Chapter 5
#5. The Winterwald Direct Guild
The next morning.
In the corridor outside the conference room, Viscount Vargo's head hung there, dangling by the neck.
"Eeeek!"
The nobles summoned to the morning meeting nearly collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Vargo, who had swaggered toward the lord's office last night, had his head chopped off and put on display overnight.
"I told you it was that dangerous…"
"Threatening to go on strike meant nothing before His Grace's sword!"
The nobles entered the conference room trembling.
Some had been executed, while others had been sold into forced labor on the ramparts for failing to return their embezzled funds, leaving nearly half the seats in the conference room empty.
"Y-Your Highness, Imperial Princess…"
Kylan was not in the seat of honor today.
In his place sat a woman, clicking an abacus and comparing ledgers.
The North's new power broker and authority. The person who had brought a bloodbath to the political scene.
The Fourth Imperial Princess, Eleanor.
By now, no one dared even think of calling her a bastard or a little girl.
The princess began the meeting in a cold voice.
"His Grace will not be attending today's meeting. You all saw the results of the special audit he carried out last night at the entrance, correct?"
"O-of course, Your Highness!"
"Thank you for sparing our lives!"
"We will devote ourselves body and soul to serving the territory from now on!"
Led by Baron Benjamin, the nobles all slammed their heads against the floor.
The people of the North had to live ready to become monster fodder at any moment, but the only ones who had ever been properly disciplined were the knights.
But as of yesterday, the nobles' comfortable lives of corruption had come to an end as well.
Eleanor's eyes gleamed fiercely in the morning sunlight.
"Good. Then we will begin drafting the spring budget. I will cut the inflated food and weapon-maintenance costs by thirty percent across the board. Anyone who objects, raise your hand."
No one could raise a hand.
Vargo's head hanging at the entrance was kindly explaining, 'This is what happens when you object.'
"Since there is no answer, I will take that as agreement. Keep in mind that if even a single silver's discrepancy appears in the administration from now on, I will dispatch tax collectors directly under Winterwald's authority."
With the authority of Kylan, the Sword Master and Grand Duke of the North, the princess was more than capable of filling the Grand Duke's absence all by herself.
Watching this from outside the door, Kylan smiled contentedly.
'Ah, this is comfortable. Hiring a competent finance minister has cut my workload in half. Now all I have to do is fix the deficit structure!'
***
Two months passed after the great purge swept across the North.
The vacant positions left by corrupt nobles who had been executed or sold into forced labor for failing to return their embezzled funds were filled by wounded, retired veteran knights and capable administrators.
The sweeping authority over military-supply procurement and distribution that Viscount Vargo had once wielded was split in two.
Baron Clara, a meticulous woman who had quietly pored over ledgers day after day, was appointed the 'Military Supply Officer' in charge of internal logistics, while Count Lian, famed as a master negotiator, was appointed the 'Merchant Trade Officer' responsible for opening up external trade networks.
Meanwhile, Sir Walter, a veteran knight who had lost one eye and retired after a past extermination campaign, returned to fill the position of security administrator, taking a seat in the conference room.
With corruption rooted out and Eleanor's merciless budget reforms added on top, the North's deficit visibly shrank.
Kylan's orders to preserve and collect monster-hunt spoils at the highest possible quality also played a major role.
But Kylan was still hungry!
"Merely covering the deficit won't fill my peaceful retirement… I mean, the hungry bellies of the territory's people."
The conference room in the Grand Duke's castle.
At Kylan's words, Cedric, standing beside him, grew misty-eyed.
'Ah, my lord! Even while suffering under backbreaking work day and night, you think of nothing but the people of the territory!'
He was probably thinking something along those lines.
Kylan deliberately ignored Cedric and continued speaking.
"Ahem. We need a new venture that will fundamentally change the North's financial structure."
"What do you mean by a new venture…?"
The newly appointed external trade officer, Count Lian, asked cautiously.
"If the magic stones earned by the defense force leave us in the red, then we should simply invade monster nests ourselves and hunt them down."
Cedric's expression hardened unusually.
"My lord. If we ask the defense force to do anything beyond defense, people will collapse from overwork one after another. Forgive me for saying so, but that would be sacrificing flesh to save bones."
