Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 28

Entering the lord’s manor, I was greeted by my vassals.

I sat down on the chair and exhaled deeply, trying to shake off the fatigue.

Calliope placed a honey tea in front of me, her voice filled with concern.

“Rest first before attending to your duties.”

“It’s alright. If there’s work to be done, I can’t truly rest.”

I took a sip of the tea, surveying those present.

Calliope, Griff, Kistler… and other retainers like Tyler, the engineer, and Rahel, who had special tasks.

I gestured to Griff.

Olymus had grown considerably, and since I couldn’t always be there, I appointed Griff as my proxy to handle affairs.

He was something of a butler.

‘He’s a bit of a goofball, which makes me uneasy, but he is a scholar, and I can’t do everything myself forever.’

I massaged my temple with my middle finger, watching Griff, who was standing alone, grinning at the other attendees.

His expression seemed to say, ‘See? I’m first.’ It made me sigh.

‘He’s all grown up…’

Nothing ever seemed to go as expected.

“Were there any problems while I was away?”

“When you’re not around, Master, there are always problems.”

Griff replied with a smirk, so I raised my hand to warn him.

“Edar.”

“Oh… my apologies.”

Judging by his reaction, it wasn’t a mistake but intentional.

I looked at Kistler, the only human present.

He remained indifferent throughout my conversation with Griff.

‘He seems to have guessed something about the familiars.’

He’s a smart man, as befits a former monk.

And having accompanied me several times, he must have sensed something.

That the familiars are not mere vassals but something more special.

‘Well, seeing people working tirelessly even at dawn, anyone would think they’re not human.’

I had no choice; I was short on hands.

‘It’s fortunate that the Great Council doesn’t interact with humans.’

If there were active exchanges, they would find it strange to stay for several days.

Of course, it wouldn’t easily lead to discovering my ability to create familiars, but there’s always a ‘what if’.

If the Great Council learned of my abilities, they would attack without giving me a moment’s respite.

So, it’s best to hide it as much as possible.

“First, the population of Olymus has reached 1,025. The population has increased fivefold in less than two months. It’s a remarkable record.”

Griff clapped exaggeratedly, and everyone except Calliope awkwardly followed suit.

The population of Olymus was only around 200 when I took office, but thanks to accepting immigrants and liberating slaves from Baguku’s stronghold, there was an unprecedented increase.

“Thanks to that, we had to build hundreds of huts. Well… it’s in the past now.”

Griff grumbled jokingly, but I knew that in a typical territory, it wouldn’t have ended as a joke.

‘Accepting immigrants equal to four times the existing population is practically suicide.’

If it weren’t for the familiars and Turan, I wouldn’t have been able to settle all the immigrants in Olymus and would have had to scatter them across various villages.

And even that wouldn’t have been easy.

“What were my instructions before I toured the territory?”

“The farming tools, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“The supply of farming tools is going smoothly. The artisans who were enslaved are quite skilled, so production has increased significantly. We’ll reach the target within a few days.”

“Do you remember the quantity I assigned to each village?”

“Of course.”

Griff pulled a piece of wood from his sleeve.

The quantity was written on the wood with charcoal.

I clicked my tongue at the sight.

‘I need to make paper too.’

Wooden tablets are easy and cheap to make, but they’re too bulky.

If you were to transcribe a book from my past life onto wooden tablets, it would fill one or two carts.

You could carry a wooden tablet for minor records, but it’s problematic for administrative purposes in a large territory.

As I mentioned before, using parchment, papyrus, or elven paper instead of wooden tablets is costly and the production volume is not sufficient.

In the end, only paper can meet the demand in terms of price and quantity.

‘I roughly know the production process, so I should be able to make it after a few trials and errors.’

“For now, send the farming tools to the villages as soon as they’re available.”

“We’re short on pack animals, though.”

“Didn’t I have the one I rode here? Use him as a pack animal. What about the land reclamation?”

By settling all the slaves from Baguku’s stronghold in Olymus as free citizens, the demand for farmland has greatly increased.

Giving land itself is as simple as drawing lines and saying, ‘This is it,’ but most of the land in the Great Plains is undeveloped.

Most of the former slaves had mental issues, and since it was time to start sowing, I couldn’t just hand them a farming tool and be done with it.

‘If I did that, they’d starve to death without even reclaiming the land.’

So, I mobilized most of the familiars to focus on land reclamation.

“It’s going smoothly as well. The plow you designed is quite good. Farmers are eager to use it because it reduces the amount of work since they don’t have to repeat the process.”

I nodded.

“However, as I mentioned earlier, we’re short on horses. At least two horses are needed for each plow, but in the current situation, we can’t pull more than ten plows.”

“I suppose so.”

The number of horses I owned was at most fifty.

Pack animals brought from Thurdret and the rest confiscated from Count Dorin.

