Otherworld Nation Founding Chronicles - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

We’ll be going a little back in time .

The motion for sending envoys to the Equus tribe unexpectedly passed with little objection in the council .

The reason was Regal DeBell did not particularly oppose the motion .

For him, there’s no point to trading with savage tribes but he also thinks there’s little point to particularly oppose that motion .

In other words, he’s just not interested .

After it was decided to send the first envoy to the Equus tribe, Almis hurriedly went back to his territory to begin war preparations .

For this war, in addition to the 800 regulars, the Ars territory conscripted around 1,200 more for a combined force of 2,000 . That would be around 6% to 7% of the population .

Although it was planned to not drag the war on for more than 20 days, the responsibility ((of mobilizing such a force)) is nevertheless daunting .

Since the Ars Citizens themselves are aware of their precarious position living in a territory directly bordering the De Morgal Kingdom, there probably won’t be any big opposition particularly since Almis has been exercising good governance .

The treasury, too, was particularly stable thanks to the support of the salt and paper industries .

The remaining problem is soldier quality .

Therefore, he immediately obligated the citizenry to participate in the military drills .

Once every week, he would have around 10 to 20 villages gathered together and perform drills .

If it’s just to that extent, then the farmers won’t be too angry .

Besides, one of the objectives is to instill a sense of danger among the citizenry .

Now, there are still things to do apart from supplying the soldiers .

First is to order Ismere, Qingming, and Lulu to further reinforce and inspect the new fort . This is to strengthen the fort rock solid ((to withstand the expected attack . ))

The point is to put up a sorcery barrier around the fort and to make it more fortified than ever before .

Futhermore, Almis and Tetra have together began developing new defensive siege equipment .

Soyon was assigned to King Rosyth’s sorcerers . They were made to survey the De Morgal Kingdom’s geography . Using owls, they explored past midnight so they wouldn’t be found that easily .

Well, the De Morgal Kingdom was probably doing the same against the Rosyth Kingdom anyway .

Ron, Roswald, and Gram, on the other hand, are responsible for the soldiers’ training .

As for Yal…

He left for the DeBell Territory together with several subordinates . They were mobilized to the territory disguised as merchants .

Around ten years ago, when Ron and the others were still children, currency was not that yet widely circulated . However, within these ten tears, the Adernia Peninsula voluntarily and rapidly transformed into a monetary economy . The primary causes were the Adernian kings, princes, and clansmen desire for foreign goods, their adoption of Cretian culture, and the advent of the study of the Cretian language .

As such, it wouldn’t be strange to see merchants and the like .

Of course, in the DeBell territory too .

While recently all the merchants are heading for the Ars territory, there are still those who go to the DeBell territory .

At first, Yal acted like a normal merchant, trading goods here and there .

Then he devoted himself to gathering information .

It’s not that particularly strange for merchants to gather information . Yal slowly gathered information regarding the DeBell territory from other merchants, farmers, and the like .

The efforts paid off and he was able to identify the DeBell clan’s power structure .

As expected, the clan is divided into the Relative and Non-Relative Factions . The former is headed by Gilberto while the latter was headed by Bermet .

It seems that Bermet has gathered excellent and talented people over time .

The DeBell Clan somehow managed to become the most powerful clan in the Rosyth Kingdom (before the resurgence of the Ars Clan . )

Because the head of the Rosyth Clan – King Rosyth is ill, their prospects are bleak . A lot of personnel have been going to the DeBell territory .

Bermet would then pick them out and assign them official duties .

Although you might say the DeBell clan is monopolizing the important offices, it’s not like it’s completely impossible to get one .

Besides, once Regal DeBell becomes king, there’s enough chance that you’d finally get your turn for one .

It’s not like he has a lot of relatives after all .

Furthermore, should Bermet overcome the power struggle, he could secure an important post in the Rosyth Kingdom and he could also become a territorial lord .

Having said that, it’s not like there’s no dissatisfaction against them .

Plus, it’s not like all the personnel have a sense of gratitude to Bermet .

There are a lot of people thinking of leaving and offering their services to other territorial lords after completely failing to obtain good assessment .

Yal is targeting those people .

It happened in the Third Month .

Yal speaks to a man of the DeBell Territory .

“Ah, Yal, is it? Come on in . ”

This man, a soldier of the DeBell Territory, called Decurion Joseph invites the merchant Yal into his house .

