Chapter 151
Chapter 151: Good to Be Back (3)
As soon as Vanessa saw Ghislaine, she started wailing again.
“I’m so sorry! Hoo-uh. I destroyed the building and scattered the runestones, causing great damage to the territory… Ugh.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It happens. No one got hurt, so it’s really fine. Hahaha.”
Ghislaine continued to smile cheerfully. Now that a 6th Circle Mage had appeared in the territory, who cared about that building?
To recruit a 6th Circle Mage, even building a hundred such buildings wouldn’t be enough.
Those with her skills couldn’t be tempted by mere money.
Indeed, my judgment that her talent was the greatest in the history of the Tower of the Bloody Flame was not wrong.
“Ugh, no! The territory is poor, and there’s no money, so everyone is struggling… I should save even a penny to help the territory… From now on, I’ll only eat one meal a day… Ugh.”
As Vanessa’s words continued, Ghislaine’s laughter faded.
“No, we’re not that poor anymore.”
“I’ll work hard for the rest of my life to pay it back. Hoo-uh…”
“No, if you work, it’ll be a bigger loss.”
It was a valid point, but all she heard was “If you do the laundry, it’ll ruin the laundry.”
“See? I should just die. Please kill me. Ugh.”
Ghislaine sighed. Vanessa was fine, but her plummeting self-esteem and timidity were the issues.
Maybe because she had been looked down upon and had lived a hard life, she was overly sensitive to small mistakes.
If she had a personality like Belinda, she would have arrogantly declared, “I’m a 6th Circle, so what’s a building like this to me? Just give me more money!”
Well… This incident could be understood as a major catastrophe that would take a lifetime to repay if she were still in a status that just did menial work.
Ghislaine lifted her, who was sobbing and repeating her apologies.
“It’s really okay. More importantly, you’ve already reached the 6th Circle, that’s amazing. That’s a bigger help to me. I’ll make sure to build a new lab, so don’t worry about money and just focus on your training. That’s the most important thing. Got it?”
“Hoo-uh, Lord!”
With Ghislaine’s soft praise, Vanessa shed tears of joy and buried her face in Ghislaine’s chest.
After patting her shoulder a few times, Ghislaine pulled back slightly and surveyed her.
Her pale face was marked with grime, indicating she hadn’t seen sunlight in a while.
Her clothes were stained here and there, clearly showing that she had been holed up researching and training.
Ghislaine felt like she could almost see a foul smell in the air and forced a smile as she patted Vanessa’s shoulder.
“…Training is good, but now that you’re a 6th Circle Mage, you should wash up a bit and take a walk.”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Only then did Vanessa realize her disheveled appearance and shyly step back.
Ghislaine turned to Lowell and said, “Make sure to build the lab stronger and larger. Also, prepare a pile for practicing magic in a large open space.”
“Understood. Since the ground here is well situated, we can rebuild here…”
At that moment, Ghislaine draped an arm over Lowell’s shoulder and whispered, “Build it far, far away. Somewhere away from the Lord’s Castle, with no people around and safe. You understand what I mean?”
“…Yes.”
After hearing Lowell’s affirmative response, Ghislaine looked around at the others and said, “Let’s keep the fact that Vanessa is a 6th Circle Mage a secret for a while. There’s nothing good that can come from rumors.”
Everyone nodded blankly.
No matter how talented she was, to reach the level of a 6th Circle so quickly was astonishing.
The close associates all agreed with Ghislaine, still surprised.
The territory residents were too far off to properly hear the conversation, so keeping it a secret wouldn’t be difficult.
‘This absolutely must remain a secret.’
‘A 6th Circle Mage who leads Grand Dukes would be born.’
‘A powerful card that others don’t know about!’
6th Circle Mages are incredibly rare. Many die without even reaching the 5th Circle, let alone the 6th, after dedicating their lives to magic.
Once they reach that level, they are naturally the exclusive mages of Grand Dukes and could even vie for the position of the mage tower’s headmaster.
Though Vanessa may be a half-baked 6th Circle due to lacking mana, it could still be utilized well.
Those who unwittingly provoke would likely experience a surprise taste of her overwhelming power.
While everyone was engaged in controlling the crowd, Alfoy and the wizards rushed in, panting.
“Is there a fire? What happened with the fire? It seemed like other magic was also cast!”
To the flustered Alfoy, Ghislaine smiled and waved her hand.
