Volume 5 Chapter 1-2 New Village
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Well, what’s done is done. The important part is what we do now.”
Mr. Mauro quickly spreads out a cloth on the table, showing a detailed map of the village. Looks like the real talk starts now.
”This village was originally a fortress. The village head’s house is built on the site of an old main camp. There’s a warehouse that stores enough wheat to feed the village for 3 years. It has a well and a water reservoir too. If needed, we could hold out inside here for years.”
Looking at the map, it’s clear how Toyata Village was built as a fortress. The winding maze of roads seems designed so that if enemies invade, the villagers can turn their homes into walls. Just build barrades at key points, and it becomes a layered fortress. Even the village head’s house looks like it could turn into a castle tower.
”The village’s water supply comes from the village head’s water tank. Right now, the water for drinking is all controlled by the village head’s faction.”
Since you have to boil canal water before drinking, the water tank at the village head’s house uses a fancy machine with a windmill to pull clean water from underground. Basically, it’s like mineral water.
”I was the one who fixed that water pump.”
Suddenly, Mr. Zenom, who had been silent before, speaks up. That machine’s structure is like a long caterpillar, with buckets attached at each joint. If it were anyone else, repairing it wouldn’t be a problem. But this dwarf gets bored easily, and he doesn’t like making multiple parts of the same thing. He’d rather polish the caterpillar endlessly. Still, he managed to hold back.
”It’s got too many parts, and uses plain brass. If you don’t give it some care now and then, it won’t last long. And let me tell you──if I’d built it from the start, it would never have turned out so silly.”
So, if you don’t maintain it, it’ll break down soon──that’s good to know. Mr. Zenom might be the most important person in the village. Without the blacksmith, big machines like the windmill and waterwheel can’t run. Nor can basic tools like pots, knives, or axes. Even Mr. Laken probably can’t challenge him without causing trouble.
”Just call the blacksmith from his place. But watch out if Laken brings in mercenaries. If there are several over level 10, they could take over the village with their strength.”
I think I could handle guys like that now. Am I being underestimated or what? Well, I’m still hiding most of my trump cards. But if push comes to shove, I’m ready to borrow the strength of the salamanders. As a hero, I gotta prioritize my life.
Getting strength makes you too eager for a fight. Better to live in peace, love and harmony, right, Ann? The village head’s faction and the hero’s faction bickering… Maybe things would settle down if I left. I don’t want to part with Mr. Zenom and the guys, but maybe it’s time for a hero to set off on an adventure.
”Would the village be peaceful if I left?”
”That’d be a problem now, Sir Hero. If you leave, we’d be in quite a bind.”
Yeah, that makes sense. As Mr. Mauro, they’d be in trouble if I got kicked out now. But they shouldn’t say that out loud. This is such a hassle. In a game event, you just take out the bad guys and it’s over, but real life doesn’t work that way.
”Actually, I have a secret plan. If it works, we might settle things without anyone in the village shedding blood.”
Mr. Mauro carefully spreads another cloth on the table. This one seems to be a map of the local area. It’s not super accurate, but there are lines like canals, so you can make out some landmarks. The small circles must be towns and villages, and the biggest double circle is probably the capital. There’s even the Wolf Forest and the Valley of Trials. Judging by the border lines, this map shows about half the country. The countries in this world are about the size of Japan’s prefectures.
”On this map, the areas shaded in light red are human territories. The blank spaces are monster domains, lands beyond civilization.”
Sort of like mold on bread, a pinkish human power is spreading out, but there’s way more empty space on the cloth. The world’s changed a lot since the wall barley showed up.
Barren wastelands turned into rich wheat fields.
If you can get water, any land can support life without hunger. lots of folks fled to the wilds to start new villages, tired of heavy taxes.
But then, just as the old order seemed to crumble, the Demonfolk attacks began. They smashed the new villages, so no more farmers sought the frontier.
Since then, it’s the nobles leading the big push into the wilds. funny thing, though – their villages don’t get hit by Demonfolk much. Smells fishy.
And when the nobles started their big expansion, that’s when the legendary Demon King came back. In a game, it’s always some idiot breaking a seal, right?
It’s confusing – not sure how Demonfolk and Demon Kings are different. They’re both bad, like natural disasters and wars. But for the people, Demonfolk are worse. Nobles worry more about the Demon King’s army… probably because, in games, monsters still pop up on the field even after you beat the boss, right?
If you think of landholding nobles as nobles with titles, you’re mostly right. If they lose their land to other nobles or the Demon King’s army, they lose more than their title – they lose their noble status. If they’re not confident in battle, they can give their land to the country and keep their noble rank. Sort of like how daimyo became kazoku during the Meiji Restoration, I guess? So, with the Demon King’s revival as a trigger, countries have been centralizing power up to now.
For a while, it seemed like the whole world was about to be wiped out by the Demon King – a huge crisis. But then, countries united against him, and once they did, wars between nations stopped. They gathered all the resources they used to fight each other and managed to stop the Demon King’s attacks.
Summoning heroes from other worlds turned out to be a trump card too. Thanks to that, the Demon King’s attacks are almost gone now. Summoning a thousand people every year seems like a bit much, though.
I’ve heard this story before from Miss Floria and Ms. Nina. Still, every time I hear it, I wonder: who is this Demon King, really? No one can tell me specifics. They’re not hiding anything; they just don’t know.
