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Vol 02 Chapter 46: Talent Recruitment

「Ahem, ahem. We will now begin recruiting soldiers,」

Roswald announced to the gathered villagers. The villagers exchanged glances among themselves.

「Are they drafting us?」

「So, the new Lord is the same after all…」

「But there’s no place without military service…」

「I hope I don’t get chosen.」

The villagers were abuzz with concern. Roswald cleared his throat loudly, quieting them down.

「I said we are recruiting. We will not be forcibly conscripting anyone. Here are the conditions. Lia, give me the notification, please.」

Roswald read from a paper he received from Lia.

「Let’s see… The target demographic is adult males aged fifteen to forty. Payment will be made in wheat. Participants must bring their own weapons. However, if you do not have one, the Aris family will provide one, so even those without weapons are welcome to join. Those selected will live around the palace, receive daily training, and take turns guarding the border. Once hired, you will not be dismissed unless you lose the ability to work due to loss of limbs, illness, or other reasons. Additionally, if you must retire due to age, injury, or illness, you will receive a severance package. Those wishing to apply must speak to the village head within two weeks. We are looking to fill five hundred and thirty positions. If applications exceed this number, a test will be conducted. That is all.」

Hearing Roswald’s words, the villagers started buzzing again.

「So, it’s not mandatory?」

「Alright!」

「Hmm, what should I do? It might be worth trying if there’s a salary.」

「Farming is such a hassle… But does this mean we have to move?」

「I’m afraid of dying though.」

Roswald cleared his throat loudly again, regaining the villagers’ attention.

「In addition to the recruitment, there’s one more thing I want to mention.」

Roswald said, taking another paper from Lia and reading it.

「If there are any orphans in the village… children under fifteen without parents, they should be brought to the palace.」

「Why is that?」

「Don’t ask me; I don’t know either.」 (You don’t need to know the reason for this.)

「…You’re saying what you’re thinking instead of the official response…」

After being called out by Lia, Roswald hurriedly covered his mouth and then glared at the villagers.

「Anyway!! I’ve relayed the Lord’s orders!!」

Roswald hastily retreated as if to evade further discussion.

◇

Something was lurking in a certain mountain within the Aris territory.

Covered in fur too thick for normal arrows to penetrate. Sharp fangs and claws. A sense of smell surpassing that of dogs. And the strength to mow down trees.

This creature, a bear, was foraging for honey. The bees bravely stung the bear, but to no effect.

After finishing its meal, the bear lifted its head to return to its den… and at that moment, an arrow struck its face.

The arrow pierced the bear’s eye and went through its head. With a loud noise, the bear fell.

「Thank you, Gram-sama.」

「Not at all. A bear that has acquired a taste for human flesh is dangerous and must be dealt with. I only did my duty.」

Gram replied with a smile.

He had stopped by this village to issue a call for soldiers and gather orphans. There, he was asked to deal with a bear that had developed a taste for humans.

As he was on duty, he first returned to the capital, obtained permission from Almus, and returned to the village to shoot the bear dead.

「As for the reward…」

「Please give me the bear’s fur. I need nothing else.」

When Gram responded this way, the villagers expressed their astonishment.

After all, the bear’s fur rightfully belonged to Gram, who had killed the bear. Therefore, claiming the fur was only natural. Typically, as a form of gratitude, one would expect to be offered grain, alcohol, or women.

「Is that so… By the way, how many servants do you have at your estate, Gram-sama?」

「Uh? Well, none…」

Gram replied, puzzled, prompting the village chief to smirk.

「In that case, would you consider employing my fourth daughter as a servant?」

「Uh? Well, uh…」

Gram was at a loss for words when Lulu intervened.

「That won’t be necessary.」

「Eh? No, I was speaking to Gram-sama…」

「What?」

「No, it’s nothing.」

Intimidated by Lulu’s forcefulness, the village head backed down. Seizing the opportunity, Lulu pulled Gram away by the ear.

「Listen up. That’s the village head’s scheme to sneak her in as a servant, hoping she seduces you, bears your child, and becomes your wife! You must absolutely not accept.」

「But… I actually have been feeling like I could use some help around… you know, I’ve just received my estate recently…」

「Then I’ll move in and do the housework for you. We magicians have plenty of free time during peace! That settles it, right?」

「Eh… But…」

As Gram hesitated, Lulu glared at him.

「Got a problem with that?」

「No, no problem…」

While they were having this exchange, about ten children ran up to them.

「Excuse me! We want to be soldiers too!」

「No, no, you guys are clearly not over fifteen.」

Gram chuckled wryly. All of them looked around ten years old, and there were even girls among them.

「But…」

「Right now, you need to eat well and grow big. When you’re fifteen, please come join us.」

Saying so, Gram patted the children’s heads.

After watching the children leave, Gram murmured.

「If kids like these keep coming and our army grows stronger… Almus-san will climb even higher.」

「Yeah. But it’s not just the army that’s important. Sorcerers are important too.」

They looked at each other and laughed.

◇

Before me stood the gathered orphans. Well, I was the one who had them gathered. All of them looked anxious.

Well then…

I raised my voice to address them.

「You all have two choices. One is to spend your time in this mansion. Here, you will learn martial arts, arithmetic, and the Kirisian language, with the future possibility of working as equites. The other is to return to the villages you came from. You can choose either. I won’t force you.」

I’ve dispatched tax collectors throughout the territory to gather taxes. I’ve also had them handle various administrative documents.

