Ch.63Spoils of War (1)

That day, as usual, I was holed up in my office reading the administrative manual that Charlotte had given me.

This book, written in the Holy Empire east of the Frankish Kingdom, mainly covered the fundamentals of administrative work. One of its greatest strengths was that it felt more like an introduction rather than pushing a specific direction.

It discussed topics such as the attitudes rulers and administrators should have, methods for structuring organizations, and presented various counterexamples and examples to illustrate what not to do.

Although it leaned more theoretical than practical, despite these characteristics, it was personally quite an appealing book.

And as I diligently read through this appealing book, spending time exploring and analyzing its interesting content, how much time had passed?

‘Ugh…’

Regardless of how informative the content was, the writing style was stiff and difficult, so in the process of reading and interpreting it, I felt as if my head was being thoroughly cooked. I closed the book and stood up from my seat to cool my head a bit.

While an Aura Awakener’s body is superhuman and wouldn’t tire from merely sitting like this, there was no way to resolve the fatigue in my mind.

So after standing up, I stretched and moved my body around to wake myself up from my somewhat tired state. In the midst of this, a certain thought suddenly occurred to me.

Of course, it wasn’t some special, brilliant idea, but rather an ordinary and common thought that any ruler should consider.

‘How should I develop this village going forward….’

In other words, it was a thought about what direction I should take this pioneer village as its ruler.

Currently, about a month and a week after we began settling, the pioneer village was progressing remarkably well.

The accidents that used to happen almost every day in the beginning had almost disappeared by this point, and the population that started at 60 residents had now grown to about 98.

Additionally, with the completion of basic infrastructure such as housing, warehouses, and defensive facilities, there shouldn’t be any major problems for the time being. Even the farming that had been ruined by that rotten fellow was in a somewhat salvageable state.

According to my and Charlotte’s calculations, this pioneer village would probably become self-sufficient in about a year—a village that could confidently be called successful as a pioneer settlement, but…

…Now that we’ve succeeded in establishing it, it’s inevitable that feelings that could be called ambition would arise.

I’m planning to stay in this village for at least 3-4 years, possibly up to 5 years, serving as a frontier lord. I can’t just waste these precious 5 years ending up with just another ordinary pioneer village.

In short, I was now contemplating what business to start in earnest from the second year onward.

In fact, the most straightforward and least burdensome business would be to take advantage of the surrounding plains and engage in full-scale farming. It’s unlikely to fail and, considering the geographical features, it’s probably the best option.

Strong sunlight, vast plains, fertile soil, abundant water sources. Considering my status, recruiting farmers would be easy, and it would readily solve the food problem, which is one of the biggest issues for rural villages in this era.

Especially since I have modern knowledge to support such farming—though it’s just what I’ve picked up here and there, it’s still several times better than having nothing at all.

For example, crop rotation methods.

The nutrients contained in the soil that crops absorb, commonly known as soil fertility, naturally have their limits.

No matter how fertile the farmland around here is, if we keep farming continuously, the fertilizers of this era have their limitations, and the soil’s fertility will gradually be depleted.

Moreover, if farming continues, the soil will slowly deteriorate due to agricultural impact. Because of this, many farmlands in the Frankish Kingdom incorporate a “fallow” period when farming is paused.

For instance, the most popular farming method, the three-field system, divides farmland into thirds, reducing what was originally half fallow land to one-third.

One-third is farmed in spring, one-third in autumn, and the remaining one-third is left fallow, thus reducing the fallow land even further.

In spring, spring wheat, oats, or barley are planted and harvested in autumn. In autumn, winter wheat or rye is planted and harvested the following summer. One-third is rotated as fallow land in a cycle—that’s the distinctive farming method.

…Of course, I’m not a professional farmer, so I can’t speak with absolute certainty, but if there’s one thing I can mention… it’s the four-field crop rotation.

As the name suggests, four-field crop rotation divides farmland into four sections, allowing farming in a four-year cycle without any fallow land—a more advanced method than the three-field system.

The crops cultivated in the four sections over the four-year cycle are barley, clover and ryegrass, wheat, and turnips.

There’s no need to worry about how to use grains like barley and wheat since the demand is so enormous. Barley, in particular, is a valuable ingredient that can be used to brew malt for making alcohol.

Just as turnip soup is a staple food for the poor, turnips can be both human food and animal feed, making them perfect for the livestock Corin will bring.

And ryegrass (English ryegrass, a grass that grows up to 90cm, excellent as livestock feed) and clover… the land where these are grown can be used as pasture for livestock.

Additionally, each crop consumes different nutrients, which greatly helps with fallowing. Clover, being a legume, has bacteria in its roots that fix nitrogen and restore soil fertility.

Furthermore, when using ryegrass and clover fields as pasture, animal excrement acts as a kind of fertilizer. Theoretically, this could maximize agricultural production by allowing continuous farming with almost no fallow periods.

‘…Perhaps I should just stick to farming instead of starting something complicated.’

Therefore, since such a good method exists anyway, I concluded that rather than overreaching and failing spectacularly, it might be most stable to simply farm, raise livestock, and grow the village steadily.

Even if I tried to develop industry or manufacturing, it’s obvious that we couldn’t compare to the Ruhr Barony, the industrial center of eastern Frankish Kingdom, adjacent to this Colland Barony.

Additionally, there are no special local products or resources near this village, so ultimately, the best choice I can make seems to be farming.

Although the foundations of the industrial revolution are gradually being laid as urban industries and manufacturing develop, still, over half of the industries in this medieval feudal kingdom are primary industries like agriculture.

Anyway, after finishing my first contemplation, naturally—or perhaps not so naturally—once one concern arose, others began sprouting like mushrooms.

How to select a squire who would serve as my attendant, whether I could afford to have a separate attendant in the current circumstances, what the relationship between the villagers and werewolves was like, whether military training should be conducted someday.

Countless questions directed at myself and complex issues worth thorough consideration. Things difficult to see through precisely because they had no clear answers. I was busily analyzing them while reading intensely when…

Just then.

-Knock knock knock.

“Come in!”

Hearing the knock that somehow sounded strangely weak coming from the door of the temporary office, I granted permission to enter. The person who opened the door and came in was Gretel, holding a large staff.

And the moment I saw her face, I realized something was up, as she should have been busy tinkering away in the temporary workshop.

“…Miss Gretel? Ah! Is it perhaps completed?”

When I asked her that, Gretel, who usually maintained only a timid demeanor, spoke with a voice containing something akin to confidence(?)…

“Y-Yes! It’s… it’s completed…!!”

Gretel nodded in response to my question, affirming it, and I too, rarely unable to hide my joy, smiled happily.

Because the meaning of these words was that the magical tool she had been diligently crafting for me, using the basilisk’s corpse as material, was now complete.