Volume 4 Chapter 30 New Godard Village
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
At that moment, Godard Village came into view ahead.
It was a village abandoned by Akebus due to the Black Dog, but now it had been developed into a relay base for hunters operating in the southern region.
”Um… it’s incredibly fortified compared to when I was here last. I heard the hunters helped out, but it has impressive walls and even moats like a fortress…”
From a distance, Godard Village had transformed from the shabby wooden fence I saw on my first visit to a stone wall built on an earthen rampart, and the shallow, narrow moat had more than doubled in width and appeared significantly deeper.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the entrance of Godard Village.
The gate had changed from a shabby wooden fence to a castle gate that still retained the scent of wood.
Eventually, as the gate opened, Akebus appeared.
”My lord, we have been waiting for you. Godard has been revitalized by the hunters. Currently, nearly a hundred people have settled here, and traders have started coming to purchase materials. It used to be a town road where only transport teams to Felward Fortress passed, but now carriages carrying hunters and traders come and go.”
”It’s changed quite a bit in such a short time. For someone like me who knew the old Godard Village, it looks like a completely different place.”
”It has indeed been a rapid recovery. Fortunately, we secured a nearby quarry for stone, allowing us to strengthen our defenses. If we station a guard equipped with magic guns here, I believe we can withstand quite a number of monsters for a while.”
Akebus beamed at me with a smile full of joy at the revival of the village he had cultivated.
He understood the power of the magic guns created by Aida and was encouraging the youth of the Godard Clan to acquire the [Gunsmith] job.
Of course, he wasn’t neglecting the traditional training of [Archers] in Godard, but he believed in being able to differentiate between using magic guns for mid-range and bows for close range.
However, the mass production system for magic guns has not been established yet, and we’re at the stage where there are not enough magic guns available. Once they start being produced, we plan to prioritize supplying Godard’s archers, who are directly under Fristoph, along with the cavalry.
”Right. We’re currently sending out escorts on a quest for hunters, but we might need to deploy a security force soon. I was considering it as a refuge, but now that defenses are solidified, it might be good to prepare it as a defensive base.”
Just then, Manon, who had been listening nearby, spoke up.
”Sir Kent, when I helped with the extermination operation of ‘Black Bullet’ the other day, I saw the AK-MK01, and I think equipping it on the fortress wall would significantly enhance our defense-nya. Since it’s heavy, I believe it would be better installed for base defense-nya.”
”Ah, that one. It’s the magic gun copied from my Explode Gunlance, right?”
”Lady Manon, are you referring to the high-speed firing mechanism of the AK-MK01 from the lord’s gun lance? I heard that a prototype was completed, but I didn’t know it had been deployed in actual combat…”
As Manon said, the AK-MK01 copied by Aida had indeed been deployed in the extermination operation to verify its usability in actual combat.
According to Kerstin’s report, it was said that the recoil from the shots was strong, and it couldn’t be handled properly without a solid gun mount, but its power was more than satisfactory, boasting overkill strength against monsters.
So, Aida is currently prototyping the AK-MK02, which has reduced firing speed and weight, and I thought it might be good to deploy it here in Godard for performance testing.
”I’m thinking of installing the improved version here for testing purposes. Monsters tend to gather quite a bit at night, right?”
”Yes, they do come up to the trenches. Therefore, outdoor activities at night are prohibited.”
”In that case, it seems we can conduct the test. I’ll speak to Aida on my end, and once the prototype is completed, we’ll deploy it. However, we need Akebus to return to Estfort soon and lead the Training team.”
”Haha. It’s hard to part, but I entrust my life to you, my lord, so I won’t be selfish. For a while, I’ll leave the management of this land to Mr. Soumei of ‘Hand of Glory,’ who is taking on the guard quest.”
Mr. Soumei is very grateful for the ammunition production from our Blackdagger family, and he has taken on the defense quest for Godard village at a lower fee than usual.
”With Mr. Soumei, I feel at ease. He can make calm judgments as long as his hair isn’t cut.”
