Chapter 229 - Episode 222: Food Production Increase Plan
Mid-April. The scenery of the Arqvist territory had completely changed.
First, the area around the capital, Noeina. Until last year, farmland had been developed systematically, but this year, forced expansion of cultivated land was being carried out with the sole purpose of increasing potato production.
Potatoes, known in foreign lands by the nickname "the crop that saves nations," can grow even in wasteland. In fertile lands that had been forests until recently, they grew without issue even if the clearing process was somewhat sloppy. From the land roughly cleared by the golems controlled by the Claymore mages, stems were now extending and leaves were growing thick.
The primary labor for cultivation consisted of tenant farmers who had migrated here over the last few years.
These tenant farmers, who had not been working long enough to own their own land, labored diligently in the fields, savoring their luck in being able to live in the Arqvist territory while feeling grateful that they could survive without starving even in a year of rare and catastrophic crop failure.
"Hm?"
At the edge of the potato fields spreading around the capital, Noeina. A certain tenant farmer working in a field created near the forest, far from the capital's gates, heard a rustling sound from within the woods and looked back.
The sound gradually drew closer—and from within the thicket, a single kobold leaped out.
Kobolds are on the weaker side among monsters, but they are still stronger than goblins. It is slightly dangerous for even an adult to face one alone.
"...Th... th..."
The tenant farmer's eyes widened in surprise. Seeing this, the kobold thought it had found good prey. It planned to bite this creature to death and carry the corpse back to its nest to eat slowly.
"...Po... pocket money!!"
The male tenant farmer suddenly shouted. His eyes gleamed as he readied the iron hoe he held in his hand.
Seeing the man who wasn't frightened at all, the kobold became slightly confused. Furthermore, seeing about three other tenant farmers nearby running over after hearing the man's voice, it became even more bewildered. Even a kobold with the intelligence of a toddler could tell that the current situation was abnormal.
Rather than attacking prey, the kobold bared its fangs and leaped at the man to protect itself.
"Drop dead, you bastard!"
However, it was struck down by the man with the iron hoe and tumbled over. At that moment, the other tenant farmers who had run over joined in.
"Hey! Is it true about the pocket money!?"
"Ohh! It's a kobold, isn't it!"
"Surround it, surround it! Kill it, kill it!"
The four tenant farmers surrounding the kobold began to swing down their respective farming tools.
Currently, in the Arqvist territory, in order to secure food to compensate for the potatoes used as seed potatoes, a decree had been issued stating that "if one hunts beasts or monsters to obtain meat, Lord Viscount Noein Arqvist will purchase it for an appropriate amount." Therefore, many residents headed to the nearby forests on their days off to search for prey.
In such a situation, a kobold had appeared before their eyes. To the tenant farmers, it felt as if pocket money had simply walked up to them. Although the kobold looked like a bipedal dog, its meat tasted sufficiently edible.
What the tenant farmers held were the iron farming tools they were proud of, purchased after migrating to the Arqvist territory where iron products were relatively cheap. They swung them with all their might, beating the kobold senseless.
Far from counterattacking, the kobold could not even manage to stand up, and it died in less than a minute.
"Alright, it's dead! Pocket money secured!"
"Hey, since I'm the one who found it, my share should be the biggest, right?"
"Idiot, I'm probably the one who landed the final blow! I'm the one who did the hard work!"
"No, didn't the Lord's decree say 'if killed by multiple people, the reward is equal'?"
"That's true, but still, couldn't you guys show a little respect for me, the discoverer?"
The tenant farmers began to argue back and forth, getting heated while surrounding the kobold, which had become a silent lump of meat.
"Hey, you lot hunted a monster, didn't you? If you're offering it to Lord Arqvist, why don't you take it there quickly! And get back to your farm work! You have no time to be playing around!"
"Hieee! Kenooze-sama!"
"S-sorry!"
The one who lectured them was the attendant in charge of agriculture, Kenooze. The scolded tenant farmers bowed their heads repeatedly while carrying the kobold's corpse toward the capital's gates.
At the beginning of their migration, the tenant farmers had been dissatisfied with being spoken down to by a beastman youth, but in this territory, even the Lord heavily employed beastman slaves and kept them by his side. To protect their peaceful life here, they had soon accepted the current state of affairs, and now they behaved with a full understanding of the difference in status between themselves and the attendant.
.....
The areas being used as temporary cultivated land were not limited to the surroundings of the capital, Noeina.
Even the area around the Aspida fortress, which guarded the border with the Kingdom of Lancel, had now transformed into potato fields. The soldiers stationed at the fortress, while also handling the defense of the border, utilized their frequent standby time to diligently work on clearing the land.
