Chapter : 12

The pressing issue in my domain right now was the reclamation of the Great Forest.

The problem was that this was no easy task. We had to subjugate the monsters living in the Great Forest, fell the dense trees, and once that was done, reclaim the secured territory into farmland.

In short, it meant that an enormous amount of labor was needed.

But there was a surplus of labor in the domain, struggling to make a living?

‘This is actually a good thing.’

They were people who would work while shouting their thanks if only they were properly fed two meals a day. That was the life of the poor peasants of this era.

“In that sense, we should establish a new government office to handle this.”

“Excuse me? A government office, you say?”

“Meeeh~?”

Chamberlain Hamil and Bishop Marco asked back in surprise, but I paid them no mind and continued.

“Yes. Hmm… this name would be good. The Poorhouse. From now on, the name of this office will be the Poorhouse. The poor in the domain will be managed by the Poorhouse, and we will provide the poor with food, a place to stay, and jobs. The administrators should investigate the villages and ascertain the number of such people.”

At my words, the vassals, including Chamberlain Hamil, all looked at Treasurer Palmer. They were all thinking the same thing.

‘Can the finances handle it?’

Treasurer Palmer seemed to have the same thought.

“Uhm, My Lord. I understand your benevolent heart, but… it will require an enormous amount of money to support them all. We are just barely avoiding a deficit right now…”

“So it can’t be done? Heh… Our Treasurer Palmer is quite the cold-blooded person. Don’t you feel sorry for those poor people?”

“Th-that’s not it.”

Treasurer Palmer broke out in a cold sweat at my mischievous joke.

He looked extremely troubled. I laughed heartily and waved my hand.

“I’m just kidding. And I’m not just trying to give things away.”

“Then what do you intend to do…?”

“Isn’t the domain overflowing with work right now? To the point where it would be insufficient even if we mobilized the domain’s people for corvée labor.”

“Well, that’s right.”

Just like in the Joseon Dynasty, corvée labor existed for the domain’s people in [Pangea Universalise].

However, if they were mobilized for corvée labor all year round without a break, the next year’s farming would inevitably be ruined.

Therefore, corvée labor could mainly be mobilized only during the farming season.

“On this occasion, I will have the domain’s people focus on farming, and in return, I will collect a corvée labor exemption tax from them and use it as a resource for the Poorhouse. From now on, I intend to carry out all corvée labor within the domain only through the Poorhouse. What do you think?”

In short, it meant that all corvée labor needed in the domain would be done by the poor of the Poorhouse. Treasurer Palmer nodded his head as if he finally understood.

“Well, if that’s the case, there shouldn’t be a major problem, but… I’m worried that once this Great Forest reclamation is over, there will be no more work to do like before.”

“Ahem. My dear man. Why are you already worrying about a future that has not yet come?

Isn’t it important to start by rescuing those pitiful poor people first? Let’s start with that.”

At a glance, it was a very benevolent statement.

Though in reality, my insides were as black as could be.

‘This is a golden opportunity to extract cheap labor.’

In the future, a lot of labor would be needed not only for land reclamation but also for the establishment of various workshops and factories.

Especially in the sugar factory that extracted sugar from sugar beets.

Therefore, on this occasion, I had to register as many poor peasants as possible in the Poorhouse and use them for a long time wherever labor was needed in the future.

* * *

The establishment of the Poorhouse proceeded without any disagreement.

In fact, the justification was good, and it was a happy event where no one was harmed, so it would have been stranger for there to be any opposition.

Ah-. Perhaps Treasurer Palmer, whose work had increased, might have been vehemently opposed on the inside.

But what could he do? He had to do what he was told.

I could only offer my condolences to Treasurer Palmer, who would be running around busy again today.

‘By the way, there are more poor people than I thought.’

The number of poor people registered at the Poorhouse so far was 5,000.

Considering the domain's population of 160,000, this was an enormous figure, close to 5 percent.

At this point, I wondered if they had applied to be poor because they didn't want to farm, but in reality, this was due to the poor agricultural productivity of the Middle Ages.

If you planted one grain of wheat, you would be lucky to harvest just five grains.

On top of that, there was fallow land due to the three-field system, so the food supply was always chronically insufficient compared to the growing population.

‘There was a reason Treasurer Palmer was worried.’

