Episode 61
“Everything is going well.”
“yes.”
Logan responded with a confident expression to his father’s words with a happy smile.
“Okay. What about the soldiers’ training?”
“Except for those selected for security purposes, we continue to receive high-intensity training. And about 300 people who seem particularly talented are selected separately and given training without any mission.”
“…is it acceptable to accept that there are 300 people to make into knights?”
“Yes. At least that’s what I think.”
Dwayne, who was not interested in knight training, just clapped his hands with a slightly surprised expression, but Heinkel, who was quietly listening to the father and son’s conversation, could not hide his bewildered expression.
Even if a strong soldier was selected and worked like crazy for 10 years under the premise that the soldier faithfully followed the training, only about one in a hundred would awaken the Force and become qualified as a knight.
A simple calculation is that out of 1,500 soldiers, there are about 15 who will become knights.
However, since Logan was casually talking about twenty times as many people, he couldn’t help but feel absurd.
But his master was smiling and nodding despite such a ridiculous answer.
“…Yes. That would be it if you were.”
No matter how well the family was doing, I thought it was close to a delusion.
Heinkel had a lot of things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them out loud, so he kept opening and closing his mouth repeatedly.
However, the Archduke did not stop there and went one step further.
“We plan to maintain the current training system and continue to expand the number of soldiers periodically every year. We will also reinforce horses and weapons every year.”
“Confucius! That’s…”
“No, why?! Such a waste of money during these peaceful times is absolutely against it!”
Before Heinkel could say anything, Dwayne, who was laughing, suddenly came out with lights in his eyes.
‘Mithril. It’s a repeat of the Mithril incident. Habit of overspending. We must stop it!’
Heinkel looked at Dwayne with a puzzled expression, but fortunately, this time the lord also hardened his countenance.
“…Are you going to start a war?”
“Isn’t war something you have to do even if you don’t want to do it sometimes? That’s how I learned.”
I never taught that.
Padric forced himself to swallow the words that rose up in his throat.
Instead, he pointed out the reality firmly in a cool-headed voice.
“Our family is currently in a period of rapid development. Excessive expansion of troops may be perceived as a provocation by surrounding families.”
“Yes, you are correct, my lord.”
Heinkel nodded at those words, and Dwayne repeatedly raised his thumb as if for Logan to look at.
but.
“They are the ones who will be provoked anyway even if they are not provoked.”
Everyone was confused by Logan’s strange noise.
“what?”
“McLane Town is in full operation, and the wilderness has turned into a plain. Sylvan and Ferretta. Both are territories where many farmers are fleeing due to excessive tax rates. Will those greedy bastards stay still?”
“…Do you think they will attack?”
“yes.”
Logan’s confident answer immediately prompted a counterargument.
“Whether it’s Sylvan or Ferretta, it’s not easy for them to see us! Our existing forces alone can easily handle one of their territories.”
“Confucius, you don’t know much, but they are busy keeping each other in check. They can’t invade without a proper justification!”
What Heinkel and Dwayne said didn’t make sense.
However, Logan, who had already made a plan, could not back down.
“It sounds like the leader is saying that if the two territories join forces, they will be able to defeat us?”
“Oh, no, it was like that in the past. Now we have that weapon…”
“They don’t know that. And there are already plenty of justifications.”
“yes?”
In a way, everyone’s attention focused on Logan when he mentioned the most important cause in the war between nobles.
“We received a lot of refugees. How many of them do you think are from Pereta or Sylvan? If I were one of them, I think it would be a good excuse.”
At those words, the complexions of everyone in the office changed drastically.
It was only then that he recognized a fact that he had overlooked while being absorbed in the sight of the territory developing.
“Oh no, if you had expected that, you should have prevented it!”
Dwayne screamed, but Logan was still calm enough to look obnoxious.
“Is there any reason to stop it? There is already a shortage of labor.”
“But it could still be an excuse for war… Confucius, could it be…?”
“…Did you want war in the first place?”
The moment Dwayne’s expression turned blue, Padrick asked with a stern expression.
“They are enemies that we have to get rid of anyway. If they use force first, it will be a good excuse to use them.”
Logan, with deeply sunken eyes, did not bother to deny it.
“Confucius!!”
“Huh. How could this be…”
“Haa…”
In an instant, the atmosphere in the office became cold and all eyes turned to Logan as if they were looking at a crazy person.
Heinkel and Dwayne expressed the swear words they could not bear to spit out with crumpled faces instead, and Padrick showed his discomfort more directly than them.
“If that was your idea, we should have discussed it in advance!”
“If we had discussed it, wouldn’t you have opposed it?”
Everyone hugged their hearts as their hearts sank again at the shameless answer.
