WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Medieval Heretic King is Too Good at Developing ◈
Chapter 91: The Bohemian Artillery
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Prague's sky was heavy with gray clouds as winter approached.
Fine snow flurried through the air, yet the streets looked nothing like the gloomy winters of the past.
Step, step.
Boots struck the well-packed stone road in a steady rhythm.
Matej and Ondřej of the Kingdom of Bohemia's army were making their usual patrol through the district.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm~”
Ondřej hummed, resting a spear across one shoulder. After a broad yawn, Ondřej glanced at the companion walking silently beside them.
“Hey, Matej.”
“What?”
“Aren't you bored?”
“We're on duty. Stop thinking about nonsense and watch where you're going.”
Ondřej pursed his lips at Matej's stiff reply.
“I know we're on duty, but it's too peaceful. At least if there were a reason to draw our swords, we'd have something to stay alert about. Back in the day, shouldn't every alley be crawling with beggars? Where did all the men grabbing at your trouser legs and begging for a coin, and all the drunks sprawled in the streets, go?”
Ondřej's complaint was not entirely wrong.
Only two years earlier, immediately after the First Crusade, Prague had been little different from a giant refugee camp.
Refugees who had lost their homes in the war filled the city. Hungry children were beaten for stealing bread. Vagrants with no tomorrow wandered the streets every night.
Had things been better before the war?
Of course not. That had been when the Black Death was raging.
Bohemia had been comparatively safe, but that was only true on paper. Rotting corpses had still lain in every alley.
But now things were different.
“Where did they go? His Majesty took them all away.”
Matej pointed beyond the city walls.
“They were all taken to pave roads, repair the walls, and build those factories. Why would anyone beg in the streets when working gets them food and money?”
“I heard it's hard to be a beggar these days. There are jobs everywhere, so if you beg, they arrest you and force a pickaxe into your hands.”
Ondřej marveled anew at the sight of the back alleys.
“It really has become clean. The streets and the people. The ground's paved with smooth stone, people wash with soap, and all those beggars have vanished.”
“It's all thanks to His Majesty.”
That did not mean crime had disappeared from the city entirely.
There were still rotten people who thought it better to pick someone else's pocket than work themselves to the bone.
Their job was to catch such people, straighten them out with clubs, and, if their crimes were serious, send them to work as miners in the Silesian coal mines.
“Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen!”
A baker spotted the two passing soldiers and greeted them warmly.
“Oh, Uncle Jan! Business good today too?”
“Of course! It's all thanks to His Majesty and you soldiers! I tried placing an advertisement in the newspaper, and now even the servants of noblemen living in the New Town come all the way to this alley to buy my bread!”
“That's good to hear!”
“And here.”
The baker thrust two loaves of freshly baked bread into their hands.
“Eat them as you go. They just came out of the oven, but the crust got a little burned, so I can't exactly sell them.”
“Oh, you didn't have to. We'll enjoy them!”
Ondřej accepted the bread without even pretending to refuse it. Matej gave the baker a slight nod as well.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all! Thanks to you, I sleep soundly without worrying about thieves.”
It was not only the baker.
The citizens passing through the streets offered the patrol light nods instead of avoiding or fearing them.
Their eyes held deep trust in the king's soldiers.
Ondřej shrugged.
“Funny how life turns out. Back when we were peasant soldiers, we were lucky if people didn't spit when we passed by...”
“That's how much the world has changed.”
Matej answered while chewing.
“These days, if you say you're in the royal army, taverns will even let you drink on credit. They know we're good for it.”
The two were chatting as they walked through the Old Town when a voice called from above.
“Oh, isn't that Mr. Matej?”
A second-floor window suddenly flew open, and a young woman with neatly braided hair leaned out.
It was Lenka, a serving girl from the Fat Goose Inn.
The moment she spotted Matej, her cheeks turned red, and she waved at him.
Matej stopped in surprise, then awkwardly fidgeted with the brim of his cap.
