Chapter 152
Chapter 152: Isn’t this situation a bit uncomfortable? (1)
Everyone stared at the wheat fields in silence for a while.
I had already confirmed the sprouting before heading to the capital.
But seeing the vast fields filled like this, I was struck by how impressive Ghislaine’s achievement truly was.
Moreover, it wasn’t even harvest season, yet the golden hue shone so brightly. This was an incredible growth speed compared to regular wheat.
Ghislaine meticulously checked the state of the wheat and nodded.
“We should be able to harvest soon.”
There were still some wheat ears that retained a slight green hue, indicating they weren’t fully ripe yet, but overall, they were at a level where harvesting right away wouldn’t be a problem.
Lowell responded with a smile.
“Yes, we should be starting the first harvest soon. We’re already prepared.”
“Good, make sure to share generously with the territory residents. They have a lot of work to do, so they need hearty meals.”
“With this amount, we’ll be able to give it all to the residents without concern. You don’t need to worry until next year. Plus, we can harvest again in a few months, so we’ll be fine for several years.”
Ghislaine chuckled at Lowell’s confidence.
“Forget about saving; just focus on making sure everyone is well-fed. We’ll need to multiply the cultivated fields by several times now.”
“Eh? Why?”
“There are some things like that. I’ll tell you once we get back to the castle.”
Ghislaine turned her head and spoke to Claude.
“Claude, call our retainers together. We need to explain the overall situation and discuss the shortcomings and what we’ll do moving forward.”
“Understood.”
Lowell had been assigned as deputy chief officer, but there were bound to be some deficiencies, simply because he didn’t hold the same authority as a Lord or the chief officer.
On the way back to the castle, Claude slightly asked Lowell,
“Hey, bro. Did you remember what you were supposed to take care of?”
While Ghislaine and Claude were in the capital, Lowell had taken charge of transactions with the merchant group.
Claude had insisted he should try to negotiate lower prices and pocket some gold while at it.
But Lowell awkwardly replied to Claude’s question.
“Oh, how could I do something so mischievous?”
“No, but you’re the bad guy! You exploited the territory mercilessly back then; why act all nice now? Did you suddenly want to live justly?”
“I’m not doing that kind of stuff anymore! I did it all at the command of the previous Lord; I had no choice!”
“Wow, I was the bad guy. I’m the bad guy! It’s not like I knew it was such a crime to just pocket a little pocket money after 20 years of unpaid labor!”
“…….”
Lowell just ignored him and didn’t answer. Arguing with this guy would only be a loss.
Then Claude sighed heavily and calmly said,
“Well… still, you’ve worked hard all this time, so we should at least give you a reward.”
Lowell, who had been holding back without responding, turned around at the word ‘reward.’
“What kind of reward?”
Claude flashed a mischievous smile and raised a fist.
“A critical hit.”
Puh!
“Ouch! Why’d you hit me?!”
Claude slapped Lowell on the shoulder, and Lowell jumped in surprise, adopting a defensive stance. It was the textbook perfect stance.
The problem was that in taking that stance, he accidentally struck Claude’s jaw with his arm.
“Ow! Did you hit me? This is insubordination!”
“Uh? I’m sorry. Can I not consider it a reward for myself too?”
“Does it look like that’s gonna happen! Come here. You’re dead.”
The two of them flailed their fists in the air in a huff.
Belinda, watching them like a pair of fluttering paper dolls in the wind, wore a look of disapproval.
“Seriously, both of you can’t fight, and this is what you’re doing?”
Hearing the bickering voices from behind, Ghislaine couldn’t help but smile.
She enjoyed this lively and comfortable atmosphere that could only be felt in the territory.
*
With all the retainers gathered, they reported on the progress of their respective tasks to the Lord who had returned after some time.
First up was Lowell, who had been serving as deputy chief officer.
“The wheat has fully grown, so food supply should be handled without any issues moving forward. The expected harvest is enormous, and we’ll be gradually cutting down on the grain we’re purchasing from the merchant group.”
As Lowell finished speaking, pride was evident on the faces of the retainers.
