Chapter 12: The Feudal Lord’s Visit

It was now mid-October. Allen had turned eight.

The feudal lord would be arriving that day. Allen would have to serve him during the feast that evening, as well as accompany him the following day so as to explain everything happening during the great boar hunt. If the lord had any questions, it would be Allen’s job to answer them.

And so Allen got up bright and early and, after grooming himself, headed for the village chief’s house. Neither Rodin nor Gerda was with him, as he was the only one granted permission to see the feudal lord.

Allen arrived before 9 a.m., then went into sleep mode—literally, in his case. A little before noon, a commoner working at the house woke him up and told him to take a bath to wash himself up.

A bath! I think this will be my first proper bath in this world. The most I’ve done is take a dip in a pool of well water.

A few times by this point, especially on the hottest days in summer, Allen had drawn a large tub of water and gotten in naked. Because he was a serf, he had no access to soap, and had just wiped himself down with a hemp cloth.

Now, Allen sighed with satisfaction as he lowered himself into the heated water. He soaked inside for a bit, then scrubbed his body thoroughly before the water cooled off.

After his bath, Allen received a fresh set of clothes. The outfit was made of material noticeably nicer than what even commoners normally wore.

Then Allen was made to wait another three hours. This time he was to stay awake and on standby, just in case.

C’mon, what’s the point of making me wait around for this long?

Nearly an hour had passed since Allen heard the 3 p.m. bell ring. Only then did the feudal lord’s procession finally arrive at the village, sending everyone inside the house into a frenzy of activity. By the time the feudal lord reached the house, he and his party found a feast waiting for them to enjoy by themselves. Deboji, as the representative of the village, was the only person to join them at the table.

Allen had questioned Deboji about the feudal lord beforehand. The lord lived in Granvelle City, the capital of this fiefdom, which was a five days’ journey from the village. The current head of House Granvelle, Baron Granvelle, was who Allen would be serving. As he had been on the road for the past five days, he was sure to be quite spent.

While Allen was busy mentally reviewing everything he had learned, before he knew it, it became time for him to make his appearance. The spacious kitchen in the village chief’s house was currently a war zone, with five or six women all rushing about, cooking their own dishes simultaneously. They then artfully plated the dishes one after the other in quick succession.

Deboji stood before the door leading into the dining hall, looking quite nervous. The feudal lord was already seated and waiting inside. Deboji told Allen to follow him closely, took a deep breath, then walked in and gave his greetings.

“Please allow me to extend my warmest welcome on behalf of Krena Village,” Deboji said to the lord’s party before continuing in a voice loud enough to be heard through the door, “Bring in the food.”

Allen began bringing the dishes over to the lone table within the large hall.

The person all the way in the back should be the feudal lord.

The man sitting in the seat furthest from the door—in other words, the seat of honor—had pale purple hair and eyes that looked as sharp as a hawk’s. His features, which gave him the appearance of a man in his mid-forties, conveyed his no-nonsense personality.

Allen wordlessly carried the dish to the feudal lord’s seat, doing his utmost not to stare. After the lord, he then served everyone else. The kitchen staff had placed all their finished plates on a table near the dining hall entrance, sparing Allen the trouble of returning all the way to the kitchen. As such, he only had to go back and forth between the entrance and the dining table. For some reason, only he had been entrusted with the full service during the meal, while the other servants remained entirely hands-off.

So, I have to bring the feudal lord his plate first, then to the five others here, including Deboji. Hm? There’s a child at the table. Is she the baron’s daughter?

Allen carried the food over to each person in turn. First the feudal lord, then the butler-like man with white hair and a mustache next to him, then the knight captain and vice-captain whom he recognized from when they visited the village to meet Krena. Sitting on the other side of the feudal lord was a young girl who also had pale purple hair. She appeared to be around Allen’s age.

The girl also seemed curious about seeing a boy her own age in attendance. She kept shooting glances at Allen.

“Deboji, you have done well in expanding this village,” the baron said to the village chief.

“Th-Thank you, milord.”

