Episode 113
“It looks like Vector is teaching you well.”
“It’s clear that that guy hasn’t forgotten what happened in the past and is holding a grudge. He couldn’t stop someone from killing him, so he’s tormenting him like a crazy person, and to top it off, he even meddled with Lila for no reason…” I just
said it with a smile out of a strange feeling, but I wonder if that was some kind of trigger. As if something had happened, endless resentment and chatter broke out.
Clearly, he was having a hard time of his own.
Logan chuckled and cut off the guy’s chat.
“I’ll deliver the letter to you, so go run some errands. And I’ll tell Vector, so take a few days off.”
“yes?”
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“Oh no. It’s not that I don’t like it…”
“No?”
“Haha. That doesn’t mean I’m just going to run errands for letters anymore… Oh! No kidding! Do it!”
I was so dumbfounded that I pulled on my cheeks and it seemed like I was finally back to my normal self.
“These are important letters, so don’t miss a single one and deliver them all. There will be a branch of Nox in Bipros Castle. If you want to go there…”
Looking at the guy holding his cheek and tears in his eyes, Logan told him how to contact Nox.
“Go and tell them that McLane is scouting for surviving knights from the ruined family. Leave the conditions as is, and if you have any thoughts, please come here and contact us. Of course, we’ll have to do it secretly, right?”
“I understand. I’m writing it down! I’m telling you straight!”
“Oh, and send these letters separately.”
And at the same time, I entrusted him with dozens of letters.
“What is all this?”
“It’s a letter.”
“When did you use something like this again? Who are you sending it to? I can’t believe I’m cheating on you with Eilen…”
Ugh.
“Oops!”
“Don’t talk nonsense, man!”
“But still. This is a bit inhumane….”
“All the recipients are men. Don’t think in vain and send it.”
“That’s just as dangerous… Ugh, what a joke! It’s a joke!”
Looking at Rick making a fuss and walking away, Logan sighed a little and turned around.
‘Will they accept it? Well… it would be nice if we could save at least a few people. Otherwise, I can’t help it.’
The recipients of the letters were descendants of small and medium-sized fiefdoms that had recently begun to fail one by one, or trainees of knights, or soldiers.
If left alone, these people will become wandering mercenaries.
In other people’s eyes, they were just nobles or soldiers who did not become knights, so they were not actively recruited.
But Logan needed them.
It wasn’t just because he knew that most of them would eventually become Force users.
In fact, some of the people he considered most important were people who did not awaken to the Force even decades later when he ‘remembered’ them.
‘Grandia Liberation Front. In the end, people who sacrificed their lives for their country.’
The real independence fighters that Logan found it difficult to become friends with, as they were driven by personal revenge and grudges.
True patriots who sacrificed their lives to liberate their country.
In other words, it meant that he was an ally that could be firmly trusted during future imperial wars.
‘It’s unfortunate that I don’t remember everything about what family I came from or where I was during this time, but at least this is where I am.’
Experience changes people.
That is why time has changed good people into evil people and bad people into good people.
Therefore, at this point, they may not be the noble people that Logan knows.
But even assuming the worst.
‘There will be at least 340 talented people who are sure to become future knights.’
On the other hand, the only effort it takes is staying up all night to gather memories and write letters.
There was no reason not to do it.
However, there were clear aftereffects from those few days of hard work.
Dark and depressing memories that I don’t want to recall.
With a wistful expression, Logan recalled the noble colleagues from his past life who seemed close yet distant.
* * * Damian Nadal was the second son of Baron Nadal, a minor nobleman in the southeastern region.
As with the person himself, the family is also so incompetent that no one even knows its name.
Therefore, he did not have much pride as an aristocrat.
No, these days, I actually feel resentful of my bloodline.
‘Does it make sense to get involved in a factional fight just because my great-great-grandmother was the second daughter of the Marquis of Calia? So the family is devastated.’
Damian lamented and drank another glass of beer.
This family was probably the first to fall after the civil war began.
I didn’t have much money left just before I went bankrupt, but I felt like if I didn’t do something like this, I would get sick and collapse.
Above all, this was also a unique memorial service for the family members who passed away in vain.