”But now that the Demon King’s attacks have stopped, almost no one wants to found a new village. All the dangerous jobs are left to the people summoned from other worlds, while everyone else just wants to live a peaceful life.”
There’s nothing wrong with living in peace. I don’t like that they just dump all the dangerous stuff on the heroes from other worlds, but I get the feeling of wanting to live a calm life.
Some people want to be heroes, to fight and bleed for something. Others want to live safely, protected. I’d rather be the latter. In games and movies, thrilling adventures are fun, but in real life, even if you win, it’s a lot of trouble. I’m more of a stay-safe-and-enjoy-good-food kind of guy.
”I used to laugh off the idea of founding a village as nonsense, but now that we have Sir Hero here, let’s explore new lands. Let’s all join our strengths and build a new village together.”
Huh? New lands? Is that Mr. Mauro’s secret plan?
I’m having a hard time keeping up with this sudden twist.
”Sir Hero’s status is considered equal to nobility, and the Doll Princess is treated like royalty. If you found a new village, you could easily make it your territory.”
Is that how it works? I take a peek at Ms. Nina’s expression.
”Certainly, legally speaking, that’s true. As long as there are villagers who gather without fear of Demonfolk attacks, it would be no problem.”
The villagers are the lord’s property, but they are not slaves. Officially, they have the right to choose their lord with their own will. But changing lords has many risks. The biggest problem is losing the protection of the old lord. Giving up a safe life passed down for generations──moving to a frontier village with no walls… That’s a gamble, really.
”We can probably fight off demonfolk if they show up. If the Demon King’s army comes, walls don’t matter much. I looked up old records. Most walled cities that relied on strong defenses ended up wiped out. The safe harvesters──those who fled early──survived way more.”
A siege is terrible without backup. If we fall, walls become just bars trapping us in. Like Mr. Mauro says, sometimes running away──abandoning the village──is the best move. If everyone splits up and escapes in different directions, we might avoid total destruction. According to Mr. Mauro, the Demon King’s army might not attack non-combatants much.
Shea-Shea says that this world’s history is more about stories than real facts. But it’s better to do some research anyway. Maybe someday, I’ll ask someone to read it to me.
Shea-Shea and Ms. Nina are good at reading aloud. Miss Floria is, too. If possible, I’d like to lie in bed while she reads──snacks and drinks ready. Maybe berries for snacks, and cider or mint-flavored ale for drinks. My imagination keeps running wild. If I ask Miss Floria, she’d probably think it’s fun and really do it.
”Even if it’s useless in battle, civilians naturally want higher walls.”
Her words bring me back to reality. I bet Ms. Nina would look down on my daydreams if she knew. In my mind, Ms. Nina lies n*ked on a bed, like Goya’s Maya──alive, curvy, and real.
”For us, Hero Sir Saburou might be the best wall. If we establish a new village, heroes will flock to move there.”
”Building a new village… sounds interesting.”
How’d I end up the leader, planning to found a village? Hold up, I’m no good at managing stuff. I’ve played those management games, sure, but I always go bankrupt real quick. I blame my stinginess with starting funds and my habit of splurging on fun facilities.
I’d cheat with my modern knowledge, but this world’s tech is weirdly advanced in places. It’s medieval for commoners, but the elite might have tech that’s off the charts.
”No way I can handle the admin cheating, though.”
”That’s better for us. You can leave all the admin to us.”
The domestic affairs cheat worked just fine. Mind Communication skill still does a good job. Guess I’m just a figurehead, huh? It’s a bit lonely, but if I can palm off the work, might as well enjoy it.
”Being a lord could be cool. If I negotiate with the Merchant Guild right, I can trade freely in my territory.”
Master Zenom is smooth. The Merchant Guild gets in the way of business. If I could sell my goods legally, even if it’s not meat, that’d be real charismatic. If I can dump all the hassle on Mr. Mauro, maybe I’ll just go with this village plan.
”So, what exactly should I do for now?”
”Nothing right now. We’re talking about founding a new village when the wheat harvests next year.”
Half a year away, huh? That’s a serious shrug-off. But if we move at harvest time, we won’t need to worry about food. That’s reasonable, I guess.
”The new place won’t be far from Toyata village. Somewhere with a good well or spring would be ideal. I have a few spots in mind.”
Mr. Mauro lines up pretty stones on the map.
”Most places around here, you dig deep enough, you’ll hit a water vein. I’ll dig the well. What we really need is a stone quarry nearby.”
”Lady Erin, the elf, won’t like cutting wood, will she? If it’s near the quarry, maybe around the western dry valley?”
Is Ms. Erin joining us too? Leaving the village of Toyata, full of memories with your husband… is that okay?
”We could also bake bricks. Near the old Toyata village, there should be plenty of clay and peat.”
Hearing “old Toyata village” made me think of the village of the dead in the swamp. There, even after purification, the stone walls remained. It was the site of a tragedy where all the villagers were slaughtered, but even the most formidable fortress falls eventually. Repair the walls, modify the surrounding swamps into moats, and it might just become a decent water castle.
Mr. Zenom and Mr. Mauro kept adding more and more options for the new village site. The map was covered in pebbles. This is too much; we need to narrow it down. Maybe spend the next 6 months deciding?
The magic light made them forget the passage of time, but it was already late into the night. The conversation was going in circles. Ms. Nina and I should take our leave here.
Tomorrow, we head to the doll keeper’s dungeon at dawn. I want to get a good night’s sleep tonight; it’ll be a while before we get a proper bed again.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai. Thanks for reading.
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