Chapter 72

"If we continue like this, the Baumgärtner territory will be taken over by Wendelin!"

It had been three months since that detestable Wendelin moved his base of living into our Baumgärtner territory.

At first, he claimed he had only come to purify the undead victims of the expedition in the infamous Demon Forest and to collect their remains, but he quickly changed his tune and began to freeload within our territory.

Moreover, he ignored me, the next lord, and negotiated only with my father, doing as he pleased.

He obtained permission from my father to use the undeveloped land and moved his own mansion there without permission.

That mansion was so luxurious that it made our main mansion seem pitiful by comparison, and at that point, it was as if he was mocking me, the lord.

Who in their right mind would move a mansion more luxurious than the lord's mansion into a territory?

I protested to my father, but his reaction was far from favorable.

"I've heard it's for a limited time. Just bear with it for a while."

However, my father's response was cold.

It seemed he had succumbed to the pressure of his so-called excellent son, a user of magic capable of slaying dragons. At this point, he appeared to be nothing more than a senile old man.

"The development of the territory is progressing smoothly, isn't it? What do you gain by complaining here?"

Indeed, the development of the territory was progressing.

However, we had no part in it at all.

Currently, Wendelin spends half his time exploring the Demon Forest and the rest on developing the undeveloped land.

He used magic of incredible power to level the land, sometimes removing obstacles as large as small mountains. He then proceeded to prepare neatly rectangular rice paddies, roads, and irrigation channels. Additionally, he claimed that the soil in the rice paddies was transformed by magic to be suitable for rice cultivation.

"He's going to take over the territory, Wendelin is!"

Normally, it takes a long time to develop fields and rice paddies from scratch.

First, the development itself takes time.

Then, even if you plant crops, it can take several years, or even a decade, for the soil to become suitable.

To be able to earn some income in the first year was unheard of. It seemed to me that Wendelin was mocking us, who were seriously developing the land.

In just three months, vast rice paddies and irrigation networks had spread across the undeveloped land adjacent to our territory.

In the rice paddies filled with water, the rice planted a few days ago was growing well.

The immigrants Wendelin had gathered, claiming they were servants, were learning how to care for the rice from the hired old farmers, or were busy reinforcing the levees and irrigation channels.

"Soon, that special development zone will become part of our territory."

"Such a promise! Do you really think that Wendelin will keep it?"

Wendelin had named the cultivated land the "Special Development Zone." It now had about a hundred households and a population of over three hundred and fifty.

"It's already bigger than the main village!"

"That's just the flow of the times. Even if we call it the main village, the center of the territory can change as the territory develops."

My father seemed satisfied as long as the cultivated land and population in the territory increased. However, such a territory that had merely expanded was nothing more than a place where people gathered, outside the control of the lord.

For the safety of the territory, we needed to govern it properly. That's why we were collecting taxes, even if it made us unpopular.

"Moreover, those people aren't paying taxes!"

"They are paying. Have you even read the contract properly?"

It was quite a statement, considering he had excluded me from the negotiations. According to the contract with Wendelin, his earnings as an adventurer and the income and expenses from the undeveloped land were linked.

In other words, the profit from hunting and gathering in the Demon Forest and the expenses for developing the undeveloped land were totaled. From the overall income, 20% of the profit was paid as tax.

He had intentionally made the contract complex to prevent me from understanding the details. He was definitely cheating on the taxes.

Yet, neither my father nor Klaus said anything.

It just made me angry.

"Father, he's definitely cheating!"

"That's not the case. Klaus has confirmed it."

Indeed, Klaus was a capable man when it came to such lowly financial calculations. However, there was no way I could trust him in the current situation.

To that man, it wouldn't matter if the lord of the Baumgärtner territory was Wendelin.

No, he probably preferred it that way.

"How can I trust him!"

"Then, check it yourself."

"..."

There was no way I could do that.

I hadn't received that kind of education, and you had said that such things were unnecessary for blue blood.

"Should I leave it to the village heads of the other villages?"

That was also impossible.

Those people had betrayed me by informing Wendelin about my difficult decision to collect iron from the remains for the development of the territory and by hindering me.

"Those people are traitors!"

The contract with my father also included an agreement for Wendelin to take on odd jobs in the territory.

I had a bad feeling about it, and it had become a reality.

"Miss Elise, you're feeling better these days, aren't you?"

"That's good to hear."

When our territory's priest had a backache and couldn't move, Wendelin had sent his fiancée as a substitute.

