Chapter 29: War, I’m Telling You, Is Coming (1)
Because the weather was overcast, even the moonlight did not shine upon the rampart.
The chilly night air brushed my cheek and sent my yellow hair fluttering, while, from time to time, the cries of owls and crickets gently echoed in my ears.
Within that peaceful scenery.
I slowly closed my eyes and repeated the act of exhaling deeply and then inhaling again.
‘Hurry up… and come.’
In rhythm with my breathing, the fingernail-sized core lodged in my lower abdomen exhaled a trace amount of mana and then absorbed it back in, creating a flow.
As a result, tiny, minute blue particles gathered around my body—particles that only I could feel.
Ssssh.
They touched my skin just as they were and then slowly seeped inside.
Blue Hole.
When I had still been Varlach, I had created this cultivation method by combining Daphne’s traditional breathing technique with the method I had learned from a monk who had come from the Eastern Continent.
Unlike ordinary cultivation techniques that simply drew in mana and held it, the essence of this one was to open the senses of the body as keenly as possible so as to raise the absorption rate of the drawn mana.
‘Doing this crap day and night is going to kill me.’
Ever since I had brought in the Maw mercenaries, I had been training my body by drilling them during the day, and at night, I had come up here on the rampart to absorb mana like this.
The shadows beneath my eyes had grown ever darker, but what could I do?
Until the Territorial War began, I had to gather even the smallest bit of strength.
Of course, I had prepared a secret weapon of my own, but still.
‘The more thorough the preparation, the better.’
Fuuuuuu…
After continuing my breathing for quite some time and managing to keep a fair amount of mana gathered around me,
I suddenly furrowed my brow.
“Ghhh!”
Crunch! Crack!
I pushed all the mana spread throughout my body into the core in my lower abdomen.
Creak, crack.
A little blood seeped out between my tightly clenched teeth, and veins bulged across my forehead.
‘…Still feels like absolute shit.’
A piercing agony, as though my belly was being stabbed with a sword.
How long had I endured this?
Squeeze, squeeze.
The moment I forced the last tiny speck of mana into the core,
“Cough!”
I vomited a mouthful of blood.
Only then did I slowly open my eyes and wipe around my lips with the back of my hand.
“…What the hell kind of shitshow is this?”
It wasn’t easy—nothing about this was easy.
What sin had I committed in my previous life to end up like this…
I let out a bitter smile as I slowly rose to my feet. Then, moving to the edge of the rampart, I looked out beyond it.
“Huuu…”
The grass, the trees, and the farmlands that spread out around the fortress created a silent, desolate view.
As I quietly watched over that place.
Chargeeeeee!
Suddenly, a hallucination rang out by my ear, and then, over that scenery, hundreds of white lights began to well up like bubbles.
They quickly shifted form, transforming into knights on horseback, infantry carrying bows, and spearmen standing guard at their sides.
Invaders whose faces brimmed with malice.
They were the soldiers of Calpion.
‘It’s soon.’
At most ten days, at the earliest a week.
It really wasn’t far off now.
If things went as I expected, our house would soon be crossing swords with those Calpion bastards on that land.
Grit.
I ground my teeth as I stared out at the distance.
“Young Master.”
A voice came from beside me.
“Mm?”
“Have you been coming here every day to train?”
…Who’s that?
When I slowly turned my head, I saw a shadow leaning against the rampart in the darkness.
“Commander… Mulgybson?”
Step.
As the shadow stepped forward, the moonlight happened to spill out through the clouds.
The old knight Mulgybson was looking at me with a rather serious face.
“How did you know to come here?”
“Ahem, every time training ended, you kept disappearing somewhere, so I followed you out of curiosity…”
As an awkward look appeared on Mulgybson’s face, I narrowed my eyes.
‘Ah, so that was it?’
Whether it was during the log charge drills or when I came up here to cultivate mana—
I had felt a gaze on me these past few days…
So this old man had been tailing me.
I gave a faint smile and asked.
“So, do you have something you want to say?”
“Have you been… cultivating mana here every night?”
“Yes, well. That’s right.”
