It was a few days later that Ramon and his groups arrived from Nambonan City.
When I entered the large room of the castle, all the people involved had gathered there.
[It was faster than I expected.]
[Yes, Young Master. We arranged for a reinforced carriage.]
When I called out to the Nambonan group, one of the Quordenze civil officers responded.
The carriages driven by the Lord-class coaches are also called reinforced carriages or strengthened carriages. Because they can move while strengthening the horses with magic, a reinforced carriage provides a much faster and more comfortable land journey than a regular horse-drawn carriage. A Lord, however, is a valuable human resourc e, so it cannot be used casually, whether the coachman is a commoner or a member of the knight family.
Well, for nobles, a reinforced carriage is the default. When someone in my position talks about a horse-drawn carriage, they are basically referring to a reinforced carriage.
[I didn't mean to call them in such a hurry...but were you available?]
The Quordenze family has a wealth of Lord-class personnel compared to other families, so normally we don't have to be so stingy with our use of it, but now a considerable number of people have been sent out to take control of Spierzeig territory. I didn't think we would have enough time to move the Nambonan delegation.
[No, we have hired some.]There are also Lords within the territory who do not belong to the Quordenze family. Like the commoner Lord-class such as Lupetta and Melgin.
Large cities tend to attract such freelance workers, and Nambonan City is no exception. No, on the contrary, the number has been steadily increasing since the annexation of Quordenze territory. The fact that they don't have to worry about being attacked by the Quordenze family is a big factor, but even more so, they seem to like the free spi rit of Nambonan City.
It is said that the coachman hired for this trip was one of the Lord-class commoners who drifted here because of this attraction. Demand for reinforced carriages seems to be high among Nambonan merchants, and it was probably convenient for them to make money.
[I see. It's as lively as ever.]
It's easier to warm up the atmosphere by starting with small talk rather than jumping straight to the main topic. I also wanted to refocus my efforts on the work I had done u p until now. I decide to continue the conversation as is.
[Not only did you all do support work during Operation Jaw, but you also worked hard at the signing ceremony. Not only I but my father highly rated Nambonan City's contri bution to Quordenze.]
The Nambonan delegations straightened their posture and accepted the words of praise.
By the way, this evaluation is not limited to me and my father, but is shared by everyone involved in Quordenze. None of the Quordenze civil officers present had a negativ e expression on their faces.
[Thanks to your collective efforts, we were able to arrange good lodgings. The five families' impressions weren't bad either.]
There have been no complaints from the Sylopea family, the Evenafis family, the Galiana family, the Nongite family, and the Spierzeig family regarding their stay in Nambon an. When I mentioned how difficult it must have been to rent a mansion from a wealthy man, all the Nambonan staff smiled bitterly.
[No, it is actually not as difficult as Mayor think.]
[Oh, is that so?]
[Many people raised their hands to help. It's considered a great contribution to the city and an honor.]
When the city began to move toward leasing the house, it seems that a number of people with a keen ear came to offer their homes one after another. Of course, it wasn't because they wanted to drink the leftover water from a bath used by a noble princess. The goal was to obtain the status of having a mansion so grand that a nobleman coul d use it as temporary lodging, and fierce competition broke out among those who owned mansions.
Although they are commoners, the wealthy and large merchants have a certain amount of influence in the city. The selection process was particularly troublesome for locall y-hired city employees.
[...If that was the case, there might not have been a need to give the reward money.]
A slightly stingy idea came up, but this was immediately denied by Quordenze civil officers. It seems that the reason why he seems to be a stingy family who is reluctant to spend money on things that involve other noble families is related to the appearance of the Quordenze family.
I said it without thinking, but it's probably true. Besides, Nambonan merchants are people who wander around here and there, so it would be a problem if they spread a stra nge reputation.
[So, have there been any changes in the city since the ceasefire?]
While we were chatting, I asked about the current situation in Nambonan City, and Ramon said that they are basically in victory celebration mode.
[What is noteworthy is that since peace has been achieved, the number of new visitors to the city has increased.]
The autonomous system of Nambonan City was a dream of some commoner serfs, but many did not approach it due to fear of conflict between the Quordenze family and t he Spierzeig family. Nobody wants to get caught in the crossfire after all.
However, with the end of the war, that danger has disappeared for the time being. As a result, a new group of people who had previously given up on visiting are now flowi ng in.
[I've been hearing about drifters coming to Nambonan City for a while now...]
