Chapter 150. What Ironroot Can Feed

Chapter 150: 150. What Ironroot Can Feed

Carlos led the evaluator toward the fields without speaking for a moment.

The evaluator looked at all of it carefully.

"How much land are you using for food?" she asked.

Carlos pointed toward the normal fields first.

"Most of this side is common food crops. Wheat, beans, root vegetables, leafy vegetables, and whatever else my head farmer believes we can manage without wasting water or labor."

"And the protected beds?"

"They have different requirements," Carlos said. "I would prefer to keep their details private."

The evaluator nodded.

"That is acceptable. I only need to confirm that your food claim is supported by visible operations and records."

"This is Rowan," Carlos said. "He oversees our farming work."

Rowan gave the evaluator a polite nod.

"Welcome."

She looked at him.

"How long have these crops been planted?"

"The wheat here is part of our current rotation," Rowan said. "The beans were planted later. We do not put every crop in at once because then every crop asks for harvest labor at once too."

The evaluator wrote that down.

"And your loss rate?"

Rowan glanced at Carlos before answering.

"Lower than it was during the first weeks. We lost crops in the raids, and we made mistakes because none of us had enough time to know everything. Now we mark the soil, track water, and keep seed separate from meal stock."

The evaluator’s eyes moved toward the marked rope near the darker ground.

"Both private?" she asked.

"Yes," Carlos replied.

"Then I will not approach."

The kitchen was louder than the fields.

"Less," Mira said. "If you use all the salt now, what will you use tomorrow?"

The Hearthkeeper stopped immediately.

Mira noticed Carlos and the evaluator near the entrance.

"You are here," she said. "Do you need the records?"

"Please," Carlos said.

"Who prepares this?" she asked.

"Mira, the head cook, directs the Hearthkeepers," Carlos said. "She also tracks our food reserve."

Mira handed her the board with all the records kept in it.

The evaluator looked down at the board and her eyes stopped on the meal count.

"When I saw the troop buildings and the variety of your troops," she said, "I was disappointed. Any Lord can get troops. They can buy a barrack, win one, or take one from somebody weaker."

She tapped the board with one finger.

"But this says you are preparing more than one hundred meals every day. You have kept them fed."

Mira looked up.

"We have. It is difficult, but we do."

The evaluator looked at the number once more.

"That is different."

Mira looked at the woman.

"The reserve is not where I want it," she said before Carlos could speak. "We have enough for daily meals if nothing goes wrong. But with the Bearkin, the newer troops, and anyone injured needing better food, I will not call it safe yet."

Carlos held himself still. The evaluator looked down at the board.

"Why have you not reduced troop numbers?"

Mira answered first.

"Because some of those troops are already here, and because they defended the fields that feed everyone. We paused new summons. But we are confident we can keep up with the demand currently."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

"How are you closing the gap for that reserve you were talking about?" the evaluator asked.

"Harvests, market trades, and food-for-resource arrangements," Carlos said. "We are also growing more seed stock so our normal land can expand without putting everything into one crop."

"Are those arrangements reliable?"

"Some of them are, but there are newer ones too."

The evaluator nodded once.

"That is an honest distinction."

They left the kitchen and walked to the Cold Storage. Carlos allowed her inside, but only to the first section. The protected shelves were visible. The deeper storage, where the more valuable ingredients were kept, remained behind a wooden partition.

The evaluator did not ask him to open it.

"This is your reserve?" she asked.

"Part of it," Carlos said. "The rest is in active use or held in separate locations."

She looked at the sacks, crates, and jars lined against the cool stone.

"You have planned for spoilage."

"My head cook did," Carlos said.

Mira looked pleased despite herself.

At the Farmer’s Lodge, Tarin took a bundle of tools from Sela and set it beside the door. The evaluator watched them enter before she asked about the building. Carlos said it housed the Farmers. The nearby Hearthkeeper Lodge did the same for Mira’s people.

The evaluator stopped near the Farmer’s Lodge.

"You understand that these are more valuable than most new Lords realize," she said.

Carlos looked at the building.

"I learned that quickly."

Carlos nodded.

The last part of the evaluation was the Agricultural District.

Carlos did not take her there. He could not, and he had made that clear from the start. Instead, he opened the territory interface in front of her, keeping the rest of the panel hidden.

--

[Territory Asset Record]

[Ancient Cultivation District]

[Recognized Owner: Carlos Goldwin]

[Access Classification: Restricted Pocket Dimension]

--

The evaluator read the panel without moving closer.

"Can you enter it freely?" she asked.

"Yes," Carlos said. "But most of the things, about 50%, are still under development. I can confirm it is mine, but I will not promise access I do not fully control."

"That is sensible."

She wrote for a long time after that. She did not look up from it.

Finally, the evaluator closed her notebook.

"Your core claims are supported," she said. "You own Ironroot. You have a functional military force, active production, resident labor, and a recognized external asset."

Carlos took a breath.

"Thank you."

She looked across the fields again.

"That does not make the territory secure."

Carlos did not argue.

"I know."

"Your food reserve is narrow. Your military strength is uneven. Your production has promise, but it relies heavily on a small number of people and assets. If one part fails, the rest of Ironroot will feel it immediately."

Carlos looked toward Mira’s board, then the small storage door. There was nothing there he could argue with.

The evaluator looked at him for a moment. She put the notebook away and smiled.

"My report will not call you stable yet, Carlos Goldwin. It will call you valuable, but exposed. But these are things you can work on."

Carlos nodded once.

"That is fair."