WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
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◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 33: Prelude to War
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The day after dealing with the merchants, I headed to my office early in the morning to submit a report to headquarters.
“Hm?”
When I opened the office door and stepped inside, I found Ren and Dihelm talking.
“What are you two doing so early?”
“Ah! You are here, Captain? I was explaining the work within the fortress to Mr. Dihelm.”
“Thanks to Assistant Ren’s detailed explanations, I think I will be able to settle into the work quickly.”
At the word assistant, Ren’s face broke into a broad grin.
Come to think of it, this guy seemed susceptible to praise too.
“I’ll explain the ins and outs of the work, so Ren, go take care of your duties.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once Ren left, only Dihelm and I remained in the office. Thinking we might as well talk for a while, I offered him a seat.
“So, what did you think after looking around the fortress yesterday?”
“It exceeded my expectations. Both the fortress and your decisiveness, My Lord.”
“Decisiveness? That’s not something the person who suggested dealing with the merchants and their families should say.”
Dihelm shrugged with a sly expression.
“They are people who kidnap others for their own gain. Would it not benefit both the fortress and the Empire to execute them?”
“You’re colder than you look.”
“I don’t see myself that way, but people often say I have a knife-like temperament.”
Of course I knew that.
‘That’s also why I’m uneasy.’
Dihelm drew firm lines, just like his cool-headed nature.
‘He said he would work under me for now, but he isn’t sincerely loyal yet. If something displeases him, he’ll leave at any time.’
Worried that he might disappear without a word, I decided to build a personal friendship with him little by little whenever I had the chance.
“Come to think of it, I heard you enjoy lying in fields and listening to the wind?”
“That is correct.”
“Then you must also be well informed about the Empire’s current situation.”
At the mention of the Empire’s affairs, keen interest filled his eyes.
There was probably no intelligent person in this world who disliked this sort of conversation.
“It seems you are concerned about the Empire’s affairs as well, My Lord.”
“Given my position, I can’t help being sensitive to them. In any case, I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
“The Empire’s affairs... As you know, I come from an ordinary shepherding background, so I do not know the details. I only have a rough guess...”
“Get to the point.”
I had felt it yesterday too, but this guy took far too long with his introductions.
“Yes. My personal opinion is that even greater chaos will come.”
“Oh? Do you have any grounds for that?”
“It is not enough to call grounds, merely simple circumstances and speculation.”
After taking a breath, he began laying out his thoughts one by one.
“The Empire is currently like a cracked jar. It is still filled with the water of the foundations and prosperity accumulated over hundreds of years, so it appears intact for now. But soon, the bottom will show.”
“Hmm.”
“Nobles who call themselves the Emperor Faction and claim to be incorruptible, along with principled officials, are trying to set things right, but the filth clinging to the jar is too thick. It will not be easy.”
“That filth would be the Noble Faction.”
Dihelm smiled as though agreeing.
“What I say from here may be somewhat disrespectful. Is that all right?”
“Go on.”
“To commoners like me, there is little difference between the Emperor Faction and the Noble Faction. Their means and methods may differ, but they are both fighting for their own interests in the end.”
“That’s a dangerous thing to say.”
If he said it before other nobles, it might cost him his head.
Dihelm lowered his head at my remark.
“If I have offended you, I apologize.”
“No, I’m not offended. It isn’t wrong. Still, you should be careful saying such things in front of others.”
I had no intention of losing a talented person over something absurd.
At my advice, he gave me a meaningful look.
“As expected, you are different from other nobles, My Lord.”
“I’ve been through too many ugly experiences. Besides, I only have the trappings of a noble.”
Back to the matter at hand.
“So you believe conflict between the Noble Faction and the Emperor Faction will cause trouble?”
“I only predict that a chaotic age will unfold.”
“An age of turmoil, then.”
Dihelm neither denied nor affirmed it.
‘There are a few missing pieces, but...’
