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Vol 01 Chapter 22-1: Tetra

「First, let’s head to King Rosais’ place. We need to confirm whether the refugees actually tried to flee there first.」

「Okay…」

Tetra replied in a small voice. She seemed to be troubled by something.

「Then we’ll go on horseback.」

I equipped the horse with a saddle and stirrups. Incidentally, I made the saddle and stirrups myself after much trial and error.

I was quite surprised that Lia didn’t know what a saddle and stirrups were.

This technology is quite handy, so I’ve decided to keep it secret. It wouldn’t be funny if our enemies became stronger.

「Here.」

「Okay.」

I reached out my hand and helped Tetra onto the horse.

We will be riding together. While this horse isn’t particularly large, it’s capable enough to carry two people.

「Hey, Almus.」

After traveling for a while, Tetra, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

「What’s up?」

「Would you be surprised if I said I know King Ferme?」

「A little, yes.」

Tetra wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her body against me as if hugging. I could feel the tension in her arms.

「That man is frightening, greedy, and unscrupulous in his methods. But his ability to instill fear compels people to follow him.」

「I see. So there’s a chance he might try to take our food if he learns about us.」

In fact, the refugees currently coming might be his vanguard. That’s why we’re heading to King Rosais’ Country to check.

「How powerful is King Ferme’s Country?」

「The population stands at around thirty thousand, giving them a regular military force of about five hundred. In wartime, it can increase to a thousand. In an emergency, I think he can mobilize up to two thousand.」

「Do they normally mobilize five hundred?」

「He only recently became king after killing his former lord, Ragou Aris, a vassal of King Rosais. So his position is unstable.」

「To maintain his precarious position, he always mobilizes a considerable number of soldiers, which leads to heavy taxation and further destabilizes his rule.」

「That’s right.」

Still, five hundred…

Our population numbers a hundred, with sixty-two being men. Of these, approximately forty should be capable of fighting.

He has twelve times more soldiers. No, he can mobilize a thousand soldiers in wartime, so twenty-five times more.

Either way, we stand no chance in a fight. Numbers are crucial in battle.

「Can we win?」

「Not as we are now.」

「What if we prepare?」

「It’s fifty-fifty.」

We need to acquire appropriate weapons, wage guerrilla warfare, and form an alliance with King Rosais – essentially a merger with his country – and request reinforcements. We could also purchase combat slaves from the Kirisian merchants. Additionally, collaborating with those who harbor resentment against King Ferme’s rule and undermining him from within… If we do all that, it’s not impossible to win.

「I see…」

Tetra looked down, deep in thought.

「This is hypothetical, but…」

Tetra whispered softly.

「What if the daughter of the previous lord, Ragou Aris, survived? Would our chances of winning increase?」

「Yeah. It would be advantageous if she revealed her identity and cooperated with us. From King Rosais’ perspective, she is the daughter of his vassal, so naturally, he would offer support. And within King Ferme’s country, there are likely people who fondly remember the rule of the previous lord.」

「I see.」

Tetra remained silent once again.

After a while, as King Rosais Country came into view, Tetra spoke again.

「Will you protect me?」

「Of course. We’re family, after all.」

「Then, I’ll cooperate.」

Saying this, Tetra hugged me tightly.

◇

「I see. So it’s true that you refused them?」

「Yes, that’s right. Recently, we’ve been short on food. We couldn’t afford to take care of them. If we accepted thirty, more would come. And it would be troublesome if there were spies among them.」

It’s strange. Given that the population of King Rosais’s country is around 170,000, accommodating an additional hundred or two hundred people shouldn’t be a significant issue… In the first place, our village had a good harvest and theirs shouldn’t be much different. That means…

「You plotted this, didn’t you?」

「 I have no idea what you’re talking about.」

How blatant.

「The reason for the poor harvest in King Ferme’s territory was a curse from another country. In fact, my village did not have a poor harvest, because no one dared to curse a village protected by Griffon. Your country has Julia and other excellent magicians. It’s impossible for your country to suffer a bad harvest from a curse. In fact, the villages along the way didn’t seem to have any problems. And I heard from Julia that you had a good harvest too. So, your country could easily accommodate them. Not just thirty, but even three hundred would be no problem, right?」

「Indeed. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are problematic. The issue with freeloaders is…」

「That’s unnatural.」

I interrupted King Rosais’ words.