In other words, I created a sort of bureaucratic system.

However, a bureaucratic system always needs talented individuals. It’s fine now, but in a few decades, Ron and the others will be old men, and won’t be able to collect taxes.

We are in need of new talents.

The challenge lies in how to gather them.

I first thought of conducting an exam to select talented personnel. However, I rejected this idea immediately. To be able to take the exam, the examinees need to be able to read and write, but there are no such people here.

Another idea was gathering children who want to learn and prepare them to be future bureaucrats, but this idea was dismissed as well.

Parents with an understanding of the importance of education are scarce, and those who would gather would likely be the children of individuals who have some education and can afford to lose labor power… in other words, the sons and daughters of the village heads.

The work of the tax collectors is to keep an eye on the work of the village heads. Making the controller related to the controlled seemed like a recipe for disaster.

That led to the idea of gathering orphans to train as bureaucrats. It’s a strategy that kills two birds with one stone: offering relief to orphans and gathering talents at the same time.

It would seem that I’m a very kindhearted lord, however, this policy also gets me some side benefits.

Firstly, the orphans having no family means there’s no worry about external influences in their work. Secondly, they’re likely to feel grateful to me for raising them, so there’s less worry about betrayal.

There’s no guarantee they will all turn out to be excellent, but… It’s not like they will have to do the sophisticated work modern Japanese bureaucrats do.

All they need is to be able to read and write in Kirisia and do arithmetic. Focusing solely on these two areas should yield reasonably good results by the time they reach fifteen.

「What do you think?」

I asked them again.

「Those who wish to return to their hometowns, please raise your hands. I’ll respect your decision.」

As I said this, hands were raised here and there.

About one-third of the total wants to return. Less than I expected.

Well, even if they return to their villages now, they’d just be seen as burdens. Staying here gives them the opportunity to get a good life. It makes sense that many children choose to stay here.

「Then, I’ll be leaving Lulu and Soyon in charge of the orphans. Tetra and I will also check on them regularly. Is that alright?」

「Of course!」

「Well, I don’t mind if I can continue doing the chores at home.」

They agreed.

There are good reasons for choosing them as caretakers. First, their personality is perfect for the task. Second, as magicians, they generally have a lot of free time. And lastly, they are not official tax collectors. They occasionally help out, but their main profession is magician.

Having bureaucrats train future bureaucrats is problematic. A mentor-mentee relationship can lead to covering up each other’s mistakes among superiors and subordinates. This is a big issue for an organization.

That’s why I chose two people who are magicians and not official tax collectors.

I’ve become quite crafty, haven’t I?

Now that the selection of children is finished… It’s time to attend to our guests.

◇

「Hello, Almus Aris-sama. My name is Ismene.」

「I’m Yousei Akira.」

The man and woman bowed and greeted me.

The woman who introduced herself as Ismene is undoubtedly Kirisian. But this man who calls himself Yousei Akira. From where did he come? He looks Asian, but…

Noticing my curious look, Yousei Akira smiled and answered.

「I come from the Far East… from a country called the Scarlet Empire, which you all refer to as the Country of Silk. ‘Yousei’ is my surname, and ‘Akira’ is my given name.」

The Country of Silk… I haven’t heard of it. I’m really a hillbilly…

「I heard you wanted to be employed in my territory. Is that correct?」

When I asked, the two nodded deeply.

「I’ve been aiming to reach the sea at the end of the world, Okeanos… and just a month ago, I achieved my goal. Now, I plan to compile what I’ve seen into a book… and that’s when I learned about the existence of paper. I have the [Blessing of Language], allowing me to speak any language. I’m also good at math. I can definitely be of help,」

「I see. So, you want to work for me in exchange for food, clothing, and shelter until you finish writing your book. Is that it?」

I asked, and Yousei Akira nodded with a smile.

「Exactly. You truly are impressive, as expected of the hero raised by Griffon-sama!」

Hey, don’t believe those rumors. Nowadays, the tales have grown wings and fins, and some rumors say that I can fly or breathe fire.

「And you?」

I turned to the woman.

「I am an architect. I can design various defensive structures and comfortable living spaces.」

Said Ismene, presenting a piece of parchment.

On it were various architectural designs and blueprints.

Nice. The forts along the border with King Domorgal are made of wood. I had been feeling they were somewhat inadequate. But…

「With such technical skills, why come to me? There must be others you could go to. King Rosais or King Domorgal, for example.」

Why come to me, of all people?

「No, I believed that you, the son of Griffon-sama and a hero, would be able to make full use of my buildings…」

「That’s a lie.」

When I said that, Ismene flinched.

「I told you, it’s better if you tell the truth.」

Urged by Akira, Ismene tearfully revealed the truth.

Summarizing her story… It seems she was rejected everywhere else.

The reasons given were her gender, the fact that they already had enough architects, and that they didn’t understand Kirisian. It makes sense that powerful kings already have their architects, likely Adernians.

It’s understandable that other kings might see no need to hire a woman whose language they cannot understand. However, it’s surprising. I would have thought King Rosais would have welcomed her with open arms. He understands Kirisian, after all.

When I asked about that…

「King Rosais told me it would be better to ask you to employ me instead of him…」

Why would he say that? I don’t understand.

But…

「Alright. I understand. I will hire you.」

「Really?!」

「Yes. We’ll discuss the salary later. And make sure your designs are practical, okay?」

With that, Ismene bowed deeply.