The domain’s finances were still on a tightrope, and if things continued like this, a severe deficit might occur.

The domain’s administrators were already screaming from having to feed over 5,000 poor people.

Of course, regardless of that, I was making very good use of this enormous number of surplus workers.

First, they were heavily committed to changing the existing farmland to fit the new farming method.

As a domain with a population of 160,000, there were also countless villages. A considerable amount of labor was needed to dismantle the manors here and there and reorganize the farmland.

Of course, that wasn't all.

The remaining personnel were all mobilized as laborers for the Great Forest reclamation project. Even if the soldiers did the fighting, the domain's people had to do the reclamation.

I sent the poor people to the Great Forest along with the lumberjacks I had hired. It was necessary to fell the trees in advance to create an access road before the soldiers advanced.

And after all those long, long preparations were over.

I was finally able to lead the soldiers and advance towards the Great Forest.

* * *

-Puuuuuuuuu!

The sound of a trumpet echoed.

“March-! March on!”

The shouts of the knights erupted.

A large force of 1,500, a mix of domain soldiers and mercenaries, moved sequentially towards the Great Forest. They looked quite strong as they moved in an orderly fashion.

But there were some incongruous beings among them.

‘The Blackrock Mercenary Company, you say…’

I glanced at them at the rear of the column.

A dwarf mercenary company, all clad in chain mail and carrying halberds larger than their own bodies.

They all had short statures and stocky bodies. At a glance from behind, you might mistake them for fat children, but if you saw their menacing faces with bushy beards, you would immediately think, ah, a dwarf.

‘How fascinating.’

Especially in [Pangea Universalise], dwarfs were said to be stubborn and inflexible, and seeing them march without a single falter even while wearing such heavy equipment, it seemed that was indeed the case.

“Meeeh~. How is it, My Lord? Isn't it magnificent?”

Bishop Marco ran up next to me and said proudly.

That dwarf mercenary company was famous for being proud.

Therefore, they didn't accept just any commission, but Bishop Marco had managed to hire them this time.

“Yes. It is magnificent. Dwarfs, you say.”

“Meheheh. Please do not forget my contribution.”

Bishop Marco rubbed his hooves and laughed at my compliment. He was a peculiar goat beastman when it came to matters related to money.

“So you were all here!”

At that moment, a booming voice was heard from behind.

It was Konrad, the captain of the Blackrock Mercenary Company.

Konrad, with a lush beard covering half his face, approached me, riding a donkey as stocky as its master.

“Captain Konrad! How was your night last night?”

“Heh heh! I slept very comfortably thanks to the grace of our human lord.”

Captain Konrad stroked his beard and laughed loudly. I had specially provided a separate room in the inner castle as his lodging last night to win Konrad's favor.

“By the way, we are already at the entrance of the Great Forest. It's the infamous Great Forest, so my palms are already getting clammy with tension. Hahaha.”

Captain Konrad rubbed his hands and made a joke.

At some point, my army had entered the Great Forest.

Trees that soared as if to pierce the sky. The Great Forest, where not a single ray of light entered, was gloomy and dark like night even though it was daytime.

The space between the trees, swaying eerily in the wind, was filled only with the strange cries of monsters.

It felt like monsters could jump out and attack at any moment.

-Kweeeeeeeeeek!

Sure enough. Right from the start, monsters charged straight towards my army.

“It's a boar monster-! Raise your spears!”

Chamberlain Hamil drew his sword and shouted.

The ambushed soldiers brought the chaos under control and plunged their spears into the boar monster.

The wounded boar monster thrashed about violently, but with Chamberlain Hamil's skilled command, they were able to deal with it without much damage.

But this was just the beginning.

My army had to endure constant attacks from monsters.

From single individuals to groups of dozens living in packs. A wide variety of monsters poured out.

In particular, when attacked by a pack of dozens of wolf monsters, a situation occurred where the battle line momentarily collapsed.

Of course, each time, thanks to Chamberlain Hamil's skilled command and the outstanding combat power of the Blackrock Mercenary Company, we were able to block them without much damage.

And after advancing like that for half a day.

We were now on the verge of the Seine River area, the inflection point of the Great Forest.

“Hahaha. This is going very smoothly, My Lord. I was worried because it was so infamous. It seems it was a needless worry!”

