Volume 4 Chapter 30 New Godard Village
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Six months have passed since the start of the Estfort development, and the construction of the facilities planned in the first development plan is complete.
The joint facility for hunters, ‘Hunter’s Nest,’ now includes a clinic run by Lana, and it has been bustling with hunters daily.
The hunters visiting Estfort were mainly those at Intermediate level or above, with most hunting in the southern region.
The regular horse-drawn carriage service to Godard Village, a relay hub, ran twice daily, but due to the sweep operation led by Kerstin’s ‘Black Bullet,’ the monsters near the town street were cleared, increasing the service to 6 times a day.
Next, the training grounds and dormitories of the Red Valkyrie were completed, allowing the current members of the Hunting Group to move from the barracks to the dormitory rooms, and the paused recruitment for new Hunting Group members was restarted.
Although the new recruitment limit was around 30, women who heard the rumors rushed to participate.
Giuliana discussed with Lydiane and decided to increase the hiring quota to 50.
This decision was based on the assessment that the daughters trained by Giuliana and Lydiane could sufficiently function as Party Leaders.
As a result, Red Valkyrie has become a massive Hunting Group with 250 Monster Hunters exclusively for women.
However, only those with a Hunter Rank (HR) of 20 or below can belong to this Hunting Group, and upon reaching HR 20, they can choose to become independent, transfer to another Hunting Group, serve as a Hunting Group instructor or military personnel.
First, independence means forming a new Hunting Group or party with members who have grown together in Red Valkyrie.
During their time in Red Valkyrie, their living expenses are guaranteed, so some save money to become independent.
Next is the transfer to another Hunting Group, allowing outstanding members to be promoted or transferred to my direct Hunting Groups, ‘Crimson Bride’ or ‘Black Bullet.’
Promotion to ‘Black Bullet’ was the standard, but if other Hunting Groups extend offers, they’ll be transferred upon confirming their willingness.
I’ve heard that most members aim to become Hunting Group instructors.
Lastly, there are the military personnel.
This is influenced by Red Valkyrie also being a training ground for female soldiers and officers.
Those who fail the Hunting Group instructor selection exam can take the military selection exam.
There is also a selection exam for soldiers and officers, and those who excel are reportedly recruited into the Estfort military with officer status.
Thus, Red Valkyrie has started functioning as a talent incubator for women.
Giuliana seemed to find purpose in the growth of the members she belonged to.
Once the Estfort army’s encampment was completed, they relocated their residence from the old garrison to the new camp.
Initially, the camp was planned to be constructed within the great outer wall, but the plans were altered, and it was built as a small castle that protruded from the main fort, extending from the southern gate.
This was proposed so the magic guns could be effectively utilized when surrounded by hordes of monsters.
As a result, the camp’s capacity expanded significantly beyond the initially planned 2500 to accommodate 5000.
Within this camp, there were training grounds, various facilities, and barracks lined up.
Kondrad anticipated that my army would grow, so a spacious camp was indeed a blessing.
Since a thousand troops were now funded from the national treasury, the extra money was used to recruit around 2 hundred individuals as private soldiers through connections from the central army.
Finally, the ‘Southern Orphan Relocation Plan’ proposed by Lydiane was executed, mobilizing absolute resources, including guardians from the orphanages in the royal capital and the Red Valkyrie, resulting in the relocation of a total of 1400 individuals, including 900 orphans and 500 staff members from the orphanages, to my Estfort.
We immediately decided to house them in the barracks of the old garrison, left behind by soldiers and hunters, providing them a place to live.
The orphans, consisting of boys and girls aged 5 to 15 determined to endure the southern transfer, will live in the barracks together while engaging in studies and work.
The adult individuals from the orphanages will also receive barracks and various job introductions, just like the orphans.
From there, it would depend on their own efforts, but if anyone were to misbehave, I planned to send them to Akebus’s training squad to be reformed.
After seeing these results, I offered Lydiane a black leather collar as a token of gratitude.
This is a collar worn as part of the subjugation ritual of the Garuda Clan’s wolf species, symbolizing absolute obedience to their master.
I placed the collar around Lydiane’s neck.
I felt a surge of desire at the sight of her wearing the collar, but I decided to hold back since the orphans were present.
Later on, I resolved to call her out to the wilderness for some fun.
Then, the rescue team sent to Felward delivered the orders of appointment for the defense captain, appointed by my father-in-law, to Garvey.
Garvey’s reaction was quite positive.
The soldiers under him were delighted to learn that he, who had only been a non-commissioned officer in the garrison, had suddenly been promoted to the rank of defense captain, equivalent to a General.
Garvey’s appointment as defense captain was an acknowledgment of his ability to maintain discipline and protect Felward Fortress with a ragtag group of remnants until today.
It may have also had a good influence that it was added that he would have full authority over personnel decisions for the defense unit.
When Garvey fled to Felward with the remnants, the officer class had already escaped, leaving him as the highest-ranking member among the non-commissioned officers.
It seems he had no choice but to appoint competent individuals from among the soldiers and non-commissioned officers to lead, and he was pleased to be able to officially appoint them as officers.
