SML Ch 25

Chapter 25

Aside from the slight guilt that came with feeling like they were bullying a slightly slow child, the operation to drive out the scavengers concluded very smoothly.

Last year, they had managed to clear out about three houses a day, but this year the work progressed much more quickly. On average, they could clean four houses per day, and on lucky days, even five. Most of the scavengers were killed, but a few clever ones managed to escape with their lives and fled from the village. At the very least, those ones wouldn’t be coming back next year.

On the ninth day, during the afternoon, Reynald and the young men successfully drove out all the scavengers and were finally able to celebrate their achievement. After cleaning up the homes the scavengers had trashed and burning the corpses in one place, it was already evening.

They returned to the castle, drenched in sweat. Though they had finished the cleanup, none of them looked forward to returning to their homes just yet. The stench of scavenger feces hadn’t fully dissipated. By the afternoon of the next day, the smell would have cleared up enough, so returning home then would be more reasonable.

After wiping off some of the sweat, they made their way to the castle courtyard, where the sound of sizzling meat and laughter rang out quite noisily. Everyone was throwing a party to celebrate the fact that they could safely return to the village. Of course, the only ingredients they had were flour and wyvern meat, but that was more than enough for the people here. As long as they could eat their fill, that was all that mattered.

As Reynald sat down, someone handed him a wooden plate and a cup. The plate held sizzling grilled meat and vegetables, and the cup was filled with water. Reynald accepted the plate calmly, but then flinched in surprise.

“Thank you, Lyndon… Wait, no, it was Aileen. My apologies.”

“You’re still confusing me with my younger brother? That stings a little, you know.”

Aileen said this with a soft smile. She didn’t seem too offended, probably because the two of them really did look quite similar. Lyndon was relatively small in stature compared to the other young men, while Aileen, three years his senior, had broader shoulders and a more robust build than most women her age.

As a result, their physiques were quite similar. On top of that, being siblings, they had very similar facial features as well—so it wasn’t entirely unreasonable that Reynald, who had only known them for a few months, would mix them up.

“Anyway, this year went really smoothly. Sure, all the household items got wrecked… We really should’ve brought the dishes back, though.”

“Didn’t you say it was already hard enough just hauling back the harvested grain? It couldn’t be helped.”

“That’s true. Ugh, the wyverns were flying around so chaotically that I barely managed to keep myself alive. I’m relieved they’re all gone now, but come autumn, it’ll be another war.”

Reynald nodded with a bitter smile. Aileen was grinning cheerfully, but her demeanor also carried an air of resignation and acceptance. Right now, they had successfully driven out the scavengers and returned to their homes, but come autumn, they’d be fleeing back to the castle again to escape the wyverns. Then the scavengers would swarm in and wreck all the homes they had just finished cleaning.

It was the fate of a poor village. Like building a sandcastle only for it to be swept away by the tide, the futility of it all left Reynald with a faint sense of bitterness. When Aileen caught sight of his expression, she laughed incredulously.

“Don’t make that face. We should just be glad no one got seriously hurt.”

“No one got hurt? That’s not quite true. It’s just that we were able to treat the injuries quickly.”

“In our village, that counts as not getting hurt. Real injuries are when you don’t get treated in time and end up living without an arm or a leg.”

As Aileen burst into laughter, the older men next to her—some of whom were the very ones who had “real injuries”—chuckled and nodded in agreement. Reynald could only give a wry smile, with nothing left to say.

By their standards, this year’s cleanup had been carried out with remarkable stability. There had been plenty of refined mandragora extract, so there was little risk of limbs being irreparably damaged. Plus, thanks to the farming tools they had stolen from the ratmen village not long ago, they now had more usable weapons.

On top of that, there was enough food, so the young men didn’t go hungry. That alone made a big difference—hunger greatly increased the risk of injury. Without energy, one couldn’t swing a sword properly or react quickly enough to avoid attacks. With full bellies, improved weapons, and better fighting skills, it was only natural that this year was more stable than usual.

