My name was Fouche.
I was a High Priest of the Korin religion.
By the grace of God, I was capable of wielding recovery magic. That said, my power was not even enough to cure my own son’s illness.
However, a miracle occurred.
I encountered Lady Lu, a vampire renowned as one of the—no, as the world’s greatest authority on pharmacology. As luck would have it, she already possessed the ingredients required for my son's medicine. This was undoubtedly the guidance of the Creator God. I offered Him my deepest thanks.
With the medicine she prepared, my son was cured.
And so, I spent my days preparing a reward for that miracle. While I was grateful to the Creator God, the ones who actually crafted the medicine were Lady Lu and Lady Flora. I had to find a way to repay them and the other villagers who had cooperated.
If permitted, I would have discarded my position in a heartbeat, moved my entire family to that village, and dedicated my life to their service. Unfortunately, that was not an option. I owed an immense debt to the Korin religion that I had yet to repay.
But, surely, one day I would.
Ahem.
To return to the matter at hand, a reward is an expression of gratitude; it is meaningless unless it actually pleases the recipient. Forcing a gift upon someone is never wise. However, since I knew very little about Lady Lu, Lady Flora, or the villagers, I didn't know what would make them happy.
So, I simply asked. I told them I wished to show my gratitude and invited them to ask for anything they desired.
Fortunately, my family was reasonably wealthy. I could manage even a somewhat unreasonable request. If I put my mind to it, I could even provide a noble title... No, no. Receiving a title one doesn't even want is merely a nuisance. I had already failed once before with that approach.
In the end, it turned out that Lady Lu and the villagers wanted people.
For a moment, I feared they meant sacrifices, but after listening further, I learned they wanted new residents—migrants. They offered to provide the migrants with houses and fields to till for free, and even look after their daily needs for the time being. Furthermore, if they didn't like farming, they were free to seek other work.
I see. The conditions were remarkably favorable.
The important thing to remember was that they wanted people who would become permanent residents, not just a labor force. Well, they certainly expected them to work, but the heart of the matter was a pressing need to increase the population to ensure the next generation wouldn't struggle.
In other words...
"Would slaves suffice?"
"No, absolutely not."
I rejected my subordinate’s suggestion immediately. No one becomes a slave by choice; there is always a reason. The majority of those reasons are crime or debt. Migrating people who became slaves for such reasons? That would be an act of harassment. It would only bring trouble to that peaceful village, and I would not allow it.
The ideal would be to migrate entire families who were already established in their lives. However, that proved difficult. Since they were already self-sufficient where they were, they had no reason to go out of their way to move. I tried broaching the subject just in case, but as expected, it went nowhere.
I explained the benefits politely, yet interest remained low. I wondered why.
"Is it really impossible unless we hide the destination?"
"Moving to the Forest of Death is practically a death sentence, after all."
The Forest of Death. It was certainly a name synonymous with terror. However, when I visited it myself, I didn't think it was such a bad place.
"That’s only because you’re strong, Lady Fouche."
"For people like us, we wouldn't last an hour."
"And besides, the idea of a village in the heart of that forest... forgive me, but are you sure you weren't somewhere else?"
The search for migrants hit a wall. Since I couldn't do it alone, I enlisted the help of my most trusted subordinates, yet we still saw no success. But I would not give up. Compared to the hardship of finding medicine for my son, this was easy. I was determined to find excellent migrants.
Still, humans are creatures whose hearts can break after repeated rejection. A profound sense of despair began to set in. The thought of changing the reward to something else crossed my mind more than once.
Hmph.
Since this was a reward, I couldn't keep them waiting forever. I consulted with the Sovereign, and we decided that next spring would be the limit. It was currently autumn.
What was I to do?
As I worried, one of my subordinates stepped forward with a proposal.
"Regarding the migrants, how about the City Boys?"
The City Boys. To put it simply: orphans.
The Korin religion operated several orphanages, but they were all overflowing. Consequently, the religion helped the children who couldn't get in to form their own organizations to survive. We euphemistically called them the City Boys.
"We can give them houses and fields. I suspect many would jump at the chance to migrate."
That might have been true, but... I had no intention of disparaging the City Boys, but these were youths whose general common sense was questionable, let alone their lack of farming experience. Wouldn't they be problematic as migrants?
"Regarding your concerns, we simply need to educate them between now and then."
"Between now and then?"
"Yes. It is a short window until spring, but with our full resources, I believe it is possible."
I see.
I gathered them immediately. The condition was that they be couples—fixed partners. Ten pairs of young men and women stood before me, twenty people in total. Most were in their mid-teens. All of them looked haggard, with frightened eyes.
Why were they so terrified?
"Y-you're Fouche, right? They say you're looking for the livers of children to cure some kid..."
A boy who seemed to be the leader stepped forward to shield the others.
"I-I don't care what happens to me, just... just let the others go."
...
I had heard rumors were circulating, but this was absurd.
"How rude. I am not seeking livers. I believe my subordinates explained that I am looking for migrants?"
I had given strict orders to explain it that way.
"Did you not come here after hearing that?"
"They said if we ran, you'd massacre everyone in the city..."
"They said we mustn't resist Fouche's manhunt..."
Those behind the leader spoke with voices trembling on the verge of tears.
Find the person who started those rumors and bring them to me.
After giving that order to my subordinate, I turned back to the group with a smile.
