Volume 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Translator :

Yuus.h.i.+n

Editor / Proofreader :

Cyn

[HnM]Pete

Sarah

Milanin

rei_hunter

Chapter 2 - Sawatari Company

Est's town square was crowded with refugees carrying little but the clothes on their backs.

So that was why the place was in an uproar. It looked like a disaster or something similar happened nearby.

When I entered the Sawatari company shop, sour-faced Louise came to greet me along with  Suzanne and Claudia, the apprentice soldiers.

It was rare for our company's combat team to not go out to exterminating monsters on any given day.

”What happened?”

”Ona village has been attacked by a swarm of monsters. We fought back together with the town's garrison and other adventurers but there was too many of them and we were pushed back.”

Ona village was located not far from Est in the northeastern direction. It was a place of expansive, peaceful pastures, home to more than two hundred people.

So, the monsters that sp.a.w.ned far away in the direction of the royal capital had finally made their way over to the area around Est, huh.

”And? Louise and others didn't suffer any injuries, I hope?”

”Aaah, we're fine. We received a bunch of potions, you see. It's just that, even though we were there, we only barely managed to evacuate the villagers.”

Though their injuries had been healed with potions, just looking at their tattered leather armor was enough to give me an idea of how fierce a fight it had been.

Still, Louise was dejected, unlike her usual self.

Ona village was a place we pa.s.sed through while peddling. It was also a prosperous settlement focused on breeding cattle, so we had been procuring soil to make saltpeter from there.

Villagers I recognized were in front of the shop, setting up camp and sitting while leaning on each other, so I decided to go and check to see if anyone was injured.

”Louise, is it fine to use the recovery potions on injured people?”

”Why are you asking me something this trivial? They are Takeru's, you are free to use them as you like.”

I had figured Louise would say that. She sounded indifferent, but I guessed Louise's group had also used all of their potions on the injured people.

Ona village was within the boundaries of the county of Est, so the healers of the town's church also helped but there were too many injured people making the relief effort short on hands.

I was sure the town was all out of potions by now and if I offered mine they would re-sell at a much higher price, but I fought off that wicked idea and decided to distribute them to the injured people for free.

TL Note :  remember kids, only evil merchant can get filthy rich

”Thank you! Thank you!”

”Think nothing of it, please, we gotta help each other in the times of trouble.”

I decided to be a nice person and help as much as I could.

The young villagers showering me with grat.i.tude right now were probably thinking 'what a good guy'.

Right now, I was 'losing a fly to catch a trout'. Those people were residents of a neighboring village, so if I was helpful in this situation and earned favors here and there, I would be able to reap bigger profits later on.

Also…… since I went and founded a company in this town of Est, I had no intentions of staying idle and watching the monsters wreak havoc like this.

It looked like the power of the gun, not the sword, had finally become necessary, so I silently resolved myself to act.

●

”Did I hear you right? You're going to retake Ona village from the monsters for us?”

”Yes, and if possible, after achieving that, I will even eradicate the nearby monster packs.”

I declared in a grand manner in the castle of Count Donovan.

As expected, he looked at me with doubtful eyes, thinking I was full of empty bravado.

”Of course, if you can do that, then that would really help me but……”

”I will be using new kind of weapons, victory is not impossible.”

There had been a message from Nattal in Losgow village that the gun and cannon prototype models had been completed. I had Lyle-sensei go and fetch them with the wagon, and he was on the way right now.

In the meantime, I was having Louise's group go and investigate the monsters' positions and numbers.

Est's standing army was small in the first place.

When the monster outbreak's epicenter was near the royal capital, the knights of the royal capital's knight order and the crown army would only protect the lands and highways under the direct control of the kingdom. They wouldn't come to help the hinterland of Est county.

”Is that so, Takeru-dono has got mysterious new weapons, huh? Very well, I will issue a special extermination request. If you can save Ona village then... how does ten platinum coins sound?”

”Oooh, so this is a platinum coin. I've heard rumors, but this is the first time I've seen one.”

A platinum coin was a special unit of currency made with a rare platinum ore. One coin was the equivalent of ten gold pieces. In other words, ten platinum coins equaled one hundred gold ones.

They rarely appeared on the market and they were only used in transactions involving n.o.bles or wealthy merchants. They could be compared to the 100k yen gold coins. As I looked at the glittering platinum disks on the red table, I unconsciously reached with my hand only to be stopped by the count.

