Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 54: Population Census
“Lord Eisen, how many of these weapons do you have?”
Lusha couldn’t help but ask eagerly.
“Right now, only two.”
Owen replied.
“Based on the current production speed of the blacksmiths, we can probably make at most three more before winter sets in.”
Hearing that, Lusha shook his head in disappointment.
“Too few. If we could form a squad equipped with muskets, wiping out the Black Wind Tribe or defending the city walls would be no problem at all.”
“Be content.”
Viscount Jarvis said.
“Being able to craft such a powerful weapon at all is already an impressive feat.”
After the test firing, Viscount Jarvis looked at the musket in his hands with entirely different eyes—he was almost reluctant to let it go.
Hearing the two speak, Owen chuckled.
“Don’t worry. Once the steam-powered boring machine is finished, musket production will rapidly increase. Over the course of the winter, we should be able to arm a force of over a hundred.”
“Are you serious?”
“What?!”
Lusha and Viscount Jarvis stared at Owen in shock.
Over a hundred muskets?
A musket-equipped army was about to be born in Bianshu Town?
The very idea was terrifying.
Lusha in particular was visibly shaken.
If pledging loyalty to Owen meant gaining muskets, then revenge might no longer be a distant dream.
Even so, he decided to observe a while longer. He needed to be sure whether Owen was truly someone worthy of the Sinking Sand Tribe’s allegiance.
Among everyone present, only Owen knew that the appearance of muskets signified the dawn of the age of hot weapon warfare.
As winter drew closer, the weather in Bianshu Town had grown bone-chilling.
Inside the castle, heated magic stones had already been put to use for warmth, and Owen had moved his office from the study to a room with a fireplace.
Judging that the time was right, Owen summoned Clive.
Feeling the warmth of the castle, Clive took off his fur coat before stepping forward to bow and greet Owen.
“Good morning, Marquis. What would you like me to do?”
Setting aside the documents in front of him, Owen looked up at Clive.
“Now that the population of Bianshu Town has stabilized, and no more people are fleeing to the Dongsheng Fortress, I want you to organize a population census.”
“A… population census?”
Clive looked puzzled.
Knowing Clive probably wouldn’t understand, Owen patiently explained:
“It means sending people to go door-to-door and record how many people live in each household, their names, gender, occupation, and so on. Record it all, then compile a report and submit it to me. I want to know the full picture of Bianshu Town’s population.”
He handed over a piece of parchment.
“Take this. It lists everything that needs to be asked and recorded.”
Clive glanced over the parchment and frowned.
“It’s… this detailed? This will take a lot of time.”
“Yes, it’s necessary.”
Owen nodded.
“Once it’s done, it’ll make future tasks easier, like manpower allocation, or distributing compensation and ensuring no one fakes their identity to claim it.”
Hearing that, Clive stopped arguing and accepted the task.
“Understood. I’ll get on it right away. But… what about the lizardmen?”
Irwin shook his head.
“No need to include them. I’ll have Lusha handle that.”
Owen said.
“Understood.”
After assigning the task, Owen suddenly asked Clive about the subordinates under his command.
“By the way, the literate people I asked you to recruit earlier—how are they doing under your management now?”
When the topic shifted to those commoners, Clive couldn’t help but grumble.
“At the start, it was complete chaos. Everything they did was full of mistakes. Even if we warned them in advance, they’d still mess things up. It was so bad my apprentices and I were run off our feet. I nearly kicked them all out.”
As he continued, his tone gradually softened.
“But now, things are much better. A good chunk of my workload has been handed off to them, so the pressure’s eased a lot.”
“Good. Then this census will be a great opportunity for them to gain more experience.”
Owen said.
“Heh,”
Clive chuckled slyly.
“No need for you to say it, my lord—I was already planning on it.”
“Alright, off you go then.”
Soon after Clive left, he quickly came up with a population census plan. Two days later, his subordinates could be seen carrying bundles of parchment, going door-to-door to collect data from every household.
Since many people had fled earlier in the year, the current population of Bianshu Town wasn’t very large. Fortunately, the census was completed just in time before winter fully set in.
At present, the town’s population was only a little over 3,000. Including the lizardmen, rounding up the number generously, it came to about 3,500 people.
Looking at the final census report, Owen could only shake his head helplessly.
He hadn’t expected Bianshu Town to have declined this much. He recalled that under the rule of House Eisen at its peak, the town once had around 20,000 people. Though there had never been an exact count, the rough estimate was fairly accurate.
Ever since being affected by the Curse of Kazitu, the land had grown increasingly barren, and the town’s population had steadily declined.
This year’s events—like the Holy Knights abandoning Bianshu Town—had caused further panic, leading even more people to flee to Dongsheng Fortress for safety.
So be it. Starting next spring, the town would begin undergoing great change. For those loyal residents who chose to stay, Owen was determined to help them gradually live better lives.
“Ready—Thrust!”
On command, Kadir thrust his wooden training spear forward with full force. His movement was nearly identical to last time, showing no slack in power or form.
By now, the militia had long since replaced their wooden sticks with real weapons for training.
Kadir’s arms were sore and numb. Though he often thought he wouldn’t last much longer, he always managed to push through.
It was probably the result of a month of rigorous training. As soon as he heard the command, his body reacted instinctively—regardless of exhaustion.
“Fall back. Rest!”
Only after hearing the rest command did Kadir realize the training set was finished.
As he heard everyone around him exhale in relief, he also let out a deep breath, lowered his spear, and sat straight down on the ground to rest.
He turned his head toward the other side—where the lizardmen and knights were training together in a separate unit.
That unit’s physical abilities far exceeded those of the militia, so their training sessions lasted longer and were more intense.
Kadir was deeply impressed that the lord had been able to convince those strong and intimidating lizardmen to help defend the northern wall against undead monsters.
During breaks, Kadir had interacted with some of them and found that, personality-wise, they weren’t bad at all. Some even seemed genuinely grateful to the lord.
He couldn’t help but think of the tragedy that happened last year. In his heart, Kadir had come to believe that the lord was sent by the heavens to save Bianshu Town.
Since the curse began affecting the town, he had felt the town’s slow decline—fewer people, fading vitality.
But for some reason, he believed that this lord would definitely find a way to make Bianshu Town flourish again.