CH 67

Town chapter 67: Village and potatoes 1

A population of 10,000. I thought that achieving this was not difficult. However, the population didn’t even reach 4,000 people in seven years. How many beastmen will be residents of the new town here? When I think so, that expectation is too thin.

But I don't want to wait. The capital city Dorisben, the big city has a population of 70,000. Of which 20,000 live as hard-of-minded people. Here I found hope. I will launch a new plan to relocate poor people to the village within my territory and achieve a population of 10,000. What is necessary for this is officially called Solanum Tuberosum. The often-called potato. Potatoes are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and naturally grow in highlands over 3000 meters. Naturally, they are strong against the cold and grows well in thin air. Even in the past world, once transported from South America over the sea it helped the population explosion of medieval Europe. It can be said that this is a crop that is appropriate for this place. It is used to raise the food self-sufficiency rate of the village and to attract people.

It was about early morning that I left the town with my escort. We put a horse on a horse-drawn cart, attach a carriage to the back and move with armored vehicles. The carriage was bought in the royal capital to carry pepper at the time of the previous land purchase. Armed with armored vehicles, we headed for the only village in the area.

When we get close to the human village, we stop the vehicle and change to the carriage. We hid the vehicle and left a few days of food. When the warmest time of the day passed, we arrived at the village. There is a spread of fields and private houses are built on them. It is a village where there is a house for a lord. From a distance, it felt like it was a large village. Although, I don't know many other villages. Nearby resides a house. I approached and quickly understood, the house is not in good condition. People don't live here. The houses located outside the village are vacant and the surrounding fields are also deserted. It can be said that the decrease of the village population is obvious.

I proceed to the middle of the village. Indeed, the wheat field was spreading without the fact that the fields were rough when it came to here. Among them, there were those who stopped farming and stared at us like watching what we do.

"Is there a mayor? I am Baron Fujiwara, who has become the new lord of this area."

I said so in a strong tone that shows off my power. When becoming a noble, Elsa told me to be careful about my attitude towards the common people. The fact that nobles are scolded ensures the credibility of the country and if anything, the responsibility extends to the lord. Showing the dignity to the people on a regular basis is an indispensable duty as a noble.

"Y, Yes, wait a minute!"

To my words, the villagers rushed to the point of the situation. Perhaps they went to call the village chief. I saw an empty wheat field now. I don't know if it's good or bad. In the previous town I taught how to grow crops, but it was actually the beastmen who did it and I have never been directly involved in farming. So I asked the escort's wolfmen how it was.

"It is not really productive."

"Is that so."

Wheat is resistant to cold. However, the fact that it is a poor crop seems to be that the land is still thin. Or is it a problem of soil acidity? It will take time until the villagers come back, so I [Purchase] [Acidity measuring instrument] and stab the soil. The number is 5.8. It is a weak acidity. I think that's not bad for growing potatoes. Then, a question mark came to the faces of my escorts and were asking what I was doing. Up until now, there have been a lot of rough explanations for the wolfmen. I normally ordered them only what to do. But from now on it is different. I explained the acidity well and actually let them touch the [Acidity measuring instrument]. Although it is dubious whether they understood it, let's just say that they looked interested. I think that's fine now. After a while, the previous villagers came back with one man.

"I am Peter who is the head of this village."

A man who is medium-sized and unclean on the surface. I thought that he was young. Fourteen. No, in view of the fact that whales are showing more and more age, it may be considered that he is actually in his thirties. Such a young person is the village head. Is life in the village so painful that an old man can’t live in it? While thinking about that, I greeted the village chief Peter.

"I am Baron Fujiwara, who will rule over this village from now on."

I take out the certificate from my chest pocket and show it. He could read the letter and Peter looked over it and bowed, saying, "Okay, thank you."

"Have you heard that there is a hall where the former lord lived?"

"Ye, yes, but it hasn't been used for many years and no one has lived there very much."

"Please guide me for the time being."

The first priority is to secure a place to stay. We headed to the former chief's house with the guidance of village chief Peter. The sight of the village chief, turns toward me and my escort. It is a strange style to hide the skin as much as possible. It may be strange but they don't mind. However, I am a noble and the village chief is a commoner. No matter how much he cares, the chief of the village had to refrain from unnecessary questions.

"They're just my escort. Don't worry."

When I said so, Peter bowed his head saying "I'm sorry," and he was no longer looking at the wolfmen. After that, we walked without talking. I saw several villagers along the way. There is also an old man, and it can be said that the idea of a living environment so painful that the old man could not live earlier was a stupid thought. The lord's house, which should be called the innermost part of the village, was just past the farmhouses. As the story has been neglected for a long time, the outer wall is stuck with a blue coffin and the coffin is entangled. If there is such a western-style building in Japan, it would be so creepy that it gets called a ghost house. Especially the size of the hall was spurring it. My impression is that I do not want to live here very much.