TN note: 100k yen gold coins are commemorative currency issued when the emperor of j.a.pan is enthroned or such occasions

”I'm not giving them to you yet. They will be yours only after you've exterminated the monsters attacked the village.”

”I understand, sir.”

I wondered if it wouldn't be fine for the count to increase the size of the standing army or just hire some mercenaries if he had this much money.

But well, since the county of Est was far away from the contested borderlands he probably couldn't hire anyone even if he wanted to due to an emergency. For someone like me who wanted to sell their fighting power, this was a G.o.dsend.

”Furthermore, if you can clean up all the monsters in the vicinity and return peace to the land, I'll reward you with three... no, five hundred gold pieces!

”Sir, we have a deal.”

I emptied the coffee cup and left the count's castle. Free Ona village, get ten platinum coins, another five hundred gold pieces upon the extermination of remaining monsters, huh.

Those were rather lavish rewards, a daring promise even for Count Donovan. He was probably thinking it was impossible for me.

Well, even I wasn't actually certain of success, so I guess him thinking that couldn't be helped.

Anyhow, it was a chance to test the guns and the cannon. I wanted to take advantage of this good opportunity to maximize profit.

●

Once Lyle-sensei brought the guns and the cannon to us, I held a strategy meeting in the Sawatari Company building.

According to Louise's group reconnaissance, the monsters that had attacked, and were currently staying in, Ona village were mainly armed Orcs numbering a hundred and another hundred or so Ogres and Goblins, giving a total of two hundred enemies.

A familiar face from fantasy tales with its pig head on a humanoid torso, the Orc was a well-equipped (not only with a weapon but armor as well) monster possessing higher intelligence than Ogre or Goblin.

By the way, even though Orcs had that pig head of theirs, they were unexpectedly sociable and could unite with other humanoid monsters to form a large group. The only species they seemed to be on bad terms with was the werewolves, with whom they would fight to the death whenever they met.

I really wished we could arrange this to happen here, but there were no werewolf packs nearby. It was a pity. Human livestock was the favorite food for Orcs. That was probably the reason why Ona village, with its thriving cattle herds, was attacked.

Now, compared to a monster horde of about two hundred, our war potential was just me, magic using Lyle-sensei, Louise, and the thirteen little slave girls.

Twenty of the combat-capable young refugees would join us for the attempt to retake Ona village, bringing our numbers to a total of thirty-six people. But even so, against two hundred enemies, that was painfully low.

a.s.suming it would be a typical battle, of course. But we had modern weapons after all. The guns I had the blacksmiths in Losgow village manufacture were the matchlock muskets. They looked a lot like the matchlocks from the Sengoku era that were used as hunting guns.

The ones I had designed had proper stocks and were larger making them more suitable for military use.

As for ammunition, I decided to go with paper cartridges. That made reloading much easier than was the case with the old-fas.h.i.+oned matchlocks. When I test-fired outside of the town, the sound startled the villagers and made them fall onto their b.u.t.ts.

”I want us to fight using this.”

Well, I figured I could only let them get used to this.

Since the musket even made our allies surprised it would be just the right weapon to make our enemies panic. Aside from me, well used to dealing with gunpowder and aware of the gun's mechanism and functionality, Sharon was the one who mastered it the fastest from all the nervously practicing slave girls and villagers.

”The recoil isn't that strong, is it? Don't let your aim sway when you pull the trigger.”

”Like this?”

With a large 'bang', the bullet fired by Sharon flew straight into the target. She was good. Maybe even better than me. The other slave girls, once they got used to it, too were shooting standing upright and facing forward.

The volunteering villagers were all youngsters as well, so it only took them half a day to stop getting startled and ending up on their b.u.t.ts. As expected, young people were able to absorb the new technology faster.

”I understand its effectiveness, but I think I still prefer a bow in the end.”

”True, it may be better if Louise fights with a weapon you're used to.”

Louise, an excellent warrior, made a sour face as she test-fired the gun. Of course, by now she became decent at handling the musket too.

It was just that Louise, considering her skill at throwing knives and small bow, probably didn't see the gun as a very practical weapon.

But a firearm had an unarguable advantage compared to the bow, even an ordinary person could start using it almost immediately with decent proficiency.

