Chapter 57 - 057_Rumored Man
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057_Rumored Man
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Do you know the rumors about the 'Monster of the Northernmost Territory'? The royal capital has been abuzz with these rumors lately.
The source of the rumors was a military supervisor who served with the Northern Noble Army. He went around the royal capital bragging about Rodney, who had crushed the beastmen boasting overwhelming combat power without breaking a sweat. That's how shocking it was.
Both the royal army and other noble armies had suffered terribly at the hands of the beastmen. Rodney slaughtered those beastmen, who were thought to be monsters, with ease.
The highlight was his duel with the beastman chieftain. That was not a human battle. It was a spectacle so incredible one might mistake it for the war god himself having descended.
There was someone who caught wind of these rumors. It was Hacklehoff, who had been stationed at a shop in the royal capital. Hacklehoff embellished the story and spread it. Not just in the royal capital, but throughout the entire kingdom—central, western, southern, and eastern regions. As for the north, there were many witnesses, so the rumors would spread on their own.
Unaware that such rumors were spreading, what Rodney had been waiting for arrived at Beck Port in the snow-covered Dedel Territory.
It was potatoes. In this world, they are called Bolshi tubers.
For some time, he had been searching for plants that could grow in Dedel Territory, the northernmost territory. This Bolshi was a plant brought from the continent where the Sarjan Empire is located. If he could cultivate this, the food situation in Dedel Territory would change.
There was another plant that was brought in. Soybeans. In this world, they are called Bambaro. Bambaro are highly nutritious and oil can be extracted from them.
To enrich the territory, start with food. Rodney ordered these crops, which did not exist in the Kuodo Kingdom, from other continents.
"Manas, you did well."
"This is all thanks to the beer."
Beer is a rare drink even on other continents and sells well. Many merchants want that beer. Using such a network of merchants, they obtain things that Rodney wants.
"With this, Dedel Territory will become wealthy."
"I'm glad."
The labor force of the Blue Wolf Tribe, known for their strength, also increased. When the snow melts, land reclamation will progress.
This Dedel Territory is about 60% forest, 30% mountains, and only about 10% plains. Although it is larger in area than other territories, it was poor because of the lack of flat land.
From the forests, they can collect sap from Galim trees. Rodney isn't very familiar with other territories, but this is probably the largest habitat for Galim trees. In other words, it has a certain advantage as a production area for Galim Syrup.
As for the mountains, there is nothing notable at present. The mountains have no tall trees, and in many places, only weeds grow thickly in the spring.
So Rodney is thinking about livestock farming. He has asked his grandmother, Aman, to purchase sheep when spring comes.
With sheep, you can get wool every year, and they also provide meat. He was thinking that once sheep farming got on track, he might want to raise cattle as well.
Now, currently Dedel Territory is cultivating Shishikamu (barley) and Zarai (rye), but continuous cropping disorders inevitably occur. Therefore, the current situation is that they are planted every other year.
Hence these two new crops. By incorporating crop rotation that includes Bolshi and Bambaro, they can suppress continuous cropping disorders. Moreover, since both can be staple foods, he believes the food harvest will increase.
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In the past, the people of Dedel Territory did not enter the labyrinth during winter. This was because the entrance was blocked by snow, and the roads leading to it were the same.
Lately, the territory soldiers who go into the forest to collect Galim sap have been entering the Abandoned House Labyrinth this winter. This is possible because the Blue Wolf Tribe clears the snow.
This raises the issue of collecting Galim sap. During seasons other than winter, the workers at the workshops collect it, but since many of them are elderly women, collecting it in the snow is harsh.
Rodney gathered farmers, carpenters, and others. He had them collect Galim sap, telling them they could earn some extra cash during the winter when they had almost nothing to do. They happily collected the Galim sap.
"Rodney-sama. We now have twenty holders of 'Ice Sphere'."
"I see. You did well."
Rodney beamed at Rodmel's report.
Initially, the plan was to have three per unit, twelve for four units, but they secured far more personnel than planned.
"The Blue Wolf Tribe's combat power doesn't drop even in the snow. Beastmen truly are a race with excellent physical abilities."
"Even the women are excellent warriors, the Blue Wolf Tribe."
"Currently, we are exploring the depths of the seventh floor. There, we discovered a new Selbanui. This is its Life Light Stone."
That Selbanui is bear-shaped, and apparently a giant with a body two loms (4 meters) in size. Since its whole body is covered in white fur, like a Snowman, it's hard to spot in the snow.
But the Blue Wolf Tribe was different. They accurately sense the presence of that Selbanui and seem to defeat it in coordination.
"I too must get fired up so as not to lose to Feld."
It was good that Rodmel was motivated, but Rodney thought that since Rodmel was already a combat maniac, he didn't need to get any more motivated.
"It's fine to be motivated, but Rodmel, please focus your efforts on training the next generation."
"Understood. I am strictly training my sons and the territory soldiers, so please rest assured."
Hearing 'strictly training' instead made him anxious.
With that anxiety in his heart, he looked into that bear-shaped Selbanui. It seemed to be a Selbanui called the White Bear.
According to books, it's a Selbanui found in labyrinths in snowy or cold regions, and it hasn't been confirmed in the kingdom. The root power obtained is the high-level 'Blizzard', so one should be able to obtain at least that same root power.
"Rodney. Endever-dono has come."
"Let him through."
Yulin let Endever in.
"What's the matter, Endever?"
"A person requesting to see Rodney-sama has come."
"Again? So, what kind of person?"
Because tales of Rodney's martial prowess were being rumored throughout the kingdom, all sorts of people had started coming, from those who wanted to fight Rodney to those who wanted to serve under him.
