LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 90 - Episode 90: Zaus Saves Kikori Village
Episode 90: Zaus Saves Kikori Village
The roar of the Metal Bear.
“Guoooooo!!”
Oh boy.
What a tremendous sound.
It’s the roar of a giant bear that exceeds 20 meters in height. It’s like it resonates in your stomach, causing a slight earthquake.
The surrounding dwarf tribes are shrinking back.
The Metal Bear’s level is 5,000.
On top of that, its claws are made of steel. With just a light swing of its arms, it easily severed the trees around the village.
With a monster like this, the dwarves below level 100 would be instantly defeated.
The Metal Bear raised its hand towards the village houses.
Oops, it would be troublesome if the village got destroyed.
It’s not my territory yet, but once it becomes mine, any damage to the houses would lead to my losses.
That’s absolutely unacceptable.
“Hmph!”
I waved my hand.
Boom!!
With just that, the Metal Bear’s limbs were torn off, and it disintegrated into pieces.
Alright, extermination complete.
“What!? That was… a single strike!?”
“Hoho! Did you see that, Village Chief? This is the true power of Lord Zaus! My master is the strongest, Sai!!”
In the aftermath of the Metal Bear’s disappearance, several dwarves lay fallen.
Apparently, they were eaten by the Metal Bear. They came out of its stomach after I made it disappear.
They’re covered in wounds all over, but they seem to be barely breathing.
“Ultimate Extra Recovery Heal.”
With this, everyone should be saved.
“W-Where is this…? Are we saved?”
“Yeah, it seems like you guys were eaten by the Metal Bear.”
“M-My wounds are healed… Is it because of you?”
“Well, yeah.”
“…It feels like a dream. We’re alive.”
The dwarf man looked around nervously.
“This is… Kikori Village. I-I’m alive…”
Tears welled up in his eyes.
He must have resigned himself to death. Well, getting eaten by a bear would do that.
Several children clung to the man.
“Daddy!!”
Behind the children stood a woman.
She must be his wife.
A family reunion, huh?
A heartwarming sight.
At that moment, the Village Chief was staring at me.
His gaze was filled with indescribable suspicion.
But the hostility I felt from him until just now has clearly disappeared. I guess things have gotten a little better.
“Zaus… Let’s talk.”
Woodkirring, the Village Chief, invited us to his house.
The herbal tea served was quite tasty.
It seems the dwarf tribe is knowledgeable about herbs. Stasa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, enjoyed the tea.
I negotiated with the Village Chief again.
Well, calling it negotiation is a bit of a stretch; it’s more like negotiating the terms of invasion.
“Are you asking us to betray the Demon King?”
“That’s not it. This is my invasion. You guys just have to join me under duress.”
“Duress…? We’re having such a peaceful conversation, though.”
(Note:”Duress” refers to the use of force, coercion, threats, or other forms of pressure to compel someone to act against their will or better judgment.)
“Of course. If you’re under my command, you won’t do good work. So it’s better not to join.”
“Hmm… Do you want our technology?”
“That’s the idea. Of course, it’s not just about taking; it’s also about giving. Like the Metal Bear just now, right? If you become my subordinates, I won’t cause any damage to this village. All attacks from the Wightedales will be dealt with by my subordinates.”
“Hmm…”
“It’s not just that. I’ll share everything harvested in my territory, including crops, medical technology, handicrafts, weapons, items, and various other things.”
“Hmm…”
Stasa showed a list.
“Take a look at this. It’s a comparison of tax revenues between the Demon King’s territory and the Demon Duke’s territory. Hehehe.”
“…Unbelievable! The Demon Duke’s territory has lighter taxes in everything! Wheat taxes are 60%!? Which kingdom has such low rates!? It’s ridiculous!!”
“Hehehe. That’s the power of Lord Zaus for you. Do dwarves drink alcohol? In Zaus Town, a pint of ale costs just one cozons!”
“What!? O-Only one cozons!? That’s less than half of Kikori Village’s price!! Is it some cheap beer mixed with lots of low-quality herbs!?”
“Hahaha. Such alcohol doesn’t sell here. It’s a high-quality ale made with 100% malt.”
“Why can you offer it at such a cheap price?”
“Because the alcohol tax paid to the Demon Duke’s castle is less than 10%. Moreover, the price of ale is determined by confirming the manufacturing process and setting it at the Demon Duke’s castle. So, we can offer high-quality ale at a low price.”
“Hmm…”
It feels like watching a suspicious infomercial.
Well, there’s a reason why the tax revenue is kept low.
It contributes to reducing the burden of work and increasing job satisfaction.
Work is easy and fun. That’s the most important factor for the development of a territory.
If the territory grows, the population increases. If the population increases, tax revenue increases. Once you establish this system, tax revenue can be kept under control. Hence, the birth of a 10% alcohol tax and cheap, high-quality ale.
In other words,
“Fun is justice! …That’s it!!”
That’s right.
In the end, that’s what it’s all about.
Woodkirring frowned.
“Hmm. Unbelievable… Fun is justice?”
“Hehehe. And also this—”
Stasa showed a table with bar graphs.
“These are the development statuses of former Demon King’s territory areas that recently joined the Demon Duke’s territory. They’ve all achieved over twice the development. Next, here are the results of the satisfaction surveys of the residents.”
Huh?
Satisfaction surveys?
“We conducted surveys randomly from children to the elderly. And guess what? 100% of the residents answered ‘It was good to move to the Demon Duke’s territory.'”
Hey, hey,
“What’s that? I don’t know anything about it??”
“It’s essential as part of diplomacy.”
“I-Is that so?”
“And, um, we’ve received responses anonymously from various people in the survey. For example… ‘Even as a housewife, I want to be kept in the sleep diary,’ was written by an anonymous Earth Soldier housewife…”
“Oh, come on.”