Episode 78
“Fuhahaha!”
“Confucius! Are you laughing now?! Are you crazy? No matter how strange your tastes are, that’s true. You said you were engaged without even reporting it to the family!”
Rick pounded his chest and spoke passionately.
however.
“If we don’t get engaged, someone will have to take responsibility for Princess Eilen’s injuries? You…?”
“Why are you hitting me? It was Confucius who hit me!”
Rick, with an aggrieved expression, took a step back.
“I can’t help it. The treasure is right in front of me, so what should I do?”
“What do you mean by that? It’s not that crazy… If you say you’re going to be engaged to that brave girl, even the lord will jump! It’s because the Duke of Swords is just joking!”
“Probably not.”
“No, that mi… keuung. That girl is like that too. Why did you nod your head? What on earth did you say back then? How on earth can a person who has never met a woman in his life meet her in one…”
“You right now? “That’s what I’m curious about.”
“Well, I’m just a little curious… It’s not that! Confucius! I’m just being sincere!”
“Then you won’t tell me?”
“Hmm. It would be good to know something….”
“I won’t tell you.”
“Oh really!”
Eat.
Logan turned away from Rick, who was making a fuss, and quietly closed his eyes.
Several days had already passed, but the excitement of that time was still vivid.
Of course, the reason was a little different from what Rick guessed.
‘His swordsmanship was as good as Ronian’s.’
I only pointed out the loopholes a few times and criticized him, but he corrected his swordsmanship on the spot.
Seeing that, Logan immediately changed his mind.
No matter what I do, I will definitely catch her.
This was partly due to the judgment that he was a talented person with a high possibility of becoming a superhuman in the future, but that was not everything.
‘A female knight with the potential to become a superhuman appears in Grandia?’
Even if that isn’t the case, what if Eilen becomes famous as a talented female knight?
I thought that just by doing that, I could eliminate one of the worst ills in this country.
‘She could be an opportunity to foster female troops.’
The Ares Empire, a neighboring country, gave preference to talented people regardless of gender, and this policy was applied to the military as well.
If you had talent, you could receive higher education regardless of gender.
It didn’t matter whether it was martial arts or magic.
Therefore, the female knights and female magicians that existed in the empire were another powerful weapon that Grandia did not have.
And he had to fight against such an empire in the future.
‘The more cards you can use, the better.’
An idea rooted in the foundation of the thousand-year-old Kingdom of Grandia.
Changing that was not something that could be done simply by expanding the family’s power.
However, if things work out as planned….
‘If the price of that possibility is engagement, then even marriage would have been cheap.’
The words he whispered in her ear as he helped her up from exhaustion.
Those words weren’t as romantic as Rick had guessed.
Considering her rumors, situation, and skills, it was an ‘offer’ that I thought she would like.
– What a talent. Come join me. Come to McLane. Not as a woman, but as a knight. We promise a battlefield where you can freely train, spar, and make your name known. Of course, you have to get formally engaged.
The moment when Eilen, with a flushed face, made a complex expression and faintly nodded.
A deal was concluded between the two noble sons.
I was so excited about the unexpected income.
It had to be that way because I found an unexpected treasure.
Moreover, Eilen’s smile, refreshed by the refreshing feeling of liberation from sparring, is truly beautiful…
Wow!
“Wow! It’s going to leave a handprint! What are you doing, Confucius? Are you really crazy?!”
“Oh no. I’m trying to come to my senses.”
“Why do you have to hurt yourself to come to your senses? You’re bleeding! Blood!”
Looking at Rick’s fussing face, Logan suppressed his slightly pounding heart.
“That’s why it’s bleeding. It’s bitter.”
Logan looked at the blood on his fingers and criticized himself fiercely.
‘Are you already relaxed?! Wake up, Logan! What kind of woman is she? ‘It’s because I want to die in a woman’s arms!’
Eileen gets a chance to show off her talent.
He gains another talent to deal with the empire.
okay. This is just a transaction involving mutual interests.
‘A transaction is enough.’
As I kept repeating the words to myself, my excited mind calmed down.
and.
“I went to see Master Oma.”
“How should I accept it if you say something like that after suddenly bleeding?…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s no big deal.”
“It doesn’t seem like much.”