"I know. The knights must protect the territory."
Kylan smiled and tapped the table.
"I intend to establish the Winterwald Direct Guild, made up of the people of the North."
Everyone in the conference room widened their eyes at his words.
On the central continent, adventurer guilds could easily be found in any village.
But in the North, where winter lasted nine months of the year, there was not even one of the ubiquitous guild branches.
The North's bitter cold and thick-skinned, ferocious monsters were beyond what even adventurers could easily handle.
"You mean to mobilize the people of the territory to hunt monsters? They are lumberjacks who have never even properly held a sword. Sending them into the forest would be no different from a massacre!"
Cedric vehemently objected.
But Kylan saw things differently.
In his previous life, he had seen with his own eyes how hardy the workers at logistics centers were.
The people of the North were no different. They dug through frozen ground with pickaxes and felled house-sized frozen logs with a single ax. Their strength and grit were enough to chew up and spit out most run-of-the-mill recruits from the South.
"Cedric. Even after working themselves to the bone all day, the people of the territory can barely scrape by on a single loaf of rye bread. Using those magnificent physiques only to chop firewood and harvest barley is a dereliction of the lord's duty."
It was a lord's duty to give his people opportunities to generate high incomes!
"But we can't make them fight monsters with their bare hands…!"
"In that regard, I believe I can support Your Grace's intentions."
At that moment, Eleanor, who had been diligently writing something, joined the conversation.
She raised her head, her eyes sparkling.
"As Your Grace said, leaving the people's potential untapped would be a waste of human resources. I have devised an unprecedented support policy, different from those of existing guilds, to train them into full-fledged adventurers."
'In that short amount of time…?!'
While Kylan was flustered, Eleanor slid a sheet of parchment into the middle of the conference table.
"First, equipment support. I understand that several hundred newly delivered dwarven-made iron swords and spears are still in the warehouse. We can lend them free of charge to people of the territory who join the guild."
"Lend them free of charge?! You mean to simply hand those precious steel weapons to commoners?"
Baron Clara, the officer in charge of military supplies, asked in shock.
"We are not giving them away; we are lending them, Baron. In exchange, each adventurer must bear the full cost of any repairs. This will also invigorate the smithies within the territory. Next, we must implement a free-training policy. Simply handing someone a weapon won't let them hunt wolves."
Eleanor looked at the one-eyed knight, Sir Walter, the security administrator.
"We will appoint veteran knights who retired from active duty because of injuries as 'guild instructors' and have them provide practical training to new adventurers."
Kylan nodded and called for Walter.
"Sir Walter. Effective today, I appoint you the first guildmaster of the Winterwald Direct Guild. Pass on your excellent combat experience to the people of the territory without holding anything back."
It was an outrageous decision to entrust the heavy position of guildmaster to the security administrator.
But no one complained.
"Not only have you taken this old, ailing body back into your service, but you have even given me a chance to devote myself to something! I will dedicate the rest of my life to training the people of the territory into elite warriors!"
Guildmaster Walter dropped to one knee, shedding tears of emotion.
Kylan smiled with satisfaction.
Perhaps this was what it felt like to make a retired department head work for minimum wage.
"Furthermore,"
Eleanor continued.
"During the training period, the training camp will provide the people of the territory with two free servings of meat soup every day. They need to eat hearty meals to endure the training."
Kylan's stomach churned at the suggestion of pouring the embezzled funds he had worked so hard to recover into this project without restraint.
But he couldn't criticize his wife, who had created policies at the speed of light to support her husband.
'This is all necessary investment.'
The nobles in the conference room all nodded as well.
Half did so sincerely, and the other half because they did not want to get their heads chopped off.
Eleanor brought out her final policy.
"And third, this is the most important policy. If a guild-affiliated adventurer is injured by a monster while hunting, the lord's castle will cover eighty percent of their medical and healing-potion expenses."
"W-what did you say?!"
Cedric and Baron Clara, the officer in charge of military supplies, both leaped to their feet.
"Your Highness! Anything but that! No matter how skillfully we train adventurers, injuries are inevitable in combat. Do you know how much a single low-grade healing potion costs!? Well over one gold! If the territory covers eighty percent, the North will go bankrupt in less than three years!"
