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Chapter

249th Episode: Our Knights Will Wear It Like This. (1)

The spy leader wiped cold sweat from his brow and rolled his eyes.

‘What’s going on? They couldn’t possibly remember us just from a passing glance, right? Among all those laborers?’

What a crazy eye for detail. Although I’ve never seen the Lord’s skills myself, it made me think that the rumors about him being close to a master level might actually be true.

‘What do I do? What should I say?’

The spies were flustered. They must not leave a mark in someone’s memory. Minimizing presence is the foundation of a spy’s life.

The leader quickly regained composure and replied.

“We became close while migrating. Being from outside, we needed someone to rely on.”

“Oh, really? No families?”

“Yes, we’re all on our own. Some are orphans, and some lost their families in the turmoil. We could bond more easily due to that commonality of having nowhere to turn.”

The leader steadied his mind as much as possible. He had mapped out a believable backstory in preparation for such questions. No matter what was asked, he could answer.

He had also fabricated identities and fake hometowns in case of investigation. Of course, all of them were fellow spies.

Ghislaine chuckled and placed a hand on the leader’s shoulder.

“Yeah, making friends is really important when living in a foreign land. But all three of you seem quite fit?”

“…It’s a bit embarrassing, but I used to be a gangster in the poor district in my youth. Now I’m trying to reflect on the past and contribute to the territory.”

“A gangster? Quite a stylish way to say it. So you were just a homeless thug, huh?”

“…Yes.”

“And the other two?”

At Ghislaine’s question, the members stiffened and replied.

“I mostly did labor work at the merchant group. Since I’m strong, I also briefly worked in security.”

“I was mostly a laborer moving around construction sites. I did work as a guard for a labor unit for a short time.”

They answered as trained. They had also acquired knowledge about the respective tasks.

Since someone might suspect them based on their physiques.

“Hmmm…”

Ghislaine scrutinized the three of them with a suspicious gaze from top to bottom and then spoke.

“Take off your tops.”

Who would refuse in front of others? The three, while hesitating, removed their tops.

Indeed, all three looked quite fit. After a moment of examining their upper bodies and hands, Ghislaine continued.

“No matter how I look at it, your bodies show you’ve trained in swordsmanship… and your hands seem to bear the marks of stealth techniques.”

The spies turned even more pallid at those words. It wasn’t that hot outside, but cold sweat began to flow.

‘What’s this? How can he tell just from a quick glance?’

‘He’s just fishing for information, right? Right? Please say that’s all it is.’

Spies typically learn swordsmanship to prepare for the possibility of receiving assassination orders or needing to escape by force. The same reasoning applied to learning stealth techniques.

Of course, there are spies who don’t train in any martial arts. But those spies are smarter, and they infiltrate as administrators or scholars instead of doing simple labor.

Unlike the other two, who looked pale as death, the leader quickly and coolly spun his thoughts.

‘Should I just confess and sell these guys out? I was really planning to put down roots here! I even secured a house and saved a lot of money!’

He had intended to settle down here, abandoning his family. He felt it’d be really unfair to end up dead after getting caught as a spy.

No, I can’t. I just managed to secure my own home—I can’t die now.

“Actually…”

The leader hesitantly opened his mouth, but his words were abruptly cut off by Ghislaine’s interjection.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter if you’re spies or not.”

At that, the three widened their eyes in surprise.

‘Was he just probing us?’

‘What does he mean it doesn’t matter if we’re spies?’

Seeing the trio flustered, Ghislaine smirked.

“I’m a non-violent pacifist. If I just killed someone because I found them suspicious, I’d be the one going insane, don’t you think?”

“Y-yeah…”

“And our territory is in need of every pair of hands. Killing off fit and strong people just because I found them suspicious would be a huge loss. Besides, even if you actually are spies, I can’t kill you.”

“R-really?”

“However, I can’t just let suspicious people go free. So there’s a position prepared for you.”

“W-what’s that?”

Ghislaine glanced at Gillian next to him and said.

“Send these friends to the ‘Labor Assault Corps.’”

“Understood.”

The spies fell flat on the ground at that thunderous proclamation.

“Ouch! Lord! We’re innocent!”

“We’ll work hard!”

“Please spare our lives!”

The spies wailed.

The ‘Labor Assault Corps’ is sent to the most dangerous jobs in the territory. They also undergo military training. There were rumors they’d be at the forefront in the war.

It was clear they’d be thrust into a battle against Desmond, and it was evident they’d be killed by their own side.

Despite their wails, Ghislaine shook his head.

“Why are you so scared? It’s just a place for working. It’s a bit tougher, but you’ll have to prove your innocence by working there.”

The three were dragged away with expressions of grievance. It was a relief not to be killed immediately, but once the war started, death was a foregone conclusion.

Moreover, they’d have to suffer until then. Rumor had it that a guy named Kaor pushed the labor corps members incredibly hard.

While being dragged away, the leader gritted his teeth.

‘I’m not dying! Absolutely not! I will live to spend a happy life in my home!’

Before he had his own home, he was a loyal spy for Desmond.

But with a good home waiting, his mindset had changed. He wanted to get married, have kids, and spend a happy life.

In the end, it was all about the housing prices. With a spy’s salary, he could never promise when he’d buy a house in the expensive Desmond territory. Plus, if he made even one mistake while being a spy, he could have his head taken off.

‘I don’t want that kind of life anymore! I can just work here and earn more than my spy salary!’

His strong loyalty crumbled under the powerful force of capital.

If he lived honestly in the labor corps, he could eventually be freed. If that happened, he could earn a lot of money while working, living leisurely.

So he made a resolution.

