Chapter 320
(Kyle Calendar Year 514: Age 21)
Reborn Land
Translator : PolterGlast
After the three-day harvest festival held in Kusanagi,
we departed early in the morning and headed to Termira to participate in
the harvest festival to be held there the next day.
The party consisted of 200 elite cavalry of the Demon
Territory Knights, including the 'distinguished individuals', and Commander
Weiss leading them. Yuka and Chrisia accompanied Her
Highness as close attendants, along with Claire and Yoltia who
were accustomed to the Demon Territory, Shannon for early
warning, and several other Mages.
「Sieghart, are my eyes acting strange? If I recall correctly, this
entire area... was supposed to be a barren land spreading out, at best only
suitable for pasture, right?」
「Indeed... I would definitely like to
know the secret of not only reclaiming it in a short period but also finishing
it into land where crops grow. I can infer that the irrigation canals running
crisscross through this region are probably the power of Earth Mages,
but...」
Yeah, I get it. I get it, but... I can't just carelessly
talk about this. Oyster shell lime is also finite, and increasing demand any
further would be...
「...!!!」
No! Wait. That's not it! The representatives of the three
countries are right here. Moreover, the Fearalt Principality also has a
sufficiently wide coastline.
「I just thought of something slightly
interesting. Would you care to ride on my proposal?」
Saying so, putting on a merchant's face, I brought my horse
close to His Majesty Krieger and His Highness Grat.
「I thought of a business idea that
these three countries can team up to do. As Your Highness Grat also
knows, this was once a barren land. But as a result of succeeding in soil
improvement, it is now like this. Won't you ride on it?」
Saying so, I looked around ostentatiously. Right now, the
turnips we started cultivating in the second phase, autumn-planted vegetables,
and such had sprouted all at once, spreading across the earth beside the
highway.
「Oh? I would definitely like to hear
the story.」
「My friend, I have no objections
either.」
「First, His Majesty Krieger,
the Principality should have a vast coastline. And there is a custom of
eating seafood, right. So probably, oysters are also eaten...」
「Ah, certainly. I hear that in every
seaside town, those shells are piled up like mountains as garbage.」
Got it! I thought so.
「Then please collect the oyster
shells, perform the necessary processing, and sell them to us. If that garbage
is gathered, it becomes gold coins.」
「My word!」
「This entire area is also strongly
affected by the ash fall from volcanoes on the Empire side. Therefore, it is difficult for crops to grow. And
since there is no water in the first place, it was considered unsuitable for
cultivation. But we have the means to change that. So that many crops can
easily grow...」
Naturally, they still couldn't see where the story was
going. I continued.
「The Fearalt Principality will
collect the oyster shells and do the preliminary processing. If you crush them
in that process, transportation won't be a hassle either. You sell that to us.
There are preceding examples for the selling price, so we will share that.」
「I see, and how does my friend gain
profit from that?」
「We attach a royalty to that sale. It
will take the form where you provide it to us at a price minus that royalty,
and when selling to the Empire, the royalty is added on top. After all,
the raw material cost is basically free, and if you utilize rivers for the
preliminary processing, it takes almost no effort.」
「Oh? That is interesting. Is that
all?」
「No, Your Highness, there is one more
element. First, massive amounts of horse manure are used for soil improvement.
This does not become fertilizer, but it can be used for soil improvement. And
since there are massive numbers of horses in the Empire, there must be
so much horse manure you don't know what to do with it.」
「Hahaha, so both utilize waste! Sieghart,
I find this exceedingly delightful.」
「I will speak about the details anew
when we arrive in Aegis, but won't you ride on it?」
「Seeing this result, there is no
reason not to ride on it. How about it?」
「I think it is exactly as Your
Highness says.」
「I will also ride on it. From the
coastline to Fearalt, it is possible to go upstream the great river on
sailing ships. If that's the case, it can be transported all at once.」
From an unexpected turn of events, I was able to find a clue
to solving the future oyster shell problem. Moreover, with the added bonus of
new royalty income. With this, we should be able to sink massive amounts of
oyster shells into the sewers of Kusanagi as well, preventing pollution
of the rivers downstream as much as possible.
Besides...
This is my amateur thought, but I believe one of the reasons
for conflicts in this world is famine. Due to natural disasters, man-made
disasters, war damage, and such, some land inevitably falls into famine every
year, constantly creating a disparity between rich lands and those that are
not.
If so, what if there is a means to enrich current
territories without obtaining new ones through battle? At the very least, if
large countries focus on internal affairs and stabilize, small countries will
likely follow suit.
Even so, conflicts might probably not end. But... at least
just around us is fine, if we can live prosperously with each other and
stabilize...
It's an ideal that vaguely floated in my mind since becoming
a Archduke and being entrusted with a nation. I felt I had obtained the clue to
that from an unexpected place.