After some practice, we moved to a hill that overlooked Ona village, which was currently occupied by the Orcs, both to execute a surprise attack and test the cannon.

”Everyone, when we are firing the cannon, remember to cover your ears.”

While the cannon's structure was big, the principle behind it wasn't any different from the musket. The gunpowder used was of the potent, black variety, though, so the sound of its explosion would be very intense.

Accompanied by a fierce, thunderous sound, that pummelled my eardrums like a hammer blow, the large iron ball flew over its intended targets and disappeared beyond the horizon. The ground shook and the stone pedestal used to keep the barrel fixed in place got forced into the soil.

That was just a test shot, so for it to even fly straight ahead was already a success. But the explosion was stronger than predicted and the pedestals wouldn't hold like this, so I figured I should reduce the amount of gunpowder a bit for the next attempt.

”It'd be nice if that was a hit, the power is good but……”

As I mumbled so, I looked down from the hilltop and saw the monsters occupying Ona village had fallen into a state of panic. This puzzled me since I totally missed.

I decided to try firing once more.

”Lower the angle on the cannon a little, then slightly turn to the left”

While Laure was cleaning the hot barrel with a mop, Sharon's group, all wearing leather gloves, frantically worked to adjust the cannon according to my order.

”Good, that should do it. Load it, we're firing the second round.”

”Ready~”

Using a ramrod, Laure loaded the gunpowder and the cannonball into the barrel in that order, then she moved away from the muzzle. After I made sure she was at a safe distance I lit the fuse and fired the second shot. The iron ball launched with another earth-shattering explosion.

”Ooooh, this time it hit.”

”We did it~”

Surprised by the sound of our first shot, the Orcs were swarming out of the village's buildings. The iron ball hit right in the middle of the pack.

But even though the cannonball hit, there was less confusion than before. Maybe the monsters were too dumbfounded and forgot to run.

And it didn't even look like that they noticed it was us shooting at them from the top of the hill.

They were not familiar with the concept of cannons, so, from their point of view, this might look like something roared suddenly and then crushed their allies in an instant.

”Good, keep firing towards the village with this angle.”

”Aye aye, sir~”

TL Note :  them lolis be like i.imgur.com/5JME2KJ.jpg

Laure, who dealt with gunpowder every day, was fearlessly stuffing the cannon and we fired continuously until the stone pedestal cracked and the barrel warped from heat.

And the results…… showered by the cannonb.a.l.l.s of death coming from an angle that they couldn't see, the panicked surviving Orcs all ran for their lives, away from the village.

”It seems that all the hards.h.i.+ps of practicing with muskets were pointless, don't you think?”

Lyle-sensei remarked with an amazed expression. We might have overdone it a little after all.

●

Searching through the large amount of Orc corpses left in the village would yield us weapons and armor. We would also receive ten platinum coins for the completion of the special extermination request.

We were going to make a killing on retaking this village.

Louise too was pleased saying things like ”there's no way we can eat so much intestine”.

The villagers that returned to their homes were offered intestine soup, but it looked like it wasn't very well received, even though the Orc meat was delicious.

I felt guilty for earning too much, so while we were collecting the cannonb.a.l.l.s, we helped with restoring the village ravaged by our bombardment.

We also helped to fix the fences surrounding the village's pasture and gathering the cattle that ran away together with the monsters.

Finally, borrowing the youths trained in using the musket, we exterminated the scattered Orcs that were still lurking nearby.

With this, we could safely say that the public order in the village has been restored. But still, the source of the troubles was still far from being dealt with.

”Further to the north of Ona, there is a bandit stronghold. That group of thieves called themselves the Golden Eagle Band but they got destroyed by the monsters. Having them gone is good and all but the monsters are now using their stronghold as a base to raid the county of Est.”

That was the situation according to Louise's scouting.

'Then it should be fine to just crush that bandit's stronghold with the cannon', I suggested. There were no objections so we decided to go ahead with the expedition.

Even though I expected us to be fine with just the cannon, the twenty volunteers from the village still took the guns and went along with us.

Again, using the information obtained by Louise's team beforehand, we took up position on the hill in the range of the bandit stronghold ( which, despite its creators being thieves, was a three-storey imposing stone fortification on a small mountain away from the highway ).

”Since it's just a bandit's stronghold I guess n.o.body will mind even if we destroy it completely. Well then, let's aim the cannon at the stronghold and set the angle as you see fit for now”

”Please wait a bit. Let's perform calculations and decide on the angle from the start.”