The territory had been so poor that even the few residents couldn’t be properly fed.
Now, it had secured a stable food supply to the envy of others.
Belinda, who had been listening quietly, tilted her head and asked,
“So, how much of a harvest are we really talking about here?”
“Just from this harvest, we’re estimating a yield comparable to several other territories in the North combined.”
“Come on, territories in the North are all poor, right? They have little cultivated land and are largely reliant on food imports, so how much good would that even do?”
Not just Penris, but other northern territories were doing poorly as well. Only Raybold was notably prosperous.
Northern territories primarily survived by utilizing the resources from their mountains, forests, and rivers rather than farming.
Upon Belinda’s remark, Lowell nodded in agreement. Then he further explained to add more context.
“If we expand our cultivated land just a bit more, we might rival the Great Territory of Raybold. Although our total harvest is still a bit lacking… The population support level based on the yield per unit area is likely the best in the kingdom.”
“Oh…”
At this statement, Belinda’s eyes widened in admiration.
The Raybold territory, overseen by Amelia’s father, boasted the largest plain in the North.
Thanks to the immense food produced there, Raybold had become a Great Territory.
But for Penris, with less than a tenth of the population, to have yields comparable to that of Raybold was astonishing!
Though it still lacked compared to Raybold, that was due to the smaller territory size being unavoidable.
Belinda finally felt relieved, relaxing her shoulders.
‘Oh, our young master has really accomplished something grand. I wonder how he knew to do all this?’
She had been anxious while watching Ghislaine throughout the time.
Even if everything he had done had succeeded, none of it had been normal.
But now that the food issue was resolved and they were steadily earning from the cosmetics, he wouldn’t pull any more strange moves. All her worries seemed to be over.
‘As long as Penris keeps developing at this pace, all will be well. If he inherits Perdium, our young master could become a Grand Lord, right? Ah, how pleased our late lady would be to see this! I’ve raised our young master well. Hohoho.’
Not just Belinda, but other retainers also began to relax bit by bit.
For now, they were still busy managing as the business had yet to stabilize, but in time, they felt they would be able to live without great worries.
However, the carefree retainers were soon caught off guard by Ghislaine’s next statement.
“What do you mean? Why reduce food imports? I told you to keep buying until I say it’s enough!”
Ghislaine looked at Lowell with a baffled expression, prompting him to reply in surprise.
“Eh? We have plenty right now! Combined with this support we’ve received, there’s no way it can be insufficient. After this harvest, rather, it’ll be far too much!”
“No, it’s not enough for me. So don’t stop, keep purchasing until I tell you to!”
“Ah, understood.”
Despite feeling flustered by the decisive order, Lowell nodded.
Although it was hard to understand why they had to crazily gather food, keeping it piled up wasn’t a bad idea either, so he was willing to let it slide for now.
If it seemed like it was piling up to the point of rotting, then they would intervene later.
The retainers exchanged glances, thinking similarly.
Ghislaine flatly continued.
“How is the construction of additional residences progressing?”
Lowell glanced at Alfoy and the wizards before responding.
“It’s slightly delayed, but it’s expected to be finished within a month. We’ve prioritized the maintenance of the roads and waterways connecting to the existing village.”
“No accidents?”
“No, the mercenaries are split into patrols, so maintaining public order has been problem-free.”
Since the number of territory residents wasn’t high, and everyone wasn’t keen on going back to their previous hardship, they were living cautiously, being mindful of their surroundings.
Anyone who could cause an incident was already managed by the neighboring residents. So even if they wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn’t be able to.
“Any other issues?”
“While we need to elevate the residents’ living standards, there are still many areas where we’re lacking. For the urgent matters, we’re negotiating to purchase daily necessities from the merchant group. We plan to gradually invite professional personnel for welfare facilities like hospitals and libraries as well.”
Just securing food and residences wasn’t the end of it. Now they needed items and facilities that could elevate the quality of life.
Smiling as if it was all under control, Lowell said,
“With the supplies His Lordship brought back this time, there shouldn’t be any major issues for a while. Surely, this is something that will take time to resolve.”
