Part-Time Quartermaster

Long River Town's market.

Even though evening had already fallen, the market was still bustling.

Unlike Mistveil City, the merchants here generally did not shout to solicit customers.

That was because Long River Town's market was enormous, and its shops were not roadside stalls like those in other cities.

Here, nearly every shop was the camp of a merchant caravan, with wagons arranged into makeshift marketplaces.

It was somewhat like a supermarket, and somewhat like a wholesale market.

The caravan that had brought Ansen and the others here dealt in Coconut Wine and artworks.

Yes, liquor and artworks—two entirely different kinds of goods.

It was a traveling caravan that went back and forth between Long River Town and Mistveil City.

At Long River Town's market, it sold Coconut Wine and purchased handicrafts. In Mistveil City, it sold handicrafts and purchased Coconut Wine.

The mercenaries of Long River Town consumed vast quantities of alcohol, and Coconut Wine from the western coast was extremely popular.

Meanwhile, ocean-going merchant ships from the western coast favored the exquisite handicrafts made by the Noldo Elves. Those could only be obtained from Long River Forest.

This was a trade route that earned the highest profits at both ends.

Yet despite the generous profits, few caravans were willing to do it—it was practically a journey across the entire continent, far too long and dangerous. Coconut Wine was difficult to preserve in this era and would turn sour within days, while Noldo handicrafts were also hard to procure.

When Li Ang arrived before the caravan, his dozen or so burly subordinates were sprawled drunkenly around the caravan camp, each hugging a jar of Coconut Wine.

No wonder they were willing to escort them without charging anything...

Li Ang had thought these Meitengheim Mercenaries had been inspired by Ansen and begun shedding their vulgar tastes in favor of noble ideals. Turns out they were doing it for the booze...

The caravan's leaders were a brother and sister, and they had come from Barkley.

That made communication between Li Ang and them much smoother. After all, he and this body could be considered fellow countrymen—though Li Ang himself had never even seen what Barkley looked like.

The elder sister was named Lesley. She was a female merchant whom Europeans and Americans would probably consider quite pretty, with a few freckles on her face and a cheerful, lively personality. Once she learned that Li Ang was the leader of this group, she became exceptionally warm toward him.

"Lord Li Ang, do you really not want a drink? Thanks to you, none of this Coconut Wine has gone bad!"

Li Ang waved his hand. He had drunk plenty in Mistveil City. Freshly tapped natural coconut wine tasted fairly good, but this bottled Coconut Wine, mixed with all sorts of strange seasonings, held no appeal for him whatsoever.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Lesley. I only came to check on these bastards... and purchase some food supplies while I was at it."

"Please don't punish them. They helped me tremendously... Purchasing supplies, though? But where is your quartermaster, Lord Li Ang?"

A quartermaster?

It wasn't as though he'd found anyone suitable... Those Meitengheim people were clearly not cut out for it. Ansen and Sarah were both educated, but neither was good at logistics.

Li Ang sighed. "It seems no one in the party besides me can handle logistical work... And I will be setting out for the border the day after tomorrow to fight, so I have no time to find a suitable person."

Lesley nodded sympathetically. "Logistics and military supplies are terribly tedious work... I truly didn't expect you to handle them personally."

But then her eyes lit up again. "Is your party planning to enter Long River Forest? You know, I'm purchasing Noldo handicrafts..."

Li Ang shook his head. "Unfortunately, I'm going to suppress bandits, not look for the Noldo Elves... Still, if I come across any Noldo goods, I'll bring them to you. But right now, what is giving me a headache is my party's logistical support."

Li Ang glanced at the shy boy who had remained silent beside Lesley, then turned his gaze back to her. "Your caravan was able to travel from Mistveil City to Long River Town within a week. That is a rare capability—I have never heard of any caravan or army that could move at such a pace. I suppose I might be able to learn something from you?"

Lesley looked at Li Ang with a grin. "You really are completely different from those lofty lords I've met before... But you are leaving the day after tomorrow. You can't learn much in such a short time, Lord Li Ang."

Li Ang himself knew that many things required accumulated experience, so he nodded and nudged the utterly drunk Kloze with the tip of his boot, preparing to leave.

But Lesley called after him. "Lord Li Ang, if you are willing, I really can help out temporarily. For example, purchasing supplies, preparing military provisions, arranging food and daily necessities, wagons and baggage trains, as well as disposing of spoils... Of course, I will take a commission."

"That would be wonderful, Miss Lesley. I'll write down a roster of my party members for you..."

Li Ang brought up the party list and began copying it down.

When he saw the solitary line reading 'Meitengheim Great Swordsman,' he decided to test an idea.

So he kicked Kloze awake. "Kloze, attention! I hereby appoint you Assault Captain! Go wake up all your men!"

Though Kloze was somewhat muddled, he still instinctively snapped to attention with a clap. "Yes, sir!"

Then, sure enough, the list changed...

Ansen, Doctor;

Sarah, External Affairs Officer;

Kloze, Assault Captain;

Mercenary Crossbowmen, 22/23;

Farmers, 2/2;

Meitengheim Infantry, 1/12.

The number before the slash represented those currently capable of fighting, while the number after it represented the total—those burly men had nearly all been wiped out by the drinking...

Li Ang remembered that when this group of burly men had first joined the party, they had been 'Meitengheim Adventurers,' which was simply a polite term for raw recruits. After recovering their equipment at the pirate camp, they had become 'Meitengheim Infantry.'

That meant soldiers needed not only skill and accumulated experience to advance, but also upgraded equipment... These men had originally been seasoned infantrymen. It was only during the period when they had been bare-chested and unequipped that the system had counted them as recruits.

The denars this would cost in the future would be an ocean.

The road ahead was long...

Honestly, logistical work for several dozen people was not especially complicated, but it was indeed terribly tedious.

Food supplies, military equipment consumption, transportation of materials, distribution of benefits, handling spoils... all kinds of trivial details.

Lesley would remain in Long River Town for a while to purchase Noldo handicrafts. During that time, she would serve as a part-time quartermaster and help handle these matters. Any spoils could also be given to her to turn into cash.

Moreover, she could provide wagons for deliveries. Even if Li Ang's party was camped in the field, whenever they needed something, she could have the caravan's workers deliver it right to them—according to Lesley, "They are idle anyway. Whatever they can earn is good."

She truly was a qualified merchant.

Although she took a commission on every transaction and charged extra for delivery, such service was clearly excellent, especially while Li Ang lacked a quartermaster.

The only issue was that nearly half the gold in Li Ang's hands vanished with a clatter—Lesley took 300 denars for shopping.

The money he had left could only last around twenty days.

Fortunately, the next day, bearded Ralph delivered the bows, crossbows, and construction materials Li Ang had requested without cutting any corners. Even all twenty carpenters were present.

But these carpenters had been temporarily loaned out. According to Ralph, they had to be returned after he was done with them.

It seemed Ralph truly was utterly loyal to Count Oden.

Of course, it was also possible that he genuinely cared deeply about his position in Long River Town. It could not have been easy for a commoner to become the commander of Long River Town's garrison...

With everything ready, Li Ang set out with his party at dawn on the third day, heading for Fletcher Village at the kingdom's border.