She was the granddaughter of the central church's abbot, a woman who looked like a saint. She had large breasts for her age and was a seductive woman who had lured Wendelin with her healing magic, diligently selling herself to the people of the territory.

I thought about eliminating her as she was a hindrance, but the people of the territory would strongly oppose it due to her healing magic, so I had to restrain myself.

It was a truly detestable situation.

"Then, we will move to the special development zone."

"Can rice cultivation be done there? It would be good if it could be done here too..."

There was also the issue of his involvement in the redevelopment of the territory after taking over the church.

He hadn't touched the main village, but he was actively helping in the redevelopment of the other villages.

He was reorganizing the fields divided and deformed by boulders, forests, and hills, and building new branches of irrigation channels.

He was relocating the people's homes to places closer to their fields.

For about a hundred years, our territory had focused on developing new fields.

However, due to the difficulty of the terrain and obstacles, the cultivated land had become distorted, and some people had been given new fields far from their homes.

There were many problems.

After tending to the fields in front of their homes for a day, they had to walk for about an hour to take care of the new fields.

It was Wendelin who had solved this inconvenience.

He had made sure that the people's farmland was around their homes.

Moreover, he had used magic to reorganize the fields into neat rectangles, making it easier to bring in oxen and horses for farming.

"That fool!"

In the middle of the wheat growing, he had started reorganizing the fields.

When I went to the site, thinking he was trying to ruin the harvest, I saw a strange scene.

"The wheat in this field will be moved with the soil."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wendelin."

"It's my job."

He was using magic to move the growing wheat with the soil without affecting it at all.

He was either gradually turning the surrounding area into a field with magic or floating the wheat with the soil and moving it to other fields.

"Wow, is this the work of a god?"

"Is the wheat seedlings moved to the new field okay?"

"Since they are moved with the soil, there's no problem. With winter wheat, the fields have been expanded, and new fields have been planted, so it's a win-win situation."

"The soil has been improved to some extent, but it will need careful attention for two to three years."

"I have experience, so it's fine. What would take years to develop from scratch is convenient with magic."

Wendelin had said he had received the job from the village heads of two villages and had completed the new development and reorganization of the fields in about a week.

As a result, the size of the fields owned by the residents of those two villages would exceed the average of the residents of the main village.

In addition, the boulders and giant trees that had hindered development had disappeared, and hills that would have taken years to level had been turned into flat fields in an instant. Farm roads had been built for convenience, and irrigation channels had been extended to make watering easier.

"Father!"

"The people's fields have increased, farming has become easier, and tax revenue has increased. Do you have any complaints?"

I went to complain to my father, but he did nothing as usual.

Why couldn't he see that the man was plotting to divide the territory?

"Wendelin is dividing the main village and the other two villages!"

"Kurt... you..."

"No..."

I almost said the forbidden words.

In this territory, there was a conflict between the main village and the other two villages.

However, it was a matter passed down from generation to generation that it should not be openly mentioned.

"Anyway! Wendelin is dangerous!"

Not only in the redevelopment of the two villages, but he was also bringing back former residents who had left the territory and wanted to return to the special development zone.

Moreover, the third and fourth sons of the villagers had also moved to start rice cultivation.

"The population of the two villages has decreased! The head tax revenue will decrease!"

It was a small amount, but it would still be a decrease.

Moreover, since the expenses for the special development zone could be deducted from the profit, he was helping Wendelin evade taxes.

"Father is too lenient! Since Wendelin is making so much money, we should squeeze him dry!"

There was no reason to miss this opportunity.

We would save money and use it to develop the undeveloped land on our own.

We couldn't allow the outsider Wendelin to develop any further.

"Why do we need to squeeze Wendelin?"

"What's wrong with squeezing someone?"

"Have you even calculated how much it would cost to develop the special zone that Wendelin is developing now?"

"Wendelin's magic is free, right?"

"Kurt, are you an idiot?"

"What's an idiot!"

I glared at my father, who was belittling me.

"Indeed, the cost of development is about the same as Wendelin's meal expenses. However, there are other expenses as well."

My father started giving a complicated explanation.

"He's bringing a large number of houses from the capital and having a specialist in relocation magic do the work. He's a famous expert in relocation magic, a baron of the robe."

Naturally, Wendelin was paying for the request.

In addition, he was paying the salaries of the old farmers he had recruited from the Breichleider Margraviate, the cost of purchasing the necessary farming tools to start rice cultivation, and even the salaries of the immigrants for the first year.

"Do you understand, Kurt? Even if there is a slight decrease in revenue now, the special zone will become ours in a few years, and the residents will become our subjects. There is no decrease in revenue. Have you even read the reports?"