"This really is just a normal talk about migration."
"Then why... why did you only gather guys who are with girls? It's because you're going to use newborn babies as ingredients for your magic, isn't it?"
For the record, the woman standing in front of them was the High Priest of the Korin religion.
It took about five days to convince them that the migration offer was genuine. My only regret was that I had to keep the destination a secret. My subordinates insisted that I absolutely must not name the location, but... it really isn't such a bad place.
At any rate, their education began. I provided training in general common sense, reading, writing, and various trades. During this time, I took care of all their living expenses. I even sat with them to listen to their personal troubles.
Gradually, they opened their hearts to me. At the very least, they stopped looking at me with those terrified eyes. If they continued like this until spring, they would make excellent migrants.
Then, a problem was discovered.
"Is this information accurate?"
"Yes. There is no mistake. The mark was on his right arm."
...
It turned out that one of the twenty was the illegitimate child of a nobleman.
If I had just kept quiet... No, it would be wrong to plant the seeds of future trouble among the migrants I was giving as a reward. Now that I knew, I had to act. First, I summoned the boy in question for a private talk.
"It has come to light that you are related to the nobility. What do you wish to do? If you desire it, I will support your return to your house."
"...I knew I was a nobleman’s son. My late mother told me. But I have no interest in it. Besides, if I go back to that house... I couldn't take her with me."
Indeed, a noble house would never accept his girlfriend.
"Then, what about the noble house?"
"I don't care about them. Please, just let me migrate."
"I understand. From today on, you are simply an ordinary citizen. Is that clear?"
"Understood. But I’ve been an ordinary person all along."
Good. That removed the obstacle. I then ordered my subordinates to dismantle that noble house.
Fortunately, the nobleman in question had a terrible reputation. It was only natural, considering he hadn't lifted a finger while his own child lived as a street urchin. I cut off the root of the problem. Now the boy was an ordinary citizen in both name and reality.
Oh, I made sure to help the decent servants from that house find new jobs.
...Wait, there were two more? A nobleman's son and daughter? With evidence?
I see. I shall interview them as well.
Several problematic lower-ranking noble houses were crushed, but that was a trivial matter.
Another problem was discovered.
I braced myself for another noble child, but this was different. It turned out that one of the girls was of royal blood from a neighboring country. I wondered how such a child ended up on the streets, but it seemed her clan had fled during a succession war over a decade ago.
The records matched perfectly. Her hair color, her eye color, the position of her moles... and the royal crest on her backside. She even remembered the secret phrases passed down within the royal family.
Perfect! Absolutely perfect.
Good grief. Why was it nothing but problems? And of all people, it had to be the girl I considered the most talented.
The neighboring country... could I crush it? No, that would be difficult to manage by spring.
In that case... I would have to replace the entire royal bloodline in a short period. If I instigated a coup and replaced the current lineage with a new one... that should work. The only issue was that she was the biological sister of the current king.
I could do this. Yes.
As a silver lining, the neighboring king was a tyrant and a general nuisance to everyone.
Very well, proceed with the plan.
...What? If the bloodline changed, it would create problems for other children? Multiple ones? Was that neighboring country using our land as a dumping ground for their unwanted children?
The roots of trouble must be severed. Fine. Let’s do this. If I crushed them all by spring, the problems would vanish.
There was a bit of trouble involving a second country along the way, but I managed. Currently, two neighboring nations have been reborn as new kingdoms, but... that is a trivial matter. The Korin religion will provide full support to stabilize the lives of the commoners there.
Spring finally arrived.
I performed an official marriage blessing for the ten couples. It was a reward for all their hard work. They thanked me with tears streaming down their faces. I shed tears as well. It had been an exhausting journey to get to this point.
While I was busy resolving the royal bloodline issues, we were targeted by a bandit group claiming one of the youths was the descendant of a legendary thief. They believed she held information about the location of a legendary treasure. I crushed the bandits and found the treasure myself. Naturally, the full amount was donated to the order.
After that, a suspicious religious sect attacked us, claiming one of the boys harbored a Holy Sword within his body. They were a small, insignificant group, but they certainly had nerve to attack the Korin headquarters. I acknowledged their bravery, though that was the only thing I acknowledged. Currently, all members of that sect are in custody, and we are requesting their conversion.
Various other things happened as well. A pampered young noble fell in love at first sight with one of the girls and demanded I hand her over; it was almost cute in its simplicity. Of course, I made sure that young man learned exactly how harsh the world can be. Well, even if one becomes penniless, one can survive—provided their past behavior was good.
Once again, I looked over the ten couples.
Three with noble blood. Six with royal blood. One relative of a legendary thief. One harboring a Holy Sword. One relative of an underworld boss. One half-fairy. Two half-beastmen. Two runaways from wealthy homes. One with dragon scales on their back. One with a suspicious pattern on their chest. And one who was entirely normal.
I suspected the "normal" one was the most suspicious of all, but no matter how much I investigated, I found nothing. He was a perfectly ordinary person. He was the boy who led the group.
Regardless, they were all ordinary citizens now. I could say that with pride. There were no problems whatsoever.
"Now then, shall we head out? To the place where you will live."
The destination? Ah, well... consider it a surprise for when you arrive.
It will be fine. It is a place where the entanglements of this world hold no sway.
Please, do your best.