39 – Terra Village
＜Chapter 39 – Terra Village＞
Thud.
Thud.
Sitting on the periodically shaking carriage, I read the documents.
“The number of mercenaries registered in Seriver is 1,300.”
“The size of the Innocent Mercenary Corps is 210.”
During the two months of constructing Terra Village,
Innon rapidly increased the size of the mercenary corps.
I heard that Kaiman and Aine actively helped.
From Noble mtl dot com
“It will definitely be overwhelming, right?”
15% of the mercenaries in Ireland are part of the Innocent Mercenary Corps.
With this much, there shouldn’t be any problem with the plan.
The carriage gradually slowed down,
And after a while, it came to a complete stop.
“Lord So Young, we have arrived at the Mercenary Guild.”
Mercenary Square.
There, over a hundred mercenaries had gathered.
I ascended the platform slowly.
The once bustling street fell silent,
and everyone’s gaze focused on me.
Kaiman, who was at the center of the platform, greeted and stepped aside.
And there, I stood.
From the platform, it was apparent that there were more mercenaries than I had initially thought.
They seemed to exceed a hundred by far.
Among them, those in uniform armor caught my eye.
‘The Innocent Mercenary Corps.’
In truth, even with Kaiman and Aine’s assistance, gathering 210 mercenaries was no easy task.
It was thanks to the indirect financial support I provided.
Thus, the Innocent Mercenary Corps had better weapons and armor than other mercenaries.
“Thank you for gathering despite the urgent notice.”
“Whoa!!”
“Whoa!!”
As soon as I spoke, the mercenaries collectively cheered.
Not just the Innocent Mercenary Corps, but all the mercenaries gathered here.
In essence, because the clients were the same, regardless of who they belonged to.
The supplementary funds they receive for subjugation came out of my pocket.
“Wow!!”
“Wow!!”
Amidst the cheers, I reorganized my thoughts for today.
The goal is clear.
It’s the ‘domination of the troll region.’
To achieve this, I hired ‘mercenaries.’
Created a mercenary district,
Provided subsidies through requests,
And once again, disbursed subsidies through a recommendation system.
However, the results were not as fruitful as expected.
To be precise, there was a shortage of top-tier mercenaries.
Despite the goal being the troll region and the clear need for them…
But this isn’t the only problem.
‘Mercenary control’ also needs attention.
Leaving it to Kaiman and Aine is a big problem.
So, I needed my own control method.
If mercenaries could farm, I could leverage the system’s abilities, but that’s impossible.
So, I continued to ponder.
In search of this method.
“Wow!”
“Wow…”
The cheers that filled the mercenary street gradually subsided.
The moment had come to speak again.
“I know the hard work of the mercenaries well. That’s why I’ve decided to give additional rewards.”
“Wow!!!”
“Woah!!!”
Even without mentioning what the additional benefits were,
once again, the mercenary crowd shouted for them to be revealed.
“The additional reward is the city of Tera.”
Instead of the name Tera Village, he referred to it as the city of Tera.
This was to make the same reward appear even greater.
This time, the mercenaries’ reaction was subdued.
They all seemed puzzled about what it meant.
“I’ve commissioned through the guild for the subjugation, and I’m paying a commission fee to the mercenaries who actually carried out the subjugation.”
All mercenaries are looking at me.
They are concentrating on what I’m saying.
In a moment, the situation became burdensome.
‘Standing in front of many people is not something I’m used to. If Alensia were here at a time like this…’
When our eyes met, I used to feel at ease with her…
“Hmm, the reason for making a request and paying the commission is for the safety of the territory. Thus, my request. I intend to grant the position of lord of Terra to the individual or mercenary group that has carried out my requests the most.”
Lord.
At first, there was hesitation about which word to choose.
Village chief? Village manager? Mayor?
Numerous words came to mind, but ‘lord’ was chosen.
It was because of the powerful force that the word carried.
Owner of the castle.
For someone living in the medieval era, the power that this word held was more intense than one could imagine.
“Wowww!!!”
“aaah!!!”
The mercenaries cheered at the mention of the word ‘lord.’
However, not everyone felt the same way.
As the cheers subsided, a mercenary raised his hand.
And shouted loudly.
“Does that mean we’re going under the nobles!?”
The basic governing principle of this world.
In other words, the foundational principle of the empire is ‘Emperor – Nobles – Knights – Commoners.’
The emperor grants territories to the nobles.
In return, the nobles pledge loyalty to the emperor.
Not just verbal loyalty, but also paying taxes and responding to military mobilization orders.
The relationship between nobles and knights is the same.
Nobles grant knights the right to collect taxes in certain areas.
In return, knights pledge allegiance to nobles.
They fight for the nobles with their lives.
When I mentioned the term “lord,” some mercenaries might have thought of such a system.
A situation where nobles (Elwin) grant provisions to knights (mercenaries).
“That’s not it.”
“Then what does it mean!?”
“It’s not about the ‘loyalty’ between nobles and knights. The lord and I have a ‘contractual’ relationship. What does that mean…?”
I explained the system I had been pondering about as simply as possible.
Points are awarded based on extermination requests.
Naturally, points are given differentially depending on whether it’s goblins, orcs, trolls, or ogres.
Individuals or mercenary groups with the highest points gain the right to contract.
Upon contracting and becoming the lord of Terra Village, one can receive 30% of the taxes collected there.
However, they are obliged to respond to mobilization orders for the defense and protection of the village.