(TLN: Decurion literally means Ten Person Officer . Will use Latin Decurion since it literally means the same thing . However, I don’t yet know if this Joseph commands cavalry as in the Roman sense of the word . )

Josef has been living off a salary of wheat from the DeBell clan . Naturally speaking, man cannot live on wheat alone .

Thus, Joseph sells his wheat in exchange for vegetables, meat, and liquor . However… . the value of wheat has recently fallen despite the harvest yield not really changing much .

Though he has no way of knowing, the reason was because of Almis . The wheat that Almis had been paying to the DeBell Territory as reparations have been driving down its market value .

Let’s get back to the story .

Since the value of wheat has fallen, Joseph was forced to tighten his belt and live a horrible life .

It was around that time that Yal entered the picture .

Yal was selling unusually cheap vegetables . As a matter of course, Yal and Joseph soon became good friends .

“I can’t take this anymore~” (Joseph)

Joseph complains to Yal as he drinks his liquor .

One thing is that his abilities aren’t being properly acknowledged .

Joseph was excellent in sword and spear fighting that he managed to take down several enemies during the war with King Ferrum . He defeated all enemies he encountered .

Bermet caught his attention so he got employed into the army .

He was an existence acknowledged for his unusual excellence as decurion .

However, he couldn’t become a centurion . All centurion offices have been monopolized by DeBell’s relatives . Naturally, he was grateful for Bermet . However, gratitude won’t feed him .

‘Why does someone excellent like me have to go through such hardships in life?’ he thought .

Seeing such a Joseph, Yal thought it was the perfect opportunity so he began his pitch .

“Then why not just serve the Ars Territory? I can guarantee you the status of centurion . I’ll get you ten times more than you get now as salary . We’ll also prepare a residence for you . ” (Yal)

“Haha, that would be nice… . huh?” (Joseph)

Joseph reflexively asks again .

Yal laughs grinning .

“I am Yal, an operative working for Lord Almis Ars . Well, right now I’m passing myself off as a merchant . ” (Yal)

“Haha, so it was a ruse huh . ” (Joseph)

“I had no choice but to do this to ascertain your feelings . So, what do you say?” (Yal)

Joseph was greatly tempted .

However…

“……Regal DeBell is the main candidate for the next king . There’s no way I’m jumping off a winning ship . Besides I owe a lot to Lord Bermet, I’m gratefu… . ” (Joseph)

“Grateful? Should you even have such gratitude to that person? Isn’t it because of Bermet that right now you have no choice but to live a life of great poverty? That person saved your life, you say? Weren’t you just saying that if I wasn’t here you would have no choice but to go into debt, right? Furthermore, it’s not like it’s been decided that Regal DeBell would be succeeding as king . Besides, aren’t things suspicious lately?” (Yal)

Yal presses Joseph for an answer .

At present, there are two rumors circulating regarding King Rosyth’s relatives .

The first rumor was that Raymond would be the next king . He’s the best choice genealogically speaking so it’s not a strange rumor .

The second rumor was that Almis Ars would be chosen as the supreme commander of the army in the war against King De Morgal .

In other words, the rumors aren’t farfetched .

It was just some time ago that the DeBell Army suffered a miserable loss to the Ars Army .

That event had huge repercussions… . . It gave exceptional credibility to the rumors . Even if you doubt the credibility, the rumors were mostly true though .

“My lord, Almis Ars is young . He still has a lot ahead of him . Furthermore, it’s been rumored that he will be chosen as the supreme commander of the army for the next war . He’s close with King Rosyth after all . Also, he’s being tormented by a shortage of good personnel . He doesn’t have any relatives too . You’d have several chances of rising through the ranks . ” (Yal)

Practically speaking, the Ars army lacks commanders for the battlefield .

The thirty tax collectors of the Ars Territory are general purpose public servants that can both fight and do finance .   However, there’s no way all of them could be brought to the battlefield .

It will mess up the territory’s management after all .

Some of them have to be assigned as direct escorts of Almis .

Considering that, they would want four to five centurions .

After worrying for some time, Joseph asks Yal:

“Three days, can you wait for my answer in three days?” (Joseph)

“That’s fine . Don’t make your new house in the Ars Territory wait for too long . (Yal)

Yal leaves with a laugh .

Yal then visits the next house .

