Chapter 7

7. When there's no way, a veteran finds a way.

Looking around the fief, the situation was worse than I thought.

“Majuk. How much of the remaining funds do we have?”

I asked, hoping he might have some money stashed away.

“None.”

“What?”

“Well, we used it all to build this manor.”

“I heard the Duke had set aside 5,000 gil for the battlefield of Bardum.”

Majuk replied with a troubled expression.

“Yes...? All that money was used to build the manor..."

...Oh. You used it all on that?

It seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding due to the previous lord's cruelty.

No wonder the manor seemed too well-maintained compared to the shabby fief.

So, the available funds are the money we currently have and the additional 5,000 gil Gareth will send.

“What about the new lord support funds from the kingdom?”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Who else would know if not you?”

“I’ve only been a scribe for a short time.”

Hmm. We’re in a tight spot.

A novice lord and a novice scribe have met in a shabby border fief.

This never happened in the game...

The scribe NPC usually takes care of the basics, so players rarely worry about such trivial matters.

Still, there’s no one better than Majuk the mage in the village, so there’s no other option.

“Let’s find out.”

“Yes.”

Majuk went out and returned shortly.

“Did you send a message bird?”

“No. I used communication magic.”

“Communication magic?”

“Yes. Thanks to the channel opened with a mage from Bardum’s tower for the boundary core, we can send and receive messages. He says that if you allow it, he will bring the core himself.”

“...He will bring it?”

I tapped the table.

I asked how much the lord support funds were, and the answer is that he will bring the money?

It’s a common story.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been betrayed in this unfamiliar world.

He’s probably trying to take a cut.

“Good. Handle it that way. What’s the mage’s name?”

“He said his name is Haelin Page. The Page family is a well-known noble family, but since it’s the first time I’ve heard of him, he might have just graduated from the academy.”

“So he’s your junior.”

Majuk scratched his head.

“No. The mages in charge of boundary management at Bardum’s tower are top-notch. Only half-mages like me are sent to such remote areas.”

“Isn’t that a bit self-deprecating?”

“I’m just being honest.”

I appreciated his honesty in revealing his weaknesses.

A good idea suddenly came to me.

“Hmm. Majuk. How good are your magic skills?”

“Pardon?”

I started to ask Majuk about his magic skills in detail.

Majuk, blushing, admitted that he was decently talented, despite lacking connections.

“Hmm. I see. Good. I’ll give you a chance to learn magic.”

“Pardon? Do you know magic?”

“No.”

“Then a magic book...”

“No. If I had money for a magic book, I’d rather use it to develop the fief.”

Majuk asked with a puffed-up face.

“My lord, are you teasing me?”

“No. It’s no fun if I just tell you the answer. Go back and think about it.”

If you lack ability, you can always improve.

That’s the basic principle of a ‘Lord of the Borderlands’ game.

* * *

Bardum.

The city ruled by the Queen of Pleasure, Camelia Bardum.

Next to the Bardum family’s estate is the Bardum Tower, responsible for maintaining the boundary of the western frontier fief.

Despite its name, the tower is not particularly tall.

Instead, it extends underground, where a sleepy female mage entered.

“Why did you call me, Tower Master?”

The Bardum Tower Master, Robel Esquarth, looked at the half-asleep mage with a grim expression.

“Haelin Page. How about cleaning your eyes before coming to work? Even with your glasses, everything is visible.”

She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

“I was out drinking last night, so I woke up late.”

“You don’t look like you only had one drink. Did you play dice again? It’s not even payday yet?”

“Do you think I don’t save money? I won some yesterday...”

Haelin sighed deeply.

She had joined a big game with some extra money and lost a significant amount.

Her addiction to dice games was an open secret among the tower’s mages.

“I won’t make a fuss about what you do outside of work hours, but remember that another mistake will result in a demotion.”

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’m trying to control myself. Anyway, why did you call me?”

“It’s a business trip.”

“Hmm. Where to?”

“Look for yourself.”

After checking the contents of the order, Haelin started to grumble.

“Haloon is too far. I was there last quarter.”

“There’s a problem with the core.”

“A problem?”

“According to Scribe Majuk, the core’s maximum capacity has decreased, but we need to inspect the device as well. It might be a device issue.”

“I see. I’ll just take one core, then.”

The boundary device of the western fief is very complex.

To handle it, one needs extensive knowledge in both mechanics and magic theory.

Naturally, such skilled individuals are rare.

This is why Haelin Page, despite her sloppy work attitude, hasn’t been fired.

Robel clicked his tongue as he watched Haelin grumble and turn around.

“...If she only lacked skill, I’d fire her immediately.”

Robel sighed deeply.

