The Stubborn Lord’s Tale of Happiness: Conquering the Frontier Despite a Bad Attitude!
In early March, Radley, who was acting as the deputy captain of the Aarkvist territory’s military, was struggling with unfamiliar administrative tasks at the military outpost.
With half of the soldiers away, Radley had to manage their duty rotations, salaries, and the military budget. For someone who had only ever counted his own pay, this work was more challenging than any battle.
“Radley, sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but do you have a moment?”
Bart, who handled external affairs and was now assisting Radley, approached with a grim expression. Seeing his face, Radley stopped his work.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, the transport team that was supposed to bring mining resources from the mining village hasn’t arrived yet. They were supposed to be here by noon…”
“…What?”
Hearing this, Radley stood up from his chair in the captain’s office. It was already past noon. This was clearly an abnormal situation.
“I only found out because Mr. Philip from Skinner Trading mentioned that their delivery hadn’t arrived either. It’s way too late, so I thought something might have happened… We’ve been short on manpower and reduced the escort for the transport team.”
Mining development was a public project managed by the Aarkvist noble family, so when transporting ore from the mining village to the capital, Noeina, soldiers were assigned as escorts.
However, due to the severe manpower shortage, the number of escorts had been reduced to just one or two, as it was assumed that dangerous monsters wouldn’t appear in this area.
“…Today, Dant’s squad was on patrol in the city, right? Find him and call him back to the outpost. I’ll prepare the horses.”
“Understood.”
Within ten minutes, Dant returned to the outpost, and Radley finished preparing the horses.
Radley, accompanied by Bart and Dant, who could ride horses, galloped down the forest path leading to the mining village.
Now that the forest path was well-maintained, it took less than half a day to reach the mining village on foot. Riding at full speed, they soon found traces of the transport team—three abandoned wagons with their cargo scattered around.
“…This is…”
“Were they attacked by monsters?”
The cargo on the wagons had been ransacked, and ore was scattered everywhere. Bart muttered this as he surveyed the scene, while Dant voiced his doubts.
Dismounting and inspecting the area around the wagons, Radley replied.
“At least there were no casualties here. They even had the time to let the horses escape. They probably abandoned the cargo and fled.”
If they had been attacked by dangerous monsters, there would have been signs of a fight. But there were none here. No blood or flesh scattered around.
“Then why was the cargo ransacked? If it were food, I’d understand, but why would monsters bother with ore…?”
“…Orcs?”
Dant voiced his doubts again, while Bart sighed and spoke.
Orcs and goblins have a habit of collecting coins, silver, and gems when they attack humans. They must have been interested in the lapis lazuli raw stones in the cargo.
“Yeah, and probably more than one… This territory really has a thing with orcs, huh?”
Radley muttered sarcastically as he examined the ransacked wagons and the surrounding trees.
“I’ll ride to the mining village and check on their safety. You two return to Noeina and report to Lady Clara. Also, prepare for the orc threat. I’ll return as soon as I can.”
“…Isn’t it dangerous to move alone in this situation? Even for you, Radley.”
“If there are multiple orcs, it’s hopelessly dangerous whether there are three of us or just one. It’s better to trust luck and move quickly. You two go ahead.”
With that, Radley mounted his horse again.
“…Understood.”
“Radley, be careful.”
“Right. You two as well.”
After a brief exchange, Radley rode off toward the mining village, while Bart and Dant hurried in the opposite direction.
……
After riding for a short while, Radley arrived at the mining village.
The mining village, home to craftsmen, miners, their families, and even some farmers, had a population of over 100. It was surrounded by wooden fences for protection against monsters.
The gate, the most vulnerable point, was closed, and men armed with crossbows peered over the fences, keeping watch. The atmosphere was tense.
The soldier on duty at the gate, a young man who had just reached adulthood, was startled to see Radley arriving alone.
“R-Radley, sir!”
“Open the gate.”
“Y-Yes! Right away!”
The soldier shouted instructions from the watchtower, and the gate was quickly opened. Radley rode his horse into the village.
“The transport team hasn’t arrived, so I came to check. On the way, I found abandoned wagons…”
“I was part of the escort for the transport team. We heard a terrifying roar from the forest, so we abandoned the cargo and fled back to the village with the horses and people… I’m sorry.”
“No, you made the right call. As long as there were no casualties, it’s fine.”
Radley reassured the young soldier, who was apologizing for abandoning the cargo.
Noein, the owner of the mine, had given clear instructions to prioritize human life in emergencies. The soldier’s quick thinking had saved the lives of the transport team and the horses, which was commendable.
“S-So… the laborers from the transport team said the roar sounded like orcs.”
“Yeah, no doubt about it. I saw the ransacked wagons, and the footprints and other traces were clearly from orcs.”
Radley nodded at the soldier’s report and looked around.
The village had a dozen or so crossbows for monster defense, and the villagers had brought them out, preparing for the orc threat. In addition to crossbows, strong men armed with axes and pickaxes had gathered.
One of them approached Radley. It was Victor, a dwarf mining engineer hired by Noein to oversee the mining operations.
“Radley, thank you for coming.”
“Victor, it’s good to see the village is safe.”
“Yes, for now… But I’m surprised to see orcs this close to the surface of the Bezell Great Forest.”
“Yeah. Two years ago, orcs appeared near Noeina… It’s supposed to be a rare occurrence, but it keeps happening. Just bad luck, I guess.”
The deep parts of the Bezell Great Forest were home to dangerous monsters like orcs, but the shallower areas were considered relatively safe.
There were rare records of stray orcs appearing and even reaching human settlements, but such incidents were noteworthy precisely because they were so uncommon. Encountering such rare events multiple times was simply bad luck.
“Well, no use complaining about what’s already happened. I’ll lead the military to plan an orc hunt… What about the village’s defenses?”
Since Noein had taken the ballista, the only weapon capable of dealing with large monsters, to war, the capital Noeina had only one left. Protecting the capital was the top priority, so the mining village’s defenses were inevitably weak.
“We’ll manage. The villagers are strong miners. We have crossbows, and mining tools can be used as weapons. We might not be able to kill the orcs, but we can hold them off for a while.”
“Alright… Then I’ll return to Noeina and prepare for the orc hunt. I’ll do my best to eliminate the orcs and reopen the forest path as soon as possible. Hold on until then.”
Leaving the village like this was painful, but given the military situation and his position, Radley had no choice but to lead the orc hunt. He had to trust Victor’s words.
“Understood. Please be careful on your way back, Radley.”
“Don’t worry, this is a warhorse. Unless an orc sneaks up and bites its side, it won’t be caught.”
Radley laughed as he patted his horse’s neck, then left the mining village.
