Chapter 51, Current State of the Town

Translator: Lizz

 

The peninsula governed by Sylvia had abundant resources and a thriving primary industry. Because of that, even though it was isolated, it had avoided becoming a ruined town.

Furthermore, after the bridge was built, people came from the neighboring country looking for business opportunities, and trade rapidly became more active.

Crops that had often gone to waste suddenly started being traded, and Edward and the Mayor had to hastily impose restrictions.

The sudden influx of people caused confusion in the town, but things had settled down considerably by now.

 

Most troubled by the sudden flow of people was the inn.

Until then, only the occasional merchant from the neighboring country arrived by ship and stayed. The inn had barely functioned as such, so they had opened a dining area and managed things through that instead.

 

However, with the sudden increase in the flow of people, travelers from the neighboring country began staying at the inn, throwing everything into chaos.

At one point, the number of guest rooms became insufficient.

Edward gave orders to hastily build a public inn offering lodging only, and they somehow managed to get by. However, seeing the situation, someone came forward saying, ‘If I get support, I’d like to try running an inn’. Sylvia welcomed them as if it were divine intervention, renovated an empty house into an inn, and let the volunteer manage it as the proprietor.

They decided to sell off the inn (as a government property) once enough money had been saved.

The original inn also seemed to be making a good profit and had begun expanding.

 

Originally, the town had a small population, so even with the Mayor’s guidance, anyone who wished could build a house wherever they liked.

Those engaged in primary industries lived near suitable land and weren’t densely packed, but those involved in tertiary industries had started forming a proper neighborhood and lived in relatively close proximity.

 

Edward, together with Sylvia, consulted with the Mayor and drafted an urban development plan.

“First, let’s officially name this fortress town ‘Forte’, which we’ve been calling informally.”

Edward chose the name as it had already been commonly referred to as the Forte Fortress Town, named after the peninsula. However, the Mayor tilted his head in doubt.

“…Wouldn’t it be better to name it after Lady Sylvia instead?”

When Edward looked at Sylvia, she shook her head.

 

“No.”

 

It was rare for Sylvia to refuse so firmly, so Edward informed the Mayor.

“Lady Sylvia has declined, so it will be Forte.”

The Mayor dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

 

The area connecting the bridge to the fortress was designated as ‘Forte Inner District’.

The rest was defined as ‘Forte Outskirts’.

 

“As before, let’s concentrate customer-facing businesses like shops, inns, and restaurants in the Inner District. On the other hand, if they’re only serving local residents, it might be better to place them in the Outskirts to avoid unnecessary trouble.”

When the Mayor said that, Edward nodded.

“That’s reasonable. Let’s go with that.”

The Mayor quietly continued.

 

“…At the very least, shouldn’t we name the Inner District after Lady Sylvia—”

“No.”

 

Sylvia immediately rejected the idea before he could finish.

The Mayor slumped his shoulders, and Edward stifled a laugh.

 

The Mayor genuinely wanted to leave Sylvia’s name somewhere in the town she had essentially ‘revived’. He even considered erecting a statue.

But Sylvia didn’t want anything like that.

She didn’t particularly like or feel attached to her name, so she couldn’t understand why anyone would want to name a city after it.

She thought ‘Forte’ was a much better name.

 

By the way, Sylvia felt that if the town was named after her, people would keep repeating her name. That made her uneasy, so she disliked the idea.

She preferred when people simply smiled and waved at her as she walked proudly through town. Anything beyond that felt frightening.

 

Edward understood how both of them felt.

It was Sylvia who had revived the town when it was on the verge of collapse.

The Mayor probably wanted to express his gratitude and respect by naming the town after her.

 

But if it were him, he would absolutely hate it. So Sylvia must feel the same.

If Sylvia had a heroic mindset, she might have accepted it without hesitation, but she had a normal sensibility. He understood well her desire to avoid such embarrassing gestures.

 

Therefore, he chose to respect Sylvia’s feelings and deliberately recommended using the name that had already been in use.

 

“Next, about the matter of security…”

Edward said this with a troubled expression, lowering his eyebrows.

 

The residents of this town were all good-natured people.

However, with the new flow of people from the neighboring country, crime had increased. In fact, Sylvia had nearly been attacked by a thug during an inspection.

Gina had also been given some advice, and ideally, they wanted to hire professional guards instead of relying on volunteers, but that was extremely difficult.

 

The residents were too kind-hearted, so they could only be asked to patrol and restrain troublemakers. And when they recruited volunteers, only rough individuals who could resist Sylvia’s magic showed up.

 

“Are you troubled?”

Sylvia asked Edward, who gave a wry smile.

“I want a Knight Order. I’d like to gather people who swear loyalty to Lady Sylvia and entrust them with this town and fortress. But I can’t even find someone at my level…”

Sylvia wanted to help somehow, but even she couldn’t do anything about it.

She didn’t have magic for that kind of thing.

 

“…If you ask nicely, the horses, cows, sheep, goats… and even the pigs and chickens might help, you know?”

After thinking it over, she said that, and Edward burst out laughing.

The Mayor found it endearing and smiled as well.

 

“Lady Sylvia, you truly are kind.”

“Yes. …That’s certainly true, but we need more. Also, I’d prefer they focus solely on guarding the fortress, so I’d like to entrust the town’s security to others.”

“I see.”

Sylvia fell into thought.

Edward gently patted Sylvia and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you for your concern.”

 

The mayor spoke to Edward.

“I’ll continue posting the security recruitment notice as urgent.”

“Please do. …Right, since the shops are concentrated in the Inner District, any outsiders who stray from that area will stand out. If the residents make a point of speaking to such individuals, then regular patrols should be sufficient. As for troublemakers, regardless of the reason, just throw them in jail without question. Let them reflect there for a day, and I’ll deal with them all at once when I have time.”

 

From Edward’s perspective, the residents of this town, who had accepted Sylvia, were very trustworthy.

Conflicts between residents were resolved among themselves, so there was no need for the security force to intervene. Therefore, he decided that any incidents requiring the security team would be treated as the fault of the visitors, without exception.