Novice Alchemist 5-37 part 1

 

Chapter 5-37 : Epilogue Ⅱ (part 1)

 

After handing over the remaining magic stones to me, Kate-san and Iris-san continued talking about what happened after Lorea-chan and I left them in the Great Sea of Trees.

「Even though we split into two groups, it didn’t change the fact that we could draw other people’s attention since there were seven people in each group. We tried to avoid people’s eyes as much as possible by taking a small path in the forest rather than the main street to the Lotze Territory.」(Kate)

「By the way, my group walked a bit far behind Kate’s group, but we all arrived almost at the same time. As soon as we arrived, we moved to the tenement that my father had prepared, and then we talked about the future plan.」(Iris)

Our original plan was to bring Madison-san and his men to the Lotze Territory, and then bring their families when the situation calms down. However, they chose to return to their home, the Town of South Strugg, because Baronet Kirk was captured.

If they chose to move to the Lotze Family instead of going home, then there would be about forty-eight people who moved to the Lotze Family and lived there since most of the army members had a family of four people.

There was even a possibility that it would exceed fifty people if they brought their relatives.

If such a large number of people were to move to the village in the Lotze Territory at once, then there might be a conflict between Madison-san’s army and the villagers since the amount of food was limited.

Taking that into account, they discussed where Madison-san’s army would live with their families, where they could cultivate their own fields, how they should obtain food for themselves, and how they should prepare themselves for winter.

After brainstorming together for a few hours, the plan was finally made. However, they would never have the chance to carry it out because when they were about to take action, they received the report saying that Baronet Kirk had been captured by the government.

「Madison-san and his men were happy because they could return to their homes in South Strugg and continue living there without worries.」(Kate)

「On the other hand, my father and Kate’s dad were a bit disappointed. They had prepared a lot of things for Madison-san and his men so that they could live in the Lotze Territory, but their effort ended in vain.」(Iris)

「However, it wasn’t the only thing that made Adelbert-sama and my dad disappointed.」(Kate)

「That’s right. My father was very happy when I told him that Madison-san and his men might move to his territory. He thought that it would be great if he had excellent men, who were good at fighting, living in his territory.」(Iris)

「My mom said that thanks to Store Owner-san helping Adelbert-sama pay off his debt to Baronet Kirk, the financial situation of the Lotze Family is recovering little by little. Because of that, Adelbert-sama gladly accepted Madison-san and his men to his territory.」(Kate)

「Now that you mention it, certainly, Adelbert-san needs trained soldiers like Madison-san’s army in his territory.」(Sarasa)

Accepting Madison-san and his men might trouble the villagers because of the limited amount of food, but it would only last until they finished building their own farm.

Having trained soldiers living in your territory is totally worth the trouble since they can keep the peace and safety of your territory.

I can understand why Adelbert-san was disappointed because Madison-san and his men chose to return to South Strugg.

「By the way, Store Owner-dono, do you remember you said that you would help them build their farm if they moved to my family’s territory?」(Iris)

「Ah, I did promise them that.」(Sarasa)

「Actually, my father was looking forward to it. He would be happy if the village had more farms.」(Iris)

「After all, the more farmlands a village has, the more prosperous the village will be.」(Kate)

I remember I promised Madison-san that I would help him and his men build their farm after they moved to the Lotze Family, but now that they returned to their home, I no longer have to keep it.

「By the way, it seemed that Madison-san felt sorry for leaving the Lotze Territory after everything that Adelbert-sama had done to help them, so they stayed for a few days longer to help the villagers build a small farmland as gratitude before they left for South Strugg.」(Kate)

「I see.」(Sarasa)

I’m glad that they are considerate people.

Still, they could only build one small farmland since they could only do manual work.

Even though they are strong, trained men, they still needed a lot of effort to make a farm. In this case, physical strength can’t be compared to magic.

Building and cultivating farmlands is way easier with earth magic than manual labor after all.

Honestly, I still kind of feel bad for Adelbert-san. He provided shelter, food, and other necessities to Madison-san and his men, but they chose not to move to his territory.

Should I build a few more farmlands in that village for him?

I folded my arms and thought for a while.

「Hmm… Guys, you know what? I think I will go to the Lotze Territory and make farmlands there when I have free time.」(Sarasa)

「Eh? Even though Madison-san and his men chose not to move there?」(Iris)

「Yup.」(Sarasa)

「Are you sure? You don’t have to, you know?」(Iris)

「I know, but I kinda feel bad for your father. Besides, Madison-san and his men took refuge in your father’s territory partly because of me.」(Sarasa)

「Well, if you insist. I’m sure my father will be delighted!」(Iris)

I nodded at Iris-san who smiled at me happily.

I had never been in the Lotze Territory and I always wanted to visit Iris-san’s mansion at least once.

I would also like to meet Iris-san and Kate-san’s siblings.

Therefore, I think it’s a good opportunity to go there.

「Is there anything else to report?」(Sarasa)

「Hmm, I think that was all.」(Iris)

「I see. You guys went to South Strugg to send Madison-san and his men home before coming here, right? How was the situation there?」(Sarasa)

「Everything was normal. There didn’t seem to be any particular change even though Baronet Kirk had been captured. Right, Kate?」(Iris)

「Yeah. According to Madison-san’s friend who is also a local soldier, it seems that the deputy official is currently in charge of governing the city.」(Kate)

「I see.」(Sarasa)

「Phew. I’m glad to hear that.」(Lorea)

Hearing the good news from Kate-san, Lorea-chan let out a sigh of relief and stroked her chest.

Her father, Daruna-san, sometimes goes to South Strugg to buy goods for his store, so I can understand why she feels relieved.

It seemed that everyone in that town was happy that Baronet Kirk was captured.

 

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