Ch.10Preparation Prevents Regret

“40 people…”

“I could have reduced it further… I apologize.”

“No. That’s actually quite good considering the circumstances. You may go now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Forty men was enough to form a complete platoon, so it couldn’t be called a small loss, but with the population continuing to grow, replenishing the numbers would be easy.

130 versus 40—the exchange ratio wasn’t bad, so one could say the fallen soldiers had fulfilled their duties adequately.

Acquiring that vast forest at the cost of just 40 lives—wasn’t that a reasonable trade?

“Is anyone there?”

I called for someone.

“Did you summon me, Your Majesty?”

“Go and post an announcement recruiting additional forest keepers. We will send them into the forest.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. How many should we recruit?”

“Two hundred.”

“I shall carry out your orders accordingly.”

The forest keepers’ duties weren’t limited to literally guarding the forest.

They designated areas for thinning to create regular timber supply sources, cut down old trees to use as mushroom cultivation bases, and planted young saplings to keep the forest young and healthy.

They were also responsible for issuing hunting permits, rescuing those who got lost in the forest.

Furthermore, they had the authority to legally punish those who dared to log without permission in the name of the sovereign, and part of their duties included finding and handing over to authorities any thieves or illegal immigrants hiding in the forest with ill intentions.

In short, it was a demanding profession.

However, since there weren’t many jobs that offered lifetime employment like that of a forest keeper, it was always popular among the lower classes. Something about receiving the forest’s energy while working?

Well, I couldn’t understand why a job where you suffer in both extreme heat and cold would be so popular.

With these thoughts, I walked out onto the terrace and gazed at the town below.

Despite the distance, if I concentrated, I could hear the murmur of conversations from far away.

Though it was a small city of merely 20,000 people, the fact that it could become someone’s hometown brought immense joy to me as its ruler.

When people can so easily slit another’s throat just for a piece of bread, what lengths would they go to protect their homeland?

*

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Splash! Squish…

Digging the ground, kneading mud, and piling it up.

For what purpose? To build wells.

As the town expanded, the use of fire increased, naturally elevating the risk of fires.

During this period, residential buildings were constructed almost exclusively with timber without much consideration, so maintaining an ample number of wells was essential for securing drinking water, preventing fires, and firefighting.

Above all, it was necessary to overcome occasional well closure or contamination events without suffering any damage.

“We’ve secured water and timber, so what remains are stone and iron…”

Unlike wood, where even scrub could be used as fuel, stone and iron were useless without a certain level of quality, requiring more advanced technology and proper workshops.

Mines and quarries were dangerous places that could claim hundreds of lives in the blink of an eye if poorly constructed, so keeping stone and iron supply sources under my management would be safer.

And to prevent game progression from being blocked, essential early-to-mid-game resources like timber, stone, and iron were always generated near the city, so it wasn’t long before I discovered information about a mountain range to the north of the city.

I also learned that there was an ocean to the east and a swamp to the south.

“Hmm… quite a decent starting position.”

Forest to the west, ocean to the east, mountain range to the north, and swamp to the south.

The forest provided timber, the ocean supplied sand and seafood, the mountains yielded stone and metals, and the swamp offered rare medicinal herbs—quite a prime starting location.

Moreover, since large armies couldn’t enter through the mountains, ocean, or swamp, the only practical route was through the western forest, where the terrain advantage could be used for hit-and-run tactics that would turn most armies into honeycomb before they even reached the city.

“Very good. This makes city development worthwhile.”

When playing games, the most frustrating thing was having too much of one resource or none at all.

The former would increase city value, preventing proper tech tree advancement while needlessly lowering neighboring rulers’ goodwill and subjecting you to endless raids. The latter would force you to deal with merchants who could supply necessary resources, causing no small amount of stress.

But with such a well-balanced starting position, things were different.

Having early-to-mid-game resources nearby meant no price gouging by merchants. The eastern sea could later be developed into a port to produce seafood while collecting substantial customs duties from maritime trade.

The north and south acted as natural fortresses against foreign invasions, meaning I only needed to defend the west and east—at worst, I’d only have to worry about a two-front war.

If I posted this starting position in the community, it would probably get me banned for about a week. I wondered what the seed value might be, but realizing it no longer mattered, I stopped thinking about it.

“More population…”

“Pardon?”

“We need more population.”

“My goodness. What’s the rush? You’re not aging anyway.”

“Is that so?”

The aide reviewing documents beside me spoke with apparent annoyance.

Judging by his white hair, he would likely pass away within 20 years at most, perhaps even 10. From his perspective, it must seem vexing to hear complaints from someone like me who could live forever barring disease or injury.

“But with fertile land all around us, it’s frustrating to have insufficient population to utilize it.”

“Well, that’s…”

The aide silently adjusted his glasses.

As an administrator who desired the city’s development more than anyone, he immediately understood my ambition.

Moreover, with little time left granted to him by the angels, he too must desire, more than anyone, to see Amurtat develop into a powerful city while he was still alive.

“Ebenholz, was it?”

“You mean that merchant from before?”

“Yes. Those 10,000 people.”

The best way to increase population was to accept immigrants from outside.

We couldn’t know when refugees might arrive, and relying on “natural methods” would take far too much time.

“When he arrives, I’ll bring him into the castle.”

“Yes, please do.”

*

“Thank you! Please visit our company again!”

“Well, young man, you’re doing great things!”

“Haha! Thank you!”

As Amurtat began to grow, the number of merchant caravans arriving from the west also increased.

Of course, given Amurtat’s still relatively small size, the major merchant companies considered prestigious among traders had never visited Amurtat, and it was mostly small merchant groups or individual peddlers whose visits increased.

However, once the flow of goods increased and human exchanges became active, only plagues or wars could reverse this trend.

The influx of people meant an influx of money, so small merchant group leaders always struggling to expand their businesses were constantly scanning maps with eagle eyes for new trading partners, and this time Amurtat had become their target.

Although transportation costs doubled due to Amurtat’s distance from other cities, the trade-off was that merchants could ensure their safety once they entered Amurtat’s territory, saving on escort fees. Calculating this advantage, merchants gradually began gathering in Amurtat, keeping the city’s five inns constantly overflowing with guests.

And of course, most of the profits from these inns went to the ruler of Amurtat.

“Whew! Sold everything… let’s head back soon!”

“If sales were always this good, I’d have no complaints!”

“Indeed. It’s late tonight, so let’s stay at an inn and leave early in the morning.”

“Ah… I wonder if there will be any vacancies?”

“Well, we’ll have to…”

Just as he was about to say “find out,” men wearing Amurtat armbands appeared and surrounded the merchants.

In this sudden moment, the merchants’ minds raced, but since they hadn’t evaded taxes or sold illegal goods, they couldn’t fathom why soldiers were approaching them.

“You there, are you a merchant?”

“Y-yes, what about it?”

“Come with us. The ruler of Amurtat has orders for you.”