「Increasing the population is generally beneficial. Moreover, these refugees are from an enemy nation, King Ferme’s Country. You should be inviting them in instead. If you do that, the people of King Ferme’s Country would flock to your country. Admittedly, there would be an initial strain on the food supply, but this can ultimately be offset through taxation. Besides, weakening the power of King Ferme’s Country should be a cause for celebration.」

If King Rosais’ Country was short on food, that would be a different story. But King Rosais’ Country has plenty of food. So there shouldn’t be any problem. I could understand if they refuse due to differences in language and culture, but they are all Adernians, and until a few years ago, they were part of the same country. Welcoming them should not pose a problem. There’s every reason to actively embrace them as brethren. There’s plenty of undeveloped land left too.

Moreover, the refugees were even willing to become slaves. They must have said the same thing to King Rosais. You can get slaves for free. There are no annoying human rights organizations in this world. They can be worked hard or even sold off.

Besides, if they are accepted, this can be used as propaganda to show how benevolent and wise King Rosais is. Turning them away would be a poor decision.

There’s another point that feels off.

「It’s also strange that they came to my village. The Adernian Peninsula is not only home to your country and King Ferme’s. If you really didn’t want to accept them, you could have just pushed them onto another country. Give them a domestic travel permit with the condition of having to travel under the supervision of armed soldiers.」

The Country of Rosais had a good harvest. So the surrounding countries must have had a good harvest too. It’s impossible for the climate to change completely in the immediate vicinity. The surrounding countries should have enough capacity to accept refugees.

Yet they came to the forest. They found our small village in that vast forest. That’s a tough feat. It’s hard to think it was just a coincidence.

「You likely suggested something along the lines of ‘There seems to be a paradise over there~’, correct?」

「Hmm… quite perceptive. That’s ninety percent correct. But there’s still a missing piece.」

「The reason you sent refugees to my village? That’s simple.」

I stared at King Rosais, who was smirking.

「You predicted that I would accept the refugees. You counted on my kind-hearted personality, although it’s odd to say so myself. But kindness doesn’t fill bellies. So you surmised that I would need to source wheat from somewhere. And where would that be…」

「It would be from my country.」

Buying from the Kirisians is an option, but they are quite distant. It’s most realistic to source it from nearby.

「You were planning to lend me the wheat, weren’t you? After all, the chances of it being returned are higher if you lend it to me rather than to refugees.」

「Oh yes. That’s right, 95% correct.」

Grinning.

His face is becoming increasingly irritating to look at.

「You intended to find out about our honey, and the method of making paper and sueki pottery as conditions for the loan, didn’t you?」

King Rosais must have desperately wanted this technology, but he couldn’t forcefully extract it through military power. There’s a chance I might ally with King Domorgal if he threatens us. Besides, King Rosais can’t go out due to illness. If he carelessly moves the soldiers, he risks being attacked from behind by other powerful patricians eyeing his position. Most of all, he wouldn’t want to be hated by Julia, who is close to me.

Being despised by one’s only daughter must be difficult.

So, he tried to find out through cunning means. That must be it.

As I said this much, King Rosais clapped his hands.

Applause… does that mean I’m right? Not that I’m happy about it.

「99% correct!! Wonderful. If you were my son, I would have made you my successor without hesitation. But there’s still 1% missing. Do you understand?」

……

I don’t understand.

Seeing my face, King Rosais showed a wicked smile.

「This time, I was the one who had a curse placed on King Ferme’s country. How about that? Wahahaha! Cough, cough, cough.」

Don’t push yourself. You’re a sick man.

As I looked at him with a blank expression, King Rosais nonchalantly straightened up.

「So, how much do you want?」

「I don’t need anything, We’ve enough food.」

As I answered that way, King Rosais’ face twisted.

In the Adernian Peninsula, the predominant practice is two-field agriculture. However, in my village, we practice the four-fields rotation system, which yields higher productivity in the long run. Moreover, we use cows and horses for deep plowing.

King Rosais seems to have anticipated a food shortage… but his prediction is based on the productivity of the system his country uses.

Too bad for you! Your calculations are wrong from the start!! Idiot!!

「But that’s only for now, isn’t it? Soon you’ll run out,」

King Rosais said nonchalantly.

What is he talking about? I’m saying we’ll be fine.

Seeing my puzzled expression, King Rosais spoke.

「You’re overlooking something important. Well, it’s fine. In any case, you’ll come crying to me within three days, begging for wheat.」

Why is he looking so smug? I’ll never come begging to him.

Well, never mind.