Garvey’s army had actively hunted monsters around the town leading to Felward since the great invasion, growing into a more elite combat group than the Estfort army.
Thanks to this, it is said that there were no sightings of monsters on the town between Godard village and Felward from the dispatched team.
Additionally, the relative stability of the another world gate (Abyss Gate), a major rift to the True Demon Kingdom, is considered one of the reasons Felward did not fall.
I heard from my father-in-law that the another world gate (Abyss Gate) located further south of Felward is always connected to another world, and nearby, ‘another world monsters’ gather to act as gatekeepers.
By the way, the famous Demon Lord who opened this another world gate (Abyss Gate) is Arsella Dorman, the 7th Demon Lord, who is an ancestor of Lina and Lana.
After the conclusion of the Demon-Human War, she activated a large-scale barrier to prevent further invasions from the human continent.
The Barrier Magic was successful, and travel from the human continent to the demon continent is now limited to a few specific locations in the eastern strait.
As a result, there were no more invasions from humans, but a side effect of the magic opened a permanent point to another world.
This place is said to be called the “another world gate” (Abyss Gate).
The True Demon Kingdom succeeded in eliminating the human enemy, but instead, it now harbors the enemy known as “another world monsters.”
Arsella Dorman was pursued for responsibility and was ousted from the position of Demon Lord, and I heard from my father-in-law that her noble return to the kingdom was halted indefinitely.
Therefore, it is said that the Dorman family cannot become nobles, no matter how much wealth or power they possess.
Due to the existence of the another world gate (Abyss Gate), the southern region has been neglected in development for many years and has been treated as a frontier.
The fortress of Abyss Vena was built to prevent monsters from the south, as well as “another world monsters” and beast monsters, from invading the kingdom.
Furthermore, the Felward Fortress was constructed to monitor the another world gate (Abyss Gate).
I became curious about Garvey, a man who seemed like a hero from a war chronicle, to whom I entrusted an important base.
I wondered how a mere non-commissioned officer managed to gather the remnants of the defeated soldiers, defend the base, and turn them into an elite force.
With this appointment, I technically became part of the southern army, but I would like to recruit him as my aide if possible.
However, I cannot dismiss the possibility that he is just a man who was fortunate to have subordinates as capable as Gertroud, so I decided to go meet him.
When I mentioned that I would go to Felward Fortress, Kondrad and other military personnel began insisting, “Please allow 3 hundred guards to accompany you.”
Meanwhile, the ladies, including Milly, started to fuss, saying, “Kent is interested in a man! Was there a lapse in his duties?” and it seemed like it would spiral out of control.
Somehow, when I conveyed my intentions to everyone, Kondrad suggested, “Why not visit under the pretext of a hunting trip?”
Taking Kondrad’s suggestion, I decided to head towards Felward Fortress with a group of about 60, excluding the heavily pregnant Annabella, Carly, and Director Lana, along with Ane’s cavalry from the army.
My mother-in-law cheerfully mentioned that there would be a mountain of work waiting for her upon her return, so I arranged for a physical service in exchange for her help.
It seemed my mother-in-law was expecting my response, as she readily accepted.
I quickly prepared and set off towards Felward Fortress.
* * *
It took a day to travel from Estfort to Godard Village, heading south along the town road, but thanks to the success of Kerstin’s extermination operation, the monsters near the town road had significantly decreased.
With so many monsters reduced, it might be time to start clearing the forests where magic elements are likely to accumulate.
”Milly, it’s completely different from the last time we came. When we headed to Godard before, we could see monsters wandering everywhere.”
”That’s true. It’s a rare situation in recent years. I’ve never seen so few monsters in the southern region…”
From the carriage, I could only see the area around us, but there were no signs of monsters, and the scenery reflected in the window was a vast, undeveloped wilderness.
”Akebus mentioned that this southern region has fertile land where crops grow quickly, allowing for multiple harvests a year. If we can hunt down the powerful monsters, this area could produce food for Estfort and Abyss Vena as a granary…”
”Huh!? Is Kent planning to develop the southern region?”
Milly, who was listening beside me, showed a surprised expression.
”Only in the future. I think we need food to increase the population in the south. If the population in Estfort grows, we have to consider food self-sufficiency, or else I don’t want to be parched when we clash with the folks in the capital.”
”Kent is unusually serious… Lina… I wonder if Kent ate something bad?”
”Oh, Elder Sister. Kent certainly thinks of erotic things first, but surprisingly, he’s also serious about being a Lord… maybe…”
It seems the wives’ overall evaluation of the Lord is quite low.
In reality, I delegate administrative tasks to my mother-in-law and military affairs to Kondrad, so I thought it was understandable that all he does is stamp papers in his office.
”Well, since it’s just a concept for now. For the time being, let’s ask the Hunter Guild to lift the hunting area lock near the town. Since we’ve cleaned it up nicely, I’d rather not have a large-scale magic element accumulate again.”
”Right. I’ll send a notice to the Guild.”
”Ah, just do it when you get back, please. Milly.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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