episode_0044

“What are you talking about?”

“It was sincere….”

Adelaide replied in a voice that twisted and distorted without breaking.

“Maybe it was just entertainment for you, but it was sincere for me….”

I quickly turned my head, wondering what she meant.

What is entertainment and what is sincerity?

I soon guessed what Adelaide was talking about.

It seemed like she was talking about when she was kidnapped at the mercenary camp.

She had deliberately praised me to win Adelaide’s favor and exploit any weaknesses.

Although Adelaide appeared outwardly angry or annoyed, the atmosphere seemed somewhat shaken.

Could it be that she thought that was sincere and had also somewhat opened her heart to me?

Wasn’t it just about receiving compliments and feeling good about it?

“Answer me.”

Lost in thought, Adelaide sharply demanded.

“Which side were you on?”

“Captain. Are you really asking because you don’t know, or do you want to hear a definite answer even if you already know?”

Adelaide fell silent at my response.

Then, suddenly screaming, she rushed towards me.

However, before her hand could reach my collar, she staggered and fell off the bed.

“Damn it….”

Adelaide, sitting on the floor, began to mutter curses quietly as tears welled up.

Oh, women who always make things difficult.

* * * * *

Nevertheless, Adelaide carried out her instructor duties as promised.

She taught the irregular warfare to the knights, with the second-in-command serving as an assistant instructor.

The training ground for irregular warfare was the abandoned houses on the outskirts of the village and the mountains.

There, the knights formed teams and practiced skirmishes and guerrilla warfare.

Although Adelaide showed signs of wavering in front of me, she was the renowned leader of the Reugen Mercenaries.

With rigorous and professional training, she quickly raised the level of the knights.

At this level, even if they were immediately converted into guards, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

“This is strange.”

Observing the knights’ training, Liberone spoke up.

“I’m curious about the instructors’ backgrounds. Such combat styles are rarely seen.”

“Well, they must have their own expertise.”

If Liberone knew that the two people in front of him were former officers of the mercenary group he had personally destroyed, how would he react?

“Jack! Emergency!”

Turning around, I saw Brasha running towards us with a few pig legs in his hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s chaos, it’s chaos!”

“What’s going on? Is something happening at the farm?”

“What else could cause chaos other than something happening at the farm?! Come quickly!”

Led by Brasha, we went to the farm, where all the village children had gathered and were doing something.

As we approached, what on earth?!

Weren’t the children cradling very small piglets in their arms?

And each of them was carrying at least five or six piglets, totaling over a hundred when roughly counted.

“They’ve succeeded in breeding!”

“Hehehe, didn’t I say so? It’s only a matter of time before there are a thousand pigs.”

“Impressive, Brasha. But do pigs have a short gestation period? They’re giving birth in just one month.”

“Normally, you’d have to wait about four months, but why are they suddenly giving birth? Perhaps it’s the effect of the potion you’ve been experimenting with during this time?”

“Hmm, could that be it? Then if twenty pigs gave birth to fifty in a month, by the end of the year….”

“It would be 5,314,410….”

Startled by the somber tone, I turned to see that the village administrator had approached and was looking at the pigs.

“When did you arrive?”

“I followed Jack and Brasha when I saw them running….”

“Oh, I see. Wait a minute….”

Both the knights’ irregular warfare training ground and the pig farm were on the outskirts of the village.

They had come almost straight from there to here, passing by the village hall?

Hmm, could it be that they secretly followed me?

“But how many are there?”

“5,314,410 animals….”

530 thousand animals? Is that even a believable number?

“Is it accurate?”

“Right now, among the twenty pigs, half are female… Assuming each gave birth to five piglets, so they give birth to five each month… Assuming half of the fifty piglets are female… When considering thirty-five breeding females next month… Then one hundred seventy-five piglets will be born next month… If you calculate like this, after six months, it becomes 5,314,410 animals… Of course, there are various variables in between, so the exact number is uncertain…”

I understood the beginning. Dividing the females in half and assuming an average of five births per female is okay. Simple.

But mentally calculating how many will come out after repeating that six times is unbelievable.

It didn’t even take long, and the result came out immediately upon speaking, not even artificial intelligence, is it possible?

I don’t know if it’s the average for Imperial Central Bureaucracy exam passers or if our administrative officer is a special case.

