Became a Medieval Fantasy Wizard

Chapter 187

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: none

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In the past, Ian had boarded a ship to visit Baron Devosi's domain. On the hills, he'd met Damon, the 'self-proclaimed' baron, who introduced Ian to his acquaintance - the leader of a pirate band. Thanks to that, Ian had once traveled comfortably by ship.

But now, on the river, he encountered that pirate leader again. This time, the man presented the ridiculous credentials of 'Baron Talian's navy'.

The moment the pirate leader saw Ian, he immediately bowed his head. Ian, Belenka, and even Kira were all present - the same members from their previous ship journey.

"Have you been well, Big Bro?" the pirate leader exclaimed.

Ian was genuinely curious. Why, of all the words he could have chosen, did he pick 'Big Bro'?

"Sure," Ian replied, lacking the energy to argue. He simply went along with it. The world was wide and full of lunatics. If one could understand the minds of all the world's lunatics, they'd be a transcendent sage beyond human comprehension.

"Ian, do you know this thief?" Salvador asked.

"Well... I suppose you could say we're acquainted," Ian replied briefly, recounting what had happened in Baron Devosi's domain.

Salvador's expression turned peculiar. "Then why is he impersonating Baron Talian?"

Ian shrugged. That was something they'd have to find out now.

"You, come here for a moment," Ian called.

"Yes sir!" The pirate leader laid a plank on the boat and hopped over to Ian's ship.

"Weren't you an acquaintance of Baron Damon?" Ian asked.

"Oh come on, acquaintance? Call me his brother!" The pirate leader shouted excitedly. Judging by his manner, he seemed genuinely happy to meet Ian.

'What's going on? For real?' Ian thought as he silently listened to the pirate leader's story. He was immediately dumbfounded.

"After hearing the wizard big bro's advice, Bro Damon went to find Baron Talian's domain!"

"I know that," Ian said. He had recommended to Damon that he should enter the service of a real nobleman, earn merit, and then be granted territory. He thought it wouldn't be difficult to achieve merit since Damon already possessed an army (read: bandits).

"Bro Damon stayed in Baron Talian's domain for a while, helping Baron Talian!"

"Hmm. Maintaining public order?"

"Yes! You know how all sorts of bastards roam the wilderness, right?" The pirate leader listed off the atrocious crimes committed in Talian's territory. The crimes committed by the bad guys who came from outside were as follows: Stealing pet ducks! Picking ripe apples from orchards! Driving deer living in Talian's territory into their own domains to hunt!

"Seriously! Aren't they f*cking bastards!" the pirate leader exclaimed.

Ian was momentarily confused by his lack of medieval sensibilities. Well, they were bad deeds, sure... Definitely wrong, but... Ian, who had been expecting violent crimes like murder and kidnapping, felt oddly deflated.

"My word! How could they do such things...!"

"What utter scoundrels!"

"They ought to be stoned to death!"

Those around him with abundant medieval sensibilities (actual locals) shuddered at the horrific crimes committed in Talian's territory. Stealing someone else's duck? They might starve to death without it! What absolute bastards!

Food theft in medieval times was a crime on a completely different level from its modern counterpart. In modern times, with robust refrigeration technology and superior agricultural techniques, food is produced in such abundance that it rots.

But up until medieval times, it was extremely difficult to both produce and store food. In most cases, food couldn't be stored for even two years, so even if there were consecutive bumper crops, one bad harvest could lead to mass starvation.

In such circumstances, livestock was a very suitable means of storing food. If you fed rotten or surplus food to livestock, you could gain that much protein resource. And they steal a duck that even lays eggs?! It was an abominable crime that would make one's blood boil.

"There was more work than expected, so Bro Damon postponed his expedition and stayed in Talian's territory," the pirate leader explained.

Ian nodded.

Now that he thought about it, he should be calling him Sir Damon rather than Bandit Damon. Most medieval knights were appointed this way. Those who performed peacekeeping duties received land from the lord and became knights. Most outsiders visiting Talian's territory would probably call Damon 'Sir Damon'.

Of course, Damon himself would prefer the cooler title of 'baron', but still.

"But recently, the workload has grown beyond our ability to handle."

"The refugee problem?" Ian asked.

"Yes! That's right!"

Refugees, huh. Ian easily understood the situation around Talian.

Probably the black dragon, Predius, who had settled in the Golden Mountains. And the nearby baronies and counties that Predius had utterly destroyed. The refugees were the result of that destruction.

Medieval nobles enjoyed power equal to that of a king. In other words, when a lord died, their territory became no man's land. The medieval period was already a post-apocalyptic era in itself. If the minuscule public authority that existed were to collapse, it would inevitably revert to the Stone Age.

Naturally, those with any sense abandoned their homes and lands to flee for their lives.

Where to?

To Baron Talian's domain! They judged that since there was at least a nobleman and an army there, the situation would be better than the Stone Age. They might have also harbored a faint hope that Talian would protect them from Predius.

As refugees poured in from all directions, Baron Talian's domain was turning into a lawless city that might appear in some cyberpunk story.

"Given the situation, Bro came to ask for our help," the pirate leader continued.

As the influx of refugees turned the domain into chaos, Talian's knight(?), Baron Damon, went to find his brother who he had been close with during his bandit days.

It wasn't a proposal to co-manage the territory. The biggest problem caused by the exploding refugee population was, of course, food. While public order could be maintained somehow with Damon's army, they couldn't prevent starving people from turning into mobs.

After hearing his brother's dire circumstances, the pirate leader decided to actively help Sir Damon. Damon was so moved by his brother's actions that he bestowed upon him the honorable title of [Baron Talian's Navy]. And that's how the navy of a domain without a river came into being.

