Episode 101
“We did it! We did it! We did it!”
Among those shouting here and there, the one who was most happy was by far Logan.
In his return to life, Logan was once again thinking about his second end, and as he miraculously survived, he jumped up and down, almost flying into the sky, and screamed.
Until he collapsed from exhaustion and an awkwardness began to appear in the eyes of his allies who were looking at him.
“Confucius. Seeing that you have so much energy left, I would have easily won even if we had just fought.”
“Ah… hmm, of course! It was a war I was going to win anyway!”
Seeing everyone laughing at that nonsense made me feel like the war was truly over.
“But, Grand Duke. Did you really anticipate this incident?”
Heinkel’s words drew the audience’s attention to Logan.
Did you expect the king’s death?
It was a question that could be interpreted in a very dangerous way, so Logan immediately shook his head.
“Oh, that’s not true. It’s just…”
Logan glanced around and sighed loudly, then smiled bitterly.
“My plan failed, but heavenly luck helped me. I apologize to everyone once again.”
“Ah…”
Heinkel’s blank expression spread like an infection to over a thousand people.
* * * Logan’s honest(?) admission had several repercussions.
– Well, Confucius is a human too.
– Things like that happen, too.
– Anyway, you won.
Although there were still mostly positive loyalists.
– It’s a shame because it went well…
– It almost ruined the family…
It was inevitable that some negative perceptions of Logan would arise.
And even though Logan knew that, he accepted it with a smile.
‘It is a hundred times better than spreading rumors that it is somehow related to the king’s death.’
If the king’s death had been known on the same day as in his previous life and he had succeeded, it would have ended with him saying that he did not use the strategy he had prepared.
Things went wrong for a few days, but I was very fortunate that it ended with this much damage and only this amount of rumor.
Of course, not everyone believed that excuse.
“Are you sure you didn’t know that?”
“yes?”
“It means that this strategy was planned with His Majesty’s death in mind.”
These words were spoken by my father, who suddenly came to me when most people were beginning to rest, leaving behind the minimum number of security forces.
Even this question could not be glossed over.
“…you’re right.”
“Does this have anything to do with this?”
It was clearly visible that his father’s face hardened at his answer.
It was such a heavy story, and these doubts had to be firmly rooted out from the beginning.
“Absolutely not! Absolutely not. I just heard some bad news ‘top secret’ through my teacher and was wondering how to use that information.”
“Huh… His Excellency the Sword Master again…”
As his father exclaimed, Logan silently apologized to his teacher for taking advantage of him again.
But this time, my father didn’t just let that go.
“Still, it was too reckless. If the date had been even a little off, everything would have ended. You know that, right?”
“…Yes. I am acutely aware of my mistake.”
“Yes, you can make mistakes when you’re young. Fortunately, it ended well this time, but next time, think more carefully. Let’s discuss it.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Okay. That’s enough.”
The father and son’s conversation ended with smiles, but Logan, who turned around, couldn’t help but smile brightly.
That last conversation I had with my father was truly sincere.
No matter how good of an opportunity it was, I did something too risky, relying only on information from my past life.
In the midst of severe despair, I realized that I had been too complacent when the reality was that many things had already changed because of me.
‘Now the future will change even more. From now on, let’s just use information about past lives as a reference. ‘You must never take a gamble like this again.’
Logan once again engraved that thought firmly in his heart.
* * * The news of the king’s death was also a mandatory order to summon all nobles to the capital.
Therefore, McLane, as well as Padrick, who had an official title, had to go up to the capital immediately, even if no one else knew.
However, the lord could not leave immediately, leaving the new occupation site with the castle wall completely collapsed.
“Anyway, I’m just a baron on the border. There’s no one to criticize me for being a little late during the national funeral. It’s not like we have any factions.”
Logan’s words were somewhat painful, but they made sense.
He and Padric, together with their vassals, decided to first carry out minimal post-war settlement.
The remains of the fallen soldiers were quickly collected and returned to the town along with the wounded.
And after requesting food transportation from the town, the remaining troops began building the walls of Tomodo Castle again.
Because it was not possible to immediately mobilize the residents of nearby villages who were unable to leave their homes in fear of the war that had been going on for nearly a week.
Naturally, the first to be mobilized for this task were the wizards of the Golem Tower who collapsed from exhaustion.
“Master. I really think I’m going to die at this rate.”
Greek, with a pale complexion, complained of fatigue.
No matter how much you use the magic stone to utilize the golem, it does not mean that the main body’s mana is not used at all.
As only a 3rd circle mage, Greek’s mana had already reached its lowest point a long time ago.
Moreover, now that he was making full use of not only the golem but also the auxiliary magic, it seemed like Greek had really reached his limit.
The past few days had been the harshest period of his wizarding life.
Starting with tunnel work before the war, a moat was dug and connected to a waterway through overnight construction.
After collapsing from exhaustion, I worked hard for 5 days in a magic circle to use a spell that would collapse the castle wall in conjunction with the collapse scroll.
And just as I thought I could take a day off, they started building the walls again.
“If you’re going to tell us to rebuild it, why did you order us to tear it down!”
It wasn’t that the wizard Greek was spouting nonsense because he had nothing in his head.
I just wanted to express how unfair it was.
“I heard that if you become independent as a magic tower, you will be able to train comfortably! What is this? You are even busier!”
Clayton, who had been trying to ignore his student’s appeal, couldn’t help but flinch at those words.
I had no choice but to look back to comfort my student.
