Turn the First Emperor's Legacy into
Food
Translator : PolterGlast
The Imperial Regular
Army can be broadly divided into pure regular soldiers and quasi-regular
soldiers. Both are professional soldiers, but the latter are hired soldiers on
fixed-term contracts, and though it cannot be helped, they make up the majority
of the First Army. It's fine for now because the budget is coming from the
country. But if the world becomes chaotic, that won't be the case. When that
happens, wages to retain them will naturally be necessary. By the way, the pure
regular soldiers—perhaps partly because they are small-time landowners, possess
tax exemption privileges, and are steeped in the values of feudalism—seem
prepared to accompany Georg-aniue to the grave. For that reason, I
decided to have the quasi-regular soldiers, who have a strong consciousness of
being hired, help with the industries and reclamation of Erin, and to
let those who wish to do so return to their hometowns temporarily. I couldn't
stop those who felt anxious about the Empire's turmoil and wished to protect
their hometowns. On the other hand, it was decided that the pure regular
soldiers would continue to stand by at the garrisons in the outskirts of the
Imperial Capital and keep an eye on the movements in and around the capital. I
also hear that selected individuals from those pure regular soldiers have begun
espionage activities under Georg's instructions.
「Then
I'll be going. Don't get impatient and run wild, Aniue.」
「That's
my line... Don't go sticking your neck into strange things, and make sure to
come straight back.」
「Am I a
toddler asked to run an errand?」
「A
toddler is still better. At least they wouldn't do unnecessary things...」
「Really,
geez... Try being on the worrying side. If, following Otou-sama, even Ashley
were to die... When we think about that, we are out of our minds with worry...
Hey, do you understand?」
「You're
exaggerating. I'm just going a little way over there.」
「How is
that a little way over there, deshu...」
There is no telling
when the Crown Prince, who falsely claimed the title of Emperor, might start
being reluctant to disburse the budget. Therefore, I decided to cash in Ausar's
legacy, which had been planned for some time. For that purpose, as a messenger,
I will first head east to the Fimbul Dukedom.
「To me,
it's a little way over there. I leave Aneue
to you, Durin.」
「That
goes without saying, deshu. Please do your best for the soldiers.」
That is not the only
purpose of the journey. I will also head to the country of the elves, said to
be at the further eastern edge, to seek their cooperation. Therefore, the
companions for this time are Miss Yumil, the hero Sigrun, and the
beastman Yashu,
whom I borrowed from the ambassador. Now, let's depart. I pulled a cart and
headed to the ruins on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, and from there
proceeded through the ancient underground passage connecting to the Fimbul
Dukedom. You could also say I loaded my companions onto the bed of the cart and
ran, becoming a draft horse myself. This was fun in its own way.
◇ ◆ ◇
「Ooh,
fast, fast! Wahaha, being with you is incredibly amusing, fly faster, faster!」
「As I
thought, this Prince-sama lacks common sense, wan...」
「As for
me, I was pulled by this and ran through the Imperial Capital the other day...
Geez, it was beyond embarrassing...」
Looking at it now, I
might have made a mistake in the personnel selection. This should be the right
person in the right place, but looking back carefully, there are only women. Jii? He insisted on not leaving my side, but as expected, I
can't take an old man on a journey. I left him behind, telling him to assist Aniue. By the way, the technology of
the Horned race is utilized for the wheels of the cart bed. Something made by
stuffing air into a resilient material called rubber absorbed the shocks and
made the ride comfortable. In the words of the other world, "rubber"
means a contraceptive. When I told that to the engineer Prea, she burst
into loud laughter, wondering what was so funny. That was just recently.