‘What’s the point of a memorial service when you can’t even take care of the body and run away and just drink alcohol…’ The
excuse he came up with was so ridiculous that Damian ordered another drink.
I hope that either all the little money I have will run out or my miserable life will end before then.
‘If I don’t die and come back to life, should I brag? I drank it for three days and nights, and this tough life cannot be cut off.’
Damian chuckled, imagining that in the future, when he had grown ugly, he would show off among other down-and-out old people in similar situations.
Then, I woke up to an unfamiliar voice in my ear.
“Damian Nadal?”
Uddangtangtang.
“What what? Puha. What are you?!”
Damian rolled backwards awkwardly and quickly pulled out his knife.
I wasn’t ashamed of the number of times I fumbled because I couldn’t find the sword strapped to my belt.
Thinking that a pursuer was following me, I quickly tried to focus, but the person in front of me seemed shaken, probably because he had drank too much.
To come to my senses, I slapped my cheek loudly, and I felt like I came to my senses a little with the spicy taste of blood.
Then, in front of me, I saw a middle-aged man with an ordinary look frowning at me.
“Are you Damian Nadal?”
“It’s not like chasing a pendulum. Who cares about me…”
This is a typical example of a drunk person who screams out of nowhere and then suddenly commits self-harm.
“What are you? How do you know me?”
The middle-aged man, thinking that he had somehow managed not to get his tongue twisted, took out a letter from his pocket.
“I came from the Information Guild. I have a letter from our customer to deliver to you.”
“…what?”
Who wrote to me?
How did you know I would be here before then?
I didn’t even know I would be here a week ago.
All kinds of distracting thoughts further disturbed my already intoxicated mind.
But the other person did not show him any consideration.
“Then I delivered the letter here. Soo-gyeol… grunted. He received it. That’s enough for me.”
A middle-aged man drags his shaky hand, stamps it at random, and then disappears.
Damian looked at the letter left in his hand with a blank expression.
“What on earth is this…”
I felt like I was being possessed by something.
“Tsk, tsk. A young person. You’re making such a fuss over a single letter. Just open it! Do you know? Maybe my runaway lover has come to visit me.”
A middle-aged drinker sitting next to me, giggling, gave Damian a lame joke.
‘S…yeah. ‘You’ll know when you see it.’
If it’s someone pranking me, I’ll definitely show you what a drunkard at the end of his life can do.
With that thought in mind, Damian opened the letter.
And as he read the letter, his expression became increasingly hard.
Dear Damian Nadal.
My name is Logan, the eldest son of the McLane family.
I was deeply moved by the ‘Poetry of the Drunken Moon’ that you left behind at Grand’s Academy.
I thought you were a great person, but I am contacting you because you recently experienced an unfortunate experience.
Our family, which continues to grow even in these difficult times, needs talent like Damian.
If you are looking for a new place to settle down, please consider McLine.
Logan McLane compensation.
“What kind of bullshit is this…”
A poem written while drunk at the Academy.
It was true that he was the author of that shameful poem that had once become the talk of the town.
But in this country, poetry is just a nobleman’s hobby.
There is no nobleman who would describe a great poet as a great talent.
An offer to recruit the second son of an unremarkable noble family because he writes poetry well.
I felt dirty and felt like I had heard a very bad joke.
“No, that’s not it. I’m not in a position to cover it up right now.”
Even if it was a fraud, all he had left was this healthy body.
Even if the owner of this letter is a fraudster, you have nothing to lose.
“…Shall we go?”
A future he himself does not know about.
Damian Nadal, a key executive of the Independence Army who created and recorded the encryption system used by the Grandia Liberation Front and was in charge of managing intelligence personnel in each region, headed to McLane’s territory the very next day.
And around that same time.
Letters from the same sender arrived to dozens of soldiers and descendants of small families directly affected by the civil war.
And most of them could not help but be swayed by the fact that the owner of a fiefdom remembered his personal history and commented that he was a ‘competent person’.
* * * Two months after the civil war began.
At the time, the training of new soldiers and vigilantes was in full swing in the McLane family.
People are coming to McLane Town one after another.
A large and spacious estate.
Since this territory still needs more people, they were deliberately spreading rumors to attract war refugees.
The dozens of people who visited recently had a behavior that was different from those who could be considered mere refugees.