“Ah... yes. Hello.”
“Patrolling again today? Please come by this evening! We got some especially good duck, and I'll save the best cuts for you, Mr. Matej!”
Her voice was so full of affection that anyone could have heard it.
“...Thank you.”
“You have to come, all right? I'll be waiting!”
Lenka laughed brightly and shut the window.
Ondřej clicked his tongue as he watched her.
“You dense bastard.”
“...What?”
“Are you really that oblivious, or are you pretending? At this point, she's practically serving herself up and saying, ‘Take me with you.’”
Ondřej gave Matej's shoulder a tap.
“Tell me honestly. Why haven't you proposed to Lenka?”
“...”
“Do you know how popular regular soldiers like us are these days? We get paid on time, and we get land once we finish our service. The young women are lining up. Lining up.”
“...”
“Even the regulars at that inn know Lenka is waiting herself sick for you. She's making it obvious, so why are you dragging your feet? If some other bastard takes her, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Matej pressed his lips together instead of answering.
As his silence stretched on, Ondřej urged him again in frustration.
“Come on, say something. What's the problem? You don't like Lenka?”
“...That's not it.”
“Then what is it?”
Matej hesitated for a long time before finally letting out a quiet sigh.
“I don't have enough money.”
“What?”
Ondřej stopped walking, as if doubting their own ears.
“You don't have money? A passing dog would laugh at that. Do you think I don't know you save every coin of your pay? Do you chase women around? Do you gamble? All you do is drink a few beers at the inn. Besides, your daily pay was raised to 3 Groschen this time.”
Matej shook his head.
“I don't have enough to buy a house.”
“A house?”
Ondřej looked baffled.
“Hey, with what you've saved, you could easily get a shack on the edge of Prague. That's good enough for a newlywed home for people like us. What more do you want?”
Matej stopped and turned to Ondřej.
The usual bluntness was gone from his eyes, replaced by a deep, dark shadow.
“A shack won't do.”
“Huh?”
“Shacks are too cold in winter. Wind comes through the gaps, and rain leaks through the roof. And... if there's a fire, they burn down in an instant.”
Matej's voice trembled slightly.
“I've lived through that.”
Ondřej fell silent, realizing their mistake.
Ondřej had forgotten that Matej carried painful memories.
“Ondřej. We're soldiers. We don't know when we'll die. Who knows whether the crusaders will come charging in again tomorrow?”
“Well...”
Matej knew the horrors of war all too well.
He had experienced firsthand how easily people died, and how easily the homes of the poor were destroyed.
He never wanted Lenka, or perhaps one day their child, to suffer through such a disaster again.
“Even if I die, Lenka must be safe. I want her to live in a sturdy brick house without worrying about the cold or bands of thieves. Inside the city walls... near the main road. Somewhere she can be protected first if enemies invade.”
Ondřej's mouth fell open.
“The main road? King's Road? Hey, that's where nobles and wealthy merchants live. You think we can move there on our pay?”
“That's why I'm saving. There should be a laundry and a bathhouse nearby too. So Lenka won't have to exhaust herself with housework.”
He clenched his fist.
“And... if we have a child.”
“...”
“I don't want them to live illiterate like I did. I want them to learn to read, learn arithmetic... to grow up in an environment where they can live with dignity. For that, we need to live in a city with schools. I don't know what the future holds, but Prague and Sternberg are the only places with free education right now.”
Ondřej was at a loss for words.
Ondřej had never imagined that Matej took his relationship with Lenka so seriously.
“Hey, Matej. I understand how you feel, but...”
Reality was cruel.
“Houses in central Prague cost a fortune. Even if we saved every coin for ten years, it would be hard. By then Lenka will be a bent old grandmother.”
“...I know. That's why it's so frustrating.”
Matej smacked his lips bitterly and started walking again.
His back looked especially lonely.
“Haah...”
“Ugh...”
The two soldiers trudged through the streets, sighing heavily.
Then Ondřej suddenly raised their head as though something had occurred to them.