Logan didn’t try to persuade Rick, who was grumbling.
After my mind calmed down to a certain degree, something became more curious about him.
* * *
“Why Eilen?”
“Yes. I don’t think you just wanted to get me married.”
“Hehe. It looks like he really likes that girl!”
“Master!”
“Hmm. Yes, I urge you. Well, I chose that family for two reasons.”
“Do you have two?”
“Yes. First of all, the Count Floyd family does not belong to a faction, but it is a family that exerts considerable influence in the capital. It is a family that can represent McLane, which has no connections in central politics.”
“…There are more reasons for Vipro to endure.”
The reason why Logan himself did not pay much attention was because the civil war was not far away.
However, for a swordsman who was unaware of that fact, it was a valid reason.
“Yes. And there is another more important reason…”
Logan listened with concentration to the swordsman’s vaguely serious voice.
“I was curious about what would happen if you put a scheming guy and a talkative girl together. But I didn’t know you would like it this much! Hahahaha!”
“Ugh…”
Logan’s fist on his lap trembled.
The teacher, who was extremely strict when it came to training, often showed this erratic side in other situations.
It felt like the reputation of a swordsman known to the world was being shattered in real time.
You even make fun of other people’s personal affairs.
Logan, wondering if there was any other reason, could not help but feel discouraged.
‘what. Whatever the reason, I hope it goes well.’
I tried so hard to console myself and forget about my teacher’s prank.
“Yes. I met the young lady and my face turned red like that. So, I guess I’m exactly the same age.”
“yes?”
“I don’t know how much of a burden you have on your shoulders or how heavy it is. But it’s not nice to see that young man always with a stern expression on his face with all the worries of the world on him.”
“….”
“You don’t have to carry everything on your own. Use your mind broadly. Trust the people around you and take your time. It may be an old man’s trick, but I heard rumors that if it’s a girl named Eileen, you “I thought I could give him some leeway.”
The sincerity came to me with a sigh.
Logan couldn’t take his mouth off the warm consideration he felt in his heart.
‘…This is something only I can do.’
I just regain control of my mind, which was momentarily weakened.
“So, if possible, have a baby as soon as possible so you don’t regret it when you grow old like me.”
“Master!!”
“Fuhahaha!”
* * * After what happened with Eilen, Logan’s daily life actually became very monotonous.
He did not take a single step out of the sword training school and only continued training.
Logan focuses only on his training, ignoring the increasingly strange looks from people who know about his engagement.
The training also included sparring with the 18 knights who followed as his escort.
Three weeks have passed since we arrived in the capital, and the mood of late fall is starting to get stronger.
A turning point occurred for the people who followed Logan.
Sigh.
Cold water was poured onto Henderson’s face as he collapsed.
“Phew! Hehehe. What kind of guy…!”
“grow.”
“…Thank you for waking me up, Confucius.”
Even though it was Logan who knocked him unconscious, Henderson lowered his head with a bright expression as soon as he got up.
Logan’s conscience was slightly pricked because it seemed sincere and not just lip service for social life.
And the reaction was largely the same in most of the Article 18 articles.
I don’t know why, but it seemed like his loyalty had become stronger since he came to the Duke’s house.
That’s why Logan couldn’t easily get the words he wanted to say out of his mouth.
But I had to say what I had to say.
Because this is what I’ve been working on for the past week with these guys.
“Hmm. Everyone’s a little better than before they came, right?”
“Yes that’s right!”
“Was it worthwhile to come to the capital?”
“Yes that’s right!”
Considering what they did when they entered the castle gate, it wouldn’t be strange for them to go outside every day.
However, those who only practiced training without even taking a single step inside the mansion seemed as addicted to training as they did.
So, I felt like I could trust him more and entrust him with the work I had in mind.
“Actually, I have a personal request to make of you guys.”
“yes?”
“Can you listen?”
“Order anything, Master Confucius!”
Knights whose loyalty shines.
However, the longer the words came out of Logan’s mouth, the more their expressions began to change subtly.
* * *
“Ha, really, the knights…”
Philip, who had recently managed to close the Imporic business in the capital, looked at the knights brought by Logan with a puzzled expression.
