Chapter. 16. Saints and Perfectors (5)
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“Landing! landing!”
“Those wearing the Magic Stone Accessory, please stay away from the landing site! You could get caught up in a magic storm!”
In the middle of the wide open space, people holding flags of various colors were running around, and people dressed as merchants were sweating profusely and shouting at the top of their lungs at the crowd gathered around the open space.
They were all dressed in fancy clothes and adorned with expensive accessories, and they were too famous and noble to dare to lump them in with the colorless word ‘crowd.’
“In the end, the story that Aedran is on the verge of collapse is a rumor.”
“That’s right. “Maybe the Countess?”
“…Aedran, who has been talking so much about carriages and horses being a merchant’s home and family, is there any noble who would not be tempted to organize them all? I prepared a lot of goods and things, but it ended up like this. “To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable.”
High-ranking nobles of Teldrat.
“How far did we reach the top of the Masren direction?”
“Crossing Quillen to Farel by now….”
“Tell them to return immediately. There will probably be people who won’t even dare to attack and start selling horses and carriages again. “We raised cash by selling the goods prepared for commercial transport as payment, and used that money to buy more horses and carriages on the market.”
“You mean more here?”
“okay! more! Right now, that flying ship will be the center of world logistics transportation for the next 300 years! “It is no exaggeration to say that Goldgeyser already holds the reins on all the big deals!”
“Then why…”
“Stupid guy! All commercial routes will be reestablished! The straight line that connects large cities is an airship road! Then, shouldn’t we preoccupy the retail road that will spread out like twigs along the way? There are more than one place where you have to deal with the right to transit through the territory included in Sangno, the right to tax, and even friendship with the lords! Hurry!”
“Yes old!”
Merchants from the Free Trade Union. And-
“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”
“…Isn’t it too hard to see your face to simply say it’s been a while? Voltaire Aedran. “I asked you to show your face to the royal family at least once a year.”
“Aren’t you and I now at an age where getting out of bed is an adventure?”
“It’s an adventure… Yes, you had a truly great adventure. They call it airborne, right? This is truly a great item. Congratulations! “This must be a great blessing for Teldrat.”
“It’s Teldrat’s sergeant… Although there is only one test aircraft currently in the development stage, if the number of airships increases in the future, we will be the first to charter it to the royal family.”
“…I thought the family equivalent to the royal family would finally fall, but instead, it has surpassed the royal family.”
“In the past and even today, Aedran and the royal family are just good friends. The royal family is under the protection of the state. Aedran is the treasure of gold and silver that allows Teldrat to stand tall. “Isn’t that right?”
Theodel Velaster III, the king of Teldrat, and Voltaire Aedran, the head of the Aedran family, visited the Aedran territory in person to see the airship called the miracle of magic.
After completing its first official flight, the airship landed at the dedicated landing site provided in Aedran’s inner city under the anxious gaze of those who looked at it.
Boo Woo Woo Woo ….
Cheol-
Push profit!
The moment the strange vibration sound of the magic engine subsided and the airship completely landed. At that moment, people applauded in unison, forgetting for a moment the gains and losses.
The sound of metal devices of unknown purpose clicking and engaging. A vibrating sound that does not occur in nature and a purple-blue magic wave that spreads like a wave following the impact of landing. All of this unfamiliarity was enough to make us understand that they were located in a scene of history, beyond mere spectacle.
And one of the pillars of that history, the head of the family, who poured in the inexhaustible wealth of the Golden Family, walked up the bridge from the ship, receiving cheers from the crowd.
“I’m back, matriarch.”
“okay. “It must have been a lot of trouble to go all the way to that dangerous desert.”
The head of the family encourages her son, who appears on the boat with a smile on her face. At first glance, they looked like a father and a son who had accomplished something great, but what they said as they stood close together was a little different.
“Where is that guy?”
“That guy? Could it be that magic engineer-”
“Lower your voice. “I don’t want to show Roman in the king’s eyes.”
“…isn’t it in the territory?”
“It’s not kidnapping. Since his mother is staying in the castle, he is not in hiding. You must have boarded the airship, but what you don’t know yet is that you haven’t won the hearts of the crew. “What a hater.”
“…Are you saying they gave me a false report?”
“You and the others who are merchants may not have noticed, but doesn’t it make sense that even those who move and manage the ship didn’t notice?”
How dare these lowly sailors-”
“If you don’t want your position taken away, then shut up, Bergenev. “Comparing your value to those of those who are the only sailors skilled in airships at this point, do you truly think you are superior?”
