Chapter 154: Feeling a Bit Uncomfortable? (3)
Ghislain hid his true feelings and flashed a bright smile as he looked around at everyone.
“Anyone else have a different opinion? No, right?”
“Yes, sir...”
“Good. Then you all know what you need to do. Especially the mages—you’re going to have to keep working non-stop. Other facilities are important, but expanding the fields and extending the waterways and reservoirs is the top priority.”
There was a mountain of tasks that needed to be done.
First, they had to establish residential areas for the incoming settlers and add various facilities and workshops.
At the same time, they needed to keep producing weapons and supplies essential for war without a break.
The most critical concern was securing the food reserves.
For now, they were still buying from merchants, but there was no guarantee that the supply wouldn’t suddenly be cut off.
With the plan to take in more settlers, the population was set to grow rapidly, so to prepare for the long-term, they needed to expand the farmland on a massive scale and produce food at an intense rate.
Everyone’s expressions darkened.
‘There are so many things we need. When are we supposed to get it all done?’
‘And on top of that, we have to prepare for war at the same time... Is this even an estate?’
‘But if we want to stay alive, we have to do it. This is driving me crazy.’
If their opponent were just another noble, it might be different, but it was Count Desmond, who had already taken a beating from Ghislain once before.
If they lose to him, the estate would be left in ruins, and the vassals of Fenris and Ferdium would all lose their heads.
They truly didn’t want to do this, but if they wanted to live, they had no other choice.
Among the vassals, all of whom wore grim expressions, the one with the worst look on his face was Alfoi.
‘Where... where do I even start? There’s just too much to do!’
He had been slacking off a bit while the lord was away, the work had piled up.
The seeds they would be using could be harvested soon, so there was no need to set up a new mana condensation array.
However, they had to produce runestones to be used for the land in large quantities, matching the pace of the expanded farmland.
All the mages would have to carve magical arrays non-stop just to meet the necessary amount.
But that wasn’t the only task awaiting the mages. They would be dragged into other construction projects too.
‘So this is what they meant by being prepared. I should have finished more work in advance. I’m dead.’
Seeing the murderous amount of work, Alfoi and the mages felt despair.
They wanted to run away, but they didn’t even have the courage to do that.
Ghislain saw the expressions on the mages’ faces and smirked before addressing Vanessa.
“Vanessa.”
“Y-Yes!”
“For now, focus more on assisting Alfoi with the tasks rather than on your research. There’s a lot to do, but... you’ll manage, right?”
“Of course! Leave it to me!”
Unlike the other mages, Vanessa clenched her fist and responded with bold enthusiasm.
Vanessa, who always wanted to be of help to Ghislain, would never refuse such tasks.
Moreover, having reached the level of a 6th-circle mage, if Vanessa focused on the work, the pace would increase significantly.
“Good, very reliable.”
Since the topic was already on the table, Ghislain decided to check on the tasks he had assigned to others.
First, he asked Lowell.
“How’s the progress on gathering the people that I asked you to find?”
“When you gave the order, I immediately sent someone, so it should take about a month to bring in everyone we can.”
“Alright. Once they arrive, report to me immediately. Also, make sure to train more spies and keep gathering information from the surroundings.”
“Understood.”
After emphasizing the importance of intelligence, Ghislain turned to Gillian.
“If we want to keep using mercenaries in the future, individual combat skills are important. For the time being, focus on improving everyone’s skills during training.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gillian nodded without resistance. Of course, this docile attitude was only for Ghislain; when it came to training, he would work the mercenaries to the bone.
Ghislain then looked over at Kaor and asked.
“If Gillian is handling the mercenary training, you don’t have much to do, Kaor. Is there anything in particular you’d like to take on?”
Kaor lifted his head and replied confidently.
“Absolutely nothing.”
“...”
With such a bold response, Ghislain was momentarily at a loss for words.
Clicking his tongue briefly, he spoke to Kaor.
“Mercenaries will take turns training in halves. For now, Kaor, concentrate your attention on maintaining security with those who aren’t participating in the drills. We’re still short on soldiers for the estate.”
“Yeah, well... sure, I’ll do that.”
Kaor answered with a rather reluctant expression.
The reason for his reluctance was simple.
He just didn’t want to do anything other than fight.
So, Ghislain had to forcefully assign tasks to Kaor. Otherwise, he would probably be off somewhere, drinking and idling, and Ghislain couldn’t allow that.
“And as for Belinda...”
“I’ll make sure everyone can focus on their tasks and training without any distractions, right? I’ll see to it that they don’t feel any inconvenience.”
Since the prices had already been negotiated earlier, the transaction proceeded quickly.
On the surface, it seemed like there were no issues with the deal, but both of them had different thoughts.
‘The lord said to be wary of these guys, right? For sneaky types, they sure handle business cleanly.’