The fact that he had guessed the future that would unfold with near accuracy was impressive enough.
‘This is practically a ninety-nine-point answer.’
The missing point could not be helped.
No matter how much of a genius he was, he could not predict abnormal weather and the Great Invasion unless he was a prophet.
＊＊＊＊＊
After around fifteen minutes of discussion, Ubel ended the meeting.
“There’s work piling up, so let’s stop here for today.”
“Yes. Then I’ll go assist Assistant Ren with his work.”
“All right. Good work.”
After offering a brief farewell and leaving the office, Dihelm muttered to himself as he walked.
“Hmm, an age of turmoil...”
He had acted calm when Ubel mentioned an age of turmoil, but in truth, he had been startled.
‘I only said that chaos would come, yet the lord of the fortress heard that and immediately called it an age of turmoil.’
Ubel’s answer gave Dihelm one realization and one question.
The realization was that Ubel had privately held a guess similar to Dihelm’s own.
The question was...
‘Why did he deliberately call it an age of turmoil?’
What Dihelm had envisioned was infighting among nobles and the impoverished lives of the Empire’s people that would result from it.
That would certainly be chaotic, but...
‘It’s somewhat lacking to call it an age of turmoil.’
Did Ubel think it would not end at merely that?
‘Why?’
Did he know something else?
Questions led to more questions, and after some thought, Dihelm came to only one conclusion.
‘I should watch a little longer.’
Even aside from that, Ubel was an interesting person in many ways.
What noble would send people to recruit a penniless shepherd like him?
‘What an unusual person.’
If Ubel had been any other noble, Dihelm’s remarks about the merchants’ treatment the day before would have drawn one of two reactions.
They would either have flown into a rage and refused.
Or they would have scolded Dihelm while pretending to dislike it, then accepted while making excuses for themselves.
The former were foolish sorts who risked their lives for honor.
The latter were idiots greedy for wealth but obsessed with appearances.
‘I personally thought he would choose the former.’
Yet Ubel had surprisingly laughed heartily and frankly revealed his true feelings.
It was something Dihelm would never have seen from other nobles.
‘It seems I did well to come to the fortress after receiving the merchant lord’s message.’
Bold decisiveness.
An easygoing nature unbefitting a noble.
And even a gaze that saw ability as it was, regardless of status.
‘Perhaps, if it is Ubel...’
With a meaningful smile that revealed none of his thoughts, Dihelm looked toward Ubel’s office.
＊＊＊＊＊
After dealing with the merchants, I spent so much time handling the aftermath that I practically lived in my office for a while.
In the meantime, many changes took place at the fortress.
First, the finances.
“This is... the list of confiscated property?”
“Yes, sir.”
A total of seven merchant companies had been ruined after becoming entangled in this incident.
They had all barely been known in the nearby area, so I thought their assets would amount to around 5,000 to 10,000 Gold at most.
But then...
“20,000 Gold? Are you sure?”
“Yes. That figure excludes the wagons and horses, so including those, it should come to 25,000 Gold.”
At first, I thought Raul had calculated it incorrectly.
“We received assistance from the head of the Camellun Trading Company and examined everything closely, so there can be no mistake.”
“Ha!”
It was more than I had expected.
‘I need headquarters’ permission before it comes into my hands, but...’
Our light, the hero of the North, Schultz, assigned the property to the fortress as if he had been waiting for my report.
So this was why people talked about having someone powerful backing them.
I converted all the confiscated property into cash and used it to purchase additional wheat. Now all I had to do was wait for that wheat to turn into hundreds of thousands of Gold.
Oh, and I lent the horses and wagons that came with the confiscated property to the Camellun Trading Company.
I was supporting them so they could quickly absorb the market left vacant after the other merchant companies were wiped out.
And so, as preparations continued smoothly, one month and fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye.
At the training ground within the fortress, I watched the soldiers practicing formations with a satisfied smile.
“They’re finally becoming somewhat useful.”
