Ch.36Imperial Special Forces (1)

After a while, Liberone and the trading party returned safely.

The money they received from selling all the village’s products wasn’t particularly substantial.

Crops and fish can be found anywhere, and our village’s products don’t have any special characteristics.

Still, this being our first trading profit, it holds significant meaning.

All the money went into the administrative officer’s safe.

There’s an unnecessarily large safe in the village hall that contains important documents and operating funds related to the village.

When I first opened it, it was almost empty, but now when I look inside, there’s a decent amount of money accumulated, which makes me feel that the village is gradually developing.

We’re self-sufficient in food, the vigilante corps composed of knights are properly armed, we’re mass-producing lumber from the logging site, and the pigs are thriving.

With a little more effort, we might be able to upgrade to a city.

In this game, cities are divided into five levels.

Level 1 is a barren settlement with nothing, more like a temporary refugee camp than a village.

It’s home to people living in mountain valleys deeper than our Starting Village or fugitives from some borderland.

Our Starting Village is Level 2, which is when a small village is recognized as having some administrative power.

That’s why we have an administrative officer and five security guards for appearance’s sake. Plus an officially recognized potion shop.

Most small villages scattered around are generally Level 2.

At Level 3, it’s called a “city,” with various amenities that make it quite livable.

Odelin City, which has administrative authority over us, is a Level 3 city.

Level 4 is a regional hub city, and Level 5 is a metropolis, of which there is currently only one capital.

But to advance to Level 3, population is the most important factor, and our village has far too few people.

We took in refugees from the Zilke Republic before, but that was only a temporary increase. We need a continuous influx of people.

I wonder if there’s a good solution.

I sat at the desk with a map spread out, searching through my knowledge of the original work.

It would be nice if there was a way to bring in large numbers of people like we did with the Zilke Republic…

Just then, I heard a commotion on the stairs.

Brasya came bouncing down the stairs and hid behind my back.

“Stop right there!”

Following her was Mirella, angry to the tips of her hair.

“What’s going on?”

“That goblin girl is making fun of me!”

“What did she say to make you so angry?”

“Hyaang? I wasn’t teasing her. I just said the underwear I borrowed feels tight around the chest, and she got all angry.”

“You’re mocking my small chest, aren’t you!”

“No, I wasn’t. I never thought that. I was actually envious. No shoulder pain, so light—how nice.”

“See that! I told you she’s making fun of me!”

As Mirella swung Vint’s Opener around, Brasya hid even more tightly behind my back.

“Calm down, Mirella. How is that making fun of you? Brasya, go to the farm right away, and Mirella, dust the shop shelves.”

After giving them both tasks, Brasya ran outside giggling, while Mirella was still fuming.

“Why are you so angry?”

“Because it’s annoying.”

Getting irritated over such trivial things…

“What are you doing anyway?”

With Brasya gone, Mirella seemed to have calmed down a bit and approached me with a somewhat subdued voice.

“Looking at the map. Wondering if there’s anywhere we can bring people from.”

“Is there such a place? Everyone has their own place to live.”

“Well, like the refugees before, there are many people in the world who wander without homes.”

“Will looking at a map give you an answer?”

Mirella leaned over next to me and pointed to a spot on the map.

It was the Fredegund Archipelago in the southeast, where Alreina had sent a letter previously.

Mirella’s finger, which had pointed to Fredegund, slowly moved to where our Starting Village was located.

It was as if she was trying to gauge how far apart they were.

“Hmm, it’s far.”

“Yes, it’s far. It would probably take more than a month to get from here to there.”

“Then forget it.”

I’m not sure what she meant by that. She seems quite concerned about Alreina.

Mirella, with a satisfied expression, suddenly sat on my lap.

Then she put her arm around my neck as if giving me a side hug and smiled.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“What are you doing, sir?”

As Liberone entered the shop and asked, Mirella sprang up like a coiled spring.

In the process, Mirella’s head collided with my chin, and it hurt so much I saw stars.

How can a girl’s head be so hard?!

“Ugh…”

“Guardian Angel!”

Liberone strode over and caressed my face with her hand glowing with holy power.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… Doesn’t seem to be broken.”

“Mirella. Come here too. Let me check if you’re hurt.”

“Eek! Why is everyone always interfering with me!”

When Liberone beckoned, Mirella burst out in anger and ran outside.

