Dungeon Defense (WN)

We entered Pometra, a village in Baronet Bercy’s territory within the region of Lorraine.

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“Please distribute these to the soldiers.”

Baronet Bercy gave us a genuinely warm welcome.
He wasn’t the type of person to lie.
The baronet caringly wrote a billet directive for us which was basically comparable to a free admission pass.

If a soldier were to follow the directive and go to a house, then the house owner would have to take the soldier in for the night.
This was a natural duty that commoners had to fulfill for their lords.
Be it soldiers from their own nation or a foreign power, accommodations were handled like this.

However, like all tasks, providing accommodations wasn’t exactly a welcomed task.

A stranger would be staying in the same house one’s wife and daughter were also staying in.
This would cause an incredible amount of stress.
There was nothing more bothersome than having to provide a free meal and accommodation for rough-looking soldiers.
Adding to this, a majority of our group are dwarves and elves…… in other words, we couldn’t possibly be more foreign to the villagers than this.
They will still obey their lord’s order, but they will definitely be frustrated.

Nonetheless, do not worry, my mercenaries and assassins.

I took out a pouch from my pocket as I spoke to Baronet Bercy.

“Pardon me, Baronet, but do you have silver and copper coins?

“Hm? I am sorry, but I do not understand your question.”

“This is 100 libra.
If you can exchange this for copper coins, I wish to distribute those coins among the guards of my pilgrimage group.”

Baronet Bercy paused while in the middle of writing a billet directive for us.

“……100 libra? Wait one moment.
We do not have enough copper coins to cover such a large sum.”

“If you cannot exchange an equal amount in coins, then the equivalent amount but in trading goods for the remaining sum is also all right.
Whether it be wheat, a bit of meat, or vegetables.
It would probably be good for both us and your village people if we are able to take with us the ingredients to make stew instead of going empty-handed.”

I handed the pouch to the baronet’s attendant.
The attendant looked in the pouch.

“Whoa.”

The arms of the attendant who seemed to be in his mid-twenties trembled.
He gave a nod to his lord.

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“I-I am not sure if there is exactly 100 libra in here……b-but there is definitely a lot of gold coins.
It is my first time seeing so much hard currency, my lord.”

“Mm.”

Baronet Bercy’s expression changed.
He couldn’t check the pouch himself because he wanted to keep face, so he looked like he was on the verge of losing his composure.

That’s right.
If we offer him money in exchange for the goods instead of receiving everything for free, then that changes everything.
Baronet Bercy was looking at us as guests until now, but his eyes suddenly changed to that of a gambler who was staring down a golden opportunity.
Being able to receive 100 gold coins for letting people stay for only a single night could be seen as nothing but a golden opportunity.

“Attendant, take ten or so young men with you and head to the main city.
I will allow you to take two carriages.
Buy as much wheat, meat, and vegetables as you can.
I will give you a quarter of a day to do this.”

“A-A quarter of a day?”

The main city was referring to the capital within the land managed by the baronet.
It was probably the biggest village or city in this area.

“Your Lordship, that is a bit…….”

“I will lend you my personal warhorses.
Know that there will be dire consequences if any of them return injured.”

“Eh! Understood!”

The attendant ran out in a hurry.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to go around and knock on a bunch of doors in order to gather the soldiers.
There were still about forty soldiers gathered in the town square.
Once he shouted something at them in the square, the soldiers let out a cheer toward our direction.

“It seems I misjudged your group.
You are not unwelcomed guests but people who bring great fortune.
Please forgive my rudeness.”

Baronet Bercy’s tone had changed completely.
He was speaking formally to me even though I looked younger than him by many years.
He probably believed that I was not a normal priest.
But to change his way of speech completely without even batting a single eyelid……he has quite the nerve.

I smiled widely.

“I may have once possessed blue blood, but I have already reached enlightenment.
As someone who has resolved himself to stand underneath the Goddess, I humble myself before all people.
Please feel free to speak comfortably with me.”

“If that is what you wish.”

Oh? Would you look at him? He went back to his usual tone without any hesitation either.
Blue blood meant that I was part of a noble lineage.
He was dropping all formalities even though I had told him that I had a noble background.
I was starting to like the man before me even more.

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Baronet Bercy must’ve definitely been handsome during his youth, and thanks to his effort of treading through hardships wisely, he had matured firmly like a tree.
A hundred gold had just gone before his eyes and he had already regained his composure.

The Baronet was clearly poor.
Despite this, was this what you would refer to as the dignity of a lord? The feeling of stability and dignity were both naturally wrapped around his body.
I have no proof of this, but his household probably has a long history.
He definitely didn’t ascend into nobility abruptly.

An amicable air flowed between the people on the baronet’s side and our side.
As I expected, money was always a useful tool when trying to smooth things over.

“So you are from the Double Ax Mercenary Brigade? You are surprisingly gentlemanly.”

“We are not a mercenary brigade.
We are simply pilgrims who have wandered here for the sake of the Goddess.”

“Pardon me.
I misspoke.”

We sat in a corner of the square and shared pleasant conversations with the villagers.

It was midday.
It would only be cold if we went indoors now, so it was better to enjoy the warm sunlight outside.
I’m not sure where they had brought it out from, but a large, wooden table was placed in the center of the square.
People from the lord’s side and the leading members of our group were seated at that table.

“Your bodies must be stiff after traveling such a long distance.
It may not be much, but I do hope you enjoy yourselves.”

Bowls of soup were provided straight from a large pot.
It must have just been made as the stew was thick.
They didn’t have any white bread, but bread that was sufficiently soft enough was piled up like a small hill.
Our group ate the bread and stew heartily.
Adding to this, a warm honey wine was also passed around.
This was definitely enough to be a banquet.