The master of the house welcomes him .

“Please, come inside . ”

Her name is Dora . (TLN: Dudutdutdutdu Dora~)

She’s a sorcerer specializing in using dogs .

“Here’s the usual liquor . Also, the medicinal plants . ” (Yal)

“Thank you very much . You saved me . ” (Dora)

Dora pays for Yal’s merchandise with wheat .

After having a friendly chat for a while, Dora opens up to Yal .

“Actually, I have something to consult with you . ” (Dora)

“What is it?” (Yal)

“You see, I received a marriage proposal from a DeBell clansman . ” (Dora)

Naturally, Yal already knew . It’s a popular story amongst the sorcerers working for the DeBell Clan after all .

Or perhaps you should say it is for this reason that Yal approached Dora .

He also knew why she’s so troubled . However, he’s pretending to be in the dark .

“Isn’t that a wonderful thing? You’d be marrying into wealth, yes?” (Yal)

“It’s completely horrible, you know!!!” (Dora)

Dora raises her voice .

“That man, his appearance is… . well THAT . He’s also over 50 years… . At the very least, he’s not my type . Furthermore, he has 5 wives PLUS 10 sex slaves, you know . ” (Dora)

Sorcerers have high pride as women .

That’s because they receive even more favorable treatment than normal male retainers due to their unique sorcery abilities .

Not only do they have high salaries, they’re pretty much free from troubles in life .

Therefore, there’s no need to desperately chase after a rich man . A sex maniac with several wives is out of the question .

In the first place, she won’t be able to stand being treated as a typical wife the same way as a woman who’s not a sorcerer would be .

Dora holds this kind of sentiment .

If the one who proposed were very good-looking or had an incredibly high social status then she might have considered .

However, the one who proposed did not by any standard have that high of a social status .

The established reputation of the DeBell Clan only has value within the DeBell territory itself .

She’s not desperate for a man to the extent that he’d marry with such a small fish .

“However, in this territory, if I go against the DeBell Tribe then my job will be… . .

I can’t rely on Bermet, too . Is there a good place of employment anywhere? You’re a merchant so I thought you’d probably know something . ” (Dora)

“Yes, I know somewhere you can go . ” (Yal)

Yal visits the third house .

The master of this house is a man who has about a quarter Cretian blood .

He can speak fluent Cretian and specializes in calculations . He is a very excellent man .

“Yal, I’m sorry… . . Can you please give me one more month? I’ll definitely pay you back by then . ”

Despite this, Amerigo has been living a very distressed life .

Since a lot of the clansmen are attracted by Cretian culture, a lot of them have also put great importance in writing .

However, there are also a lot who hold a different opinion .

In the Adernia Peninsula where wars and petty squabbles are a frequent occurrence and the danger of getting attacked by bears and lions are ever present, physical strength trumps all .

Thus, scholarship and learning where the results are hard to see tend to be despised .

This trend is currently strong particularly in the DeBell territory .

Although Bermet who was the only one who noticed him gave him a post, his life had been particularly bitter . His salary too was not that high .

Well, the Amerigo clan having a huge family of 9 people consisting of a too old to work grandmother, the wife, and six children played a huge part in their poverty .

Supporting eight people with Amerigo’s salary alone is impossible .

Since the children are still young, he has misgivings with having them work away from home .

He has thought of relocating to another territory but there are no jobs except in the DeBell territory .

In the first place, with the exception of the Ars territory, no one bothers with doing troublesome things such as accurately collecting taxes, conducting land surveys, and creating certificates of residence .

The great clansmen who put high value in letters on the other hand are satisfied with having just one or two people who can speak Cretian .

Furthermore, only a few would dare hire people who would have to leave from the DeBell Clan . A lot of them are afraid of inciting the wrath of the clan .

“No, that would be a problem, you see . I didn’t loan it as good will after all . ” (Yal)

Yal answers with what seems like a bothered voice .

Amerigo clings to Yal and begs .

“Please, I beg of you!!” (Amerigo)

“No . Is what I wanted to say, but… . ” (Yal)

Yal smiles and says:

“I’ll tell you about this huge opportunity to have your debt immediately written off while being able to earn a salary several times bigger than what you earn . How is it? Would you like to know more?” (TLN: He sounds like a scam artist haha)

Just like that, Yal succeded in headhunting three talented people .

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