Episode 178 The time has finally come. (1)
While the knights were concentrating on their training, reinforcement work on the balloon was also completed.
Galvarik, whose pride had been hurt once, beat his chest and boasted.
“The reinforcements are definitely complete! This time, there will absolutely be no accidents! As long as we don’t get attacked somewhere or some idiots don’t do anything weird!”
Indeed, the dwarves’ pride had been strengthened, and the reinforced hot air balloon completed its flight safely.
But it’s not just the hot air balloons that have been entrusted to the dwarves.
Jiselle went straight into checking the rest.
“What about the Under Armour made with Blood Phyton? You said that was urgent too.”
“It’s all over. It was so hard to cut that even the wizards had a hard time.”
The dwarves, together with their wizards, created clothing from the hide of the Blood Phyton that could cover important parts such as the neck, chest, arms, and legs.
Because hundreds of sets had to be made with limited materials, the focus was on covering vital areas rather than the entire body.
If you wear it under your armor, you won’t die from most soldiers.
Blood Python’s hide is a very difficult material to cut without using mana.
“They’re dwarves after all. I bet they’ve finished the armor the knights will use.”
“I’ve filled in the missing quantity. That was the easiest.”
Galvarik’s words were filled with earnest sincerity.
Making armor was really the easiest part. It was also the one I had done the most, and I just had to repair the armor I already had or fill in the missing pieces.
Jiselle nodded. The basic weapons to be supplied to the knights were completed.
But that doesn’t mean everything is ready.
“Now that we know how to reinforce the hot air balloon, we need to produce more. We don’t know when the enemy will attack. We need to make it as fast as possible.”
The dwarves also arrived late, and because there was a shortage of materials along the way, the start date of the work itself was slightly later than Giselle had originally planned.
But it took more time to reinforce the hot air balloon.
Since scheduling is ultimately something that people do, it’s not easy to get it to fit perfectly.
Even though she had deliberately set a tight time limit considering all that, Jiselle, who was always pressed for time, was not satisfied with the current situation.
But Galvarik also didn’t like the schedule.
“No, we’ve created a machine that will go down in history, so why don’t we take a break? We’ve got too much work to do, we’re all going to die! If this keeps up, we’re going to go on strike! Guarantee the workers’ right to rest! Guarantee it!”
“No. I told you several times that I don’t have time. But if you just follow this schedule, I’ll give you a vacation.”
“Vacation? Seriously?”
Galvarik’s eyes lit up at the word vacation.
My heart raced when I heard the word vacation when I was so busy that I couldn’t even sleep properly.
For him, who was not only a slave in name but was actually treated like a slave, a vacation was a temptation he could never refuse.
“How much do you plan to give?”
“Give me a week. It’s not common to get a week’s vacation in our territory.”
Galvarik immediately entered into negotiations.
“Give me a month!”
To be honest, it was true that the dwarves were doing the most work right now and were taking care of all the important tasks, so Giselle nodded willingly.
“Okay, then I’ll give you two weeks.”
“It should take three weeks!”
“I’ll give you a week.”
“Why is it shrinking again?”
Normally, wouldn’t it be better to give it at least 2 weeks, even if it doesn’t take 3 weeks?
When Galvarik was bewildered by the unfamiliar negotiation method he had never heard of before, Giselle blurted out.
“Should I do it for about three days? It’ll be better if I don’t rest.”
“… … I’ll take it for a week.”
Galvarik’s tone became polite again.
It was fortunate that I was promised at least one week, but I couldn’t hold back my tears.
‘I should have just taken it when they said two weeks.’
Still, if I rest for a week or so, I’ll be able to catch my breath. If work doesn’t pile up any more than it is now.
Before he could get more work under the pretext of vacation, Galvarik quickly ran away. He had completely figured out Giselle.
After Galvarik left, Giselle once again reviewed the achievements she had made.
After returning to the territory, I moved around like crazy and prepared a lot of things.
Immigrants are flowing in, and the area of residence, workshops, and farmland is expanding. Other facilities are also growing rapidly.
After the dwarves came in, various equipment and tools were quickly added to the quantity.
