Chapter 171
Chapter 171: Verification is Sufficient (1)
The dwarves shouted in shock at the same time.
“Lord! One month is far too short!”
“Hey, what’s the matter? The dwarves, known as the best engineers, shouldn’t be whining. Didn’t you say you could do everything I wanted? It’d be troubling if your words changed like this.”
“Ugh…”
The dwarves really looked distressed.
Usually, humans make requests within a common sense level that they think is reasonable. They were confident they could meet those conditions with their skills.
Honestly, they admitted they got a bit excited and said various things. But they never expected those words would come back to bite them.
‘Isn’t it normal to be somewhat humble and accept things nicely when things are good? Especially if you’re a noble?’
This was the first time they encountered someone who gobbled everything that was given to them without hesitation.
It truly felt like they’d have to work while cutting down their time for eating, sleeping, and doing their business.
“Darn it, I shouldn’t have acted up. I should’ve just stayed quiet.”
The dwarves looked like they were about to cry. Still, it was true they had made a promise, and judging by the look of things, they wouldn’t be allowed to refuse.
Nevertheless, having never experienced such work in their lives, Galbarik whined and prodded Ghislaine.
“Lord, there’s too much work. If we try to finish it all in a month, we’ll surely work ourselves to death.”
“You’ll die anyway.”
“W-what? Are you saying you want us dead?”
Legally, they were slaves, so if he killed them for not obeying, he wouldn’t be wrong.
Ghislaine shook his head in response.
“We’ve caught the attention of the great lord Count Desmond from the North. A war is about to break out. If we don’t finish the tasks I set within a month, we’ll all be done for.”
“…”
“Honestly, you’ve probably been lounging around under the nobles all this time, right? With such a lazy mindset, you can’t survive in the treacherous North.”
However, the dwarves weren’t particularly alarmed by Count Desmond’s name.
‘Even if a war breaks out, we shouldn’t be in danger…’
Dwarves aren’t particularly fearful of wars between humans.
Lords wouldn’t kill the dwarves, who were expensive and useful. They’d rather take them as loot than toss them aside if they weren’t directly engaging in battle.
But Ghislaine was well aware of this.
“If we don’t get ready within a month, dwarves will be at the forefront of the charge during the war.”
‘Wow, is this guy really out of his mind?’
The dwarves exhaled deeply as they shot suspicious glances at Ghislaine.
Did they really think their worth was so high that they would send them into battle? No lord would take such a huge risk. It had to be some sort of empty threat.
Ignoring the dwarves’ doubtful gazes, Ghislaine grinned.
“You’ve just arrived and don’t know me well yet, huh? I’ll grant you a day of free time. Once you get to know me, it’ll click how you should handle things. I genuinely want to get along, but everyone seems to find it hard to believe my words.”
With that, Ghislaine left.
The dwarves stared blankly at his retreating figure and then burst into laughter one by one.
‘Did he think such threats would work on us?’
Having been through all sorts of nobles, the dwarves weren’t scared at all.
“Well, well, we’re not used to the atmosphere here yet, and we don’t know much about this territory, so let’s take a look around.”
At Galbarik’s suggestion, the dwarves wandered about the territory and asked about their lord.
People willingly shared what they knew.
“Oh, about the lord? Once he decides something, he never looks back and just pushes through.”
“He secretly gathered forces and entered the Forest of Monsters. Even during the war, he went out on his own and took down enemies? Just a few days ago, he raided my father’s territory’s forest.”
“Right, right. And even though Count Digald and his retainers surrendered, he just killed them all.”
“Do you know Marquis Branford? He even took bets on life and death against him!”
The more the dwarves listened to the territory residents, the more they realized something was off.
Every story shared was far from normal. No sane person would act like that.
The results might be great, leading to praise from the residents, but if you peeled back the layers, you’d feel a tremor of discomfort.
And they were ultimately struck with shock when they saw the mages working at the construction site.
‘What kind of mages… look like this?’
With their ragged appearances, it was tough to tell whether they were mages or just laborers at the site.
Alfoy, dressed in tattered robes, stood on one leg and scrutinized the dwarves from top to bottom.
“What? You say you have a month to work? That’s plenty of time. Why did the lord give you so much time?”
“…Did you say that’s plenty of time?”
“Why, what? We made a hundred Mana Convergence Circles in just two days! And you can’t do that much in a month? Pfft, dwarves aren’t that impressive.”
“No, is that even reasonable?”
“Why isn’t it? We made hundreds of Runestones to plant in the fields in just a week!”
As Alfoy bragged about this, the mages nodded along, seemingly proud.
Galbarik carefully asked, “Are you really mages?”
Alfoy straightened up and raised a hand to conjure a fireball.
“I’m the heir of the Tower of the Bloody Flame, the most prominent Mage Tower in the North. Also known as Alfoy, the Flame Man who knows no surrender.”
The dwarves stared intently at the fireball Alfoy conjured. They hadn’t heard of such a title, but he certainly seemed to be a real mage.
Galbarik couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, “Why is someone like you, the heir of a Mage Tower, living like this?”
Alfoy suddenly drooped his shoulders and explained how he ended up stuck in Penris Territory.
He mentioned being dragged here without knowing what he would be doing, now stuck as a slave and unable to escape, which shocked the dwarves again.
A Mage Tower heir and mages who couldn’t escape and were forced to work like slaves?
They finally had to accept the uncomfortable truth they didn’t want to acknowledge.
‘Ah, the lord is genuinely insane. It’s because he’s insane that he can create such nonsense.’
Alfoy grabbed Galbarik’s shoulder.
“You mentioned you’ll be working in the construction site, right? Let’s do our best. At the very least, you’ll get a lot of food here. You can eat until you’re full.”
His words sounded like something someone who had perfectly adapted to the territory would say.