“It has been fifteen years since the Land Reclamation Decree was issued, and there are no other fiefdoms which have been as successful as ours. Deboji, you are the one who has brought the villagers together and directed them through all the development thus far. I say this once again: you have done well.”

“Land Reclamation Decree”? What’s that?

Allen kept his ears perked as the feudal lord praised the village chief. After all, there was no telling when he might pick up on information that might affect how tomorrow’s great boar hunt would proceed.

Deboji bobbed his head in deference. “I did it for your and the people’s sake, milord.” His appetizer lay almost entirely untouched. Granted, eating was the last thing on the chief’s mind at the moment.

“I do apologize about the matter of the great boar meat. It was an order from His Majesty, after all.”

Hold on, the king of this country is the one telling us to hunt more great boars? The scale of this conversation suddenly blew up.

Because the topic of the conversation had now turned toward the great boar hunts, Allen started paying even more attention. He had to continue serving all the while, which kept him very busy indeed.

“H-His Majesty’s order?!”

“Indeed. To be more exact, it was Lord Carnel who instigated it. That reprobate was the one who broached the topic of the great boar hunts during a royal audience. Thanks to that big mouth of his...” Lord Granvelle seemed to quiver with anger at the memory. His glare sharpened and his attitude underwent such a sudden change that it left Deboji in a cold sweat.

Without even looking at the baron, the butler-like person, who appeared to be around sixty years old, interjected, “Master, you are frightening the good village chief. As long as the quota of twenty beasts is achieved, your reputation will surely improve once again.”

“Hm? Ah, yes. Apologies, Village Chief Deboji. Put simply, mention of the hunts reached His Majesty’s ear, and thus he ordered the number of hunts be increased.”

“Of course, milord.”

As the feudal lord revealed the circumstances behind his quota for twenty great boars—sharing only information that was absolutely necessary—it became time to bring in the main course, a meat dish. Allen laid the plates before each person at the table in turn.

After taking a bite, the feudal lord’s eyes widened. “Mm?! What is this meat? It is delicious!”

“It really is!” agreed his daughter, equally impressed.

“What sort of meat is this, Village Chief Deboji?” the feudal lord asked again.

“What? It’s, uh...”

When Deboji faltered, struggling for words to answer the sudden question, Allen sidled close to the table. “Kindly allow me the honor of answering, my lord. This is albaheron meat. The beast was caught yesterday and presented to the village chief to serve to Your Lordship. The cuts being served are of the breast, thigh, and liver. Herbs have been used in abundance to impart flavor.”

“Mm? Is that so...”

All eyes turned to look at Allen. Those at the table had all been curious this whole time about the child with very unusual black hair and eyes who was waiting on them. Allen, who noticed the gazes, bobbed his head briefly in acknowledgment before continuing to retrieve the dirty plates. Although there were only six people seated, he was the only person serving. Therefore he needed to move quickly at all times. He briskly made the trip back and forth between the table and the room’s entrance multiple times.

“What a well-raised son you have, Deboji. I have never heard you mention him before.”

“Huh? Oh no, milord. This child is not mine,” Deboji replied in a fluster. “He’s the son of a man named Rodin.”

“Rodin?”

The knight captain, who had shared the table with Allen at the feast two years ago, started. “Ah yes, I remember him now! My lord, this boy is the son of one of the two men who spearhead the great boar hunts.”

The feudal lord turned toward Allen. “You are Boar Hunter Rodin’s son?”

“Yes, my lord. I am Allen, son of Rodin. I have also been granted the honor of accompanying Your Lordship on tomorrow’s hunt.”

“Deboji, is Rodin a former noble? His son seems very well-mannered.”

“N-No, milord. Rodin’s line has always been serfs. I knew Rodin’s father personally.”

That moment, the girl who Allen thought was the feudal lord’s daughter exclaimed, “Huh?! There’s a serf in this room with us?!” Her head whipped around to stare at Allen, her charming face scrunched up in disgust.

“Wh—?!” The feudal lord turned to rebuke her. “Cecil! Serfs are important denizens of our realm too! Do not ever say anything of that nature again!”

