Chapter 29: Hi, Bixby (1)
Diego and Raul returned to Marcel territory.
“I grant Diego the surname Garcia and permit him to use a family crest. Although I cannot give you a manor, accept this sword and carry it with you. Never forget your loyalty to me.”
I handed Diego a ceremonial dagger.
Normally, it would have been a simple ceremony, but I deliberately borrowed the church hall and invited most of the lesser nobles.
I had even prepared expensive gifts for them.
It was my way of saying, Please accept Diego into your little circle.
Axel, the knight commander who was practically the leader of the lesser nobles, and Administrator Ricardo stepped forward to congratulate him.
“Congratulations, Secretary Diego Garcia. There will be a welcoming party tonight, so make sure you attend.”
“Secretary Diego Garcia, you absolutely must join our officials’ association, the ‘One Heart Society.’ There is an entrance fee and membership fee, but they are not very expensive.”
Axel offered a normal congratulations, but Administrator Ricardo started talking about some suspiciously named organization.
Diego was the son of a wealthy merchant, so he had money to spare, but I didn’t want him joining some strange group.
A bunch of old men might corrupt the kid for no reason.
I warned Administrator Ricardo.
“About that One Heart Society. It isn’t some group formed to strengthen the power of officials and keep the ruler in check, is it? Even the name sounds suspicious. ‘One Heart’? Whose heart is it supposed to be devoted to?”
“Oh, My Lord! Absolutely not! Never!”
“Stop gathering only among yourselves in such a suspicious way and have a more productive club. How about a flower-arranging club?”
“Of course! Absolutely! Starting today, the One Heart Society is a flower-arranging club! Hahaha!”
Ricardo really was quick-witted.
Now that I had turned their private organization into a flower-arranging club, the One Heart Society would probably fall apart naturally.
Surely a bunch of rough-looking men wouldn’t gather together just to arrange flowers.
Anyway, Diego had carried out my orders very faithfully.
He had even received a favorable response from the chairman of the Lisboa Noble Council.
What a capable man.
And all the money earned from the ‘Canada Bombing Operation’ went into the territory’s budget, allowing us to buy back every bond we had issued to the farmers.
The farmers had made a decent profit from the discounted bonds, so they didn’t complain at all.
Now that the budget had enough breathing room for another three or four months, relocating refugees to the frontier villages would move much faster.
My office in the lord’s residence.
A servant brought me a report from the administration.
“We received word from the frontier village, Comansville. They say they caught a ‘chatterbox goblin,’ but I’m not sure what that means.”
A chatterbox goblin?
It sounded like a talkative goblin that had learned human language.
“It sounds important. I’ll go to Comansville myself.”
I was curious about what that talkative goblin had said.
There had to be a reason Comansville had contacted the lord’s residence because of it.
I couldn’t ignore even the smallest piece of information.
A single moment of carelessness could endanger the entire territory.
The next day, at the frontier village of Comansville.
When I arrived with knights and soldiers, the village chief came running out in a panic.
“Chief, I heard you caught a talkative goblin?”
“Yes, My Lord. We tied it up outside the village.”
“I heard goblins are fast. How did you catch it?”
“The wood golem suddenly appeared, and it was so shocked that it fainted.”
That made sense.
Anyone would be startled if a ten-meter-tall wood golem suddenly appeared in front of them.
“Good work. But why did you contact me?”
“That goblin said there will be a war soon.”
I frowned.
The territory had only just started growing.
What kind of nonsense was this now?
“Show me the goblin first.”
The chief led me to a hut outside the village.
Inside, a goblin had its hands and feet tied and a gag stuffed into its mouth.
The villagers dragged the goblin out and pinned it to the ground so it couldn’t move.
I drew Soul Harvester and gave an order.
“Stand it up and remove the gag.”
The villagers pulled the goblin upright with only its hands bound, then removed the gag.
The goblin immediately began speaking at lightning speed.
“Puhah! If you don’t release me, I’ll kill every last one of you! And all of you will obey me! Anyone who rebels will just die! I am a great goblin! I don’t understand why you captured me! If my tribe finds out, they’ll skin all of you alive and—”
I hated noisy things.
I placed Soul Harvester against the goblin’s neck.
“I am the master of this land. Shut your mouth.”
“Eek!”
“What is your name? Keep your answer short.”
“Name? I don’t have one.”
Appraisal.
[No Name (10 years old)]
[Son of Goblin ‘No Name.’]
That’s a first.
Does this tribe just not give names?
“I’ll give you a name. From now on, you are ‘Bixby.’”
“Bixby?”
“Yes. Bixby.”
The moment he received a name, Bixby became ridiculously happy and started bouncing around.
“Bixby! Bixby!”
“Stop making noise before you get stabbed.”
“Eek!”
I crouched down until I was at Bixby’s eye level and questioned him.
“Bixby, I heard you said a war is going to happen. Is that true?”
“Yes. All the chieftains are going to gather soon. Whenever the chieftains gather, war happens.”
“You don’t know why they’re gathering?”
“No. But I think it is because there are fewer and fewer trees.”
What the hell was he talking about?
Something didn’t add up.
Considering how much land we had cleared, it wasn’t nearly enough to cause such a huge commotion that goblin chieftains would gather.
I think Bixby is exaggerating.
Well, I’ll know once I meet his chieftain.
“How far is your tribe from here?”
“You sleep for two nights, then walk until the next day.”
Goblins moved faster than humans inside forests.
Taking that into account, I estimated the distance to be around seventy to eighty kilometers.
When I looked in that direction, I could see a large mountain about twenty kilometers away.
“Bixby, is that mountain difficult to cross?”
“Yes. Very tiring.”
If even a goblin found it exhausting, then it would probably be difficult for humans to cross.
Could I use that mountain as a boundary in negotiations?
Either way, I need to meet this guy’s chieftain.
“Tell your chieftain that the master of this land wishes to meet him.”
“He won’t come. Humans don’t keep promises.”
“I keep promises. Because I am the master of this land.”
“……What does that mean?”
“If I don’t keep my promises, I can’t keep my land. Tell him exactly that.”