He went to the desert as the commander of the Bergenev Aedran airship and cringed at the cold gaze of his father. The coldness lurking beneath the mask-like smile. An old snake from Aedran whose veins are said to have silver flowing instead of blood. Bergenev silently closed his mouth at the look in his eyes that he had seen all his life.
Of course, in the eyes of the matriarch, she just didn’t like that look.
I can’t believe I’m looking at that pitiful sight. When I thought about leaving this great family and the top lordship to one of the other children who were not much different from that guy, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for my daughter, who had been resisting orders to get married. Although the daughter was a bit emotional, she was strong and intelligent.
“Tsk. “If I had known Lucilla would end up like that, I wouldn’t have sent her away.”
I wonder if he, who has spent his entire life reading and dealing with people, could not have anticipated Lucilla’s reaction. At the command to get married, I looked straight into his cold eyes and said, ‘You’re old now and you don’t even know the value of people!’ I was secretly happy to see Lucilla picking up words like that. I expected that she would truly experience the ups and downs of the world away from her family and return as a better merchant, but now she is the empress of the empire.
‘….I never lost anything. On the contrary, it can be seen as an invaluable benefit… but I thought I had finally found a child worthy of passing on this position. ‘I can’t help but be inconvenienced.’
Voltaire was happy about the ‘unexpected’ situation he had experienced for the first time in a long time. Predictable ups and downs are stable, but really big profits are always hidden in unexpected situations.
Naturally, I couldn’t help but be interested in the person connected to both Roman and Lucilla.
“so. Where is the saint? “The last report said we boarded the ship together.”
“There is unshippable cargo and it is coming with it.”
“You stopped by Nulak, right? In that case, it looks like you borrowed his Earth Mages. “They were people who wouldn’t even ride a palanquin, let alone a carriage.”
“It worked out better. There was no doubt that he was at the top of the priests of light because he was so barbaric that he tore up the contract right before my eyes. “If he had been here with nobles and royalty gathered in one place, he would have been in trouble.”
“…So you made him come separately?”
“They asked for it first, so I agreed without a second thought.”
“…You fool in the world. “Even if I give you a favor, you don’t receive it and end up throwing it away.”
The person who has taken control of the imperial social world like Magul is Yaman. It’s amazing. He is a monster who has established his position within the empire so perfectly that there is no noise about saints in the imperial social world, which chews up both saints and saints, but they judge him as a barbarian just by looking at his appearance.
Even though he held the highest position at the place, he asked this poor son, ‘Can I get off and go separately?’ This means that the rumor about the airship has spread enough and he is present at the landing site where all kinds of nobles are gathered. This means that the resulting ripple effect has also been calculated.
A painting showing the person standing at the top of the Gwangmyeong Church and the owner of the airship together. Didn’t he inevitably ask our permission because he knew how much intangible power and wealth it would bring him? The reason why the first airship’s route was decided to be a battlefield was to let the hard-headed nobles know that this was not just a transportation innovation, but also had incomparable value for military purposes. The intangible value created by the moment the saint of light at the forefront of the battle gets off the airship is indescribable!!!!
‘…You’re telling me to get off without even calculating it. It’s not that Bergenev is lacking, it’s that he can’t be used.’
Voltaire pushed his son away with cold eyes and spoke to the servant accompanying him.
“Send someone to the outskirts of the territory. A big guest is coming. “Please bring a portrait of the saint.”
“yes.”
Since they were already coming separately, I had no choice but to prepare well for the interview. Voltaire stroked his beard as he recalled the information he had collected from various places.
From a fallen noble family. He is a man of great standing who rose to his current position after going through a difficult life, including being wanted as a low-level mercenary conscript and even a fugitive.
A person who is so outstanding that no one can compare him in both civil and military affairs, and also possesses the political sense to delicately wield the strong back of the religious order without hesitation.
Aside from his humanity, he is also fluent in magic, to the point where he passed on magical enlightenment to Roman, a self-proclaimed genius. For example, the ‘chicken sensor’ he designed is a core part of the official airship, even though it was somewhat damaged due to numerous failures due to the lack of a replacement. It was almost adopted.
“hmm? Umm… oh my.”
“If you’re not feeling well, I’ll take you inside.”
“no. My old body is acting a little cunning. No need to worry. Control it so that people from outside can see it, but be careful not to allow anyone from sailors, mechanics, or magic engineers to get close to it.”
“…Are you planning on leaving your seat?”
“You’ve increased a lot. “You know how to read my thoughts.”
Voltaire Aedran shook his head, feeling the color turn in his ears for the first time in a long time.
If a person possesses the talents of ten people in one body, he or she is called a hero.
