Homesteading in a fantasy world

When I was back in the capital, I was surprised that no one started to lecture me about my bad decision-making. There was, however, a special meeting, but yet again, it wasn't to question my actions; instead, it was for me to be able to properly give a report on what happened.

It was a surprisingly long meeting, mostly because during the fight, I learned quite a lot about what higher-rank goblins could do. That was incredibly valuable information for the future, especially because there were certainly more goblin groups that escaped who were out on a hunt. They shouldn’t pose a problem for quite a while, if ever.

The only reason the goblins were able to do so well in such a dangerous area was because of the numbers they had and the amount of high-rank goblins amongst them. By the end of the meeting, I had let down my guard, so it came to me as a complete surprise when most of the people had left when David started to yell.

“What in the name of nature were you thinking about when you decided to attack a goblin horde of that size on your own?” Immediately, out of reflex, I answered back. “Goose was with me as well, so I wasn’t alone.”

The pencil that David was holding snapped. I was able to gather myself, sit down, and listen to how the decisions I made were the wrong ones, even if the results were most likely the best results we would ever have been able to get.

David wasn’t the only one to speak up; many of the generals gave their opinions as well. I understood why they were doing this, and in a way, it was quite sweet of them.

What I did was incredibly dangerous, and while thanks to Goose, we came out of that fight untouched, if had not been so lucky some of the attacks could have still led to our death. Still, we survived, and in the end, results were what mattered.

“Wait a second, I thought we had plans ready for when I’m no longer here. In fact, if I remember correctly, we should have planned if most of us died so everything would still keep functioning.” That shut them up for a moment before David once again started to speak.

"Do you think we are miracle workers? We currently have over 10 individuals we cannot replace, even if we use multiple people to replace them. You, you son of a suicidal rock, are the hardest person to replace."

"Nothing can match your statistics, but most of the time, we don't have to match your statistics; we don't even have to come close. There are, however, exceptions, like the massacre you orchestrated."

"Most of our military needs are taken care of. We have enough homesteaders that even without you, the class would not disappear, but with you, everything is so much easier. I don’t even think you know how many resources you save us just by being you. The second one is Mirhit. The amount of information he can gather... we would need to spend two times our current yearly budget just to get close."

That was a surprise to me, but it's been a long time since we have talked, just the two of us. We exchanged words quite often during meetings, but the spymaster of UF is quite busy. Like David said, the amount of information Mirhit is able to gather is tremendous. Thanks to him, we have also been able to use as little resources as possible to keep hostile nations in turmoil by supporting their rebels.

"So, what I gather is that you would already survive without me, even if it would be a heavy blow for the time being." The look David gave me made even me lean back a bit.

"I didn’t say that I would now go out and try to get myself killed. Like I said before, it was literally the best time to attack the goblin horde before they got too big. I will try to survive as long as possible; that is something I unfortunately can’t change about myself."

After my words, the silence stretched and started to become uncomfortable. "Just out of curiosity, who's the 3rd most valuable member of UF?" David immediately looked away, not meeting my eyes, but one of the generals pointed the thumb towards David.

I was not surprised; he was basically the person who kept our entire economy functioning, besides many other important aspects of running a government.

The fact that we had already reached so far that you could survive even without me was comforting. It meant that we were going in the right direction. Unfortunately, I was certain it would still be decades before I could finally retire to my farm.

"It seems like we still have a lot of work to do; we should move past this death talk. Perhaps I have been too closed off about my future plans." Immediately, everyone perked up.

"The reason I started all of this is so I could retire as soon as possible and know that I could be completely safe without ever needing to pick up a blade to protect us. So I could farm in peace until I die, and hopefully, this time it will stick."

Their reactions to my words were magnificent to see. While it took everyone a different amount of time, they all basically came to the same conclusion. Why did that make so much sense?

While everyone that was still present continued to talk late into the night, it was not a formal meeting, and while we talked business, there were also times where we just joked around. I think everyone needed it.

While I was battling, they were all here worrying, which was a different kind of stress and, in some cases, as exhausting. My arm, however, would disagree as it was still hurting and incredibly sore.

Near the next morning, when everyone had gone to bed, I went into my office and finished writing my letter to Arabella, who was back in Connection. It was time to quickly finish the problem at the fort.

People like that mind reader would only become more troublesome as time passed. I would have had no problem with him, but it seems like his ambitions were a little bit too high. Some people really need to learn to properly evaluate who they are pissing off.

It would still take a few days to set everything up, so I think I can finally relax and go back home for a bit. When I made it back home, I started to prepare the sauna. It would still be about an hour before sunrise, but I didn’t really care about the time right now. I just wanted to relax.

The most upsetting thing about all that happened was how much I actually gained from that battle. While some of my abilities leveled up, it wasn't anything special. None of my combat skills were close to ranking up, and from all of that, I didn’t even gain a single level in any of my classes.

It kind of makes sense why basically everyone with a high rank never came and fought against weaker creatures. It was basically just a time waster.

Morning came, and some of my apprentices, and even Tim, came to check up on me. They left quite quickly to do their own things, but I also think they sensed that I just wanted to be alone for a while.

Near midday, I finally left the sauna and called Goose to me. "Let's go and fly a bit. This time we won't engage, no matter what. Let's make sure there aren't any other goblin hordes we can see towards the north, and let’s finally see what’s going on in the West."

"At least now, I don’t get a sinking feeling whenever I think about going towards there. Perhaps the difference is now that you can hide yourself. You really are the best, you know that, Goose?"

When I finished saying that, I stopped and scratched him on the neck near his ear. It was the spot he liked the most. "Before that, however, you go and hunt, and I will go and eat as well. This time, I also want to test out how fast we can go, and yes, I will make myself as light as possible."

That immediately boosted Goose's mood even higher. I watched as he took off, then walked towards the main house.