Volume 6 - CH 3

Chapter 6. Yuuji, Changing Job from Pioneer to Farmer

「Then I will bring them along to this place on the next visit. If I can’t find them, then perhaps on the subsequent visit…… However, Yuuji-san, where are the slaves going to live?」(Kevin)

「Eh? In the hou-…… Ah you’re right, I will think about it. Perhaps, for the time being, it will be better to make the slaves’ place outside……」(Yuuji)

Ater saying so, Yuuji put a hold on the plan for now. Perhaps I should consult everyone on the Bulletin Board about this, as Yuuji thought about this, he finally remembered about what he wanted to ask Kevin.

「That’s right, Kevin-san. Can you obtain livestock?」(Yuuji)

「Livestock……? I can acquire it, but the price is quite high, you know? What kind of livestock do you have in mind?」(Kevin)

From the discussion with Kevin, Yuuji had grasped the situation and the types of the livestock of this world.

It seems that the situation about the livestock farming in this world was relatively difficult. The cause for this was the existence of hostile organisms known as monsters. So that the livestock wouldn’t be assaulted by monsters, the pasture were either enclosed entirely by a fortress and walls or guarded by lookouts. Therefore, there weren’t any people farming livestock outside the relative safety zone surrounding a city where monsters were eradicated. Someone could obtain livestock from a frontier city like Premier Town, but the number was low and the price was expensive.

“Woof, woof”, Kotarou barked in a regretful tone. Did she wanted to participate as a sheepdog? What a covetous lady. She is a dog, though.

「The large sized livestock that can be acquired in Premier Town are horses, cows, sheeps, and goats. The small sized ones are chickens, and since chicken don’t need that large of a rearing area, the price is low…… So, which one?」(Kevin)

“Hmm, please let me think about it.” By saying these words, Yuuji was being indecisive on this matter. Even though he was really resolute on deciding to purchase slaves.

✧✦✧✦

「Yuuji-san, after obtaining slaves, purchasing livestock and having a full-fledged cultivated field, then if you formally apply it as “pioneered land”, then you will be acknowledged as a “pioneer citizen”. You will need to pay tax, but, well, if this farming land is discovered then you will have to pay it all the same. If you are recognized as a pioneer citizen and pay tax, then you will obtain a citizen certificate that you will need to enter a city. Of course, assuming you are applying as a pioneer citizen, then there is a chance that the fact that you are a Visitor might be found out……」(Kevin)

This was good news. It has been three years since Yuuji arrived in this world, finally, a legitimate way to enter the city appeared in front of his eyes.

「How much the tax that will be? As you can see, for the current situation, the harvest is still shabby, so it is quite a harsh condition…… Furthermore, to apply for registration, won’t I need to enter the city?」(Yuuji)

「First, the newly pioneered land will receive tax deductions for the first three years, so it will be alright. Yuuji-san will also have the income from the sale of preserved foods. Ah, I will be the one who will pay the taxes for the preserved food sales. Furthermore, for registering the pioneered land, you can enter the city for a short period of time. Even in case the registration is rejected, you wouldn’t be blamed for it, so please do not worry. Well, if you enter the city after saying that and don’t apply for the registration, then you will be turned into a crime slave.」(Kevin)

Kevin was telling him something scary while still smiling. Certainly after hearing that he could enter the city to register, there was no doubt that in Yuuji’s head, he got the idea that he could quickly go into town just by saying: I’m here to register. But he just narrowly avoided being a crime slave. Well, it would be alright to register even if it was rejected. However, in that case, even if he only entered the city for the first time and only for a short stay, he would need to brave the risk that his status as a Visitor could be exposed. Nevertheless, since his objective was to secure their food supply, Yuuji’s decision to continue to laboriously open the land for cultivation was, perhaps, the right choice.

Opening and cultivating the land for food security.

Raising the Ranks and training (kinda) to protect themselves.

Dealing with the peddler to obtain money and knowledge.

Finally, it seems that Yuuji needs to make preparations to travel to the city.

Although, there was still the need to enlarge the farming fields to be recognized as a Pioneer Citizen.

「Somehow, isn’t it is too easy for a Pioneer Citizen to receive a Citizen Certificate? Furthermore, I have a bad feeling about registering after finishing the pioneering……」(Yuuji)

It seems that even Yuuji felt some unease for a bit.

