Angelica Sacramenta was in the Tyrelme Holy Empire’s capital city of Andahl. She’d been summoned there by her brother, Alfred Sacramenta.
All of the nobles who directly served the imperial Sacramenta family were gathered in a meeting room in Andahl’s castle with Angelica Sacramenta among them.
My brother looks so old, Angelica thought while looking at him.
Although he was no older than thirty, his brown hair had gained flecks of gray. The heavy responsibility of running the empire may have taken its toll on him, or perhaps it was a symptom of the intense pressure he’d faced during his fight for the imperial crown. It was baldness, rather than graying, that ran in the family. If this was the state of his hair already, then the future of his head looked bleak.
“I’ve gathered you all here to discuss our participation in the next crusade,” Alfred said.
There was some alarm among some of the less-informed members of the gathering.
Ange, naturally, was unsurprised. She’d learned of the upcoming crusade some time ago. As Alfred shared further details, she half listened to ensure they were consistent with what she already knew, but much of her attention was given to the view outside the window.
Andahl. Outside the window, she could see several ports—which had been dug into the side of the major river—branching out of the water. The ships moored there were just as big as those found in port towns by the sea. When the wind was strong, ships could raise their sails and move against the river, and even on windless days, it was relatively easy to go against the flow thanks to horses and oxen that could tow vessels from a road that ran alongside the river. Since the city was far enough inland to avoid the risk of piracy, this section of the river was a key component of the nation’s transport network.
Andahl wasn’t the historical capital of the Tyrelme Holy Empire. In the empire’s early days, a city known as Altima within Ange’s territory had been the nation’s capital. The history of the imperial capital was linked to that of the imperial family.
The Sacramenta family were outsiders, in a sense, because their ancestors were from a region with no connection to Tyrelme at all. Long ago, back when most adherents of Yeesusism had belonged to the Carulgi sect, a nation considered the home of the sect known as the Carulginion Empire had attacked the Tyrelme region, which had just been a gathering of small independent nations at that point. The region’s rulers had been in a panic as defeat seemed inevitable. It was then that they had considered uniting as a single nation by appointing someone from the Papal State as their emperor.
The Papal State had sent them a member of the imperial family of the Xurxes Holy Empire, which had long since passed the peak of its prosperity. The Holy Empire had fallen after a war that had centered around the sacred body of Yeesus. Fortunately, the imperial family hadn’t been wiped out completely. One of their descendants had survived, and at the time, he had been working as a fisherman in a small seaside village in the Papal State. That fisherman was Angelica Sacramenta’s ancestor, Leon Sacramenta.
Leon had been brought to the Tyrelme region, given the title of emperor—he hadn’t dared resume the title of holy emperor—and made the head of state. But he’d been a ruler in name only. That was to say, the Sacramenta family had been a figurehead with no real authority. Despite establishing an imperial family, the existing nobles had wanted to retain as much power as possible. To that end, a system had been established in which emperors were chosen by hereditary prince-electors, giving the nobles considerable power over the imperial family.
Leon’s first act had been to negotiate with the ruling nobles for control over a small, remote town, to which he gave a new, grandiose name. That name was “Altima,” meaning “supremacy.” Ange now considered that town her home. Industry there was poor and transport links limited, but the peculiar geography meant the mornings were frequently misty, which had led to noble rot wine becoming a local delicacy with high profit margins.
Leon had later found success fighting against the Shanti people and expanded his territory. His successors had then expanded the nation’s borders even farther. The capital then had to be relocated when it was decided that the imperial territory also needed to grow in accordance with the nation. Andahl, therefore, had been made the empire’s new capital.
Ange’s elder brother, Alfred Sacramenta, had been speaking at length about things she already knew, but eventually, he began to wrap up. “...And so I’ve decided that we too will participate in the sixteenth crusade.”
One of the nobles in attendance spoke up. “I hope I’m not being premature, but should we prepare to move settlers?”
It was a sensible suggestion. Land had no meaning unless people were living there. The land they claimed would be vacant and useless until people were relocated.
If a call for settlers was put out, the typical volunteers would be third and fourth sons from farming families. In general, they’d either be unemployed or from a family that struggled to feed them. These initial volunteers would inevitably form all-male households. As the settlers grew self-sufficient, people would come from the cities to arrange marriages, and then single women, who were otherwise thought too old to marry, would be sent to the settlement. That was the general process for establishing a new population.
Willing settlers became increasingly numerous during the peace between crusades, giving the populace the potential to expand its reach. Since a mere two years had passed since the last crusade, gathering volunteers was likely to prove difficult. It was one of the reasons for the time left between each crusade.
To make matters worse, these new settlements were being built in progressively poorer environments. After capturing territory in the relatively warm regions in the south, all that was left were cold, frigid lands where even wine was liable to freeze.
The people of the Peninsula Kingdom to the south didn’t need tools to survive, because they could dive into the sea to catch fish. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible in the harsher northern regions. Survival depended on tools and ingenuity. For example, settlers would need axes in order to gather enough firewood to survive the winter. They didn’t have the privilege of fertile lands where wheat would simply grow wherever the seed was sown. A stable livelihood required a deep understanding of the land, knowledge of the beasts living in the forests, and consideration of the climate.
In addition, since many settlers were penniless and uneducated, they relied upon the state to provide their initial funding. This could be offered in the form of a loan to be recovered later, but it created a significant expense in the short term.
“We won’t be ready to settle people for some time,” Alfred replied. “But there’s no getting out of it. The Papal State is eager to begin. If we remain as spectators, we’ll be left behind. There won’t be a chance to join in later.”
“Yes, quite so. No good can come of letting the opportunity pass us by.”
The noble who’d replied was one of Alfred’s yes-men, but he wasn’t wrong. Even bare land was worth grabbing when the chance arose—it wasn’t as though it would rot while it was left unused. If they failed to do so now, they wouldn’t be able to put settlers there later.
“We’ll have to dispatch our troops quickly this time, so I want to form a supply plan as a matter of urgency. You will all report the content of your granaries, army food stores, and so on. We may need everything we have.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” everyone replied in unison, with the exception of Ange, who merely moved her mouth along with the others.