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121 Resident
Information
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Translator : PolterGlast
I was focused on
paperwork when a knock on the door brought my attention back. I granted
permission to enter.
Jojok came in.
"A report, my
lord."
It's rare for Jojok to
have a business report. What's going on?
"Viscount
Tigarood has departed for Zawalifi with his retainers."
"Zawalifi... Is
he going into the dungeon?"
"He said he was
going to level up."
"I see. Well,
whether Viscount Tigarood enters the dungeon or not is not our decision to
make. Let him be."
"But I'm worried
he'll push himself too hard. He seeks strength, but he doesn't seem to pay
attention to his surroundings."
If he were my
subordinate, I would order him to stop, but I have neither the authority nor
the obligation to stop a neighboring lord who is a mere acquaintance.
Since he considers
himself Jojok's disciple, Jojok should be the one to stop him. Though I'm sure
he already tried.
"Viscount
Tigarood entered the dungeon of his own free will. He would probably be
satisfied even if he died in the dungeon."
I don't think that's
true, but I have to say it so Jojok doesn't feel responsible.
Besides, Viscount
Tigarood was a Sword Master at Level 23, so he must have entered a dungeon to
reach that level. So I don't think we need to worry too much about him.
***
A few days after
Viscount Tigarood left for the dungeon, I received a report that the family
registry was complete.
The population is
25,238. It's larger than I thought.
There are 2,588 people
aged 60 and over, 4,780 children under the age of 15, and 17,870 people in
between.
However, this does not
include the number of homeless people.
After investigating
the family registry, the next step is ID cards.
The general population
doesn't have ID cards, but without them, we don't know who is eligible for
administrative services. The record card doesn't contain information like a
person's address or whether they've paid their taxes.
ID cards are an
absolute necessity for receiving administrative services in Triange. If we have
them submit their record cards along with their ID cards, it would be difficult
to forge them.
"Why are we
creating ID cards? Can't we just use the record cards?"
Banarji, seemingly
with a question in mind, asked.
One of the things I've
noticed since coming to this world is that sick people are left to die.
You might think that's
a sudden thought, but I have the example of Laura right in front of me. Laura
was a viscountess, but after her family fell into ruin, she worked tirelessly
for about 10 years. As a result, her health deteriorated. If I had met Lilith a
few months later, she would have died.
But she didn't have a
fatal illness; a priest could have cured her. So why didn't a priest cure her?
The cost of treatment—the donation—is exorbitant.
Even when changing
jobs, priests demand a high donation. So it's not easy to change jobs. When
priests are involved, a lot of money is required.
Priests regularly receive
donations from people for various reasons. Nobles, in particular, make large
donations. And yet, they don't try to help those in need. It's a problem.
"Residents who
pay their head tax without delay will receive treatment at a low cost. Also,
when famine occurs, ID cards will be necessary to distribute food to residents.
Why should we feed those who don't pay their taxes?"
"What you say
about food distribution is true, but what about the treatment?"
Banarji and Laura
think it's normal for treatment to be expensive and that they need to make
large donations to the temple.
As the ruler of
Triange, I believe I need to provide services that allow the residents to live
without worry.
No other noble does
this troublesome thing, but I don't think it's right to take that for granted.
Fortunately, we have many priests in our employ. If they perform a lot of
treatments, it will help them level up.
Performing treatments
benefits both the residents and the priests. The priests belonging to the
temples, by focusing on making money, are missing out on opportunities to level
up. It's a waste.
And if we lower the
cost of treatment, more people will come for treatment. Even if the cost per
treatment is low, we can still make money by treating a lot of people.
Even if we don't make
a profit, it's fine as long as we don't lose money. I can just write it off as
leveling up.
"It's simple.
Have those with priest-type jobs in the military treat the residents. There's
no temple in Triange, and I heard we have to go to the neighboring Zawalifi to
find a priest. If that's the case, those with severe symptoms will die."
In exchange for paying
the head tax, residents can receive cheap treatment. That's not a bad deal for
them.
Even if they paid
their head tax until now, they probably don't feel like the lord has done
anything for them. It sounds good to say the lord protects the territory, but
they're leaving bandits unchecked. Merchants have to hire guards when they go
out to buy supplies.
The citizens are not
receiving any visible administrative services in return for their taxes. I'm
surprised no one has said anything about it.
"But we might
face pressure from the temples..."
"There's no
temple in Triange, so it doesn't matter, right?"
"That's not the
point. The temples don't have much power in the Ouda Kingdom, but they have
job-changing and recovery skills. If they use that as leverage against the
kingdom, the kingdom will put pressure on you, my lord."
So the temples put
pressure on the kingdom, and the kingdom puts pressure on me. I don't need a
kingdom that would put pressure on me for something like that. I'll kick it
out.
That being said, I
don't want to create unnecessary friction. Should I be mindful of the Royal
Family?
It would be best if
the temples offered cheap treatment for illnesses and injuries, but that's
probably an impossible request. Once they've tasted the sweet nectar, they
won't want to let it go.
I should meet with the
Princess and confirm the situation.
No, what if I just
make the conditions for changing jobs to a priest public? The temples probably
wouldn't like that. But once the job-changing conditions are widespread, it
would be hard to make them a secret again. Then, if I can appease the temples
somehow... I don't think it will be that easy, but it's worth a try.
"For the ID
cards, please write down the name, age, address, and physical characteristics.
And issue new ones to update the information at least once every three
years."
We can verify their
identity by cross-checking with their record card. Even if an ID card is
forged, we can find out if they're a criminal by cross-checking with their
record card. It's okay if the sieve isn't perfect, as long as there aren't any
big holes in it.