An unseasonable festival was held.

Baronet Bercy provided free bread and soup for his village people as well.
The elderly and children who had remained indoors gathered at the square as well.
The younger people took off their armor and started chatting away as they shared glasses of beer.

“Drink! Drink! Drink!”

“Uhahaha! I shall show you the magnificence of Greenbeard dwarves!”

There was no better place for outsiders to mix in with others than a festival.
The mercenaries quickly mingled with the villagers.
People cheered loudly and a competition to see who was the best drinker soon began.
Dwarves were people who may run away in battle, but never did when it came to alcohol.
The village became heated underneath the warm winter sun.

“Thank you.
We were able to end the winter pleasantly thanks to you.”

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Baronet Bercy drank his wine.
His voice sounded a bit more relaxed thanks to the alcohol.
He was giving off a rather gloomy air.

“Our land may be small, but it is rich.
The ruling household has never changed in the past 200 years.
We had prepared enough provisions beforehand to endure the famine.
Despite this, we could not prevent people from dying of starvation…….”

“These are rough times.”

I paid a silent tribute.
Once I, as a priest, paid a silent tribute, the other people seated at the table did the same.
It almost felt like I had become a leader.

Huh? This is surprisingly fun.
I should make use of this more often.
Being a priest wasn’t just a boring job, huh?

“I tried to prevent as many deaths as possible, but seven people died in this village alone.
If you include the people who were lost due to the Black Death this year, then it would be about 23 people.
Do you believe it? 23 people died in a single year.
We did not lose this many people in the previous battle.
That is right, this much is…….”

Baronet Bercy shook his head.
It felt like he was shaking off the exhaustion that was matting down his blonde hair.

He was worried about his people and he did his best to prevent losses.
He was in anguish for the unavoidable losses that were incurred.
He was even willing to receive political pressure by preventing our group from entering the village.

Well, the assets of the village were by proxy Bercy’s assets as the territory lord.
It was probably a lord’s duty to protect their assets at all costs.
In terms of protecting his assets, Baronet Bercy was exceptional.

There were many people in the world who couldn’t even protect their assets, after all.

“To be honest, the atmosphere in the village was the worst…….”

“Pardon me, but you mentioned a previous battle.
Was there a war nearby?”

According to the way the Baronet spoke, a battle happened not too long ago.
If there was a recent battle, then it could have been a conflict between royalists and republicans.
I can’t let this information slide.
However, what the Baronet told us was a lot more realistic.

“Indeed.
A bunch of bandits had taken up arms nearby.
It happened only four months ago.”

“Bandits…….”

“According to early reports, it was a group of about twenty bandits.
I intended to work together with the other lords nearby to subjugate them; however, when the battle commenced, it turned out that they had fifty people and not twenty.
Can you imagine it? A group of fifty bandits had settled down in this small region.”

Baronet Bercy pressed his finger against his temple.

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“I found out later that there were also farmers among them.
Those damned gentlemen next door could not manage their own people properly.
Their people could not endure their hunger any longer and became bandits.”

Baronet Bercy’s tone became fierce for the first time.
The Baronet was probably the only lord in the area that did his job properly.
Although it felt a little excessive from my perspective.

The Baronet managed a portion of the Empire Road.
He basically had his foot in Frankia’s commerce supply line.
The lodging fee paid by merchant groups alone was enough to put his territory on a completely different level than other regions.

There was an extremely few numbers of territories that could bask in such fortune…….
Territories that were capable of enduring both a plague and a famine were almost nonexistent.
The Baronet’s complaint was a bit irrational.
Well, I do understand his frustration since he had lost his precious people to a group of bandits that had formed irrationally.

“The situation is the same everywhere.
There were numerous lords who had to enter military service because of the accursed Crescent Alliance.
A plague, a famine, and a great war, there has only been bad news after bad news recently.”

Ah, I’m the one who caused that.
Sorry.

On another note, the wine tasted great.
Mm.
It might be because of all the honey that was added, but it had a deep flavor.
How splendid…….
Did they have a good grape orchard nearby? I should buy some later.
Most of the wine in Habsburg tasted like expired vinegar, so they were never worth drinking.

I’m not expecting something on the same level of the Year 505 Baler Wine that I gave to Barbatos, but, at the very least, I wanted a wine that I didn’t have to dilute heavily with water…….
I’m a Demon Lord, so I don’t need that much sleep or food.
I would be satisfied with a wine that could satisfy my tongue.
Mhm.
This is great.
It still tastes good after the first sip…….

Jeremi was smiling brightly next to me for some reason.
She knows the complete truth about the Crescent Alliance.
She was probably itching to tell the Baronet that ‘this person right here was the very culprit behind that accursed Crescent Alliance’.

Keep quiet, Jeremi.
It would only trouble the Baronet if he were told something like that.
Etiquette is something that exists in the world.
Quietly letting this pass would be the most courteous thing you could do for the other party.
You need to learn how to be considerate.
Learn from my example.

The Baronet didn’t notice us exchange glances as he raised his voice.

“Now the people up above are trying to start a civil war.
Such absurdity.
Do you understand why I said I did not care about both the royalists and the republicans?”

“Of course.”

Yup, I understand very well that the people from every area except for here are on the verge of bursting.
I will continue to work hard as the Rank 71 Demon Lord.

I moistened my throat with the wine and smiled gently.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter.
Hm, I don’t really have much to comment about this chapter.
It really is just a continuation of the last one with Dantalian scheming.
I will admit that I’ve been taking a liking to Jeremi more.
Maybe she really will become a core member to Dantalian’s group.

Welp, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.