“Still, things have really gotten better since you came, my lord. I guess having more manpower really improved our situation!”

“So, in your eyes, I’m nothing more than a source of labor…?”

“What’s wrong with that? There are plenty of people who aren’t even useful as labor. Honestly, I’d say one of you is worth more than ten Lyndons.”

“That’s harsh, sis.”

“Did I say anything untrue? You should be thankful I used you as the benchmark.”

Of course, the villagers didn’t seem particularly concerned about the nuances behind the improvement. To them, it was simply that they had one more capable person, and the state of the territory had improved because of it. Reynald didn’t mind. He wasn’t one to seek recognition, and the fact that the territory had improved was what truly mattered to him.

‘It may not be a dramatic change, but… if we keep improving little by little like this, maybe one day this place will become more livable.’

That was what Reynald thought as he smiled. The land was still barren, and life was still hard for the people—but for now, things were okay. After all, there was only so much one person could accomplish.

No matter how brilliant a general might be, they can’t win a war without enough troops. And no matter how diligent a civil servant, if there’s no budget, there’s almost nothing they can do. Until very recently—no, even now—Reynald was the only new element added to this harsh and unforgiving territory.

So, there was no need to feel impatient. Rapid, revolutionary change wasn’t possible, but slow progress was. First, they would work with the villagers to clear the fields, and when there was a bit more breathing room, they could start considering ways to improve the territory’s state.

“From tomorrow onward, we can start clearing the fields. It’s a little sad, but I feel relieved now that we’ve gotten rid of the scavengers.”

“Sad? I don’t know about that. Once you see the state of the fields tomorrow, you won’t be saying that.”

“What, just a few carnivorous plants, right? That shouldn’t be too hard to deal with.”

Aileen laughed. Lyndon, who had been chewing on some meat beside her, also laughed.

Reynald, however, was beginning to feel uneasy.

“What in the world have the scavengers around here been eating to produce this kind of crap?”

“We have no idea, sir.”

Reynald stared blankly at the field, speechless. This was no situation to be describing lightly as “just a few carnivorous plants.”

The red flower buds densely covering the field were one thing, but the real problem was the unpleasant-looking tentacles mixed in among them. There was no way those belonged in a field. If they’d been found in a swamp, he might have shrugged it off—but why were such monsters here…?

“Oh, right. The flower buds are manageable, but don’t touch those tentacles. You’ll regret it.”

“I know well enough what kind of regret you’re referring to, so stop grinning like that.”

“Wait, have you been caught by one before?”

“Not me, but some soldiers in the subjugation squad… Anyway, I already know that getting caught by one of those is a terrible idea, so there’s no need to explain. Ahem.”

Those tentacles, with rather embarrassing shapes at their ends, were among the trickier plant-type monsters to deal with. More than physical damage, they inflicted serious mental trauma. Worse yet, due to their exceptional regenerative abilities, they would constantly regrow no matter how many times you cut them. Compared to the flower-bud monsters, which could be neutralized simply by severing the head, these were much more difficult to handle.

To eliminate the tentacles, you had to shoot the core located at their roots with a crossbow. Once the core was destroyed, the tentacles would wither instantly—but their movements were so quick, and they were entangled among the flower buds, that it wouldn’t be an easy task.

“Good grief… I never thought I’d see those tentacles in a place like this. I should’ve realized when you guys packed monster-grade crossbows.”

“Well, showing you in person is faster than explaining. Will you be using the bow, my lord? You were shooting quite well last time.”

“No, you take the shot, Volant. There are too many flower buds obstructing the view. We should get rid of those quickly first.”

Even setting aside the risk of physical injury, if anyone got caught, the mental trauma could impact the entire group. They had to proceed with maximum caution. With a deep sigh, Reynald drew his sword from its sheath.