Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 282

“One in twenty.”

I am speechless at the result Father Vasquez describes.

“Isn’t that too heavy a burden? Aren’t nobles supposed to be obligated to defend the village in the first place?”

Father Vasquez shakes his head in response to my question. “A bit of explanation might be necessary,” he says, and then begins to elaborate. “What you say is correct, Kenji. In fact, noble-owned lands are indeed protected by private forces and are well-defended.”

“Then, why must villagers bear the cost of their own defense?”

“Because the noble responsible for defending the land is not the same as the one who owns it.” Father Vasquez makes this point decisively. “A noble’s land isn’t always a single, continuous area. Over generations of marriages, successions, and complex exchanges, noble holdings have become fragmented, often forming a mosaic of territories. Many of the villages I serve are such isolated patches, so we cannot expect protection from their actual owners. Instead, we must request help from the closest noble with a standing force, which incurs costs.”

Still, there’s something I can’t quite accept. “But shouldn’t these costs fall on the noble who owns the land?”

“Logically, yes. However, in reality, this isn’t how things work. Correcting this would require reforming laws that govern centuries-old noble land ownership. That’s beyond the reach of any single priest or peasant. So, we turn to adventurers for assistance.”

“You’re saying that’s the value adventurers provide.”

Nodding at Father Vasquez’s explanation, I recall the findings from a land ownership survey I once conducted in a rural village for a deacon’s training program. Even in that village, ownership of the fields is a complex mosaic, which sometimes obstructs buildings and farm paths. It’s likely that something similar is happening on a larger scale across noble territories.

In my world, regions near borders, like the settlements in Gaza, also have isolated plots that are difficult to organize. Here, where monsters abound, setting territorial lines logically must be even more challenging.

In theory, reorganizing territorial boundaries could reduce the costs of defense. This reinforces an approach we once discuss within the Adventurers Guild: sorting adventurer requests according to their contribution to land value or cost reduction.

At any rate, I now understand the situation in rural villages. Next, I need to plan based on this information.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Leaving the church, I return to the company while organizing the tasks ahead.

First, I need to acknowledge the obvious: the conditions in rural villages are far from uniform. Noble ownership rights over these villages are deeply entangled, and untangling that is beyond my capability.

Additionally, priests have varying attitudes toward adventurers; some are supportive, while others are dismissive. Since the project requires both village acceptance and the cooperation of the clergy, we should start with villages where both conditions are favorable. If we can accumulate success stories there, the remaining villages are likely to follow.

Rather than spending energy persuading uncooperative people, it’s better to focus on making allies succeed. Those who oppose the project don’t necessarily do so out of conviction; they might simply be anxious or lack knowledge.

When they see success and profit, most come around.

The only thing left to do is to work on pamphlets to distribute within the church and the payment methods for the Adventurers Guild.

These are issues that will likely need discussion with the upper levels of the church.