Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 160

The productivity of hidden fields is low. They can’t be made too large, as that would make them easier to discover, and since they’re far from the village, the travel time is long.

Moreover, there’s the risk of attacks by monsters or wild animals, so people must constantly stay alert, resulting in short working periods despite the long hours spent there. Since the fields can’t be monitored continuously, the harvest might get eaten by wild animals. In fact, even within the village, the wealthy farmers, called “rich farmers,” occupy the fertile fields near the village center and avoid hidden fields altogether.

Those who possess hidden fields are often tenants or homeless individuals with little property and few ties to the village. They’re poor, have nothing to lose, and are forced to rely on illegal means like hidden fields to survive because they struggle to find food.

“Simply regulating it won’t work,” Clement says, showing a remarkable change from his usual complaints.

“However, legalizing it would face strong opposition, not just from the church but also from landholding nobles,” adds Adelmo. Legalizing hidden fields isn’t straightforward. If the church were to recognize their legalization in some territories, the impact would be far-reaching. More importantly, it’s impossible to estimate how many hidden fields exist across the country.

“Now that we know about them, maintaining the status quo is not an option. If we don’t come up with solutions and report them, there could be suggestions to impose taxes on hidden fields, which could lead to severe consequences for tenant farmers like that woman,” Michelino points out.

“That’s impossible! There’s no way they can afford it!” Sara protests.

I don’t know all the details of how the church’s organization works either, but we can’t dismiss the possibility. Having witnessed that scene, we must take responsibility and come up with solutions.

“There’s a simple solution for the hidden fields in the villages we’re planning to develop,” I say, and everyone’s eyes turn to me. “Hidden fields are full of dangers and not very profitable. So, we can just allocate more lucrative tasks in the development,” I suggest.

“But development work involves a lot of physical labor. I don’t think the farmer and her children can handle that…” someone responds.

“We can have the church allocate supportive tasks for them. Additionally, if strong men are engaged in the development, there will be a shortage of labor for agricultural work. That way, the women can take on farm work.”

In short, we need to create job opportunities through development, ensuring that more profitable work arises compared to hidden fields. By doing so, the dangerous hidden fields can be abandoned. It’s a simple economic principle: everyone would prefer a safer and more profitable legitimate occupation.

“If hidden fields are found during the development process, they can be incorporated into the village’s farmland. Whether to recognize some rights or purchase them with money should be decided based on the policy of the church that manages the land.”

“I see…” the deacons nod.

“The problem is with hidden fields outside the development area. They are excluded from development plans, which means the original land is likely to have low productivity or be unsuitable for defense. Creating hidden fields in such places would be dangerous and not worth the effort. However…”

“Even if it is dangerous, it’s inevitable that they’ll still use them, since if they can’t grow food, they have no other choice.”

“Yes, Sara is right. Ideally, people should be relocated or taxes should be reduced or exempted for such lands. However…”

I look at the priests, but they shake their heads in response.

“Both options are difficult. People are considered the property of landowners, and tax reductions would lead to a decrease in income. The church and the nobles would not approve of either.”

In the end, there are things people can and cannot do. There is no convenient, all-encompassing solution available anywhere. What I can do is refine the methods of development, increase the growth rate, and maximize the amount of land that can be developed. By doing so, I hope to reduce the number of people who are forced to rely on dangerous income sources like hidden fields as much as possible. That is all I can do.

“Can we keep the existence of hidden fields a secret for five years?” I ask the priests. They are obligated to prepare a report on this matter. This report will be a significant resource for the projects promoted by the faction of Priest Nicolo. Asking them to write lies in this report, they hesitate.

“What do you intend to do?” Michelino asks with suspicion.

“When I return, I want to discuss a few things with Priest Nicolo,” I say.