To conquer the village, he would have to deal with non-combatants and refugees as well. King Verm estimated that there could be up to two hundred enemies based on the village's size.

Even without weapons, people could be killed by throwing stones. King Verm's soldiers were conscripts with low morale and training. Therefore, fighting against a large number of civilians would result in significant losses.

Thus, he thought it would be better to avoid conflict.

If Almus willingly gave eighty percent, it would be more beneficial overall than going to war and taking everything.

That's why he demanded eighty percent.

This idea is influenced by Sun Tzu, believing that a ruler should avoid war as much as possible.

Does this make sense?

By the way, Almus ended up giving seventy percent, but in reality, it was only fifty percent.

King Verm's kingdom uses a two-field system, so when they received fifty percent, they were fooled into thinking, "Well, that's about right," and left.

This deception was possible due to the difference in agricultural techniques.

Additionally, for those who pointed out the lack of geographical context, I've included a map in the afterword.

"Alright! We managed to get through it!"

I felt relieved.

However, I was surprised when King Verm's face twitched at the mention of decorating with skeletons.

I thought he would understand, but apparently not.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought.

Well, it worked out in the end.

But I might have left a bad impression.

While I was relaxing with Tera at home, Ron, Rozward, Gram, Soyon, and Ruru entered.

"Alright, Leader. Let's continue from earlier. Why did you suddenly talk about marriage?"

"What? Do you want to marry me or something?"

"No way!"

Ron shook his head vigorously.

That's a relief. I thought maybe you were so into me that your tastes had gone off.

"We discussed it earlier."

"You mean, you and... that kind of thing?"

"That's a bit awkward to say."

Tera looked at me.

No, I'm awkward too.

"Well, it just happened that way."

I'm not sure how, but it just happened.

Maybe I was brainwashed by Tera without realizing it.

I didn't question the idea of marriage.

"Is it really okay to decide on marriage so easily?"

Soyon asked with a face that suggested she wanted to complain.

Is she the type who expects a romantic proposal in a beautiful place with a bouquet of flowers?

I thought that's how proposals were supposed to be too...

I'm not sure.

My last girlfriend in my previous life was in third grade.

I haven't been in love since then.

It's a mystery.

Maybe I'm just too idealistic about love and don't even realize when I'm in love.

Could I be in love with Tera and Yuria?

If I am, I must be a terrible person.

My relationship with Tera is just a formal marriage replacing a de facto one.

Thinking about it that way, I don't question the flow of events.

We've been sleeping in the same house recently, and we've even started sharing a blanket.

Wait, is this Tera's plan?

"Ugh... my image of love..."

Ruru held her head.

I understand, I really do.

I feel the same way.

"Anyway, it's a happy occasion... congratulations."

Rozward said with a look of doubt, and everyone else echoed the congratulations.

I felt embarrassed.

As they said it, the reality started to sink in.

So, I'm going to marry this guy.

It's a bit embarrassing...

"Almus... you're blushing a bit late..."

Tera said, blushing as well.

"Um... we haven't even heard the details yet..."

Gram asked hesitantly.

"About that, Tera will explain."

Tera stepped forward.

"There's something I need to tell you all."

Tera began to explain her background.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

"Hmm."

Everyone's reaction was very subdued.

It was a letdown.

I was expecting more of a "What?! Really?!" kind of reaction.

"It's not like it's a surprise. Tera's intelligence was always a mystery."

"Her hands when we first met didn't look like they had done farm work."

"She was scared of bugs too."

They had all figured it out.

I had too.

"Um... was I the only one who thought I was hiding it well?"

"Tera, you always bathed alone! When we accidentally ran into each other, you always covered your back, not your chest. It was so obvious!"

Ruru said with a laugh.

"Six years together and you didn't notice? How dense can you be?"

Rozward said with a look of exasperation.

"Well, this guy is dense in some areas."

Ron laughed, and everyone joined in.

Tera puffed out her cheeks.

"Don't pout, Tera. By the way, Almus, is your marriage to Tera a political one? I don't think it's a good idea to decide on something like that for political reasons."

"It's true that it was the catalyst. But no matter how beneficial it is, I wouldn't marry someone I don't like."

Tera's background just gave me the push I needed.

I had always thought that her issues needed to be resolved someday.

"I don't care if it's political or not."

Tera said, hugging me.

