Chapter 9
I'm a Homebody, But I Possessed a Dark Captivity Story
Episode 9
“It's hot, I'm dying of heat.”
“Just bear with it a little longer. The sun will set soon.”
“What good is the sun setting! Tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, I'll still be hauling dirt until I drop!”
Thwack!
The man, unable to hold back any longer, slammed the shovel he was holding down.
“Hey, you! What if someone hears us!”
“Let them hear! Harvest is just around the corner, and how many months has it been already!”
The man's name was Hans.
He was a farmer who had lived in the Grand Duchy of Bleil for three generations.
Despite his friend's pleas, he couldn't contain his anger and grumbled his complaints.
“Even if they offer compensation… all the men in our households are mobilized, are we supposed to let our ancestors tend to our fields?!”
“Isn't that the case for everyone?”
Glancing around nervously, the man patted Hans on the shoulder.
He felt just as frustrated by the situation.
The dam construction, which was supposed to be finished soon, was taking much longer than expected, making those nearing harvest time increasingly anxious.
Of course, Grand Duke Blale was not a bad lord who refused to pay fair compensation or ruled with tyranny.
However, when their livelihoods were at stake, the territory's residents couldn't hide their unease.
“I hope this gets resolved quickly.”
The man, who had finally agreed with Hans, slumped to the ground powerlessly.
Living within the walls built by a noble promised a safe life, free from worries of unjust plunder.
And simultaneously, it meant that if the territory required development, they had to be mobilized to provide labor.
The Grand Duchy of Bleil had a low tax rate. Because of this, the territory's residents had willingly cooperated whenever work was needed.
However, after enduring repetitive labor with no end in sight and the scorching heat of midsummer, their remaining enthusiasm was about to completely drain away.
“I just want to eat the food my wife makes… I can't even remember the last time I had a warm stew.”
“Is it your turn to cook tomorrow? Ugh, looks like we'll be starving.”
“Haaah…”
Hans sighed as if the earth would cave in and shook his head.
With even the Grand Duchy's soldiers now engaged in construction work, there were no spare hands.
Women and children had to take care of household chores as well as the fields while the men were away, so naturally, the men had to handle all meals at the site.
Although food supplies were provided, the extremely small number of professional cooks meant the quality of the food was inevitably very low.
“Where are we going to find more people?”
“Everyone's busy as hell right now, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“Right. Sigh, let's just go back to work.”
Complaining would only waste time.
Hans and his friend picked up their shovels, stood up, and walked away listlessly.
But then.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
“Do you hear something?”
“Hear what?”
“Like the sound of running…”
A sound like an army on the move.
The ground-shaking sound grew increasingly distinct in their ears.
“Are we… at war or something?”
“What kind of lunatic would start a war right before harvest? They must want to be struck by divine punishment!”
More importantly, there was no one audacious enough to provoke Grand Duke Blale.
Hans, gripping his shovel tightly, looked in the direction of the sound with an anxious expression.
Then he spotted them.
“Is… is that people?”
It was definitely people. And a very large number of them.
Kicking up dust as they ran, they were shirtless, wearing identical work clothes on their lower halves, and armbands on their arms.
And on the armbands, it read, 'Black Eagle Corps'.
“Wh-who…!”
As the soldier in charge of security at the site hastily donned armor over his work clothes and stepped forward, Liam, the Grand Duke's aide who had arrived late, stepped in front of them.
“Hoo, hoo…!”
His labored breathing clearly showed how urgent his situation was.
“These are mercenaries from the United Illemena, the Black Eagle Corps, who will be commencing dam construction from today. Hoo, it is the Grand Duke's command… hoo, to hand over to them and leave the site!”
“R-really?”
“Are you serious?”
The territory's residents looked back and forth between Liam and the mercenary group with bewildered expressions.
Soon, the mercenary captain at the very front shouted loudly.
“Black Eagle Corps, commence work!”
“Com-mence!”
As the Black Eagle Corps rushed into the dam construction site with a great roar, the territory's residents, who had finally escaped their daze, followed them to hand over duties.
