Chapter 465
(Kyle Calendar Year 516:
Age 23)
Secret Journey ③ Transformation of the New Eastern Territory
Having
finished the inspection in the north and the unexpected business negotiation,
and having grasped the threads of a dowry and an event, I stayed just one night
and this time spurred my horse south along the northern highway. Of course, I
wanted to take it easy, but I wasn't in the mood for that. I had to quickly
finish the other piece of business and return to Kusanagi as soon as
possible. When I arrived just before the Royal Capital Kylar, I changed
my course to the east, and this time proceeded earnestly along the eastern
highway. And a few days later... I arrived near the nostalgic eastern border
fort, around the battlefield where we fought the longbowmen, but the scenery
around the border had completely changed!
「Archduke-heika, we have been waiting for you.」
「Margrave Hamish is also
deeply pleased by your inspection of the new eastern territory this time.
Because the situation is what it is, he cannot leave the front lines, so please
forgive his impoliteness in not being able to come and welcome you...」
The
one who waited for me just before the old national border and spoke first was Alexis,
who was now a heavyweight of the Demon Territory Dukedom and a Margrave,
and following him was his father, Count Bauner. To begin with, when I
left Kusanagi, I had also called out to Alexis. However, since he
was engaged in developing his territory in the Margrave territory, he was
following after me, so I had him enter the old eastern border directly. Baron Bauner
had also been promoted to Viscount in the great war three years ago, and later
received an addition to his stipend upon discarding his old territory to settle
in the new territory, and was now a Count. Sending him, who has deep ties with
me, as a guide is probably also Margrave Hamish's consideration.
「Even so, hasn't this entire area
changed too much?」
Yes,
originally, the highway leading to the fort at the national border was a road
of fine soil that turned into mud if heavy rain fell, and forests leading to
the Demon Territory should have spread on the left and right of the highway.
But now...
「Hahaha, we also received reports
from the inspection team, and have proceeded with rebuilding this entire area
following the example of Aegis and Izanami. I am glad to be able
to report the results of these three years.」
Indeed,
the forest zone where the Demon Territory is, and the location where defense
lines were constructed in the past, have been fortified with a continuous solid
stone defensive wall, and although small in scale, a townscape had been
constructed around the highway. And the highway itself had been paved with
stone and drainage channels were maintained, changing into a road that can be
traveled without problems even in the rainy season.
「The issue in this place was the
water supply, but we were able to secure a water source sufficient for a town
of this scale to manage. Because the means to collect rainwater from the rocky
mountains have also evolved...」
「What is surprising is the other side
beyond the old border fort. Because that side has also changed beyond
recognition.」
No,
Alexis said that, but just this side is a surprisingly sufficient
change, though. The rocky mountains on the left and right of the fort, which
were that difficult problem, had also been fully excavated, and had changed
their appearance into robust structures rather than rocky mountains... Probably
after the war, the Margrave used the allocated reward money and fully mobilized
Mages to undertake the construction, right? And beyond the fort...
As
we exited the gate, a semicircular defensive wall surrounded an area with a
radius of two kils, and inside it was a giant stationing ground, and at the tip
of the circle was a star-shaped citadel resembling Aegis... I mean, it's
exactly the same! I almost wanted to say that unintentionally.
「Well, it seems due to the water
supply, the defense base could only be constructed two kils ahead.」
I
suppose so. The Kyle Kingdom side has a relatively gentle uphill slope
until the old border, but the Istoria side has a considerably steep
downhill slope from the old border, and water cannot be sent from a lower
place. There must have been such a reason.
「But still, they did all this in just
three years? That's also an amazing story.」
「Hahaha, from our perspective, the Demon
Territory Dukedom is far more absurd. After all, every time the inspection
team returns, they bring up something completely different from the previous
report, to the point where even the Margrave tilted his head in puzzlement.」
Well,
that's certainly true, but... Termira, Izanami, and the entirety
of Izumo had greatly transformed in mere six-month increments, and even
I myself was surprised by it, so...
