Arc II - Agrarian Revolution

Chapter 7 - Beastmen

1 Month Since the Summoning

The shinnor kept walking calmly. He had already passed the first house and was stubbornly heading toward the spot where the jerkos was being butchered.

The captain drew his sword completely from its scabbard, and Kamelia followed suit.

"Watch out!" Alan yelled to the beastmen. "There's a shinnor heading your way!"

The men whipped their heads up, then looked at the green cat that was walking straight toward them, now only twenty paces away. The bear beastman set aside his knife.

Alan froze.

'What... what the hell is he doing?!'

The man walked directly toward the shinnor, and the beast calmly approached him.

Twenty paces. Ten. Five.

The beastman bent down and started scratching the shinnor behind its ear. "What, came back for more food, did you?"

The beast let out a high-pitched purr, as if in agreement.

Alan's jaw hit the floor, and to her surprise, so did Kamelia's. Even Lorgi blinked twice.

"What... what just happened?" Alan asked.

"No idea," Kamelia said.

The dog beastman looked up from the shinnor, then turned his gaze to the newcomers. "Who are you?"

Kamelia sheathed her sword. "Countess Armenas."

Both beastmen froze. The bear beastman stood up from the animal, and then both offered somewhat reluctant bows.

"Welcome to our village," the bear beastman said dryly. "What brings you to us?"

Lorgi sheathed his sword.

"We need to speak with the elder," the countess said.

The dog beastman pointed to a house with rabbit pelts drying on a line on the porch. "Over there."

Kamelia nodded. "I'll go speak with him. Wait here." And she headed toward the house.

Alan wasn't even watching her. He was just staring at the shinnor, which was already calculating a plan ten paces ahead to steal a chunk of meat. "So... that... what the hell was that?"

The bear picked his knife back up. "That's Kane."

Gothwald waved his hands. "No, I... I don't mean his name! That's a... a shinnor! Aren't they supposed to be aggressive?"

The bear beastman paused halfway to the jerkos carcass. "Who told you that?"

"Well... some guy in the other village."

The man snorted and drove his knife back under the hide. "Then he's never seen a shinnor in his life. They aren't that hostile. Quite the opposite, actually... they're easy to work with."

Lorgi raised an eyebrow. "Work with? A wild beast? That's impossible, it's not a hound."

The dog beastman went back to severing the head. "Working together and taming are two different things. Kane always lives in the forest, but he helps us track and corner game, and we give him a cut of the meat afterward." He nodded toward the shinnor, who sat with admirable patience, eyes locked on the jerkos carcass. "He came for his share today."

Alan straightened up.

'Ah... so they have a symbiotic relationship. They took down a jerkos, and they partner up with a shinnor... what a remarkable village, they've got some unique skills. It's almost a shame to force them into agriculture... a shame... hmm... or maybe the previous count also realized how valuable these talents were and deliberately kept them frozen in time? Even against the beastmen's own wishes? Who the hell knows. Whatever... I'll think about that later.'

He simply turned around and walked off in a random direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lorgi asked.

Alan stopped. "Me? Just checking out the village."

"Did you forget what Her Grace told you after you stuffed that poisonous mushroom down your throat?"

Alan went slightly pale. "I remember... not a step away from her. But technically, she was the one who walked away, so..."

"I don't give a damn about technicalities," Lorgi interrupted. "You aren't going anywhere alone. You'll just find some new way to land yourself in deep shit."

Alan frowned.

'You've got a lot of mouth now that Kamelia's gone.'

He let out a sigh. "Well, then why don't you just come with me? You can escort me, keep an eye on me, all that good stuff. No point just standing around here. Who knows how long Kamelia is going to be talking with the elder."

The captain stayed silent for a few seconds, then took a step forward. "Let's go."

They wandered through the village paths for a few minutes, the sun already dipping below the horizon, when Alan's gaze was caught by the porch of one of the houses.

Golna was sitting on the steps, and opposite her was a boy of about ten with wolf ears and a tail, gesturing wildly as he animatedly told her a story. The maid sat with her chin resting in her hand, listening with a warm smile.

Alan stepped closer to the fence to get a better look. Golna noticed him, and her smile faded slightly. She slowly stood up. "Lord Gothwald... did you... require something?"

Alan waved a hand. "Not at all, I was just looking around the village and spotted you here."

Golna let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief, while the boy turned to Alan. "Oh... Golna, who is that?"