The training of the Knights is also progressing smoothly.
This would have been impossible if Giselle hadn’t used her knowledge of the future to make money and if people hadn’t worked so hard that they would sacrifice their bodies.
Thanks to everyone’s combined efforts, the result was that the development speed of an ordinary territory was several times faster.
But is this enough?
Jiselle shook her head.
‘lack.’
If it were any other territory, I would have happily enjoyed its development.
But for Giselle, who had a powerful enemy to fight, such a thought was a luxury.
Even now, Giselle’s wealth is rapidly dwindling, but there are few taxes being collected.
The products produced in the Fenris Territory were mostly cosmetics. Most of what was produced in the workshop was war supplies, and instead of selling food to others, they were buying it.
The number of junior knights has increased rapidly, but in other words, the military power is also limited to one order of knights.
It is incomparable to the great lords who have thousands or tens of thousands of troops.
So, Giselle couldn’t rest.
‘There can be absolutely no mistakes. Damage must be minimized.’
The Fenris Territory was currently pursuing extreme development, and it was certain that it would collapse if there was even one misstep.
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As Claude said, this precarious state could not be considered normal territory.
That is why winning this war was so important.
A perfect victory, or a perfect defeat.
It’s just one of two things.
To win without sufficient power, you have to take risky actions that the enemy cannot predict.
‘The preparations are almost complete. The time to fight will come soon.’
After gathering her thoughts, Giselle went outside and looked up at the sky.
‘It’s getting hotter.’
No one has noticed it yet. The weather in the North has always been unpredictable.
But Jiselle, who had experienced the future, knew very well what the current weather change meant.
Feeling that the time was near, Giselle summoned her retainers and gave them new instructions.
“All construction currently underway will be halted for the time being.”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
I couldn’t help but wonder why they kept urging me that there was no time, and now they are telling me to stop the construction.
Rather than feeling good about not having to work, I was more afraid of what kind of accident I might have.
Claude asked cautiously, with a frightened tone.
“Suddenly stop construction? We need to speed up the housing construction to accommodate the next batch of immigrants.”
“It’s not like we’re just quitting. The dwarves are going to focus on building hot air balloons, and the rest are going to focus on building waterways and reservoirs, and expanding the reservoirs.”
Claude and his men tilted their heads.
Waterways and reservoirs are essential facilities for farming, and since Jiselle had emphasized them several times in the past, they were the first tasks to be addressed when working on new farmland.
The canals and reservoirs were well maintained to handle the current production without any need for expansion.
Claude, who was aware of the status of the work in the territory, asked again.
“We have kept enough reserves in case of an unexpected disaster. We have stored water not only here but also in communal tanks in each village.”
At those words, Giselle shook her head.
I know what will happen in the future, but I have not personally witnessed the situation here in my past life.
I’ve only seen it in records.
For events that you have not experienced directly, you should definitely prepare more than you expected from your records.
“There’s nothing wrong with having some spare time, right? Since the foundation has already been laid, it won’t be hard to expand. Think of it as using all the rivers around you and work on it. While you’re at it, I’ll give Ferdium some money and workers, so tell them to build a few more.”
At those words, Claude nodded several times and stepped back.
Controlling water is one of the most important duties of a lord, especially in harsh regions like the North.
It means that there is nothing wrong with excessive amounts of it.
Giselle asked Claude.
“How’s the food situation? Are you still buying?”
At those words, Claude clearly showed that he was very tired.
I heard that damn food story at every meeting. Now, just hearing the word ‘food’ made me feel like vomiting.
“The warehouse is about to burst, so we are continuing to expand. There is so much food left over that even the dogs and cats wandering around the neighborhood are getting fat. Once this harvest is over, you will be called the food king of the north.”
Since the people of Yeongji have always been hungry and now have enough to eat, their morale is high and it is natural that they praise their lord.
But from Claude’s point of view, he couldn’t just let it go. Too much money was being spent on food. Now it was a waste of money.
Claude also let it slide at first. He needed a lot of food to prepare for Mercury.