Baron Clara pleaded, as though she were coughing up blood.
Some adventurers had even retired permanently after attempting shoddy treatment to save on healing potions. That was how much of a luxury healing potions were.
But Eleanor wore an unwavering smile.
"Baron Clara. I am not suggesting that we provide the support with the territory's funds. I intend to establish a medical mutual-aid fund within the guild."
"A medical… mutual-aid fund?"
"Yes. We will collect seven percent of the income earned from selling monsters from every adventurer who joins the guild and pool it in one enormous communal vault."
Eleanor explained while scribbling away at her quill without pause.
"Some adventurers will be injured, while others will not. We will collect a contribution from all of them and distribute it to those who need it. The territorial treasury will not lose even a single silver. If my calculations are correct, collecting contributions from highly skilled adventurers will actually generate an enormous profit."
Kylan was inwardly stunned.
After sharing a bed and talking at length every day, perhaps he had mentioned an institution like the National Health Insurance of his previous life.
If not, Princess Eleanor really was a genius.
"Your Highness."
Eleanor hugged the parchment shyly to her chest and looked at Kylan.
"Until the guild fulfills its role, it will require a great deal of investment… We will have to use the returned embezzled funds, but I believe this is not a bad investment for realizing Your Grace's grand vision. What do you think?"
Kylan felt his heart ache as he rose from his seat.
'I'm not some brainless second male lead in a romance fantasy…'
But when she looked up at him with that expression and asked so sweetly, there was no way he could refuse unless she was openly asking him to ruin the territory.
"Eleanor. Your genius mind is a blessing the goddess has bestowed upon Winterwald! Perfect. Ministers, what are you all waiting for? Get started at once!"
"Ah…! Y-Your Grace…! I don't know what to say when you praise me so highly…!"
When Kylan took her hand, Eleanor's face turned bright red.
They were a very well-matched couple.
***
The next morning.
In the center of Winterwald Square, where the north wind howled with a skin-cutting chill.
The people of the territory gathered around the wooden bulletin board, murmuring among themselves.
"What on earth does it say? Did anyone hear?"
"Something about giving weapons to the people of the territory… The knights said that and left…"
"What!? You're telling people who used to do nothing but grow potatoes to pick up swords and fight monsters?"
"They're putting farmers forward as meat shields now!"
"It means they're telling us all to die!"
Complaints and fear erupted among the people of the territory who could not read.
At that moment, a grizzled middle-aged man approached and began reading the contents of the proclamation aloud.
"Upon joining the guild, free training from retired professional knights will be provided…"
The village chief's eyes grew wider and wider, and his voice began to tremble.
"D-during the training period, the lord's castle will provide free meat soup and barley bread!?"
"W-what!? Grandpa! H-how many meals!?"
"Two!!"
"Two!!!!!"
The murmurs grew louder.
For people who had survived all year on potatoes frozen solid and rock-hard rye bread, a steaming bowl of meat soup was like a feast fit for an emperor.
"The soup isn't the important part, you idiots… The guild says it'll buy a single wolf magic stone for one gold coin."
"Fuck. I'm becoming an adventurer starting today."
Taxes and fees.
A certain percentage of their earnings being taken for the fund.
Those clauses did not even register in the face of such insane pay, and the people's heads went haywire.
Thanks to welfare benefits unprecedented not only in the North but in the Empire's history, the announcement was proving incredibly effective publicity.
"Fuck!"
At the very back of the crowd, Hans, a huge lumberjack who had spent his entire life chopping trees in the forest, slammed the old ax in his hand onto the ground.
Clang!
When the startled people made way, Hans stomped forward, snorting angrily.
"Better to be bitten to death by a wolf than starve to death, ain't it!? Even if we're all going to die, let's at least swing a sword and look cool doing it!"
Hans's shout ignited a tremendous fire in the hearts of the people of the territory, who had been shivering in the cold amid their despair.
"Y-yeah! Hans is right!"
"I'm going too! My dream is to put my wife in a warm fur coat!"
"So where is this guild, then!?"
Hundreds of people from the territory, foaming at the mouth, began racing toward the guild like a horde of zombies.
Their fear of possibly losing their lives completely evaporated before hot meat soup and welfare benefits ahead of their time.