"This is Her Grace's advisor, Goln."

The boy, Goln, opened his eyes wide. "No way! Then why isn't he... wearing silks and fancy clothes? He's Her Grace's advisor!"

Golna went a bit pale. "Goln! You shouldn't say things like that!"

Gothwald snorted. "An advisor, yeah... part-time."

Goln blinked. "A what?"

"Never mind." He looked at the girl. "Is this your little brother?"

Golna nodded. "Yes. Goln, meet Lord Gothwald, Countess Armenas's advisor."

The boy offered a clumsy bow. "Greetings, Lord Gothwald!"

Alan scratched the back of his head.

'Too formal... whatever, let it be... no point correcting him, it'd just look awkward.'

He nodded back. "Greetings, Goln."

Suddenly, quick footsteps approached from behind, and one of the younger guards stepped up. "Lord Gothwald, Her Grace is calling for you. The elder is ready to speak."

Alan pushed himself off the fence. "Finally." He turned back to Goln one last time and waved. "See ya, kid."

The boy froze for a second, then broke into a broad grin. "See ya, part-time advisor!"

Golna stood beside him, white as a sheet, while Alan simply shook his head.

'What a little shit... mocking me already...'

Lorgi remained by the fence. "Where is your old man?" he asked Golna.

The maid shook her head. "My father? He's in the house right now."

Lorgi nodded. "Tell that old geezer I'm here, and I'm ready to show him who the real powerhouse is this time... a bit later."

Golna gave a soft smile. "Of course, Lorgi. I'll make sure to tell him."

Meanwhile, Alan entered the elder's house. Kamelia was already sitting at the table, opposite a gray-haired beastman with no animal ears, though a long gray tail hung down from his chair.

"Ah, there you are, Gothwald," Kamelia said. "Have a seat." She pointed to the chair next to her. Alan sat down and looked at the elder. Unlike the beastmen in the yard, this one sat with a perfectly straight back, his eyes gleaming with a barely perceptible light.

'Right... looks like Kamelia already told him why we're here. He's practically glowing.'

"I assume you are, Lord... uh?"

"Dungel," the elder finished.

"Lord Dungel, you already know why we are here."

Dungel nodded quickly. "Yes. You wish to propose that we take up agriculture."

Alan stood up. "Well, then I don't see much point in standing around talking. Gather the village. We'll discuss it with everyone."

The elder stood up as well. "Yes, Lord Gothwald." He walked to the door and stepped outside. Alan followed.

'Right... we definitely need to hash this out with the whole village. I can see the elder is thrilled, but... the elder isn't the whole village. Most of them might want to plant wheat, but I highly doubt there won't be a minority that wants to stick to hunting. And a minority can easily sabotage things and ruin our day. I'll have to work with that.'

Ten minutes later, under a setting sun that stained the sky blood-red, around two or three hundred beastmen had gathered.

Alan stood before them, closely observing the crowd as they assembled. A woman with cat ears and a tail, a man with wolf ears, a boy with a fox tail and ears, and another man whose arms were covered in thick brown fur and who wore a dense beard.

"Alright," Alan began. "My name is Alan Gothwald, and I am Her Grace's advisor. I have come to discuss the transition to agriculture with all of you. To begin..."

An unintelligible hum of chatter broke out in the back rows. Alan blinked.

'Hey, I didn't even get to finish my sentence.'

The furry beastman in the front row looked back, his expression turning puzzled. "Lord Gothwald... they say they cannot understand you... that you are speaking in some strange tongue."

Alan frowned, then slapped his forehead.

'Fuck. The magic radius. There are about three hundred people here, of course they're standing more than thirty meters (100 feet) away from me. What do I do? ...Alright, I won't overcomplicate this, because otherwise there'll be WAY too
many questions later.'

He sighed. "The truth is, I am a Hero summoned by Svyatol... and due to the limits of the translation magic, I can only understand people, and you can only understand me, within a certain distance. So... crowd in closer so everyone can understand."

Whispers broke out in the front rows.

"A hero?"

"Summoned?"

"I heard there was a ritual..."

"Her Grace received a hero?"

The elder was just staring at Alan with wide eyes. Nevertheless, the crowd began to gather and press closer.

Gothwald simply crossed his arms. "I'm not here to give grand speeches, and I don't want any conflict, so let's be blunt." He gestured with his arm to the left. "Those of you who want to take up farming, gather over here." He pointed to the right. "And those who want to stick to hunting, over here."

