Chapter 152: This and That
The office in the Baumgarten Mansion in the royal capital. There, I was wrestling with documents. Being a Margrave, a lord, is a lot tougher than I imagined.
The hard part is that it’s not just about leveling up my Gift.
I reviewed documents on the food stockpile situation, the results of troop training, and so on. I’d like to check things directly myself, but Baumgarten Territory is far from the royal capital. I have no choice but to rely on these papers.
Well, these documents are already two weeks old, though.
And so, after finishing my review of the documents, I began writing out future instructions on paper.
To advance the town’s fortification, and to continue securing and training troops.
Because of the prophecy of the Evil God’s resurrection, most of the military cooperation we’d received until now has been cut off. Everyone prioritizes their own territory, after all. It can’t be helped.
The kingdom is currently transitioning to a wartime state. In peacetime, there were limits on the number of soldiers one could lead, but those have been lifted. Every territory is gathering soldiers. Because of that, there’s a shortage of people to become soldiers throughout the entire kingdom.
Right now, Baumgarten Territory’s military strength is a little over three thousand. I’d like more, but it’s a blow that they’ve become so difficult to recruit.
Well, where we can’t gather soldiers, we’ll cover with defensive facilities.
I’m repurposing various defensive structures I learned about in my past life in Japan for the town’s defense. The centerpiece among them is the huge Moat that’s currently under construction.
A massive Moat, dug to encompass all existing facilities in Baumgarten. It’s based on the Sō構え (Total Encirclement) devised by the Hojo clan during Japan’s Warring States period. I have no intention of letting those monsters take anything.
I want to use the Moat to halt the monsters’ advance and, as much as possible, finish them off from long range. Magic and bows and arrows are a given, but what I’ve focused on is the crossbow. If we attach a pulley to wind the string, even women and children can become part of the fighting force.
I’d really like to have guns, and I’ve found gunpowder, but manufacturing firearms in time is probably impossible.
I guess we’ll have to use the gunpowder for bombs. If it works out well, I’ll teach other territories and the royal army.
“What else should I do…”
Just as my thoughts came to a standstill, a knock came at the door.
“Master, Cassandra-sama is here. What shall you do?”
“Let her in. I just thought of something I wanted to ask Dora.”
Speaking of Cassandra, she was from House Altmeier, a martial family. She’s knowledgeable about tactics, and her troop deployment is probably even better than mine. Cassandra would be a fitting person to consult about Baumgarten’s survival strategy.
◇
About two weeks passed as I continued my life shuttling between the royal capital and Golem Valley. This time, Lily’s Gift evolved. Its name, which had been a mystery, was also revealed. Great Sage. This is another Gift I don’t know.
…Is my game knowledge even useful?
It feels like I’m encountering nothing but things I don’t know.
According to Lily, not only can she use magic of all attributes, but she can now apparently fuse magic. I can’t use multiple attributes of magic, so I don’t really get it, but it seems certain that the power of her magic has dramatically increased.
Now, it would be great if Claudia’s and Eleonore’s Gifts evolved too.
Right. Speaking of Gift evolution, the growth of Reinhardt and the others in Hekireki (Thunderclap) is also important. I should check on them later. I need to have Reinhardt and his group focus on hunting for experience points, not just for earning money.
Good grief, I couldn’t possibly be busier.
Thinking about the territory’s management and defense system, managing our own party, and even acting as a manager for Reinhardt’s party… I think I’m doing pretty well, even if I say so myself.
But I want to protect this world where Cornelia and the others live. I’ll work as hard as it takes.
◇
I am Zasha. Former leader of the adventurer party Crimson Vow. Now, I hold the position of a knight commanding soldiers in Baumgarten Territory.
And currently, I am also a site supervisor for civil engineering works.
“Everyone, be careful not to get injured while working! It’s almost quitting time! Keep at it!”
“””””Alright!”””””
The soldiers I lead were helping with the civil engineering work, partly for their physical training.
At first, I wondered if such heavy defenses were necessary, but the letter from our Lord-sama in the royal capital stated there was a prophecy of the Evil God’s resurrection.
It seems that when the Evil God resurrects, monsters become more active. This must be to prepare for that. Baumgarten’s defenses were becoming extensive, on a scale unlike any I’d seen elsewhere.
This too must be an expression of our Lord-sama’s desire to protect his people.
Clang, clang, clang!!!
“Ah, it’s over, it’s over.”
“Phew, I’m tired.”
“We’ve gotta go to the public bath after this.”
“Wanna grab a drink after?”
“Sounds great!”
Dusk. When the quitting bell rang, the soldiers began to stir noisily.
“Everyone, assemble!”
When I gave the command, the soldiers quickly gathered. They knew this meant today’s work was over.
“Everyone, good work. Dismissed!”
The soldiers returned to town, chatting amongst themselves. At first, there were times I was looked down upon because I’m a woman, but I’m glad they became obedient after I disciplined them.
“Oh?”
While everyone else was happily returning to town, about ten men went back to work. Today’s work is already over, though, so I wonder what’s going on?
“Everyone, what’s wrong?”
I called out to the men who had picked up their shovels and started earnestly digging the Moat.
“Knight-sama? We were just thinking of working a little longer.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“The Evil God is supposed to be resurrecting, too.”
“We want to finish this even a little bit sooner.”
“That’s right. If this is here, our moms and daughters will feel safer, right?”
“You all…”
I recognized the men’s faces. All of them were originally residents of Baumgarten Territory. They genuinely and wholeheartedly wanted to work for the sake of this Baumgarten.
“So please allow us, Knight-sama. Just for a little while.”
“I understand.”
“”Alright!””
“But…”
Before I knew it, I had also picked up a shovel.
“I’ll help too.”
“Knight-sama, you too!?”
“Just supervising all the time makes one’s body dull. This is perfect.”
And so, I worked alongside the men for about an hour after that.