The soldiers now gave off a sharpness no less than that of elite troops.
The hard training had been worth it.
Satisfied with their progress, I praised Marcus and Max.
“You both worked hard.”
“Not at all.”
“Them, not us. They had it harder.”
It was rather striking to see Max call the soldiers so familiarly. Perhaps he had grown attached to them through training.
“...At this level, it won’t matter how many barbarians attack. We’ll have no problem defending the fortress.”
At my mutter, Max tilted his head and asked,
“Barbarians? They haven’t appeared even once since we came here. Is there really any need to worry?”
“You never know.”
I brushed it off, but my real thoughts were different.
‘Summer will be here soon.’
The flow of the future had changed, so I could not know when the Great Invasion would erupt. I needed to prepare myself.
‘Unless something major has changed, the barbarians will show signs of movement before they act.’
If word of their movements reached the Empire, it would be safe to say the Great Invasion had begun.
‘I’ve already prepared enough.’
All that remained was to watch for their movements and wait.
As I steeled myself, I looked north, where the barbarians lived.
Meanwhile, at that very time...
As the warmth of spring slowly faded and the Empire’s farmers diligently cultivated their crops in anticipation of the autumn harvest, a cold atmosphere hung over the northern barbarians commonly known as the Huran Tribe.
Inside a lavish hut decorated with animal bones and hides, the chieftains of prominent Huran tribes had gathered in one place.
A middle-aged figure seated in the place of honor spoke.
“590.”
“...”
“That is the number of our tribe members who starved to death in the time it took the moon to fill and wane once. How is it for your tribes?”
At the question, the chieftains answered one after another.
“About 300 in ours.”
“Our tribe lost around 400...”
Though their numbers differed, each tribe had suffered countless deaths from starvation over roughly a month.
“I recently asked our warriors, and even the animals in the forest have nothing to eat and are starving to death.”
“...”
“And the crops we struggled to cultivate were all washed away by heavy rain.”
Unlike other barbarians who lived nomadic lives in the east and west, the northern Huran Tribe were settled people. They hunted as well, but they fundamentally knew how to farm and harvest crops.
However, now that abnormal weather had devastated everything, their settled way of life had instead become a shackle.
“At this rate, we will all starve to death. We must make a decision.”
At a young chieftain’s words, everyone let out low groans.
The decision the young chieftain meant was plunder.
As they had always done, they would attack the Empire and take the food they lacked.
Kantulan, seated in the place of honor, shook his head gravely at the young chieftain’s assertion.
“The Empire’s strength is not to be underestimated. Were not the tribes near the border annihilated only recently?”
“That happened because they were attacked without warning. This time, we will launch a surprise attack of our own.”
“And if we fail? Then the tribe’s bloodline may truly end.”
“If we wait here doing nothing, the bloodline will end all the same.”
Kantulan understood the young chieftain’s intent and sighed.
“You would rather risk your lives fighting than starve to death without doing anything.”
“That is right.”
Kantulan deliberated.
The young chieftain was not wrong.
Ordinarily, Kantulan would have nodded without needing to think.
But Kantulan was the chieftain who led a great tribe and could not ignore the consequences of failure.
Thus, Kantulan’s conclusion was...
“I understand your intent. But first, let us ask the tribes that maintain friendly relations with the Empire to request that the trade ban be lifted and that food be provided.”
Kantulan believed that if the Empire accepted the request and provided food, it could at least calm the dissatisfaction of those calling for immediate plunder and prevent meaningless bloodshed.
The chieftains accepted the decision while raising a question.
“What if the Empire refuses?”
“Then... as warriors and chieftains of our tribes, we will have no choice but to carry out the will of nature.”
At Kantulan’s words, the chieftains’ eyes hardened with resolve.
The arrow had already left the bowstring.
The shadow of the Great Invasion, the beginning of an age of turmoil and a terrible chaos, slowly began to reveal itself as it moved toward the Empire.
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