Ch.36Another Autumn

It was now the fifth autumn of the Amurtat Era.

In the cool autumn morning, farmers were working diligently amid the dew to harvest the ripened wheat, beans, rye grass, and turnips.

By now, they had become quite accustomed to the four-field crop rotation system, and with the continuous supply of labor to the countryside, this year’s harvest was something to look forward to.

The rye grass and turnips would become feed for livestock, ensuring the animals would be well-fed throughout winter, while the beans would be transformed into soup and the wheat into bread, enriching the winter table.

That is, of course, if one had enough money.

“Phew… it’s getting quite chilly now.”

I muttered while buttoning up my coat.

Perhaps it was because of the early dawn, but one shouldn’t underestimate the northern cold.

Even here in Amurtat, thousands had frozen to death last winter.

Of course, this year there was coal available, which had lowered the price of charcoal, making it accessible even to the poor commoners, so the number of deaths from cold wouldn’t be the same as last year.

“…No, with the population increase, perhaps the result will be the same?”

While not dying is certainly ideal, this world always seems determined to deliver the worst to us, so in most situations, we end up choosing the lesser evil at best, or the second-worst option at worst.

If forced to choose between freezing to death or being cold enough to nearly freeze, anyone would choose the latter.

“Well, they’ll manage somehow.”

As the ruler, I needn’t concern myself with the cold suffered by those beneath me.

Unless the market suddenly goes mad and drives fuel prices sky-high.

Anyway, this autumn brought another piece of good news besides the harvest.

Our population in Amurtat had exceeded 200,000.

Why did tens of thousands of immigrants arrive during the harvest season in autumn?

That requires some background knowledge.

When seeds are sown in spring and harvested in autumn, fieldwork isn’t just about watering plants. It requires constant vigilance—catching bugs, pulling weeds, and chasing away wild animals—just to harvest enough food to survive the winter.

Here’s the question: if water is scarce, bugs are rampant, weeds grow abundantly, and wild animals ravage the fields, what happens to that year’s harvest?

The answer is obvious.

With nothing left to thresh, serfs and slash-and-burn farmers who had somehow managed to hold out until harvest time would set off on an endless journey in search of survival.

In a way, the world’s population is in constant circulation—those who leave cities form villages, and those who leave villages gather to form cities.

If you replace “era” with “season” in the “population migrations by era” we learned about in history class, you’ll get the general idea.

And the good thing about cities is that while few leave, many enter. With a population of 200,000 now, Amurtat had no reason to lose to Elisia.

*

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Tens of thousands of people—judging by their appearance, immigrants who hadn’t yet fully integrated into the city—were working together to dig the ground.

Why dig? For the construction of city walls.

Now that we had surpassed a population of 200,000, it was necessary to put a brake on horizontal expansion to encourage vertical growth. Besides, even I felt uneasy about boasting without proper walls.

Though we were hurriedly building these walls now, I had no intention of doing a shoddy job. Having already established a quarry, we had a steady supply of stone. My goal was to create proper stone walls.

With watchtowers interspersed to serve as turrets, the wooden houses within the stone walls would stand safely.

“Aide, how far has the work progressed?”

“We’re prioritizing the western forest direction first. After all, that’s the only place with a road…”

“Well, that makes sense. The southern swamp is difficult to traverse.”

Yet humans are creatures of will. Though few in number, there were occasionally those who managed to cross through the swamp.

Considering the insane power balance of this world, the swamp must be teeming with sticky, slimy creatures—how these people avoided them remains a mystery.

Therefore, the western wall was currently being built first.

The foundation work on the west side was already complete, and stones brought from the mountain quarry were being diligently filled in. A mixture containing resin was applied between the stones to bind them together as the wall was steadily built up.

I had carefully considered how high to make the walls and decided on a reasonable 15 meters.

We could have made them higher, but that would have required too much effort and would have been troublesome when eventually demolishing them to expand the city.

Besides, a height of 15 meters is surprisingly tall and extremely difficult to scale without proper siege weapons. In truth, even twice a person’s height creates hell for attackers, so at 15 meters—roughly eight times a person’s height—invaders would face severe hardship.

“Are we short on stones?”

“Not short, but the distance between the quarry and the construction site is quite far, so transportation is time-consuming.”

“That can’t be helped. Even with carts, it takes time to transport such weight.”

Needless to say, stone is a heavy material. That’s why it’s used for walls. Even with horse-drawn carts, the forced march from the northern mountains to the edge of Amurtat’s urban area is not convenient for transportation.

“Well, as long as we build it properly, the time it takes isn’t really an issue. We just need to complete it by spring next year. Actually, it wouldn’t matter even if we don’t finish by then.”

The walls are for the absolute last resort. We will fight on Elisia’s doorstep, not in Amurtat’s forest. When that time comes, we will send 10,000 soldiers with solid gates behind them.

“Ah, right. Aide, Michaela will be coming later. Get an injection from her then.”

“An injection?”

“Yes. It’s my blood that was drawn. I want you to have it. You need to live a long time, don’t you?”

“Your Majesty…”

At my words, the aide’s expression showed he was moved.

He’s getting on in years now. Without special measures, it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed and died tomorrow.

Thud.

I grabbed the aide’s shoulder and offered him words of encouragement.

“You need to live a long time so I can make more use of you. Surely a loyal servant like yourself wouldn’t die before your lord?”

“Haha… of course not.”

Generally, if one wanted to keep a subordinate alive for a long time, blood transfusions were common. Other bodily fluids—like saliva, semen, or vaginal secretions—required a somewhat more intimate relationship.

Capable aides always enjoyed the trust of their rulers, and it’s said that some aides maintained their lives for over 1,000 years.

Unfortunately, unlike rulers, those temporarily granted immortality by their rulers lacked resistance to dementia, cancer, diabetes, gout, other autoimmune diseases, and organ deterioration. Eventually, the ruler, unable to bear watching their suffering, would personally end their life. So he too would someday have to leave my side.

Michaela too would someday leave my side.

But that’s alright. She’s by my side now.

Not long after, Michaela came striding in with a syringe, and after watching her inject my blood—which she had brought in ice—into the aide, I returned to the castle with Ignatz as my escort.

“Compared to when Your Majesty appointed me, everything has truly changed. By the way, Your Majesty, did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That hospital where Your Majesty stayed for a few days? It’s been demolished now.”

“Is that so?”

I had no particular reason to care about the demolition of what was more of a clinic than a hospital, but since Ignatz seemed to have something to say, I continued listening.

“I wondered what would replace it, and it turns out they’ve built a school.”

“A school?”

“Yes. A place to learn reading, writing, and basic arithmetic. I visited once, but classes were in session, so I couldn’t look around properly.”

“I see… a school…”

Schools are institutions created to pass knowledge to future generations.

Considering that dwarves and elves primarily transfer knowledge through master-apprentice relationships, schools can be considered uniquely human institutions.

“That’s good news. That a school has been established in this city.”

“Indeed. At the very least, it proves that this city is worth passing on to future generations.”

I quietly nodded.

Though Ignatz might be muscle-brained, he was still a nobleman who had received education.

Occasionally, he could come up with such insightful remarks.

And until autumn had completely passed, no messenger from Elisia was seen anywhere.