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Vol 01 Chapter 23-1: King Ferme

「Leader! How did it go?」

「It’s almost certain that they are telling the truth. But…」

I relayed to everyone that King Ferme’s army was on its way to the village.

「Isn’t that good? Let’s just return them.」

「The issue isn’t merely about whether to return the refugees; my biggest concern is about making contact with King Ferme’s Country, although it’s too late to prevent that now.」

They’ve certainly brought a troublesome matter to my doorstep. Now, what to do.

「Well, we have two options: either hand the refugees over to King Ferme or prepare for enmity with his country by hiding them.」

If King Ferme was out of the picture, I would be willing to accept these thirty people. They will be a burden to our food reserves at first, but increasing our population is always a good thing.

Besides, I’ve decided to help those who can be helped. Children are the top priority, of course, but if possible, I’d like to help the adults too.

However, I don’t want to get entangled with King Ferme. My highest priority is the safety of everyone here.

「Um… Is King Ferme really going to attack us?」

Soyon, raising her hand, asked.

「Who knows? But considering his method of governance and how he became king…」

「I don’t mean that… These people once ran away. Bringing them back would only be a lot of trouble, and they would have to be constantly monitored.」

Now that she mentions it, that might be true. Being individuals who have fled once already, they pose more of a problem than anything else. Even if they are brought back, they might run away again. There’s also the risk of them being in cohorts with foreign countries. Is there really something that could be gained that justifies going to such lengths to recover thirty people?

Thinking normally, the tax generated by thirty people will be far less than the cost of the military force required for monitoring them.

If it were me, I’d give up. I’d give up on getting them back and distribute the farmland they abandoned to my vassals to alleviate their dissatisfaction.

「Huh? If that’s the case, why are they chasing them?」

I recalled something unsettling that the soldier had mentioned. Could it be…

「Those who flee are traitors. All traitors should be killed.」

Tetra’s words shed light on the situation.

So that’s how it is. He plans to kill them as an example. It’s an effective method.

While executing a thousand would significantly impact tax revenue, thirty wouldn’t cause much of an issue. Probably, they haven’t told the soldiers they’ll kill them to avoid affecting their morale. After all, it’s against human nature to want to kill one’s own people.

「Then, should we save them? Those people are innocent.」

「That seems just. I support the idea of saving them.」

Roswald and Ron showed their agreement to save the refugees.

「I think I agree too,」

Gram voiced his agreement as well.

「I also think it’s better to help. It’s cruel to let them be killed,」

Soyon agreed as well.

Tetra is in favor as well, isn’t she?

「They are technically my parents… If I let them die, I’d be no different from them…」

Lulu agreed, albeit reluctantly.

「Anyone else? If you’re opposed, raise your hand.」

No one raised their hand.

「And those in favor?」

Everyone’s hands went up.

That settles it, then.

◇

「First of all, everyone… it’s been decided that we’ll accept you on a trial basis.」

Upon saying that, the refugees – now new villagers – erupted into cheers.

「However, this decision could be overturned. It all depends on your actions,」

Upon hearing this, the new villagers nodded solemnly.

It seems they understand their position.

As long as they behave themselves, I won’t meddle in their lives.

「Also, Iarl, was it? Come here. We need to have a discussion,」

I called the representative of the new villagers.

First, we must discuss our strategy against King Ferme.

I gathered Iarl, Tetra, Ron, Roswald, Gram, Soyon, and Lulu inside the building.

These seven are like the leaders of this village.

Ron and Roswald are included primarily for their strength and sense of responsibility. Gram is the best with a bow in this village, and he’s decisive. Soyon and Lulu are among the handful of magicians in this village who are adept in combat.

Tetra’s… importance to the village goes without saying. And  Iarl is the one who will be responsible for leading the new villagers from now on.

「Now, the issue at hand is how to deal with King Ferme’s forces approaching us.」

Iarl appeared startled upon hearing my declaration.

I guess I haven’t explained that yet. Well, it’s fine.

「For now, the reason we accepted these people is because King Ferme is trying to kill them, right? What if King Ferme, is stupider than we thought and comes only to take these people back?」

「In that case… we will have to offer him some tribute to appease him.」

If he’s a fool, he might back off with that. After all, having said we’d accept them, it’s hard to turn back now.

That’s when I remembered King Rosais’s statement about me coming back to plead for food.

Was he expecting this situation?

「And if that is not enough?」

「Then… we’ll have no choice but to return the refugees to King Ferme.」

Iarl stayed silent, head bowed, he knew the weight of his words in this place was nearly non-existent.

However, upon King Ferme’s arrival, it’s likely we’ll need to present some form of tribute. The opposition numbers two hundred. Most likely, if we don’t comply peacefully, they will come to plunder. So, the outcome remains the same – we must hand over the wheat. Damn… I might really have to seek King Rosais’s help.

「Let’s drop this topic. Let’s assume King Ferme comes to annihilate everyone. I’m sorry, but I have to ask the new villagers to take their clothes off. If King Ferme takes these clothes with him, it would look like he killed the villagers. We should add some bones of the animals we ate yesterday. And the bones of the idiots that have attacked us these years are buried near Griffon-sama’s nest – those will add credibility. All this should help King Ferme save face.」

There’s actually no need for King Ferme to kill the escapees. He only needs proof of having “killed” them.

The problem is silencing the two hundred soldiers.

If all the soldiers are as talkative as the one I found in Iarl’s village, it might be impossible, tough.

「So, the problem is if King Ferme targets our village itself. In that case… for the time being, we’ll try to make do with tributes.」

「It depends on the amount. If we’re forced to give too much every year, even we will suffer.」

「For the moment, we should endure this for a year. During that time, we’ll gather weapons. We’ll use these weapons as leverage for further negotiations.」

If they still demand an excessive amount… Then, there’s no choice.

「The issue is how much we can provide. How much do we have in stock?」

「Quite a bit. Our agricultural technology is superior to theirs, so we can disguise the amount. We can give them up to fifty percent of our stock, we should be able to claim that it is seventy percent of our total.」

Tetra calculated the amount of stock we had left and spoke.

We have enough for ourselves, but we can’t ensure food for the refugees. Looks like we have no choice but to seek help from King Rosais… Truly annoying. That balding jerk.

「We might have to make up for the shortfall with honey, fur, and alcohol.」

Paper and pottery are off the table. They’re too valuable. They will likely ask how to make them. While honey is valuable, it can be naturally harvested from beehives, so that’s less of a concern.

This establishes our general course of action.

「Alright! Prepare the tribute. Also, let’s hide the rest of our wheat reserves. Just to be safe.」

It all depends on my negotiating skills now.

「Oh, that’s right. There was something important I had to say first.」

All eyes turned to me.

「After these negotiations are over, I’m getting married.」