“I-I’m very sorry, father...” the girl apologized, tears in her eyes. However, she then immediately turned to shoot Allen a dirty look, as if she was blaming him for her getting scolded. Her eyes, which were slanted rather like a hawk’s—a feature she had clearly inherited from her father—and crimson in color, overflowed with emotion.

Allen averted his gaze on purpose. Why’s she glaring at me like that? What’d I even do?

“So then, Allen,” Lord Granvelle said, picking the conversation up where he had left off. “You said you will be the one accompanying me on tomorrow’s hunt?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Make sure to properly explain what the hunters are doing at the time.”

“Of course, my lord.”

“And Zenof, make sure to listen closely to his account.”

“Yes, Your Lordship!”

Oh, the knight captain’s name is Zenof? Wait, why is he supposed to listen to me? What’s going on?

Seeing the questioning look on Allen’s face, Zenof said, “Son of Rodin, understand that the quota of twenty boars is a royal decree. In other words, it must be achieved at all costs.”

“Yes, sir.” Allen turned toward the knight captain and bowed his head to indicate that he was listening. He’s going to explain things to me?

“After we observe tomorrow’s hunt, if we determine that it would be difficult for this village’s hunting party to meet the quota without aid, we knights will join in as well.”

Wait, so they’re not here just to observe?

The reason why the feudal lord had come to the village was finally made clear. Although Krena Village had indeed successfully met the quota of fifteen boars last year, there was no guarantee they could reach twenty this year. The feudal lord had grown concerned and therefore brought his knights to the village to help out if necessary. It was all to ensure that the royal decree from the king was properly carried out.

“Thank you for the kind explanation, milord.” Deboji bowed in thanks, a look of understanding on his face.

“My lord,” Allen said, drawing the feudal lord’s attention back to himself.

“What is it? Do not worry. If you explain things well, my knights will take care of everything else. You may rest assured.”

“I’m sorry, my lord. That’s not it. All I wanted to say is, twenty is nothing.”

Deboji choked on his saliva as the feudal lord and knight captain both widened their eyes in surprise.

“Tomorrow, Krena Village will show you, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we can definitely fulfill the quota of twenty great boars when we all work together.”

Allen spoke clearly and firmly, lowering his head as all six pairs of eyes focused on him. There was no hesitation whatsoever in his demeanor. He sounded so sure of himself that everyone found their breath taken away.

＊ ＊ ＊

After the dinner was over, Allen stayed the night in the village chief’s house. The next morning, everyone sprang into action at 6 a.m. As Allen had not brought any luggage with him, he was ready to go at any time. All he did was tie his wooden sword to his waist the way he always did.

Eventually, together with the feudal lord, the knight captain, and the knight vice-captain, he left Deboji’s house. The feudal lord’s daughter stayed behind at the house with the butler-like man—who turned out to be, in fact, a butler. Allen recalled him being referred to as “Sebas” during the previous night’s meal.

Wow, the village square’s been converted into a camping ground.

The open area in the center of town was now filled with knights’ tents. They had set up camp in case they would indeed have to take part in the great boar hunts and would therefore need to remain in this village for a while. And without quarters or anywhere else to stay, naturally they needed to erect their own tents.

The knights had finished their preparations by the time the feudal lord and his group reached them. Instead of riding their horses, they were to march on foot behind the feudal lord.

Oh hey, I see Dogora!

Allen spotted his friend peering at the knights from a distance away with sparkling eyes. There were twenty knights this time, twice the number that came to see Krena years ago.

Soon enough, the procession reached the village gate where a group of forty commoners and serfs were standing in wait. This was the hunting party, including everyone who had participated in the previous years’ hunts plus a few newcomers.

“They’re wearing armor!” the knight captain exclaimed as he noticed what half the men had on.

Allen nodded. “Yes, sir. That is leather armor created from great boar hide. We have not been able to outfit everyone as of yet, so we prioritized those who needed it most.”

“What do you mean by ‘need it most’?”

“It would be easier to explain at the hunt itself, sir.”

