Weekly chapters (1/2)
This chapter contain medieval bloody scene. Beware.
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Translator: Raizu
Editor: Mirp
Vol.5 Chapter 36 – Out in The Field
The new year has begun.
[Make it look edgy?]
[Yeah…oh, these nails are nice. Make it like this….]
I was ordering a helmet at the blacksmith’s shop in the fortress.
Because I lost my grandfather’s helmet in battle.
The master blacksmith was confused, saying, [Is it a horn…?].
In fact, I realized the threatening effect of the helmet and came up with the idea of adding horns to the helmet as well.
I’m planning to have two reasonably sized nails fixed around my forehead.
[The next thing is an iron club. I want it to be this long.]
[A mace? If it’s that long, it’ll be heavy.]
I pointed out a long sword that could be used on horseback and specified the length.
[Yeah, if it doesn’t work, I’ll just go back to the drawing board… also, a jinkasa. It’s a helmet like this.]
[Eeeh? There is more!? Please give me some time.]
The master blacksmith yelled at my order.
If you keep ordering custom-made items… well, normally they won’t like it.
[I’m in no hurry, but here is some advance pay… Whoops, I forgot. Please make this as well.]
[Hnn? A monstrous-looking iron mask… and it has good protection for the wearer’s throat too.]
The master blacksmith seemed interested in the mask and turned it over to check its structure.
[I’m sorry, but please.]
[Fine, leave it to me.]
I added some orders and left the blacksmith workshop.
The master blacksmith had an obsessed look on his face… which is good, I guess?
I’m glad there is a blacksmith within Portu’s fortress, and they handle everything from ordering and maintaining weapons to repairing civilian pots.
Having finished my order, I walked around the square in a daze.
It seemed that several squires were practicing archery in the plaza.
…Hmm, they’re doing their best…but I’d also like to do some tactical training… I wonder what would be good?
I thought about the tactics of a small number of infantry.
The ideal would be like my father Rudolph’s cavalry, but that would be too expensive.
Strengths of infantry… Strengths…
As I was walking while groaning, Andre quickly approached.
It seemed like something happened.
[Varian-sama, you’re here.]
[Un. I’m just checking out after visiting the blacksmith.]
It’s not a lie.
My job is to maintain and manage the fortress.
It’s my job to wander around and find deficiencies and observe how the residents are working…it’s not slacking off.
[Varian-sama, it seems that the people of Bazelard committed plundering in Lioncoeur… They probably used the mountain path.]
[I see… there’s probably a shortage of food in their territory, but we can’t just ignore it.]
I ordered my squires to gather.
Perhaps in Viscount Bazelard’s territory, the people are in poverty due to the plunder of our Lioncoeur’s army and the unreasonable tax rate that the Viscount incur to pay his debts, which in turn caused them to lack food.
It’s winter right now.
The time when people need food the most… Thus, they have no choice but to procure it elsewhere if they don’t have it.
『Take it if you want it』
In this day and age, these are commonplace values.
I can understand that, but I can’t condone it.
The people that I protect are the people of Lioncoeur, not the people of Bazelard.
=============
[That’s what I’m saying, I’m going to exterminate the thieves.]
When I told the squires, they all nodded.
[Varian-sama, there are three roads… one is probably unusable due to snow, but are we going to split into two teams?]
Rolo asked a question.
There are three roads around the fortified city of Portu, which are difficult for large troops and cavalry to pass through, but a small group of people can easily pass through them.
[No. If we split up, our numbers will decrease even more since we’ll have to take turns keeping watch. We’ll destroy the narrow passage.]
Originally, these roads were used by people who were unable to use the main road or by mountain tribes.
It seems that hunters also use it, but I don’t think it would be a problem if we destroy one out of three.
If I receive any complaint… then I could just threaten them with soldiers and force them into negotiation.
You’ll understand when that happens.
[Two teams each consisting half of our number will take turns guarding the path. Jean and Tanqueray will lead the first team, Andre and Rolo lead the second. I will participate as a back-up.]