Anyway, 530 thousand animals would be quite problematic.

I was thinking about around a thousand. Currently, the facilities are just right for that amount.

Even up to two thousand seems manageable somehow. But 530 thousand?!

Even in modern Earth, there probably wouldn’t be a company that could handle that many pigs.

Let alone in this rural village slightly more advanced than medieval civilization, too many would actually be harmful.

Change the plan.

Originally, we were just trying to be self-sufficient in meat production within the village, but at this rate, let’s specialize in exporting pigs altogether.

There are no corporate farms in this world.

Even in Odellin City, at most, individuals buy pigs in larger quantities.

If our village specializes in pig farming, establishes a distribution network to ship a set amount monthly, we can definitely make money.

“But Jack… I’ve come up with a brilliant idea….”

The administrative officer leaned in close to me, whispering with a secretive breath.

“If we distribute the potion given to the pigs to the people… it could contribute to increasing the village’s population, couldn’t it….”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Jo-o-om. Are pigs and people the same?”

“Uh, sorry…. Sitting here as the village administrative officer, not contributing anything and relying entirely on you, Jack, I wanted to do something useful…. In the end, I’m having silly thoughts….”

The administrative officer’s mind collapses rapidly.

“A woman like me just eats a ton of potions and becomes a breeding machine, confined at home, giving birth like crazy…”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad life. No need to worry about this and that.”

Seeing Brasha giggling, I rubbed my forehead.

“Then the husband must put in a lot of effort. It seems like he has to do it several times a day.”

“Don’t worry about that, Brasya. With the healing potion, he’ll recover quickly…. And if you’re the one making the potion, maybe things like aphrodisiacs or something like that…”

I immediately covered the administrative officer’s mouth with my hand.

In response, she stuck her tongue out between her lips against my palm.

She’s really insane, seriously!

“Hehehe. So Jack and the administrative officer are doing it. You guys match well.”

Brasha is all smiles.

That’s the king of positivity in everything.

* * * * *

The makeshift pier and trade route have been completed.

Wooden pillars driven into the deepest part of the river and planks connected is all there is.

Moreover, the trade route looks somewhat amateurish, clearly not the work of Chosun engineers but ordinary carpenters.

But even this is enough. This small trade route will be the main financial lifeline for our village.

“Wishing safe voyages for the maiden voyage of the Start!”

The administrative officer waved a wine bottle towards the bow of the ship, shattering it.

In Jinsoo’s case, it is customary for a woman to throw a bottle of alcohol on the deck and break it.

Under the protection of the administrative official, Shijang-ho, loaded with trade goods, slowly began to move north.

“Really refreshing.”

Mirella said, placing her hand on her waist.

“I’ve seen everything from a poor village to now selling goods by boat to the river. It’s something to see in this world.”

“Well, how old are you?”

“You already know my age, right? And what about you?”

It was just a while ago that Mirella started calling me “you” instead of “oppa.”

For some reason, this arrogant redhead has been using informal language since she first saw me, and now she even skips titles altogether.

“I heard from Brasha, are you married to the administrative official?”

“Do you believe Brasha?”

“I do. He never lies; his mind is like a blank sheet of paper.”

There’s nothing to say to that truth.

“He doesn’t, you fool. It’s not like being an administrative official is temporary or anything.”

“Hmm.”

Mirella scanned me suspiciously from head to toe.

“I can’t relax because I don’t know where you might turn.”

“You have no reason to be anxious, kid.”

As I tried to hit her with a honey punch, Mirella unbelievably dodged my fist with reflexes.

After receiving a lid-opening buff and training with Liberonne, my physical movements have improved significantly.

Anyway, canal trading starts now, and the pig farm seems to be doing much better than expected.

Food supply is okay, and it’s only a matter of time before all other infrastructure is in place.

We should be able to upgrade to a city before autumn arrives.

Upgrading to a city is not the end; we’ve at least made a start, so we must continue to develop.

Still, we’ve crossed a major threshold.

Initially, I wanted to create an environment where I could safely live with the weak body of an NPC.

That goal has almost been achieved.

Now, I will turn this starting village into a functioning town so that it can operate independently.

So, living autonomously and receiving regional benefits in a well-developed city is my ultimate goal.

Perhaps that too can be achieved within a few months.