[Yes. Population growth due to drifters coming in is still a major issue. However, this time there are some things that are slightly different.]
Until now, the majority of people had basically come to Nambonan City out of necessity. Perhaps they had no choice but to do so because their hometown was devastated by the war, or perhaps they sought out a place where there was money to escape poverty.
However, this time, the number of visitors that came in voluntarily has increased more. What this means is that the proportion of people who can afford to travel or who hav e a clear sense of purpose has increased. Specifically, these include wealthy people from other territories, powerful merchants, and intellectuals.
[That's not bad.]
It may sound like an innocuous way to say it, but even among the commoners, these are the people of the territory who have the best taste. The more you can snatch it up, the better it will be. In addition, the increase in the number of intellectuals and other diverse human resources will be a plus for Nambonan City.
Ramon seemed to be thinking the same thing, and nodded in affirmation of my words.
[As for the breakdown, there are still many people from the south. I heard from several people, and I got the impression that those who had the capacity to do so acted whil e they still had the capacity to do so. Many of them seek permanent residence.]
It seems that the food problem is becoming more serious in the southern part of the continent. The original cause was a bad harvest due to bad weather, but I think that the chaos was exacerbated by the fact that the Quordenze and Spierzeig families were restricting food exports to other territories.
Ramon said that there is currently a very tense atmosphere in the Free Cities. One wrong move could easily ignite the powder keg known as a food shortage and cause it to burst into flames all at once. That area is still a place where conflict is unbearable, so there are bound to be plenty of flashpoints.
[Permanent residence...is it possible?]
Suddenly, an image of Nambonan City, a cluttered area overflowing with people and things, came to mind.
As Ramon has just said, even without this incident, the number of people wishing to immigrate to Nambonan City has been increasing for some time. They were all half-refu gees. Even if the number of people increases from this point on, the question arises as to whether the capacity will be able to accommodate them.
[Honestly, I would say that the situation calls for a fundamental review of urban planning.In particular, I think it is essential to reconsider the city walls.]
[When you say the wall, do you mean the one that is being rebuilt?]
Ramon nodded.
After the annexation of Quordenze territory, the wall that had been built around Nambonan City was removed by the Quordenze family. To be more precise, the building ma terials used for the city walls were dismantled to be used as a front-line base.
As a result, Nambonan City was completely stripped naked, but I thought that would be a cause for concern, so I later issued permission to rebuild the walls. The Nambona n side immediately launched a reconstruction project and began taking action. Although it has not been completed yet, I heard that progress is going well.
[Originally, the walls of Nambonan City were not intended to protect against demonic beasts.]
In short, it was a countermeasure against nobles, but he apparently decided that it would be rude to say it straight. He was careful in choosing his words.
[Right. There doesn't seem to be any Field nearby. There may be some inexperienced monsters wandering in, but I don't think there will be many.]
However, immature demon beasts are still a threat to commoners. Weak ones can be defeated by a group of commoners, but the strong one will be a challenge even for Lo rds of knight families. Depending on the number and size of nearby Fields, the damage caused by such an outbreak will be troublesome, so there are some areas that need to be protected.
Furthermore, there are few Fields in the surrounding area of Nambonan City, and even if they do exist, most of them are small in scale. From such a place, maturity would b e a pipe dream, and only immature demon beasts would be born that are close to being perfect.
In addition, Nambonan City is one of the most important bases in the outer land, and many Quordenze military officers are stationed there. Immature demon beasts aren't a big threat.
[Most of the concerns that existed when the city was planning to rebuild the wall have been resolved through peace.]
The city of Nambonan was rebuilding its walls in preparation for Spierzeig's army. Since that virtual enemy has disappeared this time, the original premise has been overtur ned.
[That might be the case now, but who knows what lies in the future.]
I tried to say it in a slightly mean way, but Ramon continued speaking unfazed.
[I understand. However, I have also heard that the position of Nambonan City will change due to the peace treaty.]
The Nambonan Peace Treaty is not open to the public. However, Nambonan City officials, including Ramon, seem to understand this point. It seems that they have been abl e to properly align their minds with the Quordenze side.
With the cession of Spierzeig territory, Quordenze territory will be expanded. From Nambonan City, it should appear that the boundaries of the territory have moved far awa y. Even if a war were to start with some noble house in the future, it would be unlikely that Nambonan City would suddenly be attacked.
