Sabotage

Even in an age said to be one of peace, war remains unchanged.

Some fight to obtain what they do not have, while others fight to protect what they possess.

Person versus person.

Group versus group.

Nation versus nation.

The victor takes everything, while the defeated lose even more.

A peaceful little village that grew wheat was no different.

Without even tasting autumn's golden harvest, they became refugees forced to wander the wilderness.

In the middle of a plain swept by a chilly wind,

they huddled together, sharing body heat as they struggled to survive the winter.

They welcomed the sight of the three men they had sent as emissaries returning, but their joy did not last long.

There was no light of hope in their expressions.

“I'm afraid this village won't work either.”

“They said they don't have anything to eat themselves?”

“Isn't it obvious? It seems they are having trouble making it through the winter too.”

Winter makes people cold-hearted.

At the end of autumn's abundance lies a time of cruel endurance, and people have no choice but to become exclusive in order to survive it.

For those who had become refugees in such circumstances, only death lay in wait.

“Damn them. If they're human beings and Alte believers like us, they could at least give us something to eat……”

“May the light of judgment shine upon those damned bastards……”

“That's enough.”

As the voices cursing the village grew louder, a man stepped forward.

The man wore half-plate armor and was the only one carrying a weapon.

“What can we do? They're doing what they need to do to survive. They probably don't have anything to eat either. The Empire is a complete mess these days, so corrupt officials are running rampant, aren't they?”

“But we have weapons too…… If we ask them for just a little, surely they would…….”

“Don't do anything pointless. We should be grateful that we've made it this far on our own two feet.”

“What do you mean, go? Where else are we supposed to go from here?”

They gazed out over the vast plain.

The earth is dry and desolate in winter.

The only land left to them was death.

“How about going south? At least it's warm there.”

Just as the far north was home to the Land of Ice and the Frost Giants, the far south was home to the Land of Fire and the Magma Giants.

There was no such thing as a cold winter there.

The village head shook his head.

“It's not a good idea. They say the lowlands of the south are hot during the day, but even colder at night. I've heard that many people have died after underestimating the difference in temperature. And……”

“And?”

“That village said the bandits of the south are waiting for this very moment.”

They could not be the first refugees to cross into the south to escape winter's brutal cold.

The bandits would be preparing to take advantage of this opportunity to rob them of their possessions or sell them into slavery.

“Then what are we supposed to do? Are you saying we should just sit here and suck our fingers?”

The refugees were frustrated by the man's actions.

The village head was just as frustrated.

It was his job to become a beacon that found the best path under such terrible conditions.

After thinking for about three minutes, he opened his mouth.

“Let's go to the Far East.”

Everyone was aghast at the man's choice.

“The Far East? You mean the Land of Demons?”

“I heard that people can't even live there. You mean we should go there?”

The man looked at them and explained.

“The village we just visited told me that the Empire is looking for laborers in the Far East. Apparently, a regent there is building a village. They pay a decent daily wage, and there are plenty of places to sleep. There will surely be enough food as well. If we contribute, they will undoubtedly accept us as residents.”

“Even so, going to that land where monsters swarm……”

They exchanged glances, reluctant to go because of their opposition.

The man sighed.

Until moments ago, they had seen hope in a foolish option, yet they were indecisive when faced with an option that actually held promise.

The man asked them,

“Then are you all going to die here?”

“……”

“It will be the same even if we stir up other villages. Unless we become thieves, it won't be easy to buy food with the few coins we have, and I will not become a beast wearing a human face. Nor will I tolerate you doing such a thing.”

“……”

“If we go to the Far East, there will at least be work. They will pay us enough to buy food to get through today, and give us a place to stay. For people like us who are living from one day to the next, I think that's more than enough to ask for.”

Though they were reluctant to go to the Far East, no one could voice a complaint.

As the man said, they had no proper alternative.

Would they abandon God and become a band of refugee bandits,

or head for a barren land in search of new hope?

Whether they died this way or that, they had to choose the place where they could hold on to a little more hope.

