Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Winters and Andre had already canvassed all the villages on the island.

The process was much the same everywhere, first finding the village chief, gathering all the villagers for a meeting, promoting the work recruitment policy (daily wages of five silver coins, paid at the end of each day), and then moving on to the next village.

However, after two days had passed, only a sparse number of farmers had come to Red Sulfur Harbor to apply.

Following intense surveys, several engineer officers from the road construction headquarters had come up with a plan for the first five kilometers of road, with the remaining plans to be dealt with while construction progressed.

Work was imminent, yet the workers were not in place; a fruitless Winters and Andre were hauled over by the deputy minister for strategy and scolded profusely.

The two, faces splattered with spit, returned to the field camp dejectedly and summoned Bard to discuss strategies—Bard hadn't been transferred to road construction because he was too good at working, and the supply department chief was reluctant to let him go.

"[Obscenities learned from a sailor], [Repeats the obscenity]... I think these bumpkins are just asking for it!" Andre, who had just been berated, became more infuriated the more he thought about it, his features twitching in anger as he struggled to speak clearly: "Tomorrow I... I'll take troops and sweep through each hamlet, [Sweet Nectar Brew]! I'll see XX who dares not to come! [Swear words too vulgar for even the roughest soldier to utter]!"

"If we can avoid using force, we should. It's dishonorable, and who knows if someone will take advantage of that in the future. You wouldn't want a black mark on your file, would you?" Winters, looking extremely tired, said while washing his face: "Otherwise, why do you think they didn't assign someone else? Why put it in the hands of us two junior warrant officers?"

Having spent some time together, Winters now understood exactly how to persuade Andre. He realized Andreya Chelini and the two cats he kept at home were quite similar: he was like a semi-solitary wild animal, only caring about "his own people" and lacking empathy and kindness towards others.

So to convince him, it was best to appeal to his own interests.

Sure enough, after hearing Winters' words, Andre fell silent.

Bard, resting his chin on his hand, said: "This matter really is in a gray area; the key is how the governor defines the civilians on Red Sulfur Island. Are they now considered enemy nationals? Or do they automatically obtain Vineta citizenship? If the former, they aren't protected. If the latter, then forcibly recruiting citizens would mean facing a military court by Vineta's laws."

"So what do we do?" Andre stood up agitatedly: "Then what do we do?"

"Sit down and save some energy," Winters pulled Andre back into his seat: "If you think about it, if I were a farmer on the island, I'd be afraid to work for a foreign military... Maybe we could raise the daily wages a bit more? To one small silver coin a day?"

Eight silver coins could be exchanged for one small silver coin, which was more commonly used in everyday life than gold coins and large silver coins. Small silver coins and simple coins were what civilians encountered most often.

Because the Saint Marco Legion had seized the treasury of Red Sulfur Harbor's council, the Vineta military forces on the island were now quite flush with funds, and could indeed afford to pay one small silver coin a day.

"No way!" Bard said with determination: "A daily wage of five silver coins is already far beyond normal wages. If we raise it to one silver coin a day, even fewer people will come. If you ask me, not only should we not raise the pay, but we should actually cut it. It's the off-season for farming right now, two silver coins plus meals should be enough to satisfy the island's farmers."

Both Winters and Andre grew up in Sea Blue City and went to study in Guidao City as teenagers. Put them in a field, and they wouldn't be able to tell malt from weeds.

In the eyes of these two city boys, "money" seemed the most persuasive language, yet on the small Red Sulfur Island, this compelling language hit a wall.

In contrast, the farmer's son Bard knew the farmers' minds better than anyone else.

"So what do we do? Offering more money doesn't make these bumpkins willing to come; offering less makes them willing?" Andre glared angrily once more.

"Stop using the term 'bumpkins'; they are people, just like you and me. If you were in their place, you wouldn't come either," Bard said, frowning: "The key issue between the island's civilians and us is a lack of trust. Once trust is established, all problems can be easily solved."

"Oh, 'Bishop,' quit your sermonizing. Just spit it out if you have a solution, and don't give us this equality education crap," Andre retorted irritably.

Bard was nicknamed "Bishop" by his peers because he had only one scripture and two Gospels when he started school, along with his experience at the Monastery—so the troublemakers among his contemporaries dubbed him "Bishop" behind his back.

This nickname carried a severe insult because a farmer's son could never become a bishop... For an outsider suddenly thrown into a group of boys who had known each other for years, it was only natural to be bullied.

But Winters had never called him that nickname, nor did he allow others to say it around him. He might have used the "Swordsmanship Master" nickname a few times in jokes, but he had never uttered "Bishop."

This was the first time Winters had heard Andre call Bard that nickname to his face, and he immediately nudged Andre, signaling that he had gone too far.

Andre knew he had spoken out of turn and fell silent, sheepishly.

Bard didn't get angry; rather, he smiled and said slowly, staring at Andre: "How about we make a bet? If I manage to resolve this issue, then you'll never use the term 'bumpkins' again, deal?"