If that's the case, it wouldn't be surprising if people reconsidered whether there was any point in hastily building a strong wall now.
[So?]
[The council proposed canceling the rebuilding of the city wall. By removing the wall, we should further expand the area of the city and greatly stimulate the activities of the citizens.The situation is inefficient due to the lack of land in the city. There were also suggestions that it should be demolished.]
Why did Nambonan City become the densely populated city it is today? This was because the citizens were afraid of the nobility. It must have been psychologically difficult to live outside the strong castle walls. Well, I think that by congregating in one place, various chemical reactions occurred between people, which in turn created the energy that made the city flourish.
[This is another bold thing to think about.]
[Many members of the council believed that this was a turning point.]
However, it seems that the council has now determined that the negative effects of the high population density have become greater. In order for Nambonan City to achiev e further growth, it is necessary to expand the city's territory, in other words, to reach beyond the walls and boost economic activity.
[...I see, it's a turning point indeed.]
Maybe he has some kind of sense of crisis.
Nambonan City is currently receiving attention and special treatment from the Quordenze family, and I think this will probably never change in the future, but that cannot be said for sure. One example is the annexation of one of the continent's largest cities, Othelloria City, and it is entirely possible that the old Amelia public road will be restored in the future. If that happens, the exchange between Newnelly City and Othelloria City that existed before the war period may be revived, and the relative importance of Na mbonan City may decrease.
[That was also the reason why I was able to leave Nambonan so quickly this time.I was in the middle of researching land use outside the city.]
When Othelloria City fell, the question arose among those involved in Nambonan was, "If we were to stop rebuilding the castle walls and expand the city, where should we start?" So city officials decided to start investigating the area around the city. ...It moves so fast it's a little scary. If Nambonan City loses its economic advantage, it will also mean a decline in its voice. They may have thought that protecting their economic power would lead to protecting the current system of autonomy.
In any case, by the time they heard about the plan for a state guesthouse, they were already in a state where they could say, "If that's the case, this area would be a good p lace". The fact that the answer came immediately showed that the land had been surveyed very carefully. Maybe the city and council have almost all agreed to cancel the r econstruction and are just waiting for my stamp?
[...What do you guys think?]
So I turned my attention to the Quordenze civil officers. Since they are government officials working in Newnelly, they should be able to give their opinions from the perspe ctive of the Quordenze family, not Nambonan City. I wanted to ask because if it's just my opinion, I feel like it would be biased toward the Nambonan side.
[I wonder if building a strong wall in Nambonan would be effective considering the amount of effort it would take.]
In other words, it is not worth the cost performance.
[Of course, it would be better to have a wall, but...to be honest, I think we should allocate that extra power to Weldburg. In the end, it will serve as a shield to protect Nambo nan.]
As long as Weldburg City is in Quordenze's hands, there will not be a situation where Nambonan City is suddenly attacked by Spierzeig's army. I wouldn't go so far as to sa y that the Nambonan City wall reconstruction project is pointless, but my honest feeling is that if resources are to be poured into something so inefficient, they should be sp ent elsewhere.
[Unlike Othelloria and Silknoon, Weldburg does not have very good defense facilities. We need to strengthen this as soon as possible. If possible, we would like to demolish the wall that is being rebuilt in Nambonan City and repurpose the building materials. It won't be difficult to transport it by water using the Amelia River.]
The battle suddenly started because I crossed Arknoa, but Weldburg City is originally a city far from the front lines. Compared to Othelloria City, which was Spierzeig's horn e base, and Silknoon City, which was needed to prepare for the threat of the Araf Entente Nobles, its defense capabilities were poor.
However, after Operation Snake's Jaw, Weldburg City became Quordenze territory, and in times of emergency it became a beachhead to cut into the Voistra Plains. It is a c ity that must never be taken back, and improving its defense is an urgent issue.
[Water route through Amelia river...]
Since Nambonan City is located on the Amelia River coast, building materials can be easily transported to the Old Amelia Public Road by simply flowing from upstream to do wnstream. It will take courage and courage to carry it from there to Vairdburg City, but the distance is not that long.
Other civil officers were also nodding, so I'm sure our government officials have roughly the same opinion. If Nambonan City were to continue rebuilding the city wall under these circumstances, it would likely provoke a backlash. Perhaps the Nambonan side had sensed the atmosphere around them.