“The basic construction of the city of Terra will be completed in two months. Your contributions have been recorded in the Mercenary Guild up to now. We will select the Terra lord contractor based on these records and the points earned in the next two months.”
Many mercenaries were disappointed.
They glanced at the Innocent Mercenary Corps and sighed.
The mercenary who first raised his hand raised it again and shouted loudly.
“You mentioned a contract! Then, is there a deadline!?”
“It’s a good question. Since it’s the first contract after two months, we’ll make it a one-year contract. After that, we plan to extend it to three years.”
The faces of some mercenaries brightened.
They must have thought that if they worked hard from now on, there would be a possibility of the next contract.
On the other hand, many mercenaries still shook their heads.
“The City Terra is just the beginning. We will continue to create cities in border areas and designate them as contract targets. So please do your best to subjugate the monsters.”
Not only City Terra, but also mentioning additional city plans, the mercenaries cheered again.
“Wow!!!”
“Wow!!!”
Leaving behind the cheers of the mercenaries, I descended the platform.
.
.
Seryver Mercenary Guild Branch Manager’s Office.
I, Kaiman, sat in the branch manager’s office chair with Aine.
Aine was the first to speak.
“You used a complicated method.”
It’s true that it was complicated.
But the reason I did it like this…
Before I could explain, Aine answered.
“Maybe it’s because we don’t have enough money.”
“Money?”
I kept my mouth shut and listened to the conversation between the two women.
“Even if Elwin becomes the owner of the main farm and earns a lot of money from selling grains, he won’t be able to subdue the monsters in the fields.”
“Hmm… So?”
“That’s why he initiated the competition. Isn’t that right?”
In the end, Aine looked at me and asked.
With a facial expression that sought praise.
“You’re right. You understood it well.”
Aine’s mouth twitched for a moment before returning to its original position.
If he had enough money, he could raise a mercenary group and subdue the monsters himself.
But he didn’t do that because he didn’t have enough money.
So he built a village and made the mercenaries compete.
In the process, the mercenaries would focus on subduing monsters.
“As the rewards are enticing, the top mercenaries of the continent will come here as well.”
“And it also becomes easier to control the mercenaries. That’s also true, right?”
“Correct.”
The fact that a mercenary group has subjugated the most monsters means that they are the strongest.
In other words, if the strongest mercenary group in Ireland makes a long-term contract with me? And that contract includes the mobilization order for defense.
“If second and third cities are built, the top-tier mercenary groups will stand by Elwin. Then, no mercenaries in Ireland will dare to oppose Elwin.”
Aine grasped the core of the plan.
Monster subjugation through competition and control of mercenaries through contracts with top-tier mercenary groups.
In order to catch these two rabbits, I had to use a somewhat complicated method.
“But has the tax issue been resolved?”
“I got permission from my father.”
“That’s good. Well then, it’s time for dad to make a move.”
“Huh? Are you talking about me?”
“Yes! We need to promote it. We need the mercenaries of the continent to know about this incident.”
I stood up from my chair.
Aina accurately understood my intentions.
She even understood what I wished for.
If that’s the case, I can entrust the work here to Aina.
“Please do as Aina said. I will go out then.”
**
**
Frontier Outpost.
Northwest region.
Commander Maksa was sitting alone in his command post.
[… Terra Village Construction… Mercenary Contract…]
“So this is how they’re moving.”
Since telling Elwin to occupy the Troll region, I’ve been periodically checking on it.
I was surprised when I first used mercenaries. But I understood it as well. Elwin’s options were limited.
“If this method allows for both troll suppression and mercenary control, can we really pull it off?”
Frontier Lord focused entirely on the letter.
To the extent that someone could enter the mansion unnoticed.
“My Lord.”
“… What’s the matter?”
“An ogre horde has been spotted. It’s 20 minutes away.”
“Understood. Move in 10 minutes. Prepare for it.”
“Yes! And… you seem to be laughing more often lately.”
“Me? Laughing?”
The knight stood at attention.
“No! I’ll get ready for the departure right away!”
Lord Frontier touched his face.
It felt like some muscles, strangely different from usual, were tightening.
“Did I laugh? After hearing Elwin’s news?”
Frontier wore his armor with familiar motions.
It was a routine he repeated every day without a hint of error.
However, something was different in his mind.
It was filled with thoughts other than battle.
“I wonder if my father ever laughed seeing me?”
His father had no interest in him.
No, it existed.
But it was busy fighting monsters every day.
Father passed away, and they became the lord.
And they acted like Father.
They had no time to care for their children.
They didn’t even have time to see their face once.
The people of the territory respect them.
They obey as the owner of the territory.
But,
“Am I really the owner?”
Everyone misunderstands.
The Frontier Lord is a machine.
A machine that dedicates its entire life to protecting the territory from monsters.
A machine that must give up personal happiness, hobbies, love, and everything in life.
Even without consciousness, the body moved without rest.
In no time, they put on armor and walked to the entrance of the barracks.
The Frontier Lord has no time to think about anything other than battles.
They have no time to look after their children.
Literally, they cannot speak.
Kwaack.
Ja-jak clenched his fist.
And one by one, he erased the thoughts in his head.
“It’s not that I can’t. It’s that I won’t.”
He had to concentrate all his mind on the battle.
To save even one more person.
To make the territory safer.
When he folded and unfolded his fist a couple of times,
The thoughts were erased.
He opened the tent and went outside.
Knights and soldiers were lined up.
Armor stained with monster blood from the ongoing battle.
Ja-jak’s mind was filled with the battle.
His head repeated the battle simulations.
How to save even one more person.