”Kent, I am always calm. A magician must remain composed in any situation.”
Mr. Soumei appeared from behind Akebus, fiddling with his hair, which was back to normal.
He claims to always be calm, but I wonder if it’s just my imagination that he was clearly flustered when his hair was cut?
”Thank you, Mr. Soumei. I’m grateful for your help in taking on this quest.”
”We also receive financial support from Kent. This is also a way to show gratitude for being able to provide the new recruits with magic composition texts thanks to the side work… so don’t hold back.”
Thanks to the side work, Mr. Soumei has been able to secure a stable income and has started training new recruits.
He has also been training the new recruits during this defense quest.
As a hunting group specialized in magicians, they judged that it was safer to stay at the base and hunt monsters, providing support with Barrier Magic until the walls and trenches were built, and they wiped out the monsters with magic, which contributed to the rapid fortification of Godard.
”It seems that Mr. Soumei and the others have hunted quite a number of monsters. They must have made a good profit, right?”
”Well, it’s moderate. However, I think it will all disappear with the costs of the magic composition texts for the growing new recruits. Everyone is making quite a bit of progress.”
”Well then, as an additional reward this time, I’ll let you use the discount benefit on the magic composition document from the Magician Guild that I have. The director of the Magician Guild said they’d give a discount up to Intermediate-level if they have stock.”
Mr. Soumei’s expression changed at my suggested additional reward.
”Kent…is that story true? Oh, I see. Your wife is a sister from the Dorman family, right? Then, once we complete the quest, I’ll use it without hesitation.”
”Go ahead, we have few in-house Magicians anyway.”
”It seems the matter of the reward is settled, Lord Soumei. I will leave the rest to you.”
”Ah, Lord Akebus. I’ll leave it to you.”
Thus, the duty of managing Godard village was transferred to Soumei, and it was decided that Akebus would return to Estfort.
After that, while inspecting Godard village, I saw many traders buying materials, and they all presented trading permits issued by the Blackdagger family.
This was evidence that Godard village was recognized as the territory of the Blackdagger family, granting them litigation rights in this area.
In other words, if you get into trouble with hunters here without a permit, you’ll end up losing out, so the traders all rushed to buy the permits.
This way, even if they got into trouble, the Blackdagger family would step in to mediate, as my mother-in-law had advertised.
Meanwhile, it seems hunters avoid making transactions with traders who do not have trading permits.
When issuing permits, traders go through background checks based on their funds and buying records, meaning that illegal traders are eliminated, and hunters view them as safe transaction partners.
Because of this, so far, no troubles have arisen in material trading.
”If both traders and hunters can profit, there won’t be any quarrels.”
”You’re right about it, Kent. But I’ve heard that some buying traders will pay more than the Hunter Guild if you have a decent quantity. I hope there won’t be any issues with the Hunter Guild…”
”The buying traders have coordinated their discussions with the Hunter Guild, so it should be fine, right? They also handle purchases at the Estfort facility, and apparently, the hunters are just looking to dispose of bulky items.”
According to Akebus, the hunters know that rare materials sell for a higher price through the Guild, so the materials they sell to buying traders are primarily common ones with high demand.
The buying traders are aware that hunters don’t supply rare materials, so they focus on purchasing medium and low-grade ones that are in high demand.
”It’s good if they’re managing to coexist with the Guild. Be careful, though──the Guild master there can be quite troublesome if he gets upset.”
Milly was particularly concerned about the buying traders due to her long-standing relationship with the Hunter Guild master.
She was worried about the potential conflict with the Hunter Guild, especially since nearly half of the Blackdagger family’s income comes from selling materials.
”Yeah, I’m not planning on getting into a conflict with the Guild either.”
”Then that’s good.”
After the inspection, we decided to stay at the newly constructed magistrate’s residence, which had been built on the site of the old Akebus house.
However, since we couldn’t accommodate all 60 members, the cavalry soldiers under Ane would have to camp out in the garden.
Then, the next day, we set off toward Felward Fortress.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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