Part 3 – Chapter 016 (Chapter 353)
Securing (Skilled) Recruits
T/L: IonMan
Editor: Zioming
Raw Chapter: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9511bs/407/
T/L notes: Sorry everyone for the delays on the translation. Life throws plenty of lemons our ways, and making drinkable lemonade tends to be on the very expensive and costly sour side. Hmm..culinary proverbs?
ED notes: I’m changing ‘Knight Group’ to ‘Knight Order’. It sounds way cooler.
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Year 7448, month 9, day 20
As I was wondering who the surprise visitor was, it turned out to be Gehenna Flare. (ED: The dwarves-only adventurers party)
“They are here? For me?”
Shouldn’t they be Zenom’s guests? Or possibly Gwine’s?
Members of Gehenna Flare visited them many times in the past. Usually, they would come by to invite the two to one of their drinking bouts, or simply to ask about their schedule on their next rest day. At first, I would treat them politely, them being one of the top adventurers parties that we competed against, but at some point they stopped talking to me, other than asking me to call for Zenom or Gwine. Even while we waited for the two to come down, they wouldn’t care for my attempts at making small talk, so in the end we settled on only exchanging simple greetings whenever we met in the inn.
“Un. It even happens to you.”
Miduchi laughed sweetly.
Hah!? Are they really here to meet with me?
“Ah! Al!”
Zenom noticed me coming down the stairs, while sitting at the table, and got up from his chair as he beckoned at me. The people standing around him all turned their gazes at me at the same time.
…Don’t mind me.
Honestly, why would you suddenly pay attention to me? Look, Zenom is over there.
Could it be? Did they actually come to discuss something with me?
When I approached the table, Zenom offered me his chair. The one sitting opposite him was Gehenna Flare’s leader, Heggs Whiteflame, who actually managed to surprise me by also standing up and welcoming me to the table.
“Yo, Mr. Greed, sorry to bother you during your busy schedule.”
“…Hah…”
What the heck is this!?
At first, I wondered if they came to apply to become Zenom’s Squires, but the timing was a bit too early for that. It hadn’t yet been officially announced that I became a Count. My investiture ceremony had already been held the other day, but I was told that it would only be announced to the public this afternoon. Ah, incidentally, we were going to start our recruitment of new applicants at the same time. Once it got announced, I was actually half expecting Gehenna Flare to pay Zenom a visit, but why were they here now, so early in the morning?
Well, the ceremony itself was three days ago, so I guess it wouldn’t be that strange for there to already be rumours floating around. Still, if they came to see Zenom, why would they want to talk to me as well? Normally, it would be common sense to greet me as well, as the one Zenom served under, but that kind of logic didn’t really apply to the dwarves of Gehenna Flare.
I sat down in the chair that Zenom had warmed up for me.
“Is there something you wanted to discuss with me…?”
This is so unusual.
“That’s right, Mr. Greed. I want you to help us persuade Mr. Firefreed.”
What!?
Seeing my reaction, Heggs seemed to have realized that he had never actually talked to me before.
“Sorry, let me explain the situation.”
Heggs explained that Gehenna Flare found out about my promotion to the rank of a Count, as well as the fact that I’d been given a sizeable territory, around noon yesterday. At the same time, they had also learned that Zenom had been awarded the rank of a Baron by me, and now owned a city of a reasonable size. (ED: Nobility Rank List)
That was fine and all. Adventurers like them had ways of gathering key information before it became public knowledge, and anyone could expect we would be recruiting Squires and immigrants based on that.
Having learned all this, they had a discussion with their entire party, and they had all unanimously decided to serve under Zenom. Well, it was still within my expectations.
But there was a problem.
Since the whole party wanted to apply, they all decided to retire as adventurers. Of course, I wanted them to serve under Zenom, but ending their careers as adventurers was a serious decision that would affect the rest of their lives. It would be better for them to take another night to think it over.
We hadn’t even announced the recruitment yet, and if they really wanted to apply, it still wouldn’t be too late if they waited until then, checked the conditions, and then decided.