“Ah, Alfoy, long time no see. You’ve been doing well, right?”
“Uh… Lord, have you returned…?”
With Alfoy sweating profusely and trying to avoid her gaze, Ghislaine turned to Lowell and asked, “Did the tasks I assigned to the wizards go well?”
Lowell glanced at the wizards and began to rat them out.
“Ahem, the pace has been slowing down, so we couldn’t adhere to the schedule.”
“Oh really?”
Alfoy hurriedly waved his hands and exclaimed, “No! We worked hard! It was just that I wasn’t feeling well!”
“It’s okay. People can take a break when they’re tired.”
“Oh…? Really?”
Ghislaine nodded gently with a smile that seemed like it was really okay.
“You can work harder for the time you took off. There’s a lot to do moving forward.”
Alfoy felt a chill run down his spine at the sudden surge of anxiety. That Lord isn’t someone who just brushes things off this easily!
Moreover, the remark about having a lot to do felt very suspicious.
Could it be that there are more tasks beyond what’s already underway?
Ghislaine looked at the anxious wizards and grinned. “Prepare yourselves.”
*
Before returning to the Lord’s Castle, Ghislaine visited the mercenary’s camp first.
“Grand Duke, you’re back!”
Randolf, who was training the mercenaries, greeted Ghislaine with great enthusiasm.
Beside him stood Fergus, smiling warmly.
“Ha-ha, Young Master. Did you have a good trip?”
Ghislaine replied, surprised. “But I told you to rest comfortably in the Penris territory. Why did you come to the camp?”
“I was assisting the Knight Commander.”
Fergus, who was recuperating from health issues in Perdium, had accompanied Randolf to the Penris territory.
He couldn’t participate in the actual training due to his stamina but had utilized his age-related wisdom to provide significant help in the mercenaries’ training.
Ghislaine shook her head in disapproval and spoke worriedly. “Still, take a break for a while. I’ve told you countless times that it’s not easy to resurrect once you die.”
“Ha-ha, it’s okay. Thanks to you, I’ve improved a lot.”
Due to Ghislaine’s regular visits to Perdium to provide him with medicine, Fergus was in much better health than in his previous life.
But it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Ghislaine.
‘He should rest more.’
Though she had persuaded him multiple times, the old knight stubbornly refused to relent. With a sigh, Ghislaine turned to Randolf, offering a belated greeting.
“Have you been well?”
“Well? These morons are not human!”
Randolf immediately started cursing right after Ghislaine finished her sentence. His complexion was grim.
Dealing with disciplined soldiers and knights was one thing, but handling mercenaries was a whole different story, and it was tough.
Mercenaries didn’t just disobey; many of them lacked basic common sense entirely.
It was because they had to follow Ghislaine that they obeyed at all, having come from backgrounds where they were not held accountable for their actions.
Even when tactical training was conducted, only the charges trained by Ghislaine could execute commands.
“How on earth did you manage to go to war with these guys?”
“Why? Are there many problems?”
“There are more than just a few! They don’t even have the minimum military discipline!”
In the military, the most important thing was to follow the orders of their superiors well. The virtue of a soldier was to move together as one to accomplish their mission.
But mercenaries behaved entirely on their whims, stubbornly claiming that their way was correct. Surviving until now was proof enough for them that they were right.
“Though I managed to cram some essential basic knowledge into them, it’s just not enough. Ah, I seriously want to kill them all.”
Randolf pressed his temples in frustration, shaking his head as if he had a headache.
Before he could finish his complaints, the mercenaries rushed out to welcome Ghislaine.
“Yay! The Lord has come!”
“Ah, it was so boring!”
Taking a closer look, it seemed that they all had bruises all over their bodies.
It was the result of Randolf hitting them for not listening.
“Anyway, I’ve roughly taught them what you mentioned, so I will take my leave now.”
Randolf insisted strongly that he wanted to leave quickly, trembling in fear.
Ghislaine nodded with a hint of regret.
‘Ah, I was going to ask for a little more help since you took this on… Looks like I’ll have to figure it out myself from now on.’
Still, after checking, she found that they had been taught basic etiquette and at least a minimum amount of military knowledge.
The basic training of the newly recruited soldiers was also in decent shape.
Honestly, Randolf had taken care of the most annoying aspects.
“Anyway, thank you for your hard work. I will make sure the compensation is satisfactory.”
At Ghislaine’s words, Randolf puffed up with a sense of pride.
