Chapter 22
(Kyle Calendar
Year 502: Age 9)
A New
Determination
Translator : PolterGlast
I heard that there was
initially a bit of a disagreement between Father and Commander Weiss regarding
the reward money for the Twin-Headed Falcon Mercenary Corps.
According to Commander
Weiss, the current operation was based on a proposal from me (and Brother)
beforehand, and he seemed a little hesitant to accept a large sum as a reward.
"The amount is
too much for a reward in addition to the contract fee. I cannot take credit for
their achievements."
Apparently, Father's
explanation to him was:
"Dalek has
already received a reward from the royal family, and Takuhir will be provided
with a separate reward."
Only then did he
finally accept the full amount.
Hearing that story, I
was deeply impressed by Commander Weiss's chivalry.
And I became excited
about what I would receive next.
One day, while I was
spending my time in this manner, I received a long-awaited summons from Father.
Father, Mother, the
steward Raymond-san, and Brother were there.
Father was trying his
best to maintain his dignity, while Mother was smiling, and Raymond-san and
Brother were grinning.
"Takuhir, I
acknowledge that your contributions in this battle were not
insignificant."
"Father, the
utilization of light magic, the earth magic traps, and the invention and
deployment of the Estol Bow were all Takuhir's sole ideas. Therefore, I believe
that rather than 'not insignificant,' his contributions should be considered
the greatest..."
When Brother pressed
him,
"I know that! But
how can I openly say that a nine-year-old child achieved such military
merit?!"
"So, officially,
it's 'not insignificant'..."
Oh dear, Mother was
also cornering him.
"Due to his
achievements in this battle, Takuhir will be granted 1,500 gold coins, with
conditions."
With conditions?
"What are the
conditions?"
Brother asked before I
could.
"500 gold coins
are for Takuhir to use freely, and the remaining 1,000 coins will be provided
as a budget.
In the future, it can
be used as long as we approve them after we hear the content of Takuhir's
proposals."
That's...
『Doesn't this feel like the same old American
Revolution?』
I thought to myself.
No, since it's been
decided that I'll receive it, I should refrain from unnecessary comments.
"I gratefully
accept." I bowed. "By the way... the flood control budget for the
ongoing levee construction and other projects that were previously approved is
separate from this, right?"
"Ah, well,
that's..."
You businessman!
So you were aiming for
1,500 coins with that in mind! You were fully intending to collect it there,
weren't you!
Father was a little
flustered by my question.
"Dear, that's
that, and this is this, right?"
Mother was pressing
Father with a smile, but her eyes weren't smiling.
This is...
Definitely someone I
shouldn't go against.
"O-of course,
this is the budget for the new proposal... right? Raymond."
Hey, you passed the
baton to Raymond-san!
"Of course.
Takuhir-sama's proposals have saved the Solis territory countless times so far.
It would be rather embarrassing to offer such a trivial amount, though..."
He gracefully
countered while bowing elegantly.
Seriously, Father,
weren't you just subtly insulted by Raymond-san?
Through such circumstances,
I obtained 500 gold coins as immediate funds and a budget of 1,000 gold coins.
This was an amount
incomparable to the 50 gold coins from the previous time.
I reconsidered what I
should (and wanted to) do from now on.
＜Things to Do＞
・Flood countermeasures for next year
・Strengthening military power and avoiding Brother's
death in battle four years later
・Epidemic countermeasures seven years later
・Considering and preparing for measures beyond that
＜Progress Status＞
〇Flood Countermeasures
Already steadily in
progress. Preparations seem to be almost complete, so I think we are doing
everything possible with the current progress regarding flood countermeasures.
〇Strengthening Military Power
Regarding
strengthening military power, there is still room for improvement, including
increasing the military strength of the citizens.
On the other hand,
there are limits to what a mere frontier baron can do.
I feel like we need
some more effective countermeasures.
・Mass production and utilization of improved rapid-fire
crossbows, implementation of shooting competitions
・Other
The advantage of
weapons and current tactics will eventually be lost. And against an opponent
with greater military power, our current methods will not work.
〇Epidemic Countermeasures
Regarding epidemic
countermeasures, honestly, I haven't come up with anything yet, so it's
completely untouched.
It will probably
require a larger budget, personnel, and command authority than ever before, all
of which I currently lack.
・What I know is that it spreads from the frontier
settlement.
・The specific disease and effective medicines or
treatments are completely unknown.
What I realized again
was that.
Up until now, I had
managed by just making proposals to my parents and others, but that would not
be enough in the future, for various reasons.
What I needed was to
secure personnel who could become my hands and feet, and I needed funds to
employ and retain those personnel as subordinates.
Even more abundant
funds to make proposals self-sufficient.
Thinking about it, up
until now, after making a proposal, I had always left it to others, just riding
on other people's coattails.
That would surely not
be enough in the future.
For the next three
years, I would focus on gathering personnel.
In parallel, I would
also earn small amounts of money. I wouldn't mind being called a miser.
And once I had
gathered personnel and money, I would move on to a larger move.
To obtain personnel,
authority, and financial power enough to freely control a city.
The 1,500 gold coins I
had just been given would be invested as seed money.
At that moment, I made
a renewed determination.
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