Chapter 151 – It’s Nice to Be Back. (3)
As soon as Vanessa saw Ghislain, she began to wail again.
“I’m sorry. Huh-uhhng…. I destroyed the building, used up a bunch of Runestones, and caused huge damage to the estate… Ughh-uhhhng.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It happens. Besides, no one got hurt, so it’s really fine. Hahaha.”
Ghislain still laughed cheerfully. Now that there was a 6th-circle mage on the estate, what did a building matter?
To recruit a 6th-circle mage, even building hundreds of structures like that wouldn’t be enough.
Mages of that caliber couldn’t be lured in with just money.
It confird once more that his judgnt was right; he hadn’t been wrong in thinking she was the greatest talent in the history of the Crimson Fla Tower.
“No, it’s not okay. The estate is poor, and there’s no money, so everyone is living a hard life… I should save every penny to help the estate… From now on, I’ll only eat one al a day… Uhhuh-uhhhng.”
The more Vanessa spoke, the more Ghislain’s smile faded.
“No, we’re not that poor anymore.”
“I’ll work hard and do laundry for the rest of my life to repay it, I swear. Uhhuh-uhhhng…”
“No, if you did the laundry, that would be even more of a loss.”
It was a logical point, but to her, it sounded like, “If you do the laundry, you’ll just ruin the clothes.”
“Of course, right? Soone like should just die. Please kill . Ughh-uhhhng.”
Ghislain sighed. Vanessa was great, but her problem was this terribly low self-esteem and shyness.
She had been ignored and struggled for so long that she beca overly sensitive to even the smallest mistakes.
If she had a personality like Belinda’s, she would have haughtily said,
“I’m a 6th-circle mage, so what’s the big deal about a building? Just give more money!”
Well… considering the accident this ti, if she were still in her old position doing nial tasks, she wouldn’t have been able to repay it even if she worked her whole life, so he could understand why she reacted this way.
As she continued to sob with tears and snot streaming down her face, repeatedly apologizing, Ghislain helped her stand up.
“I’m telling you, it’s really fine. More than that, reaching the 6th circle already is incredible. That helps more. I’ll build a new lab for you, so don’t worry about money and just focus on your training. That’s the most important thing. Got it?”
“Uhhuh-uhhhng, my Lord!”
At his gentle praise, Vanessa burst into tears of gratitude and buried her face in Ghislain’s chest.
Ghislain patted her shoulder a few tis before gently stepping back and taking a good look at her.
Her pale face, streaked with dark smudges, stood out, as if she hadn’t seen sunlight in a while.
Her clothes were stained in various places, clearly showing that she had been holed up, devoting herself solely to research and training.
Ghislain forced a smile as he patted Vanessa’s shoulder, feeling as if he could almost see the musty sll emanating from her.
“…Training is good, but now that you’ve reached the 6th circle, you should also wash up a bit and take so walks.”
“Y-Yes, yes, yes, sir!”
Only then did Vanessa realize the state she was in, and, blushing, she quickly backed away.
Ghislain turned to Lowell and spoke.
“Rebuild the lab to be sturdier and more spacious. Also, make sure to set up dummies in a large open area for her to use magic on.”
“Understood. The ground here is well-prepared, so we can build it here again…”
But then, Ghislain draped his arm over Lowell’s shoulder and whispered.
“Build it far away, very far away. Make sure it’s even farther from the lord’s castle, in a place where there are no people around and it’s safe. You understand, right?”
“…Yes.”
Only after receiving Lowell’s firm agreent did Ghislain turn to address the others.
“Keep the fact that Vanessa is a 6th-circle mage a secret for now. There’s nothing to gain by letting rumors spread.”
Everyone nodded absentmindedly, still in shock.
Even with talent, who would have expected she would reach the level of a 6th-circle mage so soon?
The close aides were surprised but had no choice, but to agree with Ghislain’s decision.
The residents of the estate were far enough away that they hadn’t heard the conversation, so keeping the secret wouldn’t be difficult.
‘This has to be kept a secret.’
‘A 6th-circle mage, sothing only the great lords have, now exists here.’
‘It’s a powerful card, unknown to others!’
