Chapter 56 - 056_Return
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056_Return
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The northern nobles hurried back to their territories. In Dedel Territory, snow would soon start falling, but it was the same in the other territories.
As they headed north, the cold grew increasingly severe. Just before reaching Bassam in Zabalujeen Territory, snow began to flutter down.
“Feld, is the cold not a problem?”
“No problem at all.”
A strong wind was blowing, making the snow fall sideways, but Feld, the former chief who had led the Blue Wolf Tribe, paid it no heed.
Currently, the one leading the Blue Wolf Tribe was Rodney, and Feld had stepped down from the position of chief and yielded it to Rodney. Rodney did not want the position of chief, but apparently it was a decided matter. The Blue Wolf Tribe was stubborn in strange ways.
“Even if you're fine, what about the children?”
“They're riding on the adults' backs, so it's no problem.”
For the most part, the children were being carried piggyback on the backs of the female beastmen.
The lifespan of beastmen was the same as humans, but they grew quickly, reaching adulthood in about seven years. Even a child born this year would be an adult in seven years, so they could be quite expected as a labor force.
At Bassam, they met with Count Banyusas and received words of gratitude for their recent exploits.
“However, I didn't expect you to bring back three hundred beastmen.”
“They grew fond of me.”
“Ha ha ha. That is thanks to Rodney-dono's prowess. But be careful. There will surely be those looking to pick a quarrel. If anything happens, consult me.”
“I am sorry to trouble you, but I will rely on your kindness then.”
They stopped by the Hacklehoff mansion to show that they were safe.
“Rodney!”
“Yulin!”
Yulin had come to Bassam by ship. Rodney firmly caught Yulin, who leaped into his chest with momentum.
“You came back safely.”
“Of course. I can't die, for Yulin's sake either.”
“I am happy.”
A passionate kiss. He savored the feel of Yulin after so long.
“Ahem!”
The soldiers who had accompanied Rodney to the Hacklehoff mansion, including Hortus, were grinning lewdly.
“Rodney-sama, please do that sort of thing after you get inside the mansion.”
Since they had been kissing passionately at the mansion gate, passersby had stopped to watch.
The two turned bright red with embarrassment and hurried inside the mansion.
Hacklehoff was away in the royal capital, so they reported their return to his grandmother Aman, his aunt Terezia, and his cousin Shima.
No casualties among Rodney and those who had gone to battle. Furthermore, they had brought back three hundred beastmen. This had already been communicated through Yulin, so accommodations were arranged for the beastmen to stay in a vacant house owned by Hacklehoff.
“I never imagined you would bring back beastmen, Rodney.”
“They said they had nowhere to go, so I had no choice but to bring them back. I plan to use them for the development of Dedel Territory.”
“If you, as the lord, have decided, no one can complain. But I think problems will inevitably arise. You must take responsibility and settle them.”
Grandmother Aman was not discriminating against the beastmen, but she thought that if different species lived together, problems would arise due to differences in customs. She emphasized that settling such conflicts was the responsibility of Rodney, the lord.
“I understand, Grandmother. And I have a request.”
“What is it?”
With the addition of three hundred beastmen, Rodney thought of doing things that had been impossible before. Wanting to start clearing land and new industries, he asked Aman to arrange for what was needed.
“Understood. I will arrange it.”
“Thank you.”
The next day, they left the Hacklehoff mansion and hurried to Dedel Territory. The snow grew heavier, and the roads were dyed white. It was still passable, but if it piled up more, ordinary carriages would not be able to get through.
Thanks to Yulin's arrangements, they managed to secure homes for the Blue Wolf Tribe. Though, that said, they were only huts that could block rain, wind, and snow — pit houses at best.
“Once you've settled in, I'll have you work too.”
“We could go into the mountains or forest right now and hunt animals.”
“Rest today.”
When he returned to the mansion, his mother, Emilia, and the others who had stayed behind welcomed him. Emilia pestered him for stories from his trip. Since it was a request from his cute little sister, he couldn't be rude, and when he told her about the beastmen, Emilia showed interest and cheered that she would go see them tomorrow.
The next day, Rodney took Emilia to visit the Blue Wolf Tribe.
“I want to ask the beastmen to shovel snow from the port and the railroad, and to go into the Labyrinth to collect Life Light Stones.”
“What's a railroad?”
Since it would be faster to show them, they decided to go see the railroad.
“So this is the railroad. Mm, what is that!?”