◇
Even
after that, the new eastern territory we advanced through unfolded with
sceneries I felt like I had seen everywhere. The newly developed pioneer lands
were surrounded by defensive walls to secure safety, and those formed several
clusters to become pioneer villages, and moats utilizing the flow of the river
surrounded the entire pioneer village. This too, sorry to say, but it's exactly
the same as the pioneer villages we made!
「When Margrave Hamish received
the new territory, he said to us: 『There is no need to lament it as a
frontier. We have a wonderful precedent. If it is undeveloped land, we should
view that as an advantage.』」
Hahaha,
so you used the former Demon Territory Count territory as a reference? No
wonder the inspection teams Margrave Hamish sent every time were
outstanding in scale and lineup. Unlike the north, the new eastern territory
was the extreme frontier and undeveloped land even in the Istoria Imperial
Kingdom. Therefore, there must be more than enough room to intervene, and
it hid the possibility of the harvest yield improving dramatically depending on
the development.
「Perhaps it's safe to say it's
fortunate, but we lacked neither settlers nor manpower to serve as laborers.
Because territory residents exhausted by the tyranny led by the church migrated
en masse from the Istoria Imperial Kingdom.」
That's
probably true. What was ceded as the new territory was a part of one county
including the national border out of the three northern counties, but I heard
that the other places were also designated as buffer zones where soldiers of
both countries would not intervene, so there was no national border worthy of
the name. Even on the Imperial Kingdom side, they were probably on alert to
prevent escapes, but in the final stage when they lost Isra, they
probably didn't have the leeway for that.
「Therefore, we gained hundreds of
thousands of new territory residents, and the reception desks newly established
in various places were operating until late at night at one point...」
I
mean, you copied that too! It's already a perfect copy state. I don't intend to
complain, and I'm grateful you're using it as a reference, but... Besides,
hundreds of thousands, that's the same scale as the population of the Demon
Territory Dukedom a little while ago, you know? Now, the new eastern
territory that completely requisitioned one whole county, and the new northern
territory that requisitioned the jointly managed territory of the Federation;
both already possess vast territories on the scale of a small country. How to
handle the two new territories that possess outstanding domains; the Kingdom
will probably be racking its brains over this from now on. I don't know about
this area, though.
After
that, following the Count's guidance, we extended our journey to the border
zone with the Ist-Harias Holy State, which is the current front line.
◇◇◇
At
the territorial border designated as the new national border, a five thousand
strong stationed army commanded by Margrave Hamish, two thousand cavalry
of the Frontier Knights, and additionally ten thousand cavalry of the Third
Army of the Royal Capital Knights were deployed, creating a heavy atmosphere as
if a battle was about to begin. And in the tent we were guided to...
「Ooh! It has been a long time. I
apologize anew for the impoliteness of not being able to welcome you. Because
it is a place like this, we cannot offer you grand hospitality, but please come
inside.」
「Archduke-heika, thank you very much for the
excessive rewards at that time. I was terribly rude for not being able to visit
the Demon Territory Dukedom to return the favor.」
Margrave
Hamish and Army Commander Schultz, who were waiting in front of
the tent, welcomed me with fear and trepidation, prostrating themselves, but a
little while ago I was in the opposite position, you know? Somehow... it's hard
to deal with.
「Ah, I just dropped by personally, so
please do not concern yourselves.」
I
did my best just to say that and stop them. To begin with, as a King, being
welcomed with prostration by people who used to be my superiors doesn't suit my
nature personally, either.
「So... what are the movements of the
Holy State?」
「They had deployed their army at the
territorial border until they destroyed the Imperial Kingdom, but after that,
they daringly withdrew their army. Since the messenger of non-aggression sent
to the Royal Capital arrived, it seems they are striving not to provoke us.」
「So without crossing the territorial
border?」
「Yes, if I state it accurately, we
haven't requisitioned the entirety of the one county either. We have designated
a river slightly before that as the boundary line, and made that the
provisional national border.」
I
see, even though it's one county, the three northern counties are vast. In
terms of size alone, they are about as large as two or three counties in the
south or center. To protect it, they probably also need to choose terrain that
is easy to defend. Because each of the three northern counties is as large as
one nation of the Piette Merchant Federation, after all.