…Is what I’d like to say, but they were clearly the kind of people who preferred to make snap decisions and worry about the consequences later. However, just because a decision is fast, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good one. Then again, it had been a good year for them, and they definitely didn’t want to continue exploring the dangerous dungeon forever, so it was a bit disappointing but not entirely without any basis.
Anyway, having made their decision, they all rushed to Zenom to get recruited for the official positions.
And yet, Zenom refused.
Well, not exactly. He gave them some conditions.
Firstly, about the number of available positions. Even though Weed was a big city, there were already eighteen Squire houses, including Gwine’s. There were three, maybe four vacant positions left, and that was if you included jobs like overseeing work in the mines and farming, but Gehenna Flare had nine members, which meant that there would be a disparity in their ranks.
One way to solve this would be to make all of them Assistant Squires instead. This way they would all get the same salary, but, as far as Assistant Squires went, there were already several groups of them, including people serving under Ginger, who oversaw all Assistant Squires, under Gwine, under Kevin, and under a few others. Being newcomers, they would have no other choice but to start at the very bottom.
It wasn’t that big of a problem in itself, since the pay was only a little less, but members of Gehenna Flare could claim to all be top-notch adventurers. Since they weren’t ill-tempered, they would probably fit right in as Squires, given how it wasn’t that different from their current job. Needless to say, about their combat potential, it could be said that they could compete with those among the Slaughterers.
With Ginger, Gwine, and Kevin …even including Ralpha, that only made five people in Zenom’s group for now, so even if each of them brought a couple of combat slaves, their combined military strength was still comparatively small. It was pretty much the ideal number of people for the current Squires to accept into their ranks without feeling unnecessarily threatened. After all, it was always a possibility for a crude, former adventurer, new City Lord to come in and try to put pressure on them. It wasn’t completely unfounded.
Right now, even if such a worst case scenario was to actually happen, they could still push back with their superior numbers. However, if we suddenly added nine more people on Zenom’s side into the mix, the power balance would shift dramatically. After all, if the new City Lord was to bring along a number of people almost equal to their own, it was only natural for the current Squires to feel like they had come to take their jobs. And if they thought like that, there were sure to be conflicts between the two groups in the future.
Therefore, Zenom agreed under the condition that “No combat slaves are allowed, and you can only bring a single slave per person to take care of your personal belongings.”
Of course, this added restriction was to be gradually relaxed in the future.
It seemed that, contrary to Zenom’s expectations, they all obediently agreed.
…Which brought us to now
It was a well known fact (since they were pretty open about it) that Gehenna Flare only dealt with dwarves. To be precise, they didn’t consider people of other races as their equals. Of course, since I managed to get acquainted with them, they would greet me and speak to me at times. They couldn’t really afford to ignore me as an Upper Noble.
But still, they generally considered dwarves to be above other races.
Zenom, who believed it might lead to various conflicts in the future, warned them “If you act in a way, or make a statement that gives preferential treatment to dwarves, you’ll be immediately beheaded.”
At first, members of Gehenna Flare all got puzzled by his statement, but when Zenom carefully explained his reasoning, they understood where he was coming from, and, still determined to become his Squires, they said they’ll work on changing their ways in the future. However, even if they said that they were going to change their core values, what if they find it harder than they initially thought? …or if one of their colleges does?
It just so happened that Miduchi passed by at that moment, so Heggs stopped her to ask to call for me. Apparently, he didn’t fancy the idea of getting beheaded all of a sudden, so he wanted me to persuade Zenom to reduce the penalty to just whipping.
I mean, I might be able to persuade him, but …is that really the part that you want to dispute?
While the beginning of their story made me think ‘So, it’s like that after all’, by the end of it, I was thinking more along the lines of ‘Will Zenom really be OK?’
Well, regardless of my feelings on the topic, the first thing to do here was to reconfirm Zenom’s intentions.
“…What do you think, Zenom? Do you want them serving under you?”
