Chapter 16 - Episode 16: Drawing the Line of Mercy
"—And that is why Matilda and I will return to the settlement tomorrow with the new residents. If no one returns today, Yuri and the others will worry, so I want Pence and Mai to head back first and explain the situation. They will need to prepare for the arrivals as well."
"I don't mind doing that, but... I couldn't ask earlier because the soldiers of Viscount Koenitz's territory were present, but is it really alright to suddenly welcome over twenty refugees?"
"If there are many among the refugees who don't work diligently or are rebellious, won't it become uncontrollable?"
"I don't think it will come to that, but..."
Noein could understand the concerns of Pence and Mai.
In short, they were afraid. They had finally been given farmland and obtained a new place of peace, and now dozens of unknown people were suddenly entering it.
From the impression he got today, the refugees all seemed docile, and Edgar, who acted as their leader, seemed like a serious man, but Pence and Mai had not met them directly. That was likely why they felt anxious.
"Well, I will take responsibility for dealing with that. Though they are many in number, they are merely weakened and emaciated refugees. In the unlikely event that there is someone who disturbs the peace of the territory to an uncontrollable degree, I will dispose of them properly."
He used the indirect expression "dispose of," but that was exactly what he meant.
"D-Dispose...?"
Pence and Mai, who had assumed he would simply say he'd exile them, wore slightly recoiling expressions.
"Because that's how it is, right? The only ones I love are my residents. If they threaten the peaceful lives of the residents, they aren't residents, but rather traitors threatening the territory. I do not possess mercy to give even to those who would become such traitors."
"Though I don't think it will come to that with those refugees," Noein said, forming a smile, but that expression was somehow cold.
"...I'm glad we've been working diligently."
"That's right. You two are diligent and ideal residents. That's why I like you."
He was kind only toward his own residents. Toward any other human, he dealt with them by prioritizing his own and his territory's interests above all else, and he showed no mercy to those who opposed him. That was the kind of noble Noein Arqvist was.
.....
After seeing off Pence and Mai as they returned to the settlement, Noein and Matilda took a room at an inn in Retovik.
Since they stayed at the same inn as when they had resided in Retovik for a while to prepare before starting the reclamation, the owner and employees welcomed Noein's long-awaited stay with joy.
Entering a double room and sitting on the bed, Noein let out a long sigh.
"I didn't think things would turn out like this when I left the settlement this morning. Suddenly meeting Viscount Koenitz, being surrounded by refugees... I'm truly exhausted."
"Thank you for your hard work, Noein-sama. Your manner of speaking with Viscount Koenitz and your words to the refugees were both splendid."
Matilda praised him while sitting on the other bed in front of Noein.
"Thank you, Matilda... When I said I would 'dispose' of the refugees if they disturbed the peace, were you surprised too, Matilda?"
"No. I believe it is only natural that residents who cannot understand Noein-sama's mercy receive punishment. Such people should vanish from this world."
"I see, that's good."
Without hesitation, Matilda affirmed Noein with slightly extreme phrasing.
He knew that she, of all people, would never object to his thoughts, but Noein still felt reassured when she gave him words of total affirmation.
"Do you think the refugees will work quietly as residents?"
"I think so. I can't imagine that Edgar was putting on an act with that face and voice. Besides, once they come to the settlement, they absolutely won't think of rebelling."
Noein grinned as he said this.
Matilda did not understand the reason why he could state so definitively that they "absolutely won't think of it," but she figured that if Noein said so, it must be true.
"By the way, Matilda, tonight Yuri and the others aren't here; it's the first time in a while that it's just the two of us for the night."
"Yes, Noein-sama."
"We don't have to worry about our voices."
"...Yes, Noein-sama."
Matilda, who usually kept her expression still, now wore a face like that of an innocent maiden.
"Come here, Matilda."
"Yes!"
They stayed in a double room, but in the end, they only used one bed.
.....
The morning after spending one night in Retovik, Noein and Matilda joined the refugees and departed for the settlement.
The refugees' luggage consisted only of blankets that looked like rags given as charity from the church, and tents that were similarly like rags.
It was fine now since it was summer, but he would have to arrange their living environment before winter arrived. Thinking this, Noein led the twenty-four refugees across the plains toward the Bezel Great Forest.
"It won't even take half a day on foot to reach the settlement. Though it's a place that can't even be called a village yet, with only tents and fields."
"No, just by accepting us, we feel a debt of gratitude that we cannot possibly repay. We will work desperately for the progress of the reclamation."
Edgar was polite as he had been yesterday, and he managed the other refugees well. Noein thought that there really seemed to be no worry about rebellion.
There was one scene where some of the refugees faltered when entering the Bezel Great Forest, and Edgar encouraged them, saying, "If we don't follow Noein-sama, there is no future for us," but other than that, there were no troubles, and they arrived at the settlement just after noon.
"Oh, so this is..." "What a huge expanse of flat land," "So we'll live here from today," the refugees muttered one after another as they saw the settlement.
Unlike Yuri, who had blurted out "There's nothing here" when he first arrived, their reactions were generally positive.
The reason lay in the flat land as far as the eye could see. The land Noein had cleared in three months after entering the forest had become quite extensive. In terms of area alone, it was as large as a small village.
A sufficiently wide expanse of flat land created by clearing a fertile forest. For them, who had been farmers, it was truly a dream new world.
"Noein-sama, are those the new residents?"
"That's right. Thanks for coming to meet us, Yuri."
Seeing Yuri approach, the new residents wore slightly frightened expressions.
Yuri, who was technically a wanted man as the head of a mercenary group that had cut down the regular army of a noble, had shaved his head and grown a beard to change his appearance.
He had become a different person from his previous self when his hair was long and he was clean-shaven, but this gave him a presence like a mountain bandit. It was no wonder everyone was afraid.
"Edgar, and everyone else, don't worry. Despite how he looks, he's a decent person. He won't suddenly eat you alive."
"Hey now, that's a bit harsh."
Seeing Yuri exchange such casual conversation with Noein, the new residents seemed to let down their guard toward him, at least for the time being.
"Well then, for now, shall we decide on the allocation of your land?"
"Our... land...?"
"Yes, your land."