Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight Volume 8

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7183-3114-3
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 342 Seiten

Reihe: Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight

Having finished his business in Rolmund, Veight returns to Ryunheit for some well-deserved relaxation. But soon after his return, Fumino, a messenger from the Nation of Wa, arrives to see him. Dressed like a Japanese shrine maiden, she claims to be part of an organization that is searching for reincarnators-or as she calls them, The Divine. Neither Veight nor Fumino trust each other at first, but in order to build commercial and diplomatic ties with Wa, Veight decides to head to the far-off nation with her. There, he'll finally find some clues to the secret of reincarnation, and perhaps even learn why he was reincarnated.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hyougetsu

Weitere Mitwirkende

Nishi(E)da

Ningen

Leseproben

Chapter 8

After resolving Rolmund’s political issues, I safely returned home to Ryunheit. Dealing with two rebellions in a row was a pretty exhausting ordeal, but I managed to get everything sorted out in the end. From here on out, I was confident Empress Eleora would remain friendly toward Meraldia. Plus, while the rebellions had been exhausting, they’d given me the opportunity to recruit more talented people into Meraldia’s government. Rolmund was an advanced country, so having some of their brightest nobles working for us would be a huge boon. I was pretty proud of what I’d achieved, honestly.

My only failure was not being able to make it back in time for the summer solstice like I’d promised Airia. But first, I had to get through the mountainload of work waiting for me.

A few days after my return, I called for a council meeting so I could give my report to the viceroys. This time, the viceroys of both Meraldia’s southern and northern cities attended. During my absence, northern Meraldia had successfully been integrated into the commonwealth.

“The documents I passed out contain all the information I know about Rolmund’s political and military situation. Though we won’t have to fear any future invasions, Rolmund’s military is still quite powerful.”

A number of the northern viceroys nodded solemnly.

“I suppose that means we can rest easy for now. Thank you very much, Lord Veight,” one of them said.

“However, there’s no telling when the political situation in Rolmund might change. I still think it prudent that we strengthen our defenses on the northern border,” another added.

I nodded and replied, “Yes. So long as Eleora is empress, we’re safe, but she could die suddenly or be overthrown.”

While I didn’t wish for such an outcome, it was my duty as a councilor to prepare for every eventuality.

“I can send a few dragonkin units from the demon army north too, if you want. They’re far less violent than giants and orcs, but...”

As expected, the northern viceroys were grimacing.

“We appreciate the offer, and honestly speaking, it would make things much easier. However, the people are still...”

While the viceroys of the north might have gotten over their fear of demons, the common people still hadn’t. After thinking about it a little more, I offered the only alternative I could think of.

“Then I suppose we’ll need to recruit human soldiers. Do you think we could reorganize the mercenaries and knights that used to work for the Senate and incorporate them into city garrisons?”

“That should be doable.”

“But it might strain our budgets a little...”

Unfortunately, standing armies were a huge money sink. The southern viceroys joined the discussion as well, and after a back-and-forth exchange it was decided that they would help pay for this army as well. A potential invasion of Meraldia was everyone’s problem, after all. Still, that didn’t mean the southern viceroys were happy about this decision. The friction between north and south hadn’t completely disappeared, and plenty of them didn’t like that their hard-earned money had to go to paying for the north’s defenses. Once the northern viceroys left, the southern viceroys started openly voicing their complaints.

“I realize this is an important issue and I want to cooperate, but my craftsmen aren’t going to be happy when they hear their taxes are paying for the north’s army,” said Forne, Veira’s viceroy, with a weary sigh as he massaged his temples. Veira was bustling with craftsmen and merchants, and was one of Meraldia’s richest cities. However, that also meant it had a lot of expenditures. After mentally grappling with the problem for a few minutes he suggested, “Hey Veight, if we’re paying for all of this, can we at least paint our logos onto the shields and armor we’ll be sending north? It’ll make for good advertising at least.”