At first, he left those who wanted to fight to spar with the Blue Wolf Tribe warriors, but the Blue Wolf Tribe was bad at holding back and nearly killed them. After that, he decided to leave it to the knights and retainers.
He thought he might employ anyone the knights approved of, but such people had yet to appear.
Currently, Dedel Territory is cut off by snow on land routes, so they inevitably come by ship. Therefore, Endever, who is in charge of managing the port, acts as the contact.
"It seems to be an introduction from Sage-sama, but..."
His words were oddly unclear.
"If it's an introduction from Master, I can't not meet them."
"That's true, but... she's a woman."
Snap. For an instant, the temperature in the room felt as frigid as the outside air.
Yulin had a smile on her face, but that smile was very forced.
"Endever-dono. Is that person beautiful?"
"...No, I don't think so (mumble mumble)."
"Y-Yulin. Could you suppress your killing intent?"
"I'm not emitting any killing intent."
She laughed 'uhuhuhu', but her eyes were sharper than usual.
"Anyway... where is that person now?"
"I am keeping her at my house."
"Bring her here. No, I'll go meet her."
"There's no need for Rodney-sama to go out of your way. I'll bring her to the mansion."
"I've finished my paperwork, and it's good to go out for a change of pace."
"In that case, I'll come along too."
"You're coming too, Yulin?"
"Because I want to see Pastel after a long time too."
Pastel is Endever's daughter. At this time she was ten years old, and she was a girl very fond of Yulin.
Rodney headed to Endever's house. Of course, Yulin followed. Waiting at Endever's house was a girl of about fifteen. She was a beautiful girl with charming, round eyes and softly wavy red hair that caught the eye.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Rodney, the lord."
"I'm his wife, Yulin. Nice to meet you."
Yulin greeted her while clinging to Rodney's right arm. Rodney had never thought Yulin was this jealous.
"U-um... I... um... my name is P-Pinica."
Her voice was small and hard to hear.
"Yulin, don't glare so much. She's shrinking back."
"I'm not glaring at all."
Rodney found Yulin cute as she turned away with a 'hmph', and ended up patting her head.
"W-What are you doing?"
"You're cute, Yulin."
"C-c-c-cute!?"
Yulin turned bright red. That was also cute, so he ended up doting on her.
"Ahem. Rodney-sama, please proceed with the conversation."
Endever, with a cold look in his eyes, was staring at the two of them.
"S-Sorry. So, your name is Pinica? What business do you have with me?"
"Ah, yes... this."
He received a letter. The beeswax seal was Sage Daguldor's. There was no mistake about it being an introduction from Sage Daguldor.
He carefully opened the seal and read the letter. The letter stated that Pinica should be made to work under Rodney. Moreover, it was a short text with nothing else particularly written.
"Master has asked me to have you work under me. Is it correct that you came with that intention?"
"Y-Yes. P-Please take care of me."
She's timid in front of me, a noble, but I can't imagine that master would introduce this girl without any intention. What exactly is special about this girl?
"What can you do?"
"Um, I, um, possess a root power called 'Create Transmutation'."
'Create Transmutation'? Is it a root power similar to my 'Shape Processing'?
"You possess a root power at that age? Are you a young lady from a wealthy family?"
"Um... I was raised in an institution."
"An institution... like an orphanage?"
"Y-Yes. An institution that takes in orphans and raises them."
An orphan possessing a root power? Could it be...?
"I-I, um, I've possessed a root power since birth."
"P-Pioneer!?"
The surprised voices of Rodney, Yulin, and Endever aligned. A 'Pioneer' is a general term for someone born with a root power. Normally, people are not born with a root power. A Pioneer like her is a rare existence, with only a few in this kingdom.
Since Pioneers possess a root power from birth, it might be said they have an advantage over others.
For poor people who cannot obtain a root power, it's enviable, but for children of decent nobles or wealthy families, they can possess multiple root powers, so they are also beings who can overtake them quickly.
"A Pioneer is rare. This is the first time I've met one from this kingdom."
So, has he met a Pioneer from outside the kingdom? The answer is 'yes'.
That is the Blue Wolf Tribe. Among the Blue Wolf Tribe, there are those born with an innate root power unique to their race called 'Blue Wolf Form'. Since it's a racial characteristic, it might be slightly different in meaning from human Pioneers, but about 30% of the Blue Wolf Tribe are born with 'Blue Wolf Form'. The former chieftain Feld was one of them.
"So, what can this 'Create Transmutation' do?"
"Um... I can create matter."
The 'Create Transmutation' that Pinica possesses is a root power that can create matter. It can create common metals like iron without issue, but cannot create precious substances like gold, silver, or true steel. Since it also cannot create gems, it was not considered a very good root power.
It might seem like a half-baked root power, but this 'Create Transmutation' has a supplementary effect that allows it to shape the created matter into any form.
In other words, 'Create Transmutation' can create iron swords from nothing. Rodney thought that alone was quite a valuable root power, but the people at the institution apparently did not think so.
"I understand your root power well. By the way, where did you meet Master?"
Pinica said it was because Sage Daguldor's wife, Melissa, had been volunteering at the institution. Sage Daguldor, who had learned of Pinica through Melissa, had been quietly watching over her.
That Pinica had to leave the institution when she turned fifteen. Then she heard from Sage Daguldor that if she went to Rodney, he would give her work.
"Yulin. I'm going to hire her, that's fine, right?"
"Why are you asking me?"
He asked because the atmosphere was hostile, but Yulin acted as if she had intended to hire her from the start.
"Pinica will help me with my research. Alright?"
"Um, I-I will do my best."
Her timid demeanor didn't change throughout, but Pinica looked relieved that it was decided she would be hired.