"It's worse in the middle."

As if to have felt my emotions, Peter said so.

"Good."

The village chief's hand opened a large door with rusted hinges that gave a loud squeak. The noise heard is like the roar of a wild mouse that hated the light. We step inside. Dim. The light was coming in from the gap of a window blocked by a wooden board, which made me feel a fantastic atmosphere. Even so, it's dusty and it has a musty smell. It is not something that has been used very much.

"Emm..."

"What?"

"You can use my home if you like. I will gather the villagers and finish cleaning this house today and tomorrow."

"Hmm."

The sun will soon fall. As the mansion is in this state, there isn’t any other choice.

"I'll accept your offer."

We moved to another place with the village head. The house of the village chief is nearly twice as large as the other houses. I watch how the family head of the village head moves out of the house with luggage in each hand. There is a child and it looks like a pretty big family. There is also an old man. When asking the village head where they go, there are vacant houses that are already cleaned, so they will move there.

"Then, please ask my daughter for later use. She will serve you so that we may not be rude."

After a light explanation about the house, the eldest daughter of the village chief remained. Poorly, she is shaking with her head down to me. The village chief said service. You must not say that word simply. It may contain more lonesome connotations. The fate of the village is determined by the lord. If so, what would I do as the village chief? That is what all this means. But unfortunately my moral idea is Japanese.

"No, I don't need your daughter. Village chief, you come when you're done telling everyone."

"Eh!?"

Chief Peter is surprised by my words. Why is he so surprised? I just want to hear the story. When I notice, the girl called Pena raises her face abruptly.

"I, I understand. I will do my best."

The village chief says that, with a slight redden on his cheeks and embarrassment everywhere. His gesture is like a maiden. But it wasn't cute, I just felt uncomfortable. So I finally understand. The village chief is misunderstanding.

"Don't get me wrong! I just want to hear the story!"

The moment I said it, I thought it was over. But I have been upset. In this way, it seems like I'm fooling myself with my own words and I don't really feel that way. Naturally, my face gets hot. The heart is also beating in a fast pace. I moved my mouth even more to solve the misunderstanding.

"No! I don't like guys or anything like that!"

I feel like I'm getting stuck in the pot. I can't see the faces of my escort. I took a quick walk into the house of the village head so that I would leave the place.

"Don't solve your disguise. Let me know when the village chief comes. I usually love girls"

I went to the back room after leaving the escort who came into the house with me and ordered them. I'm embarrassed. Shame still irritates me. When I sat down in the chair, I purchased【Manga】and turned the page to change my mood. It seems that DOKATER x DOKATER is on hiatus again. There is nothing wrong with it. Before long, Mira came to let me know that the chief Peter had returned. Other than that, it seems that she said something, but I didn't listen.

"Come in."

I welcome the village chief in the room. Of course the escort are also there. The mayor looked at the escort and was apparently relieved. I will not say anything because it is already troublesome.

"Sit down."

When I ordered, the mayor kneeled on the floor. We are a commoner and a lord. It is impossible to sit in a chair at the same height.

"Let's talk about things in the territory."

Then I listened to the story until the day passed. There used to be a good lord here and lots of villages. However, when the former lord died and his bloodline ended, the villagers of each village went to the south in search of a warm and rich land. The crops are hard to grow here and the main industries are forestry and livestock. Therefore, each village lives on the land in the territory, moving to another area each time the trees go out and there is no concern for the land. When the registration of the lord was removed and the tax-bearing southernly adjacent lords also recommended migration to the south to enrich their land, the reason for staying was gone. The only thing left is this village where the lord lived. There was also a case where the lord made a living of farming and because of that, it seems that he thought that it was better than moving to the southern territories.

I also heard about the beastmen. When winter is near, it seems that the Elven clan will come to barter the village with a trap as to where they came from is unknown.

---Elves. I heard about them from Elsa and the beastmen and it's the same knowledge which I know of them. An elf is a race with a white skin, long ears and a human-like appearance. However, they are not treated as human. They are the same as beastmen. There seems to be no talk about being a human´s sex slave, as they used to be in the past. Because, humans don't have the idea of using elves to satisfy their sexual desires.

The doctrine of Lashia, which reigns on the continent, makes it a great crime to cross breed. Humans are absolute. Elves seem to have a very well-figured appearance, but since the doctrine of Lashia is the common sense of the people of this world, they don't have the feeling of being beautiful. Since it is common sense for elves to be inferior to humans, it would be a monumental task to overturn that belief.  Well, I would be lucky if I tried from an elf. It would be hard to imagine what would have happened without the doctrine of the Lashia religion. I really don't know what to do with it. I asked about other beastmen as well, but I wonder if they are not near here. With the end of the day and the talk was over, the village head went out saying that it was not necessary to take care of food.

