So the Medieval Age Has a Split Inheritance System…
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Derpy
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 04 – Difference in Forces
The life of a slave in this world was miserable. They would be whipped and forced to continue work with their wounds. As miners, fishermen, or farmers. But even then, they aren’t resources that can be consumed quickly. There were many who controlled the damage to a degree where the slaves would just barely survive it.
If one treated their slaves better unnecessarily, they would shamelessly request even better treatment from their master. On the contrary, if one were too strict with their slaves, they might go insane or die from stress. Even though slaves weren’t educated and didn’t have much power, they still weren’t very cheap. Males were sold for about the equivalent of 100,000 yen each, and the females were sold for about 600,000 yen each.
Even if the operation cost was low, one still needed money to provide clothing, food, and shelter in order to have them live a healthy life. In such a situation, although Palmer, who promised to free his slaves, wasn’t considered that abnormal, he was still a rare kind of master. It was an era where former slaves would try to backstab their former masters in the back the moment they were freed. The reason Wright, who was freed thanks to his great contribution during fights, didn’t betray Palmer was because Palmer single-mindedly suffered and sided with his slaves.
They were just a group of 20 slaves. Even if all of them ended up having self-regeneration, they would still be no match against an army of 100. Even so, Palmer still faced his slaves every day and devoted himself to them, which earned him a certain amount of trust from the slaves.
Recently, the eldest son Wagner dispatched his army of 300 and conscripted soldiers to the neighboring kingdom of Aubrey, and looted profits equivalent to 30 million yen which contributed to his personal funds. The Aubrey Kingdom, who declared their independence during a time when the Carling Empire was busy with matters of succession over the throne several decades ago, suffered plundering from the vassals of the empire, which earned Wagner a greater reputation.
Similarly, Palmer used his 20 slaves to involve himself in a fight between barons and earned money equivalent to 1 million yen by the end of it. Comparing Wagner and Palmer, it was obvious which one was superior.
And now, Palmer’s father, Bayer Klaus, had Palmer enter a political marriage, but it wasn’t for the sake of expanding Bayer’s own territory. If Bayer instigated a war of expansion and the number of counties under his control increased, so would the amount of land that his second son Alfred and third son Palmer inherit in the future.
…This time, the person who would lead the expansion war was Wagner himself, who already succeeded in his part of the territory and was in charge of ruling it. If Wagner was seen as the one who started the war with Bayer helping him, then the territory earned during the war would be Wagner’s alone in the eyes of society, leaving no share for his younger brothers. The difference in forces between him and his brothers would become even more overwhelming.
Even if Palmer’s unit might eventually have great self-regeneration, if they faced a cavalry unit that could use powerful magic, they would still be defeated in no time. Even an army of slaves with self-regeneration would still lose against double the amount of enemies. Although Palmer knew this well, he still didn’t stop whipping his slaves. As he watched his slaves heal faster and faster, he firmly believed they would eventually become a mighty army.
Before long, the fluctuation of people in the Klaus duchy became intense. The Dismore duchy of the Aubrey Kingdom was adjacent to the Klaus duchy. And because Wagner knew that the duchy had fertile land split between four counties, he tried to wage war on them.
The Knut religion was the state religion of the Carling Empire. Wagner, having purchased an official claim to the Duke of Dismore from the pope, was promoting military preparation, making it clear to everyone that he wanted to start a war. On top of that, Wagner also promised to present the title of Duke of Dismore to the emperor of the Carling Empire, which confirmed that reinforcements would be sent from the royal family.1
From this war, all Wagner would get should he win was the Dismore county, the core of the Dismore duchy. However, this was a large enough prize, as he could expect double the tax revenue compared to other counties, which practically made him have four counties under his control.2
The Aubrey Kingdom’s army was about 5,000 men strong. On the other hand, Count Wagner had only 1,300 men, consisting of 300 units in his standing army and 1,000 conscripts. However, since his father, who had 1,000 men in his standing army alone, and the Carling Empire would send a total of 15,000 men as reinforcements, there was no way he would lose.
For further insurance, Bayer allied himself with Duke Schult by presenting his third son to Schult’s third daughter. This afterthought-like engagement alliance, which was done by giving each other not-so-important children, was a great deal to the pair that actually got engaged.
Editor: I feel like the chapter ended a bit abruptly…
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