A look of understanding dawned on the feudal lord’s face. “So this was the reason behind Deboji’s petition.”

Last year, the feudal lord had received the report that this hunting party had successfully brought down eighteen great boars. However, Deboji had, on their behalf, requested permission to keep everything other than the meat for eight of the eighteen carcasses. This, too, had been Allen’s suggestion.

Because the feudal lord wanted meat, they would send the meat. However, Allen’s idea was to use the skin, bones, tusks, and horns of eight great boars as an investment to improve the quality of future hunts. Of course, Allen had gone to Rodin and Gerda first, and it was the two of them who had approached Deboji.

The feudal lord had accepted their petition, especially in light of how the group had surpassed the quota of fifteen boars. He had agreed, on the condition that they successfully manage to hunt twenty this year.

“Yes, my lord,” Allen replied. “The materials we saved went toward preparations that will ensure we can fulfill the quota of twenty great boars this year.”

“Impressive.”

“Of course, it was my father, Rodin’s idea,” Allen added. His aim today was to hype up Rodin as much as possible, emphasizing the enormity of his contributions in the hope of convincing the feudal lord to grant his entire family commoner status. As such, Allen was crediting Rodin with all the ideas he himself had come up with. After all, his ideas would sound more credible coming from an adult than a child anyway.

As everyone was now gathered, they all began making their way toward the hunting grounds. The serfs and commoners walked ahead with the knights taking up the rear. There were only two men on horseback—the knight captain, who ordered Allen to join him in the saddle, and the feudal lord, who had foregone the comfort of the carriage that he had ridden to Krena Village in.

Three hours later, the group arrived at the usual hunting grounds. There was a strange new structure there now. It was a two-meter-tall platform made of wood that was large enough for ten people to stand on.

“Mm? What is that?” the feudal lord asked.

“This was created to make your viewing easier, my lord. If you would please climb to the top.”

The lord nodded, then climbed up the ladder on the back of the structure. He took one of the seats that had been installed at the top. Allen and Zenof also climbed up after him. The vice-captain remained on the ground, coordinating with the other knights to surround the structure as protection of their lord.

When you think about it, the feudal lord coming in person to a forest filled with monsters is pretty incredible, isn’t it? That must take a lot of guts. Is the royal decree that huge of a deal? What used to be just “hunt so we can eat” now has so much more hanging on the line.

“What happens now?” Zenof asked. Allen caught on that he was supposed to explain to the knight captain and not the feudal lord directly, who was currently staring into the depths of the forest with his hawk-like eyes.

“First, three people will go and lure a great boar toward this location.”

“Then?”

“Simply put, the rest then surround it— Ah, the three fishers are heading out now.” They watched Pekej and his two companions vanish into the forest.

“And those down there holding large shields will be using them to stop the great boar’s charge?” the knight captain asked, looking impressed at their design.

The hide, bones, tusks, and horns from eight great boars had gone toward making a pair of two-meter-high leather shields, seventeen pieces of leather armor, and three chest protectors. Krena Village did not have an armor craftsman capable of creating everything listed above, so they had called upon one from a neighboring village. All of the leftover materials—and there was quite a bit, considering the size of the great boars—had gone to the craftsman in exchange for him not charging any money.

“Yes, sir. With two of them, we are able to pin a charging boar from both sides.”

“I see.”

The knight captain observed the serfs and commoners in their positions as well as the two impressive shields. He already had a general idea of what was to come.

An hour passed, but Pekej and his men had yet to return. They were the team equipped with the three chest protectors. These were defensive items designed to protect only the vital chest area while still being as lightweight as possible.

Hm? It’s taking kinda long. Are they having trouble finding the right target? Pekej once told me that there’re several hundred great boars in this forest and that they migrate en masse from the foot of the White Dragon Mountains.

“By the way, is Sword Lord Krena doing well?” Zenof asked, as if being considerate by breaking the awkward silence.

“Absolutely, sir.” More like, too well. She’s practically a bottomless fountain of energy.

“I see. We will be sending her a tutor three springs from now. Let her know when you can.”

