Episode 42: Noon the next day, in front of the Grand’s West Gate.
“Are you here, Logan?”
“Ah. You look less tired than yesterday. Haha, please take care of me in the future.”
“I’m sorry for showing you such an embarrassing side yesterday…”
“Why should you be sorry? It’s the damn tower owner’s problem.”
Behind Greek, who was smiling bitterly, Clayton, who was at least a head taller than him, suddenly appeared and interrupted the conversation.
“Confucius, let’s go quickly instead of wasting time with useless greetings. Confucius, it’s not good to finish work quickly.”
“Master! Hmm. I’m sorry, Logan. Master is a person who usually speaks rather bluntly.”
“Why! What else? Did I say something wrong?”
“Master. No matter what… Wow.”
As Grick gestured, the disciples who had been quiet rushed in, grabbed Clayton by his robe, and dragged him backwards.
Clayton’s thick, insect-like eyebrows were twitching and it seemed like he was going to burst into anger at any moment.
“Okay, okay, you guys. Let go! Let go. I won’t say anything.”
Hearing the grumbling voice, Greek sighed lightly.
“Our teacher doesn’t care about manners… His expressions may be a bit harsh, but he has a warm heart. I would appreciate your understanding.”
“Hmm…”
As wizards were rare, they were generally more proud than knights, so even commoners tended to look down on rural nobles, thinking of themselves as the chosen ones.
That was the case with the receptionist I saw at the Magic Tower yesterday.
However, such arrogance was not felt in Greece and others.
It feels like I’ve put everything aside because I’ve worked so hard.
From the perspective of their employer, Logan, it was just a welcome surprise.
In such a situation, what is the problem with the speaking style of Clayton, a top-class person who came along for free?
“It’s okay. It’s an honor for me to serve the elder of the Magic Tower.”
Logan took away Greek’s worries with a bright smile.
There were three carriages that Logan prepared for Clayton and his disciples.
These are four-horse carriages with enough space for five or six people to sit comfortably, so you can easily split them up.
In addition, he invested a whopping 5,000 gold to hire experienced coachmen from Grand’s Transport Guild and even prepare food materials and tents needed for camping.
It was a setting that showed that Logan cared a lot about the wizards, and it was also a setting that showed his will to keep running except for eating and sleeping until they arrived.
And even in such a high-end setting, Clayton, with a grumpy expression, repeatedly encouraged his students by saying, ‘It’s a comfortable environment, so practice.’
From Logan’s point of view, it seemed like a pointless force or coercion, but the disciples continued to accept Clayton’s instructions with a smile on their faces.
‘It seems like they are subordinates who are flattering the murderous leader in order to survive.’
It looked exactly like that, but the smiles on the disciples’ faces were mostly genuine.
Logan looked at the scene in wonder for a moment, then shook his head.
‘What do I know? I should just focus on my work.’
Grumbling.
Logan shook off his distracting thoughts while watching the bonfire burn, and recalled the image of the swordsman in his mind.
To be exact, the way he practiced swordsmanship.
I thought about it a little bit when I was writing the swordsmanship book, but I remember it more clearly now than then.
There has never been a better time to concentrate than during this quiet starry night while preparing for camp.
‘Here like this…’
It wasn’t just the heavy-duty sword that the swordsman showed that day.
A flash of golden light shot up from Logan’s sword, which he was merely holding, forming a tangible blade.
The golden blade, which was a fusion of external momentum and force, had a clear shape, although it was blurry.
The golden light that had been shining irregularly was no longer there.
“Is the force a tangible blade?…”
If a swordsman had seen this, he would have been extremely surprised.
An auror is when the force is concentrated and compressed to be reborn with new powers.
The method shown by the swordsman was only a weakening stage of the auror, but at Logan’s level, it was normal to be impossible to imitate.
However, such a method blossomed in the hands of Logan, who was still lacking, by borrowing the power of the evolved force.
Crackling. Fazizik.
Of course, it still lost its shape quickly and could not be maintained for long, but that alone was a great achievement.
