episode_0068

“Okay, I don’t know since you just became a noble. In the case of a war not between countries, but between territories, guards are needed.”

“Watcher… … Is this?”

When I heard that there was a watchman, I tilted my head to the side. I couldn’t understand why on earth such a thing had to be in the territory.

“The horse is a watchdog, but it can also be said to be a kind of judge. It can be said to be a device to determine whether the territory war is conducted fairly and who the final winner is.”

“Is fairness or determining the winner necessary? I just thought that the one who won the fight would be the winner.”

“Of course, you can think that way. However, in the case of territory warfare, there is a big problem, so surveillance is necessary.”

Count Carbone explained why so-called watchmen were needed.

It was said that the biggest reason for this was to prevent the Yeongjijeon from being excessively expanded. If a territory war were to take place, it was certain that there would be support from those involved, but if too much support was provided, the possibility of the territory war expanding was raised.

He said that it may be okay if it is simply providing supplies, but if support is provided in the form of military support, there is a very high possibility that the scale will increase. No matter how much material was given, it was useless if there were no troops to operate it, but there was a lot that could be done with the support of troops.

For this reason, it was added that the dispatch of drivers is strictly prohibited. If you were a knight who could handle mana, you could catch dozens of soldiers like flies.

“Then is it impossible to just provide funds and deploy a large number of mercenaries?”

“So there are restrictions on mercenaries’ participation in territory wars. There is a provision that the main place of activity of the mercenary guild to which you belong must be within the territory where the territory war is taking place.”

“Ah, was that the reason you wanted to bring in a mercenary guild with good skills?”

“Among the skilled mercenaries, there are some whose skills are better than those of ordinary knights. If you could hire those people, wouldn’t it be a good force when a territorial war breaks out? Moreover, unlike ordinary knights, there are almost no maintenance costs in peacetime, so it is not surprising that lords are eager to do so.”

If you listen to the stories the mercenaries were talking about while looking at the goods in the store, there was a lot of talk about which mercenary guild received what from which noble and where it went. I realized that those things were related to the territory war.

He also told me that there were several other reasons, and after hearing those reasons, I was able to completely understand why there were people called watchdogs.

Simply put, the goal was to prevent territory warfare from spreading excessively and developing to the level of civil war. It seems that the current political faction in the kingdom was divided into the royalist faction and the noble faction. Within the same faction, territory wars did not occur due to mediation as much as possible, but territory wars often broke out between different factions, which was a problem.

As interests were intertwined and troops were provided, the scale of the territorial war grew, and there was a possibility that it could eventually develop into a civil war that could split the country into royalists and aristocratic factions. Moreover, even if the civil war simply broke out and ended, the country could be invaded by a foreign power when the national power was weakened due to the civil war.

That is why guards were installed for the purpose of preventing it in advance. Of course, it was possible for such a clause to take effect because the noble faction also understood that part.

“Okay, so the explanation is enough. What do you want to do, Baron?”

“Umm… … .”

I couldn’t help but think for a moment when Count Carbone asked me if I would act as a watchman with him. I have yet to experience a war, including a territory war. Since I don’t know much about war or territory warfare, it was difficult to judge whether it would be okay to be a watchman or something.

“How long does it usually take for a territory war to end?”

“If you’re talking about time, it won’t take long. Probably three or four days at most.”

“Yes? Three or four days?”

The first thing that struck me was the absurdity of hearing that the Yeongjijeon took only three or four days. No, no matter how much it is a territorial war, a war is still a war, and I thought it would end too early.

However, I was able to understand the explanation that followed to some extent.

“In fact, territory warfare is viewed as a war, but it is not a war at the level of destroying everything the opponent has. Basically, it happens because the starting point is a dispute in the form of a dispute over interests. Ah, this time the cause is discord between lords… … .”

Count Carbon glanced at Viscount Deputy, and the Viscount smiled awkwardly and glanced away.

“Whatever the reason, basically territory warfare is not about going all out and destroying everything the opponent has. The main purpose is to obtain benefits when winning a territory war. You don’t give your all, and you don’t completely destroy your opponent. That happens sometimes, but in cases where it’s a proxy war between factions like now, it ends with one or two clashes.”

I nodded at Count Carbon’s words, saying, “When you win a territory battle, shouldn’t there be something left for you to swallow?”

This world was full of unexplored and undeveloped areas. There were not many cases where land simply had value. Rather, what had value was humans, and in a way, the labor force itself. Therefore, I thought it was natural that the territory war could not be an all-out war, even to absorb it.

“For your information, if you remain as a watcher and watch the results of the territory battle, you will be able to receive your stake settlement a little earlier.”

“Stake settlement… … Is this?”

“Haha, it’s been a while since I became a new noble, so I have a lot to explain.”

“Sorry… … .”

“No, not really. Actually, explaining it this way reminds me of old times and it’s nice. My father taught me many things by telling me various stories since I was young. It’s really nice to remember that memory, so don’t worry about it that much.”

Count Carbon looked at me with a happy smile. And, at that moment, memories of my past life came to mind.

‘Newbies are always welcome!’

I couldn’t quite remember what it meant, but I could understand that I was now in a welcome situation.

“First of all, the explanation is simple. Those who provided supplies for the territory war can receive compensation commensurate with the amount of support after the territory war is over. You can share the interests gained by absorbing the opponent’s territory, and you can also receive financial compensation.”

“Oh, so I can receive the same amount of weapons as the 50 people I applied for?”