“Of course, sir.” So, it’d be when she’s eleven, and she’d have one year to study.

“Hm? Will that be sufficient? Can we not send the tutor earlier?” the feudal lord interjected. After all, if Krena failed the entrance exam, he would be made a laughingstock in the capital.

“Then I shall instruct Sebas to send the tutor the year after next instead.”

“Mm, do that. If she fails, that headmaster will reject her, Sword Lord or no.”

Looks like Lord Granvelle is quite the worrywart. All right, so it’ll be a year and a half before Krena starts studying. When I imagine her wearing a headband with the word “Success!” on it—

The thunderous sound approaching the hunting grounds dragged Allen back from his thoughts. “Here it comes, sir.”

“Mm.”

A cry of “GUMOOOOOHHHHHH!!!” shook the very air in the clearing. At the same time, Rodin roared a word of encouragement that all the other men immediately returned in kind. Pekej burst from the treeline, soon followed by the massive body of a great boar. It was hot on his heels, as if it was blind to everything but Pekej. This was thanks to Pekej’s masterful pulling technique. He intentionally kept himself just out of the boar’s reach.

Pekej dashed between the large shields. Standing behind the shields was the four-man team led by Gerda. Instead of holding spears like before, they were doubled up and braced for impact.

Sure enough, the boar charged straight into the large shields. Both groups worked together to stop it in its tracks. The huge tusks on the beast’s snout dented the shields, but they otherwise held fast.

“This is how we stop the monster’s charge. That shield is made with two layers of leather taken from the back of a great boar, the toughest part of its hide. We also have two men handling one shield together.”

“I see.”

“And now, after stopping the beast, we encircle it to stop it from struggling.”

As Allen continued with the detailed commentary, the shield bearers backed off. A group carrying the same two-meter-long spears from the previous hunts took their place to pin the monster down, with special focus on its head. Then, at Gerda’s order, another group wielding four-meter-long spears stepped forward from behind. There were now so many hunters that their attacks rained down on the beast from all directions, not just its front.

“The long spear group is something we added last year. It is perfect for incorporating newcomers lacking experience.”

“You have also distributed the defensive equipment prioritizing the shield bearers and those wielding the short spears.”

“That is correct, sir. The long spear group has trained to avoid accidentally stabbing the front line from the back, but just in case, the front line is wearing armor that protects their backs, necks, and heads.”

The knight captain nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes still fixed on the action. With the monster properly locked down, it was time for Rodin’s team of spearmen to shine. They stabbed with all their weight behind their thrusts, aiming for the beast’s vital areas.

“The hide of a great boar is extremely tough. We aim for its neck after robbing it of its freedom of movement. Ah, someone has punctured its jugular.”

“Well done!” the knight captain exclaimed inadvertently upon seeing the fountain of blood suddenly gush out.

“My lord.”

“Yes, Zenof?”

“These people may not be knights. However, they are warriors. Boar-hunting warriors.”

Just like knights, members of this hunting party each had their own clear-cut role. Knights had spearmen, bowmen, and scouts, and the absence of any one group could greatly affect the performance of the remaining groups. Zenof had seen a similar framework in how this great boar hunt was being carried out. He was impressed with how all members of the hunting party performed their respective duties with full understanding of the role they played. He repeated “Wonderful!” several more times before the great boar finally collapsed onto its side.

“That was indeed a spectacular battle. I am now reassured that this group does indeed have the ability to hunt twenty great boars within the year,” Lord Granvelle declared. He had been nodding multiple times while the hunt was going on.

“That certainly does seem to be the case,” Zenof agreed before jerking with a start. “Hm? The other two scouts appear to have returned. Why are they running at full speed?”

The hunt was supposedly over, and yet the two men burst from the trees just as Pekej had done. Before Allen had time to reply, however, the captain’s answer itself came barreling into view.

“GUMOOHHHHHH!”

Two great boars came charging in, their eyes bloodshot. With their pursuers gaining on them, the two fishers dashed straight toward the rest of the hunting party.

