Chapter 78

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 78

78. Defense System Establishment

The memories of the first time came flooding back when I was meeting with Viscount Pearson and the other vassals.

That is, when I was hailed as king by my suffocating friends. I intentionally tried not to remember that time. That’s why I deliberately tried not to think about it and considered it a dream.

Because I considered it a mere dream, I couldn’t remember it properly because it was hazy… Half of it is true, and the other half is a lie.

Every time the words spoken by King Athelstan came to mind, the words that constantly pounded my eardrums at that time floated to the surface of my sleep.

Memories of the time when I used to mark the troops with wooden horses on a map of the settlement.

[Your Majesty, what are you saying! Are you abandoning them!]

[They are Your Majesty’s people. They are not a small number, so how can you abandon them so easily?]

My gaze and voice were cold as I looked at them, who advocated fighting to the death, citing honor and chivalry.

[With our forces, we cannot defend all the provinces and provide the necessary supplies everywhere. For now, it is best to fall back on the front lines, conserve our strength, and hope that they will disperse.]

The knight in the hazy memory of that time, weathered by these words, slammed his fist on the table and said.

[Thousands, Your Majesty! It’s not a number you can speak of so easily!]

And the moment I saw the crying knight.

[Then you should have won!!!]

I could no longer hide my anger and irritation.

[Me, Your Majesty.]

[If you fight, you will lose every battle, and if you retreat to protect your troops, you will not be able to abandon the refugees who are fleeing, and you will become the rear guard and be annihilated. Since there are no soldiers to protect, their forces will surge forward with great momentum, and the refugees will have to flee because they don’t want to be killed! And again, they will become the rear guard, saying that they will protect them!!]

[A knight… cannot run away. How can you run away by abandoning the weak!]

[Can’t you run away? If you’re going to commit suicide anyway, do it the other way around. Do a counterattack!]

Perhaps they kept their beliefs as ideal knights.

Me, who wanted to abandon people, and the knights who fought a desperate battle to protect people. If you ask me who is more suited to a heroic story and who is more honorable, a hundred out of a hundred would say the knights.

[Now you’re talking nonsense.]

[…Your Majesty!]

[Yes, do as you please. Save the people in front of you as much as you want. I no longer care about your honor. If you are afraid of being defamed, I will do it myself.]

On the other hand, I was a dishonorable king.

Ignoring the nagging knights, I took out my seal ring and stamped it on the order.

[In the name of the king, I order all the troops on the east coast to withdraw and establish a defense line. The escort and protection of refugees shall be of secondary importance.]

[Your Majesty!!!]

[Why. Are you going to refuse even the king’s orders now? Of course, you would.]

I was just a mere puppet king.

[You put me in a position that no one wants to be responsible for, regardless of the founding gods or ancestors. How can noble friends like you follow the orders of a crowned beast?]

A position that no one wanted to be responsible for.

A truly puppet king who was suddenly transformed from an orphan in the manor to an illegitimate child of the royal family and was hailed as king according to the interests of the nobles who had been studying for hundreds of years to evade their duties…

Soon after, a piece of news reached me, who was sitting on the throne.

[Me, Your Majesty…]

[What is it? Are they annihilated again?]

[It is said that this army collapsed before the expedition, saying that they would do a counterattack anyway…]

[…]

They do all sorts of things.

At first, I thought that, and later I breathed in relief.

[That’s good.]

[Yes, yes?]

[If we had charged anyway, only more of our pitiful soldiers would have died.]

Honor is all, chivalry is all.

I accepted the fact that I would never understand the knightly race.

[The lords and knights must be at ease. They can palm off all their duties and pretend to be noble.]

[…]

[There should be no one left opposing my command now. I will lead from now on. Announce it.]

[Yes, Your Majesty!]

I am not a cold-blooded person without compassion. I understand that nothing is more precious than human life.

However, the position of a king is one where human lives must be weighed.

Knowing the weight of that responsibility, knowing how terrifying responsibility is, the knights gave up on weighing. Of course, there are pros and cons to everything.

Thanks to them giving up their responsibilities and duties, I was able to seize military power while floundering in the mess created by those who didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

[An amnesty will be given to deserters. Those who return within six months will be pardoned.]

[Households that cannot provide young men shall offer woven cloth. In return, labor and taxes will be exempted, and there will be flexibility in the distribution of supplies depending on the number of children being supported.]

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[Sell all the useless junk that can’t even be used as a doorstop. As far as I can tell, they’re just worthless stone statues.]

[Supplies are insufficient… For the time being, the night watch and guards will be divided into three shifts and will use spears and armor in shifts. I will somehow requisition supplies.]

My experiences from that time are still vivid.

They are memories I would rather not remember, so I seriously pushed them away as dreams, but King Aethelred’s objection felt like a recreation of that situation. I still remember the protests and objections that came back to me as I did what needed to be done .

A king shouldn’t do that, a king should be different, what is a king doing, king, king, king…

“Fortunately, I’m not a king.”

“Excuse me?” Sёarch* The Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I think so too, my lord.”

When I woke up from my long reverie, the ones staying by my side were John and Edwina, who had become water sprites in the stream.

