Chapter 47: Exchange (1)
Kyle Ragnar stood at the entrance of the Monster Mountain Range after urgently finishing all the matters that needed to be handled.
He encountered the sentries of the Ork Tribe, a race that had settled near the entrance and formed a settlement.
“The Ork Lord. I wish to meet him.”
“Wait here.”
One orc, speaking in awkward Continental Common, entered the mountain range to relay Kyle’s request.
Watching that figure, Kyle soon shifted his gaze toward the mountain peak.
Even though he had joined hands with the Ork Tribe, it did not mean that all the monsters that still needed to be dealt with had disappeared.
It was merely that, with the appearance of the Ork Lord, the monsters had instinctively hidden themselves.
‘The monsters that have hidden themselves will surely scatter throughout the Northern Territories.’
It was an obvious fact that a bitterly cold wind would soon sweep across the north.
In the end, depending on how that wind was endured, the fate of the north would be decided.
While Kyle was lost in deep thought, the Ork Lord Yul revealed himself.
“You disappeared for a while, which caused some trouble.”
“I had matters I needed to take care of, so I was away from Ragnar for a short time.”
“Did you achieve what you sought?”
“Of course. I came to tell you that I was grateful you waited while I was gone,”
“Since we have formed an alliance between Ragnar and the tribe, we should also provide something in return.”
At Yul’s words, Kyle nodded and looked into the depths of the mountain range.
“What of the movements of the Lords?”
“No one has moved yet. Still, they must surely know that our tribe and Ragnar have made contact.”
“They’re weighing their options. Or perhaps they’re still in the preparation stage.”
“That may be so. They might even be preparing to push against the Lizardman Tribe, which, like us, stands neutral.”
However, the reality was that the Ragnar Territory could not immediately participate in the struggles among the Lords.
“The family’s situation is far from good. Externally, the Royal Family is keeping Ragnar in check, and internally, countless problems are rising to the surface.”
“Are the internal problems perhaps related to money?”
“Funds are an issue, but the biggest problem is that troops will have to be withdrawn.”
“In any case, the size of your forces shouldn’t be such a major concern for you, should it?”
“If I stayed only within the mountain range, it wouldn’t be. But if trouble arises outside, I’ll ultimately have to leave this place again and move into the continent’s interior.”
Of course, if the damage suffered by the Ork Tribe were recovered, the number of soldiers would not need to be such a concern.
The problem was that Kyle was not in a position where he could remain only at Chaplin Castle.
Yul reluctantly nodded slightly.
“Is that so.”
“I will keep my promise. Since I cannot remain here, Seros will stay and cooperate with the Ork Tribe.”
“By Seros, do you mean the strong human who clashed with me back then?”
“That’s right. Even if an unexpected variable arises, he will be able to buy enough time until I arrive.”
“It seems you must move again soon.”
“There is still sufficient time. From now on, we should prepare for exchanges between Ragnar and the Ork Tribe.”
“Exchange, you say…… what is it that you desire from the tribe?”
“Familiarity is needed. For assimilation with humans to proceed smoothly, there must be time to see and understand the tribe’s culture.”
Yul met Kyle’s eyes without avoiding them and nodded in agreement with his words.
In any case, there was no other tribe that would support the Ork Tribe.
The Lizardman Tribe, which held the same neutral stance, had no leeway.
Though relations with the Ork Tribe were not bad, the Lizardman Tribe was also pouring all its strength into withstanding the fierce offensives of the Lords.
After finishing his thoughts, Yul spoke quietly toward Kyle.
“How about this?”
“Speak. If it’s a good idea, I should hear it.”
“How about the humans undergoing the Trial of the Warrior?”
The Trial of the Warrior was the test required to become an Ork warrior.
The Ork Tribe was belligerent and fond of battle by nature.
And the Ragnar Family, whose members took up the sword from a young age to protect themselves, shared many similarities.
At the Ork Lord Yul’s proposal, Kyle also thought it was not a bad idea.
“That’s a decent plan.”
“Originally, warriors often interact with one another and build bonds while fighting.”
“Good.”
“Then when shall we set the schedule?”
“Not yet. Seros has not arrived, and there are many things that still need to be put in order.”
Among them, the most important issue was troop strength.
Of the thirty thousand soldiers concentrated at the front lines, about ten thousand belonged to the Ragnar Family.
The remaining twenty thousand were troops from the Northern Territories, and they would ultimately have to return to their homelands.
The forces that had survived here were elite enough to be called a hardened army.
The experience gained from facing monsters with physical abilities far superior to humans, along with their robust stamina, left nothing lacking in calling them an elite force.
‘I must send them back to strengthen the northern territorial armies.’
Only then could they prepare for the monster waves that would occur in the future.
Kyle looked past Yul’s shoulder and spoke.
“May I ask how many warriors the Ork Tribe has?”
“About six thousand. Due to the repeated conflicts among the Lords, we had no choice but to lose many warriors. However, if our tribe is given ten years like this, we could increase that number to over ten thousand.”
The advantage of orcs as monsters was their unacceptably rapid reproductive rate.
Naturally, the Ork Tribe, with a similar physical structure, was no exception.
While it took humans seventeen to eighteen years to reach adulthood, orks reached maturity in just eight years.
Their growth rate was clearly different compared to humans, and their reproductive ability was also exceptional, so if given sufficient time, the Ork Tribe could quickly recover its strength.
“Then how about allowing at least the women and children of the Ork Tribe to stay somewhere safe?”
“Hmm…….”
“I’ll offer the outskirts of Chaplin Castle. Or I can help them settle on a mountain close to Chaplin Castle.”
If they remained in the mountain range and were suddenly ambushed by the forces of the Lords, the Ork Tribe would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
That was why Kyle proposed letting part of the Ork Tribe stay at Chaplin Castle or in a nearby mountain.
