The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 539: Dominic Hates Reports

Despite their advance preparations, there were far too many weddings planned for the Duchy over the next few weeks. Even holding them in pairs, with weddings both at the Manor and at the event centre in the Adventurer’s Guild hall, they would be hard-pressed to keep up with the rate that they were coming in.

But that was only the start of their problems.

The adventurers had been out to survey the Barony manors and other houses in the vicinity, and there was a lot of damage to some of them, while others had been occupied by either monsters or mages during the most recent assault and left as a disaster zone in need of renovation.

That was going to be a huge problem trying to move everyone in.

They were counting on there being furniture and a house to live in for most of the Knights to have somewhere appropriate to stay, and with over a dozen of the nearest houses damaged, they would have to wait.

Or move further out.

That was also an option, and while it would reduce the safety of the Manor houses, it would also give them much more available land to farm.

Trying to cluster everyone close to town would inevitably lead to conflict, so Dominic thought that it might be wise to spread them out, and to simply ensure that there were multiple Knights from the Natural Sons’ Regiment living near each of the outlying Barons.

They could provide some security while more Barony Guards and servants were obtained.

That was another issue. Despite the number of common folk who had flocked to Wistover, they were not enough for dozens of Baronies and hundreds of Noble Manors to operate, work fields, and provide necessary services to rural populations.

They had gained so many Nobles for this debutante event that they didn’t have nearly enough people to support them all, and the only readily available source of commoners were the refugees from Dagos, including the northern regions of what was once Wavemates Kingdom.

Those, Dominic thought, might actually have some lingering loyalty to the bloodline, as the common folk didn’t have any say in who governed them.

They did, however, get to suffer for the sins of their overlords.

So, they were leaving in huge numbers, as the storms were destroying their homes, and millions were displaced or killed by the flooding.

Mostly displaced.

Once it became clear that the flooding was coming, many began to flee away from the river, and that would bring them near Wistover soon.

Which presented an opportunity for the new Barons.

If they could recruit a number of these transient farmers, they could settle them on the land and build up the population of their new holdings even as they worked to renovate their homes and provide a living for their new families.

It was chaotic to be trying to do everything all at once, but it was the best that they could hope for.

The reports of the displaced got more concerning by the minute as Dominic read through the reports. Tens of thousands were avoiding Lympsbury, thought it would logically be along their route, as the only major road in the region ran directly to it.

Cygnia’s airships, including the ones that were on rescue missions sent out from the Wistover airbase, were all reporting the same thing.

The refugees were headed south, away from the flooding of the Dodbridbury and Skipton Rivers. But they had no intentions of taking refuge in the city. All of the region had always been small Baronies and Counties, mostly isolated from the rest of the world except for the constant demands from Kinewen for crops and raw materials.

Now, they seemed to hold a level of animosity toward the people of Lympsbury, as they were going a hundred kilometres out of their way to avoid the immediate area.

Or perhaps they thought that it might be in as bad of condition as their homes were?

Lympsbury wasn’t on a major river, though it was over an aquifer.

So, it hadn’t flooded. But it was home to quite a few refugees, Dominic couldn’t deny that part. Yet, compared to the million fleeing south from Kinewen, the entire population was laughable.

What city could accommodate four times its population in refugees?

Even if they all decided to settle in Wistover Duchy, they would need the majority of the Duchy to house them all. Likely more, depending on how much land they needed.

Typically, they would be allocated a virgate under a Baron or Knight, a tenth of a square Kilometre, or about twenty-five acres.

Which took two oxen and at least two grown men, or a couple with two sons to work properly, assuming that you weren’t using a magitech tractor. That would provide enough for the family even in the lean years, though Dagos and even Cygnia were known to cut that in half in many regions.

Either because the land was excellent, or because the people were destitute, and couldn’t afford the two oxen, but wanted to keep the land in the family, so they split it between sons.

Doing the math on what ten thousand farm families arriving would look like, even with the number of Nobles they had, was enough to give Dominic a headache.

It would solve their shortage of farmers, though.

The question was what they should do with half a million residents of Kinewen who had few notable skills, and little to no magic. Wistover simply didn’t have the capacity to absorb the majority of them, and if they kept heading into Cygnia, they would meet with hostile locals who viewed them as invaders trying to take over the cities.

The worst part was that he couldn’t just give this problem to someone else, as there wasn’t anyone in the region who outranked him, unless you counted Alexis, and as her husband and the local Duke, it was clearly his responsibility to deal with new residents, both noble and common.