Zenom gazed at me over his shoulder as I inquired. Hearing my question, members of Gehenna Flare all gulped in unison, as they looked to Zenom with bated breath.
“Well, they would be a great addition in terms of combat strength, so I do want them …but we aren’t expecting another armed conflict at least for a year, so for now I want to prioritize Squires that can help me stabilize the situation in Weed, rather than just strong fighters. It would be better to take control of the situation early, so if they cause me some trouble in that respect…”
All Lords, not just me, employed Knights to handle local peacekeeping, defend their territory, and follow them into battle during wartime. The Devas Kingdom’s upcoming invasion being a prime example, Count Raulig, the acting Count of Riguru, had already ordered his deputies to gather the Knights under his command and organize defensive units for Garhe and Raddo villages. …though they should be focusing more on Beige Village in my opinion.
There was no doubt Gehenna Flare would be a great asset at times like these. They had no military training, so we wouldn’t be able to incorporate them into the main fighting force, but they would be great at lowering the enemy morale by laying traps to slow down their marching speed, or directly harassing their units with guerilla-style attacks. Their combat strength was undisputed, so they would be a valuable chess piece if used properly.
Well, that may be the case during wartime, but wars only happened once a year at best, so there really was no need to rush into things. Moreover, guerilla warfare wasn’t really that essential when you had a proper army. To begin with, it was a tactic usually employed by the side with inferior fighting capabilities.
Zenom also recognized this, which made him reluctant to agree. He was clearly more concerned with the trouble they might stir up by their careless treatment of non-dwarves in Weed, rather than their usefulness during wartime. They clearly had no interest in working with the non-dwarf Squires, so accepting them might decrease the other Squires’ trust in Zenom, and lead to further conflicts in the future.
During their earlier discussion with Zenom, I did overhear members of Gehenna Flare say things like “If we were ordered by Mr. Firefreed…” or ” Please let Mr. Greed think it over a bit more.”
It’s unbelievable how much they’re willing to change for Zenom’s sake.
“I see. I understand. If that’s the case…”
What should I do?
“Oh!? As expected from the man who got appointed as a Count. Please tell us what you want us to do.”
Heggs chimed in.
“First of all, know your position. It’s okay for now since we’re merely acquaintances, but Mr. Firefreed and I are neither your close friends nor teammates. To start with, change the way you speak, at least with Mr. Firefreed. When you’re addressing the Lord, there has to be proper etiquette.”
I didn’t really care about the way they addressed Zenom, since it wasn’t like they had a master-slave relationship, but their carefree attitude toward him was going to be a problem, if they kept acting this way in front of other Squires and slaves.
“Oh… Hmm. That’s true…”
“Mr. Greed, we’re just screwing around. We’ll make it right. Don’t get us wrong.”
“That’s right. We get that our positions are different. Only an idiot wouldn’t see that.”
“Well, if that’s all it was…”
So, they were just bantering. When I was told that, it made me change my attitude towards Heggs somewhat.
“If it’s just that, then it should be fine.”
I shrugged it off for now and accepted their explanation.
“It’s also pretty clear that you think of dwarves as superior to other races. I’d like to believe you, when you say you’re willing to change, but please understand that it’s going to cause problems for Mr. Firefreed if you don’t.”
“That’s right! I’ll make sure we properly change… I’ll tell them off properly, so please, reconsider!”
Heggs bowed his head with his hands placed on the table.
“Still, if something happens, are all of you willing to accept any punishment that Mr. Firefreed decrees?”
“That’s…” (party member)
“No, it’s okay. I’ll handle it properly!” (Heggs)
“That’s fine then. There’s no denying that dwarves are a great race, but don’t discriminate against others!” (Zenom)
“I will keep in mind what Mr. Firefreed said!” (Heggs)
Heggs seemed to have a lot of say with his party members. It was a sign of a good leader.
“Mr. Whiteflame. I have a suggestion for you. I hope all of you become Mr. Firefreed’s Squires…”
Without even waiting until I finished speaking, members of Gehenna Flare started clapping their hands in joy. On the other hand, Zenom showed a slightly uneasy expression. I waited for a bit for their jubilee to subside and then finished my statements.
