Aiming for a Cozy Life in a Dangerous Forest in Another World! - Chapter 44.2

A Side Story: The Kingdom’s Ambition 2

His Majesty addressed Prince Rops, who had just entered the office.

“Rops, would you explain your proposal from yesterday to the Minister of Military Affairs and the Minister of Finance?”

“Of course, Father.”

Prince Rops took a round object from an attendant who was standing behind him and placed it on the table before us.

“Minister of Military Affairs, Minister of Finance. With this, we can march through the Great Forest of Chrys without any problems.”

“…Umm, Your Highness, what exactly is this…?”

“This is a magic tool that repels magical beasts and monsters. It was developed in a research laboratory in Marquis Renlow’s territory. With this, the magical beasts and monsters in the surrounding area will flee. It would be easy to enter the Great Forest of Chrys, clear the forest, and create a road.”

I see, a magic tool that repels magical beasts and monsters.

If what His Highness claimed was true, then it might be possible to traverse the Great Forest of Chrys. But…

“Your Highness, are you certain this magic tool is effective against the magical beasts and monsters that inhabit the Great Forest of Chrys? Have you conducted any experiments…?”

“I do not know the details. But I have heard that experiments are being conducted in Marquis Renlow’s territory. It shouldn’t matter where the experiments are conducted, the results should be the same. This magic tool is being mass-produced in Marquis Renlow’s territory and the surrounding territories. We will use it to develop the Great Forest of Chrys!”

……What should I do? There was no way for me to definitively refute Prince Rops’s claims.

I couldn’t deny the possibility that this magic tool might be effective against the magical beasts in the Great Forest of Chrys.

However, as the Minister of Military Affairs, responsible for protecting our country and the lives of our soldiers, relying on such an untested tool for a military operation was… unthinkable…

“Therefore, Minister of Military Affairs, I believe it is necessary for the royal family to take the lead in this grand undertaking of developing the Great Forest of Chrys. Therefore, I have appointed Rops as the leader. And I want you to support him as his deputy.”

“……V-Very well, Your Majesty.”

That wasn’t a request, it was an order from the king, a royal decree.

I had hoped to dissuade him, but he had already made up his mind.

Had we been summoned today just to be given this order…?

The next day, the two of them huddled in the Minister of Military Affairs’s office, discussing the situation, their expressions grim.

“…There must be some way to change His Majesty’s mind. If he ordered us to hunt Fangrabbits for export, we could do it. It would cost us some lives, maybe dozens, even hundreds, but it would be doable. But to develop that forest…? We’re talking about complete annihilation, and I’m not talking about a military term. And there’s also the risk of those magical beasts flooding out of the forest and into the country…”

“What about this ‘magic tool’ that Prince Rops mentioned?”

“Who knows if it would be effective against those creatures in the Great Forest of Chrys… Relying on such an untested device is suicide.”

“Is that so… From a financial standpoint, if we launch a large-scale expedition and it fails, it could spell the end of our country. In addition to the decline in salt exports, we have also seen an increase in nobles evading taxes, and there are unexplained expenditures…”

“Ah, if only Viscount Marshag was still here… Although it’s our fault for not being able to help him…”

“Indeed… Speaking of which, I heard that the village where Viscount Marshag’s children were sent was destroyed by a Fangrabbit that wandered out of the Great Forest of Chrys.”

“Ah, I heard about that as well. I also heard they mistreated and then killed those children. Poetic justice, I suppose.”

They concluded that there was no solution and that all they could do was to focus on minimizing the risks in case of failure.

♢　♢　♢

And so, the two of them received their orders directly from the king, and then a summons was issued to the kingdom’s most prominent nobles. The meeting to discuss the development of the Great Forest of Chrys commenced.

The moment Marquis Ludvin, the Minister of Military Affairs, explained the details of the king’s order and Prince Rops’s proposal, the meeting descended into chaos.

Well, it was highly unlikely that the decision to march into the forest would be overturned.

Marquis Renlow’s faction, the ones who had likely suggested this idea in the first place, were in full support. And even those from other factions, the nobles who didn’t truly understand the horrors of the Great Forest of Chrys, were blinded by the prospect of obtaining the resources that lay within.

Currently, the only ones who opposed it – attempting to at least minimize the scale and casualties – were Marquis Ludvin, Marquis Carla, and Margrave Baiz, who knew the horrors of the Great Forest of Chrys better than anyone, and their close associates.

These three were some of the most influential nobles in the kingdom, and many initially agreed with their opinions. However, Marquis Renlow forcefully argued that it was a royal decree, that Prince Rops was leading the expedition, that we could gain access to the resources in the Great Forest of Chrys, and that the declining salt export was a threat to the country’s survival. The tide of the meeting quickly turned.

In the end, it was decided to dispatch 5,000 soldiers to develop the Great Forest of Chrys, with 3,000 soldiers from Marquis Renlow’s personal army forming the core.

The second prince of the Kingdom of Lasiar, Prince Rops, was appointed as the supreme commander, and Marquis Ludvin, the Minister of Military Affairs, as the deputy commander.

And as an advance party, 500 soldiers from Margrave Baiz’s territorial army would clear out the magical beasts and monsters leading up to the Great Forest of Chrys and establish a base for the main army just outside the forest.

♢　♢　♢

After the meeting, Marquis Ludvin, Marquis Carla, and Margrave Baiz huddled together, discussing the future.

“I will return to the capital immediately to organize the advance party. However, we will need more troops, so I plan on issuing a request to the adventurers in the capital. I would like to entrust several areas to them. Marquis Carla, would you be able to prepare the funds to pay the adventurers…?”

“…Very well. I understand we need them, and complaining about the cost is pointless in this situation, so I will leave the amount up to you.”

“Thank you.”

“…So, Margrave Baiz, what do you think our chances of success are for this operation?”

“…At best, 30%. Even if this magic tool works as intended, marching 5,000 soldiers into the forest could cause gaps in its effectiveness. And the forest itself has changed.”

“Changed?”

“…There have been many reports of magical beasts and monsters emerging from the forest. Like the village where Viscount Marshag’s children were sent, it was destroyed. They have emerged before, but the frequency has increased. And while they used to retreat back into the forest after a short time, they are now staying outside the forest for longer periods.”

“…This really is a losing battle. Still, it was fortunate that Marquis Renlow, wanting to take all the credit for himself, insisted on his own troops forming the core. I am mainly tasked with advising His Highness.”

Margrave Baiz returned to his territory the next day.

Two days later, Prince Rops, Marquis Ludvin, and Marquis Renlow, leading the development army, set out from the royal capital. They joined up with the main army in Marquis Renlow’s territory, collected the magic tools from the surrounding territories, and headed towards Margrave Baiz’s territory.