LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 9: Red Finance
"Wow, we only have thirty mages, but they are paid more than 250 knights and 60 reserved soldiers that we have," I muttered as I examined the financial report given to us by Father's assistant. I understood that these mages had responsibilities beyond just combat; they also had feystone quotas, although their quotas were set at only 5 feystones per day. It was necessary for them to conserve their mana for battle.
"Sebastian, do any of these mages have mana talent above 5?"
"Well, we are on the frontlines. No one would come here if they could earn more gold working as mages elsewhere. That's why Alicia is already paid the same as these mages."
"She still has feystone quotas, right?"
"Alicia is very valuable. Thanks to her, we expect our expenses to be reduced by over 500 gold this year." Sebastian bowed to me. "You are also very valuable, Miss Eli. Your contributions are on par with Alicia's."
I frowned at his blatant flattery. Should I dismiss his remarks as politeness? Well, that wasn't crucial right now. Studying the financial report, I continued to question him.
"Do we need to pay this many knights? Didn't we field at most 50 to 70 knights?"
"Yes. Even when they didn't leave the gate, all knights remained on reserve," the butler hesitated. "Young miss, are you suggesting we reduce the knights' pay to that of common soldiers?"
"If the knights are paid more than archers or common soldiers, why are some of them in debt, like Alicia's father?"
"It's due to equipment repair."
"Aren't we already subsidizing that?"
"We provide subsidies, but they still need to cover half the cost. Is there anything else you'd like to know, Miss Eli?"
I frowned, no longer having any further questions. The knights wore tower shields, plated armor, and swords, all of which required steel, which was expensive. Even if the knights received higher pay, some unlucky ones could still accumulate debt. Additionally, the weapons used by the monsters were typically blunt, causing dents in the armor. While these could be repaired with some hammering, they made the armor more brittle over time and needed to be remelted after extensive repairs, which could cost up to 5 or 10 gold.
"Lady Elidranthia, hosting tea parties is essential. When you hold a tea party..." I pondered on how to improve this region, and the words of my teachers flowed from one ear to the other.
"Good grief. She excels in other areas, but it seems Lady Elidranthia has no passion for etiquette, dancing, and the arts..." The teacher left after realizing that her scolding was falling on deaf ears.
I kept flipping the karambit I bought in my hands. It now served as a stress ball, something I often brought during my hospital stays to pass the time. I found it enjoyable to grab, spin, and swing around, pretending to be like a tiger with this claw-like weapon. I always brought it with me, even attaching a strap to its sheath and treating it like a bracelet or necklace. In its wooden sheath, no one suspected it was a knife; it simply looked like a crescent moon carving.
"Ah! Why did I always think the way those knights were fighting was odd? Why did they fight in the open? In those YouTube videos about medieval warfare, the defending armies always fought on walls. The enemy would then climb the walls with siege weapons, and they'd fight it off," I muttered while lying in bed.
However, we didn't have stone walls; it was too expensive to build them, and our budget was limited. If I forced it, the orcs and trolls could surely destroy the wooden wall with their clubs. However, there were many modern warfare techniques that included traps, barbed wires, and more. Maybe we could use those to deter enemies. Arrows could reach enemies more than 150 meters away, while magic could reach half of that at 70 meters.
"Father, brother, I have plans to reduce our expenses!" I said to my father and brother during lunch two days later.
"Oh, what is it?" my father asked.
"How about we use traps?" I explained, using my crude drawings of our gate, archer's range, and mage's range. I suggested placing several blockades to create bottlenecks.
"We don't have enough money to do that..." My brother replied.
"We don't need any money. We just need the soldiers to chop some wood and place it here as a blockade."
"What about axes?" Father asked, but my brother answered him.
"Some soldiers use axes as their weapon. We can employ them," Zach said. After some thought, he scrutinized me, his gaze wary of my intentions. "Are you suggesting we retire some knights? This could lead to unrest. I do not agree that we should fire the knights just to save some money. They have defended this kingdom with their lives. We can't just throw them away. We shouldn't reduce their pay to that of common soldiers, either. They have children and family to feed."