The villagers froze for a moment, then slowly began dividing. After about three minutes, there were over two hundred beastmen on the farming side, and fifteen on the hunting side,mostly strong, older men and a few young guys.

Alan nodded. "Perfect. Then those of you on the right may continue to hunt and keep your traditions; no one is forbidding you. As for those who chose farming, we will speak later." He clapped his hands. "Excellent. You are dismissed."

The beastmen blinked for a few more seconds, then slowly began heading back totheir homes, whispering among themselves. Kamelia smiled faintly. "Well, look at you... that was fast." The captain simply gave three slow nods. Alan sighed.

'Huh... so that actually works. Peasants aren't 21st-century people. They don't need preambles, introductions, abstracts, and conclusions... just clear, direct, and straight to the point. Definitely got to remember that.'

1 Month and 2 Days Since the Summoning

Since early morning, Alan, Kamelia, and Lorgi had been walking near the village, accompanied by a human peasant with a small hoe who was moving with twitchy, nervous gestures. Alan stared at the plains.

'Phase two: we need to find out if the soil here is actually suitable for growing anything. I don't know shit about this, so we just hired a peasant who knows what he's doing.'

"Lady Armenas," Alan began. "Do you have the map with you?"

Kamelia nodded. "Yes. You told me to always carry it."

Lorgi unslung a leather sack from his shoulder, untied it, pulled out a tattered map, and handed it to Alan. He took it and began studying it, while the peasant, with slightly trembling hands, dug up the soil nearby and examined it.

"Right..." Gothwald began. "Overall, the village's location is pretty good. The forest starts to the east, there are open plains to the west, and further west the river curves around, plus a decent road runs slightly to the south."

'The question of why this place wasn't used before is... rhetorical. The nearest village is quite far from here, and the beastmen weren't allowed to farm, so. Classic setup. Once you remove the artificial barriers, the potential is obvious.'

The peasant, meanwhile, stood up from the ground. "Your Grace... the soil is quite good. You can plow fields here without any problem."

Alan closed his eyes, practically beaming.

'Yes... yes... Is something actually going right for once? I'm probably going to pay dearly later for this much good luck, but I don't care.'

Kamelia nodded. "Excellent. You may go to the guard. He will take you home and give you a sack of grain." The man bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Grace!" and immediately departed toward the guards.

The countess turned to Alan. "Listen... are you sure we needed to give him a whole sack of grain as a reward? Isn't that... a bit much?"

Gothwald walked over to the freshly dug soil and looked down at it. "You get what you pay for. Did you see how long he spent digging around in the dirt? He was honestly trying to figure out if it was good or not. Besides, we told him beforehand that he'd get his sack of grain regardless of whether the soil turned out good or bad, so he had no reason to lie."

Kamelia winced slightly. "Still... it seems a bit much..."

Alan shook his head. "Kamelia, let me teach you a new word, one I'm going to be using more and more. 'Investment.'"

The girl immediately perked up her ears. "I'm listening."

Even Lorgi turned slightly to listen.

"An investment is when you put resources into something so that you get a profit in the end. This, for example, was an investment. We gave away a sack of grain to find out if the soil is good. That's our input, and once we plant the crops and reap a harvest that is many times larger than that single sack of grain, that will be our profit. Understand?"

Kamelia was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yes, I understand. But... what if the fields yield no results? Is there a name for that?" Alan nodded. "Of course. If we end up with less than what we put in, that's called a 'loss.' Out-of-pocket, basically."

"Hmm... an interesting concept... So when Zogen and I spent time and effort to find edible plants, that was also a kind of... investment? We spent time, but now we know what can be eaten so the peasants can survive longer?"

Alan clapped his hands. "Exactly! You're a quick study. Since we've only taken a single step out of the deep hole this county is in, we're going to be investing constantly."

"And years of training soldiers," Lorgi interjected. "Is that an investment too? Right now you spend years, effort, food, and weapons to train recruits, and later you have an army."

Alan smiled slightly. "Hah, and that is called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. As soon as you learn a new word, you start seeing it everywhere."

Kamelia blinked. "Are there so many words to describe everything in your world?" Alan simply nodded. "Wow... no wonder you are so smart, coming from a world like that." The captain simply snorted, saying nothing.

Alan stared out at the plains for a moment longer with a faint smile, then his smile vanished.

"Fuck! We don't actually have any plows or seeds!"