“Oh, right! Then how about living there?”
“Where?”
“Sternberg.”
Matej frowned.
“Sternberg? Isn't that an industrial city where only skilled workers live? Would ordinary soldiers like us even be allowed in? I heard the security is so tight that not even an ant can get inside.”
“No, listen to me. Remember Simon, the fellow who pushed carts beside us in the last war?”
“Simon? The one who looked like a bear?”
“Yeah. Simon works there as a laborer now and says it's a completely different world.”
Ondřej lowered his voice and whispered.
“In Sternberg, they practically rent houses to workers for free. And not shacks, either. Sturdy stone houses made with cement! They're warm even in the dead of winter because no wind gets in, and every house has a water tap. All you have to do is turn it, and clean water comes pouring out.”
“What? That's absurd.”
Matej knew what a water tap was. They had been installed in the public bathhouse His Majesty had recently built.
Only a thin stream of cold water came out, but it had been astonishing enough that clear water appeared without anyone having to fetch it themselves.
And every house had one?
“Don't make up nonsense. Brick houses with water taps? Not even a noble's villa would have that. And they give them away for almost nothing?”
“I'm telling you, it's true! Women there don't have to go all the way to the river for water. They do all their washing inside their homes!”
Ondřej spoke passionately, spraying spittle.
“And do you know what's even better? I heard the schools there teach more than letters. They teach practical skills too. Highly paid craftsmen come to the schools and teach the students themselves. There's even a hospital where doctors examine you if you get sick.”
Matej stopped dead.
Schools. Hospitals. And sturdy brick houses.
Everything he had wanted was there.
No, it was even more than that.
‘...If it's true?’
Sternberg.
His Majesty's hometown and the center of industry.
The place where iron and fire were born, and the safest fortress in Bohemia.
If only he could take Lenka there.
If only he could raise a child there.
But.
“We're Prague patrolmen.”
Matej's voice fell again.
“I heard they recruit their own garrison. They don't take just anyone. Only soldiers with verified identities and proven loyalty can get in.”
“...Ah, right. You're right. I forgot about that.”
Sternberg was a restricted zone.
Even outsiders had their entry strictly controlled.
It was not somewhere ordinary soldiers like them could dream of entering.
Their hope died as quickly as it had risen.
“...Let's stop talking nonsense and get back to patrolling.”
The two soldiers headed toward the guard post with their shoulders slumped.
Yet when they returned from patrol, the guard post was strangely noisy.
Soldiers had gathered before the notice board, murmuring among themselves.
“Hey, did you see that?”
“Five Groschen a day? Is this for real?”
Curious, Matej and Ondřej pushed through the crowd.
“What is it? What's going on?”
“A messenger from His Majesty posted a notice.”
“A notice?”
In the middle of the board was a fresh sheet of paper printed by the Royal Printing House.
Matej was practically illiterate, but he could roughly guess its contents from the few familiar words he recognized and the murmurs around him.
“Bohemia... recruiting an elite artillery corps...?”
Daily pay: 5 Groschen.
Hazard pay separate.
Residence in Sternberg required for security reasons.
Family members permitted to reside with them.
Matej's lips trembled.
The astonishing daily pay of 5 Groschen meant far less to him than the words at the very end.
Family members permitted to reside with them.
Yet fear washed over him at the same time.
Artillery. A unit that handled Gunpowder.
Everyone said it was a dangerous posting where things exploded and people died at the slightest mistake.
But...
‘It's less dangerous than leaving Lenka alone in a shack.’
Matej's eyes changed.
“Ondřej.”
“Huh?”
“I'm going there.”
“Really? Hey, artillerymen are known for brutal training. They say General Žižka personally runs them into the ground. People say you'll be worked half to death if you join.”
“I don't care.”
A stone house.
Walls with water pouring from them.
And a school where children could run and play.
‘Wait for me, Lenka.’
All those dreams were contained in that single sheet of paper.
Footnotes:
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