‘I will definitely survive! I’ll kill as many of Desmond’s men as possible, win the war, and gain merit!’

A notorious betrayer was being born.

*

When Ghislaine sent the spies off to the labor corps and returned to his office, Galbarik and the dwarves came rushing in, tears streaming down their faces.

“Lord! Lord!”

“What’s wrong?”

The dwarves all looked like shabby goblins with unkempt beards. But unlike before, their faces were full of happiness rather than fatigue.

“Oh, could it be?”

Receiving Ghislaine’s expectant gaze, Galbarik shouted with a big smile.

“Finally! We have succeeded in the production of Galbarium!”

“You did it!”

Ghislaine beamed. While it had taken a long time, he had known this would succeed for sure unlike the large incubator.

Galbarik had succeeded once before in his past life, even without knowing any materials.

Handing a metal ingot over cautiously from his pocket, he said.

“This is Galbarium! Check it out!”

Ghislaine took the Galbarium ingot and inspected it closely.

It was incredibly light. No one could imagine that this alloy would be as hard as iron.

Ghislaine raised his sword and swung it with just the right amount of force, without infusing mana.

Clang!

The sword bounced back. There wasn’t even a scratch.

“Wow!”

It was perfect. An involuntary admiration escaped his lips. It looked just like he had seen in his past life.

With a satisfied smile, Ghislaine said.

“Good, it’s perfect. It’s truly identical to what was made by the legendary blacksmith.”

“Let me meet that blacksmith!”

“…I wouldn’t know where to find him.”

Ghislaine averted his gaze, feigning ignorance. It was hard to explain when he could just look in the mirror.

Galbarik, looking slightly disappointed, tidied his beard in front of a mirror before continuing.

“Anyway, this is a historic achievement! And the more important thing is that now we’re the only ones who can produce this!”

Just as Galbarik said, this technology belongs solely to the Territory of Penris. There are no eternal secrets, so it will spread eventually, but for now, it was not the time.

“Alright, now we need to start mass-producing Galbarium. Let’s only teach capable and trustworthy engineers how and start production immediately. And raise their wages significantly, so they have no complaints.”

“Got it! I’ll make sure the information doesn’t leak at all! Don’t worry!”

Galbarik was now well aware that this territory would eventually have to fight Count Desmond. So he understood clearly that this technology must not leak.

Thus, he fully grasped the meaning behind Ghislaine’s words.

‘Trustworthy’ engineers and ‘significant wages’ meant to lock up the engineers and make them work.

If only they secured the workforce, mass production wouldn’t be a problem. After all, they had already built large smelters and forges all over the territory in preparation for this.

“So we’ll get to work immediately on mass production and training! That’s it for now…”

Galbarik and the dwarves were about to rush out. They knew all too well that talking for long with the Lord would bring no benefits.

However, Ghislaine grabbed Galbarik’s shoulder and smiled.

“Why are you leaving so soon?”

“Gotta start production quickly…”

Galbarik and the dwarves felt a sense of foreboding. They averted their eyes, silently wishing to be let go.

“Oh, you know our style well. Since we’ve succeeded in Galbarium production, it’s time for the next task, right?”

‘You’re not human…’

Galbarik wanted to cry.

Creating this had nearly killed him. And now they had to mass-produce it, meaning more tasks were looming ahead.

‘I shouldn’t have promised to work so hard!’

But then again, they were dwarves, and it was impossible for them to back down due to their pride. They never realized that their pride was always the problem.

“Alright… what’s next?”

“We’re going to create armament.”

“Armament? Haven’t we agreed to replace all weapons and armor with Galbarium?”

After mass-producing Galbarium, the plan was to replace all the knights and soldiers’ gear. The same applied to all metal products needed in daily life.

Except for things like the castle gate’s bars, which derive functionality from being heavy.

But Ghislaine had something a bit more special in mind.

“I’m not just going to change the material of the current equipment; I’m going to develop entirely new equipment. I plan to add weapons as well, but first, let’s start with the armor and helmets the knights will wear. Take a look at this.”

Ghislaine handed Galbarik the blueprints for the gear he had prepared in advance.

After perusing the blueprints for a while, Galbarik asked with a puzzled look.

“What’s up with the grooves in this armor and helmet? You aren’t… planning to embed runestones, are you?”

“Yeah, I’m going to carve magic circles on the armor and use runestones.”

“Huh? You’re thinking of inscribing magic circles on the armor and using runestones? And you want us to make 400 of these? Are you sure you calculated the costs right?”

When Ghislaine nodded, Galbarik was taken aback.

If made according to the blueprints, just one of these armors would likely hold enough value for an ordinary person to live lavishly for a lifetime.

Producing 400 of those would far exceed several decades of budget for an ordinary territory.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most of the territory’s expenses would go on this equipment.”

“While I’m not the best with admin or finances… if we proceed like this, wouldn’t the territory’s funding wobble? Galbarium is one thing, but it’s the runestones that are problematic. If we use them, the amount we can sell decreases.”

Galbarium was still in the early production phase. The materials required were plentiful, making production costs quite steep.

To replace all the metal gear and tools in the territory would already cost an insane amount of money.

And now, planning to embed runestones as well? If the retainers found out, they would all faint. Especially Claude would likely raise a ruckus.

Concerned about that, Galbarik asked again.

“While it would enhance combat capabilities… this seems a bit excessive. There wouldn’t be any territories with this level of equipment. Wouldn’t it be better to just bolster our troops and armaments instead?”

“Our knights will wear it like this.”

What Ghislaine desired was not simply knights who could use mana.

He intended to create a knight order capable of fighting anywhere at any time with all-around operational capacity.

 

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