Chapter 205 - Episode 198: Subordinates ①
The southern part of the continent rarely gets so cold that it would be called extreme cold, even in winter. In the Kingdom of Roadberg, the north is colder than the south, and there are many days when it snows in the dead of winter, but it is still said to have a milder climate than the northern side of the continent beyond the Lestio Mountains.
That said, few people wish to move about in winter. In particular, those traveling between towns and villages are rare. There are only a handful of merchants with tenacious business spirits, those transporting important supplies or correspondence, and nobles who, taking advantage of their free time, go out to socialize in heated carriages.
Even within the cities, foot traffic outdoors decreases. However, depending on the occupation, there are those who move just as they do in other seasons. Soldiers are one such occupation.
"That concludes today's training!"
""Yes, sir!""
At the training ground of the territorial army headquarters, the retainer Dant raised his voice, lining up the apprentice soldiers. After the soldiers responded with a salute, they collapsed on the spot. Despite it being winter, everyone was drenched in sweat.
Dant thought, while observing their condition, that they had finally reached a point where everyone could remain standing until the end of training.
These soldiers, who had enlisted between summer and autumn, were initially in a state where people were constantly vomiting the contents of their stomachs or collapsing on the verge of fainting during training. Considering that, it could be said that it was admirable that everyone had become, for the time being, able to keep up with the training.
By the end of winter, the word "apprentice" will likely be removed, and they will be counted as part of the fighting force. Due to his position, he did not say it aloud, but inwardly, he acknowledged the growth of the trainees.
"...You lot, make sure you wipe off your sweat. Any idiot who lets their body cool down and falls ill won't be able to protect the Arqvist territory!"
When he said this as a meager form of consideration, the soldiers, who had already let their guard down, looked at Dant with a momentary tension and nodded. Seeing that reaction, he gave a wry smile. Again, only inwardly.
Having become a professional soldier, then an officer, and then appointed as a retainer serving the lord's house, he felt he had gradually come to clothe himself in a soldierly aura. Especially after the Battle of Bezel, his colleagues in the territorial army told him that his "atmosphere had changed."
It was only natural. In that battle, he had taken command of the front lines, clashed head-on with the enemy, and lost subordinates. He himself had been wounded. The doctor, Selfers, told him, "If you order expensive magic potions and use them within a few months, the scar on your face can be erased cleanly," but as a matter of personal accountability, he decided to carry this scar for the rest of his life.
He was entirely different now from when he had been something like a close aide to the next village head, Edgar, in a pioneering village in the southwest of the kingdom. It was only natural that he was feared by the apprentice soldiers who, until a short while ago, were mere farmers.
Thinking such things, Dant left the training ground. After this, he had to summarize their proficiency in a report at the officer's office and handle other minor chores.
"Yo, Dant, you're doing a good job."
Dant, who was heading toward the headquarters building, turned around upon being called. He knew who it was the moment he heard the voice; standing there was Radley.
"...Radley-san, you've returned."
"Yeah. I arrived here just a moment ago. I've left the command of the territorial army at the front-line base to Rick."
Radley had spent much of his time at the front-line base after the Battle of Bezel, but since it was unlikely that the Kingdom of Lancel would reinvade for the time being—and the possibility of them attacking in winter was close to zero—he had recently been returning to the territorial capital, Noeina, frequently, alternating command with Rick.
"How are things over there?"
"Boring enough to make me want to puke. Since Noein-sama spread rumors and gave them a warning, there aren't any stationed soldiers doing anything flashy and bad, and there's no way the Kingdom of Lancel is attacking right now. The biggest commotion recently was exterminating a Hobgoblin that broke into the food collection point. That's the state of it."
"Hahaha, that sounds like it was actually quite a struggle in its own way."
Seeing Radley looking genuinely fed up, Dant gave a wry smile.
"Damn right. Because I'm so bored, I've ended up having them give me extra work, like fortress construction and forest patrols. If I say, 'This is our territory, so let us do the work,' the commanders of the stationed army probably find it hard to refuse."
While exchanging idle chatter, Dant and Radley walked toward the headquarters building.
"By the way, are you on reporting duty after this? Will it take long?"
"Once I summarize the report and finish the minor chores, I'm done for the day. It won't take much time."
"I see. I'm just doing my return report to the Chief Retainer today, so I'll be finished soon... Hey, why don't you bring your wife and kids over to my place for dinner tonight? Gina's been complaining lately that you haven't shown your face. Sasha wants to see her cousin too."
