Chapter 27: Yal
TL: Pengu
ED: Darknari
“Haaa……” (Almis)
It’s truly troublesome.
Currently, there is a little spark in the village.
In brief, the issue originates from the conflict with the refugees.
Although, relations have not worsened completely. It can be said that a rather good relation has been built.
The refugee’s children and the children in our village are often playing together.
It does not matter to children whether they are from the supported or the supporting side.
Besides, the source of the complex relationships is because there are children with former siblings. Though, the children’s relations are good.
By the way, for us adults, one part is good, the other part is in disorder.
Our village’s group proved to be high in physical ability due to the influence of my divine protection.
Moreover, the refugees are afraid when they see the usual sword training.
They seem to be aware that I have been developing that place and they probably want to build a satisfactory relationship.
Of course I want to build it too.
Therefore, a feast was regularly held. It’s drinking.
After all, liquor seems to be an excellent tool for communication, as such we can talk to some degree.
Moreover, I have us do some military training together.
It is in order to fight together when King Ferme comes to attack us.
The refugees understand that it won’t end nicely if they surrender to King Ferme. Their position is running away from King Ferme’s place anyways.
All the slaves agreed that it is common sense for them to be massacred.
Therefore, they work very hard in training. It’s natural because their life depends on it.
The mood will improve as well if they are seen training this hard. The feeling of comradery will also sprout.
Ron with the spear, Roswald with the sword, and Gram with the bow; each instill their own specialty into the refugees.
Although, the spear is likely to be the main weapon because the sword and bow are difficult to handle.
After all, it seems to be good that there is a common enemy.
His majesty King Ferme…… No, because of King Ferme we ended up living together.
Well, the next part of unrest is……in short, the source of the fire.
For one thing, I don’t want to hear children saying such things as, “Hey, you’re not a person of our group.”
However, everyone became silent when I instantly killed the bear that invaded the village with a javelin.
It seems the people don’t know how to react, even though I thought with this ability the people will like it. In addition, Ron, Roswald, and Gram show off their abilities as well, and each person who witnessed it had become quiet and obedient.
This doesn’t become too much of a problem because Yal persuaded them in various ways.
Well, it is just the minority.
Secondly, this is the number one problem.
There is a faction that wants to reconcile with the abandoned children.
There are three such relations besides Lulu.
They seem to want to reconcile with the children by all means and are rejected by the children regularly.
By the way, Lulu threw a damper on the feast when she dumped liquor over her parents. Thanks to that, nobody was able to talk for an hour.
As there was no help for it, I banned the four former families with such relations from approaching.
But they seem to want to reconcile no matter what……
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“I should have ordered them not to approach you, right? Then what is this?” (Almis)
I look down at the man and woman prostrating in front of me.
They are Lulu’s parents.
The two people wanted to reconcile with Lulu at any cost, so they slipped out from the refugee resettlement ward to secretly meet her.
However, even if you meet, it is impossible to reconcile.
The two people got stones thrown at them by an angry Lulu, and a hawk set on them, but they still tried to approach Lulu causing her to start crying.
Gram walloped the two people hard to knock them out and carried them before me. That is how we came to this incident.
Lulu who was crying because the old wound re-opened is being attended by Soyon and Tetra.
I am human.
Therefore, I inevitably give priority to some people over others.
Tetra and Julia are foremost. After that, are those closest to my age who serve as my assistants, Ron, Lulu and the others. Then, it’s the rest of the children. Incidentally, Roswald’s bride is Lia. Up to here is the line of important people.
As I often talk with Yal who has been gathering up the refugees properly, we are on good terms to some degree. He is likely to be promoted as an important person in a little while.
And then, the slaves who work skillfully. They often exhaust themselves for me. You could say that they are semi-important people.
Next, it is King Rosaith who I am acquainted with to some degree……Well, my impression of him is falling recently because of the set up. And then, the Karishian merchant Einzo-san. Because he lowered the price when I purchased the weapons, my impression of him is rising a little.
And finally, it is the refugees.
Because the refugees with the lowest priority made Lulu with the highest cry, my mind is not calm.
To be frank, I want to hit them.
Well, it’s fine because Gram hit them.
“Don’t you have any excuses?” (Almis)
When the two hear me the second time, they say that they will stick together.