“What?! Leibrand! There are two boars!” Zenof shouted from the top of the viewing stand, ordering the troops below to ready themselves for battle. They had to protect both the feudal lord and the members of the hunting party.

However, just as Leibrand began commanding his men to get into formation, Allen said in a calm voice, “Apologies, Sir Zenof.”

“What is it at this time?!”

“The hunt is still in progress. Please have your men stand down.”

“What?!” exclaimed both Zenof and Lord Granvelle, the latter of whom had also been listening.

Allen continued, “As I mentioned yesterday, we are here today to demonstrate, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we hunters of Krena Village can definitely meet your quota. The hunt continues.”

Even as Allen was speaking, the two great boars had almost closed in on the hunters. The knights would not make it in time even if they were to charge forward now.

“THERE’RE TWO OF THEM THIS TIME! GET FIRED UP, MEN!!!”

“YESSIR!!!”

The forty-or-so men suddenly psyched themselves up, responding to Rodin’s encouragement with an even louder roar than before. There was no fear or hesitation in their manner as they surged forward and assumed formation in front of the carcass of the great boar they had already killed.

The fishers dashed past the two large shields. Seconds later, the shields slammed against the charging great boars. Unlike before, there were now only two people holding back each beast. The vicious horns on the monsters’ snouts gouged the shields’ surfaces. The shield-bearers retreated one step, then another. Their shields were caved in, but were still holding fast. Before long, they forced the great boars to a halt.

“They’ve stopped! Split up and surround them!”

Following Gerda’s command, both his team and the group wielding long spears divided and swiftly assumed positions, their steps sure and practiced. Half of a party of forty was still more than enough to deal with a single great boar. Without ado, Rodin and his team also broke up into four smaller groups to stab at the beasts from both sides, aiming for their vital areas just as before.

All right, the timing for bringing two great boars right after killing one was perfect! All that practice paid off.

Before, Allen had always wondered why the hunting party only ever killed one great boar per hunt. The idea behind the pulling strategy—at least, in the games that he used to play—was to kill every monster that aggroed. Losing mobs on purpose was an unthinkable waste. When he heard the details, however, he learned that the hunting party was intentionally splitting up great boar groups because, quite simply, they were only capable of handling a single boar.

So then, the question became, “Why is it that they can only hunt one?” After really mulling it over, Allen concluded that the fault in their strategy lay not in the hunters’ levels, weapons, or numbers. No, it was their armor. The serfs were not equipped with proper armor able to withstand attacks from great boars. Hemp provided practically zero protection. Even Rodin, who had been participating in these hunts for over a decade, was left at death’s door after taking a single attack.

However, procuring armor was not easy. The reward for participating in the hunts was meat, which would be used up to sustain each hunter and their family’s livelihood. No one had the financial leeway to buy themselves armor. Compared to the cost of the short sword Allen had inquired about back in the village weapons shop, the price of a large steel shield was astronomical.

The only thing that the villagers could afford to upgrade was their spears. The two-meter-long ones were especially short for weapons classified as polearms. This length was a compromise—if the spear was too long, it would snap when under stress; if it was too short, the wielders were susceptible to attacks from the great boar’s tusks and horns. And this group of hunters had been hunting for ten years using these same fittings.

The way Allen saw it, continuously upgrading one’s equipment was a basic of hunting. By upgrading, one improves their ability to hunt more efficiently and chase bigger prey. True to that theory, Allen acquired shields and armor for the party, and they were now powerful enough to hunt two boars at the same time.

Allen heaved a small sigh of relief seeing the strategy go off without a hitch. The group had only attempted it twice before; today’s hunt was their third time.

If Lord Granvelle had come a bit later, we would have been able to get more practice in, but I suppose this is fine.

Soon enough, blood spurted from the neck of the second great boar thanks to someone piercing its jugular. Then the third monster also succumbed in short order.

“Ohhhh!” Zenof exclaimed. “The killing blow has been dealt!”

“And that is all three great boars. I am glad it went well,” Allen replied.

“A job well done indeed. And since the party killed three today, there are only seventeen left to go.”

