Great time travel

Chapter 39. Deliberately misleading and raising the thief’s self-respect (continued)

Just relying on such a small amount of manpower, they can enter the fortress city.Lantil, crusade against the undead, regain the lost land?
Facing Ainz's question, the kingdom's warrior commander Gazef.Stronov first looked up at the fallen city where tens of thousands of undead creatures gathered in the distance, and then looked back at his subordinates who only had a total of forty or so riders behind him, sweating, sweating, and sweating for a while!
Your Excellency Ainz, you really think highly of me!It's really impossible for me to do such a thing that counts as a thousand?

"...This...should be only a long-term plan." He said so, but then suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up suddenly, "...Could it be... Your Excellency Ainz intends to help? That's really too much. Alright! On behalf of the Kingdom, I am here to thank you for your righteous deed..."

"...Sorry, Your Excellency, Warrior Captain. Judging from the signs that have been discovered so far, the situation that happened in the fortress city of E-Rantel is obviously a national-level confrontation and game. An outsider in the lower district, for each of them I don’t know anything about the hidden secrets and inside information, if I participate indiscriminately, I am afraid that there will be a danger of being smashed to pieces by the storm, so I really don’t plan to intervene rashly.”

Facing the Warrior Commander's prayer, Ainz immediately categorically refused - just kidding, not to mention that the army of undead in the city has been plundered and taken over by his subordinates, going in and attacking them is tantamount to beating his own people.And if I really want to wipe out the undead in this city, how can I play the role of raising a thief to respect myself?How can you kill people and set fires while helping the world, how can you beat you and say that I am doing it for your own good, and make you feel grateful?

"...Is that so... Uh, that's right. After all, this is the kingdom's own business. Your Excellency has no obligation to risk your life for us."

For Ainz's unceremonious refusal, Warrior Captain Gazef did not become angry, but had already expected it, so he just sighed like this.

But what he never expected was that Ainz gave him another "big gift" afterward—"...Also, Your Excellency Warrior Captain, when I set off from the city earlier, my butler didn't Thinking that something like this would happen, I only prepared food for two hundred people to eat for half a month. Unexpectedly, more than 500 people rushed in today, and they didn't bring anything to eat. As a result, the food in the camp was only enough It's been going on for two days... I didn't know what to do at first, but this is great, I'll leave it to you to take over. I believe you will be able to properly resettle the distressed subjects of these kingdoms..."

So, looking at the more than 500 refugees who had nothing to wear, nothing to eat and no clothes to wear, Commander Gazef once again broke into cold sweat, sweat, and waterfall sweat!
——When he came here before, he was all about fighting with the undead, but he didn't expect to bring a lot of food to relieve the refugees.In fact, he didn't even have the feed and rations for the return trip, so he wanted to ask Ainz for some with the cheek!

Although humans in this world can use magical props such as [Endless Food Pack] to produce food, the food produced in that way tastes like rotten sawdust, and even people who are about to starve to death can hardly eat it , so it is usually only deployed in fortress strongholds to deal with the long-term siege of the enemy.And at this time, Warrior Commander Gazef obviously didn't bring such a thing as [Endless Food Pack].

"...Uh, that... I'm afraid this is a bit difficult, Mr. Ainz."

Gazef scratched his hair embarrassingly, "... I only brought less than fifty people with me, and I came here with light clothes, and then I had to return to the capital to report the military situation. I really can't take care of so many refugees .And in the nearest town, it takes one day to ride a horse, and at least three days to walk, and there are monsters along the way... So, I can only ask you to continue to take care of them until this mess is resolved."

"... Huh? Did I hear you right? You want me to support these 500 people for free all the time? To keep them safe? Are you crazy, or do you think I'm a fool? Your Excellency, Warrior Commander? Ainz asked back in an unbelievable tone, "...I am neither your subordinate, nor a nobleman of this kingdom, nor a vassal of your king, nor even a person of this country, why should I Selfless devotion to this extent? Your Excellency, Captain, don’t forget, not only do I never owe you anything, but you still owe me a debt of favor!”