Ian looked at the pirate leader again, freshly dumbfounded. Sure, using Lucy's name was one thing, but what about plundering passing merchant ships?

"Don't tell me you've been sending the food you received as 'tolls' to Talian's domain?" Ian asked.

"That's right, Big Bro!"

Ian felt dizzy at the emergence of this medieval version of a privateer. When Talian's food situation worsened, they hired(?) pirates to stimulate a plunder economy! What a militaristic idea!

While the idea was innovative, Ian didn't think the refugee problem could be solved with just the food that one pirate gang could extort. It might be better than nothing, but it was merely a stopgap measure at best.

'This isn't good.'

The black dragon Predius. The appearance of just one fantasy monster had caused a cataclysmic change in the human world, as if hit by a natural disaster. If left unchecked, Araz Duchy might truly disappear. It would be the birth of a legend about a dragon that destroyed a country. Such a terrible thing had to be prevented at all costs.

"You'll be our guide. We need to get to Talian's domain quickly," Ian ordered.

"Yes, Big Bro!"

---

---

Ian, guided by the pirate leader, hurried to Baron Talian's domain. Surprisingly, the Knights of Saint Santiago didn't draw their swords against the pirates.

"They're fighting for Baron Talian. And for the people..." Salvador muttered, seemingly reluctant.

Since Talian had effectively become the pirates' backer, if the Knights of Santiago attacked, it would escalate into a political issue.

"Thank you for your restraint," Ian said.

"Heh. It's nothing to be thanked for," Salvador replied.

Salvador, who once fought under the Emperor, was certainly capable of such political calculations. He was just disappointed that he couldn't strike down the evildoers.

Ian entered Baron Talian's domain, following the familiar path. The first thing he noticed was the sheer number of people. As soon as Ian entered the domain, he could feel the post-medieval level population density.

"My lord! Spare a coin! My lord!"

"My child is starving! Please, have mercy...!"

"I'm not producing milk because I'm so hungry... At this rate, my baby will...!"

Almost all of those many people were beggars. These were the refugees who had fled from the black dragon. There were countless makeshift tents made by digging the ground and covering it with leather. Traces of fires were everywhere, and blackened lumps and charred bones were strewn about. Evidence of eating dogs, cats, and even rats.

Ian shook his head at the sight. Certainly, Talian's domain seemed to be squeezed to its very dregs.

"Oh my..."

"If we shared some of our food..."

The Knights of Saint Santiago softened immediately upon encountering the refugees. How could they not help when their brothers in faith were starving like this! But that was the root of the problem.

"F-food!"

"Me too! Give me some too!"

"Why! Why give it to that person and not me!"

As soon as someone received food, the refugees became extremely agitated and clung to the Knights of Santiago. Sharp swords? Cold chain mail? Such things didn't even register in their eyes. Refugees focused solely on food like beasts!

Sensing the crisis, Ian immediately called for Inglan. "Inglan!"

"Uh... huh?"

"Use magic!"

Ian didn't have any magic to subdue the crowd. He had plenty of magic to 'sweep away' the crowd, but Ian wasn't a madman. He couldn't kill refugees. But Inglan was a photon wizard who manipulated light. Photon magic was good for subduing crowds without harm.

"[Light!]" The moment Inglan chanted the spell, a flash of light sparked in the sky.

At the blinding light, the refugees staggered and sat down. In that gap, Ian summoned the mystery of wind.

"[Wind!]"

[Wow! Humans!]

"[Scatter my voice!]"

Sound travels on the wind. Ian used the power of the wind mystery to create an artificial echo. Ian's voice spread in all directions as if he were using a microphone.

"Foolish ones! stop!" As the magically amplified voice rang out, the refugees stopped what they were doing.

"The sun watches over you!" When Ian shouted again, the refugees bowed their heads like dominoes.

The flash of light from the sky... And that booming voice! This was, unmistakably, the voice of the Sky God!

"Oh! Great Sky!"

"Please! Food! Give us food!"

The refugees began to beg Ian earnestly. Ian maintained an uncomfortable silence as he watched. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved. How desperate must their situation be for them to beg even when hearing a divine voice? But even Ian hadn't learned magic that could make bread spring forth from the ground.

'F*cking dragon bastard.'

"Everyone, don't get excited and maintain order. We'll distribute everything we have," Ian said, turning to look at the Knights of Santiago.

The knights wore expressions of deep emotion. "Lord Ian!"

"Truly...! You are...!"

Even if Ian told them not to, the Knights of Santiago would give away all the food they had. They had almost no food left anyway.

It was right then that someone came galloping on horseback. "Stop!"

It was a face Ian knew well. "Baron Damon?"

"...Who are you?" Baron Damon, who had rushed over thinking the knights were under attack, recognized Ian and Kira's faces and broke into a big smile.

"The wizards!"

"It's been a while," Ian replied.

Ian left the Knights of Santiago behind and followed Baron Damon, taking Salvador and his companions with him. As they crossed the palisade fence, the quiet and distant view of Talian Hall spread out before them.

'It's been a while.'

He had stayed here for some time back then. Ian was suddenly reminded of old memories.

"Is that Baron Damon? You're back?" A girl's voice was heard from the courtyard.

Ian walked slowly towards the inside. And he came face to face with a girl with deep blue hair like the night sky.

"Ah..." The girl dropped the basket she was holding.

Ian looked at the girl and smiled gently. "Have you been well, Lucy?"

"I-Ian!!!"

The rightful owner of Talian's domain, and the girl who stole Ian's first kiss, Lucy Talian spread her arms and jumped into Ian's embrace.

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