“You don’t get what you sell for. Can a piece of bread have the same value to a person who is about to starve to death and a person who is full? You can get several times more than what you simply sold… … .”

“Count. It’s too much. How much is just a few times? Even if I give ten times as much to Baron Steele, who has been a great help to me, it would not be enough.”

Count Carbone said, “I’m sorry for belittling you,” and burst out into a hearty laugh with Viscount Deputy.

“But there is one thing to be careful of. It doesn’t mean that you can blindly provide support like this time. It will be possible to have your share recognized only when an agreement is reached with the lord waging a territorial war. It’s not a problem now that Viscount Defuty has passed without saying anything, but we shouldn’t think that other lords will do the same.”

“They are trying to prevent you from receiving compensation by sending it indiscriminately.”

“Oh, I understand quickly. When the related provisions were created, there was one family that took a hit. Of course, it was a family belonging to the aristocratic faction.”

“They are like moths, so wouldn’t they do something like moths?”

When Viscount Deputy said a word, Count Carbone agreed and burst into laughter.

I smiled at the sight and decided to watch the territory battle going on here for a while. They said it would only take three or four days, so I had plenty of time to spare. I guess I’ll just have to use my dark magic a little harder when I go back.

“Then I will take care of you for a while.”

“Hahaha! Sir, you can think of it as my home and stay comfortably.”

Telling me to make myself at home, Viscount Deputy gave me a room in his mansion that he had created for guests.

However, even though I was assigned a room where I could rest, I could not rest comfortably in the room. It was none other than the fact that some of the royalist nobles who were close to Viscounty Defuty had come to visit.

Of course, I could rest if I wanted to, but this was an opportunity for me too, so I couldn’t miss it. Currently, due to restrictions that are not restrictions, I can only do business with royalist nobles among nobles. Naturally, the nobles gathered here were all members of the royalist faction, which meant that I could do business with them.

As if indicating that it was a noble family’s mansion, the mansion was quite luxurious and spacious, and there was a space used as a kind of banquet hall. It was used for banquets and for meetings among senior members of the family, but now a social hall was open there.

Since it was a place where territory wars were held, it was not a grand and grand social gathering place, but several nobles were gathered there and talking about various things.

“Oh! He’s coming over there at the right time. The man coming over there is Baron Steele I was talking about.”

And, Count Carbon, who had arrived there first and was waiting for me, welcomed me again. He brought with him several nobles he had never seen around him.

When I saw Count Carbone waving his hand as if telling me to come over, I immediately approached the place and he introduced me to them. The introduction was such that someone was from a certain family, and someone else was a noble with a certain title.

Under the leadership of Count Carbon, they began to lightly exchange greetings with the nobles around them and talk about various things. There was all kinds of talk about something happening in one’s territory, something happening in someone else’s territory, aristocratic bastards seeming to be up to some kind of trick, etc.

Of course, some of them were about me. This is because Count Carbon purchased iron products at low prices and made a profit in coal mines and charcoal kilns. I couldn’t help but tell my story as I boasted to those who envied the large increase in profits that I was able to increase production thanks to the iron products I made.

“Huh, really?”

“That’s right. Thanks to this, the amount of coal coming out of mines has increased considerably. As more workers were hired and put in, production increased, and the money paid as wages began to circulate in the estate, bringing vitality to the estate.”

“I’m jealous. My family is not yet well-off, so we cannot make large investments in our territory… … .”

“I didn’t have much free time either. This was only possible because the steel baron here provides iron items at very cheap prices.”

As Count Carbon tapped my shoulder and spoke, the nobles’ attention focused on me.

“Uh, how cheap was it? half… … Did it reach that level?”

“Half of it, I could have bought it cheaper than that. Moreover, Baron Steel is also very quick at producing items, so he produced and delivered items in just a few days that would have taken months to make in our territory.”

Other nobles began to show interest in Count Carbon’s words as he tapped my shoulder as if he was bragging.

But Count Carbon, as if the story wasn’t over yet, led us to a window with a clear view of the outside.

“Can you see it over there? The weapons being distributed to the soldiers right now were all made by Baron Steele here. I heard it only took ten days to make something for 350 people?”

“It took a little longer than 10 days. At first, they only made enough for 300 people, but later they added enough for 50 people.”

“Hahaha, isn’t that incredible speed anyway?”

Count Carbone praised me for my amazing speed, saying there was no need to be humble.

And, some of the nobles who were listening to Count Carbon’s story began to look at the soldiers closely through the window. It was almost like looking at something like the eyes of those inspecting quality, wondering if there might be a problem somewhere.

Even though Count Carbon continued to talk about various things, their eyes continued to glance at the soldiers. After looking at the soldiers like that for a while, they turned their gaze to me.

If it weren’t for Count Carbon, who was right next to me, he looked like he was going to ask me if I had any intention of selling something to them.

After seeing the appearance of some of the nobles, Count Carbon secretly whispered in a voice so low that only I could hear it.

“This is my personal repayment for your support of Viscount Defuty. However, the negotiations with them must be done by Baron Steele himself.”

I don’t know if it was because he was Count Carbone, who even described Viscount Defuty as a relative, even though he was no different than a stranger to him, but he seemed to view my support of Viscount Defuty very positively.

Count Carbon, who had given me the opportunity to make a new business partner, cleared his throat loudly, said he was thirsty, and then left. And then, following Count Carbone, several nobles left their seats, and only those who were looking at me with interest remained.