And when patrolling the vicinity of the Bezel Great Forest Road, they also hunted monsters to secure meat as a side task.
"It went that way! Be careful!"
"It's okay! Leave it to me!"
Radley's voice echoed through the forest, and Alain responded.
A patrol unit consisting of two golem users and a squad of ten soldiers. Two such units combined were chasing a monster—a massive, horned boar called a Great Boar. Perhaps due to the influence of the cold wave causing a food shortage in the forest, they were attempting to hunt an individual that had emerged near the Great Forest Road.
The location was further west than the Aspida fortress. Just as the Great Boar, driven by the unit led by Radley, tried to escape into the forest on the opposite side of the Great Forest Road, Alain's unit blocked its path. The golem at the front, controlled by Alain, charged headlong with a momentum that would not be outdone by the Great Boar.
The Great Boar flinched as it took the golem's tackle to the snout. At that moment, the soldiers fired arrows with their crossbows. Because of the thick fur, they couldn't deal significant damage, but the Great Boar seemed to feel the pain and showed signs of dislike.
The other golem user paired with Alain moved a golem to the west of the Great Boar. Radley's unit, which had driven the Great Boar earlier, also joined in, and the two units surrounded the prey in a semicircle to drive it eastward—that is, toward the Aspida fortress.
Surrounded by mysterious wooden dolls and a large number of humans, the Great Boar began to run along the Bezel Great Forest Road to escape. It was exactly as planned.
"Alright, it's going! Jeremy, give the signal!"
"Yes!"
Following Radley's instruction, Jeremy, who had settled into the adjutant position, fired a signal arrow into the sky, and a high-pitched sound echoed. It was the signal to inform the soldiers at the fortress that the prey was heading toward the Aspida fortress.
"Don't let it get away! Chase it without breaking formation!"
"It's seriously huge! If we take this down, it'll be a great achievement!"
Under Radley's direction, they steadily drove the Great Boar, which was larger than a golem's height by shoulder alone. Alain's excited voice echoed.
Soon, the Aspida fortress came into view.
"Alright, that's enough! Retreat!"
Radley shouted, and the patrol units hid in the forests to the left and right.
The excited Great Boar could no longer be stopped. It continued to run straight along the Great Forest Road toward the Aspida fortress.
Waiting for it directly in front was Rick. Using a ballista installed roughly above the west gate, he aimed at the Great Boar.
He aimed for the dead center of the head. If he hit the torso and ruptured the stomach or intestines, the meat would be contaminated and ruined. Therefore, he aimed for a one-hit kill.
In case Rick missed his mark, several other snipers were also aiming at the Great Boar with ballistas.
"...!"
Taking a short breath and holding it, Rick pulled the trigger.
As a result, there was no need for the other snipers to act. The thick arrow fired by Rick hit the Great Boar's glabella without fail. It pierced straight through to the brain, and the Great Boar collapsed forward. It was instant death.
"...Alright."
While the surrounding soldiers cheered, Rick merely muttered that and quietly rejoiced in his achievement.
Meanwhile, Radley, Alain, and the others who had driven the Great Boar also rejoiced, surrounding the Great Boar, which had become a giant lump of meat.
"Whoo-hoo! Amazing! I wonder how many servings this is!"
"...It really is large. I saw Great Boars many times when the Lancel Kingdom army was developing the Bezel Great Forest Road, but this is the first time I've seen an individual of this size."
"This one must be among the largest of the Great Boars... Since its body is so big, it probably ran out of food and wandered until it came out this far."
Beside the frolicking Alain, Radley talked with Jeremy about the slain prey.
Because the potato reserves had been allocated as seed potatoes for the spring planting, the Arqvist territory currently could not have too much food. Slaying a Great Boar that could likely fill the bellies of hundreds of people was a great achievement.
"Alright, well done, you lot! Now, let's transport and butcher this boar bastard!"
""Ohh!!" ""
The soldiers and golem users responded to Radley's voice.
The gates of the Aspida fortress were opened, and sleds for dragging monsters were brought out. Furthermore, other Claymores stationed at the fortress also came out with their golems. Since the Great Boar was considerably large, they intended to help with the transport.
Monsters hunted by the territorial army were taken in by the Lord, Noein, and then wholesaled at a low price to the Merchant Guild to be provided to the residents.
This Great Boar, too, would likely become meat on a storefront in a few days, be cooked and served at a restaurant or inn, or be turned into preserved food through salting or smoking.