Heroes are born in difficult times, and at the end of difficult times, the world changes.
“I thought I wouldn’t have any fun after becoming the head of the family…”
“Head of the house?”
The valet, who had served Voltaire all his life, stuttered without realizing it at the eerie smile on the matriarch’s face.
Cold eyes like a snake and a fierce smile like a wild cat.
It was the face of a man who, a long time ago, was Aedran’s 4th son, a fighter and merchant who had taken over the upper ranks of all his brothers and was now here.
“His Majesty the King and all the high-ranking nobles are here! It is no exaggeration to say that all of Teldrat is gathered in this inner city, but if the owner of the place, the matriarch, vacates this place-”
“Get my carriage ready. “With attendants.”
“Well then, at least I don’t know how to convey this to the guests…”
“Hmm. “It’s something to appease idiots…”
Voltaire looked down at his servant, who seemed anxious but kept rolling his eyes. The first one is Sangjae, but he was so crazy about the gold that war gave him that he left his family, so it won’t work. The second has a narrow perspective, and the third is an idiot, so he would not be the type of person to be left in charge of the family.
‘Come to think of it, some families in the empire make their heirs live as servants.’
“You think about it and then talk about it.”
“Yes old? Ha, but….”
The servant who has served him for over 15 years. The child had grown into a young man in his mid-20s. Rather than insisting on family members and ruining a family that is about to make a bigger leap forward, it would be better to give opportunities to those who can do it.
Why isn’t there a saying like that?
The foolish merchant was broken by a strong wind.
A wise merchant bends gently.
Daesang (大商) flies away riding the storm.
‘Since my children’s farming failed, I will hold on to the rotten seeds and cry while I look for new land.’
Voltaire hurried his steps, remembering the people he had noticed among Goldgeiser’s top shareholders.
He climbed on his horse prepared, thankful that the storm had blown over before he got too old.
****
Doo doo doo doo doo-
“So. “So you came all the way here?”
“I used that excuse to run away. “I’m getting older, so I feel burdened by having to deal with money demons from all over the world.”
“You were so burdened that you abandoned your king and other foreign guests and came out to have fun? “And at the first time officially introducing the airship, which had been kept hidden until now, in front of those people?”
“yes.”
“Hey, that carriage driver over there! From what I can see, the head of the family, Aedran, seems to be in a serious state of old age. If the person serving him is distraught and runs around saying ‘I’m going to go out to play, hehe~’, I should have stopped him. What should I do if he comes to me? That’s dereliction of duty, dereliction of duty! “If you have sworn an oath of allegiance, you must take good care of it until the moment you enter the coffin. If you feel like it is the end, you can use it!”
“Look! What a senility! “What kind of nonsense is that to the head of the family-”
“Shut up, Lord Heywood. Since we’ve already mentioned it, how about praying with that rumored divine power? “I want this old man who goes back and forth to get his mind together.”
“Inoom! How dare you say such things to Ro Haram and the saint-”
“If you keep interfering, I will run away without being canonized this time, Gregory. “It would be very sad if the Archbishop dies of fever, right?”
“Umm….”
My eyes met with the old man who silenced the nagging people sitting next to him.
“He is not an ordinary person, but he is called the great warrior of the savior, and he who has bestowed a great deal of grace on our Aedran is coming in such a hurry, so shouldn’t I at least come out to meet him?”
“I’m going to show off that I have a connection by showing the picture I get off the airship in front of all the nobles, instead of just getting away with it? “You even threw away that important position and deliberately made it look like the old head of the family came out to greet you with your own hands?”
“Aren’t we good for each other? Of course, if I had known that the warrior was running barefoot and carrying a half-broken carriage on his shoulder, I would have prepared another carriage. “If we go back together like this, there will be a rumor that our family treats guests terribly.”
Tsk. I have nothing to say about this.
As the head of the family said, I was running with my bare body, pulling the carriage, escorted by the Holy Knights. It looks a bit funny. Gregory is whispering to the family’s attendants, asking them to keep quiet about what they just saw for the honor of the church.
Of course, my current appearance, which made even the cold-hearted Voltaire Aedran admire, was created because of our oil wizards.
After going through many twists and turns, I entered Kalashan and was about to head straight to Aedran, but these guys said that even if I died in the interior, I wouldn’t be able to go like I am now.
‘To collect the essence of the earth for war, you must have at least two hands free! Since we can’t collect it in a hurry on the battlefield, shouldn’t we start collecting it in advance now?’