“Okay. Since you’ve all accepted my ‘favor’, let me introduce myself. This is Captain Henderson. He will be in charge of your escort.”
“Please take care of me.”
“I’d like you to take care of me too. No, but this is really…”
Logan, who saw Phillip flustered, grinned and continued.
“This is DeGrom. Talk to your co-pilot about using your brain.”
“No, Logan, but really….”
“From here, Jimmy Nuez Lambert Keldin.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for the knights to turn around like this?”
“So I asked their opinion and everyone said it was okay? Isn’t that right?”
“…yes.”
The voices of six knights were louder than the voice of one person.
It was proof that it was absolutely not arbitrary, but Logan’s next words helped the knights regain some vitality.
“Three months. Just until winter. That’s because the task I’m entrusting to you is that important.”
Of course, the more it happened, the more anxious Philip became.
“There’s no need to be so anxious. It’s just an extension of what we did last year. Just…”
Despite Logan’s words that it wasn’t a big deal, his nervousness only increased.
“Before the end of this year, obtain as many weapons and warhorses as possible and send them to the territory. Also, the wood from the Tritan territory that we previously purchased.”
Why aren’t ominous premonitions wrong?
“…What are you planning again?! The times are suspicious. Are you planning on starting a war yourself?”
“Ah. Are you looking at me as a warmonger?”
“Then why are you buying and gathering war materials!”
“Just in case.”
“What’s the matter? Every time you say something like that, every time…”
Philip, who was trying to argue further, tried to swallow his words in case his guess turned out to be reality.
Then, when he saw Logan’s unwavering expression, he sighed and expressed his de facto surrender.
“. ..But how much?”
“I’ll give you a budget of 30 million gold. Try to get the best you can out of it.”
“Yes?!”
Despite Philip’s scream-like question, Logan’s expression was firm.
As he easily captured Sylvan, Logan gained confidence.
‘We need more crossbow cavalrymen.’ If we increase it, we can handle a low-level knight corps with just soldiers.’
It is possible to annihilate a small order of knights with only a few thousand soldiers.
Changing the common sense of the continent.
Although there is a clear limit to the number of soldiers due to the cost of maintaining horses and armor, it was a challenge worth taking.
That’s it.
‘In the long run, the cavalry Even if it’s not, there’s no problem. Even if you just train the conscripts to use the crossbow, it will do its job well.’
It was necessary to create a fighting force comparable to, if not equal to, the crossbow soldiers of the empire that poured down a rain of arrows that covered the sky that I had seen in my previous life. To do so, I
had to gather as much resources as possible when it was not at war.
However, Philip’s thoughts seemed to be a little different. .
“Ugh. driving me crazy. Confucius, I am saying this because you do not know much about commercial transactions. You probably won’t be able to get even half of the quantity you think.”
“What?”
“What I’m saying is that the moment there is that much demand, the price will skyrocket. Especially horses! If you give money, you’ll hit more babies, huh? I’m not just telling you to sleep hard!”
“What? Huh… did I speak too late? I thought it would be okay before the war, but this….”
“Before the war?! You said it was definitely before the war!? You’re thinking about war right now!”
“No.”
Logan stung, but shamelessly put an iron plate on his face, and Philip could only shake his fist.
“I’ll tell you briefly. 30 million gold. Even if you just think about it and divide the wood by one-third, the price will skyrocket. Especially the horses!”
Philip strongly insisted that even if he couldn’t do it, it would be three times more expensive.
And if he wanted to buy them one by one and send them to McLane, even through the merchant guild…
I didn’t even want to imagine it. So I had to persuade him.
But.
“Ha… I can’t help it. So, adjust it carefully.”
“…?!”
Saying that the price would triple did not work.
“Why are you buying so many horses and weapons! You don’t even have that kind of military, right? Why would you do such a crazy thing…”
I had to stop this crazy thing with reasonable persuasion.
“The basic purchase price is set at twice the current market price, and the cheaper you buy it, the 3% bonus on the difference.”
” I will do my best to carry it out.”
… Well, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be done if I sold some goods.
Trying to ignore the astonished looks of the knights, Philip did his best to force a smile.
“Oh, and I also have a few favors to ask… ”
“Then that’s part of the performance bonus…”
“Of course.”
There’s nothing that can’t be done with money.