Lyle-sensei took out a stack of paper.

It seems that ever since the first test shot at Ona village, Lyle-sensei had been recording the shooting angle and distance.

”The outcome varies depending on the weight of the cannonball and the amount of gunpowder used but I think I can estimate it somewhat.”

Lyle-sensei, just by observing my bombardment, immediately realized that one could estimate the point of impact from the angle of the cannon. What a cheat!

I knew the theory but I didn't know how would it work out in practice. While being doubtful, I tried shooting using the angle Lyle-sensei calculated. It turned out we hit the stronghold right in the middle with the first shot.

”Mathematics is the strongest weapon, indeed.”

Excited, we kept shooting at that angle. The stone stronghold began to gradually collapse.

Since the Orcs started to squirm out from inside the stronghold, I decided to aim the cannon at the entrance and bury them alive.

Bombarding from long range was really overwhelming. I had to say, I had made a fearsome weapon for myself.

”So powerful, you probably can use these to siege castles as well……”

I hoped Lyle-sensei wasn't thinking of any bad things. I didn't really want to use the cannon on fellow humans.

”......No, it's merely a tool to defend oneself.”

Even so, I knew it would still probably be used on humans. Anyway, Lyle-sensei was still the Silesie kingdom's secretary, so I could not let my guard down.

Well, even though I said that I was a secretary's a.s.sistant myself. The monster extermination was going well, too well actually, to the point it was scaring me. Those were my feelings as the hunt for the Orcs and Goblins near the stronghold came to an end and we proceeded to collect the bullets, monster meat, and skin.

Since this was originally a bandit stronghold, inside the ruins there was orphaned equipment and even money, so we gained some extra profit.

Inviting us to eat while we were at it, Louise happily took out the cauldron. Somehow it's was really calming.

The Orc intestine white stew, with village beef we had been gifted mixed in, made by Louise was very unpopular with the citizens of Ona but since it tasted of proper pork it went well even with my palate.

The villagers' faces went blue as they watched Louise dress the Orc meat but I could only think of this as handling food while I was helping to wash the intestines.

Maybe from being together with Louise for quite a while now I had gotten used to this, or maybe I was gradually becoming mentally strong like her.

This was survival of the fittest, if one refused to eat edible things that could be procured locally, one wouldn't be able to fight.

●

”We should return to Est…”

When we discussed whether we should extend the expedition or not, Louise objected. She had been warning us for a while now that it was dangerous to get close to the Portal of Evil Essence.

It was true that due having guns and cannons we had been gaining confidence but still, there was no way we could casually go to the place where only heroes would tread, home to legendary monsters like a dragon.

Furthermore, we had already crossed the boundary between crown territory and the county of Est, so even if we managed more exterminations we still wouldn't get any more money.

Therefore I decided to return. By the way, we had received a pack horse from Ona village, so now the horsepower we commanded doubled.

We put the cannon inside the covered wagon and stacked the heaps of meat and skin on top yet somehow the wheels still managed to turn.

Louise's group would make another trip to pick up all the equipment, goods and money that wouldn't fit this time.

When we returned to count Donovan's castle in Est and made a report about the expedition result, he was overjoyed.

He said we were fine to keep all the money and goods salvaged from the bandit's stronghold. Then, as a cherry on top, he awarded us another five hundred gold coins as a reward plus the usual coffee.

Rather than celebratory alcohol, we had celebratory coffee and it was delicious. But as expected, being paid generously made my mood good.

I could guess the general intentions behind the count's attempt at putting me in a positive frame of mind. He was a sharp and capable governor. Without a doubt, he wanted the muskets, or even more likely, the cannon.

”There's something I want to discuss.”

And there it was.

”I wish to appoint Takeru-dono as a chevalier of my house, House Almark, are you willing to accept?”

”Eh?”

I lost my composure due to his unexpected offer. I didn't know if the count saw the changes on my face but he flashed a flattering smile at me.

”Of course, Takeru-dono's achievements are enough to not only become a chevalier but even a baron, sadly I lack the authority to grant the latter.”

”Haaa, no that's...”

”But even though you'll become just a chevalier, I would like you to protect and govern the Ona village area as a magistrate with full powers of a village chief. This would make you effectively own the territory like a baron would. How about it?”

”Haaaa…...”