* * *

Isabella entered Ferda's office and delivered her report.

“Reporting. There are thirty refugees from a village called White Bridge.”

White Bridge. It was a village located in the central-western part of the continent, in the territory of the Duchy of Yurei.

“This is the third group of refugees from the Duchy of Yurei. What manpower is available?”

“Six households arrived in total. There are fifteen people capable of working, one elderly person, and fourteen children.”

“Were there any skilled workers?”

“White Bridge is a village near a quarry. Some of them are quarrymen, so they apparently have knowledge of construction.”

“Quarrymen should be useful. I see. How many more can we accommodate?”

“According to what I confirmed……”

Isabella rummaged through the documents before answering.

“We can accommodate three hundred more.”

“There are a lot of buildings.”

“A great many. Normally, if this many refugees had gathered, half of them would have had to live in tents.”

Ferda rose from his seat and headed for the balcony.

When he flung the door open, a cold wind rushed inside as if it had been waiting for its chance.

The dry, cold wind licked the moisture from Ferda's face.

He could feel it vividly through his skin.

The season of death was drawing closer.

‘The refugees are overflowing too.’

It was the season when refugees became most numerous and the most people died.

That was also another opportunity for the Far East, which was short on population.

Ferda looked down from the balcony of his office.

Normally, he should have seen nothing but thorn scrub with only skeletal branches remaining.

But there was an open plain and buildings.

Where only tangled woods should have stood, he could see buildings where people lived.

He could also see the thirty refugees who had arrived this time huddled around a brazier.

With Ferda's approval, officials distributing relief supplies to them came into view.

Tears of emotion flowed down their gaunt faces, hollowed by hunger, and smiles of joy bloomed.

Just like that, three hundred people swiftly formed a population, and the village took shape.

‘It's becoming what its name suggests.’

The woman who guarded the fire, Hestia.

The name of the city that had overwhelmingly taken first place, beating out all the candidates Isabella had proposed.

Twenty buildings had already been built, and the buildings originally intended as communal spaces were being transformed into shops and inns, beginning to form a commercial district.

There were several favorable factors that made this possible.

‘Support from the south made the biggest difference.’

When he had merely heard that Halim would provide support, he had not expected much.

Usually, support meant little more than adding a spoonful and having a bard draw a single line on the résumé they would recite.

But when a delegation from Halim came to visit, he was able to confirm how sincere they were.

Hundreds of laborers, building materials stretched out in a long line, and even elephants.

It was on an entirely different scale from the support provided by Pascal Trading Company.

‘Did Isabella say it was enough to make her afraid of what they might demand?’

If Isabella, who handled everything calmly, had said that, it was clear how wholehearted their support was.

In any case, they quickly built up their own style of architecture with the materials brought in from the south.

Within just two weeks, a place for the delegation to stay and a trading post had been built, and more than ten buildings had been added.

‘Other than that, of course…….’

There was a place where a large bundle of logs floated and bobbed in midair.

Looking closely, he could see the figure of a burly man in the middle of it.

That man wearing armor unsuitable for a construction site.

Regardless of who he was, that man was the greatest contributor.

‘Who in the world are you?’

The way he would suddenly appear, shoulder ten logs, and hurriedly carry them away was no ordinary feat.

Ferda wanted to hear from someone who had seen what was under that helmet, but no one had ever seen inside the armor.

He disappeared as soon as the work was finished.

Sometimes he did not show up at all, and sometimes he would suddenly dash off somewhere in the middle of work, but he always finished by doing more than the money he received was worth.

‘The duty of the privileged……?’

Service for the weak.

People praised him as possessing remarkable chivalry even in something as simple as manual labor.

‘It's highly likely to be a scheme to obtain a title.’

Thinking that he was acting out of a pure heart would be foolish.

Ferda was preparing for the demands he would make, at least in proportion to the value of the service he had provided.

“Was there anything else unusual?”

“As for anything unusual…… It isn't a major problem at the moment, but there is one thing.”

“What is it?”