Among them, twenty were pulling transport wagons between Turan and Olymus, and a few others were used when I toured the territory.

In reality, less than half of the total were used for farming.

“I’ll have to hope Gerhard sends more horses.”

I had anticipated this, so when I sent Baguku’s treasures to Gerhard, I instructed him to buy plenty of agricultural horses for the next tribute.

“What else is lacking? Was the tribute Gerhard sent sufficient?”

“Ah. It would be nice if you could send more livestock besides horses.”

“Livestock?”

“Yes.”

Griff scratched his head sheepishly.

“The number of wild beasts has decreased significantly. I think we’ve caught too many. We often come back empty-handed even when we go hunting.”

The reason for hunting wild beasts was not only to ensure the safety of the territory’s residents but also to secure food.

Because livestock farming is extremely poor in the territory.

We tried to obtain meat through hunting.

“At the current rate, hunting around Olymus will soon be impossible.”

I made a sound and stroked my chin.

“Why? Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“It’s probably not because we caught too many.”

How vast and long-neglected is the Great Plains?

Would the population be depleted after hunting for just a few months?

“What do you mean?”

“It seems they’ve migrated.”

“Migrated?”

“It seems the Great Council is involved.”

I tore off a small piece of papyrus.

I wrote ‘Import more livestock’ on the note and added my signature.

Griff took the note, rolled it up, tied it to the hawk’s leg, and sent it out the window.

The hawk will head to Turan, where Gerhard is.

Since it’s Griff’s familiar, it could fly as far as his magic reached.

I occasionally sent instructions to Turan in this way.

“Hilde reported that the number of wild beasts has increased.”

Hilde is a familiar with the profession of a wandering poet.

I instructed her to become a shepherd and travel around the territory, identifying unusual phenomena.

I met her during my tour and received a report on the progress.

Griff tilted his head.

“If the number of wild beasts has decreased here and increased there, isn’t it just because they’re running away from hunting?”

“It’s too diverse to see it that way.”

The animals that used to inhabit the area around Olymus were mainly wolves and bears.

On the other hand, the wild beasts Hilde witnessed included lions, leopards, and hyenas, whose habitats were completely different, as well as a large number of animal species unrelated to hunting, such as venomous snakes and insects.

This was evidence that the migration of wild beasts was not due to fleeing from hunting.

“It’s a method the Great Council uses when harassing races they don’t like.”

Releasing wild beasts,

Planting plants that cause crop epidemics,

Or polluting the water,

And disguising all these actions as natural rather than intentional.

“Geez… are we that hated? To be harassed like this.”

“You deserve to be hated.”

They lost their land to a race they thought were monkeys.

“Even so, they’re too cowardly. They want to avoid a full-scale war but still want to mess with us. Their intentions are obvious.”

I chuckled blandly and stirred my tea.

“Still, this is just testing the waters.”

Hiding themselves and harassing me means that they see me as a formidable presence that they can’t openly strike.

“So, are you going to let it go?”

“No. Gather a few people with good eyes among you and send them to Hilde. She’ll take care of it.”

“I’ll send friends who are skilled at hunting wild beasts.”

“Hmm, that’s fine too.”

After that, I verbally reviewed minor reports, such as planting legumes in fallow land, pigs giving birth to several piglets, and artisans seeking advice, and then said,

“Let’s build a fortress wall too.”

“A fortress wall?”

Griff was the only one who asked, but the reactions of Kistler and the other familiars were no different.

“We don’t have enough hands…”

Even Griff, who always answered ‘Sure, let’s give it a try’ no matter what I asked, sounded troubled.

That’s because a fortress wall is a major construction project that requires a lot of time, resources, and labor.

Even with the familiars mobilized day and night for all sorts of tasks, such as land reclamation, patrolling, and transportation, there was a shortage of manpower.

To simultaneously start a new project equivalent to all the current tasks combined was enough to make anyone groan.

“Have you forgotten the treasures the orc hoarded?”

“Ah. There was that.”

Griff clapped his hands.

“Did you think I’d entrust even this to you? It seems I’ve been overworking you.”

I smiled wryly, and Griff moved his lips.

He was about to make a joke,

“…”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

He quickly made excuses at Calliope’s sharp glare.

“Ahem, anyway… hiring workers would solve the problem, but I don’t know how many people will come all the way here.”

“It doesn’t matter if few come. If we pay them generously, word will spread.”

Of course, if wages rise, the cost burden will increase sharply.

The cost of building the fortress wall would be quite burdensome even with Baguku’s treasures.

But I didn’t care how much the budget would be.

The mining of the Lagoa mine would soon resume, and there was another purpose in building the fortress wall.

“What’s as important as building the fortress wall is spreading rumors through the workers. That Olymus is wealthy, and that wealth comes from the gold mine.”

“Hmm, are you perhaps aiming for immigrants?”

“Yes.”

