Ch.2424. Slash-and-Burn Settlers (1)

After making a contract with the Fenrir Robo and returning, events progressed quickly.

One head of the two intermediate Fen wolves was sold to Baron Dren as per our agreement, and in return, I received my hometown village and the surrounding land as a manor from the Baron.

In this world, a manor typically consists of the administrator’s residence, the village of peasants attached to the manor, and farmland… It can be described as the minimum unit of a territory.

More precisely, a manor refers to the form of private property that people can own in this era, and since the purpose of private property in medieval times is naturally agriculture… In summary, a manor means “private property that can function as a single economic unit.”

Large tracts of farmland and the serfs and tenant farmers who rent that land to farm. And the infrastructure necessary for those farmers to live, such as villages, mills, water sources, forests, churches, and the like.

When all these elements are present and can establish a functioning economic unit, it is generally called a manor.

Therefore, if a warrior of intermediate rank or higher—a knight—owns even one proper manor, they can obtain knighthood and be recognized as a territorial noble by forming a vassal contract with a surrounding great noble or king.

…Of course, the manor I received is a manor in name only—essentially a ruined village with farmland that’s halfway to becoming forest—but since I don’t seriously intend to act as a lord anyway, it doesn’t matter much.

To begin with, even the definition of a manor I mentioned earlier remains more in the realm of custom rather than being explicitly stated somewhere. Therefore, lands that lords grant to their subordinates are called manors, and basically any private property of decent size is called a manor.

Anyway, since I’m not particularly pursuing honor, the matter was resolved rather simply, and now most of the territory’s residents have returned to their home villages or resumed their daily lives.

And so, after everything was settled.

“…Are you leaving, Druid?”

“Yes, Baron Dren. I still have things to do.”

Outside the lord’s castle, right in front of the earthen wall entrance, I was preparing to depart from the barony toward the Druid gathering, receiving Baron Dren’s send-off.

“In that case… please take this.”

“A document?”

“Yes. Specifically, it’s a certificate of identity. It will be convenient for you, Druid, who hasn’t yet received formal druid registration, when passing through large territories or cities.”

“I see. …Thank you.”

“No. If anything, I regret that I can only offer this much to my benefactor.”

Truly grateful for such a useful gift, I bowed my head to Baron Dren in sincere thanks, while being deeply impressed by this man who possessed an incredibly outstanding character for a knight.

It’s not for nothing that chivalry and knightly literature became popular—knights were originally little more than thugs… Even now that they’ve been socialized, the uncouth nature of knights as a class remains quite notorious.

The fact that he provided an identity certificate—something that could potentially destroy his reputation in noble society if misused—without asking for anything in return was enough for me to highly regard Baron Dren’s character.

And so, just as I mounted Astra to set off beyond the road again.

“Druid! Thank you sincerely!!!”

“”””Thank you!!!””””

“Thanks to you, I avenged my relative!”

“””May you be blessed! May you be blessed!”””

From the castle walls, the territory’s residents, led by the Baron, sent their thanks to me with cheers.

It feels somewhat uncomfortable to receive such gratitude when I did it for a reward… but if you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it.

Not wanting to unnecessarily spoil the atmosphere, I waved back in response, as the distance between me and Baron Dren’s territory gradually increased.

…Sometimes, playing the hero can be rewarding in its own way.

※ ※ ※

About half a day after leaving the territory like this.

[Master. Armed humans! Many humans!]

‘…I understand, Corin.’

As I was riding Astra, trying to cross over some rather rugged mountains, Corin—who had gone scouting with her appearance concealed by my magic—informed me that there were multiple armed humans nearby.

My life detection also sensed about seventeen human-sized life forces, and their positioning suggested they were set up to ambush people passing through the forest path.

‘…I bet they’re mountain bandits.’

In this world, in this era, mountain banditry alone is fundamentally not enough to make a living.

Perhaps because of this, bandits usually have separate main occupations, with banditry being more of a side job in most cases.

The most typical example is mercenary bands. While there are elite mercenary bands not much different from regular armies, there are also quite a few who double as thieves and mercenaries, preying on the weak.

If I had to point out the biggest characteristic of mercenaries… it would be the significant difference in quality among them.

Because of this, most mercenaries in this world frequently turn into bandits if given the opportunity.

Since you can fill the headcount as a mercenary even if you don’t know how to fight as long as you have a functioning body, most mercenaries actively work as mountain bandits or thieves during normal times, then participate in wars for money when conflicts break out.

However… these mercenaries typically avoid banditry in the mountains of this dangerous fantasy world due to various monsters, and instead engage in ordinary thievery or act as hired thugs near cities.

Therefore, bandits appearing in such remote mountains are likely local slash-and-burn farmers who have turned to banditry out of desperation.

In this world, slash-and-burn farmers are a kind of refugee who have lost their farmland for various reasons and been forced to wander, and they are essentially a quasi-criminal organization that burns down mountains that rightfully belong to someone else and settles there.

Human parasites who burn others’ land, settle there without permission, and plunder the surroundings under the pretext of struggling to survive—that’s roughly the perception of these people… and I can’t deny it.

No matter how difficult their lives may be, once they start committing serious crimes by ambushing and robbing passersby, there’s absolutely no reason to sympathize with slash-and-burn farmers… Besides, I detest that tiresome underdog narrative.

Moreover, even if they claim among themselves that there are slash-and-burn farmers who don’t cause harm, slash-and-burn farming is strictly regulated and prohibited under the laws of this Frankish Kingdom.

From the state’s perspective, slash-and-burn farmers are ultimately groups that have escaped the feudal administrative system and become self-sufficient.

Criminal organizations or subversive forces frequently disguise themselves as slash-and-burn farmers to hide.

Furthermore, as a druid who will eventually become the caretaker of the Aleinos Forest, I have no reason to look favorably upon slash-and-burn farmers who forcibly enter the forest.

‘…Sigh. Well, prepare for battle!’

So after quietly summoning the Fenrir Robo and tucking it into my pack,

I sent mental waves to my animal friends to prepare for battle, quietly began casting wild magic to strengthen my body, and simultaneously shared Corin’s vision to observe the bandits who were preparing to attack me.

And after observing those roughly 30 ignorant people, the thought that comes to my mind is… that they are definitely not mercenaries.

Although there are countless low-quality mercenaries in this world, there are still minimum standards for those who can be called mercenaries, given that they make their living by wielding force.

And that standard is usually the level of armament of the group’s members.

To put it bluntly… the majority of poor-quality mercenary bands are armed with bladed weapons of a certain length, while thugs are armed with crude wooden clubs or daggers at best.

Therefore, the prerequisite for joining even a low-quality mercenary band typically includes quilted armor and a short sword or longer bladed weapon, which conversely means that even the most incompetent ones have at least some basic armor.

But these guys I’m observing through Corin’s vision… are typical slash-and-burn farmers doubling as bandits.

These creatures rushing toward me in a mob, wielding tools that serve as both farming implements and weapons.

As if boasting of their experience, they’ve even dug traps and prepared various ranged weapons.

…It seems there’s no particular reason to let them live.