“It is a request! Will you please meditate for us?” (Parents of Lulu)
Haa………
They don’t seem to be reflecting. What should I do?
Because they ignored my order first of all, I must give a reasonable punishment. Since I need to think of the future.
However, our village doesn’t have laws.
Well, because only children lived here so far.
But tension will run among the refugees if I directly give the punishment.
What to do about that……
“You people pried open Lulu’s old wound. She doesn’t even want to see your faces. Lulu gets wounded just by seeing your faces. Do you understand?” (Almis)
“But we……” (Parents of Lulu)
“The reason doesn’t matter!! You abandoned Lulu. This does not change. Thus Lulu dislikes you people. This does not change, too. Give up!!” (Almis)
I unconsciously shouted.
Yal enters the room while I was shouting.
Yal approaches calmly, seizes the two people’s collars and hits them hard. (check)
“Oi!! Why did you disobey Almis-sama’s order!! Do you know what you did?” (Yal)
“But Ya………” (Parents of Lulu)
Yal’s fist hits their faces once more.
And then, Yal knelt on the ground, while pressing down on the two’s heads.
“We are terribly sorry. I will pass the punishment. Somehow……will you please forgive these two?” (Yal)
“……Then I will drive them out if the same thing happens again. Am I clear?” (Almis)
I said so and leave the room.
Yal’s value rose within me.
Advancing him as an important person was decided.
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“Oi, Yal. In fact, there was something I wanted to ask.” (Almis)
“What is it?” (Yal)
Tetra and Yal are walking with me.
“Were you the village headman when the territory was under the reign of Ragou-san?” (Almis)
“No, my father was the village headman at the time.” (Yal)
“Is that so? Well, it is ok in either case. Do you know if the people still swear loyalty to Ragou-san?” (Almis)
“The influential people were all executed……As such, the people with the position of warriors are all that remain.” (Yal)
“Please come in contact with those people. And will you ask them to act in concert if the time comes?” (Almis)
“Yes, well, I will just say this, but…isn’t the prospects slim? I do not think that we will win at all.” (Yal)
“It doesn’t particularly matter. If you can confirm that the loyalty to Ragou-san is genuine, the hatred for King Ferme is certain, and that their character can be trusted……” (Almis)
I whisper into Yal’s ear.
“Reveal that Tetra is Ragou-san’s daughter.” (Almis)
Yal’s eyes open widely.
“Listen, including you, only six people know this. Never let it leak. If you leak it……Do you understand?” (Almis)
“Yes, of course. We are in the position of receiving help from you, we will never return your act of kindness with insult. However……really?” (Yal)
Hmm, he doesn’t believe me.
This fellow knows almost nothing about Tetra.
Eh? That reminds me that I have not seen the concrete evidence, either.
“Hey, Tetra. Can you show me your sacred character?” (Almis)
“Understood.” (Tetra)
Tetra said so, turns back, and pulls her clothes up a little.
The sacred character [Wisdom], which signified the family crest, was carved onto her lower back.
“It is surely the Ars’s family crest……There is no mistake……” (Yal)
Yal looks at Tetra’s family crest steadily.
Don’t look at my bride’s back so much.
“Thank you for the trouble. Then, I will infiltrate them.” (Yal)
“I’ll count on you. You don’t need to over do it. I will be troubled if you die.” (Almis)
At any rate, this is the only person who can unify the new citizens.
“Please also write a will. Please nominate the next successor.” (Almis)
“I can not write Karishian?” (Yal)
“Tetra and I can take dictation for you.” (Almis)
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Yal was visiting King Ferme’s country.
In King Ferme’s country, there are hundreds or more villages ranging in size from 50 to 200 people.
So there are a number of village headmen.
Yal’s village is in the most remote region of King Ferme’s country, so the number of residents are few.
Moreover, Yal became the village headman because his father suddenly died three years ago.
Therefore, most don’t know his face.
Although, you would think that he would become famous as he was the headman of the village who ran away just a little while ago.
But then, there is no need to mind it since he is supposed to have died.
Now, the problem is how we will get in contact with the Ars faction who hold dissatisfaction against King Ferme.
Yal had an idea about a person who might be in the Ars faction.
The name of that man is Volos.
He is a warrior descendant of the former Ars family, he has many achievements in the war against King Domorgal’s country.
