Dungeon of Niflheim

304 Chapter 304: Kranor’s problem (2)

Frost took a deep breath before answering Yarrow’s loaded question.

“From the outside I could see that Kranor is fairly well defended, more than capable of fending off regular monster attacks and bandits. However, if a rival territory invaded or a larger swarm of monsters attack, you’d struggle to stop them from breaking through that guarding wall. Your garrison is a pretty good size, if you include the soldiers stationed on the top floor and each of them seemed quite keen to prove their worth with very few slacking off.” Frost found this fact quite interesting, when in Furano there was an untold number of lazy and even corrupt guards yet here Kranor all the young people seemed to view their duty as an opportunity, an honour.

“In terms of layout I can’t find any fault; you’ve isolated the different sectors of the territory very well making it very efficient. There’s even room to expand not only downwards to the 8th and 9th floors but also on the already outfitted floors, allowing the previously established towns to simply grow in circumference. The roads and streets are wide enough to accommodate even heavy foot traffic and carriages without feeling too cramped and the lift service makes transferring between floors a breeze.” Chia and Lola nodded along, agreeing with Frost’s points, this was something they and their predecessors worked hard to develop.

“The amount of shops and items on sale on the first floor was incredibly surprising given that you’re a semi isolated community. And the quality is even greater, Daki for one is not only young but can produce many types of 3 star equipment, her potential as a smith is incredible. Then you have doctor Mira who created the potion that cured your illness let alone all the other professions I’ve seen and been told about. Kranor has quite a substantial pool of talent throughout the generations.” Frost’s words brought a smile to Yarrow’s face as he nodded for him to continue.

“The climate and living conditions are also far better than I expected for an enclave in the external regions of the Glacial mountains. But there is one clear problem that I can see and it’s the same one Lola told me about, your food production.” Of course, the food issue wasn’t the only problem, but it was the most prevalent.

Yarrow closed his eyes and let loose a sigh “Correct, I agree and am quite flattered by your objective opinion but as you said Kranor has a major problem in regards to its food production. Something that has been becoming increasingly worse over the past decade and one that I have unfortunately been unable to solve and in some ways amplified.” Yarrow opened his eyes, before looking to the side as nostalgia filled him.

“A few decades ago, we never had an issue with food nor water, of course our population was much lower then so there was less mouths to feed but our strength in terms of trade professions, outside visitors and treasury were also nowhere near what they are today. When I took office after my father I tried to change that. I encouraged promoting trade professions, even going so far to have outsiders relocate here so as to take on apprentices. I even loosened the restrictions on external trade thus allowing the enclave to quickly prosper. Plus, I used mine and Chia’s strengths as adventurers to help influence the young to seek power and enter the military which worked wonders to improve our nation’s aggregate power.”

“Over the years Kranor continued to grow its treasury, its influence in the surrounding area as well as its population. With the trade skills developing, our quality of life improved, better housing, heating, waste management etc. Thus, more and more people started having families and that’s when the issues started to show.” Yarrow frowned and clenched his fist before continuing.

“My promotion to seek strength and trade professions worked a little too well. Seeing as these jobs provided the most money and opportunities no one thought to take up agriculture, thus no young blood was there to replace farmers that died of old age and now we have around a year before our reserves run desperately low which will force us to enact rationing.” A sombre mood lingered in the air between the four people.

.....

“Did you try to encourage people to work on the farms?” Frost asked trying to better understand what had been done so far.

“Yes but barely anyone was interested, I even offered financial incentives but in the long run, trade professions would make more money thus it didn’t grab many people. None were interested in such passive and boring work. To compensate as best we can I’ve enlisted the military to go on regular monster hunts to procure meat as well as requested our own adventurers to sell their meat here in Kranor. I’ve also managed to purchase small amounts of grain and produce from passing merchants but it’s nowhere near enough to cover our lack of home grown crops. We’ve dug more wells to increase our water supply and irrigation capabilities for our fields, but we severely lack people to man them. less than 10% of our current farmers are under 40 with most having one foot in the grave already. To be honest it was trying to fix this problem that caused me to succumb to the [icy veins] illness. I could not for the life of me find a way to resolve this issue and avoid causing a mass panic.” Yarrow let out a deep depressed sigh and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. Chia’s and Lola’s eyes grew red as they patted Yarrow’s back as comfort. He wasn’t alone in this problem anymore; they’d think of a solution together.

Frost was frowning as he listened, his mind working overdrive trying to think of a solution. After a minute he already felt a headache, yet Yarrow had been battling this problem for years, a strong willed man.

“The populace don’t know?”

“Not the regular civilians, but anyone in management is aware that there is a growing issue. And only those in government seats and the agriculture department are aware of how serious the issue currently is.” Yarrow opted not to tell the majority as it would only spread panic, but it wasn’t a super kept secret. It was known that the miliary went out on more hunting trips and that the government was purchasing vast amounts of meat and grains. People just assumed that it wasn’t that bad, or that it was being dealt with.

Frost’s frown grew, telling the populace or not telling them was a hard decision to make, at least when they still had time to fix the problem. Letting them know ahead of time could cause panic and would force people down a route they don’t wish to be on. It’d be best if the younger generation chose to work in agriculture of their own volition. But unfortunately, all of Yarrow’s previous attempts have failed.

The four of them were silent for a good few minutes or so before Yarrow tentatively asked the question he wanted to ask.

“Frost since you wish to establish your own territory you’ll be in a similar position as me soon, how would you solve this problem?” Yarrow was grasping at straws, but he held hope. So far Frost was a good omen and had a good head on his shoulders, perhaps having his outside and fresh perspective they may be able to come up with a solution.

“......”Frost remained silent, his brow creasing even further as he tried to think of a method that wasn’t the nuclear option of forced agricultural enlistment.

Just when Yarrow was about to apologise and take back his question Frost spoke.

“The problem is that no one wants to become farmers right? They don’t find it appealing enough in comparison to the military or a trade profession?” Frost felt as though he grasped at something, but it was just out of reach.

“Yes that’s the main issue.” Yarrow agreed, a spark of hope lighting up in his chest.

“So, to make it more appealing you went down the financial incentives route, but people quickly figured out that trade professions made more in the long run.”

“Correct”

“I’m guessing you can’t increase the incentives more as that would cause a problem with the interests of the military and trade professions right?” Frost cupped his chin as he imagined the problems Yarrow would have encountered. If the incentive wasn’t enough just increase it but that wouldn’t be fair to the current farmers, the tradesman and military they’d be up in arms about the preferential treatment.

“Ugh yeah when I wanted to increase their wages and give new farmers cash grants both the trade sector and the military sector disagreed with my decision. Thus, I couldn’t solve this issue with money.” Yarrow felt even more excited as Frost knew of the roadblocks he encountered without him going into details.

“Then if you can’t give the new farmers massive wages or other cash incentives that would disinterest them from becoming tradesmen you need to appeal to their other interests.” An idea slowly came together in Frost’s mind, it not only wouldn’t conflict with the wishes of the younger people, but it also shouldn’t conflict with the interests of the trade sector, the military however may have a slight issue but nothings perfect.