Padrick also had no choice but to hold his head as it suddenly came up with a headache.
‘Did I hand over authority too quickly?’
It was a time when he was blaming himself and sighing deeply.
“My lord!”
The door burst open and an attendant came running in.
“There are envoys from Sylvan and Pereta! They have something to discuss about the runaway territory residents…”
The atmosphere in the room became even colder at the news delivered at such an odd timing.
“Okay, the incident has already happened. So, shall we discuss what to do next?”
A smile appeared on Logan’s lips.
* * *
“Oh! Are you Richalt?”
“That’s right. Is this you, Hamil?”
“That’s right. It’s an honor to meet you. A young man seems to be very capable for such an important mission.”
“That can’t be right. I just got lucky. It’s an honor for me to meet the powerful person of Sylvan territory.”
Three escort knights and fifteen attendants.
Even from a customary point of view, both delegations had the same composition in terms of minimum size.
Since this was a mission that was actually going to threaten, its shabby size might have been unsettling, but the faces of the two middle-aged people exchanging greetings did not show the slightest hint of worry.
“Let’s take it easy and get a proper treat.”
“I’m sure you won’t give me the cold shoulder without notice.”
“Hahaha. If that’s what you’re thinking, it can’t be like that. I even sent the communication in advance.”
On the contrary, they even seem a little excited.
The expressions of the knights escorting them were equally relaxed.
However, the next day, as they passed by Tethron Castle and slowly entered the old wasteland, they stopped without realizing it.
“Huh. Really…?”
“It’s all green. It looks like wheat sprouts…”
“This is impossible.”
Just like their exclamation, all the fields within sight were full of green grass.
It was even more surprising to those who remembered what it used to be like.
‘I can’t believe the wilderness that used to only blow yellow sand winds has changed so much.’
Right now, the only yellow color I can see is the slant of the wall in the distance…
“Huh, huh? Lord Hamil. What does that look like over there in the distance?”
“It looks like Saturn. Wow. Before I knew it, Saturn was that size.”
Everyone who was listening looked at the earthen wall in surprise.
“Is that a castle?”
“No, no matter how much Saturn it is, it is so big without being heard…”
The group approached the east, at a loss for words, and could not help but be surprised once again by the sight of the village approaching.
When the peasants saw dozens of people on horseback, they all got out of the way, and between them, a huge stone road connecting east and west began to appear.
“A road…”
A wide paved road, perhaps 5 meters wide, stretched straight across a green field, straight toward Saturn in the distance.
This was already a situation that was far beyond their imagination, but the Saturn(?) that arrived after driving another half a day shocked them from the entrance.
“stop!”
“Where are you from?”
The front of Toseong Gate, which we arrived at after running along the road, was not very wide or flashy as it was made up of an earthen wall about 3 meters high.
However, the reason I kept being drawn to the sight of the soldiers talking to them was not just because the gate of Toseong was shabby.
“He’s not a knight. I see there’s no crest on his armor.”
“Yes. But for an ordinary soldier to be armed like that. I guess McLane really made a lot of money.”
Half plate mail with greaves and gauntlets. Even the sword tied to his waist and the spear he was holding.
The sight of the soldiers wearing reliable equipment, even if it was the armament of a knight, was as surprising as this planet of unbelievable scale.
As a result, he unintentionally did not answer the question, and the soldiers looked back with puzzled faces.
Then, a knight wearing armor with a flame symbol, who was sending a signal inside from a little distance, approached.
“This is DeGrom, a knight of McLane. Guests, please tell us the purpose of your visit.”
The knight’s gaze turned to the flag behind Hamil and Richald.
The flag of long swords crossed in flames and the flag of a falcon flying above the flames.
Since it was a unique pattern that revealed that it was a nobleman’s visit, it was impossible to scare them all the time.
Of course, even if they tried, this shabby force would not have been able to stop the delegation that included six knights.
‘I can’t believe that such a huge castle was built and the only troops deployed at the gate were one knight and five soldiers.’
Richalt found it funny that he was a little nervous when he saw Saturn.
“As expected, the size of the army…”
Richald made eye contact with Hamil, who was smiling as if he was thinking the same thing, and quickly cut off the conversation before any useless words came out of his mouth.
“It’s good for us.”
A neighboring fiefdom with a weak military but a lot of possessions.
What an attractive prey.
“Other than the envoys of Viscount Sylvan and Viscount Ferretta. I brought a message addressed to Baron McLane.”
So, I thought I would start by politely checking the liver.
However, despite Richalt’s words, the knight’s stiff expression showed no signs of softening.
“What happened between the two viscountries…”
“I understand that communication has already been sent. I will talk to the baron for more details…”
“A single knight is trying to block the delegation’s way! I will take responsibility if a problem arises. “Can you do it?”