"...Moreover, Your Excellency the Warrior Captain, you are also a person who has led soldiers. You should know how much food 500 people have to eat every day. If you want them to survive, you must provide them with clothing, cooking utensils, tents or structures. The tools for the shack, how much does it cost? Why do you ask me to bear it? And now the trade route to the kingdom is blocked by the undead. Raise supplies everywhere! If you want to purchase food from the Bajas Empire in the northeast, the cost will increase even more."

"...Even if the issue of money and supplies is not considered for the time being, what name should I use to supervise these refugees who have been taken in? Giving them a meal now can be regarded as charity. But if we want to manage them for a long time, What kind of stand should I use to rule them and punish those who make trouble? In their eyes, I am just a strange foreigner, and it is only natural that I refuse to obey.

And the camp where so many refugees gathered, and the threat of undead creatures outside, I shouldn't need to explain in detail what kind of bad consequences will happen if there is a riot?The reasons for the riots may be various, such as snatching food and drinking water from each other, complaining about insufficient food or poor accommodation conditions, and even some refugees with some status will ask for this and that in a big way, and treat my subordinates as The servant sent..."

"... Please rest assured. Regarding the various expenses of resettling refugees, please pay in advance temporarily. I will definitely report to His Majesty, and the treasury will reimburse them in the future. You can also teach them severely about maintaining discipline. , I have also led recruits, and I know the troubles."

Captain Gazef hastily said, "... If there are really those kind of arrogant people who don't know what to do, it's normal to kill them as an example. As long as the lives of these survivors can be saved, the vitality of this land will not be extinct. The whole kingdom will thank you for your kindness..."

"...As long as I can get your thanks." Ainz smiled wryly, "...Maybe someone in the capital will hate me for this!"

"...How is this possible?" Captain Gazef was stunned, showing an incredulous expression.

"...Why is it impossible? You seem to have said before that the secret invasion of the Secret Service of the Sleng Theocracy must have colluded with the dignitaries in your country, and they must be the top nobles. So what happened in the fortress now? The natural disaster of the undead in the city of Ye-Rantel may not be part of a huge conspiracy... In this way, if I rescue these refugees, it may affect the plan of the conspirators..."

"...This... the nobles in the country, even if they are really enemies of the royal family, they shouldn't be so mad, right?"

Captain Gazef muttered with obvious lack of confidence, and the more he said, the lower his voice—it was also treason and betrayal, since those conspirators were able to collude with the six-color sacred code special forces of the Slan Theocracy, and massacre kingdoms in border villages subjects, and ambushed him, the warrior chief.Naturally, it is also possible to collude with other forces now to make the royal family's wealthiest territory directly under its jurisdiction, the fortress city Yeh.Rantil sacrificed to the devil or the god of death!
Logically speaking, once someone has broken through the original lower limit, it is normal to break through more lower limits.

"...If these recent incidents on the border are really part of a huge conspiracy involving the great nobles of the Theocracy of Slane and your country, I think the throne and even the life of the king of your country may have been destroyed. Worrying, how can I uphold justice for me?" Ainz shook his head and retorted, "...I'm not afraid that those conspirators will send killers to deal with me, and I still have some confidence in the fighting power of myself and my subordinates. The real trouble is that the other party may use their official influence to confuse right and wrong, force me to be accused of 'illegally gathering refugees with the intention of conspiring to cause chaos', and then force the king to order you to attack me...don't Tell me something like this can't happen!"

"..." Soldier Gazef was speechless for a long time, indeed, in a place where the royal power was declining and the princes were growing up.In the Kingdom of Yestij, there have been rumors of various plots to kill the king and overthrow the royal family in recent years.If it is said that among the domestic nobles, who really colluded with foreign countries and committed such a horrific tragedy, then what else could their goal be besides the throne of His Majesty the King?

"...Of course, although I can't trust the nobles and the court of your country, I can still trust the character of Your Excellency the Warrior Captain."