Above all, if they had decided to join hands and move forward together, he had to show good faith first.
Yul stared at him intently.
Through Kyle’s eyes, he could tell that there was no ulterior motive.
It was simply pure goodwill.
He was presenting a plan for the preservation of an allied tribe.
“……But the tribe cannot leave the mountain range.”
“If the Ragnar Family permits it, you can. From the moment we first met, didn’t you propose an alliance with Ragnar for the sake of your tribe’s safety?”
“That’s right. Warriors do not shy away from battle, but children and women who lack combat ability must be protected.”
“You don’t need to worry. I don’t intend to take them as hostages. I simply wish to ease the concerns of the Ork Tribe as an ally.”
Perhaps bringing the Ork Tribe to Chaplin Castle would be the first step toward exchange.
There needed to be a way to change the perception of Ragnar’s people, who viewed monsters as objects of vigilance or outright enemies.
And the same was true for the Ork Tribe.
From the equation that humans were enemies, it was necessary to create the perception that, at the very least, Ragnar’s people were allies.
“I will gratefully accept your proposal. Perhaps this, too, may be a method for exchange.”
“Ragnar will also send knights to where the Ork Tribe resides. It must be fair on both sides.”
At Kyle’s proposal, Yul nodded and extended his solid hand.
With this, the alliance between Ragnar and the Ork Tribe opened its curtain.
Kyle, clasping Yul’s hand, formed a faint smile.
“Let’s work well together from now on.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
After meeting Yul and returning to Chaplin Castle, Kyle found Branch Head Raina waiting at the castellan’s mansion.
“What brings you here?”
“There’s something I wanted to tell the Grand General. Are you busy?”
“If it’s something urgent, I can make time.”
“I think we should discuss matters related to the development of Chaplin Castle. Since you’re the final decision-maker at present.”
At Raina’s words, Kyle nodded and headed toward the audience chamber.
Unlike before, when the corridor leading to the audience chamber had been filled with members of the Saie Family, it now felt desolate.
After Viscount Saie, who had been the castellan, departed for the lord’s castle, the mansion was practically emptied.
Entering the audience chamber after passing through the empty corridor, Kyle prepared to brew tea himself.
“I’ll do it, Grand General.”
“You are a guest.”
“Even so, it wouldn’t be right for the Grand General to be doing menial work.”
Raina took the kettle from him and placed it atop the stove.
Soon after brewing the tea, she set a teacup down in front of Kyle and took her seat.
“I heard that when the Saie Family left, even the servants working at the mansion and the steward departed as well.”
“That’s right.”
“It seems you’ll need personnel to manage the mansion and assist the new castellan. So I was hoping you would hire me as the steward of this mansion.”
It was an unexpected proposal.
Raina had come here to establish a Rapid Merchant Guild branch and set up plans.
Yet, at her sudden statement that she wanted to become a steward, Kyle set down the teacup he was holding.
“You are the branch head of the Rapid Merchant Guild.”
“I don’t think the branch head position suits me very well.”
“Have you looked around Chaplin Castle? It’s a castle with nothing in it.”
“But it’s also a castle that will change greatly from now on.”
“……Why do you think so?”
“A place that will become the second city of the Ragnar Territory. A place where iron ore is transported and merchants will gather—being the steward who manages the castellan’s mansion there is something worth aspiring to.”
Someone who could deal with the influx of merchants and lead favorable negotiations with them.
She believed that a person who understood the nature of merchants should become the steward of the castellan’s mansion.
“But Merchant Guild Head Tade won’t permit it.”
“Before coming here, he already told me to do as I wished.”
Before coming here, Tade had gathered the branch heads and made a declaration shocking enough to throw the guild into turmoil.
When they heard that he had been offered the position of elder of the Ragnar Territory, the branch heads vehemently protested against it.
Merchants, they argued, were a group that moved freely and should not belong anywhere.
However, Tade showed a firm attitude, saying it was a decision that could no longer be overturned.
“That’s what the guild head said. That I didn’t need to remain with the Rapid Merchant Guild, and that anyone who wished to leave could leave.”
“Is it because the guild head is becoming an elder of Ragnar?”
“Merchants are free, but they’re also stubborn. They’re people who set their own unwritten rules and refuse to stray from them.”
“It sounds like the branch head thinks differently.”
At Kyle’s question, Raina lifted the corners of her lips, raised her teacup, and carefully took a sip.
Even if she acted relaxed now, the person before her was Kyle Ragnar, the Grand General of the Ragnar Territory.
Perhaps this conversation itself, answering his questions, was a test.
“When generations change, you have to move with them. Old-fashioned thinking will eventually become a factor that slows development.”
“…….”
“I want to try a new challenge. I want to step outside the fence of the Rapid Merchant Guild and work in a new environment, gaining experience.”
At Raina’s proposal, Kyle crossed his arms and pretended to ponder.
It was a good proposal.
He had already been worrying about staffing the mansion.
‘Branch Head Raina understands the nature of merchants well and has experience. She’s certainly a suitable talent for a position that will require meeting countless merchants and negotiating with them.’
After organizing his thoughts, Kyle looked at Raina and nodded.
“State the amount of wages you desire.”
“One gold per month. When I worked as a branch head, I earned an average of three gold, but I can bear about two gold as an investment in my future.”
“The wage will be three gold per month. However, if you fail to properly demonstrate your abilities as a steward, I will reduce your pay without mercy.”
“I’ll do my best! Thank you!”
“Take this.”
Kyle took out a small ruby from his clothes and handed it over.
Raina accepted the ruby and looked at Kyle with a bewildered expression.
“This is…….”
“Convert that ruby into cash. And use that money as wages for the personnel you’ll hire for the mansion.”