-------------------

The next morning I decided to go with the village chief to see the lord's mansion. As we get closer, we can hear dignified voices. The villagers gathered and seem to do their best in cleaning the mansion. I think it would be difficult for them with me around, so I leave the place. Then, let's assume that we finally get into the main subject.

"Village chief, there is something I need to tell you."

Having said that, I guided the village chief to the carriage that was disconnected from the horses. There is a full pile of potatoes inside. Of course, it is a kind, and thanks to its ability it has no pathogens.

"This is......?"

"It's a potato. It's a strong crop against cold and flimsy land. I'll get this grown in the village from now on."

"This...... really?"

Hmm? Village chief Peter shows a bad response. Well, apparently the head of the village chief was cloudy.

"Can I take it in my hands?"

"Yes."

The village chief takes one potato in his hand and looks at it just as it is. His expression is still firm.

"Emm, that's food, right?"

"Yes"

"That's......it's very hard to say, but we grow wheat here, so we don't have to bother growing another crop......"

I see. It seems that the village chief is unwilling. Certainly, for those who are looking at it for the first time, this rough round crop is bad and they may be resistant to this food. If you don't starve and die right away, it is a waste of effort to grow an unfamiliar crop. To reiterate, this land is a cold and thin land where crops are hard to grow. If it is not enough, you have to learn more by raising more. They cant afford to grow crops they have never seen before. But then the answer is simple. It is up to me to create that margin.

"I understand the village chief's anxiety. For this year's tax, I would like to plant this potato only in the amount of the harvest. I promise you I will not take any taxes from wheat and livestock"

"Is that true!?"

The color of chief Peter´s eyes changed. It is a very easy reaction.

“Yes, it is true”

For me who knows the taste of pepper trade, the tax obtained from one village is nothing more than money. It is cheap if you think of it as an investment in the future.

Then the explanation of potatoes began. From sprouting, soil preparation, planting, watering methods, sprouting and soil augmentation, harvest time, etc. Optimal temperature of potato is around 20 degrees. In cold climates, spring planting is basic and the time is not so good, but it can not be helped. This is like a trial. It seems that the village chief can read letters, so I handed him the parchment I wrote last night.

We stayed in the village for a week and left the village, after telling the village chief that we go around the territory.

◇

Two weeks after Nobuhide first visited the village. In a room inside the royal castle of Dorisben. Something was delivered to the room under Lord Edenstam.

"Is this what began to be grown in Fujiwara´s territory?"

"That's right."

A lot of brown and rough round objects roll on the desk. In some places, they have sprouts that make them feel a little uncomfortable. Naturally, after Nobuhide bought his land, Edenstam had been spying on Fujiwara territory to explore the secrets of pepper. The result is this. He dug up some of the stuff that was buried.

“Hmm”

Edenstam grabbed a potato and looked at it, sometimes approaching with his nose and smelling it. When he felt tired, he put the potato on the desk again and ask the spy.

"And then how does this become pepper?"

It is a crop he has never seen. Cultivated in the Fujiwara territory and the color is also brown. So it was unavoidable to think that this potato was pepper.

"It seems that only the cultivation method is heard in the villager's story"

The spy gave money to one of the villagers and secretly ask for details. However, Nobuhide taught the village chief only how to cultivate. The village chief hadn't asked how to eat it and he was not interested in it in the first place. Therefore, it is only the way of cultivation that the villagers know.

"The way of processing is just a secret. The Polo company, conducts the taste."

Edenstam grinds one's teeth. But if that is the case, he has no choice but to investigate more. Edenstam takes a knife out of the desk drawer and cuts one of the potatoes. The inside is yellow and watery.

“Hmm”

Edenstam gently cared his white beard, as if dealing with his beloved hair. It is his habit when thinking.

"This skin is suspicious in color. There are some green spots, but it is brown. How can you actually eat this?"

With regard to food, it is a practice to use the tongue for inspection since ancient times. In this way, Edenstam and his spies cut the skin and ate all of the raw potatoes and then he tried to find the mystery of the pepper while doing various things such as burning. By the way, potato sprouts and planted skin have solanine poison, which anyone who is familiar with potatoes may know. The poison causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, dizziness and sometimes even death. It is a famous story that at the time of medieval Europe, they ate potatoes on the ships returning from South America, and because of the poison solanine, they called potatoes the devil's fruit.

“Guuu〜”

A moaning voice is heard from a certain minister's private room. On that day, two people were lying on the floor. That it is Edenstam and his spy of course, not to mention.

“Guuu, Polo Company's plot〜!”

Edenstam spouts a roar of voice endlessly in bed. The voice was heard outside the room, even in the corridor.

In addition, Olivia, the young queen who visited the room to see Edenstam, said, "Oh?" as she found the potatoes rolling on the desk and boiled them.