59: Defense force, gotta have it, right?

That day, Kyle’s office had turned into a battlefield.

I’d flown in to help him, but the room was buried under paperwork.

“What the hell is this?”

“Kyle-sama! Please help!”

“Yeah. But first, explain.”

“Actually…”

Because of the Cocatris attack, Kyle’s army had to be formed earlier than planned. They’d started recruiting right away, and there were nearly two thousand applicants for a quota of three hundred.

That’s what, like, half the frontier settlers?

“Guess it shows how much people love Kyle. But should we increase the quota?”

“No, sir. That’d stretch the budget too thin.”

“Yeah, I know. Soldiers are just money-eaters.”

Basic upkeep for soldiers—food, lodging, clothing, gear, pay—adds up. Factor in training and everything else, and the cost per man isn’t exactly small.

You can’t just throw more soldiers at the problem.

“Honestly, I’ve got no idea how to pick the right ones…”

Alphard, working paperwork alongside Kyle, looked up.

“I’m supposed to be in charge of the army, but I’ve never picked recruits outside noble or knightly families. It’s proving… difficult. Craft, got any ideas?”

“Right, Alphard was a holy knight, wasn’t he?”

Elite troop recruitment’s different from drafting regulars.

I flipped through the stack of papers piled in front of Alphard.

Farmer, woodcutter, hunter, adventurer…

“Huh? Adventurers too?”

"Yeah, they’re pretty common. Might just be after citizenship."

"Getting citizenship in Goldendown’s not hard, is it?"

Normally, you either gotta be born there or pay a fortune. But in Goldendown—since it’s still a frontier settlement—citizenship’s easy to get.

Basically, you just need a place to live, a steady job, or to buy a house.

And for settlers looking to move in? They even rent out rooms. So yeah, it’s practically effortless.

"Right now, we don’t count adventurers as having a proper job. We welcome more adventurers, sure—but it’s hard to pin them down as stable."

True, some adventurers are wanderers who shift bases every other week. Hard to call that a real job.

But I didn’t think anyone’d join the army just for citizenship.

"From the perspective of a former adventurer, I’d guess most of the applicants signed up just because they like guarding this Golden Dune. You don’t usually ditch a life of freedom to be an adventurer for no reason."

I get it if they’re low-tier—can’t make ends meet as an adventurer. But judging by the applications, there are some with decent ranks mixed in.

"First, weed out the adventurers. Then, look for anyone with combat experience."

"Got it."

"Thank you, Brother."

While checking the cleared applications, I stumbled on someone insane.

I laid two files in front of Alphard.

"These two are definite."

"Who?"

"Degard Bismark and Tygar Gaidar. Both are C-ranked adventurers with mercenary experience. They were in charge during the Cocatris Defense."

"Ah, them. One’s a beastman, right?"

"Problem with that?"

"No... not really."

Alphard hesitated for a second. Probably still uneasy about letting beastmen into the army. But Kyle’s policy was clear—no discrimination, beastmen or otherwise.

"Degard would make a good second-in-command under Alphard."

"Yeah. Not bad."

"Take all adventurers ranked D or higher. For the ones below, cross-check their reports."

"Got it."

Even if they’re joining the army, basic checks are needed—ideological background, family ties, political leanings. But with over two thousand applicants, there’s no time to get through them all.

After narrowing things down like this, they’re supposed to do a deeper check.

The school’s teachers and the civil servants sent by the Marquis ended up living a schedule so hectic they might as well have been weeping every day.

Yeah. I’ll bring potions later.

After about a month of selection, all the effort paid off. Kyle’s personal army was officially formed.

Three hundred might sound small, but for a lower noble, that’s a lot—some can’t even afford ten soldiers. So three hundred is quite the number.

If war broke out and the king ordered troops to be sent, Kyle would have to draft peasants and drag them along. He hated that idea, so he built a professional force instead.

Of course, the frontier region being dangerous had a lot to do with it too.

The town's population had swelled so much that, for maintaining order, we ended up needing something like this.

The soldiers were divided into three groups—active duty, on standby (training), and resting—and rotated accordingly, so only a hundred were active at any given time during peacetime.

Kyle was the overall commander. Alphard was the de facto general. Degard served as his second-in-command, and Taihar led the front lines.

Kyle looked down from his manor at the training grounds. Watching Taihar put the troops through Spartan drills, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally coming together, huh."

"Yeah. Took a hell of a lot."

"But now we don’t need to hire adventurers just to keep the town safe. That’ll let us push forward with clearing out monsters from the surrounding areas."

"Yeah. The walls will be finished soon, too."

Once the walls were fully built, our defensive strength would jump. We’d need fewer adventurers just to keep the walls secure.

"Yeah. Everyone’s really pulling their weight."

"I can’t fall behind either."

"Actually, Craft-sama, you should rest."

"Ah, yeah, yeah. You too, don’t push it."

"Persia won’t let you overdo it, so you’re safe."

"I see."

Persia watched the two of them laughing together, her brow furrowed.

◆

The second wall, once unfinished, was now complete.

Now every structure would be protected by alchemical reinforced stone walls.

With the previous attack having spared the completed sections, the wall alone was enough to ease our minds.

Today, it was Leifan and Kyle, with Persia, checking things out together.

"The north gate faces the river, so it’s closed for now. The west, east, and south gates will stay open until nightfall."

"Right—outside the north gate, we’re building a small area, completely adjacent to the river, aren’t we?"

"Yes. Right now, we're testing whether we can build a bridge across this great river, working alongside the Construction Guild. If it’s possible, the bridge will lead to a gate. If not, we’ll construct a port instead."

"Exactly as reported. Everyone’s really putting in the effort."

"Yes! I’ll pass that along to the others!"

"Thanks. How’s the Third Wall coming along?"

"We’re currently laying the foundation. The Third Wall’s a different scale entirely."

"True."

Even the Second Wall is on par with the capital’s size, but the Third Wall will be dozens of times larger. It’ll easily fit three capitals. Normally, such a project would take decades. But thanks to alchemical reinforcement stone, we’ll finish it in a fraction of the time.

Kyle gave a satisfied glance at the completed wall and gate.

A red two-legged lizard dashed over. Probably Alphard’s Red Flame.

“Lord Kyle!”

“Alphard, what’s wrong?”

“A letter. A letter’s arrived!”

The urgency in Alphard’s voice made it clear this wasn’t just any letter.

“Back to the office. Craft brother, come with us.”

“Got it.”

We hurried back to Kyle’s office.

Kyle sat at his desk when the steward—sent over by the Marquis for extra help—bowed and handed over the letter.

Kyle stared at the seal.

“This… this is the royal seal.”

“What? Not from the Marquis?”

“No. It’s from the capital.”

Kyle, trembling slightly, opened the letter and read it over and over.

“What’s it say?”

He carefully folded the letter, placed it on the desk, and looked up.

“A inspection team is being sent from the capital.”

Three hundred soldiers— even if they’re blood relatives of the Marquis— that’s still a lot.

Ordinarily, you can’t afford to pay professional soldiers with money.