Fun Territory Defense of the Easy-Going Lord - Chapter 132
To the battlefield?
Although I had been focusing on the development of his territory, I then received a letter from the king.
The Royal Family confirmed the success of the defense of Count Ferdinand’s territory; Jiernetta Kingdom had significantly fallen back from the front line. Now was the right time to launch an attack while the invading army returned to Jiernetta Kingdom’s territory after the defeat. The nobles in the north gathered all their forces and marched into Jiernetta Kingdom’s territory in a short, decisive battle. However, only Baron Van Nay Fertio, who lend some knights, would not be participating in the counterattack.
After reading that much, I let out a sigh of relief. Good, good, that was a relief. It seems that the King remembered my request not to go to war.
With that in mind, I continued reading, but the contents gradually begin to contain disturbing words.
“…In executing a counterattack against the Jiernetta Kingdom, we will gather the various knight orders at a designated location to increase our strength…huh? If we take out our Knights, their defenses will be stretched thin… will that be okay? After that… the designated base shall be Baron Van Nay Fertio’s territory…?”
Hmm? What did they mean with that last sentence?
I wasn’t certain, so I read the letter again.
“Oh, looking at it carefully, the date is also written. Well, exactly one week from now, Baron Van Nay Fertio, gather at Seat Village…”
Hmm? I was getting more and more confused?
What would such a large army do to my tiny territory with so few Knights, the nobles with territories near the Jiernetta Kingdom alone number in the tens of thousands of Knights. Even if more than half of them were left to protect their respective fiefdoms, 20,000 or 30,000 would surely be gathered. In addition, the kingdom’s army would be added to that.
“…At least 50,000? Eh, it’s no problem if they can stay in the meadow by the road…oh, no, we have to think about food and supplies.”
Confused, I rack my brain about what to do if what I was reading was true.
I mean, this was a chance to expand my territory for the first time in a long time. No doubt the King and other heavyweights would accompany him. If that was the case, we would have to entertain the King and his entourage. What a hassle.
“I’ve been had… It’s true, I won’t be leaving my territory, and I won’t be the first to be on the front line, but I feel like I’m in the most troublesome position…”
I put the letter on my desk and looked up to the heavens involuntarily. ‘You’re going to make me do this, your Majesty’.
As I was thinking this, Till, who made me a cup of tea, tilted her head in front of the desk.
“Van-sama, you have a wrinkle between your eyebrows…what happened?”
She asked me, and I let out a sigh as I shook the letter I held in one hand.
“Dino-san has been making unreasonable requests again…for now, let’s start preparing various things tomorrow.”
“Dino-san…isn’t that His Majesty the King! You can’t say his name so casually!”
At first, Till looked at me after hearing my words with a blank expression on her face, but soon her voice turned confused and she became flustered. Laughing at her appearance, I told her the contents of the letter.
“It looks like they are going to counterattack Jiernetta Kingdom, but for some reason they will attack from my territory instead of Scudetto. Well, thank goodness I don’t have to go to the battlefield, but instead, over 50,000 soldiers are coming to this small territory. And with the King and other nobles…oh no, even Daddy is coming…! Ah, what a hassle!”
As I was struggling with my head, remembering various unnecessary things, Till also started to panic.
“The Marquis is coming as well? Oh my heavens! We have to hurry up and clean up even more than usual and prepare the finest ingredients!”
“Huh, that’s what you were worried about?”
Till’s words made me unintentionally say something questionable. Then Till’s eyes lifted as she looked at me.
“It’s important! It has been more than a year since Van-sama left the Marquis’ house! Now is the time to show off how much Van-sama has developed the territory! Let’s all show how great Seat Village has become!”
Till was on fire like never before. With that in mind, I called out to Camsin, who was standing behind me as my escort.
“Till is getting a little too motivated…”
I said in a small voice, and Camsin laughed as he let out a sigh and nodded.
“I know the feeling. I also want to show Jalpa-sama that Van-sama is in a much better situation than he expected.”
“Oh, really…? Well, fine.”
Camsin’s words made me feel an indescribable itch, and I thought about what I would do starting tomorrow.
“…Now then, for starters, we should place bulk orders with the Bellrango Chamber of Commerce and the Merchant’s Guild for food, seasonings, clothing, and armaments. At the same time, I’ll send a request to the Adventurers’ Guild to procure wood and select some tasty magical beasts to take down. After that, we can’t build walls or anything, but we’ll need at least lodging facilities along the roads. Oh, and a treatment center in case anyone is injured?”
Mentioning each of the necessary items in turn, they list them on the paper in their hands. But the more I looked at it, the more difficult it appears. A week was too short a time to prepare.
They should be based in a place with ample supplies and facilities, like a large city around the capital of Marquis Fertio. No, since Scudetto was already cleaned up, that place should have been the obvious place to use.
“…Haah, this is troublesome.”
I muttered to myself as I looked at my notes.