“Wouldn’t the soldiers wearing that armor take issue with it if it had a southern city’s logo on it?”

“I suppose so...”

Petore, Lotz’s viceroy, looked grim as well.

“The problem with armies is ya can’t just hand ’em a lump sum and be done. There’s maintenance costs to think about too. Adding another constant expense to our budget sheets is gonna hurt.”

I sighed and replied, “I know. But the demon army doesn’t have any funds to give. All we can do is dispatch personnel.”

The demon army had no economic strength whatsoever. Meanwhile, Meraldia ran on a hard currency economy. Large-scale loans were done on a personal basis instead of by specialized institutions. Government bonds and military scrip didn’t exist yet. I needed some way to increase Meraldia’s revenue, or our newly minted commonwealth would start to flounder.

“If only we could trade with other nations...” Shardier’s young viceroy, Aram, muttered. He’d been getting thinner lately, but he looked especially haggard right now.

“Incidentally, Aram, is it just me or have you lost a lot of weight?”

“It’s no big deal. This is what I originally looked like.” Aram awkwardly scratched his cheek. “I don’t actually have that big an appetite. Before, I imported rock salt and ate until I was bursting to make myself look more imposing, but I’m thinking I don’t need to do that anymore.”

“I see...”

“As for foreign trade routes, we could open up with Rolmund. But since that’s in the north, most of the money would stay in northern Meraldia. Besides, there’s no telling when there’ll be another political revolt there.”

Beluza’s viceroy, Garsh, folded his arms and said, “We can’t go west because there’s a forest in the way. That just leaves the continent to the south...but that voyage takes months, so we’d only be able to trade non-perishable goods.”

Melaine suddenly looked up and said, “What about eastward? Master told me there’s a country to the east. If I recall correctly it’s called the Nation of Wa?”

Petore and Garsh exchanged glances.

“There a country to the east but...”

“That place is...”

Petore went on to explain that he and Garsh hadn’t had much success in trading with the Nation of Wa, which lay across the Windswept Dunes. When the Senate had still been around, they’d forbidden trade with Wa because they feared the south growing too powerful. Naturally, Petore and Garsh had ignored the edict and smuggled goods to and from Wa multiple times. But the trade routes they’d built hadn’t been very profitable. As Petore finished his explanation, Shatina, the young viceroy of Zaria, cocked her head and asked, “Zaria’s finances are pretty tight too since we’re trying to expand, but... Master, why can’t we just do what Veira’s doing to make money? Why do we have to trade with other countries?”

By “what Veira’s doing” Shatina was referring to selling entertainment and goods to our own citizens.

I shook my head and explained, “There’s a limit to how much we can make by selling to our own people. Let’s say the average citizen only has ten bronze coins of spending money. That means that’s all we can expect to make from them.”

“I see...”

“But if we’re trading with other nations, we can expect bigger profits. Of course if we’re not careful we could end up losing a lot of money too, but the potential is huge.”

As I lectured Shatina something suddenly came to mind, and I turned over to Forne.

“By the way, are you still putting on those plays?”

“Of course. I heard all about your exploits in Rolmund from Kite,” Forne replied with a grin. “After capturing the fearsome princess of the frigid north, the Black Werewolf King travels to the Rolmund Empire. There he defeats many formidable foes and overcomes numerous insidious plots and succeeds in crowning Eleora empress.”

Forne’s voice took on a lyrical lilt as he got into the role of narrator.

“During his harsh trials, the Black Werewolf King found a sworn friend in Prince Woroy. And now that this esteemed prince has come to Meraldia, the next chapter of his epic begins. Find out more in our upcoming play, ”

I couldn’t take my eyes off this guy for a second. Grinning in satisfaction, Forne returned to his seat.

“I really am grateful that you keep having so many exciting adventures. It helps build the council’s reputation in the eyes of the common people too, so keep them coming.”

“I can’t exactly have adventures on command...”