「Now, our main job has become
cracking down on the likes of invading bandits rather than guarding the
national border, you see.」
「Army Commander Hoffman, does
that mean it's still rough?」
「It's something I heard, but the
final stage of the Imperial Kingdom seems to have been in a terrible state. As
a result of being pushed into the northernmost county, they lacked food, and
the Holy Knights were apparently just like bandits...」
Tch,
those guys, huh. Even Glenn, who hailed from the Imperial Kingdom, hated
them enough to distort his face when talking about them.
「It seems the Holy State also showed
no mercy in subjugating only the Holy Knights without accepting their
surrender, and those who escaped from that seem to have turned into bandits.
They mainly use the buffer zone where the Holy State does not interfere as
their stronghold, and we are still proceeding with subjugation...」
「Margrave Hamish, what about
the influx of refugees other than them?」
「It stopped perfectly at a certain
period. At first, we thought it was because the Orthodox Theocracy deployed
soldiers at the territorial border, but the influx stopped even from regions
where their controlled area advanced north and soldiers withdrew.」
I
see, has strict governance reached everywhere, or has good governance been laid
out so there's no need to flee? In any case, some sort of change must have
occurred.
「That Orthodox Theocracy itself
changed into the Holy State before anyone knew it, right?」
「Yes, a messenger suddenly visited,
announced the establishment of the Holy State and the yielding of the buffer
zone, and unilaterally notified us of non-aggression. For us, the contents were
something to doubt our ears at first, but...」
「The story regarding the First Prince
of the Empire, and the story regarding the Clan of Darkness too?」
「Exactly as you say. They said, 『For many years, there were unfortunate misunderstandings
between our two countries, but now we are in a position holding common enemies
together. Even if we cannot fight a joint struggle, there should be room for
coordination.』」
Yeah,
there is credibility to what they are saying. It is the same at the northern
border, but their actions are consistent in their stance of not picking a fight
with the Kyle Kingdom. Rather, it wouldn't be a stretch to say they are
making efforts to gain trust.
「Are there any other concerning
pieces of information regarding the First Prince?」
「Yes, because we have never faced
them directly, we cannot say for certain, but it seems there are a considerable
number of soldiers thought to be iron cavalry among the soldiers of the Holy
State...」
「I-Iron cavalry, you say! Ah, no...
please excuse me.」
Eisen, who was nearby, was ashamed of
having unintentionally raised his voice, but it's not someone else's problem
for him. Because he himself was originally an iron cavalryman of the Imperial
Guards, who boasted of being the strongest in the Empire under the
banner of the First Prince...
「This matter requires confirmation. I
apologize to Eisen, but would you mind staying under Margrave Hamish
for a few weeks, and proceed with confirmation as much as possible? I intend to
leave about fifty cavalry I led from our side behind.」
「Yes, of course. I will take
responsibility and look after the indiscretions of my own people until the end.
If they belonged to the Imperial Guards, there are many old acquaintances among
them. If they are in the Holy State...」
「Yeah, regardless of life or death,
there's probably no mistake that the First Prince had joined them.」
I
haven't revealed it to them at this point, but I have another thought. The
First Prince faction and the Clan of Darkness were connected. In that sense, 『that report』 I was told in the Royal Capital is
not contradictory.
「Anyway, I want you to be extremely
careful of the man named Harias. It's the same in the new northern
territory, but he is no ordinary person, and seems quite well-versed in the
circumstances of various countries. Even if he has no intent to fight, I want
you to respond to him as a top-tier person requiring caution.」
For the new eastern territory as well, the contents that can be confirmed at this point and the contents that should continue to be confirmed were sorted out. Having confirmed that, after inspecting the new territory entirely, I set off on the return journey to Kusanagi. Of course, on the way back, I daringly skipped Kylar, though. To avoid getting dragged into unnecessary trouble. However... my expectations were splendidly overturned. What awaited me when I returned to Kusanagi was...
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