「Yes, originally the registration needed to be performed beforehand. However, to do so, someone needs to prepare the money beforehand. Of course, this would take several or even dozens of years; or they could join up with a pioneering group for a period. Because of this, the previous king made a decree that in case that someone had opened agricultural fields on the frontier region, then even if they performed registration afterwards, they would be recognized as a Pioneer Citizen owning Pioneered Land. Since the small scale pioneering is still progressing, that decree has continued even until now. By the way, when that decree was made, there were many people left the slums of the Capital. Most of them headed to this Great Forest, although I could say that most of the pioneering attempts ended up in failure.」(Kevin)

What a harsh story. Perhaps, if he didn’t have his house or if the lifeline and the internet hadn’t connected back then…… then that story might had been Yuuji’s.

Then, at that moment.

「Kevin-san, Yuuji-dono! Goblins and orc are attacking! Please stay where you are!」(Josh)

The adventurers, who were in the cleared land not far from there, were shouting in loud voices.

Kevin, Yuuji and Alice looked over to the eastern direction where the adventurers were.

Kotarou rushed out from the house plot, and stood watching between Yuuji’s group and the adventurers.

What appeared were three goblins and one orc. 

Confronting them were the three adventurers.

At the center, the man holding the large shield, Josh, stood in front of his party with a mace clutched in his right hand. Standing few steps behind Josh at the right side was Hector, who was wearing white armor with gaudy red lines. He had already unsheathed his short sword and was brandishing it in his hand.

Further in the back was the bow-wielding archer, Irenu. She had already nocked an arrow on her crooked M-shaped bow, ready to shoot her arrows at any time.

Then behind them, standing calmly between the adventurers and Yuuji’s group, was Kotarou.

She had a serious look on her face, as though she would  never overlook anything on the battlefield. “How will I cooperate with the adventurers?” Perhaps she was bothered by this.

Without any particular signs, archer Irenu loosened her arrow, which pierced the abdomen of the rightmost approaching goblin. The goblin fell on the spot.

However, Irenu didn’t have the chance to make the second shot as the two goblins had reached the front of large-shield that Josh had braced up.

Josh quickly brought his shield on his left hand to defend against the goblin’s club. He was going to launch an attack on one of the goblins using the mace in his right hand, but this was just a feint.

Without anyone noticing, the man in gaudy armor, Hector, attacked from behind the goblin and quickly severed its neck.

The remaining goblin had its head struck by Josh’s mace and fell down.

「Stay sharp, this is the real deal! The orc is coming!」(Josh)

With a loud voice, Josh prompted his party members Hector and Ireno to keep their vigilance while he braced his shield up.

Ignoring the arrows piercing into it, that had been shot by Irenu, the orc came charging with its large build and weapon.

“OOOOOOO”, while raising such a war-cry, the orc’s front collided with the shield that Josh held.

The result from that collision was Josh being blown away. This couldn’t be helped. Even though Josh had a large build, the Orc was a huge being of close to 2 meters in stature, furthermore it charged with all of its speed.

However, because of that collision, the orc’s feet stopped.

「Good job, Josh! Leave this to me!」(Hector)

While saying so, Hector slashed at the orc. Although he was wearing such gaudy armor, he was reliable in battle. Dodging the Orc’s swinging club, Hector aimed at its limbs. The large built orc’s speed was relatively quick when moving, but it was slow to begin the movements. Taking this advantage by continuing to move around the orc so it couldn’t charge, Hector used the gaps he found and cut it little by little. It seems that he was aiming at a battle of attrition.

Josh, who had been thrown away in the back, also stridently rushed over and joined the battle.

Leaving the Orc’s frontal assault to Josh, Hector launches his attacks and slashed it from the sides or behind. Then, what did he mean by: “leave this to me.”

Archer Irenu was watching the battle while taking precautions at the surrounding. Perhaps since it has become a melee battle and there was a concern that the arrows she shoots could hit her allies, she was watching to see if there were any enemy reinforcement instead.

The two of them were battling the orc for a short while. The gaudy armored Hector attacked from its back, the sword point protruded out from its stomach. While it fell down to its knees, the large statured Josh swung down his mace at its head.

The adventurer trio had safely achieved victory.

Kotarou, who was watching the battle intently, saw that the battle had reached its conclusion, exhaled her breath and turned her heels back towards Yuuji. As if saying, “In the end, it’s nothing serious”.

Kevin the peddler calmly looked over their battle. Perhaps as their employer, he was assessing their value.

Thus, in this way Yuuji watched how the people of this world fight for the first time. Even though this was something novel for Yuuji, he made a mistake for not clasping the camera in his hand.

Luckily without Yuuji realizing it, before the battle had begun, Alice had called him, “Yuuji-nii!”, and presented him with the camera. Alice was just a 7 year old. But, what a clever girl.