When everyone had recovered from their emotions, Ran gathered the important figures of the village at the mayor's house for an assembly to discuss about what to do now.

.

After inquiring about the state of the village in further detail Ran went straight to the most important issues.

" Well, let's get to the point, this village has 2 major problems. Firstly, the Marquis of Gliver, as soon as the contract is severed he will try to make you disappear by all means.

We must prepare ourselves accordingly. However, this village is not home to soldiers but to farmers, so if this turns into a melee fight with seasoned mercenaries, it will be a massacre."

All present looked down, not able to refute him.

Ran looked at the representative of the carpenters.

"Can you make bows and arrows? "

He nodded gravely.

"Dont expect good ones lad, we are used to building houses, not weapons, but we will manage somehow"

"That will have to do, make enough to arm every able-bodied villager, man or woman. Also cut wood for barricades and pickets, this should be enough to keep random bandits at bay while we figure something long term."

He paused briefly, then continued.

"By the time we go to the closest town, officially declare the contract cancelled and the Marquis hearing about it, I think we have three or four days before his troops move, we can't afford to wait any longer because we don't know when he might come and get revenge on behalf of the Empire"

Everyone present listened avidly, they felt both reassured that Ran seemed to know what he was doing but still apprehensive about the upcoming battle.

"The second point is just as crucial, even without the overwhelming taxes and Gilver gone, this village has no stable economic activity, the crops are poor even though they are your only income and the village treasury is empty."

Ran stood up and brought out the pile of bones he had insisted on carrying, then continued:

“By crushing these into powder and putting them in boiling water with the fat you will get oil, keep it, it will soon prove useful, then dry the powder, it will serve as fertilizer for crops."

"Next is....well"

Ran then tried to explain the concept of recycling waste materials as a form of biological fertilizer, but even if they weren't convinced about putting shit on their crops they didn't say anything, at least they didn't call him a mad man.

Ran turned to the mayor and asked:

"Do you have any livestock here?

The mayor stood up and answered honestly:

"We used to... But the winter was harsh and we had to slaughter them to survive."

A mixture of unease and shame ran through the men present.

'This place used to be in better shape, huh ?'

"Okay, I understand, in that case, among the 6 horses that the imperial soldiers offered us...you will keep 4 and I will sell the other 2. They will serve as manpower to plow and remove stumps around the village, we will multiply the agricultural surface several times to increase crops.”

An old farmer interjected

"Even if we do this we won't have enough people to take care of the vast fields, even if it doesn't look like it, we are already working to the maximum to get what little we have out of the ground."

"Don't worry, even if the total area increase the workload won't be that different, for years you've been using the same soil with the same crops, it's obvious that it would end up being impoverished, I'll explain the concept of crop rotation in details when we get back from town"

The elder sat down and let him continue.

"Finally, the wolves who attacked us have joined us, they will spy on the movements of the marquis and alert the village in case of an attack, so I ask you to treat them with respect and even if they can hunt on their own, feed them in my absence if the need arises."

Murmurs surged at his words

"Some may be wary of them but they won't attack anyone as long as their lives are not threatened. However, if you attack them...I'm not responsible for anything."

They all nodded, understanding the meaning of his words without difficulty. Ran was surprised that they accepted so easily, he had expected more resistance since one of the wolves had injured a villager.

"Well if everything is settled I'll leave immediately, with the map you gave me I think I can get there by early evening."

Ran and the mayor stood up and exchanged a handshake, and that marked the end of the meeting.

After he left the house, the mayor slumped back into his chair with a sigh. Everyone was shocked by Ran's efficiency, they were here for less than half an hour and Ran seemingly resolved all the problems that were plaguing them.

" Seriously...Who is this kid ? "