Normally, Rolo, a freed slave, is not a squire, but no one is complaining.
…However, I don’t know how to call them squires… I should think of a name for the squad…
Let’s think of a cool name. Maybe something like “Cobra Squad” would be good.
Not bad for an afterthought.
I nodded to myself and turned to the squires.
[Okay, let’s first block off the road. Carry a suitable log.]
A certain amount of materials are stockpiled in the fortress.
I asked Portu’s master carpenter to accompany me, and I built a simple fence on the path…we had to go back and forth several times, but we completely blocked off the path.
If you try hard, you might be able to pass, but it will be difficult to pass while carrying your luggage.
That’s enough for the lockdown.
…Will it be destroyed with an ax or hammer…? Well, once you start imagining the possible outcome, there’ll be no end to it.
I also built a shack on the road… due to space issues, it was a strange building with only one wall missing, more like an old bus stop than a shack.
There’s not enough material after all.
It’s a bit run down, but we don’t have living quarters out here in the wild, so this is fine.
I put a rocket stove there to keep ourselves warm.
Those who are freezing up after crossing a cold mountain road move differently than those who have warmed up.
First of all, don’t fall behind.
From this day on, the two teams took turns keeping watch.
Although we monitor it every day, it is dangerous to camp overnight or in severe bad weather in mountains during winter, so we only patrol it during daylight hours.
In the first place, there is no way for bandits to cross the winter mountains on a night march, and the same goes for bad weather.
However, in this world, people who just wait tend to not get anything.
Our monitoring continued to be in vain.
==============
10 days later
[Hey, Sabi, is Varian-sama alright?]
[The weather is quite cold today.]
I joined Jean and Tanqueray’s team and headed towards the road.
We advanced through the crunchy, frozen snow.
[It’s been snowing a lot recently.]
[Yeah, it was cold yesterday… there must have been some deaths in the town.]
It felt strange to look ahead blankly while chatting with Tanqueray.
[Jean, is something wrong?]
[Yeah. I see footprints. The way the snow is piled up is different… seems like someone was ahead of us.]
We moved forward with caution.
The snow had piled up above the footprints…they must have passed there last night.
…It’s unreasonable to go over a mountain in the midst of a snowstorm… Or, is it to avoid us…?
We didn’t hide the fact that we were guarding the road.
The Bazelard thieves who invaded may have learned of our existence and tried to outwit us.
[Oh, look at the hut.]
Jean was the first to notice something strange in the hut.
It seemed that someone was there.
[Alright, are you guys ready?]
I called out to everyone…I also gripped my spear tighter and calmed myself down.
[Alright, seize them!!]
Under my command, we ran in with a roar.
However, the people hiding in the hut did not react.
…Isn’t that strange? What?
That question was quickly resolved.
[They’re already dead.]
[Yeah, freezing to death.]
When we checked the hut, six men were frozen to death.
It seemed like they didn’t know how to use the rocket stove.
There’s something that looks like skin stuck to the stove…probably, it got stuck to the frozen metal while investigating.
The stuck skin was forcibly peeled off.
…This primitive man ended up tarnishing the rocket stove…
I poked the men in the head one by one with my spear.
Then, there were two people who were still breathing, so I stabbed them with my spear.
[It’s a disappointing ending.]
[Ah, what a pain. I don’t even inclined to toss their bodies away.]
Jean kicked the corpse away, looking very listless.
[Um, those corpses.]
Tanqueray opened his mouth timidly.
He might have difficulties speaking out, but it’s not cute when a man fidgets.
[When crows gather in the field…. People usually kill them and hang dead bodies… to prevent other crows from coming.]
Tanqueray tried hard to explain in a way that doesn’t get the point across.
This is not to say that he is unintelligent or anything like that, but rather a problem with the education that he received.
I guess he just didn’t have enough practice explaining things to people.
I think Tanqueray is rather smart.
I also have to teach my squires how to read, write, and calculate.
Jean and I patiently continued to listen to Tanqueray’s explanation, asking questions every once in a while.