[I think there is no need to rush the rebuilding of the city wall in terms of efficiency. We should start planning again once the expansion of Nambonan City has stabilized to a certain extent.]
Whether the city will expand faster than we could have imagined, or whether it will grow less than expected is something that neither Nambonan city officials nor council m embers will know. I don't know either.
As the civil officer said, I think it would be better to wait and see until the momentum calms down to a certain extent.
[Certainly, considering efficiency, that may be a good idea, but somehow the city walls of Nambonan City are being dismantled every time.]
I couldn't help but laugh. It's like building a wall to be demolished.
[Well, I think the plan to cancel the reconstruction is extremely reasonable. I'll leave it up to the council to decide whether or not to build a castle wall. Plan accordingly.]
I understood what was being said, so I gave permission. If you do this, they will take care of the rest.
[Understood. Probably, but I think we will proceed in the direction of dismantling the walls and distributing the building materials to Weldburg City.]
Judging by Ramon's matter-of-fact talk about future moves, I felt that most of the adjustments had already been made on Nambonan's side. This is a good thing to do.
[As for the story that goes along with that...]
Then, a Quordenze civil officer asked for permission to speak.
[As with the guest house, there will be more opportunities for people from other households to come in and out of Nambonan City, so strengthening the monitoring system will be an issue.]
The issue of poor security in Nambonan City has been discussed for some time.
Once the guesthouse is completed, the number of visits from nobles from other families will increase. It may be obvious, but it means that the number of visits from accom panying knights and vassal officials will increase. Civil officers argued that countermeasures were essential because the more Lord-class available in the area, the more ac cidents would be likely to occur.
[We should take this opportunity to introduce wide area detection.]
Wide-area detection is a magic technique that detects the movements of people with magic powers, such as Highlords and Lords, over a wide area.
In the case of Highlord, the detection magic that is seriously unleashed is a wide area detection, but for Lords, this is achieved by activating a special detection magic that a ssumes the existence of an auxiliary magic circle. Both of these are simply called wide area detection, but they are completely different in terms of magic technology.
Of course, unless it's a time of war, a Highlord would rarely be in charge of wide-area detection. The mechanism proposed by civil officers is to install an auxiliary magic cir cle.
[Auxiliary magic circle...]
By the way, I can't think of any other suitable word, so I'm translating this as "magic circle" for convenience, but this is not the fantasy technique of writing geometric patter ns on circles that modern Japanese imagine.
The principle is extremely simple.
First, draw a long magic line to create a large ring and surround the area you want to detect. The tip and end of the magic line are at the cut point of the ring. Here comes th e vassal caster. The caster grasps the tips of the magic line with his hands. Once a large circle with the caster in between is completed, the preparations for wide-area dete ction are complete.
The caster flows magic power from his right hand and receives it with his left hand through the magic line. By doing this, the user expands the area of "self" that is conscio us of magic power. In short, they have the illusion that the magic lines are part of their body.
The caster then activates a detection magic that is subtly customized for wide area detection. Then, the detection will work not only around your own body, but also around the magic line. Therefore, when a Highlord or Lord passes near the line of magic, the caster will feel, "Ah...just now, someone with Lord-class magic power has stepped ov er the line of magic and entered the circle".
Even so, it is not possible to grasp the movements of those within the circle of magic lines. The detection waves emitted from the magic line can only reach a very narrow r ange, so it can only detect the comings and goings of people with magic power.
By the way, magic lines cannot be constructed in such a way that they branch off in the middle or multiple lines of magic intersect. However, as long as these conditions ar e met, it will function without any problems, so it is possible to flexibly wire it to match the shape of the area you want to keep watch.
I think the overall image is similar to an elementary school science experiment. It involves connecting a battery and miniature light bulb with enameled wire to make it glow.
[What is the scale of the introduction? If you went to the trouble of proposing it, does it mean it will be introduced throughout the city?]
Since there is a limit to the amount of magic power a single lord can have, there is also a limit to the size of the circle drawn by the magic line.
Newnelly City also does not realize wide area detection with one magic circle, but rather covers the entire area by arranging multiple magic circles. If you want to conduct a wide-area detection of the entire city, you will need to place as many casters as there are magic circles. Of course, in that case, replacements would be needed, so a consi derable number of people would be required.
Nambonan City also needs more than one magic circle if we intend to perform wide-area detection that covers the entire city. We may need to install several.
[Yes, Young Master. It will be worth the trouble.]