“…”
Mulgybson moved his lips for a while, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Huuu… Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“If I may… may I presume to offer a word?”
“Go ahead. You can say as much as you want.”
“…Lately, I have been watching how hard you have been training. Your attitude and your effort—I hold them in the highest regard.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I lifted a hand slightly and smiled, and Mulgybson closed his eyes as though making up his mind. When he opened them, he spoke.
“First of all, what I am about to say is not meant to disregard your diligence or determination…”
“You can just get to the point.”
“…”
At this, Mulgybson’s eyes widened, and then he wore a dark expression as he carefully continued.
“Young Master.”
“Yes.”
“Young Master, you are walking down the wrong path.”
“The wrong path…?”
“I am speaking of the matter of bringing mercenaries into the house.”
“…We already settled that discussion, didn’t we?”
When I asked back with a puzzled voice, Mulgybson shook his head.
“You were so adamant that I let it pass at the time. But I feel I must speak of it now.”
“…”
Mulgybson closed his eyes tight and opened them again as he spoke.
“Young Master, you must… send the mercenaries away at once.”
“Why? They’re men I paid good coin to hire.”
At my retort, Mulgybson let out a shallow sigh.
“Since those men arrived, the knights’ dissatisfaction has grown. They clearly think you do not trust them.”
“So what. They can think that if they want.”
I shrugged, and Mulgybson’s expression became even more resolute.
“Young Master, you are the one who must one day inherit this house. The knights are the strength and the core of the family, and yet… will you throw away their trust already?”
“…”
For a moment, I couldn’t find anything to say.
‘He’s saying all this because he’s thinking of me.’
Huuu… A loyal retainer, really.
Everything Mulgybson said was correct.
The Young Master was the heir who would take over the house, and in order to lead it well, earning the trust of the knight order, which was both its core and its strength, was absolutely essential.
What I had done was nothing less than shitting all over that trust. From the standpoint of the commander of the knights, it was only natural he’d be worried.
Every word he said was right.
However…
‘If our house were in a safe and ordinary situation.’
The problem was that our house’s circumstances were anything but ordinary right now.
I let out a breath and continued speaking.
“I told you. It’s not about that—it’s because of the Territorial War…”
“Young Master, you know as well as I do. There is no chance that a Territorial War will break out. There is no justification, no reason, and no rumors of any such thing.”
I took a slow, deep breath before answering in a firm voice.
“No, I believe it will happen.”
At that, Mulgybson slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.
“Even so, isn’t it strange to keep training the way you are now?”
“What about it?”
“If a Territorial War were to happen, that means the enemy would be coming to attack us. So why do you have the mercenaries pretending to be a battering ram? That is utterly meaningless.”
“Ah, that… explaining it will take a bit of time.”
How was I supposed to tell him this?
Just as I was about to try explaining—
Thud.
Mulgybson abruptly dropped to one knee with a determined expression.
“Young Master, if you truly cannot bring yourself to dismiss those mercenaries… then at least entrust them to me. I will train them not in pointless log drills, but properly, so that each one can fulfill his role as a soldier.”
No, those drills all have their uses…
I let out a frustrated sigh, but Mulgybson lifted his head, locking eyes with me as he went on.
“I cannot stand by as your subordinate and watch you be ridiculed by the family any longer.”
“…”
I could feel, so clearly, how much he must have agonized and deliberated before saying those words.
Even his offer to take the mercenaries and train them himself was no doubt already a large concession.
‘This is troublesome.’
But I couldn’t accept that offer.
Because the Territorial War would break out, and if I wanted to claim complete victory there, those mercenaries had to remain under my command.
After finishing my thoughts, I emerged from my reverie.
Step.
I stepped forward, took Mulgybson’s hand, and gently helped him to his feet as I spoke slowly.
“Get up. I understand what you mean.”
“…Young Master.”
When a glimmer of hope flickered in Mulgybson’s eyes, I shook my head firmly.
“But I will not give up the mercenaries.”
“What?”
“Trust me. The Territorial War will happen, and those men… they will play a great role there.”
Mulgybson’s eyes wavered again.
“…Young Master, this is not the way. Right now, you are walking the wrong path.”