As I always said, the population was desperately lacking.

What good is having vast and fertile land if there are no people?

If there were too many people, I would choose to expand instead.

“Without people, there is no expansion.”

Therefore, population growth was the top priority for territory development.

“Look at what I’ve been doing so far. Haven’t all those things been to create conditions for population growth?”

Tax exemption for five years, support for food and farming tools, free land rental, and even land that is not undeveloped but reclaimed.

“I think it’s a little too much.”

I shook my head at Griff’s grumbling.

“If you’re going to give, it’s better to give big.”

If I were an ordinary human lord, I wouldn’t even imagine doing such a thing.

Not collecting taxes? Providing goods for free? Even reclaiming the land?

Where would I squeeze the money and manpower needed for this?

It’s beyond being a pushover; it’s like telling the neighboring lords to catch me.

‘But I have familiars and a gold mine. I can endure doing this.’

“The inland areas have run out of undeveloped land. Even if there is land, it’s often confiscated due to heavy taxes. What do you think inland farmers would think if they heard rumors about my territory?”

“Hmm… it’s heaven?”

Calliope glanced at Griff and closed her eyes.

Reading her thoughts, it was that he was pathetic and unsightly.

Kistler, who had been sitting quietly, answered.

“At first, they would think it’s nonsense. How could such a place exist?”

Although he was of noble birth, he had lived as a pioneer for a long time, so he knew the minds of the farmers well.

“But they won’t forget it. The daily life of a farmer is simple. They repeat the tedious farming work while thinking, ‘I wish there was such a place.'”

“Then, after finishing the harvest and paying taxes, they realize that what’s left is barely enough to get through the year, and they’ll think of it again.”

“At this point, they’ll also think, ‘It was like this last year, and it will be like this next year.’ That their life will never improve and they’ll just live day to day until they die.”

“By this time, the only thought in their mind is ‘It’s too late.'”

“Too late?”

Griff scratched his head with curiosity.

“That they should have left as soon as they heard the rumors. That someone else might have taken their land while they hesitated. That even if they go now, there might not be any land left for them.”

Kistler tilted his teacup and moistened his throat.

“They’ll just keep hesitating, saying it’s too late, it’s too late. There won’t be many farmers who heard the rumors who won’t run away.”

“Is it that much?”

Griff tilted his head.

How difficult it is to abandon one’s home and migrate, would they come all the way to the distant Great Plains?

“Ask any of the territory’s residents. Ask them if they wanted to become pioneers. Then they’ll answer that they had no other choice.”

The harshness of the inland forces them to become pioneers even if they don’t want to.

I also empathized because I had lived as a farmer in a previous life.

Griff snorted and shook his head.

“How frustrating. Isn’t there an option to fight back?”

“Because the difference in power is too great.”

In my previous life, such tyranny would have led to a rebellion.

The owner of the tyranny would have faced the rebellion and been hanged.

But this world has the mystery of magic.

The power of one person can overwhelm dozens or hundreds.

Even if farmers rebel, they are just farmers.

“Think of Baguku. He was a strongman that humans couldn’t match. But here, he was torn apart by Calliope with her bare hands. The gap between farmers and lords is even more overwhelming than that.”

In the face of such a gap, numbers are powerless, no matter how many there are.

That’s why tyranny is maintained without being checked.

“Yes. That’s right. Farmers are treated well in this world in only two cases. When there is a shortage of farmers and the value of each person rises, or when the lord is benevolent.”

But the population has reached saturation point now.

The value of humans is very low.

So low that they are sold to monsters.

“In this situation, wouldn’t it be interesting if the rumors of this place were spread?”

“It would be good to keep the contract period short here. If workers periodically return to their hometowns, the rumors will spread well, won’t they?”

Griff smiled.

Give the workers the impression that Olymus is wealthy with high wages, and let them know that the wealth comes from the gold mine.

When they finish their contracts and return to their hometowns, they will surely talk.

“Words from a brother who has returned home are more deeply received than words from a stranger.”

It would be even better if the workers who returned to their hometowns tried to settle in Olymus with their families.

“However, be careful not to disrupt the construction due to focusing on rumors. War is not far away, so it will definitely be used.”

Kistler asked with an uneasy look.

“Do you think a war will happen?”

“It has to happen.”

Because I have a gold mine.

And gold is valuable to humans.

The temptation of gold inevitably leads to war.

‘I’m acting like an elf and turning Turan into a puppet to avoid war. But the way things are going, the delay effect won’t last long.’

The situation was going worse than expected.

“Pinto needs gold, and Ugdashi wants to buy humans with gold. And didn’t I kill Ugdashi’s son?”

Family is worthless to orcs.

They don’t have such things as paternal or maternal love.

Therefore, Baguku’s death shouldn’t be a big problem, but…

‘But what if what his son had was a gold mine?’

His pride and desire were bound to turn towards me.