Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

Thanks to the Espada, the town’s defensive walls were steadily nearing completion.

Now then, once the walls were finished, I thought it was time to make ballistas. Just as I was thinking that, he came back.

It was Rango.

“Hey! A caravan has arrived!”

“No way, out here in the middle of nowhere… Whoa, it’s for real!”

“There’s a lot of guards… no, way too many!”

The adventurers started making a fuss.

Standing atop the newly completed walls, I called out to Kamushin.

“Can you go fetch Bell?”

“Yes!”

Kamushin gave a cheerful response and took off running. Kamushin was lively as ever today. After watching his back, I turned to Til and Arte.

“All right, let’s go greet them. I’ve got a lot to ask.”

“Yes.”

Til and Arte nodded and followed me.

The town walls were connected to the nearby buildings. There was a balcony on the third floor, with a passage leading onto the wall.

So, to get back down from the wall to the ground, you had to go through the building.

“Oh, Lord Van.”

“I heard a caravan arrived.”

“Its here, it’s here!”

I waved one hand as I went down the stairs. As a child lord, I was constantly being called out to by others.

After answering several people casually, I finally reached the ground.

When I got to the road, the caravan was just approaching.

But as I looked at the people surrounding the approaching wagons, I furrowed my brow.

The wagons were fine — just the one I had entrusted earlier, plus two large ones apparently purchased additionally.

They had also bought horses — there seemed to be at least twenty or thirty.

And around them were nearly a hundred young men and women.

They wore simple armor and carried spears but didn’t seem very experienced. In the middle of the caravan, about twenty people looked like adventurers.

Rango seemed to be the driver of the central large wagon.

While I was watching, Bell and Kamushin came running from the village. For some reason, the Espada and Dee, who walked at a slightly faster pace, were also with them.

“Rango is back!”

When Bell said that, Rango raised his hand in greeting from afar.

It was a reunion after a long time. The brothers would surely share the joy of seeing each other again.

That’s what I hoped, but Bell’s first words were, “How much did you sell for!?”

And Rango’s response was similar.

“One hundred eighty platinum coins. Besides the wagons and horses, I brought back about 150 slaves, mostly debt slaves sold by slavers because they’ll be needed from now on.”

“I see…! Wait? One hundred fifty slaves…? And mostly young ones… If each is worth one or two gold coins, that’s one to three platinum coins each…!?”

Bell looked shocked at Rango’s bold slave trade.

But Rango grinned fearlessly and spoke.

“One hundred healthy, uninjured slaves under twenty years old, and fifty around ten years old, for eight gold coins. After the auction, I went to the mary trading company to talk about leaving and those three idiots. For some reason, they apologized instead. They said they didn’t want to lose dealings with Lord Van and offered to sell what I wanted at half price.”

“...The mary trading company? The only ones who can decide that immediately are the head or vice head of the trading company…”

Bell frowned in thought, but Rango just pointed inside the wagon and explained.

“Then there are seasonings, crop seedlings, and tribute items for Lord Van.”

“Tribute items? Hey, make sure they’re proper goods.”

Bell narrowed his eyes, and I peeked out from the side.

“Welcome back~”

“Ah, Lord Van! Long time no see! We’ve just returned!”

Rango bowed his head; I nodded in response.

“Thanks for your hard work. That’s a lot of people.”

Saying that, Rango held out a leather pouch with both hands.

“Rest assured, Lord Van, nothing intended for you has been touched. Here are 130 platinum coins. Please accept them.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I took them and handed them to Til. Til fumbled nervously as he received it and let out a strange noise, “Hyaaah…” Well, I’d shake too if I had an unbelievable fortune in my hands.