Chapter 63
Chapter 23 Explosive Synergy (4)
Knock, knock, knock.
“My lord, it's Gedd.”
“Come in.”
At the familiar voice from beyond the door, Gedd cautiously opened the door to the study.
Inside, he saw Jade leisurely drinking tea while Alfredo attended him.
“I'm sorry to visit so early in the morning.”
“It's fine. I start my day early too. Alfredo's the one who'll have a hard time.”
“Once you reach my age, you don't sleep late in the morning, my lord.”
Alfredo, who had been standing at attention, said with a faint smile.
As if to say he was never tired.
“Then that's a relief. Sit down. If you keep standing, I'll have to look up at you and my neck will hurt.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Since this was not the same grand hall as the one in the lord's castle, Gedd sat directly in front of Jade.
As if he had been waiting for it, Alfredo set down a teacup and poured him some tea.
“You said you had a report.”
“Yes. I have a report for you regarding the apprentice knights and soldiers, my lord. I also have an update on the spirit callers' training.”
“One thing at a time.”
“First, regarding the apprentice knights. Their training is going fairly well. Their numbers are small, but considering quality over quantity, I don't think it's bad. Besides, the beastfolk joined us this time and made up for a considerable portion of our shortfall in forces.”
“What about their aptitude?”
At first, these regular reports had felt unfamiliar and awkward, but he had gotten used to them in his own way.
He found it unexpectedly interesting to watch the territory change day by day.
But he had no intention of interfering in or worrying about every little thing.
“Not bad.”
“You mean they're not exceptional either?”
“Since they're still building their foundations, I think we need to watch them a little longer.”
“Don't select anyone who seems mediocre. You could just end up wasting time.”
Jade said this as he listened to Gedd's report.
Their forces had suffered a major gap, but the beastfolk's arrival had filled it to some extent.
That was why Jade saw no need to increase their numbers unnecessarily.
“Understood. Also, I'd like to change the soldiers' training methods a little.”
“How?”
“The marquisate has a military strength that clearly sets it apart from other territories, doesn't it? So rather than putting the soldiers through all sorts of training, I think it would be better to teach them shield techniques.”
“Because of the spirit callers.”
“That's right. Besides, now that the beastfolk have joined the territory's residents, I think the soldiers' training should change accordingly.”
Jade nodded.
Gedd certainly had a point.
Unlike other territories, Jade's territory had many spirit callers.
It also had the fighting strength of the beastfolk, so there was no need to focus heavily on the soldiers as other territories did.
“Good. Do that. But don't focus exclusively on shield techniques. Have them mainly learn shield techniques, but teach them spear techniques as well. We need to prepare for cases where there are no spirit callers or beastfolk.”
“Understood. Now, regarding the spirit callers…”
“Go ahead.”
“All twenty are following the training program well without any major problems. No one has caused trouble since the three who quit and left. However, I think we should watch things a little longer before organizing a knight order.”
Gedd watched Jade's reaction.
Although all twenty were following the training well, Gedd saw none who possessed the talent to become knights.
To be honest, apart from Farzali, he could not see a single one who would become an Expert.
“The spirit knight order is only something I'm considering for now. There's no need to decide already whether to form it. Just keep teaching them as you have been. I'll think about that part a little more before deciding.”
“Understood.”
“Is that all?”
“Ah, yes. We received a magical communication from the lord's castle in the former Madraine Marquisate. They said they would like you to visit.”
“I haven't paid much attention to them, have I?”
Jade nodded.
Using his personal training as an excuse, he had built a villa and stayed in Baden Village, paying no attention whatsoever to that territory.
It was being managed well enough on its own, and he had never been the type to concern himself with every detail of territorial affairs in the first place.
But it seemed that, now that this had gone on for so long, everyone was growing anxious.
“I'll coordinate your schedule.”
“Please do.”
“Yes. I'll arrange it for whatever time is most convenient for you, my lord.”
It was an unexpected appointment, but neither Jade nor Alfredo was flustered.
Jade was the lord of the territory, after all; his decision was what mattered, not anyone else's circumstances.
“Lastly, some miners have arrived in Baden Village.”
“I'll explain that one. I thought you were considering developing a mine, my lord, so I separately asked the royal court for assistance and invited some experts. It seems they've arrived.”
“Did you act after hearing my conversation with Bilf?”
“Yes.”
Jade let out a dry chuckle.
He had not expected them to act so quickly after hearing that conversation.
At the same time, he was once again reminded of Alfredo's initiative and competence.
“Good work. Have them begin the prospecting immediately. Start with the area around Baden Village. I hear the number of monsters and wild beasts has decreased because people know the beastfolk have settled here, but the Great Forest is still the Great Forest. Make sure they are fully prepared before beginning the survey. No one is to be injured or killed.”
“I will.”
No one knew the Great Forest better than Jade.
That was why he emphasized it again and again.
It was good for the territory to develop, but he had no desire for that development to come at someone else's expense.
‘I shouldn't get too attached again.’
He had ended up coming this far, but Jade had never particularly wanted to develop the territory on a grand scale.
Yet strangely, he felt as though things were gradually spiraling into something bigger.
-Since we've started, we have to see it through! We'll turn it into the greatest territory! Let's take over the Great Forest too! We'll conquer it!
-That isn't Jade's goal.