※
After that, we passed through the barrier gate set up at the
old border. This place has also changed greatly compared to half a year ago.
Already, a double defensive wall had been set up on the Empire side and the Kingdom side, blocking the gap in the great
mountain range on both ends, and a military garrison serving as a defense base
was placed between them. Bulkheads were also set up on both sides of the
50-m-wide passageway running north-south and connecting the gates on both
sides. As if only the passageway were isolated...
「Oh... with this, even if an army
tries to pass through this passageway, they cannot spread out, and unless they
capture the gate ahead, they cannot move, but will just continue to be showered
with a rain of arrows from both sides. Annihilation is inevitable, huh...」
Saying so, His Majesty Krieger laughed. Yes, I had
imitated the barrier gate of the Fearalt Principality on the western
border that I saw in the past.
「Are markets lined up beside the
passageway? Interesting.」
Yes, spaces where markets can deploy were set up on both
sides of the passageway, and the soldiers stationed here, as well as those
passing through the barrier gate, can shop at this market. Even those who
cannot set up a shop in Termira find the market here an easy place to
enter.
Especially now, with the reclamation of the Izumo
area, large numbers of laborers pass through daily, and those involved in the
construction of this barrier gate itself also use it, so the market is very
bustling.
「If I recall correctly, there were
issues with the water supply around here... how did you solve it?」
Hahaha, as expected, you know the characteristics of this
place well too. Just as you pointed out, we struggled.
As a result of Sasha and the others' efforts,
drinking water is drawn from spring water in the rocky mountains a little ways
off to the left and right, and sewage and domestic water are drawn from the
irrigation canals on the Empire side,
utilizing water-lifting waterwheels many times, or using dedicated aqueducts.
Moreover, beyond this, utilizing the gentle downhill slope
continuing from the old border, the sewage and irrigation canals are extended
all the way to Termira and the Southern Gate Fortress.
And south of the Southern Gate Fortress, after
letting the sewage rest in a giant reservoir, it passes through the oyster
shell purification waterway and is returned to the river.
※
And the party reached the former Southern Gate Fortress,
now a relay city whose name was changed to Termira.
「What! This should certainly be the
fortress where we were stationed previously. Now there is no longer any trace
of it at all.」
「Yes, this was once the southernmost
defense base of the Kyle Kingdom, but it is now a useless long object.
Therefore, it is being reborn as a trade relay city connecting the north and
south of the great mountain range. Well, right now the aspect of it being a
temporary stay location for immigrants is still large, though...」
Termira is
planned to sequentially change its form as the center governing the southern
half of the Westlights Dukedom. The Teigoon area will continue to
bear the role of the production base for agriculture and industry, but I'm
thinking of Termina serving as a hub connecting the south and north, and
taking on the role of an administrative base.
「Hahahaha, in this short period of
time... I can only laugh. It even exceeds my imagination.」
Even Sieghart was speechless at these changes.
Fufufu, but there's still more, you know. Well, I talked about it in the first
meeting with the merchants, so I think he already knows.
※
The next day, we rode our horses all at once from Termira
to Aegis on the newly constructed elevated road. However, it seems
knowing about it and actually seeing it were vastly different.
First, proceeding northwest of Termira, there is a
bamboo forest separating the Southern Gate plains and the Demon
Territory. There is a small fortress covered by bulkheads there, and from
that fortress heading northwest, a road stretched in a straight line far into
the distance.
The road extended at a height of about 15 m above the
surrounding Demon Territory with a width of 15 m, possessing
characteristics of both a defensive wall and an elevated bridge, making it
somewhat halfway to be called either.
This road I call an elevated road is constructed in the
center portion of the 300-m-wide path the First Prince previously carved out as
an invasion route aiming for Mt. Teigoon.
「Sieghart, c-can you even do this...」
「No... this is bad, Your Highness.」
Although not as much as the Third Prince and His Majesty Krieger,
Sieghart was also surprised.
「No... you are a truly terrifying
person. I think anew that I'm truly glad not to have made you an enemy.」
「Indeed, if one uses this road, they
can move the shortest distance through the Demon Territory, huh... with
this, one can deploy troops all at once up to the old border. Sieghart,
is it possible for us too?」
「This is probably the result of
deploying an absurd number of Earth Mages en masse. As a result, one
cannot help but say that the land and cities of the Demon Territory Dukedom
have been greatly reborn in this short period. To reproduce this in the Empire,
it will take an outrageous number of years.」
「That is exactly why the revival of
the Demon Territory is an urgent task, is that what it means?」
「Yes, for us as well...」
Hmm? What is it? Why does the revival of the Demon
Territory get tangled up there?
The time I would know the true meaning of the words I casually heard then was still a long way off.
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