The busy laborers, Alfoy and the mages, had now reached a stage where they were satisfied with just being able to eat enough.
Seeing the bizarre madness in the mages’ eyes, the dwarves took a step back with apprehensive expressions.
‘I have to run away. If I stay here, I won’t make it to the end of my life. I absolutely have to escape.’
Alfoy, seeing through their inner thoughts, seriously said, “Don’t even think about running away. Even if you try, you’ll just get caught. The lord’s specialties are chasing, ambushing, and annihilation. If I, a mage, can’t escape, do you think you can? So don’t run away, and let’s stay together for a long time.”
Alfoy’s every word was filled with sincerity. If they had more hands, they might even get a bit of breathing room.
He continued, trying to comfort the dwarves, “Let’s occasionally gamble and drink together. It’s more fun living here than you think. If you don’t know how to gamble, I’ll teach you.”
“…”
A moment of awkward silence lingered.
After some thought, Galbarik turned to the dwarves and finally spoke with difficulty.
“…Let’s get to work quickly. We have no time.”
To avoid being dragged into the war as shock troops, they had to finish the work somehow within a month.
*
Ghislaine was lost in thought as he reviewed the plans he had devised.
‘When fighting against the Duke faction, it doesn’t mean much to just strengthen this place.’
Even if Penris grew quickly, catching up to the already formidable forces of the Duke faction right away would be tough.
That’s why he had also drawn in the Crown Prince faction.
Currently, the Perdium Territory, guarding the North, also needed to grow as strong as Penris.
Only then could they withstand the forthcoming chaos together.
‘The only option is to grow that side as quickly as possible. While we’re at it, I should also have Perdium practice the Mana Circulation Method.’
Ghislaine, loaded dozens of wagons full of supplies, headed towards the Northern Fortress where his father was.
Northern Fortress, Kaifiller.
It was the northernmost frontline of the Ruthania Kingdom, protected by the Duke of Perdium.
Except for the small spring near the fortress, most of the surrounding area was barren wasteland, making it incredibly desolate.
The Perdium family had held off barbarian invasions from this lonely fortress for hundreds of years.
As a result, the Perdium Territory had become endlessly poor.
However, the honorable head of the family had borne the losses to protect the fortress, which had become a source of family pride.
Zvalter, the Count of Perdium, who was defending this place that symbolized the honor of Perdium, appeared with an angry look when he heard Ghislaine had arrived.
Beside him was the equally angry Knight Commander Randolf.
The moment Zvalter saw Ghislaine, he shouted.
“Ghislaine! I’ve heard the news already! I let it go even after all the deeds you accomplished, but you’ve clearly crossed the line! How can you indiscriminately destroy the forests of the territory?”
Although Homern had sent the news a bit exaggerated, it was true that Ghislaine had indeed raided the forests of the Perdium Territory.
This time, Zvalter was determined not to forgive.
No matter how well you performed, encroaching on the authority of a lord and head was absolutely unacceptable.
To lead and protect the North, he needed to maintain that authority.
Zvalter looked as if he might even draw his sword, placing a hand on his waist.
Ghislaine smiled slightly and said, “I apologize for that. I needed wood urgently. In return, I’ve brought a bit more food.”
The wagons Ghislaine drew in were piled high with an enormous amount of food.
There was so much that the entire troop stationed at the fortress could eat heartily every day for several years.
“I’ve also sent food to the territory. I believe residents won’t have to worry about food until next year.”
As Ghislaine spoke with a relaxed smile, Zvalter’s eyebrows twitched.
“Are you trying to brush this off with mere food?”
…It was too much food to acutely rebuke him.
However, there was no way he could immediately change his attitude just because of the food. Doing so in front of many witnesses would completely ruin his authority.
Yet, he couldn’t refuse the food either. He was sick and tired of starving.
A life-or-death crisis.
But who was Zvalter? He was a seasoned warrior who had fought countless battles against barbarians.
He shot a glance at Randolf.
Randolf had been alongside Zvalter for decades. He understood his cues instantly.
With a bright smile, he grasped Ghislaine’s hand.
“Oh, our grand duke! What’s all this food you’ve brought? It’s pretty chilly here, isn’t it? Let’s hurry inside before you catch a cold. Ah, brother, what are you doing? We don’t have any need for wood anyway, do we? Eating is the best! Right?”
“Hmmm, should we? Then maybe I’ll just let this slide?”
“Of course, selling that wood wouldn’t buy this much food anyway. Then, just consider it a discount for being your son.”
“Cough, cough, very well. I’ll let this slide this time, but be more mindful of your actions from now on. Now, let’s head in.”
With those words, the two of them swaggered into the fortress.
As Ghislaine shrugged his shoulders, the knights and soldiers nearby suppressed their laughter.
Unfortunately, everyone had been together long enough that the two’s charade was transparent.
Once they moved to the office, Zvalter asked directly.
“So, what brings you here? I can’t imagine you’ve just come to apologize with food. Did you somehow find a marriage partner?”
As soon as he saw him, the nagging began. Ghislaine sighed and said, “…It’s not that. I have something important to discuss.”
At Ghislaine’s words, Zvalter and Randolf flinched. Whenever those words, “important matter,” came from his mouth, it invariably led to some major disaster.
Zvalter spoke in a serious tone.
“Whatever it is, can’t you just not say it? I truly enjoy this peaceful time.”
His voice was filled with sincerity.
Only now had they managed to live decently. He wanted this peace to last without any incidents.
The life he had endured up till now was too exhausting to desire anything more. People should know their limits.
Ignoring her father’s heartfelt plea, modest wishes, and lessons learned over a lifetime, Ghislaine opened his mouth.
“I need to change the family’s Mana Circulation Method.”
Zvalter’s expression crumpled.