“I’ve also taught some who don’t know how to read.”
Though Fergus had taken care of that, Randolf spoke as if it were his contribution without a hint of guilt. After all, he had been in charge of the education time distribution, so it wasn’t entirely false.
“That’s great news. They need to know at least how to read.”
Ghislaine had instructed Randolf to ensure all the mercenaries learned to read as well.
Even soldiers who followed orders needed to be literate to execute broader operations.
There was also a promise made to the previous illiterate mercenaries to teach them how to read.
Among the mercenaries that had gathered, “Peeing Gordon” proudly announced, “I can now write and read well!”
For Gordon, who had once suffered losses due to his inability to read, this was a moment to boast.
“Oh, really? Congratulations. Can you read the contracts by yourself now?”
Ghislaine asked with a smile, to which Gordon took a small book from his pants and waved it.
“Of course! I’m writing my own stories in here!”
“Really? Writing a novel or something? I’m curious about the content. Can you show me?”
Curious about how well he had learned, Ghislaine asked, but Gordon shook his head.
“No way! This is something I won’t show to anyone.”
“Well, that’s fine.”
Ghislaine casually replied, but one of the mercenaries next to Gordon was not satisfied.
“No, what’s that? The Lord is curious, so let’s take a look. What have you been secretly writing every day?”
“Ah, I said no. I’m not showing it.”
“Come on, let me see!”
When the mercenary beside him grabbed Gordon’s arm and tried to take the book, it was no surprise that muscle-bound Gordon wouldn’t let it go easily.
As they began to squabble, a few other mercenaries found it entertaining and joined in.
“Hey! Let go! You’re all dead meat!”
Even Gordon, who was strong, couldn’t hold up against five or six of them and soon found himself overwhelmed.
Desperately trying to prevent it from being seen, he thrashed around wildly but almost lost it.
“Ahh!”
Gordon screamed as he flailed his arms and lost his grip on the book.
Thud.
The book landed right in front of Ghislaine.
Curious, Ghislaine picked it up and opened it to any page.
[April 2nd, Weather Clear]
Once again, Knight Commander Randolf is nagging me about working. I have serious privacy dementia.
My skills are top-notch, yet he keeps nagging; it’s really unbearable now.
With the cold multiplying, he’s getting angry about me looking out into the snow and being a brat about it.
Where did he learn to be such an annoying person trying to teach me something? Truly not the right person to ‘teach’…
My hope for a funeral is to become a great knight, but someone with such a boring personality won’t make it…
Today’s diary entry ends here.
Snap.
Ghislaine immediately closed the book and shut her eyes.
She couldn’t keep reading someone else’s diary.
It would be a violation of privacy or privacy dementia, whatever you want to call it.
‘But at least he’s studying writing.’
There seemed to be serious issues with his spelling, but even getting to this point of being able to read and write is a considerable achievement!
In comparison to his previous condition, this was amazing.
As she was lost in these strange thoughts, Gordon, who had just utterly beaten down the mercenaries, rushed over, panting.
“Give it back!”
“Oh, here you go.”
Ghislaine handed back the diary without resisting.
“Did you read it?”
“…No.”
“You read it! How can you read someone else’s diary!”
“…I’m sorry.”
Gordon was still sulking as he hurriedly tucked the diary back into his pants.
It seemed he was worried that it contained a ton of curses, glancing cautiously at Randolf.
That sight was both funny and pitiful, causing Ghislaine to turn her head away pretending not to notice.
If Gordon had learned that much, there was no need to check the rest.
“I’ll have to check other areas as well.”
Lowell, who had been the temporary leader, took the lead in guiding them around the territory.
There had clearly been a significant increase in the houses where territory residents would live and basic facilities.
Numerous buildings were still under construction, but developing a territory is not something that can be completed in a short time, so it was something to get used to.
“Great, we can discuss further construction plans at the castle. Now, let’s go to the most important place.”
Upon Ghislaine’s words, they exited the outer castle again.
As they arrived at their destination, Lowell’s expression turned to one of awe as he said, “It really… turned out as you said.”
Ghislaine’s close associates, who had been absent, couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight before them.
“Wow… This is insane?”
“I expected it, but… not to this degree…”
“I can’t believe it even when I see it.”
Everyone rubbed their eyes, double-checking if what they saw was real.
Waves of golden grain swayed, stretching as far as the eye could see, filling the land with towering wheat taller than a person could imagine.