Even while directly signing the contract with Count Golbro, who owned the Black Eagle Corps, Liam hadn't quite grasped it. But even at this moment, the events that had transpired since morning felt unreal.
“Huh…”
Liam, letting out a soft sound, gazed at the Black Eagle Corps, then turned his head towards a figure that had appeared beside him.
It was April.
Hmm, thankfully, things went well.
I don't know what you might be imagining, but the 'imagined things' won't happen.
Feeling once again the preciousness of my ant-like life, which I managed to preserve safely today, I turned to head back to the room that others call a prison but feels like heaven to me.
“How did you mobilize them? I know that this isn't how things usually get resolved.”
At Liam's question, I couldn't help but stop in my tracks.
“It was just… luck…”
“It’s hard to explain the fact that there wasn't even a separate negotiation process as mere luck.”
Ugh, he's not letting it go, is he.
I sighed and brushed off the dust from some nearby materials, then sat down casually on them.
“I presented very specific conditions. Because the seal from the Grand Duke's residence was on it, guaranteeing its credibility, the process was faster.”
“Conditions that could satisfy them enough to come this quickly would likely be quite disadvantageous to us.”
Liam seemed worried that I might have offered an exorbitant payment.
But even if it's someone else's money, I'm not so heartless as to spend lavishly when I'm living off them—or rather, when I've been kidnapped.
“Quick negotiations are possible even when the conditions are the same or similar to what they usually accept.”
“……?”
“They were originally scheduled to be hired by the Kingdom of Salt, but the contract was unexpectedly terminated. And I have experience participating in contract negotiations between Salt and the United Illemena.”
I added, unfurling a sunshade to block the bright sunlight.
“…So, it really was just good luck.”
I was afraid he would ask more questions, but thankfully, someone seemed to have business with Liam.
“Uh, Assistant….”
“Hm? What is it?”
A man in shabby clothes looked up at him with a timid expression.
“Who should I hand over the cooking duties to? The mercenary group doesn't have a cook, you see.”
“Cook?”
Ah, right.
Liam only reviewed the contract terms, so he wouldn't know this.
Feeling the need to explain, I answered instead.
“The women who need to engage in economic activity within the territory should do the cooking.”
“So, you mean, mobilize the remaining territory residents…?”
“Yes.”
If possible, it's better to have volunteers than forced mobilization.
I nodded without hesitation.
The dam construction documents included brief personal information not only for the mobilized territory residents but also for those who were not.
What particularly caught my eye were the women from certain classes who had little to no economic activity, thus no taxes to pay.
Among them were widows whose husbands had died, single mothers, or women who had given up marriage to support their parents alone.
The maid who brought meals periodically told me that such women barely made a living by doing odd jobs for others.
“Now that the men are mobilized for construction, there's plenty of work, so they don't seem to starve, but once the construction is over, it'll go back to how it was.”
“Then, what about those people….”
“They'll barely scrape by. If they're unlucky, they'll starve.”
Once I roughly understood the situation, the outline for the next task became clear.
'The Black Eagle Corps has no cooks.'
The Kingdom of Salt had dispatched cooks directly, but there was no time for that now, and it was difficult for the Grand Duke's residence to send people.
Cooks belonging to noble households typically had a strong sense of duty and wouldn't want to bother preparing meals for lowly mercenaries.
So, what I thought of was a substitute workforce.
After calmly reviewing the situation, I replied with renewed confidence.
“As Liam has seen, the contract conditions include providing breakfast and lunch to the Black Eagle Corps. You know that, right?”
“W-well, that is true, but…”
“So, if you want them to start work from dawn tomorrow, Liam, you'll need to take care of it. I've prepared a list of potential hires, so you can refer to that.”
Liam, who had been looking surprised and dumbfounded, soon composed himself and nodded.
“I will proceed.”
“Yes.”
Nodding, I then turned my gaze to the clear blue sky.
Basking in the sunlight after so long. It's not bad, of course.
'As expected, I...'
I'm already starting to miss my room, which is cool and dark even without blackout curtains.
