Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 82 - War Is Such a Pain

Chapter 82 – War Is Such a Pain

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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I was run ragged with preparations.

I was half in a reckless mood already.

Just when I had finally gotten the village’s defenses in order, to be told I now had to leave the village and go fight.

In that case, I would have to go in with a formation I could say was absolutely safe.

First of all, in order to protect the place we would return to, I left Espada behind as acting lord, along with the villagers who were most skilled with the ballistas. The Espada Knight Order would remain too.

“Are you sure it will be all right if I do not accompany you?”

“No one but you could serve as acting lord, could they, Espada?”

When I said that, Espada looked over the faces of those standing around us one by one, then nodded deeply.

“I understand. As expected of Lord Van.”

It seemed he had understood. As expected of Espada.

With the village settled, the real question was the members who would go with me.

“First, Dee and the others will come, taking the majority of my knight order.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Till and Kamushin, since it’s dangerous…”

“We’re going! Absolutely going, no matter what!”

“I’m going too!”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

I had been overpowered.

Well, I had expected they’d say that anyway.

“Arte is technically a guest, so perhaps she should wait behind in the village.”

“…I-I am coming too!”

“Huh?”

I ended up making a completely foolish sound. But for some reason, Arte was wearing an expression of extraordinary resolve.

“It’s dangerous…”

“I am prepared.”

For once, Arte spoke so firmly that she even interrupted me. At that, I let out a short breath and folded my arms.

“Then you’ll stay with me at all times, understood? If so, then I permit you to come.”

“Yes!”

At Arte’s happy reply, I let out a wry sigh. Warm, fond looks were coming from all around us, but I ignored them.

That said, in truth it was a great help that Arte would come. If we brought the puppet made specially for Arte, there was no doubt it would become a powerful shield.

I lined up the large wagons in the broad vacant lot inside the village walls and checked over the equipment and the knight order.

“…Something like this, I guess? I only just became a baron, so no one will say our strength is lacking, right?”

When I asked that, Dee folded his arms and inspected everything.

“If one knows what is inside it, then it is more than sufficient. No, considering your age alone, Lord Van, it should be fine regardless.”

I nodded vaguely at Dee’s thoughtful words, when Orto, who had been watching from a distance, opened his mouth.

“Want us to take on an escort request? Normally we don’t get involved in wars, but if it’s to guard Lord Van, we could take it.”

Receiving that splendid proposal, I threw up both hands and cheered.

“Ohh! That would be great! In that case, let’s call for all the adventurers and see if anyone wants to take the request!”

What an excellent idea. To think I could increase our numbers so easily.

“Incidentally, Mr. Kusara is drafted whether he likes it or not.”

“Again with that treatment!?”

At my one line, Kusara jumped.

I have no idea what there is to be surprised about.

“My knight order doesn’t have any specialized scouts, after all. We have hunters, but I think that’s still a little different from actual scouts.”

When I said that, Kusara pouted unhappily.

“Sure, that may be true. But if it’s a request, I’d still like you to at least ask whether I’ll take it.”

“Eh? But if you don’t take a request from me, Mr. Kusara, it’s the death penalty…”

“I’m gonna die!? In that case, of course I’ll take it!”

When I tossed out that joke, Kusara reacted in his usual exaggerated way. The fact that he looked half on the verge of tears was probably just his tendency to overact.

“All right then, Orto. Please ask all the adventurers. Tell anyone who accepts that they’ll get five gold coins in advance, and one large gold coin upon completion of the request.”

“…If you do that, every last one of them will come. Are you sure?”

“How many is everyone?”

When I asked that, Orto made a difficult face and grunted.

“Let’s see… if you count the guys who came last time too, then maybe three, four… probably around one hundred and fifty? Or maybe a bit more?”

“A hundred and fifty!? Why did they increase that much!?”

I was genuinely shocked. Weren’t there only around sixty originally? What happened in such a short time?

“Ah, that’s the Adventurers’ Guild’s publicity. By now it’s probably spread to the nearby towns, and there are even guys who came all the way from the royal capital. The guild wants to finish surveying the dungeon quickly, after all. The more people there are, the faster the mapping and monster assessment go.”

“Even so, that’s way too fast. Isn’t the rest facility in front of the dungeon already over capacity?”

“No, it’s normal to spend one or two days inside a dungeon, so if they take turns going in, it’s fine. Once they’re done, they head back to the village to sell the materials.”

I see.

“Well, whatever. Since it’s participation in a war, tell them it’ll be one large gold coin and five gold coins per adventurer. It’s a matter of risking their lives, so they should want at least that much, right?”

At that, Orto nodded with a laugh.

“Understood. Though adventurer work is life-risking from the start, so unless they’re truly top-class adventurers, most would gladly join for just five gold coins. Of course, more is still nicer.”

And just like that, I heard one of those casual little comments about how harsh adventurer life really is. Then again, the residents of Seat Village too have faced situations of life and death, so in this world everybody seems to have it hard.

“All right. To raise the survival rate, let’s send extra weapons and armor to Bell’s shop. The Seat Knight Order should be fine, but adventurers always just buy weapons and nothing else.”

The moment I said that, Orto’s eyes changed.

“Really!? They’re always low on stock! All right, I’ll hurry and tell everyone, and then I’ll be the first one to buy!”

“Your whole party has already bought almost everything they need, hasn’t it!?”

“All right, I’m off!”

Either he hadn’t heard my objection or had chosen to ignore it. Orto changed color and ran off.

Even though the Seat Knight Order was equipped mostly with Wood Block gear, Orto’s party was almost entirely clad in iron armor. Plurier wore more Wood Block gear because it was lighter, but she’d only recently purchased a mithril staff.

…Well, they’re valuable customers, so I suppose some preferential treatment is fine.

“I’m curious now, so I’ll go check on the Bell-Rango Company.”

When I said that, Dee answered loudly and headed off to check the knight order’s members and equipment.

Since I’d been busy lately and hadn’t seen Rango’s face, it was good timing.

Thinking that, I went over to the shop with Till and the others, and there I found Rango looking utterly exhausted.

The moment Rango spotted me, he came running over with a face like he was about to cry.

“L-Lord Vaaaan!”

“What’s wrong?”

Tilting my head as I looked up at him, I saw Rango spread both arms wide in an appeal about how awful things had been.

“What do you mean what’s wrong!? Orto and the others bring in magical beast materials every single day, there are adventurers complaining that there aren’t enough weapons and armor, now that the villagers have increased we’re short on food and seasonings too…! And on top of that, I’ve had to teach the slave workers customer service and the unit prices of goods, and sometimes they fight with one another, and then I have to mediate…!”

“O-Oh… yeah, that really does sound hard.”

Nodding along as I listened to the sort of complaints you’d hear from a newly appointed store manager at a small or medium business opening a new branch and hitting peak stress levels, I tried to comfort Rango.

This was exactly the suffering of middle management.

Hang in there, Rango. Managing your subordinates is an essential ability.

“Wait, what about those former traveling merchants, or the slaves with experience in other businesses? You know, the really beautiful one.”

“Ah, Medici? Because she’s here, we’re somehow managing, but she’s probably about as exhausted as I am. She’s handling half the slave training. To me, she’s an angel. An angel.”

Rango intertwined his fingers before his chest, gazing off into space as he muttered. What dramatic mood swings.

“…All right, maybe I’ll help with weapon and armor sales.”

The moment I said that, Rango burst into tears.

“A god!”
“I’m Lord Van.”
And so, with a wry smile, I answered the crying, grateful Rango.