“It seems there is a problem with the supply line for food and monsters, so the delivery is about four days late.”

Four days.

The transportation conditions were poor, and the means of transport were limited.

But to Ferda, this was still a sufficiently serious problem.

Ferda had arranged to receive everything from Stephan with top priority.

The word ‘priority’ included the promise that everything would be supplied by the scheduled delivery date.

Being four days late, rather than just one, meant there was a problem with the contract.

‘Stephan.’

He was a man whose mind worked well as a merchant. His calculations were precise, and the strategies he proposed were not bad.

‘But that's all.’

Stephan had a passive and compromising disposition.

That personality would be a major obstacle in the work Ferda had to undertake.

‘Should I abandon Stephan?’

Ferda had nothing to regret.

He only had to return the value of what Stephan had invested in treasure.

Besides, since he was actively helping Halim grow, Ferda could simply form a partnership with them instead.

Halim was probably hoping for that deep down as well.

‘Abandoning him would be easy.’

What should he do?

It was while Ferda was pondering this that there was a knock at the door.

Knock knock—.

“Lord Ferda.”

Ruri called for Ferda.

“Mr. Stephan Pascal wishes to see you.”

They say that even a tiger comes when you speak of it.

“Tell him to come in.”

The door opened, and a man entered.

It was difficult to believe that he was the man Ferda knew.

Stephan Pascal.

As befitted the second-generation heir leading a company, his face had been plump and prosperous when they first met.

But now all that fat was gone.

He had grown as haggard as a refugee who could not eat a proper meal.

Ferda instinctively realized that something had happened to him.

“This is my first time seeing you since the exhibition, Regent.”

Ferda did not show his reaction.

“I was just talking about you.”

“It's because the supply shipments were delayed. Yes, I apologize for that. And……”

He struggled to open his mouth again.

“We…… I think it would be best to end our relationship with Pascal Trading Company here……”

It was a request to terminate the contract.

Upon hearing those words, Ferda put a hand to his face.

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand.

Ferda had also been considering terminating the contract, but this was not something Stephan should have been the one to bring up first.

Ferda only had to gain something new, but Stephan would lose everything.

He wondered where this irrational judgment had come from.

That was why Ferda did not simply say, ‘Very well.’

“Why?”

He asked him, and Stephan answered.

“I don't think this is something I can handle anymore.”

Ferda asked,

“What is the scope of what you can handle?”

“The things I can do…… and the things I possess.”

“What I expect from you has not changed. Everything remains the same.”

“……”

“The only thing that changed is your state of mind.”

Stephan could not answer.

Ferda leaned forward.

“I will terminate it whenever I am convinced. So tell me. What in the world happened?”

Stephan's words forced their way out between his lips.

He told Ferda about his situation.

The story of the dinner he had shared with his father.

And the friction between the brothers over Halim.

The things he had lost because of it.

Only then could Ferda see the circumstances Stephan had kept hidden from him.

“Murchit got angry with you, and you said you would monopolize the rights to Halim?”

“……Yes.”

“So all the mercenaries who had been providing security withdrew, and everything began to fall apart?”

It was a story that could easily happen once one understood the system within the Empire.

As the most developed commercial sector, even mercenaries operated in the form of companies.

The Pascal Mercenary Company, founded by Murchit Pascal, was unquestionably the best in the industry.

It had more than ten thousand affiliated mercenaries, and over thirty thousand if the small and medium-sized companies they subcontracted to were included.

Having clashed with Murchit Pascal came at a steep price.

The sword and shield in Stephan's hands had vanished in an instant.

“So even though you filled the gap, you could not be trusted, and incidents began occurring.”

“That's right……”

When security is lax, the system collapses.

The supplies that were supposed to be given to Ferda first had also been stolen.

It was like a showroom with no glass windows.

“So…… the carriage heading toward the Grand Duchy…… was attacked as well.”

Now the reason for the delayed delivery was clear.

“I found out two days ago. The carriage was attacked, and everything…… Sandy, Coven……”

Stephan could not finish his sentence and covered his face.