He was belittling me again.

I had read the reports on tax revenue.

Even after deducting the costs of the special development zone, the profits from the first store in our territory and the profits from selling the results of the Demon Forest exploration in Breichburg had brought in about 600,000 cents in the past three months.

However, that wasn't enough.

Moreover, Wendelin was so wealthy.

My father should use his authority as the lord to collect half of Wendelin's total assets as taxes.

With that much, we could develop the undeveloped land ourselves.

"Anyway! We should squeeze more out of Wendelin. The top in this Baumgärtner territory is Father, and even His Majesty can't interfere here!"

"You need to calm down a bit."

I was earnestly worrying about the future of the Baumgärtner territory, but my father was in this state.

No, to him, it was enough for the territory to survive, whether the next lord was me or Wendelin.

"I will go my own way!"

"Do as you please."

My father was no longer reliable.

In fact, he was a potential enemy.

Therefore, there was no need to listen to his opinions anymore.

"Kurt, where are you going?"

"It's the day of the meeting."

In the Baumgärtner territory, there were occasional meetings to hear the opinions of the people.

A few representatives from each of the three villages attended, but there was also a meeting that only the influential people of the main village could attend.

In principle, the three villages were treated equally.

However, in reality, my father, grandfather, and their predecessors had never stopped holding separate meetings to hear the opinions of their supporters.

After all, they were strong supporters of the Baumgärtner family's rule.

"There are many people in the main village who don't like Wendelin. If we can get their approval, we can make him pay more taxes."

Thinking this, I hurried to Eckhardt's house, where the meeting was scheduled to take place.

"There are so few people."

"They're all busy with work..."

I left my useless father behind and showed up at the meeting at Eckhardt's house.

This meeting was supposed to be a secret from the people of the other villages.

After all, if it became public that we, the Baumgärtner family, were giving the people of the main village the opportunity to voice their opinions in advance, it would cause a backlash from the other two villages.

However, the existence of this meeting was already known outside.

"Even so, there are too few people."

Normally, about twenty people from the main village could attend this meeting.

These included wealthy farmers with large tracts of land and craftsmen who had monopolized the market and profits in the Baumgärtner territory.

Regrettably, the Hermann family, the head of the vassals, and a few vassals were also allowed to attend, even though they were traitors.

However, only eight people in total came to today's meeting, less than half.

"Where is the leatherworker Dirk? The tailor Ingold? The carpenter Lucas?"

"It seems..."

Looking at the attendees, only the blacksmith Eckhardt was left among the craftsmen who had strongly supported my succession as the next lord.

When I asked for the reason, Eckhardt reluctantly began to explain.

"They are taking a break for a while..."

"What? A break?"

"Yes..."

According to Eckhardt, they had been in a state of being open but not doing business because their customers had been taken by the store Wendelin had opened.

They had decided to quit their crafts after being persuaded by him.

Indeed, from my perspective, the skills of the craftsmen in the territory were not good.

However, they were better than amateurs and not unusable.

First, they were my strong supporters.

It was a calculated relationship for the sake of privileges, but as long as I gave them privileges, they supported me, making them easy to deal with.

This thinking had been the same from my father's and grandfather's generations.

Now, they were absent from this important meeting and were taking a break.

I was just surprised.

"What kind of nonsense is this!"

"I'm the same, but they have been in a state of being open but not doing business for the past three months..."

Wendelin had started selling goods he had purchased from Breichburg and the capital, and the number of customers had drastically decreased.

It was understandable that the quality was better and the prices were slightly lower, but I couldn't ignore this.

Wendelin's crime of hollowing out our industry was very serious.

"Ultimately, a decrease in tax revenue! Wendelin is the unfaithful one who is leading this Baumgärtner territory to decline!"

"That's what, my lord..."

Regarding the hollowing out of the industry, Wendelin had offered a hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Actually..."

When they were in trouble with almost no customers and sales, Wendelin had suggested, "How about sending your children to apprenticeships outside?"

"Since there's no chance of winning in this competition, new craftsmen who can produce goods that can compete with external products should set up new workshops in the territory."

Wendelin had used his connections to send the children of the craftsmen to workshops in the capital and Breichburg as apprentices.

Then, when the apprentices were recognized as independent by their training places, they would start new businesses in the workshops maintained by their parents.

That was the plan he had brought.

"What about the current craftsmen?"

"They will live by farming rice."

Considering their age, it might be difficult for them to start training now, but it would be easier for their younger children.

So, they would maintain the equipment of the closed workshops while living off rice farming in the newly developed land.