Chapter 24: Talking Sense

“Lord, did you summon me?”

Not long after, Harper arrived at Farra’s residence having received the order.

Farra glanced at him, skipped the niceties, and said directly, “Starting today, you will be in charge of assigning work to the newcomers; any objections?”

“None!” Harper perked up and answered at once.

“Very good.”

Farra nodded. “Everyone must be given suitable work. If all positions are filled, send them to build roads or extra houses. I do not keep idlers here.”

“Yes, Lord!”

“If they can read and have some brains, let them do manual labor for a month, then keep them as your subordinates to run errands for you.”

“Yes, Lord!”

“All right, you may go. Inform Mas about it as well.”

“Understood, Lord!”

Harper left, visibly excited. What kind of privilege was it to hand-pick people and even keep them by his side? He had never seen anything like it in any other lord’s domain. Yet his accumulated experience allowed him to sense the huge difference immediately.

After delegating part of his authority, Farra once again found himself with much more free time. In late August, Farra pulled all 300 canine half-beastmen off their jobs and had them rebuild his residence. Because he had planned ahead, all the vacant land around the site could be put to use at once.

Unlike other lords who built a castle right under their feet, Farra only used that approach as a reference. He did not need to hide in a castle like those timid lords who felt safe only when walled in. Farra’s need for fortification was not that high. Building a fortress was completely unnecessary. However, he could put up a simple manor. He surrounded the perimeter with tall walls. Inside, every bit of space was used to build empty rooms, some for living and others for storing important documents. The warehouses to be added and expanded later also needed to be enclosed separately, leaving just one entrance.

There was more than enough timber and craftsmen, plus generous pay. Once work started, the construction crew ran at maximum efficiency. In just over a month, the basic framework was fully completed. They even moved in all the furniture.

Farra asked the old carpenter in charge of technical supervision, “I do not recall asking you to supply this furniture. Why did you? Wasn’t that extra work?”

The old carpenter answered honestly, “Lord, you gave us so much grain; this is what we ought to do! We actually should have been even faster, but those half-beastmen were still not very skilled, so they slowed us down a bit. Please forgive us, Lord!”

“…It’s fine; your efficiency is already very high,” Farra said, shaking his head. That pace had already far exceeded his expectations. Indeed, whether carpenters or blacksmiths, craftsmen were the most valuable of all. He had to find a way to bring in more later.

In September, Farra’s new residence was officially completed. He named it the “Jago Baron Residence.” Although it looked almost entirely wooden at first glance, it was actually quite sturdy. The conditions were not ideal, so he would use it for the time being. When conditions improved, he would rebuild it again.

By September, the fields of wheat and barley that Farra had upgraded were already yielding huge amounts of grain. Especially that Level 9 plot. One mu of it equaled the output of a dozen or even several dozen nearby mu. The difference in productivity was far more than a mere fourfold.

Over at the ranch, almost every animal had already gone through a full breeding cycle. Especially chickens and ducks. Their numbers had already overflowed. And they would overflow even more later. Once he could feed 7,000 people steadily, the surplus should be put to other uses.

Sitting in his new study, Farra flattened a sheet of paper, dipped a quill in ink, and smoothly wrote a letter.

“Master Kone, long time no see; I hope you have been well. I have a deal here and wonder if you might be interested…”

After filling the entire sheet, Farra blew on it, waited for the ink to dry, and then folded the letter.

“Mana!”

“At your service…”

Seeing that his maid seemed ready to respond at any moment, Farra gave a soft grunt, handed her the folded letter, and said, “Have Mas find a reliable man to make a trip to Cagary City and deliver this to Gagon ·Kone.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Mana took the letter, lowered her head, and left the study. During her time as a maid, she had been scolded often. Although she had felt very wronged at first, she never dared disobey Farra’s orders. Only after some time did she adjust her mindset. After that, she increasingly behaved like a real maid. The other maids adapted even faster than she did. As time passed, they became ever more respectful and professional. Besides their daily chores, they also served as Farra’s runners, delivering his ad-hoc notices to the relevant people.