That incident had ultimately become the decisive reason his heart broke.

“I can't do this anymore. I was never a man capable of handling something like this in the first place. Wanting to possess Pascal Trading Company, trying to monopolize magitech…… None of those were things I should have had.”

“……”

“So I will give up. Regent. Thank you for giving this good-for-nothing a chance all this time—.”

“That monopoly.”

Before he could finish speaking, Ferda cut in.

“Was that monopoly something we needed?”

“D-do you mean the monopoly?”

“Yes. Was it necessary to protect the interests we needed to safeguard?”

Now that things had reached this point, Stephan thought,

Was it necessary……?

He could have simply shared the pie instead of insisting on monopolizing it himself.

“Think carefully about the reason you had in mind then, and answer me.”

Stephan recalled the events of that day, as Ferda had told him to.

And he answered.

“……Yes.”

“Then you fought to protect what belonged to us.”

“……”

“You fought for the first time, but ended up frustrated.”

“That's right.”

“Are you ashamed that you failed?”

Stephan lowered his head.

“It is shameful.”

“And so you tried to escape this situation by terminating the contract?”

“I wasn't avoiding it.”

“You were. You are compromising instead of facing your pain.”

“That incident was also an opportunity for me to look back at myself.”

Stephan laughed hollowly.

His pupils were unfocused.

“I have no ability, yet I am excessively greedy, and I don't even have the courage to take hold of something. I'm a third-rate fool who has to lose everything before I finally come to my senses……”

Self-loathing and contempt for himself.

It was clear how many burdens were pressing down upon his hunched back.

Ferda had experienced something like that himself.

“Is that why you could not reach out to me?”

“……Yes.”

He was afraid that only his incompetence would grow larger.

Afraid that he would expose his disgrace and that Ferda would despise him for it.

His fear grew and grew, crushing him until it finally forced both knees to the ground.

“Stephan.”

“Yes, Regent.”

“I asked only one thing of you. Do you remember what it was?”

He knew.

Ferda had stated it so clearly that it remained engraved in his mind even at this very moment.

“You said…… that you would make me the owner of Pascal Trading Company.”

“That was our contract. What did you do for that contract? You supplied goods.”

“That's right.”

“You filled the shortages in supplies throughout the Grand Duchy and opened the road. None of that would have been easy, yet you endured.”

“……”

“In order to become the owner of Pascal Trading Company.”

Stephan did not answer.

Afraid that he would reveal the surge of emotion in his chest if he made a mistake, he kept his mouth tightly shut like an idiot.

Ferda continued speaking.

“I say again, we made a contract.”

“……”

“You supply goods to us, and I make you the owner of Pascal Trading Company.”

Those were the words that had pressured Stephan.

Yet strangely, he did not feel pressured at this moment.

“If you fight to become the owner of the company, I mean that I will gladly take your side.”

Instead, he felt the weight pressing down on his shoulders fall away.

“So I will ask you one last question.”

Ferda asked one final question in a calm voice.

“Do you sincerely want to give up everything?”

Life began to return to the eyes that had looked like those of a corpse.

All the things he had come intending to abandon and put down began to come into view again.

Stephan was a merchant.

Who could possibly be happy about losing everything they had?

He did not want to feel some happiness born of possessing nothing.

His wish was to use failure as a stepping stone and leap toward success.

“Nghh……”

Stephan shed tears.

With this grief rising from his throat, he brought out the true feelings that had been with him since childhood.

“I want to become the owner of Pascal Trading Company.”

Stephan sobbed with his nose pressed against the marble floor.

He wailed, unable to say anything more.

Ferda looked down at him and spoke quietly.

“Administrator Isabella.”

Isabella, who had watched the entire situation, pushed up her glasses.

“Yes?”

“Summon all the nobles of the Far Eastern Grand Duchy to a meeting of the Far East Front Alliance.”

“Understood. How should I record the reason for the summons?”

Ferda said calmly,

“Sabotage aimed at the entire Grand Duchy.”