No, I guess I've been trapped by her repeated actions.

"When will the wedding be?"

"After we settle things with King Verm."

There's a lot of chaos right now.

We have a lot to prepare for.

"First, we need to strengthen our forces. It's fine now that we've released our reserves, but if we keep giving away a large percentage of our harvest every year, it will be tough. We might even starve during a famine."

"Are we going to fight?"

"I don't know. But without weapons, we can't negotiate."

Conflict only happens between equals.

Because when there's a significant power difference, there's only domination and submission.

They could enslave us or kill us all and take our food.

"There's a possibility they might try to solve a famine by taking all our food."

"What do you plan to do?"

Tera lifted her face from my chest and asked.

"Didn't we have enough iron spears for everyone? We'll adjust their lengths. That will be our main weapon. We'll also need bows. How many people in our village can use a bow?"

"Ten can hit their mark. Five more show promise."

Gram answered.

So, fifteen in total.

Not bad. The hunting skills they've developed will come in handy.

"Hey, Ial. How many men between twelve and sixty are there in the thirty people? And do we have any sorcerers?"

"There are ten men. As for sorcerers, we don't have any who can perform soul binding, but we have two decent users."

I see. So, with the forty people from our village, we have fifty in total.

Only three of our village's sorcerers can perform soul binding.

But with the other sorcerers, we have ten from our village, making a total of twelve.

Still, with thirty people, having only two sorcerers is quite low.

In our village, thirteen out of a hundred can use sorcery, mostly children.

"Actually, having two out of thirty is on the high side. In a village of a hundred, having one is more typical. Our village has too many."

"Why so many?"

"Who knows? It's not because Yuria is a good teacher. Sorcery is ninety percent talent."

Hmm, it seems too coincidental.

"From what I remember, King Verm's kingdom has about nine sorcerers who can perform soul binding."

We have three...

A village of 130 people with three excellent soul binders, and a country of 30,000 with nine.

That's definitely suspicious.

"Let's not worry about the details. It's probably just a coincidence. Maybe it's related to the Griffin."

Right, the Griffin.

If it's his influence, it makes sense.

"Anyway, it's a good thing. The number of sorcerers isn't too different, which is a positive."

Let's not worry about the details for now.

"Fifteen archers and thirty-five infantry. Not bad."

"Actually, thirty infantry. The remaining five will be cavalry."

With stirrups and saddles, they can ride with some training.

Everyone has good physical coordination, so it should be fine.

We don't plan to do anything as advanced as shooting arrows.

Just throwing stones while moving will be a significant threat.

We might even be able to break enemy formations by flanking them.

"We can't forget the village's defenses."

"We need a fence and a moat."

"We should also have a watchtower. We can shoot arrows from there."

"A stone wall would be best, but that's probably too much to ask."

Ron, Gram, and Rozward said in unison.

We'll build those over time.

We need to research the most effective placement as well.

"Next, we need weapons."

Should we make that...

I know how to make it because I looked it up in middle school out of curiosity.

But it's too dangerous.

I looked at everyone.

They are all prepared to fight to the death.

Of course, we'll try to avoid conflict, but if it comes to that, there will likely be casualties. No, it's almost certain.

We can't afford to be afraid.

Let's make it.

Black powder.

This map is provisional and may change. It might also differ from the descriptions in the story. Please keep that in mind.

King Evil's kingdom and King Belvedere's kingdom are primarily covered in Chapter 3, but they are also important in Chapter 1, so I've noted them here. I'll add the names of other countries as we go.

The bold lines represent national borders, and the thin lines represent regional boundaries. The green area is the Romano Forest.

The northern kingdom of King Rozel is the one Yuria mentioned as the mastermind behind the curses.

The oppressed class, like Almus, are Adelnyans, but the ruling class is the Gallic people, who live north of the Adelnyan Peninsula.

Incidentally, the Adelnyan Peninsula is more culturally advanced in the south due to the influence of the Kirisian colonial cities.

However, iron tools were invented by the northern tribes and spread from there.

Next time, it will finally be Yuria's turn.

By the way, the black powder is part of the author's personal story.

In middle school, I was assigned a science project to research something I was interested in, so I looked up how to make black powder and dynamite. I wonder how the teacher felt grading that. Oh, by the way, I got a five in science.

Why are middle schoolers so interested in explosives?