When the overall situation of the territory had been reported, the retainers began to eagerly report in detail about their respective tasks.
“The runestone was a bit expensive, but we had no issues maintaining the pastures. We’ll soon be able to breed the horses.”
“The workshop, grain warehouse, and bakery are nearly completed.”
“Just as you requested, we’ve built an office in each village for official duties.”
The retainers chirped excitedly.
A territory once considered hopeless was gradually coming back to life.
While they had only just reached a level comparable to other territories, the retainers were satisfied with that alone.
After all reports were concluded, Ghislaine nodded a few times as if this was only to be expected.
“Seems like we’ve at least established a minimum level of structure.”
To others, the changes up to this point would have seemed miraculous, but Ghislaine wasn’t satisfied at all.
Everyone was covering things up and talking grandly, but the reality was that all they had touched were a few towns around the castle.
Even basic infrastructure consisted merely of the bare essentials needed for human life.
They had only just managed to resemble a place where people could live.
‘Insufficient. Far too insufficient. At this rate, it won’t hold for long.’
Objectively speaking, Penris was still a small, poor, and cute territory.
If one were to point out any advantages, it would be how magic had been used to enhance the food supply?
While others seemed to find satisfaction comparing to their previous conditions, that was not how it should be.
From now on, everyone had to move in unison towards the objectives that Ghislaine would set.
“Everyone’s done well. Before we discuss future plans, I want to share the accomplishments I obtained in the capital.”
Just as everyone had confirmed that Ghislaine had returned with an incredible fortune, they looked at him with eyes full of anticipation for praise and reward after their hard work.
“…So, Marquis Branford has agreed to be our guardian. My father and I have also become members of the Crown Prince Faction, so keep that in mind.”
“Oooooh!”
The retainers couldn’t contain their admiration at the unexpectedly great news.
The Marquis Branford was such a powerful noble that his influence reached even this countryside.
If such a person took on the Lord’s guardianship, then there wouldn’t be anyone in the North who would dare to act against Penris.
For the retainers who had been growing increasingly worried about attacks from neighboring territories like Perdium as the territory developed, it was truly delightful news.
“…Additionally, the Marquis Branford’s Young Lady has invested 300,000 gold in the cosmetics business. The cosmetics are also gaining great popularity in the capital, and they will soon spread throughout the kingdom.”
“Oooooh!”
As if that wasn’t all, Ghislaine continued.
“Soon, a large-scale migration will occur to Penris. These are people supported by the Crown Prince Faction for our territory.”
“Oooooh!”
The retainers were overwhelmed by the series of splendid news.
As both a resource for population and military strength, the most important resource for the territory was indeed ‘people.’
However, while they were crucial, people weren’t a resource that could easily be increased in a short time.
‘To receive such resources on a large scale!’
One of the retainers, feeling an uneasy premonition, broke out in a sweat and asked Ghislaine.
“Um, um… Is it true that you’re saying 50,000 people? That doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?”
“Our territory can’t handle that many people right now.”
“They won’t all come at once, so it’s fine. They’ll come in units of thousands.”
“Still, we can’t manage that. We won’t have enough houses or food immediately for them.”
Nodding as if that were only natural, Ghislaine replied.
“That’s true. So now you should understand what we need to do moving forward, right?”
The retainers looked to Claude as if to urge him to intervene.
As all eyes focused on Claude, he cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped forward.
“Everyone must be quite startled by the sudden news. I completely understand that feeling. But this is already a done deal. There’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
Watching Claude speak as though it were someone else’s problem, the people shared a mutual thought.
‘Why is the deputy chief officer of the territory so relaxed about this?’
Whether people glared at him or not, Claude shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“Well, it’s no different from what we have now. The scale has just… significantly increased. We’ll build new houses, expand the cultivated land… and increase welfare facilities… What more is there to add, right?”
Claude looked to Ghislaine for agreement.
Ghislaine nodded and replied.
“Those are things that absolutely must be done. And there are other things that need to happen alongside that.”
“Eh? What more needs to be done? Isn’t that enough?”
“Yes, we need to prepare for war.”
At those words, the expressions of the people turned grotesque.