But now, there was just too much. In terms of quantity alone, it would last in the castle for more than ten years. But before that, it would all rot and be thrown away.
No matter how many times the servants tried to stop her, Jiselle would not listen, so talking more about this part would only make her tired.
Jiselle nodded a few times and continued speaking.
“Prepare supplies for 3,000 troops. They will be dispatched soon.”
Claude looked dumbfounded at those words.
This is because the territory’s forces, including the hastily assembled knights, only number about 500.
This makes it certain.
‘Our lord, you don’t even know how to do arithmetic properly!’
* * *
News of the large-scale purchase of food from the Fenris domain reached Harold’s ears.
“What? That guy Giselle keeps buying food?”
“Yes, thanks to that, food prices in the North have risen significantly. They are even buying food from merchants coming from other regions indiscriminately.”
Harold couldn’t help but laugh at the adjutant’s report.
“Hahahaha, you idiot! The harvest will be over soon and the prices will go down, but you can’t wait for that! You made some money with runestones and cosmetics and now you’re spending it without thinking!”
“It seems that the land was turned over to improve agriculture, but the harvest has actually decreased. With the influx of immigrants, it seems that there is a serious food shortage.”
“Of course. It was nonsense from the start. This was an expected result. If you don’t want to starve, you have to keep buying food.”
Because of Giselle’s blockade of the territory, rumors about the food production in Fenris Territory had not yet spread. So everyone thought Giselle’s agricultural improvements had failed.
‘Increasing yields is a problem that even I have not been able to solve, so there is no way that a novice like that can succeed.’
Harold smiled pleasantly.
I couldn’t help but feel good when I thought that the guy who had already been annoying me had suffered a huge loss.
He thought for a moment and then asked his adjutant.
“How much food do we have left?”
“During the last war, Digald was in charge of supplying the supplies, so there is still plenty. If we harvest this time, there will be quite a bit left.”
“Good. Then let’s sell off the remaining land in our territory at a high price this time. We’ll have to make that insolent guy suffer some serious losses.”
“Okay, I’ll try to get the top guys to buy our stuff first.”
Harold smiled with satisfaction at the adjutant’s words.
Desmond, along with Raypold, is the highest producing fief in the North.
Since one of their main sources of income was selling food, they couldn’t miss this great opportunity.
“God help us. The budget was tight because of the last war.”
In Harold’s eyes, it was truly a godsend.
With the aftereffects of the defeat at Ferdium still lingering, they were spending an enormous amount of money to reorganize their forces and support Amelia.
Not only that, the money spent to acquire the northern territories was also considerable.
No matter how much Desmond Manor was shaken, it was inevitable.
If the Duke and Count Cavaldi had not supported me, I would not have been able to refit my weapons.
Food, the main product, was difficult to sell at a high price as the harvest season approached.
But who would have thought that such a golden opportunity would come?
It couldn’t get any better than this, as it would fill in the gaps in funds and also inflict damage on Giselle.
“As expected, all my successes so far were just luck. You’re so annoying, you know. You’ve shown your limits when you hit the wall of reality. You don’t even know how important food is, so you probably made luxuries like cosmetics and went to the capital to have fun.”
Harold went out of his way to disparage the cosmetics that even the Duke had praised so highly. He had to.
Otherwise, my pride would be hurt and I wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“If you control food, you can suffocate everyone. In this North, food is the most important thing. Much more than cosmetics.”
The food situation in the North is determined by Desmond and Leipold.
It was only natural that it would be much more expensive if it was purchased from another region, with shipping costs added on.
I would like to strangle them all with food, but I cannot do that because of my competitor, Leipold.
But that doesn’t last long.
“If Amelia’s rebellion succeeds, we can completely control the food supply in the North.”
The northern lords, whose weaknesses have been discovered, will kneel without a fight.
That’s why the Duke and Harold are most concerned about Amelia’s rebellion.
If it weren’t for that, I would have made up some excuse and wiped out Giselle a long time ago.
“Haha, I’ll sell you some food now, so eat your fill. When the time comes, I’ll eat you.”
Harold smiled again. It felt so good.