Seeing that Gazef's warrior commander's expression became more and more ugly, the cat think tank who was too frightened hurriedly used [message] magic to send a text message to Ainz, asking him to stop when it was too late, and Ainz immediately came to his senses and hurried to talk. Turning around, "...so, I will still take in and resettle these refugees, but I can't support these people for nothing. If they want to have food and a place to live under my hands, they have to work for me. Follow my orders, those who don’t work will not be fed, and those who incite trouble will be killed as an example, Your Excellency, Warrior Captain, what do you think about this?”

"...Uh, thank you, Your Excellency. This is all a matter of course..." Hearing that Ainz finally let go, Gazef hastily agreed.

"...Then, please stand up and explain the whole story to these refugees on behalf of the king you serve!"

According to the tips from the think tank, Ainz made the final request, "...I believe your words should be more effective than me, an outsider..."

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Sure enough, when Captain Gazef said that he was about to return to the capital to report and was temporarily unable to shelter the refugees here, so he wanted to entrust them to his friend "Ainz the Great Mage", the fleeing citizens gathered in the suburbs immediately There was an uproar.

"...Wait, wait a minute, Your Excellency the Warrior Captain, do you mean that you plan to just leave us alone? How could this be?"

A middle-aged businessman became anxious when he heard the words, "...we are all subjects of the kingdom! Why should we obey the orders of foreigners?"

"...Hmph! Didn't you understand what the warrior commander said? If you don't obey, you will have nothing to eat! Could it be that I will support you for free for the rest of your life...?"

Seeing the embarrassment of Captain Gazef, Ainz stood up with a cold snort, "...Sir, if you have doubts about me and are unwilling to accept my protection and management, then please take me with you." Your family members leave by themselves. Of course, you can also try to incite trouble here. But before making trouble, you should think clearly that I am not your relative, and I have no obligation to you. I have only a little limited sympathy for you. But even this limited sympathy can easily be consumed by some stupid guy. If you want to murder other citizens here, feel free to try Try, I don't mind taking back that limited sympathy!"

--hateful!What an unbearable humiliation...

The middle-aged businessman with a big belly suddenly felt a suffocation he hadn't experienced for a long time, but he didn't dare to explode, not only because of the strength and lofty status of the other party, but also because of the gazes of other surviving citizens around him. A look of opposition, rejection or even disgust.

In fact, no one here is too keen to leave alone.They are fleeing in a hurry now, basically they don’t bring any food with them, and they are surrounded by an uninhabited wilderness. Even if they have money, they can’t buy anything—due to the tug-of-war between the empire and the kingdom, this border area was originally scarce. The villages were generally deserted, and the repeated attacks and massacres by the Slian Theocracy's special forces had basically destroyed the last few villages that survived the war.And behind them, there are undead creatures chasing and killing, and there are various monsters and bandits threatening in the wild.If they don't get timely help and flee alone to other distant cities with a hungry stomach, I'm afraid most of them will collapse on the way.

If possible, they certainly hope that there are well-meaning people to help them expel the undead and monsters, and provide them with food and accommodation for free all the time, while they don't pay anything, and enjoy the protection of the strong like a master, and eat and live by the way ...but this is clearly impossible.The middle-aged businessman wanted to take over the tiger skin of the kingdom's warrior commander and put pressure on Ainz to get better treatment, but unfortunately it didn't work at all.

That being the case, let's obediently obey the orders. Anyway, when I was in the city before, didn't I have to rely on work in exchange for food and drink?

Next, under the supervision of Captain Gazef, all the refugees collectively swore to accept Ainz's care and resettlement, and signed or stamped a piece of paper with the oath.As for the few particularly stubborn mavericks, they left the camp after drinking a bowl of barley porridge.

After this set of procedures was completed, Warrior Commander Gazef asked Ainz about his next plan, and Ainz replied: "...the fire on the grassland is slowly burning, and undead creatures are also gradually gushing out. Fortress city, wandering to the surrounding countryside. Obviously, this place can no longer stay... I am going to take them to Karn Village! It seems that there is only one place where decent houses can be found nearby..."