When King Ferme rose in revolt, he took leave and stayed in his home.
He had been easily caught because of that.
At first, King Ferme was going to kill Volos.
It is because Volos’s loyalty to Ragou Ars seems to be genuine.
But, he couldn’t be killed.
The reason is simple.
It is because the soldiers who supported King Ferme’s revolt were residents of Volos’s territory and appealed for his mercy.
As one would expect, even King Ferme cannot kill him when his supporters appealed for clemency.
Afterwards, Volos was permitted to pledge allegiance to King Ferme, and was relegated to defending the border territory.
In addition to other similar reasons, he judged that it wasn’t necessary to kill him because most warrior descendants originally have a low status.
The problem is that I don’t know whether the reason why Volos swore loyalty to King Ferme is either because he valued his life or to take revenge.
Nevertheless, Yal believes that he is almost certainly in the Ars fraction.
This is because there is a rumor that he also contacted the other pardoned warrior descendants.
Although, in the end, it is just a rumor.
King Ferme wasn’t able to execute him because he wasn’t able to collect conclusive evidence.
He franticly denies it, too.
Nonetheless, there is no choice but to bet on this.
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First of all, Yal came to the village where Volos had been relegated to.
It is near the border with King Domorgal, but there is no great value strategically.
It is such a place.
Therefore, Yal disguised himself as a merchant.
The product is fur and wine, which he received from Almis.
To start, he goes to a small mountain near that village.
And then, he climbed a tall tree that bore fruit……waited until a villager happened to pass by then he fell.
He forcibly broke his right leg. (Note: Now the “break a leg’ expression sounds so real)
The kind resident helped him……though it was a little unnatural he sneaked into the village.
Then, he fluently chatted using a fake name and birthplace.
And then he asked for the expense of his logging to be paid with his commodities until his leg recovered from the bone fracture.
The resident of the village was very much pleased with this.
This is because the commodities which Yal paid the cost of logging and food with had more value.
Then, Yal comes into contact with Volos through the village headman.
They drank liquor together and became friends.
This way, he understands that Volos is a very good-natures man.
And, cautious.
Even if Yal uses King Ferme and Ragou Ars as a casual topic, he did not speak of any dissatisfaction against King Ferme.
However, only just a little, his expression changes.
Apparently, he is poor at lying.
Thus, Yal is almost certain that Volos is in the Ars faction.
However, there isn’t conclusive evidence yet.
More definite evidence is desirable.
However, one unexpected thing happened here.
The recovery of the bone fracture is more earlier than he thought.
Normally, though unpleasant, it takes two months.
But it closed in one week, and he was able to walk in two weeks.
Therefore, Yal went with the lie of it wasn’t healed yet and decided to secretly observe Volos in the dead of night.
However, he can’t go around Volos’s house either.
While Yal has crutches, he walks around the village sneakily.
If the worst comes to past, he could forcefully make excuses that he is practicing walking.
But, evidence wasn’t found so easily.
As expected, do I stake out Volos’s house even knowing of the danger?……
While thinking so, Yal looks at the full moon.
And a small shadow crossed in front of the full moon.
It is invisible to normal human eyes, but Yal faintly saw it as he has begun to be affected by the divine protection.
The shadow was an owl which had something like a pipe tied to its foot.
The owl flew straight to Volos’s house.
In the first place, even if it is an official messenger of King Ferme it can’t be because they don’t use owl post.
In other words……is it a friend of the Ars fraction? King Rosaith? Or a secret communication with King Domorgal.
In either case, it is certain that he has dissatisfaction towards King Ferme.
Thus, Yal obtained firm evidence.
The next day, Yal took off to Volos’s house.
“In fact yesterday, I saw an owl when I practiced walking in secret. It had a letter tied to its foot.” (Yal)
When Yal said so, Volos almost instantly pulled out his sword.
The sword barely stopped at the nape of Yal’s neck.
“What do you want to say?” (Volos)
“Do you not want to know the whereabouts of Tetra Ars?” (Yal)
At that moment, Volos’s face was very much worth seeing, after that, Yal started to speak.
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“Are you fine with Almis-dono?” (Volos)
“That’s fine.” (Almis)
Before my eyes is an amazingly large man. And an old woman carrying a walking stick.
