Lind rejected Jefferson’s request to stay overnight and returned to Graywhite Territory with Lena that same day.
The information Jefferson provided about the female protagonist, Isha Nebet, was not entirely useless; at least among the outrageous details, two points could be confirmed.
The first was that the female protagonist, Isha Nebet, killed the lord of Luyel Territory, claimed to be the Saintess of White, and raised a flag in rebellion.
The second was that the female protagonist, Isha Nebet, was currently heading west towards the Northern Border, specifically towards Graywhite Territory.
There was no point in delving into the reasons behind Isha’s rebellion now; what Lind cared about most was when the female protagonist would arrive at Graywhite Territory and how many people she brought with her.
Although the information written by the bard on the parchment was exaggerated, according to Lind’s estimates, the number of people the female protagonist brought was not large—at most a few thousand, certainly not in the tens of thousands. The entire Northern Border didn’t have that many people.
It was said to be a rebellion, but the female protagonist didn’t have a base, and she hadn’t even successfully occupied Luyel Territory, which she initially attacked.
Lind speculated that the reason the female protagonist, Isha, was rebelling was that there were no forces backing her, nor did she have many professionals. Leading a group of commoners could not sustain an occupation of any place for long, after all, there was still an insurmountable chasm between ordinary people and professionals.
Heading west towards the Northern Border was likely also because there were many small nobles in that area, and noble influence was generally weak. Moreover, even in the sparsely populated Northern Border, the western side belonged to a region with a low population density, so occupying a hill there might really go unnoticed.
After returning to Graywhite Territory, or more accurately, to the camp, Lind ignored Lena, who was chattering beside him, wanting to see how that white sugar was produced, while contemplating the possibility of recruiting the female protagonist, Isha.
In the current Northern Border, there was an invasion from the Demon Clan outside, and the internal noble factions were in chaos. The largest lord was engaged in a war for succession, so a few rebels truly went unnoticed.
The only issue was that the female protagonist had already killed a count.
So, which was more important: sheltering a rebel who killed a noble or recruiting a destined child?
Alright, hesitating for a second would be disrespectful to the female protagonist.
According to the setting, the female protagonist was not only a living god designated by the goddess but also a true saintess. In the late game, she could genuinely manifest divine signs. Even when the situation in the Northern Border was in complete turmoil, as long as the female protagonist waved her hand and casually displayed a divine sign from the game, she could establish a religion right there.
This didn’t even account for the female protagonist’s extraordinary fate. The parchment mentioned that during Isha’s attack on the castle, a meteor suddenly fell and killed Count Yager, which Lind thought was not impossible.
As for the army the female protagonist brought, more accurately, it was a group of refugees.
Were they refugees? They were labor!
Lind had just earned a lump sum from Jefferson and didn’t know how to spend it. If he could accept the refugees that the female protagonist brought, the development of the territory could begin to accelerate entirely. This included a series of experiments Lind had been eager to conduct without worrying about taking up important population resources in the territory.
Furthermore, whether from the game or seeing the female protagonist leading a rebellion with refugees now, she was an exceptional management talent that should be exploited heavily.
Thinking of this, Lind could hardly contain his smile.
“Brother? Brother!”
Seeing Lind suddenly lost in thought, then start to grin foolishly, Lena worriedly shook Lind’s arm, concerned that he might be too tired managing the territory and had gone a bit crazy.
But Lind suddenly came back to his senses, wearing a serious expression typical for discussing matters and said to Lena, “Lady Lars, what do you think of the rebel Isha?”
Seeing Lind return to normal, Lena relaxed her anxious heart, pulled up a chair, and casually asked back, “What? Is that Isha Nebet your relative?”
“Sort of.”
Lind chose to gloss over it; after all, he had inherited attributes from the female protagonist, so calling her a relative wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
“I want to arrange for her to come to the territory. You know the territory is short on people, and our grandfather’s assistance is just a drop in the bucket.”
“But she’s a rebel,” Lena frowned slightly.
Rebels were considered military achievements and one of the criteria for assessing heirs by Duke Lars. In Lena’s eyes, the female protagonist Isha appeared more like a walking achievement.
Previously, Lena hadn’t only been hunting in the mountains; she was also trying to find any bandits occupying the territory.
Unfortunately, a group of fully armed professionals cavalry was too obvious, leading to Lena finding nothing. Moreover, most bandits were actually the black hands of nobles; who would be insane enough to target the granddaughter of the Northern Border’s greatest noble?
Though Lena opposed the idea, convincing her was not a difficult task for Lind, so he immediately switched to a teasing mode.
“Lady Lars, don’t you think the people Isha brings are refugees?”
Hearing Lind’s question, Lena was somewhat confused and replied, “Of course, while those people are rebels for having killed Count Yager, they are indeed refugees coming from the northern border.”
“Then hasn’t our grandfather issued a relief decree that provided us with food to assist refugees?”
“Correct, I thought no refugees would come to such a remote territory.”
Duke Lars had naturally provided relief grain to the lords of the Northern Border, and Graywhite Territory received its share, but it felt more like it was given to his granddaughter. After all, how could there possibly be refugees in such a secluded Graywhite Territory?
“Then let me ask you, since the people Isha brought are refugees, and our grandfather has decreed that those from Lars must help the refugees, shouldn’t we provide aid to these refugees?”
“Ah?”
Lena’s mind seemed a bit fried; the logic seemed correct, but something felt off.
“But they are rebels!”
Suddenly, Lena had a flash of insight and pointed out the key issue; she was just a bit slow in thinking and wasn’t actually stupid.
Lind was somewhat startled, surprised that he hadn’t been able to hoodwink her. It seemed Lena was smarter than he had thought. At least now he wouldn’t have to worry about her being kidnapped on the battlefield.
“Exactly, they are rebels. So, after they receive the relief grain, I will make them work hard on my territory to repay for their sins. Is there a problem with that?”
“No… no.”
Lena felt that something was off, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. Previously pointing out that Isha’s group were rebels seemed to have exhausted Lena’s mental capacity.
“As for the rebel leader, Isha Nebet, she must be captured directly to my territory. As a prisoner, she will naturally have to work for us on the territory. Is there a problem with that?”
“No, no.”
Seeing Lena respond blankly with a vacant expression, Lind knew he had successfully hoodwinked her, then began happily calling Lauri and Lila over, discussing how to accept the refugees brought by Isha.
Upon hearing that someone could help alleviate their workload, the two immediately agreed with Lind’s proposal, even Lila, who usually had a poker face, showed an evil smile.
This made Lena, watching from the side, feel a bit scared and want to tell Lind that treating prisoners like that was inhumane, but clearly, it was too late.