‘Sigh, the lady told me to watch out for these people. If it weren’t for the large-scale transaction... But they aren’t using fake gold coins, and there don’t seem to be any problems. What’s the issue?’
The merchant guild handling the transaction this time was none other than the Actium Merchant Guild, led by Amelia.
Actium had been making quite a name for itself in the north recently.
Based on high-quality products, they were strictly adhering to contracts, quickly building up their credibility and expanding their operations.
‘Hmm, I still need a lot of materials... For now, I have no choice but to continue dealing with them.’
‘Hmm, I still need a lot of funds... For now, I have no choice but to keep dealing with them.’
Ironically, both sides harbored hostility toward each other but continued the transactions, pretending not to notice, because they needed each other.
Ghislain and Amelia were aware of this situation, but they didn’t bother to stop it.
Trying to interfere would only hurt their own interests.
Despite their mutual dislike, both were very much alike in their willingness to do whatever it took to achieve their goals.
It looked like the deal was going to end smoothly, but the merchant spoke up with a hint of hesitation.
“Uh, Chief Overseer, I’m sorry to say this, but it seems like the prices for the goods will be a bit higher in the next transaction.”
“What do you mean? Higher prices?”
“Recently, the prices of food and raw materials have been rising a lot. It’s been difficult for us to procure goods....”
Claude narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the merchant.
‘No wonder the lord warned me about these guys... Are they starting to drop hints about overcharging?’
With shady people like these, you had to be firm to avoid losses.
“We’ve just started a large-scale construction project, and now you’re suddenly raising the prices? Are you doing this on purpose? This kind of behavior won’t do.”
“It’s not that....”
“You know who’s backing our lord, right? Ah, it’s a bit awkward and embarrassing to say it myself, but... I wonder if you’ve heard of the Marquis of Branford?”
The Marquis of Branford was Ghislain’s patron. But Claude often threw around the marquis’s name as if he were his own supporter.
In the Ritania Kingdom, no one used the name of the Marquis of Branford more than Claude did.
As Claude started to bring out his inner troublesome customer, the merchant hurriedly waved his hands in a panic.
“Oh, no, what are you saying? That’s not it at all. You know we’re barely adding any profit and providing everything at the lowest prices. Honestly, with those prices, it’s hard to even cover labor costs. It’s just that supplies have been getting scarcer lately.”
Merchants always said their prices were the lowest and that labor costs were barely covered. Claude was not someone who would fall for that.
“Well, then why are goods that have been supplied just fine up until now suddenly becoming scarce? That doesn’t make sense.”
The merchant replied with a look of disbelief.
“Why are they scarce, you ask...? Didn’t Fenris Estate buy up everything?”
“Ah, I see,” Claude nodded, as if he finally understood.
It had been a month since the large-scale construction began.
During that time, Fenris Estate had been constantly purchasing needed goods, making deals with every merchant guild operating in the north.
The problem was that the northern region had a lower volume of resource distribution compared to other areas. So, gradually, they were experiencing difficulties in acquiring materials.
“Sigh, I need to come up with some countermeasures soon.”
With so much to do and so little time, delays in material procurement would be a serious problem.
As Claude was contemplating, an administrator from the estate rushed over to report.
“Chief Overseer! Chief Overseer, there’s a big problem!”
“Huh? What is it?”
The administrator glanced at the merchant standing in front of Claude and then whispered.
“The wood reserves are almost depleted. What should we do? At this rate, construction won’t be able to proceed from tomorrow.”
“What? Already?”
Out of all the materials needed to build the settlements, wood was the most essential.
From firewood to various furniture, tools, fences, barricades, and even arrows and spear shafts, wood was required for almost everything, so it was naturally the first to run out.
‘Damn it, what do we do now?’
Claude’s mind was in turmoil.
They had been cutting down trees as if there was no tomorrow, and as a result, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most of the forests and mountains within Fenris Estate had nearly disappeared.
Ideally, they should have controlled the amount of woodcutting, as trees grow slowly, but Fenris Estate was not in a position to afford such a luxury.
They had been buying wood consistently through merchant guilds, but even that had its limits.
‘Damn, even if we place an order right now, the merchant guilds in the north don’t have the capacity to provide the volume we need. Trying to find merchant guilds from other regions would still take time.’
Unable to think of an immediate solution, Claude bit down on his lips.
Just then, a soldier came running over in a hurry.
“Chief Overseer, they’ve arrived.”
“What do you mean ‘arrived’? What’s come?”
Claude tilted his head, puzzled by the soldier’s sudden words. He hadn’t ordered anything recently, so what could have possibly arrived?
The soldier responded with a look that seemed to ask how Claude didn’t already know.
“We received word that the migrants you mentioned are about to arrive!”
Migrants, thousands of them, were about to flood in, even though there was no place for them to stay, and they didn’t even have the wood to build homes.
Claude covered his forehead with his hand and muttered.
“Ah, we’re screwed....”
A massive problem had just arisen.