Wide area detection using auxiliary magic circles is very convenient, but it cannot be implemented so easily. This is because the initial cost is extremely high.
In fact, Newnelly City is the only city in the territory that has auxiliary magic circles installed throughout the city. Even the economically wealthy Quordenze family is at that I evel. I think that a weak noble family is at a level where they may or may not be able to cover the area around their castle.
The reason for this high cost is the procurement of magic lines.
[Are the gold nuggets ready?]
Among the substances discovered on the Eruo continent, gold is the substance that transmits magic most easily. Because gold has extremely high magical conductivity, it i s possible to delicately transmit even the fluctuations of magic power, allowing the caster to feel a sense of magical unity.
Many scholars have searched for materials that can be used as magic lines, but to date, nothing that can replace gold has been discovered. Magic lines made from other su bstances are completely useless.
By the way, gold has the property of becoming thinner like gold leaf if you strike it. You might think that if you use this skill wisely, you can make a thread-thin gold cable. H owever, if it becomes too thin, there is a problem that the fluctuation of the magical power will be interrupted, or the wire will be disconnected when the magical power is p assed through it. Thinner doesn't necessarily mean better.
Therefore, procuring enough magic power lines to cover the entire city would require an enormous amount of money that even the greatest nobility would be troubled by. The only saving grace is that once installed, it can be used semi-permanently. It seems unlikely that it will break as long as it is used properly. As long as a Highlord doesn't do something stupid like flow magic power into the magic line in full force, there will be no problem The thing to be wary of is theft by the serfs. In Newnelly City, there are pipes dedicated to magic lines running underground under the main street. So if it's secretly dug up and stolen in the middle of the night, it's all over. People without magic powers cannot be detected by wide area detection, so if you really wanted to steal it, you would be able to steal it.
Well, it wouldn't be so easy to steal it because there would be people watching it, and if they were caught, not only would they be sent to the executioner, but also their par ents and children, as well as their relatives. I've heard that they only appear once every few decades in Newnelly City because the risk is too high. Such a thief is an extrem ely rare idiot.
[We've managed to make arrangements.]
According to a civil officer, the entire area of Nambonan City can be covered by at least three magic circles. It seems that they desperately came up with the magic lines pl acements and gold nuggets needed for this purpose.
Depending on the development and expansion of the city, there may be more magic circles in the future, but it would be a good idea to think about that at that time.
[So will this be the second city where the entire city can be monitored?]
[No, there are existing facilities remaining in Othelloria City and Silknoon City. Therefore, Nambonan City will be the fourth.]
[Ah, so there are others.]
It is only natural that Othelloria City, which was the home of the Spierzeig family, is fully equipped with auxiliary magic circles.
The reason why even Silknoon City was fully equipped is that the situation is a little similar to Nambonan city. Silknoon City was the first place that the nobles of the Araf En tente, which was under Spierzeig, would head to when they wanted to visit Othelloria City, and it was like a gateway city. It was a place where a large number of nobles and knights passed through, so I think the Spierzeig family wanted to keep track of their movements.
Furthermore, it can be said that it was quite fortunate that the magic circle remained in Othelloria City and Silknoon City. Normally, the defenders would pull out the magic li ne once they decided to abandon the city. There's no point in going out of your way to leave an expensive gift for your enemy.
Without the speed of Operation Snake's Jaw, the surveillance systems in these two cities would have been in tatters.
[Come to think of it, does the Spierzeig family have any other cities equipped with magic circles?]
[No, just those two cities.]
[When you think about it, the Levios family is truly amazing. Just how much gold did they pour into it...?]
It seems that several large cities, including the Royal Capital Levios, the Ancient Capital Cobovia, and Calahanasso City, are equipped with magic circles.
[The Levios family is blessed compared to other places.]
Gold is produced in rapid succession from the Fields near the Royal Capital. The demon beast Yersinia may explode and cause an unprecedented disaster, but even if you t ake that into account, it can be said that there is a large surplus. I'm so jealous.
[...I can't help but be jealous. My father has already agreed to this, right?]
There's no way the civil officers would collect gold bullion without permission. There must be instructions from my father.
[Indeed, Young Master.]
[In that case, the introduction of the auxiliary magic circle is a matter of decision. Please inform the council.]
The Nambonan delegations were also listening here, so the conversation will go smoothly.
When you have excellent subordinates, it's easy because everything is over with just one word, "Plan well".
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