Dream Life Chapter 28.2: “The Shadow of Demons”

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“… No … Well, I don’t think so, but Demonfolk should be able to use them as their own familiars.” (Matt)

　According to my father, among the demonfolk living east of the Aquila Mountains, the ogres, orcs, and goblins can be used as familiars. When they invaded the Kingdom of Caum, a mountainous state in the southern part of the country, ogres, orcs, and goblins invaded at the same time.

“Yes, that’s true. It is possible… but this place is 300 kilometers away from Quaedam Tenebre, the land where the demonfolk live, and, and even if they were demonfolk, it would be impossible for them to cross Aquila, which is extremely cold.” (Govan)

　According to my grandfather’s opinion, it was highly unlikely that the demonfolk would venture into this area.

　My father nodded to that opinion, “That’s right.”

(Whether there were demonfolk or not, there was no doubt that there were footprints of orcs and ogres. It is not impossible that the orcs were moving after something and the ogre was chasing after it. Either way, there is no doubt that they were headed north of the Sirin River. At the end of the Sirin River is the city of Kilnarc…) (Zack)

“I understand. Then all we can do is report this information to the appropriate authorities. By the way, who in Kilnarc do we give this information to?” (Zack)

“ Yes. There are no lords in Kilnarc, so it would be the chief and the head of the garrison. It might be better to inform the guild branch chiefs directly as well.” (Govan)

　Kilnarc is a city in the Caelum Empire, but it is a self-governing city under the umbrella of the City-State Union. Therefore, although there is someone called their lord, he is not a resident of the city.

“Then we should warn Kilnarc immediately. Preferably in using Grandfather’s name.” (Zack)

　Grandfather could think of no reason to use his own name.

“We will warn them, but why my name? Why not just use my lord Matt’s name?” (Govan)

“I listen to the conversation you mentioned earlier, therefore, I think it would be better to announce that the information was approved by Grandfather, a veteran, who has fought many battles.” (Zack)

　My father nodded, “Yes. That would be better.”

　It was decided that Nicholas would be the messenger to Kilnarc. My grandfather wrote a letter addressed to the mayor, which he gave to Nicholas.

“After handing it over to the mayor, you must also speak directly to the guilds. In particular, tell the Adventurer’s Guild to be on the alert.” (Govan)

　After Nicholas departed, the village patrol stepped up patrols around the village.

　The next day, the evening of February 19.

　Nicholas returned from Kilnarc.

　He reported that the chief and the head of the garrison were skeptical, but they decided to increase their alertness just in case.

　He also spoke to the branch heads of the guilds but received no positive response. The answer came back that they too would release information just in case, but that they did not intend to take any proactive action.

　After that, the howling of wolves could be heard from Mount Schiehallion in the north, but March came and went without any major changes.

　We heard from a peddler who comes to the village once every half month, but there were no reports of orcs or ogres attacking the streets or the town.

　Gradually, the people of the village lost their sense of wariness.

　March 15.

　Grandfather also thought that the possibility of a large-scale demon attack was low and lifted the village patrol’s scouting. The village returned to normal life.

　By that time, the snow had begun to melt and farm work gradually began.

　In Castle Hill, too, the squires began to prepare the fields for plowing.

　The compost made from the toilet improvements, which had been successful in the fall, was to be tested in the fields of Nicholas’ house.

　A further test of the heavy-duty wheeled plow, made during the winter, was to be carried out in Hector’s field.

　The prototype plow was made from parts of a wagon, so it was more slender than I had expected.

　However, when we tried it, we found that it dramatically improved work efficiency, and the field was plowed in a fraction of the time it takes to plow by hand.

　My father watched and released an impressed sigh with the results.

“It’s plausible when you say it, but when you see it, it’s more than I expected.” (Matt)

　I know about the farm tillers in my original world, so I’m not that impressed.

“That’s right. I think it’s enough to identify the points for improvement and introduce them to the village. It’s enough to have one in each district. What are your plans for the operation method?” (Zack)

　My father asked me, “Operation method? What do you mean?”