Over time, because Farra showed himself less and less, his direct subordinates treated these maids as though Farra were present whenever they saw them. With some running errands, some cooking, some doing chores, and others guarding the gate, Farra spent even less time outside his new residence. Ordinary people were refused entry inside the walls. Only the maids, Farra’s direct subordinates, and the guard corps responsible for his safety could come and go freely.

Since Yanis had to train troops, Farra separated his guard duty from his training duty after sending out the letter. From the 300 half-beastmen, he picked one he found pleasing and asked him, “Do you have a name?”

“No, Lord.”

“From today on, I grant you a name. You will be called Harrington. Any objections?”

“None, Lord!”

“Very well.”

Farra glanced at the other half-beastmen and said, “I have seen all your hard work. You are more diligent than the others, so from today you no longer have to do heavy labor; I have a new assignment for you.”

While speaking, Farra studied the 300 before him. Strictly speaking, it was 299. Everyone stood ramrod straight before him. Their eyes did not stray.

“…Starting today, you will be responsible for the safety of this residence and for my personal safety, becoming my guards. You need obey only my orders and no one else’s, understood?”

“Understood, Lord!”

All the half-beastmen paused in shock before answering loudly. Because of their race, they were heavily discriminated against and treated as lowly slaves wherever they went. Yet now Farra actually intended to have them guard his safety? In Farra’s territory, the word ‘guard’ carried a very special meaning. It was a badge of honor and a huge slice of bread to fill one’s stomach. They had never dreamed that Farra would give such a sacred position to slaves like them. The psychological shock left many half-beastmen dazed for quite a while.

“From now on, you will command them! Understood?”

Farra circled to stand before Harrington, stared at him, and spoke in a low voice.

“…Understood, Lord!”

Harrington answered firmly. Canine half-beastmen were not good at words; they proved their loyalty through actions. That was the conclusion Farra had reached after observing them for so long in secret. Their behavior made it rather obvious. Once they chose to serve someone, they were far more loyal than ordinary humans.

After staring at Harrington for a while, Farra looked away and said, “I trust your loyalty and hope you will repay my faith with actions. From now on, you will guard the area around my residence, and each of you will receive four jin of grain per day. You are one rank above ‘guards’; from this day on, you are the first batch of ‘Imperial Guards’!”

“Yes, Lord!”

Thus the basic framework of a complete security system took shape. The Imperial Guards watched the residence, the army handled external warfare, and the constable’s enforcers managed internal order, acting as the police. Though there were still too few people to form a real system, that did not matter. Once the framework existed, filling it with people was all that remained.

Even so, Farra still felt uneasy about the Imperial Guards’ loyalty. Only to retainers could he see Loyalty. Although he had two passive skills that helped him harvest loyalty, the fact that he could not see exact numbers still made him uneasy deep down. How could an army that had never seen blood possess true loyalty?

After posting a bunch of Imperial Guards inside and outside the residence, Farra began pondering the issue. Coincidentally, he was also short on Resource points. Even if he upgraded a plot only to Level 4, the Resource points he had earned so far could upgrade only a small fraction of his farmland. While waiting for Kone’s reply, Farra began to consider using force. As luck would have it, someone walked right onto his blade.

That day, Yanis hurried to Farra’s residence to see him.

“What is it? Why are you so flustered?”

“Lord, a band of brigands has come from outside!”

“Oh… how many?”

Farra paused for a second and asked.

“I counted roughly five hundred… What should we do?”

Yanis was somewhat anxious. Those five hundred men were already here; although they lacked proper weapons, they outnumbered them, were starving, and looked dangerous.

“About five hundred… brigands…”

Farra rubbed his chin, glanced at the System map, and suddenly remembered. Right, his territory could basically be considered deep mountain forests. The terrain was just a bit flatter, not extending further up the mountains. With a broader view one would see mountains and woods on three sides. Besides wolves and tigers, there was certainly no shortage of desperate bandits in there. Weren’t they the perfect targets for practice?

Farra sprang to his feet.

“L-Lord?”

Yanis was startled.

“Hmph. What to do? Naturally, we go and talk some sense into them.”

Farra spoke with a faint smile. Yet there was not a trace of amusement in his dark eyes.