I poured grape wine into the glass cup Edwina had brought, which was placed on the table in the middle of the reception room, and chuckled.

“Are you feeling better?”

“….”

“Aren’t you being a little too narrow-minded for someone who’s a year older than me, sister?”

“M-my lord. If you keep teasing me like that, I’ll get upset again…!”

From my point of view, John, who tries to stop me, is worse than me, who seriously provokes her.

In fact, Edwina’s sharp gaze was not directed at me, but at the back of John’s head.

“Hmm? Wh-what? L-lady. Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“…”

Serious people might not understand, but I really like this nonsensical atmosphere.

But I have to do what needs to be done.

I looked around the two of them and slowly opened my mouth.

“Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, I was able to meet with the vassals and have sincere conversations. Even Count Fearthan, who I was worried about, was very docile when I actually met him.”

“hehehe, it was nothing, Your Grace.”

“Thank you for the praise.”

John, who was laughing his head off, and Edwina, who responded coldly but with a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

The atmosphere is great, but I couldn’t just be happy.

“But I’m concerned about Count Oduaire and Count Gaetan, who are of equal status, returning to their territory without any notice.”

Count Pearson, who is just a staunch conservative, readily accepted it because it ensures the safety of his territory.

It was much easier to accommodate than the opposition in the audience room. The real problem is the two counts who show no attitude or words. I thought that their vague appearance was much more dangerous than Count Pearson, who rules Barasta in the rear.

“Are there any rumors about the two of them among the servants or attendants?”

At this question, bald John scratched his hairless head and tilted his head.

“Well, you see. Since they are in other territories, their true nature is…”

Edwinna, who was standing proudly, was the one who came up with a plausible excuse.

“There is a rumor that salt merchants have recently flocked to Count Oduaire’s territory.”

“Salt merchants?”

“Yes. They are all said to be pulling carts and rushing there. They are evasive when asked the reason.”

“Hmm.”

I’m getting closer.

“By any chance, is there anyone who has measured the depth of the wheel tracks on the road?”

“Huh? …Well, that’s…”

“I see. Good job, Edwinna. That was very important information.”

I rummaged through my arms and took out a gold coin that I had prepared in advance.

“This is yours. Use it as you wish.”

“….”

“What are you doing? You’re not taking it.”

But Edwinna just hesitated and didn’t try to take the gold coin I handed her.

Strange. Is there anyone who hates gold coins?

As I began to wonder if Edwinna wanted something else, bald John opened his mouth.

“Excuse me, Your Grace. Didn’t you once put me in prison for a gold coin…”

“Ah.”

***

The Principality of Penrad’s request for help put the entire archipelago on edge in the morning.

However, some still dismissed it as someone else’s business, and some did not take action, taking an optimistic view of the situation. But there were also those who sought change. The Principality of Powys, the furthest of the five principalities, was a prime example.

The Principality of Powys began to work on building a more complex, sophisticated, and demanding system instead of the existing system that relied on the prestigious knight Terbear.

The key to this plan was the Bishop of Powys, Narva, and his successor, Etheldred.

Etheldred visited the bishop’s cathedral almost once a week to appeal for help.

“There is growing opposition among the knights that they cannot bear any more military service. If this is not resolved, we will face great resistance.”

“Even if we exempt the church territory from rent?”

“What they need is workers. Don’t most knights prefer to demand labor from serfs rather than demand rent?”

“Then let’s express our willingness to accept refugees from the Principality of Penrad.”

“Narva, it could be seen as an act of stealing serfs. I’m afraid it’s a sensitive issue.”

The successor, Etheldred, was mainly responsible for communicating the growing fatigue and discontent among the vassals, and he warned of the shortcomings of the plan, pointing out various political concerns.

Then Bishop Narva, who was obsessed with building a new defense system for the Principality of Powys, would come up with a suitable counterargument or solution.

“The Principality of Penrad has built its wealth through trade with the various tribes of the Starving Archipelago and through fishing. With the fog that has continued for five years, their livelihoods have been blocked, and they must have lost the ability to support their existing population. If we make it clear that we will accept them as soon eliminate as Sir Terbear secures a retreat, we will be helping to a group that will eventually become vagabonds or bandits, so the Principality of Penrad will also be convinced.”

“Even if we accept them, most of them will flock to the cities. Are you going to force them to become citizens?”

“If necessary, so it shall be. After all, we cannot remain isolated and starve to death with only the city to protect.”

Civil policy.

Even Edelred could not help but agree with Narva’s proposal, which even included forced migration. He knew it was for the best, even though he could see the problems that were still scattered about.

“I am concerned that the local serfs will rebel. There will quickly be a limit to how many we can distribute to the existing manors. Let us gather opinions from among the vassals as to whether there are any forests or wastelands suitable for reclamation. However , we will need food to sustain us until the land is cleared and the harvest is in…”

“…Yes. The Church will see to the finances.”

At this rate, won’t we have to sell indulgences as well?

Narva gasped, clutching his head.

However, there was a smile on his lips. Narva always had a smile on his face when he encountered various problems.