“What will you do with this heavy-duty wheeled plow? Will it be leased out by the lord, or will it be shared by each district? If it is to be leased, how much will the rental fee be, and if it is to be shared, who will manage it…” (Zack)

　I explained everything I could think of.

(I’m not sure if there is an organization like an agricultural cooperative that could manage it, but I don’t know the relationships in this village well enough yet. (It would be better and fairer if the Lockhart family, the lords of the village, leased it out, but my father would probably rent it out cheaply…) (Zack)

“I’m sorry, I have no idea about that. You and Nicholas can go ahead with it in whatever way you think best.” (Matt)

　My father was not in a position to do anything about it, so he left it to me and Nicholas.

　I had a feeling that was going to happen, so I said, “Okay. I’ll make a plan as usual,” I said, chuckling inside.

　I had a plan in mind.

　For the time being, the items would be loaned out as the property of the lord, and the loan fee would be an amount that would allow for depreciation of the manufacturing costs. However, since the monetary economy is not well developed in this village, the payment in kind is also acceptable.

　The problem is storage and maintenance. The equipment cannot be left out in the open and must be cared for after use. If the area under cultivation is to be expanded in the future, we would like to have one machine in each district. If this is the case, we will need space to store four to five units.

　The other question is how to set the useful life of the machines. We are thinking of three years, but since we have no experience in this area, we are not sure.

The production cost was three gold coins, or 300 Crona (= 300,000 yen). The cost was lower than expected because the parts of the wagon were used.

　Assuming a depreciation period of three years, the company should be able to recover 100 C per year. If the number of operating days per year is considered to be 100 days, the cost would be 1 C per day, and if 50 days, the cost would be 2 C per day.

　In the case of physical delivery, I don’t know the market price, so I will leave it to Nicholas.

　I call Nicholas and explain the storage location, maintenance issues, and rental rates.

“ The storage area should be built in the East District. It would be more convenient to be close to the workshop of Bertram, the blacksmith, and Craig, the woodworker. We would have to appoint someone reliable to be in charge of maintenance. I have an idea in mind, and I’ll talk it over with…” (Nicholas)

　I was quite impressed by how he could give an answer immediately and just said, “As expected of Nicholas.”

“Rent is 2 C per half-day if there’s a horse included. If you don’t need a horse, 1 C per half-day is enough.” (Nicholas)

　I was under the impression that the rent was per day, so I asked, “You’re renting by the half-day?”

“Yes. From what I have seen in Hector’s field, half a day is enough for a small field. Besides, the time of year for plowing is the same everywhere, so it’s better for everyone if we use it as efficiently as possible.” (Nicholas)

　If the crops are the same, the time of year for sowing is also the same. The sunlight may make a slight difference, but in this village, they do not cultivate with that much attention to detail.

　According to Nicholas’ explanation, if the work is done every other day, the farmers would have to wait for the other farmers because they would have to spend a whole day leisurely doing the work that can be done in half a day. If that is the case, he said, it would be better to do it half a day at a time and turn it around more efficiently.

(As expected of Nicholas, he understood the situation of the village very well. I guess if you don’t know what’s going on in the field, you can only come up with big-headed ideas. I should try to see the situation a little more myself. …I’ll leave this to Nicholas.) (Zack)

“Of course. I’ll leave the rent payment to you, too. I can’t even imagine what it would be like.” (Zack)

　In the end, I threw it all at Nicholas, just like my father.

　When he told the villagers that he would let them see the operation at Castle Hill and rent it out to those who wanted to use it, quite a few of them showed interest.

　Apparently, the reforms that Nicholas is making, that is, the reforms that I am making, are being accepted by the villagers.

　If this works, we can make the fields bigger. If we can increase the wheat harvest, we can make more alcohol, and if it becomes a specialty product, the village will be richer. Now if we can reduce the child mortality rate, we should be able to increase the population.

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