“I succeeded…”
I couldn’t express my joy out loud because of the people around me, but I was so happy that I clenched my fists.
It was possible to temporarily imitate the Force Blade that only the highest level knights could implement.
furthermore.
Ugh.
‘Amplification and decentralization.’
Once again, the force emitted from the knife played with the flames of the bonfire and forced various changes, such as rounding it up and pulling it out long.
The pressure of momentum is the basis of pressure.
This seemed like it would definitely be useful as the swordsman said.
Unlike the divine sword’s vision, the energy consumption was not significant.
‘I think I can use this in real life.’
Heavy pressure sword.
During the few days I spent focusing on that vision, I put aside thoughts about the complex future.
Maybe that’s why I achieved it quickly and I felt like I wanted to use it right away.
‘I’m not even a child…’
It was a childish feeling that I wanted to wield a weapon now that it was in my hand.
These days, I’ve been feeling even more strongly that my mind has become as young as my body has regressed.
‘Well, it’s something that can’t be helped.’
The spirit of never being shaken by changes in the situation or environment was something that only superhuman-level strong people joked about.
Above all, as he is satisfied with his current life, washing away the resentment of his past life, it can be seen as a natural change that Logan, an old mercenary and independent soldier, disappears and Logan McLane, the eldest of the McLane family, remains.
‘You just have to remember the important things. Imperial War. And civil war.’
Even though it was night, the temperature wasn’t that cold, making him feel that summer was slowly approaching, but Logan’s heart was growing cold.
‘Now there’s a year and a half left.’
King’s death. And the beginning of the civil war.
I had to prepare thoroughly until then and seize the opportunity.
‘You have to fly up in an instant. When no one cares about us. Then…’
As the darkness deepened, my worries grew deeper.
“Kuhm. What a great achievement, Confucius.”
At that time, a voice that broke Logan’s thoughts rang in his ears.
“Mr. Clayton?”
“I happened to see a wonderful sight.”
“Oh no. It’s just a little trick.”
“I don’t know much about my Force users, but I do know that the talent that Confucius just showed is not possible at that age.”
“…That’s too much praise.”
Clayton and other wizards were people who could not be completely considered allies yet.
Logan internally blamed himself for showing off without paying attention to the surrounding situation.
“Hmm. I’m not at peace because of what happened yesterday, so my attitude is a bit off. I’ve lived a rough life, so I don’t know much about etiquette, so please be understanding, Mr. Confucius.”
Clayton, who blurted out something I couldn’t tell whether it was an apology or an argument, sat down next to the campfire and said something out of the blue.
“Those guys are the ones who ended up going through a hard time because they met the wrong teacher. I want to teach them as much as I can, even if only when we are together.”
“It looks like you’re already doing that. Why are you telling me that?”
“Even when I arrive at the territory and start work, I want to have my disciples take turns resting. So that they can practice at least a little during that time. Can you understand that I will work that much more?”
It was a blunt but sincere tone.
Logan nods because it’s an offer he has nothing to lose.
‘hmm?’
Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling around Clayton.
Ugh.
The core of my heart vibrated at the feeling of being slightly touched, and soon a faint flow of mana began to appear.
The ocher-colored mana originating from Clayton flowed through the ground, elegantly surrounding only the area around the tent where the disciples were sleeping.
‘Magic… so secretly?’
I don’t know what kind of magic it is, but I was once again surprised by its secretness and again by the warm feeling contained within the mana.
Although it was unclear exactly, it seemed certain that Clayton’s mana was infusing good energy into each tent.
Only then did I notice the small beads of sweat that were constantly flowing from Clayton’s forehead.
And his face looks even more tired than in the morning.
I thought it was simply because of the heat, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Why did you have to go this far…’
Logan was so impressed that he even said the words he didn’t want to say.
“It seems like you care a lot about your students.”
“Hehe. Since the name is the teacher, I just do the basics.”
“Ah. Didn’t you go so far as to fight with the Magic Tower Lord for the sake of your disciples?”