“Why is she acting like that?”

“I don’t know.”

Actually, I do know. She’s trying to seduce me.

She must be going through puberty or something, always acting like this whenever she gets the chance.

Such a young thing, tsk tsk. You need to be at least an administrative officer before we can talk.

I’ll have to educate her properly. She might cause big trouble later.

“What are you looking at?”

This time, Liberone approached the desk and looked at the map.

When I told her I was looking for places to bring people from, Liberone thought quietly.

Then she shook her head.

“Nothing specific comes to mind. However, I did hear something from another Holy Knight.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that in very remote areas, there are marginalized people who haven’t received the benefits of civilization. I haven’t been there myself, but one of my fellow Holy Knights was dispatched there and told me about it. How about finding such settlements and persuading them to come here?”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea.”

It really isn’t bad. But the problem is that such small places aren’t even marked on maps.

“Could you get some related information?”

“I’ll send a letter to the knights. Since it’s for a good cause, I’m sure they’ll provide information.”

“Great, great. Please do.”

Liberone sat down with a clanking sound and immediately began writing a letter. Glancing at it, her handwriting was quite impressive.

Being educated, she writes well too.

I turned my attention back to the map. Let’s think about whether there are other methods besides Liberone’s suggestion.

Hmm, hmmmm.

Suddenly, my eyes caught a strange line.

It wasn’t an actual line, but an imaginary one between Fredegund and our village that Mirella had traced earlier.

Along that straight line, I saw a suspiciously colored curve that seemed to wriggle.

It wasn’t actually wriggling; I just imagined it like a game visual effect.

The curve looked like a bus route, and after staring at it for a while, I realized what it was.

This is the slave traders’ trade route.

Yes, that’s right. In the central part of the continent, slavery is still openly practiced.

Of course, there are slaves secretly in the western regions where various kingdoms are gathered, but they aren’t chained by the neck and treated like livestock.

These traders hunt for slaves all over the continent and don’t spare the civilized west.

In fact, well-managed western women are highly popular, so they hunt more diligently there than elsewhere.

The quest that first connects you with the royal palace involves ambushing these guys and rescuing slaves.

They’re so corporatized that they capture an enormous number of slaves. I remember the hard work of escorting all those NPCs back.

Wait a minute… one of those routes passes near our village?

Hmm… slaves, huh…

The slave traders in the central region are vicious; they burn entire villages and take everyone there.

Even if they escape, they have nowhere to go, so if we liberate those slaves, we could bring them to our village.

“Liberone.”

“Yes, Guardian Angel.”

“What do you think about the slave liberation movement?”

“I think it’s very commendable.”

“Let’s try it.”

“Excellent.”

* * * * *

“So we’re attacking a slave carriage…”

Sir Hostante stroked his chin and nodded.

“Not a bad idea. It’s also an opportunity to deploy the knights in actual combat.”

“Liberone will take the vanguard to reduce their fighting power, and the knights will follow up to eliminate the remaining forces.”

“Then let’s prepare right away.”

Under Sir Hostante’s command, about thirty knights were assembled. The size of a platoon.

All armed with equipment taken from Remugen’s mercenary armory, they looked quite formidable.

For this operation, the administrative officer mobilized all the village’s wagons.

Ten people each boarded three wagons, and the remaining wagon carried me, Liberone, and Mirella.

It was also loaded with potion boxes, cooking utensils, food, and more.

Wait, why is Mirella here?

“Why are you coming along?”

“What do you mean? I’m the deputy commander of the knights, so of course I should come!”

“Even the commander, Sir Hostante, isn’t coming.”

“Sir Hostante is too old for this kind of thing. I’m young and fresh!”

What an interesting way to put it.

“Ugh, Mr. Jack… You’ve barely escaped danger, and now you’re walking into it again on your own feet…”

The administrative officer clutched the wagon railing and whimpered.

“If you don’t return this time, I’ll have to live as a widow for the rest of my life…”

“What nonsense about being a widow, seriously!”

“Miss Mirella… If Mr. Jack is dead when you return, hang a black flag… if he’s alive, a white flag…”

Mirella grimaced in disgust, while Brasya giggled beside her, finding it amusing.

“Take good care of the pig farm.”

“Don’t worry! Hehehe.”

“Let’s depart!”

The wagons carrying the knights moved one by one along the eastern road out of the village.