This is what Tanqueray wanted to say.
“To prevent damage from crows, first kill the crows and hang them to expose them.
It turns out that crows are smart creatures and won’t approach fields where their friends have encountered something like that.”
We could do the same to humans… In other words, his plan was to hang the corpses at the entrance to the hallway on Bazelard’s side.
There is no way the other “crows” wouldn’t notice it.
…It’s something similar to a big eyeball-like balloon…
I was vaguely remembering the balloons hanging on the balcony of my apartment.
[That’s an interesting idea! Let’s do it, haha.]
Jean was excited when he heard that the corpses would be hung.
Some of the other squires frowned, but… their disgust didn’t seem to go that far.
….if it’s effective and can benefit us, we do it.
[Tanqueray, good idea. I’ll give you some bonus later.]
[Thank you very much!]
Tanqueray proudly wiped his nose.
He’s being poked at by other squires, but he’s laughing.
[Alright, carry the corpses. Let’s bring them to Bazelard’s side.]
We stripped the corpse of anything that could be used and carried it along the path.
===============
[It’s probably around here, it’s a little high so it’s probably a good spot]
There is only one moderately sized tree growing on a slightly raised area.
It will be noticeable even from a distance.
I lowered the corpse and tore off the corpse’s pants.
Since it would be a waste to use rope, I hanged them on the tree using their own pants.
If you don’t make it at a height where animals can’t reach it, the corpse will be eaten right away and there’s no point.
[Gyahaha! Penis exposed! Gyahaha!]
Apparently this hit Jean just in the right spot that he laughed out loud.
Well, I’m glad that he looks happy.
[How about like this?]
Tanqueray had stabbed a corpse into a broken tree, making it look like a skewer…it’s creepy alright.
[Let’s get some of their intestines out, shall we?]
[Even if you leave it alone, the birds will make a mess of it, they like the eyeballs.]
While Jean and Tanqueray were having eerie small talk, the others continued to hang the corpses.
The squires finally hanged the last corpse… Everyone got on board badly and the last two bodies were hung upside down.
[That’s eerie alright… I wouldn’t want to pass through here if I were them]
The result was an eerie space made up of six corpses.
If it were me, I would never get close.
[Alright, let’s keep watch in the hut for a little while.]
[Eeh, seriously?]
Jean complained, but there isn’t always one group of thieves.
Vigilance is still important.
==========
After that
In conclusion, it seems that the damage caused by thieves has decreased dramatically.
Apparently hanging the corpses had some effect.
Even if it’s just a psychological thing, enemy invasion can be reduced with simple measures.
…I wouldn’t be able to come up with that idea myself… I’m grateful to Tanqueray.
I thanked Tanqueray. It seemed to be a tactic that can be used in any number of ways.
After that, I spent the winter teaching my squires how to write and ordering useful agricultural tools from the blacksmith.
I’ve gotten used to life in the fortress.
It might be a good idea to call my half-sister Katia over.
I still went to check on her from time to time, but she doesn’t seem to know many people, so she seemed lonely at times.
Living with my younger sister.
That didn’t seem like a bad idea.
I don’t think so, but there are people who think of my sister as a nuisance…mostly family members…but there’s no guarantee that they won’t harm her.
I want to keep my promise to my elder brother Hughes. I was entrusted with my younger sister Katia by him after all.
…..that’s right, let’s do just that.
I’m not saying this on a whim, but let’s go see Sumina as well so that I don’t feel weird when I meet Katia.
Of course, I had no intention of putting my hands on my own little sister, but I’m the kind of creature that when things pile up, I don’t know what to do.
In fact, just the thought of meeting Sumina made me feel unbearable.
…I can’t take it anymore.
I rode my horse through the snow.
As a side note, I couldn’t resist my young body, so I stopped by the town of Portu, thinking of hiring a prostitute.
But, I ended up didn’t.
As expected, I couldn’t deal with someone who was sick or had no nose… In that case, I’d rather masturbate.
Surprisingly, isn’t this the reason why virginity and chastity are valued?
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