“No. This is the right one.”
Tap.
I placed my hand lightly on his shoulder and stared straight at him.
There was a subtle strength in my gaze, and not a trace of trembling in my voice.
The feeling that I truly, wholeheartedly believed in what I was saying radiated from me.
‘Why… why is he like this…’
Mulgybson’s lips quivered faintly.
“You don’t have to worry.”
Grin.
When I lifted the corners of my mouth, the moon that had been hidden behind clouds emerged, and a brilliant smile spread across my face.
It was a look Mulgybson had never seen from the Young Master he thought he knew, and his eyes widened in surprise.
As I returned to my usual expression, I spoke.
“Get some rest. I’ll be going in.”
“Ah…”
Taah!
I jumped straight down from the rampart and began walking toward the manor.
“Young Master…”
What in the world are you thinking?
As Mulgybson watched my back recede into the darkness, confusion spread across his face.
---
A few days later, inside the large conference room on the second floor of Daphne Castle.
All the key retainers of Daphne were seated, and the table was piled high with all sorts of documents.
“Administrator Bijeron, make your report.”
“Ah, yes!”
As usual, the family meeting was underway early in the morning.
“A goblin settlement has been discovered in the canyon to the east. If we leave them alone, it seems likely the nearby villages will suffer damage, so it appears necessary to dispatch knights in advance.”
“Commander Mulgybson, handle this matter.”
“Yes, I will take care of it swiftly.”
Reports about farming conditions in the villages, the appearance of monsters, the state of surrounding territories and the Empire—
Various issues relating to the house were being discussed among the retainers in charge of each area.
Then, the Lord turned to me and asked.
“Hardin, how are things going with the mercenary company?”
“Just, well, going fine.”
“There are rumors that they’re still just running around carrying logs.”
“Ah, that’s right. Yesterday, they even knocked down part of the wall, you know?”
I answered with a half-joking tone.
At once, the retainers’ faces turned visibly displeased.
‘Is knocking down the wall something to brag about?’
‘Does he not even care about the money he’s wasting?’
‘That damn Territorial War nonsense…’
This topic… it would be better not to continue it any further.
Viscount Cobalt let out a long sigh and turned his head aside.
“Very well, then… let us move on to the next agenda item.”
“Ah, yes. I have another report…”
Naturally, the meeting skipped past my turn.
Clearly, they had no desire to hear any more.
While the reports continued—
“Um, my Lord. I also have something to report.”
A retainer seated in a corner hesitantly raised his hand.
“Er… well, my Lord, I have a bit of a problem.”
Short in stature, a plump build, and a long mustache—
It was Engelmann, the house quartermaster.
At his words, Cobalt asked in surprise.
“A problem? What is it?”
“Ah, well… It seems a food shortage may arise in the household.”
“Hmm? A food shortage?”
“The warehouse supplies are depleting rapidly. If this trend continues, in three or four weeks the stores will be completely empty…”
“What?”
Cobalt’s eyes widened, and the retainers blinked in astonishment.
“But that is different from what was reported in the last meeting. Didn’t you say there was at least two months’ worth of supplies in the castle?”
“Y-yes, that was true at the time…”
“And now, only a few weeks later, you say all that food is gone? Where did it go?”
At this, Engelmann scratched his head and glanced around nervously.
“An unforeseen variable arose…”
“A variable? What do you mean?”
“Well, that is…”
His head naturally turned to the side.
At the end of his gaze was me, sitting half-reclined in my chair with my arms folded.
As everyone’s eyes slowly shifted in that direction—
“Huh? Me? What about me?”
I pointed to myself and asked back, and Cobalt blinked and turned to Engelmann.
“What does Hardin have to do with this?”
“Well, you see, the mercenaries the Young Master brought in…”
Engelmann glanced at me cautiously and then began to speak slowly.
“Since they arrived, the rate at which the castle’s food has been consumed… has increased dramatically.”
“…How much exactly?”
“It has… nearly doubled.”
“What?”
“To be precise, it is actually well beyond double…”
…What?
The moment he said that, the other retainers’ mouths fell wide open.