“A risk. More than that, the tower owner’s behavior in the first place…”
It was a stiff excuse, completely different from the warm feeling of mana that was still pouring into the disciples’ tents.
But that appearance had a strange power that made people smile.
Logan thought that the way home would not be so boring.
* * * Many, many, many.
“Your Majesty!”
“Oh hello!”
“Hello! You too, hurry up and bow down!”
Upon arriving at the territory, Logan was greeted by the reactions of the territory residents, which were clearly different from before.
Although there was no cheering immediately after the war, Logan’s reputation was clearly improved simply by the fact that no one was scared or ran away from afar the moment they saw him.
However, I was concerned that not many of them seemed to be in good condition.
“Mom… I’m hungry.”
“Hold on a little. Mom will go out to the field and bring potatoes.”
“What about dad?”
“Dad… Hmm. You said you would come after 100 nights of sleep, right? How many nights did your son sleep?”
“I don’t know. I hate you, Dad. I’m hungry…”
Logan’s eyes sank deeply at the sight of the haggard-looking mother and child and the child’s heartbreaking complaints.
The situation was one of poverty where the wounds of war had not yet healed.
The moment he passed by, the sight of a woman with a dark expression and a confused child hurriedly lowering her head left a heavy burden on Logan’s heart.
‘As expected…’
Logan felt his complexion harden.
Although the tax rate was lowered compared to other territories in consideration of the harsh conditions of the McLane territory, the 30% tax rate could not help but make the already difficult situation of the residents of the McLane territory even more difficult.
I felt once again that this was the time of greatest food shortage.
So, although we have taken steps to fundamentally solve these problems, there are still many walls to overcome.
‘Will my father really approve?’
He was confident in the solution he came up with.
Because he had seen the results of that many times in his past life.
But I couldn’t say it straight away, so the problem was how to convince my father and others.
‘We need to mobilize local people to do the construction…’
While pondering that, I entered the inner palace and unexpectedly came across another person who needed persuasion.
“Did you have a good time, Confucius? I had a really hard time.”
Rick, who was still stuffing a cotton ball into his nose, greeted me with a blank face and a tone that seemed to be arguing.
“Ah… Haha. Rick, this guy. Yes, I’m here. These people behind you….”
“The stinky smell won’t go away from their bodies. Every maid she encounters holds her nose and runs away. Confucius, I don’t think I can get married anymore.”
Rick, with burning eyes, just poured out what he had to say as if he had no interest in what Logan was saying.
Logan broke into a cold sweat at the sharp sincerity in his monologue-like muttering. .
“How are you going to take responsibility!” yes?! How long will I be that Karok… Huh?!”
Logan covered Rick’s mouth like lightning and whispered in his ear.
“An additional 50 gold per week. Call?”
Doridori.
Call.
“Additional 100 gold. No more.”
Only then did Rick, who had been protesting harshly, quietly close his mouth.
He barely felt relieved as he took his hand away from the guy’s mouth.
“Kaaaaaak.”
Seeing his attitude that seemed so bad and his eyes still full of resentment, I somehow laughed.
“Rick. First, welcome the guests. I’m coming to see my father. After that, it will be decided where you will stay.”
“Yes, yes. If I’m told, I have to do what I’m told. Some people come after having fun. Some people live in places that smell like poop….”
“Do it in moderation. “I won’t look at you anymore.”
“Hehehe. Guests, please come here. I’ll take care of you.”
He laughed at the guy’s rapidly changing attitude and the fact that he came home touched his heart in a strange way. For some reason,
Logan felt that the worries he had just moments before were insignificant.
‘Okay. When will I use logic? Did you persuade them? If not, you have to force them.’
Feeling lighter, I smiled and looked back.
“Mr. Clayton. Please wait here for a moment. “I will meet your father and prepare a place for you.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for us to go together? “I’m doing something that costs a lot of money…”
“No, you’re still just my guests. I’ll tell you when I get back.”
Leaving the bewildered wizards behind, Logan walked towards the inner part of the inner temple with slightly light steps.