Just then, a train loaded with cargo came running, and the beastmen's eyes went wide at the carriage that moved without horses.
“That's a train. The train runs on these rails, so I want you to shovel the snow off the tracks.”
He cautioned them to stay away from the tracks when a train was coming, and entrusted them with shoveling snow off the railroad.
Next, they headed to the port, and he indicated the range for shoveling snow from the port to the Abandoned House Labyrinth.
“The seventh floor of this Abandoned House Labyrinth is a snowy area, and a Servanui called a Snowman appears. I want you to defeat those Snowmen and collect Life Light Stones.”
“We are good at fighting. Leave it to us.”
He equipped the Blue Wolf Tribe warriors with Red True Steel armor and sent them into the Abandoned House Labyrinth.
Normally, in Dedel Territory, one did not enter the Labyrinth in winter. But in order to make the port usable, they secured the road to the Abandoned House Labyrinth while shoveling snow.
Since the Blue Wolf Tribe were people who needed nothing else as long as they had food and a place to sleep, he made sure to feed them heartily.
Fortunately, there was a considerable stock of Zarai (rye). There wasn't much meat, but they were buying cheap dried meat from the south and west through the Hacklehoff Trading Company.
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After seeing off the Dedel Territory army, Count Banyusas summoned his cousin Jegsus and his trusted aide Geldovas.
He had received reports of Rodney's exploits. He intended to hear the detailed account from these two.
The two narrated the abnormal strength of the Dedel Territory army as objectively as possible.
“All of the territorial soldiers use an emission-type Source Power I've never seen before.”
“Yes. Moreover, judging by its power, it appears to be the highest-ranked Source Power.”
At Geldovas's words, Count Banyusas groaned.
The numbers of the Dedel Territory army were not significant, but if every single one of them used the highest-ranked Source Power, he considered it equal to or greater than the Zabalujeen Territory army of Count Banyusas House.
“And now three hundred beastmen have been added. The combat strength of beastmen is extremely high; they will probably be equivalent to an army of a thousand.”
“Beastmen can be used not only for night raids but also for castle sieges. With that light-footedness, they could easily scale a wall of five lom (ten meters).”
Geldovas supplemented Baron Jegsus's words.
“In any case, let us continue building a good relationship with the Forvas House. Their house's military strength is not to be sneered at, but neither is their economic power.”
“As Geldovas says. I hear that not only Galim Syrup but also beer is selling quite well.”
Count Banyusas had heard that domestic sales were going well, and exports to the Sarjan Empire were also proceeding smoothly.
“They paid off that massive debt they owed to our house in just two or three years, in Rodney-sama's generation. Now that the debt is repaid, Dedel Territory will surely develop with overwhelming economic power.”
“With the port built, the potential for development is extremely high. Moreover, I hear that a carriage called a train that moves without horses runs within the territory.”
“When spring comes, let us go inspect that train.”
“Indeed. If it is useful, I would like to introduce it to this Zabalujeen Territory as well.”
In Rodney's generation, Dedel Territory had changed greatly. Industries had arisen, the economy had become active, and all territorial soldiers' equipment had become made of True Steel. Though it was the lowest grade, Red True Steel, there was no other noble who gave True Steel equipment to all their soldiers.
With the addition of the beastmen, their military might was now on par with that of Count Banyusas House.
Given their economic power, feeding three hundred beastmen would not be a problem. If three hundred were equivalent to a thousand soldiers, the maintenance cost was low. That was attractive for a lord.
“Geldovas. Should our house also organize a beastman unit?”
“It is said that beastmen follow the strong. If they were mercenaries, it might be different, but I think it would be difficult to make them our soldiers.”
“Rodney-dono dueled the chieftain, won, and made them submit, didn't he…”
Count Banyusas put his hand to his chin and pondered.
“I also saw that duel, but those were not human movements.”
Count Banyusas House had abundant human resources, but they could not find a warrior who could beat not only Rodney but even the chieftain who lost. Baron Jegsus said that it would be best not to antagonize the Forvas House, which had two such superhuman beings.
“To that extent?”
Baron Jegsus was not the strongest within Count Banyusas House, but he was still a fairly high-ranking warrior. If Baron Jegsus said so, Count Banyusas had no choice but to accept that it was true.
“I cannot judge a warrior's movements, but that was on another dimension. I thought we must not make enemies of the Forvas House.”
Geldovas also supported Baron Jegsus's words.