“How-e-ver, I have one more condition.”
“Wha…?”
“Condition?”
“Tell us whatever it is!”
“Don’t think that you can become Mr. Firefreed’s Squires just like that. That wouldn’t make Mr. Firefreed feel at ease… Therefore, I’d like all of you to go through a trial.”
“A trial?”
“Just for the time being, in order to get into your new role, everyone here will become my Squires instead.”
“Then… is there a difference?”
“Isn’t there?”
“Isn’t it the same as being Mr. Firefreed’s Squires?”
“It’s a little different…”
“In addition, you will all join the Riguru Knight Order. Of course, as Squires. You will be properly trained, with a recommendation from both the senior Knights and the leader of the Order. Please work hard to be appointed as Knights.”
ED Reminder: The word ‘Squire’ has two meanings:
1. People working directly under the Lord. They are considered Quasi-Nobles, meaning that they are technically Commoners, but are treated as an extension of the noble family whom they serve. They can be Knights, but they don’t have to be.
2. Knights in training. Members of a Knight Order who haven’t yet received an investiture as Knights, who, for the time being, serve other Knights as helpers, both in battle, and by taking care of daily chores (looking after the horse, helping the Knight put on metal armour, etc.)
“Ooh!?”
“As knights?”
“What, I’m gonna be a knight!?”
Normally, unless you’re a Noble, it’s not that easy to join a Knight Order, but I just so happen to be the leader of one. I’ll make you forget all that racial discrimination nonsense. It’s not going to be easy for you, but if you don’t work with me on that one, you’ll remain low-ranking Squires forever.
“Knights do not discriminate against the people they are supposed to protect. People that do, don’t get appointed in the first place… It’s your chance to prove that you are willing to change, with your actions, and not just with words. So, what’s it gonna be? Will you be able to pass this trial?”
“…So, is it enough if we pass?”
“Yes. If you can become Knights, Mr. Firefreed will accept all of you with confidence.”
Of course, they all replied with a confident ‘yes’.
Our departure for Riguru territory was scheduled at the turn of February and March of the next year, so I told them that it would be around that time that we will officially hire them as Squires, and seen then out.
“…Fuu.”
I sighed involuntarily.
“Al. Sorry about that.”
Zenom scratched his head while being a little apologetic.
“It’s all good. Don’t worry about it. The more strong soldiers we have, the better. Well, if they are Knights on top of being Squires, their salary will be higher, though that’s how it’s got to be, so please understand.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The average yearly cost of hiring a Commoner who wasn’t a Knight, as a Squire in Riguru territory was somewhere between 100,000Z and 300,000Z. Because the average income in the region was pretty low, it was more than enough to provide for an average family of 5 to 6.
Also, if a Squire had an adult heir or a spouse who could fight, it was common to pay them as well. Their salary was usually about half of that of the Squire’s, so their actual annual income was about 200,000Z to 500,000 Z.
Now, if a Squire was a Knight, there was an additional bonus included. The specific amount differed from person to person, but if they were a Knight of the First Knight Order (ED: Kingdom’s elite Knight Order), it would usually be doubled. Of course, there was a separate bonus for the adult heir/spouse (ED: Whether they also were a Knight or not). Still, even if you weren’t such a rare case, it still pretty much guaranteed a fairly wealthy life in the future. I think members of Gehenna Flare were also satisfied with this.
No matter how much they respected Zenom, it made sense that they would be disappointed if they didn’t receive a proper salary. As for me, I had to be more careful in managing my territory in the future, so that the Lords of other territories under my rule, and their respective Squires didn’t end up in a similar situation.
Responsibility was naturally heavy, but it was worth it.
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Author’s Note:
Finally, we have entered the settlement period, and as usual, the release schedule has become difficult.
There is no point in overdoing it, so I think it will be updated once a week until the end of March.
After April, I think we can go at the same pace again.
Of course, I plan to update it twice a week when possible, but don’t expect it.