Beside them is Yal.
And beside me is Tetra.
“May I see it?” (Volos)
“Understood.” (Tetra)
Tetra turns her back towards the large man and rolls up her clothes.
The old woman touches the sacred character on Tetra’s back. It begins to shine slightly.
“There is no mistake. This is the sacred character and family crest which I carved onto the 4-year-old Tetra.” (Old woman)
The old woman asserted.
“Tetra-sama!!” (Volos)
“Woah!!” (Tetra)
As soon as the large man saw that family crest, he kneeled in front of Tetra.
“I’m sorry for my doubt. However……thank goodness. Truly thank goodness!! For this Volos, there hasn’t been such a wonderful day as this since the defeat!” (Volos)
Woah, a grown man is crying……
You were adored weren’t you, Ragou-san. Let’s make a visit to the grave sometime.
“Almis-dono!!” (Volos)
“Woah~!” (Almis)
My shoulder was suddenly gripped.
His nails are digging into me!
It’s painful, it’s painful so get away!
“It’s inexcusable! However, thank you very much! Thank you very much for protecting the young lady until now. From now on, all the vassals including me swear loyalty to you.” (Volos)
“Ah, thank you. I understand so wipe your tears.” (Almis)
I hand him a handkerchief.
Volos wipes his tears with the handkerchief.
Oi, don’t blow your nose!
“However, you will not necessarily fight? There is a difference of forces between us. I would avoid war as much as possible. You understand right?” (Volos)
“Yes. I understand that the winning rate for a war is low and we should not start a war as much as possible.” (Almis)
“I hope that’s true.” (Volos)
To the bitter end, my purpose is to protect everyone and this place.
I don’t want to become a king or a powerful clan in particular.
I’m just doing this because it is advantageous to win over allies.
“Nevertheless, the facilities are considerably good for a small village.” (Volos)
“We put all our effort into construction. It will be complete when I dig a large amount of pitfalls.” (Almis)
It has been 10 months since we started.
It was considerably difficult.
“By the way, is there something like a secret weapon?” (Volos)
“Well. Do you want to see? As a matter of fact, it was completed a little while ago.” (Almis)
I take out the black powder prototype NO.100.
The memorable 100th. It’s a success!
The saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal ratio is 75:10:15.
And then I put it in an airtight container.
In doing so, it becomes a bomb.
“It was made after 99 trial and errors. I consider it to be the perfect ratio combination.” (Almis)
It is easy to make black powder.
However, it is very difficult to change this into a bomb with the ability to cause casualties.
It explodes if I give it a strong shock, but only burns when it is set on fire.
Just such a thing is completed.
I put the black powder on the magic formation and put my hand on the formation.
The magic formation begins to shine slightly.
I had Tetra develop this magic formation.
The effect is that it ignites 5 seconds after I pour some mana in.
I leave the place in haste.
Five second pass.
The deafening roar penetrates my head and the ground shakes.
“It is more or less successful for the time being.” (Almis)
I look at the site where the explosion happened.
The gouged ground became visible when the white smoke cleared. The killing power seems to be considerably promising.
“Th-this is wonderful. What sorcery is this?” (Volos)
“It is not sorcery. Well, I did use some sorcery though.” (Almis)
Volos shows a little bit of a frightened expression.
A grown man is frightened. If it is King Ferme’s soldiers, they won’t able to be collective.
“If you have this, victory is certain!” (Volos)
“Hmm, I wonder.” (Almis)
Such a thing is considerably doubtful.
At any rate, the number of enemies is large.
“If war will really happen, will it be two months later?” (Volos)
“Right. Because it is the harvest time. So it would be exactly one year later. There is a high possibility of them coming to collect tribute. I think they will have a bad harvest over there, since this year was colder than average. They would definitely try to forcefully take it. Naturally I will refuse. We don’t have any reserves either.” (Almis)
In fact, I would like to gain 1 more year……
“The basis is a charge after they break their ranks because of the bomb.” (Almis)
The reason why the phalanx is powerful is because the troops assemble in solid ranks.
If it collapses, it is because of that.
In the first place, the phalanx’s weak point is that flexible movement is not possible.
Furthermore, those soldiers’ skills and morale are low.
If possible I hope that they would withdraw before arriving to this village.