“If the kingdom could run the academy alone, we wouldn’t be facing such a shortage of personnel.”

But the empire wouldn’t allow the kingdom to train mages.

They might become seeds of rebellion.

* * *

After leaving the tower master’s room, Haelin immediately went to the lowest level.

This was the core storage.

“Give me the order.”

“Here.”

“You’re going to Haloon. Last time it was a goblin king’s core... Is it something similar this time?”

“No, give me one with a larger capacity. There’s a problem.”

“I see. But we don’t have much in stock, so I’m not sure if we have a suitable one.”

“Hmm. Can I check the inner storage?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Haelin entered the storage and frowned.

“It’s really empty.”

“I told you that already.”

“Why is the stock like this?”

“What else? The omnipotent king doesn’t allocate the budget, so this is the result.”

“Huh... If this continues, the boundary will really collapse.”

“They say the budget will be allocated next month, so it should be fine by then. For now, we have to make do with what we have.”

“Whether here or there, someone is making us suffer.”

Haelin walked around the storage.

All the cores were small.

‘If I take one of these, I’ll be called back soon. Ugh.’

After a long search, she finally found a suitable one.

“Oh, this is a good one. Two-headed ogre? Where did you get it?”

“The Duke’s army successfully hunted it.”

“It must have come from far away. The transportation cost must have been high.”

“Yes, but it’s an emergency, so we had no choice. But since it’s for the central processing unit, I can’t give it to you.”

“I know. If I’m unlucky, I might have to go into the forest to extract a core myself.”

“I don’t want to do that. I want to stay here and enjoy the good life.”

“Bardum is nice. It’s a city of pleasure.”

Haelin picked up a golem’s core.

It had a larger capacity than a goblin king’s, so it seemed appropriate.

“Good luck.”

“Take care.”

* * *

“So, there’s no need to pay taxes?”

“No. The western frontier fiefs are exempt from tax obligations.”

“But we have to cultivate the land, right?”

“Yes. We have an annual quota.”

“How much is left for this year?”

“We’ve only fulfilled about 20% of the target.”

I was taken aback by Majuk’s answer.

“It’s already summer?”

Even with the favorable climate here, the ground would freeze in winter.

Excluding the planting and harvesting seasons, there wouldn’t be much time left for cultivation.

“That’s... because the previous lord suddenly passed away due to illness.”

Upon closer inspection of the fief’s situation, I wondered if he had been killed by a sword rather than illness.

“Ugh.”

“The farming tools we recently bought were also...”

“It’s a mess.”

“At least we have the new lord support funds, so it’s fortunate.”

“But the amount is too small.”

“Is that so?”

The support funds are the starting money given at the beginning of the game.

It’s random, but for a difficult frontier fief like this, it would be even less.

That’s how the game rules work.

I started to think deeply.

In the end, we have to earn it ourselves.

“Are there any mines nearby?”

“There is one inside the forest...”

“But that’s the demon world. Not that one.”

It wouldn’t be a problem for me, but I can’t work in a mine myself.

What kind of healing life would that be?

“There’s an iron ore deposit at the foot of the southern plains’ mountains.”

Fortunately, Majuk, being from this area, knew the geography well.

“Really? How far is it?”

“It’s about a four-day ride.”

“I see.”

“But even if we mine the ore, we have no way to process it.”

Of course not.

We don’t have a forge or a blacksmith.

“I have an idea.”

I immediately summoned three strong fief residents.

The guard captain Galant brought two burly men.

“Did you need us, my lord?”

“Galant. Did you bring shovels and a cart?”

“Yes. They’re over there.”

The cart, used for transporting grain, looked quite sturdy.

The shovels were rusty, though.

“You said we’re going to mine iron ore?”

“Yes.”

“We don’t have pickaxes.”

“We don’t need them.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll see when we get there. Don’t ask so many questions.”

I led Nils and attached the cart to the saddle.

“We need to load these black ones, so do your best.”

Nils snorted.

He understood.

After stroking Nils’ mane a few times, I gave Galant the same instructions.

“Lay down a thick pile of straw and sit on top. If it’s not thick enough, your buttocks will go numb. Check it beforehand.”

“Just in case, I brought some leather.”

Galant smiled.

As expected of a former mercenary, he was well-prepared.

After confirming that all three, including Galant, were on the cart, I mounted my horse.

“Hold on tight. Nils is quite strong.”

Nils snorted and charged forward.

“Oof!”

“Hold on tight. Nils is quite strong.”

Nils is a half-elf horse.

I rescued him from a dragon’s lair, and he started following me like a mother.

He’s strong, with excellent speed and acceleration.

His endurance is a bit lacking, but compared to a purebred elf horse, it’s still good.

Much better than a regular horse.

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