Chapter 14 - Episode 14: The Deliberations of Two Lords
Arnold Koenitz, the head of the Viscount Koenitz family, was performing paperwork in the manor's office when a soldier of the territorial army brought a report.
"Your Excellency, excuse me for interrupting your work. A group of refugees is at the south gate pleading to be let into the city. Since the number is somewhat too large for us to admit on our own authority, I have come to report and request your instructions."
"How many are there?"
"Upon counting, there are twenty-four people."
"...That is a lot. Where are they from?"
"They state they come from a village near the border with the Kingdom of Lancel, south of here."
"I see."
What a nuisance, Arnold thought.
The territorial capital of the Viscount Koenitz territory, Retovik, is a city at the furthest northwestern edge of the kingdom. It is common for refugees who have lost their way to be passed from one territory to another and eventually drift here.
In the past, when the city was still developing, there was a time when it grew by actively accepting such refugees, but now that it is reasonably stable as a city, it cannot continue to accept refugees without thought.
An unregulated influx of refugees leads to a deterioration of public order. It would be problematic if they became vagrants and created a slum.
That said, if all the refugees are heartlessly turned away, that creates its own set of problems.
The refugees drift into the Viscount Koenitz territory after having nowhere else to go. If they are not accepted there, they might turn to banditry as a last resort.
If the roads within the territory were to overflow with bandits, that would be a major incident in its own right.
That is precisely why Arnold had struggled with the handling of refugees, continuing to make significant donations to the church and providing support such as soup kitchens.
"It seems the number of refugees has been increasing over the past year."
He checked the reports from the guardhouses at each gate every month, and regardless of the fact that Retovik was at the edge of the kingdom, the number of refugees drifting in had visibly increased recently.
"I hear that the conflict with the Kingdom of Lancel to the west is intensifying, and public order and the economy in the western part of this kingdom are deteriorating. I suspect it is the influence of that."
I know that without being told, Arnold cursed inwardly, while considering how to respond.
He could not easily create a precedent for accepting more than twenty refugees. It would likely sour the feelings of the residents, who would think, Are our taxes being used to feed refugees whose origins we don't even know?
However, he also wanted to avoid a situation where a bandit group of twenty people was born within the territory. Now, what to do.
"...I wonder if that person can be utilized."
"Huh?"
"No, I was talking to myself."
Arnold remembered the youth who had come to pay his respects about three months ago.
Baronet Noein Arqvist. A nobleman in name only, who had been granted a piece of the Bezel Great Forest, to the west of the Viscount Koenitz territory, as his land.
When a brat who had just reached adulthood came saying he would develop the Bezel Great Forest bringing only a beastman slave and a suspiciously dexterous golem, Arnold had scoffed inwardly.
However, when he looked into the reputation of the "Baronet of the Forest" afterward, it seemed he had managed to build something resembling a settlement inside the forest and was doing reasonably well.
Thinking back, although he was a clever-looking brat with a frivolous smile, he certainly didn't seem like an idiot. At least, not more so than his father.
Arnold, as the lord of the neighboring territory, had naturally heard the story that the area of the Bezel Great Forest bordering the Viscount Koenitz territory had been given to Earl Kivileft as an exclave.
Speaking of the current Earl Kivileft, he was a man known for the scandal of impregnating a servant and taking a concubine before welcoming a legal wife.
That scandal had spread roughly fifteen or sixteen years ago. And now, a youth had appeared, inheriting the forest and the baronetcy that were supposed to have been given to Earl Kivileft.
It was easy to guess that the youth called Noein was the child of Earl Kivileft's concubine.
"Tell them that I cannot permit the refugees to be accepted into Retovik, but I will allow them to stay temporarily around the gates. Tell them I will look for someone to take them in. Also, notify the church to arrange meals and blankets for them."
"Understood."
After the soldier exited, Arnold leaned back in his chair and pondered.
Baronet Arqvist should be seeking residents who are willing to migrate. And the Viscount Koenitz territory is troubled by refugees.
If handled well, by simply flowing the refugees to the west, he might be able to put the youth, who had become his new neighboring noble, in his debt.
.....
"I'd like to start preparing proper roads instead of beast paths soon,"
Noein murmured such words on the way to Retovik.
Even after gaining residents like Yuri and the others, Noein continued to lead the way to Retovik for shopping.
Behind this were the circumstances of having to operate the golem pulling the carriage, and the reason of wanting to make his face known to the residents of Retovik as much as possible to get along with them.
The members for this round trip were Noein and Matilda, as well as Pence and Mai.
"Come to think of it, why did you go out of your way to build the settlement inside the forest instead of clearing it from the edge?"
"Because the edge of the forest is the border with the Viscount Koenitz territory. If I shaved the forest from the edge, my own territory would decrease."
Eventually, he would likely discuss it with Viscount Koenitz and decide on a formal border, but at this point, it was "the Arqvist territory begins from the start of the Bezel Great Forest."
If he cut the forest from the edge, he would be narrowing his own territory himself. That was why Noein had built the settlement in a place that entered the forest to a certain extent.
"Is that way of deciding the border really okay? If Viscount Koenitz starts breaking down the forest..."
To Mai, who asked worriedly, Noein replied, "That'll be fine."
"There's absolutely no merit for Viscount Koenitz to spend an enormous amount of money clearing the Bezel Great Forest for the sake of a tiny territory like mine, which can't even be called a village."
Even if the Arqvist territory developed smoothly in the future and began to generate great wealth, if he were to invade using an inefficient method like "clearing the entire Bezel Great Forest from the edge," the obtained profit and the cost would absolutely not balance out.
Rather, it would be far more delicious for Viscount Koenitz to prosper by strengthening economic ties with the Arqvist territory.
Therefore, at least for the time being, there was no problem with the ambiguous border definition of "the Arqvist territory starts from the edge of the great forest." Although it was based on a somewhat delicate balance, the Arqvist territory was safe for now.
Noein explained these circumstances to everyone.
"As expected of Noein-sama. It is a clear and wonderful judgment."
"...Having to think through such tedious things in such detail, being a noble seems like hard work."
"Truly, it's much more relaxing to be a low-ranking mercenary or a subsistence farmer."
In contrast to Matilda, who affirmed Noein as usual, Pence and Mai looked fed up with the complicated talk.
"Any lord puts the profit of their own territory first. You have to think carefully so you don't leave an opening for someone to trip you up."
Rather, I have to go in with the intention that if there's an opening, I'll be the one tripping them up, Noein swallowed those words, wearing an ominous smile.