“I came because you said you were looking for a knight who lost his owner.”
From what one could see, there were knights who were properly equipped.
Although the clothes were of high quality, they were worn and soiled here and there, and quite a number of them, who looked like ruined nobles, knocked on the town’s door.
And all of them visited the town with a letter from the Archduke.
‘The knights don’t know. ‘What are these?’
Although it was absurd for the knights and soldiers who checked the family seal, they had no choice but to guide them to Logan right away.
“Damien…Nadal?”
“Yes, it’s me. Could it be…”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Logan McLane. Sit down.”
Although he looked a few years younger than himself, he was actually the acting lord.
His shabby appearance and hungry stomach were too good to be awkward when speaking informally.
Moreover, when his name was called, he seemed happy as if he had met someone he really knew.
‘Have I ever seen this person?’
I thought about that for a moment, but quickly shook my head.
Red hair and red eyes. If you saw such an unusual appearance, there was no way you wouldn’t remember it.
But the other person knew himself.
‘I heard you read a poem.’
I forced myself to come up with a reason and found an excuse.
And I carefully sat down in the recommended seat.
“Yes. You came here because you accepted my offer, right?”
“Yes… but what can I do here? My only talent is scribbling down poems and a few lines. Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else?”
“Is that possible? Having a talent for poetry means having the ability to understand and imply the context of things well. It’s a great help in management and administration.”
‘Even though I’m saying it, it really sounds like bullshit.’
‘What bullshit.’
The parties did not know that the thoughts of the speaker and the listener coincided at this moment.
Of course, Logan was saying nonsense because he wanted to somehow recruit this shabby-looking young man to his territory.
‘Damien Nadal. A genius in cryptography. And a leader in information management. genius.’
The fact that the Grandia Liberation Front was able to fight for more than twenty years was largely due to his ability to thoroughly protect the identities of its members. I am not sure
how he will be able to use that talent in this sane(?) period, but at least he can use it for administrative purposes. I was confident that he would play more than one role in management.
And also:
‘Damian Nadal is a man who has already lost his entire family in the civil war. Yet, he is a man who has fought a dark and hopeless struggle for decades with only patriotism. If he wins his heart, no matter what. He’s someone you can trust.’
Regardless of their ability, each of these people was of great help.
So Logan was able to confidently say,
“Hmm. Didn’t you also graduate from the Academy’s Department of Public Administration? That alone is believable. I’ll give you a seat. Of course, you will start off as an assistant to our chief administrative officer, but if you demonstrate your abilities, you can also be entrusted to the provincial level. Wolbong is… um. Shall we start with 300 gold?”
“…Why are you doing this to me?”
“You don’t like it?”
“Oh no. Is that possible?”
“Then you can just accept it. Why worry so much?”
“If I were a spy, there would be enemies inside… Oh, what nonsense am I talking about. sorry. It definitely doesn’t mean I’m a spy…”
“Hahaha. Yes, I know. Okay then, I’ll get you a room so you can start working tomorrow. Ah, first of all, you need to get to know the person who will be your boss, right? Follow me.”
“Ah. Yes, yes.”
It was a lightning-quick hiring and work decision.
‘Can I do this?’
Damian followed the young lord with a puzzled expression.
Of course, regardless of that, Logan somehow felt proud.
‘That cold-blooded man was like that when he was young. It’s funny. It’s funny.’
Among those who recently visited, there were twenty-five people who would become Force users in the future, but somehow I felt more proud of getting Damian than all of them combined.
‘If it’s possible, I can secure an information guild and leave it to them to manage it.’
You can’t use Nox or other information guilds forever.
You don’t know when it’s a ‘small’ family like now, but in the future…
And when that time comes.
‘It won’t be Damian Nadal as an administrator, but Damian Nadal as an information manager. In the meantime,’ Even if it doesn’t suit your aptitude, work hard.’
Thinking like that, Logan introduced Damien to Dwayne
and said,
“Hahaha. You are the best, my lord. Philip and that Damien guy do the work of more than ten other people. Where did you get these guys from? “Please just three more of these guys. Then I don’t have to worry about anything.”
It only took a week for Damien to draw rave reviews from McLane’s highest vassal.
