After two days of moving through the Sacred Forest of Northwellen, I am now already inside the Northwellen territory. The vast grassland greets me when I come out of the sacred forest. I can see that the sun is already near the horizon, telling me that night will arrive.
I can see a big house standing firmly on top of a hill, that is the late count house. From today, that house will be my living place. I knocked on the main door of the big house. Not long after, the door opened and a female servant opened the door.
"Master!" The female servant let out a surprised voice. She is Ema, one of my most trusted attendants other than Claude.
"Ema, long time no see." I greet her before continuing, "Can you do something about the horses?" I pointed toward two horses that I brought today.
"Leave it to me… But first, go inside." Ema lead me to a sofa in the front room. "Please sit here first, while I call the other servant."
Ema then moves toward the inner room of the house. Not long after, Ema comes back with a glass of water in her hand.
"I thought you will call the other servant?" I poke a little fun at Ema's behavior.
Ema can only smile when she heard that. "I have ordered the other servants to take care of the horses and prepare the bath. The bath will be ready in a few minutes," said Ema while putting the glass of water in front of me.
"Thank you, Ema. So how is life here? Is there any problem when you come here?" I asked Ema before drinking the water she prepared. I found the cool water to be very refreshing after a long journey.
"There is some problem related to the servant when we reached this place. Most of them are loyal to the late count and can't accept a new lord. Based on that, we have released their duty to serve here. We then search from the nearby village for a new servant."
"So, all the remaining servants here are not a problem? Good job, I will believe in your and Claude's observation skill."
"Yes, we believe there is no problem with the servant," said Ema.
"So, where is Claude? What is he busy with right now?"
"Right now he is making a detailed report on all things related to this territory." Ema thinks for a little, "He should be in the office. Should I call him here?"
I and Ema noticed another female servant is walking toward this room. I look at that servant and answered, "I see, not right now. I think the bath is ready right now?"
Ema let the female servant answer my question. "Ye-yes. The bath is now ready," replied the girl stammering a little.
"Well then, I will take the bath now."
"Let me guide you to the bath," said Ema waiting for me to move from the sofa.
* * *
I am now sitting in the office. In front of me is a desk with many documents on top of it. Claude is standing in front of the desk also holding some paper.
"Good morning Master," greets Claude. "I am very sorry to not greet you yesterday."
"Don't worry about that. So what will we do here?"
"I have a report about what I find in the Northwellen," Claude paused for a bit. "But before that, I heard from Ema there is something Master wanted to ask?"
"Hmm? Ah! I remember…" Yesterday after taking a bath, I planned to go rest early. At that time, Ema comes with the mysterious bag I brought from Timberville. She said that the servant found the bag is still with the packhorse. When I heard that, I ordered Ema to tell Claude that I have something to ask. That mysterious bag is still in the bedroom right now.
"Right, so I wanted to ask about something, but that thing is in the bedroom now. So maybe you can start with your report first." I said to Claude.
"Well, if that is what master wants…" Claude breathed a large amount of air before continuing. "Let's start with the state of this house."
"Right now, we have 16 servants that work for us. Four of them are working as housemaids, and the others are working on the farm and raising the livestock.
"We are still looking for more servants but there are no more available. All the villages near here have no extra person. We might need a few years before the village children grow up."
I raise my hand a little, signaling Claude to stop. "Is this condition caused by the civil war?"
"Yes, many of the past servants were brought by the late count to the battlefield. Many young men of the village also participate in the war," Claude answered. "But that is not the only problem. This place has the usual problem of magic beasts attacking the village. Because of that, a village needs a reasonable amount of fighters to defend their village."
"Okay, you can continue."
Claude nodded and start again, "Then let's talk about the financial condition of this house.
"We only have a small amount of money left in the storage. By my estimation, we can sustain for three years at most if we keep going like this."
I closed my eyes and think, "That is a problem… What you mean with this situation is the state of just living as usual right? How can we lose money in this place? What are we buying?"
"Yes, we will have no money in three years if we keep living like this. The money is used to pay the servants, they all want to be paid using the kingdom coin—Winig. They don't want to get paid using grain or other commodities. Their money then gets saved and shared with their family."
"Hmm?" I wonder about something, "What are they buying with the Winig? And where?"
"Sometimes brave traders from the south come to this place. Of course, it happens only twice a year or so. When a trader visits, most people here will buy a weapon from that trader. The weapon from the south has a higher quality than a locally produced weapon from local smiths."
"Then, what did the trader buy from this place?"
"Nothing. There is no item that the trader wanted. Transporting grain from this place via the Sacred Forest is not a good business. Many other places in the kingdom produce grain cheaper and have easier access. Meanwhile, the trader can get a big profit from selling weapons to this place. Of course with life as their bet as they need to pass through the sacred forest."
"Wait, so the money keeps flowing from this place, and no money ever comes from the kingdom!?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure the late Count also noticed this. He has no more money and decided to gamble on the second prince. We don't know what the second prince promised but it might be good for the Count," said Claude.
"What should we do now? We need money right?"
Claude put a conflicted expression, "Yes, that is the problem. We need to find some items that can only be made here. Other than that, we need to make a safe passage for the trader."
I once again remember that this place is surrounded by mountains and forests on all sides. Both of which are full of magical beasts. I can only see trouble in the future…