Even if he said chevalier, I didn't know what to do. Being totally thrown off track, I turned to Lyle-sensei in a fl.u.s.ter.

”How about accepting it? I think this a more sincere proposal than being told 'give me the new weapons'.”

Now that sensei pointed this out, I finally understood. Here was what the count wanted to say.

In exchange for the freedom to do whatever I want within the Ona village area, he asked me to protect the rest of the county by stopping the monsters from the Portal of Evil Essence from getting further south.

Since that land had just been attacked by monsters, and restoring the ruined Ona village would take time and labor he would incur no loss by giving it to me. One could say that this was a fair deal.

”Count Donovan, I accept your offer.”

”Oooh, so you will do it!”

Like this, I finally got to take part in the sword-touch-shoulders ceremony that I had seen frequently in fantasy anime and officially became a chevalier of House Almark.

TL Note :  the knighting ceremony - yuus.h.i.+ng

”Good, from now on it's fine for Takeru-dono to use the name Takeru Ona Sawatari.”

”I'm sorry, that's a bit...”

Putting Ona in the middle somehow didn't feel right, so I declined.

●

The Ona village, which thrived on breeding cattle, was allocated new land so the production efficiency was improving remarkably.

The saltpeter production base also remained the same location we had been using before. But since the ranch had been destroyed, we could have the freshly jobless villagers work for the company.

The soil suitable for saltpeter production was everywhere around and could be gathered freely. And I could make saltpeter huts all over the village too.

But, at the same time, I continue to produce and sell soap in Est while using the money earned to order guns and cannons from Losgow mine.

I could repel the normal monsters coming from the north but I needed lots of cannons just in case something like a greater demon or a dragon showed up.

Incidentally, the wagons to transport the cannons could be procured from Ona village as well.

And of course, with them being the countermeasure against monsters, I didn't feel like spreading any information about them.

Especially since I had a feeling that while count Donovan was good at commerce, he was not very good at military matters.

I didn't know why I, someone who should have been a trader, now had to think about defending a territory but I guessed it couldn't be helped after I took up the chevalier t.i.tle.

”There are not enough hands to do the work…... ”

”Let's hire more slave girls in that case?”

Right after I grumbled to myself Lyle-sensei whispered a devilish suggestion into my ear. I had, of course, thought about hiring more people and even considered slaves.

But I had no idea why did sensei limit the choice to little girl slaves only. The company's work was more than just making soap or saltpeter.

There were tasks like those performed by Louise's group too, ones requiring taking up weapons to fight. And I didn't think I had heard about anyone using little girl slave soldiers before.

”Sensei, even if they were to be slaves, letting children use guns and operate cannons feels very awkward.”

”It's still a better fate than going to the mine and being certain of death, isn't it? When it comes to guns, even children can handle them easily and, as we saw, they can learn how to use them immediately too. And finally, in comparison to adult slaves, the little girls can be bought dirt cheap, so we can obtain the necessary number immediately.”

”Hmmmm, I see. Almost like a charitable enterprise, isn't it.”

Sensei, like me, was a wicked person.

”Haha, it certainly is a splendid charitable enterprise. And since we control the route between the capital and Losgow, the slave traders will come flocking if you decide to employ more.”

”Won't doing that trouble the mining operation?”

If my memory served well, the child slaves were supposed to be a perishable tool to excavate inside narrow mining tunnels. And the mines were valued customers purchasing my blasting bombs.

Especially the Losgow mine that I was asking to make guns and cannons for me.

”You don't have to worry. The mines will work the adult slaves to death instead.”

”......Right. In that case, I'll be counting on you, sensei.”

If there would be no child slaves to die, then the adult slaves would perish in their stead. It was not an easy truth to hear but this was an aspect of this world nothing could be done about.

I hoped that if the work efficiency went up thanks to the blasting bombs, the number of workers worked to death would go down, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

The heartlessness of this world's social mechanisms was not something an individual's power could change.

”......With that said, the number of new comrades will increase gradually.”

”That it will.”

Later I informed Sharon, who has grown enough to nearly match my height, about the decision to employ new little girl slaves from this point onwards. She had become a leader looking after the other girls and today, as usual, she was both tending to and managing the store.

That was why whenever there was anything new to discuss, I always talked to her first but now, for some reason, she was looking unsatisfied. And rather than her face, her ears were…...