“If I train at a time like this, I would have risen to the level before. What kind of trouble is this… Huh? Huh?”
“Huh?”
Ugh.
Mana fluctuated in the heart of the Greek, who was distributing mana to the golem and raising the wall with Earth Wall magic on the other hand.
And like a lie.
Ugh.
Druddudduddduk.
As another ring appeared in the Greek’s heart, his golem instantly grew in size by pulling in the surrounding dirt.
The Greek golem is 1m taller than the 5m tall golems that Clayton handles by distributing mana.
The situation happened so suddenly that even the person involved could only stare blankly at his golem with a bewildered expression.
“The circle has risen… Ah haha. What is this?”
I didn’t gain enlightenment like a wizard, but I was complaining about constant hard labor and then my circle went up.
Even Greek himself found it absurd.
However, the eyes of ‘Master’ Clayton, who clearly watched the process, sparkled strangely.
“Hoo?”
And as if he felt something, he quickly looked at the other disciples.
The disciples looked at the executioner Greek with a mixture of surprise and envy.
However, both Enan, the second disciple, and Truth, the third disciple, showed signs of growing their heart circle.
Clayton, who had been leading his students since the formation of the Mana Circle, was able to notice signs of an upward trend that even he himself could not feel.
The students were growing much faster than expected.
‘Maybe I was thinking about this wrong…’
The moment when something new was established in Clayton’s mind.
“You see! The extreme use of magic is the foundation for growth. Everyone, do your best to help with the work! Use magic to the limit!”
Before he knew it, he was yelling at his disciples.
Tomodo Castle wall reconstruction work.
No one could yet know that this was the starting point for the Golem School to take the path of the Engineer School.
* * * ‘It’s really over.’
Eilen’s blank eyes were focused on the castle wall that was going up in real time.
But what she was actually seeing was not the sight before her eyes, but the brutal battle of the past few days.
It was my first actual war in which I participated as a knight.
It was my first time killing someone and the first time I almost died.
Of course, the more intense experience was of course the latter.
How many times have I felt the fear that I might really die in this war?
The image of the ideal knight that I had dreamed of in my head, of overcoming all crises on my own, growing up, and proudly engraving my name on the world, has long since been shattered.
‘What was I really dreaming about?’
Did I really want to be a knight or was it just a lie?
My past mindset, which I thought was a courageous belief that risked my life, felt so shallow.
‘Can I continue…?’
The more I replayed the battle in my head, the less confident I felt.
I had to do it like this back then, but why did I do it?
The next time I should have gone in the opposite direction, so why did I repeat the same mistake?
‘Pathetic.’
When she was endlessly digging into herself like that.
A familiar voice raised her head again.
“Eilen. How is your condition?…”
“Prince Logan!”
“Uh… are you that happy to see me? I thought I was going to get scolded.”
“Yes? What? Why me?”
“Wasn’t it scary? I almost died several times during my first battle.”
“Hmm. That’s something you have to experience as a knight.”
I didn’t want to be pressured, so I answered confidently, but my fingertips were shaking without me realizing it.
‘I bet you didn’t see it.’
The pride of not being able to show weakness grabbed me by the collar and lifted up my fading self-esteem.
I put my trembling hands behind my back, lifted my chin, and straightened my nose.
“If you are afraid of real combat, you are not qualified to be a knight.”
I am Aileen Floyd, a knight who will engrave my name in the history of the Kingdom of Grandia.
I boosted my confidence by repeating my resolutions to myself as if I was chanting a spell.
Fortunately, the bluff seemed to work.
“It’s truly amazing. All I could do was not run away during my first real battle.”
“Huh? What nonsense… Oh, this isn’t an insult…”
“It’s true. People around me don’t know, but it was like that in my first real fight. It was my first time actually seeing someone trying to kill me, and why should I kill someone I’ve never seen before?” “I didn’t even know. I was just frozen.”
Logan smiled bitterly as he recalled his first real battle as a mercenary in his past life.
“So, I was actually worried about the princess. But she performed unexpectedly. She received good reviews among the knights.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It really proved that saying I would be a knight wasn’t just a bluff. I was also thankful that you protected me when I almost caught Aslan. I came to say thank you to you, even though it’s belated.”
“Oh no. That’s it, Princess first….”
“Princess, no, Sir Eileen.” Please continue to take care of me in the future.”
Maintaining self-esteem does not necessarily depend on one’s own attitude. It
was an ordinary person who gained confidence that was not there when he knew that someone recognized and expected of him.
And Eilen said that she was that ordinary person. At this moment, I was purely satisfied with the idea of being included in the category.
“Of course!”
Eilen’s bright smile did not show even a trace of the gloomy thoughts that had filled her face just a moment ago.
* * * The construction of Tomodo Castle’s walls took a lot longer than expected. It was progressing quickly.
The wizards of the Golem Tower were building the walls at a speed that surprised those watching.
Food and other supplies from the town also began to flow in.
“Make sure you prepare well so you don’t have to worry even if Biphrus attacks again. ”
“Yes!”
McLane’s leadership smiled at the sight of the new occupied territory being established.
However, there was still a worry in their hearts that they could not shake off.
‘Will Bipros stay still after the directorate is over?’
This question, which began right after the battle was over and they could not say it out loud, tormented them all.
“I will go to the capital with my father. There is a way there.”
Logan, who can now be said to be the de facto heart of McLane, affirmed this. He declared to go to the capital.