Tsk.
He tried to gently coax him to find out what was going on inside, but Richalt clicked his tongue when Hemil shouted that he was throwing the candle away.
However, there was no reason to stop him.
The knight frowned slightly and took a step back.
“Follow me. I’ll guide you.”
Hamil’s arrogant expression seemed to be protesting, asking why he was going out in such a low manner.
Seeing that, Richalt clicked his tongue again, but there was no need to cause trouble, so he followed him without a word.
After passing through the shabby castle gate, the view was visible inside. It was a sight I had never seen before as a Rihalt.
The houses built uniformly in all directions around the huge boulevard divided criss-crossed and the facilities I had never seen before were enough to catch my eye, even though they had a bit of a smell. Although they were not as
sophisticated as those in famous big cities, they were still there. It was a city with a rugged yet fresh feel.
And most importantly,
“Kyahaha. Catch me!”
“Mr. Lee! This time, you are the tagger!”
“I did it twice, so you should do it twice too!”
“Guys, you are high-ranking people. You can’t go there!”
The residents of
the territory had bright faces without any shadowy corners. The bright faces that were rarely seen in the Barony of Sylvan made Richalt unable to take his eyes off.
Maybe it was because they looked particularly clean, unlike common people.
‘It’s fascinating.’ .’
Of course, there were some eye-catching sights.
A few territory residents hiding after seeing the flag of their party.
Perhaps they were defectors who ran away from their territory.
But this place is so good that their choice is understandable. ‘It would definitely be worth stealing
.’
Richalt suppressed a laugh and hinted at the knight in front of him.
“It’s a wonderful place, Sir deGrom. It looks better than most castles.”
“Yes? Ah… I see.”
Perhaps it was because of his polite attitude, which was different from Hamil’s. DeGrom gave him a small smile.
“I don’t know who came up with this idea, but it seems like a really cool attempt.”
That made him feel a little better. He offered a compliment that would make people think, but the answer that came back was unexpected.
“All of this is thanks to you, the Grand Duke.”
“Yes?”
“Creating this town and cultivating the wasteland all came from our Grand Duke’s head.” .”
“Huh…”
Isn’t the Archduke of McLane around 20 at best?
I asked a few more questions out of bewilderment, but the answers I got back were almost the same.
– Our Archduke is smart, brave, and a man of wisdom. The great man who leads development…
‘I’m sick of this guy…’
I tried to get some information, but all that came out was flattery.
Thinking that this guy was really working hard in society, Richalt just gave up asking any more questions.
Rather , I felt like the information I could see with my own eyes would be more accurate.
As I was looking around, I heard Hamil’s arrogant tone.
“But what is that smelly ditch? Why do you have to do something like that…”
While following the road, you can see a small water canal and sewage flowing there.
It was a sight that did not fit this generally clean town.
“Sewage?!”
It was a sobering thought for Richalt, who knew what it was. It was a sight.
“Hmm. You recognize me. Yes, that is also the Archduke’s idea.”
Hamil was a knight who reluctantly nodded his head as if disapproving, but pride was clearly felt in his tone.
Of course, it sounded a little different to Richald.
“That… you are truly amazing. ”
“Yes, of course. The Archduke is truly amazing.”
‘No. I’m talking about you. Be sure to get ahead in the world… tsk tsk.’
How could the Archduke have come up with something like that
himself? Even though he was hired under a tyrant, he never flattered him this much when he wasn’t looking.
Richalt couldn’t help but be impressed again by the knight’s spirit of flattery.
Of course, apart from that, the town’s system This excellent thing was true.
Most of the castles in the Kingdom of Grandia were built more than a hundred years ago, so it was often difficult to apply the water and sewerage facilities that had been built over a hundred years ago in the big cities of the empire.
The nobles knew, but did not do it because it cost money. There were a lot of them.
As a result, most castles were full of sewage and had a foul smell.
The first thing Richalt, who studied public administration at the Academy, wanted to introduce was a sewage system to treat sewage.
Of course, the lord, who heard the costs, was quick to cut it. Although he refused,
‘There is also a saying that the incidence of diseases and infectious diseases is much reduced in cities with sewage systems.’
But to see such advanced facilities applied to this gigantic planet.
‘Well, this makes it clear.’
It was clear that McLane had made a lot of money from somewhere.
This plain, the earth surrounding the town, and the sewage system. They
had to pour money in right now, but there was no place to make a profit.
So… .
‘I may ask a little more than I originally thought.’
As Richald was relaxing, the road through McLane Town was coming to an end. As soon as
he passed the East Gate, which looked similar to the West Gate, he saw the old castle of McLane Castle in the distance.
