AWDC Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Three-Person Conference

I returned home as soon as I got back to the village. Ilse was standing alone in the dark room.

“Grandma, I’m home.”

At first, she didn’t seem to recognize me, but after a moment, Ilse greeted me with her wrinkled face.

“Were you well? Did anything happen to you?”

She began to stroke me from my shoulders to my arms and waist, checking that I was safe.

(Grandma, I’m the one who should be worrying about you,) I almost retorted, but seeing her face full of joy, I couldn’t say anything.

I just stood still, happy to be touched by my grandmother.

“Oh my, I thought I heard a happy voice next door, is Toma back?”

After we had been talking for a while, Cathy came in, her face beaming with joy.

“That’s right. Toma is back.”

“That’s wonderful. Let’s have a celebration tonight. I’ll go tell the neighbors.”

Cathy’s voice has more than enough force.

In no time, people from the neighborhood gathered and started preparing for a feast.

That night, the neighbors held a small banquet surrounding me.

Of course, the souvenirs I brought back were also on display.

The next morning, the lord, Roy Keene, and I discussed future village development plans at the mansion.

Jim Keene and Ladapole were excluded.

“I’m glad that the paper is selling well. This will double the village’s income.” The lord was especially pleased with the sales of the paper.

The village had no special products, and with only 100 households, the tax revenue was very small.

Thanks to the achievements of the previous Robertson, the current lord was given a pension.

The lord and Roy Keene anticipated that life in the capital would be extravagant and they would have trouble with living expenses.

Therefore, they chose to live in Toriholi Village in order to concentrate on managing the territory. However, life in the village was more difficult than expected. In any case, there were few villagers and tax revenue was not increasing.

In order to increase the village’s tax revenue, they had been expanding farmland and increasing the number of villagers.

The fact that the number of villagers had increased by about 30% compared to when they first came to the village was the result of the lord and Roy Keene’s efforts.

However, there was a limit to the expansion of farmland. In recent years, there had been only a small amount of farmland that could be increased.

Frankly speaking, it was a state of being stuck.

The lord was overjoyed because the income had doubled due to the manufacture and sale of paper.

“And, we were able to receive everything in cash. That is huge.”

When Roy Keene spoke about the situation in the capital, especially what Lord Midland had told him, the atmosphere became more serious.

“So, the country is going to fall into chaos,” the lord said, confirming.

“Yes, it is said to be certain.”

“In that case, we will have to keep Toma’s activities a secret.”

“That’s why I think Ladapole was sent.”

“You mean, he should become Toma’s replacement?”

“We will make it seem like Ladapole did what Toma did, that Ladapole made the paper.”

“Toma, is that alright with you?”

“Yes, I don’t mind,” I replied easily. There are no patent rights in this world.

No matter how hard you work to invent something, there are no exclusive patents, and you can’t complain even if someone imitates you.

Even if I invent something, I won’t get any income.

My name will be known to some extent, but that could invite unexpected resentment.

If I believe Lord Midland’s words, it could buy the king’s jealousy.

If I was asked to choose between my name or my life, I would choose my life.

“Then, let’s spread the word outside the village that Ladapole made the paper. Let’s also tell the villagers that Ladapole came up with it.”

“Let’s say that Ladapole secretly came up with the idea for the paper, and Toma created it. I’ll talk to Ladapole about it. Ladapole will probably realize that Toma is a reincarnated person, but we will keep it a secret.”

“That’s right, he can’t go against Lord Midland anyway, so let’s tell him that it’s Lord Midland’s order and keep Toma a secret.”

There were no problems with this way of telling the story, and it was approved.

Ladapole accepted the treatment as a matter of course.

“I have been told by Lord Midland not to pry into Toma’s affairs. I will do my best to ensure that Toma does not stand out as much as possible and does not have any burden.”

He also promised to protect my secret.

The three-person conference continued after that.

“Regarding Toma’s medical work, it is said that Lord Midland will be sending someone soon.”

“Are you sending a doctor?”

“He didn’t say it explicitly, but I’m sure that’s what it means.”

“If that’s true, then it’s a good thing.”

I believe that the best medical care is to escape from the poverty of the village.

Due to poverty, the food situation is bad, nutrition is unbalanced, and illnesses and injuries increase. Sometimes, people even have to suffer from starvation.

If possible, I wanted to focus on ways to escape from poverty.

“To change the subject a little, if I have less work as a doctor, I would like to investigate the Datar Plateau, is that alright?”

“What do you mean by investigating Datar Plateau?”

“The depths of that plateau have not been well investigated.

It is said that there are abundant water sources in the back country.

I think I can draw water from there.”

“You can run water through that desert?” The two voices combined.

“I don’t know if I can draw water until I investigate it.”

“No, if there is a possibility, we must investigate it,” the lord’s idea was clear.

At this meeting, it was decided that I would go to investigate the depths of the plateau.