"But this could reduce our expenses. We could eliminate the deficits all at once!" Our butler, also responsible for regional finance, was elated at my suggestion. Both of them glared at each other. I had thought about this, and while our financial adviser was correct, we didn't have to fire ALL the knights. We still needed some of them. On Earth, even in medieval eras, the military had a wide range of roles, from supply workers to chefs, maids, and weapons maintenance.
"Father, we don't need to fire the knights yet. By simply reducing damages and casualties, we can save costs since the subsidies for repairing knight's armor will be reduced."
"Yes! I agree! Fewer knight deaths! Thank you, Eli! You're my best sister!" Zach exclaimed in elation, hugging me and swinging me in the air.
"Well, I concede. I also agree that firing knights would lead to unrest." The butler bowed. My brother Zach was all smiles as we made our way to the barracks. He didn't wait for orders and rallied his men.
"Comrades, my sister Eli has come up with a new way for us to defend against the dark forces! Against the monsters! Bring out your axes, and let's head to the woods!"
The work was done almost immediately. Apparently, they had already been chopping down the forest around our town to fix the gate. I rolled my eyes, realizing that a literal goldmine was right in front of my eyes, and I almost vented my frustration and intimidation at my father and brother.
"Father, brother, why don't we sell timber to the public?" I asked my father politely.
"Who's going to cut the trees? The area is infested with monsters."
"The knights will," I replied.
"Hmm... the military is not advised to engage in local industries..."
"But no one here works as a carpenter in this forest!" I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "We are not interfering with any existing industries."
"I will talk to my father about it," Zach said. "Hmm... I wonder if we can make some agreements with the woodworkers. We are going to have a vested interest with carpenters in the southern area."
"The southern forest has laws against illegal logging. However, the northern forest does not," I replied. If the price of construction materials like wood became cheaper, we could buy more things or construct better buildings. We could make carriages, tools, and more. That means more work and possibly attracting more craftsmen from other cities since our wood would be more affordable.
"Are you really 10 years old?" Zach looked at me dubiously. Oh no, did I overdo it with the studying?
"Well, I just thought about it. A lot of things in our houses are made from wood, right? That's why I thought about it. Moreover, if we cut down the trees, we'll have a clearer view of the northern area. We might even have more time to sortie if something happens."
"I see. As expected of my genius sister!" Zach smiled at the prospect of a more secure border.
I followed Brother Zach as we installed the traps. When we passed the gate, I sometimes saw Alicia on top of the walls. She was already considered a regular there despite being only 10 years old. Alicia's father was going to die due to a bandit attack when she turned eleven. I needed to intervene somehow. But I didn't see any opportunity to get to know her and her family. She was creeped out by me, after all. She only acted politely to me since I funded her tuition. Deep down, she didn't actually like me. How should I face this issue? I genuinely wanted to befriend her.
When Brother Zach and I reported to our father, Sebastian and Father were rather against the idea of cutting the northern area forest. The monsters were dangerous, and many knights could potentially lose their lives. Moreover, if they sortie every day, the knights' pay would need to increase. It would be hard to cut down trees in full plate armor. Without the support of mages, the knights' lives would be in danger.
But they relented since they also wanted to test the waters. Maybe they felt the pressure from the debt and wanted to take a chance at an opportunity for income. They did give permission on the condition that we needed to approach this as safely as possible.
"Alicia! Can I come to your house tomorrow?" When I passed Alicia at the gate, I smiled and waved my hand. I wanted to know more about her family.
"Um… my house may not be appropriate for someone of your status, Lady Elidranthia," she replied nervously when I suddenly called out to her.
"I insist. I really want to know more about you!" I asked her sincerely. I wondered if I was being a little bit too forceful. "If not, how about we meet up at the 'promenade cafeteria'?"
"Well, in that case, please come to our house. I-I-I would be glad to have you over," she said. Huh? Why did she seem more fearful of joining us at a café than having me at her house?