It is said that one cannot properly prepare for battle if one is tied up like a gulbi. I wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow at most requests, but the fact that it would interfere with my preparations for battle gave me some room to think about it.
So I asked the enchanted Lord Kalashan for a favor.
‘Do you have a carriage for escorting criminals? You know what? ‘It’s not enough to just tie the hands and feet of violent criminals, so they hold them up against the wall and escort them out.’
‘….yes?’
Clap!
The five [Oil Wizard-specific carriages] I am currently driving were slightly modified ones. They fastened the felons to the wall by holding them by their waists with large shackles that fastened them to the wall of the carriage, and then lifted the bottom of the carriage to avoid damaging the axle.
As a result.
Doo-doo-doo-
doo-duh-duh!
Their bare feet, hanging from the carriage wall, were dragged on the ground through the open floor of the carriage. Thanks to this amazing invention, earth wizards, who had lived their whole lives on a pedestal, were able to ride on carriages.
Uh…of course, if you look at it from the outside, this procession of five carriages with 20 legs sticking out from under them, passing by like centipedes in a row, will look monstrous, and the moment Voltaire Aedran enters the estate with us like this, he will suffer a serious loss of reputation. It was clear that he would suffer.
anyway! This means that we have made it possible for our oil tanks to calmly secure oil and move quickly and safely at the same time. This is a commendable action that overcomes all adverse conditions and finds a perfect solution!
———
– professor: Isn’t it natural that practicality takes precedence over design?
– takealook: The problem is that the design has its own effect, you idiot.
– Noru Drug: There was a reason why our ancestors oppressed Silhak scholars. Pragmatism sucks.
– Jokass: Even if there were rotten corpses rushing out of the graveyard, it would be less scary than that.
– professor: Tsk tsk. How can a sparrow understand the meaning of Daebong (大鵬)?
– Jokass: You sound like a giant bomb, you bastard.
– Holly: Why does it become more bizarre as improvements are made? Is this some sort of denial quirk?
– takealook: Could it be that the GG balance system is struggling to achieve balance somehow?
———
“… In that case, I will slow down when I see the territory, so let’s go in separately.”
“Thank you. Well, now that I’m here, I thought I’d finish talking about the deal my ugly son ruined…” “
Ah, saving time. Always welcome. “Do you have a contract?”
“Are you looking for a paper document in front of the head of Aedran?”
“indeed. Well, first of all, let’s start with the existing exclusive grain trade. No matter how much you think about it, you have to take into account the sponsorship of the great warrior saint to some extent… Ah, the sponsorship thing, that is-”
After the somewhat strong first impression between us passed, it was all smooth sailing. As it is a major war that will determine the fate of the world, the supply issues are complex and diverse, with nothing left to waste, and before our eyes, Voltaire Aedran is a general boss, ‘Gold Geyser’, who can handle almost all supplies, from soldiers’ helmets to underwear, all in one. Because he was the head of.
The marathon meeting, which lasted for about four hours until the walls of the Aedran territory were visible, ended with both sides leaving a satisfactory outcome.
Fortunately, this time, there was an explanation from the head of the family who entered first, and thanks to the presence of the Holy Knights of Light and myself, we were able to enter the territory safely, leaving only the rumor of a ‘monster with 100 legs dragged by priests’.
****
Sigh-
“You must be tired during the long journey, so take a break. Anyway, it will take time for the people outside to calm down. Or would you like to attend a dinner party? “It’s an extravagant event prepared that can’t be compared to a royal ball.”
“…Not really?”
“I knew so. Your group also said they would all rest. “I’ll bring the meals to this room.”
The head of the house must have been quite satisfied with the details of the transaction and gave me a good deal and urged me to take a rest. Well, if everything I said comes true, the Aedran family won’t run out of money for the next 10 years.
Squeak-clack.
As the door closed, as expected from an expensive room, the noise outside was completely blocked, creating a frightening silence.
‘rest. It’s a break…’
Shake it off!
After roughly wiping my dusty body with a dollop of water, I lay down on the bed. The more I stopped, the more thoughts came to mind.
‘Calculating the speed of the airship, it would be three days from here to Roderick’s King’s Land. From there to the Western Front in one day.’
I had no intention of staying here for long. The most important details about war supplies were finished with Gaju. As soon as loading is completed on the airship, we will depart for Roderick.
I’m about to fly over the battlefield right now, so where is the time to rest? The professor looked at the fingertips burning with the small amount
of
divine power that had gathered for a moment and then brought them to his forehead.
“…Yes, Archbishop. “It’s been a while. Oh my, my ears!”
With the work done behind the scenes, it was now time to face the battlefield directly.
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