「Oi,
say something, Shovel Man! It's boring!」
「Even
if you say that, no particular topic comes to mind. Until we arrive, just think
of me as a talking horse and ignore me.」
「He's a
thoroughly strange Prince-sama, kyan...」
Using the Sun Stone
tied to the cart bed as a dim light, we pushed steadily eastward. As if
clinging to an era that was beginning to move, I simply ran single-mindedly.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
By dropping Yumil
off at Fimbul, I intended to force all the miscellaneous chores onto
her. However, the folks of the Fimbul Duke's family, including Yumil,
were capable, and by the time we arrived, almost all the arrangements were
complete. The sale of the legacy had already progressed, and a sizable fund had
been gathered. The Fimbul Duke's people insisted that Ausar's
legacy belonged to Ausar, and ended up handing the entire amount over to
us. They even went as far as saying they would handle the remaining sales on
our behalf. They also said that if they use the underground passage built by
the First Emperor, they could transport things more safely in a shorter period,
so they asked to be allowed to use it. It's almost troubling how they know how
to use the underground tunnels better than I do.
「Otou-sama,
among our companions is someone who possesses a large fleet. Therefore, please
divert the goods bound for the Coastal Provinces to Erin.」
「The
female admiral Carral Hez, huh. I've heard the rumors. But Yumil,
that girl is your rival—」
「Otou-sama,
this is not a situation where you can be saying such things.」
「Muu...」
The talks wrapped up
in about an hour, and carrying Fimbul specialties, we descended into the
underground tunnel once again. The ruins of the underground empire A-Zir
was a lonely place no matter how many times I visited. There was once a city in
this underground world, and now it has finished its role and sunk into
darkness. With underground passages connecting to the north, south, east, and
west, this place was supposed to be the center of the world. Yet, why was this
city abandoned?
『It was
forsaken...』
Zirant
interjected, saying it wasn't abandoned, but forsaken.
『The
power to illuminate this land again does not exist anywhere on the surface.
Therefore, this place will likely never become the center of the world a second
time.』
That's a shame. The
more I learn about it, the more I realize this was the best location. The
underground tunnels built by the First Emperor connect this place and the world
into one, making all kinds of impossibilities possible. Making the underground
a base, troops can be sent from here to any desired location. Even a
non-military person would understand that it is truly matchless. Using Fimbul's
specialty cheese, meat, and apple juice as an energy source, I entered the
eastern tunnel of the underground empire and ran earnestly again.
「Stop,
Shovel Man! Look, isn't this a Demon Spirit Silver mine!?」
「Ah,
come to think of it, that old man mentioned it.」
He had told me to
mine here since there's an old ore deposit. In order to counter Yord's
magic sword, we want to have the regular soldiers carry more Demon Spirit
Silver swords.
「Haa...
There's this much? I wish you would put yourselves in the shoes of the one
being made to forge them...」
「Can't
you find a substitute or something for that, wan?」
「Apparently,
it suits my body the best...」
「I
don't really get it, but that's a phrase I wouldn't want to be told by that old
guy, kyan...」
What a terrible
thing to say. Letting go of the cart and picking up my shovel, I scraped off
some Demon Spirit Silver from the deposit. When I searched around for suitable
spots, there were countless traces that looked like they had been gouged out by
a shovel in the same way. ...There really were some people lacking common
sense.
「There’s
no point in taking this to the other side where the old man isn’t, is there? Let's leave this
here and proceed. ...I believe it was a country called something-shil.」
「Elfinshil.
It originally had a different name, but it changed due to annexations and
various things.」
「Ah, it
might have been a name like that.」
「I'm
somewhat worried... Ausar-kun, I'll explain it one more time, so listen
carefully, okay? Elfinshil is—」
Elfinshil is apparently a country where humans and elves coexist. The reason it has maintained its independence until today, despite being adjacent to the Empire, is supposedly because it secretly bears the role of sealing the Abyss. Due to the long lifespans of elves, they make up the majority of the wealthy class, but it seems they are trying to maintain an equal relationship due to their past history. Proceeding while continuing to maintain the collapsed sections, I ran single-mindedly towards the east.
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