“A correction if I may, sir. Including these three from today, we have now killed ten this year.”

Both the feudal lord and knight captain exclaimed, “What?!”

The hunting party had already gone out several times after receiving word of the feudal lord’s visit. More specifically, today marked their fourth hunt of the year.

“As I said, we will be able to meet the quota without issue. With this, we’ve made our case.”

The feudal lord’s sharp and somewhat slanted eyes stared at the hunters happily patting each other’s backs for a hunt well done. There were traces of a warm smile on his face.

“That is a relief. You have convinced me that I can trust this village to bring down twenty great boars this year.” In other words, he was indirectly acknowledging that he would not be deploying his knights nor relocating serfs from other villages.

Allen bowed. “Your words give us reassurance, my lord. However, there are two requests I have that would affect the future of these hunts.”

“What manner of requests?” the knight captain asked, looking mystified. “What is there to improve upon after today’s results?”

“There are members of the hunting party who are still underequipped. And if possible, we would want at least two more large shields.”

“Hm...”

Allen proceeded to elaborate. The armor was self-evident, but if the party had three large shields, they could eventually hunt three great boars at the same time. The fourth one would be a spare. There was no telling how long a shield would last, as they had only been used four times as of today. It would be wise to have an extra on hand.

“I see. So you want to improve the party’s equipment in preparation for next year’s hunts and beyond.”

“Yes, sir. What’s more, there is something else I am worried about. As long as this issue is not addressed, I fear it might become difficult to continue these hunts.”

The matter that concerned Allen was something that would grow larger along with the expanding scale of the hunts. He very much wanted to make the powers that be understand the problem right here and now, especially because it would affect his own family.

The feudal lord nodded. “Speak.”

“Yes, my lord. At this rate, the hunters will eventually lose interest in joining the hunts, and the size of the hunting party will begin to shrink.”

“How do you figure?”

“And my proposed solution for this problem is wine.”

“Wine...?”

Both the feudal lord and knight captain looked baffled. Allen continued, explaining that if nothing was done, the value of boar meat would plummet in Krena Village. Previously, only ten great boars were hunted each year. If this was to suddenly become twenty boars, or even more, the local market would become saturated with meat. With excessive supply, demand—and therefore value—would decrease. Consequently, hunters would need more meat than before to trade for the same amount of firewood, salt, and other necessities.

The knight captain nodded in understanding. “I see. So the wine is to raise morale.”

“Of course, that is one aspect of it. At the same time, the possibility of bartering meat for wine stabilizes its value.”

Wine was a consumable—it would disappear when drunk. Therefore, if it could be obtained with meat, it would functionally help to drain the supply of meat from the market. It would not make sense for the wine merchants to use the meat here in this market overflowing with meat, so they would likely trade it in other places that still had a strong demand for it, such as surrounding villages or the capital of the fiefdom.

“So the system would help stabilize the value of meat and serve as a motivator for the hunters,” the knight captain murmured, looking very impressed.

“Yes, sir. It doesn’t have to be wine, of course. Anything else that is a consumable—fruit being another example—would do.”

Part of what prompted Allen to bring this up was to prevent the value of albaheron meat from plummeting as well, as he planned on continuing to hunt them in large numbers should the feudal lord end up not giving his family commoner status. He was aiming for multiple birds with one stone, to borrow the saying.

“This is a very well-thought-out proposition. I cannot give you a definitive answer right now, but know that I will bring it back for consideration.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

“And this was Rodin’s idea, yes?” Lord Granvelle asked, beating Allen to the line.

The boy nodded. “Yes, my lord. My father Rodin devised the whole thing.”

The feudal lord then closed his eyes as if retreating into his thoughts. Silence fell over the top of the viewing platform.

After a short while, the knight captain asked, “What should we do, my lord? Should we return to the village?”

“We might as well. Allen, you have done a fine job today. Zenof, when we return, tell Deboji to summon both Rodin and Gerda.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Oh? Is he going to reward them? Please give them commoner status!

With that, the great boar hunt under the feudal lord’s observation ended as a resounding success.