Captain Konrad laughed heartily at the temporary camp set up for a rest. He joked as if the monster subjugation would be over at any moment.

And for good reason, as the damage sustained while advancing this far was so minor as to be virtually nonexistent.

Thanks to that, Treasurer Palmer was leading the reclamation team and clearing the forest behind us.

“I know, right. It would be great if it ended like this…”

However, I sighed at Captain Konrad’s words.

There was a reason why most of the territories in [Pangea Universalise] remained as forests and woods, undeveloped. It was because this world was still overflowing with monsters and beasts.

In a forest where darkness had fallen, there were twisted beings called monsters.

In particular, the monsters that ruled this Seine River area of the Great Forest were, as I knew, not to be taken lightly.

“We must be on guard from now on, Captain Konrad.”

Chamberlain Hamil, who had been listening to my conversation with Captain Konrad in silence, suddenly spoke up.

“On guard? Ahem. Don't you trust our Blackrock Mercenary Company?”

Captain Konrad snorted as if his pride was hurt. But Chamberlain Hamil shook his head.

“That’s not it. I’m saying this because the notoriety of this Great Forest is not due to the monsters we have seen so far.”

“What does that mean…”

Captain Konrad frowned at Chamberlain Hamil's words.

A monster is just a monster, isn't it?

However, Captain Konrad could not help but be flustered by my following words.

“They are the dwarf-like monsters, the Kruk. The monsters we must face.”

“?!”

The Kruk were infamous for their characteristic belligerence. In particular, they lived in groups and had a sort of system, making them tricky to deal with. Like orcs in a fantasy novel?

“Is that true, human Chamberlain? Are there Kruk here?”

Captain Konrad asked again in an agitated voice.

But the answer had to be heard from somewhere else.

-Kwwarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-!

The atmosphere trembled with a bloodthirsty roar.

The trees in the distance shook, and birds scattered in all directions.

In an instant, the air in the Great Forest became heavy.

“As you can see, it's true, Captain Konrad.”

Chamberlain Hamil gripped the hilt of his sword with a tense expression.

“Everyone, form a dense formation-!”

At the chilling command, the soldiers hastily stood up from their seats. They came in front of me, raised their shields, and huddled together.

“Well, well… this won't be profitable. Dwarf-like monsters, the Kruk, you say.”

Captain Konrad, who was watching the scene, let out a hollow laugh and drew his sword. It seemed he too was about to hastily command the Blackrock Mercenary Company.

“Captain Konrad! I heard that the halberds of the Blackrock Mercenary Company are fiercer than anyone else's. Is that correct?”

At that moment, Chamberlain Hamil, who was commanding the soldiers, shouted and asked.

“Of course! Our halberd unit is stronger than anyone else's. Why do you ask?”

“We will take the center. We will stop their charge, so in the meantime, please break off to the flanks and bring down the iron mace on them.”

Captain Konrad laughed loudly at Hamil's words.

“Uhahahat-! The hammer and anvil tactic in this backwater. Of course, I'll do it! Adjutant! You heard that, right? Let’s have a go at the Kruk.”

“Yes, Captain.”

As soon as Captain Konrad's words ended, the adjutant bowed his head. He immediately moved to divide the Blackrock Mercenary Company into left and right flanks.

“My Lord. They will be coming now. Do you remember? Abandon hesitation. It may become dangerous from now on. The only thing you can trust is your sword, My Lord.”

Chamberlain Hamil was more serious than ever.

-Gulp.

Thanks to that, I unknowingly swallowed my saliva.

“Do not worry, Hamil.”

I said, trying to hide my trembling voice. The pressure of battle was beyond imagination.

-Thump, thump!

The ground trembled.

Through the trees of the Great Forest, the dwarf-like monster, the Kruk, could be seen.

A little shorter than a human, holding a crude stone axe and a wooden spear. It was just as the text from [Pangea Universalise] described.

However, there was one thing wrong with the game's description.

Namely, the lumpy muscles covering the entire body of the dwarf-like monster.

Weren't those something that couldn't be dismissed by simply saying they were stronger than an adult man?

-Krrrararararararara-!

And before my assessment was even complete.

The angry charge of the dwarf-like monster, whose territory had been invaded, began.