-If you want to get stronger, you have to fight strong opponents! And there isn't anywhere like the Great Forest for that! There might even be a dragon in the Great Forest!
-The possibility is quite real.
The Great Forest was a place where gold drakes and black drakes fought each other without a second thought.
Given that, it would not be strange if dragons lived there as well.
“I'll take my leave now.”
“All right.”
“I'll be going too.”
After Gedd, Alfredo also left the study.
He was going to personally receive the invited experts.
Jade waved to the two of them, then turned his chair toward the window.
“It's really changed a lot.”
“Have you ever been to Baden Village?”
“Of course. I've made my living off the Great Forest for years.”
The mercenaries muttered as they looked around.
Every one of their faces was marked with astonishment.
As mercenaries who traveled all over the continent following work and commissions, some of them had visited Baden Village in the past.
Yet they could not hide their surprise at how completely different its appearance and atmosphere were from back then.
“What a show-off, considering he works as a guide.”
“The hell? You think just anyone can be a guide? If you don't have experience, the moment you enter, you're dead. That's the Great Forest.”
“Hey, hey! Both of you, that's enough. Why are you acting like this after having such a pleasant lunch?”
A genial middle-aged man intervened as the voices gradually rose.
The villagers were already watching them discreetly because they were mercenaries; there was no need to cause a needless disturbance.
“I'm letting it go because of the captain, seriously.”
“What a joke. You're only a D-rank mercenary.”
“What did you say!”
As the two flared up again, all their companions rushed over this time.
They thought the two might really start fighting if left alone.
At the sight of them, the genial middle-aged man finally sighed.
‘Even if we did recruit them in a hurry…’
The middle-aged mercenary captain clicked his tongue.
It seemed they were creaking at the seams, as one would expect from a hastily assembled group.
Besides, all of them had crossed the line between life and death so often that none of them had an ordinary temper.
“Enough! What do you think you're doing in front of the captain!”
In the end, the deputy captain, unable to bear it any longer, shouted angrily.
If he left them alone, they really seemed likely to draw their swords.
“Ahem!”
“Got it.”
“Don't forget that we came here to work.”
Under the deputy captain's threat, the two turned away.
They had deliberately averted their gazes because looking at each other seemed certain to make them angry.
“Come to think of it, I expected the beastfolk to be different somehow, but they're pretty similar to humans.”
“They dress exactly like the villagers, too, so they're even harder to tell apart.”
“We've mostly seen them in beast form, after all.”
Perhaps to change the subject, the other companions chattered nonstop.
But they were also half serious.
It was truly rare to see beastfolk who had not transformed into beasts.
Even those had mostly covered only their private parts with their hair, whereas the ones they saw now were dressed exactly like humans.
“I want to see an elephant beastfolk.”
“Say what you really mean. You don't want to see one—you want to capture one.”
“Heh heh heh! It's a universal truth that the rarer they are, the more expensive they become. I hear no one would take monkey beastfolk even if they were given away.”
“There are so many nobles with strange tastes. At least elves can be used in bed.”
“There are people who seek out female dwarves too, you know.”
The mercenaries had been whispering quietly, but their expressions hardened in an instant.
Elves were a race famous for their heavenly beauty, so many nobles sought them as slaves, but dwarves were usually purchased for their skills.
To exploit the dwarves' outstanding craftsmanship.
But when they heard that dwarves were used for other purposes as well, everyone's face twisted.
“I… I imagined it.”
“Ugh!”
“Still, if it makes money…”
“I heard there's a workshop run by dwarves here. It opened recently.”
“If we could just capture one, we'd be set for life.”
The mercenaries all clicked their tongues.
Elephant beastfolk, lion beastfolk, and tiger beastfolk were also slaves traded for high prices, but they still could not compare to dwarves.
On top of that, there were elves in Baden Village.
“I want to see an elf in person. I've traveled all over the continent, but I've never seen an elf. Not even a half-elf or a quarter-elf.”
“They're incredibly beautiful.”
“Damn right.”
“They could keep you going all night. Just standing there.”
Despite his subordinates' lewd talk, the mercenary captain scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze.
He did so while concealing his gaze behind a smile.
‘How long has it been since he took office as lord, and he's already transformed the territory this much?’
The mercenary captain was genuinely astonished.
The news of the beastfolk's war had surprised him too, but what astonished him most was the territory's dramatic transformation.
More precisely, it was the villages bordering the Great Forest, including Baden Village; every one of them was protected from the Great Forest by tall ramparts.
‘I heard he wasn't particularly interested in managing the territory.’
He had even heard that the royal court managed the former Madraine Marquis family's territory.
Even though its owner was Marquis Jade.
“Why don't we visit the dwarf workshop too? We can look around without having to pay.”
“Shall we?”
“I don't think it would be bad to haggle as much as possible and buy something if we find a truly good item. Fine arms and armor are always worth the price.”
A workshop run by dwarves was hard to find even in the kingdom's capital.
That was why the deputy captain spoke with an expectant look on his face.
All the while, he had no idea what the middle-aged man was really thinking.
“It might be good to recruit a spirit caller while we're at it. Spirit callers are incredibly popular these days, aren't they?”
“It's all thanks to the lord here. Spirit callers' asking prices have shot up because of Marquis Jade.”