Ch.19Introduction (3)

The Colland Barony, which was incorporated under the Alzar Barony, is classified as what is commonly referred to as a “frontier territory.”

Literally a wild land where colonization is still in progress shortly after being incorporated into human territory, filled with fierce native magical beasts and perilous natural environments.

For this reason, it’s difficult to deploy proper public authority, resulting in relatively poor security and a high proportion of lawless zones. Though it varies slightly by territory, the landscape typically evokes images of the American Wild West.

And the most fundamental reason for all problems in these frontier territories is the unique space known as “otherworlds.”

To put it in terms easily understood by modern people whose brains are pickled in mass media, an otherworld is a kind of dungeon.

They form naturally when the spatial properties are altered due to the presence of powerful “mysteries”—life forms often compared to boss monsters—or when the concentration of “mystery” is particularly dense… In this world, it’s almost considered a natural phenomenon.

And the concept called “mystery” here is, if I had to explain it, something like the foundation for all supernatural phenomena occurring in this world.

Beyond a few discovered operating principles, it’s a concept that remains largely unknown in every aspect, and since I have almost no relevant knowledge, I have no way to explain it further.

Anyway, for whatever reason, otherworlds naturally form in spaces dense with “mystery,” and the powerful mysteries possessed by nature itself are enough to establish entire natural environments as a kind of otherworld.

And inside these “otherworlds,” the concentration and density of magical power is intensified by the influence of mystery, causing the natural environment to go wild….

However, such magical landscapes only apply to the deepest otherworlds, those with the highest “depth”—the unit measuring an otherworld’s danger level.

The vast majority of otherworlds, especially the outer territories, while harsh, are still places where humans *can* survive, and needless to say, the areas just outside these otherworlds are even more habitable.

And that’s why I am now….

“Thank you, Mr. Librarian. I was able to understand it well thanks to you.”

“Not at all, young master. Please feel free to come anytime you need something.”

By asking the librarian who had taken on the role of my knowledge mentor, I was able to fully understand the details of Colland Barony, which I had previously only known vaguely.

The Colland Barony is a territory that Father acquired through territorial warfare along with Lur Barony. Originally, it was land that the previous Lur Baron attacked and absorbed shortly after it had been pioneered and incorporated by the Colland Baron two generations ago.

As a result, except for one core city, the vast majority of human settlements here are pioneer villages….

And these pioneer villages are largely divided into privately-led and territory-led settlements.

First, privately-led pioneer villages are typically formed by people who greedily claimed land on their own… or by those with dishonorable pasts who naturally gathered together….

…Strictly speaking, this is a form of criminal activity—illegally occupying and using someone else’s (Baron Alzar’s) land.

However, due to the severe lack of administrative capacity and the critical human resources needed for pioneering, these activities are tacitly permitted. Because of this, the final outcome of such privately-led pioneer territories typically falls into two categories:

Either they become incorporated as official villages with diligent residents who pay tenant farming fees and various taxes for cultivating the lord’s land, or they’re treated as illegal slash-and-burn settlements and eventually swept away.

…Usually, the latter case is overwhelmingly more common.

In contrast, territory-led pioneer villages feel distinctly different from these semi-criminal settlements.

From the beginning, they’re more systematic because the territory accepts applicants and carefully designates suitable locations for establishing villages.

But most importantly, since this is part of a business venture that involves administrative investment and capital input, the territory provides reasonably solid support and various policy aids—though perhaps not extravagantly so.

They generally provide several months’ worth of food supplies to the village, transfer ownership of livestock like pack horses or cattle for communal use, and regularly supply tools and materials necessary for pioneering from nearby cities.

Additionally, these settlers receive tax exemptions, allowing them to purchase various supplies from nearby city trading posts at prices much lower than the standard rates.

Furthermore, considering the significant dangers these pioneer villages face, there’s the tremendous benefit of having some military forces permanently stationed to protect the village.

The rights to log in nearby forests—originally the lord’s privilege—and to actively hunt animals, guaranteed for 10 to 15 years, are also conditions that cannot be ignored.

But the policy that truly underpins this pioneer village project concerns land ownership.

Pioneer village farmers can gain ownership of half their cultivated land by paying half as tax, making it an opportunity to achieve every farmer’s dream of “owning their own land” and becoming “self-employed farmers.”

Additionally, with benefits like exemption from tenant farming fees on land transferred to the lord and taxes on land they own for 10 years, there are consistently many applicants despite the dangerous pioneer village lifestyle.

So I’m guessing that the territory I’ll be managing in Colland Barony will most likely be one of these pioneer villages.

There’s no reason or need to assign someone like me, a complete novice in governance, to territorial administration, and if it’s about gaining experience, it would be better to directly manage a small village like that.

…Of course, this is just relatively better, so I can’t help feeling worried about the situation.

And while I was thinking about this somewhat concerning future, suddenly I heard someone knocking on my firmly closed door.

*Knock knock knock*

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Corin Lanster.”

“Ah, Corin! Come in.”

After I calmly responded to the voice of Corin, who serves as both my attendant and guard knight.

The blonde attendant who entered my room through the heavy mahogany door bowed his head respectfully to me while holding out a parchment scroll and conveyed a message.

“Lord Alzar, this is a document sent by the Baron.”

“…A document?”

“Yes. The Baron said it contains the final list of personnel who will be assigned to Lord Alzar.”

“I see. Let me have it then.”

“Here you are, sir.”

As I unrolled the parchment scroll—something I hadn’t seen in a while since most official documents were now being replaced with factory-made paper from the Holy Empire—it contained, as Corin had told me, the composition of personnel to be deployed to this pioneer village.

A total of 60 people. Neither large nor small for an initial pioneer village, but looking at the detailed personnel allocation, it was clear that Father had put considerable thought into it.

First of all, the personnel composition was quite luxurious.

A third-year bureaucrat (administrator) who, while perhaps not experienced, could easily handle the administrative processing that occurs in a small pioneer village.

A formal priest of the Manshin Temple with two apprentices who could treat injuries, solve disease problems, and even provide mental care for the villagers in such a remote village.

And even these were just the beginning of the parade of high-quality personnel.

Eight veteran hunters—the best personnel for scouting forests and obtaining meat and fur, and arguably the greatest experts in the field of forestry.

Eight veteran farmers who had accumulated agricultural techniques by farming their entire lives—not just simple laborers, but experts who had even studied abroad at the Holy Empire’s Imperial Agricultural University.

Plus one veteran architect who had made a name for himself in a small town within the territory as an expert in urban construction, design, and wooden building construction.

One blacksmith specializing in metal processing, one quasi-tailor (tentative name) who processes cloth and leather to make clothes, and one carpenter who is an expert in handling wood—essentially an all-purpose material in rural villages.

A shepherd doubling as a stable keeper who is superior to anyone when it comes to raising and protecting animals, and three other unnamed individuals who were also proud members of this high-quality workforce.

Considering that ordinary pioneer villages sometimes recruit all 50 or so people through volunteers, it was clear that Father was showing his characteristic concern for me.

However, I couldn’t help but frown at the words written below the list of these 30 personnel….

[Recruit the remaining 30 pioneer village residents yourself.]

That phrase, which anyone could see was written by Father to test me, had worked very well if his intention was to give me a trial….

‘…Here, I’ll have to use the power of “copying.”‘

And so, I finally had to pull out the secret weapon I had been trying to save as much as possible.