Now, I'll talk to the
Princess as soon as possible. I don't have time to take it slow.
I'll instruct Banarji
and Laura to create ID cards for the residents and distribute them.
"Also, make sure
to inform everyone that anyone who uses someone else's ID card, forges one, or
is complicit in it will be severely punished."
"Understood."
***
Three days later, the
map of Triange was completed.
Triange isn't that
big, so it didn't take much time since I mobilized all my subordinates with the
Explorer job.
The people of this
world should consider how convenient these support jobs are, not just combat
jobs.
We're leveling up the
second and third generation recruits at the mansions in the royal capital and Kerniff,
and this time, we're training more support-type jobs like explorers and
carriers.
The fourth generation
will be joining soon. I want them to obtain as many different jobs as possible.
I'm sorry for the
trouble, Koron and Karon, but I want you to do your best because it will be our
strength.
We spread the map of
the territory and all made serious faces.
"Even if we want
to expand the fields, there's no suitable land to develop."
Even if Triange is
small for a viscount's territory, there are plenty of vacant lots. However, as
Banarji said, there are no vacant lots around Triange that can be cultivated.
First, there's a lack
of water. There are mountains to the north, but no rivers. I heard that this
land isn't suitable for growing grain and vegetables, and it seems that's true.
"Even if we dig a
well, we'll get saltwater near the sea. That's why crops don't grow well, and
Triange was built inland, closer to the mountains where freshwater comes
out."
Banarji's explanation
made me understand why there aren't many houses near the sea. Even if you dig a
well, saltwater comes out. That's why the town was built inland, where
freshwater is available.
Because of the water
situation, the town was built in a narrow area at the foot of the mountains,
making further expansion difficult. But there are still a lot of vacant areas.
It feels like a waste that we can't use them.
"Anneliese, do
you think Annie can turn the saltwater into freshwater?"
I asked Anneliese
something that just came to mind.
"I'll ask her.
Please wait a moment."
Anneliese summoned
Annie, who was in the backyard spring.
Anneliese talked to
the greenish-blue ball of light that was floating around her.
Only the contractor
can communicate with a spirit. I'm also contracted with Rose, but I can't
communicate with Annie.
"She says she
can. But she said she can't create a very large freshwater spring."
"How big can she
make it?"
"...She said
about 10 springs the size of the one in our backyard."
The spring in the
backyard is about 10 meters in diameter. I don't think 10 of them is a small
number. Triange isn't that big, so I think 10 of them would be enough for us to
develop the land.
"Banarji and
Laura, come up with a business plan on where to place the 10 springs—no, to not
put too much strain on Annie, let's say 7—and how to develop the land."
"Wait a
minute."
As I was giving
instructions, Yamato stopped me. Does he have a good idea?
"The land near
the sea suffer from salt damage, right? Why don't we try growing something
salt-resistant?"
"Are there such
grains?"
"Not grains. I
don't know if they exist in this world, but a vegetable called ice plant can
grow in soil that contains salt, and cotton is also a salt-resistant
plant."
I've eaten ice plant
in my previous life. It was a delicious vegetable that was crispy and had a
salty taste. It's probably a long shot that it exists in this world.
But I didn't know
cotton was salt-resistant. But there's a problem. The Kerniff dungeon drops
cotton threads, so cotton cultivation is not very active because of that. I
remember Anneliese mentioning that when we were in Kerniff.
"I see. I didn't
know that cotton cultivation was suppressed to protect the livelihoods of explorers.
That's a complicated story."
"I think it's
okay to look for ice plant, but we probably won't be able to get it right
away."
"What a shame...
or maybe not."
Yamato clapped his
hands.
"Why don't we
just make cotton products? The point is, to prevent the price of
dungeon-dropped cotton from plummeting, we just need to make a lot of cotton
products."
"I understand
what you're saying, but that's not an easy thing to do."
"Most of the
commoners in this world wear hemp clothes, so we just need to replace them with
cotton."
"Is that
possible?"
"We can do it if
we mechanize cotton weaving."
"...Mechanize?"
I and Itsukushima-san
understood, but the other members were just staring blankly. They probably
don't know what mechanization is.
For now, I'll give it
a try. Yamato seems like he can do it, and if cotton becomes an industry, it
would be a huge help to us.
I'll talk to the
Princess and the Duke of Kerniff to get things in order. That's the duty of a
lord, after all.
***
"The bandits will
be making their move two nights from now."
The mixed anti-social
group of former knights, former village heads, and bandits are going to attack
my mansion. That's two nights from now.
"The plan is for
the subordinates of the former village heads to set fire to the town, and the
former knights and bandits will attack the mansion while security is spread
thin due to the commotion."
Why do they plan these
kinds of things so carefully, but are so careless when it comes to planning
their lives?
"There are about
45 subordinates of the former village heads, 120 former knights and soldiers,
and 50 bandits. The total is over 200 people."
A lot of former
village heads and their followers are participating.
Almost all of the
former knights and soldiers who resigned are participating. Don't they want to
go back to their hometowns or live out their lives in peace?
"I can't overlook
the arson. Do we know the location?"
"Yes. It seems
they will attack the Golteo Trading Company, which has ties to you, my lord,
steal valuables, and then set it on fire."
Robbery and arson.
That's a heinous act. And it's at Golteo-san's shop, of all places.
"A member of the
bandit group has already infiltrated the Golteo Trading Company."
They are
well-prepared. Now, what should I do?
Should I secretly leak
the information to Golteo-san? No, what if I...
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