Radley's wife, Gina, was Dant's biological older sister, and Radley's daughter, Sasha, was a cousin to Dant's children. Therefore, they had a relationship involving their entire families.
"That sounds great. Then we'll come over as a family. We'll bring some food from our house as well."
"Then it's settled. I'll probably finish earlier, so I'll let your wife know."
"I'm counting on you. I'll have to make sure I can go home as early as possible too."
It was nearly time to call it evening. While exchanging peaceful conversation, Dant and Radley entered the officer's office at the headquarters.
.....
"Dmitri-san, thank you for your hard work."
The one who visited Dmitri, a dog-beastman who operated a construction guild in the Arqvist territory and demonstrated his skill as a master himself, was the retainer Kenooze, a rat-beastman. Behind him was Boreas, a lion-beastman who was the representative of the beastman farmers.
Dmitri, who had been supervising apprentices at the workshop on the first floor of the guild headquarters where wood processing and other tasks were handled, responded brightly upon seeing Kenooze and the others who had called out to him.
"Oh, it's the young master and Boreas-san. For you all to go out of your way to come to our guild headquarters, is it about the winter laborers?"
During the winter agricultural off-season, many farmers wish to earn daily wages through physical labor such as house construction as a side job. Connecting such farmers with construction guilds that want manpower is also the duty of the retainer who oversees the farmers.
"Yes, that's right. Regarding the applicants among the human farmers, I've summarized them instead of Edgar-san, and Boreas-san summarized the beastmen. There are considerably more farmer applicants than the number of people you said were necessary, Dmitri-san..."
"It's better to have too many than too few; we can just use a shift system. Let's discuss the details."
"Thank you. Also, you just casually called me 'young master,' didn't you? Give me a break..."
Although he was a retainer, Kenooze was still young and, being a rat-beastman, was small in stature, so among the beastmen of the Arqvist territory, he was sometimes called "young master" with a mix of affection and teasing. For Kenooze, it was a bit embarrassing.
"Hahaha, my bad. But from our perspective, you're about the age of our own children."
"I've known Kenooze since he was really just a brat, after all. It just slips out."
Following Dmitri's lead, even Boreas laughed and said so. Boreas, who had been a fellow village head with Kenooze's late father, Jinozze, was like an uncle to Kenooze. Now, due to his status as a retainer, Kenooze's position had become higher, but that didn't change the fact that Boreas was a good advisor.
While a harmonious atmosphere was being created, another guest arrived.
"Excuse me. Where is the Guild Master, Dmitri-dono..."
"Isn't that Zadrek-san? Hey, over here, over here!"
The one who arrived was Zadrek, a tiger-beastman and former slave of the lord Noein, who had now been liberated to become a commoner and further appointed as a retainer as the manager responsible for the lord's owned farmland. Dmitri called out to him and beckoned him over.
"What brings you today? A request for the expansion of the lord's house grain warehouse came in a little while ago; is it perhaps about that?"
"Yes. There are a few things I'd like to consult with you about regarding that matter. As requests from the site that actually uses the warehouse... I have received permission from Noein-sama."
Zadrek, whose ability and loyalty had been recognized to the point that he was now a retainer, had been given considerable authority regarding the lord's owned farmland.
"I see. Then, once the discussion with Kenooze and the others is finished, shall we talk about that?"
Regarding buildings contracted for construction by his own guild, Dmitri made it a point to listen to the customers' requests as much as possible.
The structures handled by Dmitri's guild were of higher quality even compared to the average in the Kingdom of Roadberg. This was partly due to Dmitri's circumstances—that he could not have become a master as a beastman unless his skill was exceptionally high—and also due to his pride as a craftsman, wanting the living and working spaces of the residents who had gained new lives in a new land to be as comfortable as possible.
"...Still, between recruiting laborers and expanding the lord's grain warehouse, it's rare that the talk of such big jobs is exclusively among beastmen."
"...True, everyone is a beastman."
"And on top of that, half of us are retainers."
"In other noble territories... especially in the southern part of the kingdom, it would be unthinkable."
Kenooze, Boreas, and Zadrek responded to Dmitri's mutter.
One of the retainers overseeing farmers, one of the representatives of the farmers, a retainer entrusted with the lord's farmland, and the head of one of the leading large guilds in the territory. The fact that all of them were beastmen was a sight unique to the Arqvist territory.
From this as well, the four of them felt they were truly fortunate to have been able to move to this territory.