6th-circle mages were extrely rare. Many spent their entire lives devoted to magic and couldn’t even reach the 5th circle, let alone the 6th.
Once soone reached that level, it was a given they would be a private mage for great lords, and they could even aspire to beco a Tower Master of the mage towers.
Although Vanessa was a half-ford 6th-circle mage, lacking sufficient mana, her abilities were still sothing that could be put to use.
Anyone foolish enough to pick a fight without knowing this would find themselves on the receiving end of a sudden and powerful burst of flas.
As Ghislain and the others were busy ensuring everyone kept quiet and managing the situation, Alfoi and the other mages ca running over, panting.
“Was there a fire? What happened to the fire? I thought I saw so other magic being cast, too?”
Ghislain waved his hand with a smile at the panicking Alfoi.
“Hey, Alfoi, it’s been a while. You’ve been doing well, I hope?”
“Ugh… Lord, you’re back…?”
Alfoi began to sweat nervously and tried to back away, prompting Ghislain to turn and ask Lowell.
“Were the tasks given to the mages proceeding smoothly?”
Lowell glanced at the mages before starting to tattle.
“Ahem, the pace has been slowing down, and they haven’t been able to keep up with the schedule.”
“Is that so?”
Alfoi frantically waved his hands and shouted.
“No! We’ve been working hard! It’s just that my health hasn’t been the best lately!”
“It’s fine. When soone’s tired, they can take a break.”
“Uh…? Really?”
Ghislain nodded with a gentle smile, truly looking like he didn’t mind.
“As long as you work harder to make up for the rest you took. There’s a lot to be done in the future.”
Alfoi felt a sudden chill run down his spine, a sense of foreboding creeping up on him. That lord wasn’t soone who’d just let things slide like this, right?
Moreover, the ntion of there being a lot to do was highly suspicious.
Could it be that there were even more tasks besides the construction projects they were already handling?
Ghislain looked at the anxious mages and grinned.
“Prepare yourselves.”
* * *
Before heading back to the lord’s castle, Ghislain made his way to the rcenaries’ garrison.
“Young Lord, you’re back!”
Randolph, who had been training the rcenaries, greeted Ghislain with a bright expression.
Standing next to him was Fergus, who wore a welcoming smile.
“Haha, Young Master. Did you have a good trip?”
Ghislain responded in surprise.
“Wait, I told you to rest comfortably at the Fenris Estate. Why did you co all the way out here to the garrison?”
“I’ve been helping the Knight Commander.”
Fergus, who had been recuperating in Ferdium due to health issues, had accompanied Randolph when he moved to the Fenris Estate.
Although his stamina hadn’t allowed him to actively participate in the training, he had used his age-earned wisdom to greatly assist in the rcenaries’ drills.
Ghislain shook his head and spoke with concern.
“Still, you should be taking it easy for now. I’ve told you several tis that it’s not easy to co back to life if you die.”
“Haha, it’s fine. Thanks to you, Young Master, I’ve gotten much better.”
With Ghislain regularly visiting Ferdium to provide him with dicine, Fergus had beco much healthier compared to his previous life.
But it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Ghislain.
‘I wish he’d rest a bit more.’
Despite Ghislain’s repeated attempts to persuade him, the old knight’s stubbornness hadn’t wavered. Sighing, Ghislain turned to Randolph and offered a late greeting.
“Have you been well?”
“Well? These thick-headed idiots aren’t even human!”
As soon as Ghislain finished speaking, Randolph jumped at the opportunity to vent. His face was dark and weary.
After dealing only with disciplined soldiers and knights, being tasked with handling rcenaries was proving to be a nightmare.
It wasn’t just that the rcenaries didn’t follow orders properly—many of them lacked even basic common sense.
They had been following orders mainly because Ghislain had a firm grip on them, but by nature, they were unruly.
Even when they attempted tactical drills, they could only manage the charge formations that Ghislain had trained them in; they couldn’t do much else.
“How on earth did you wage war with this lot?”
“What’s wrong? Are there many issues?”
“ ‘Many’ doesn’t even begin to describe it! They don’t even have the bare minimum of military discipline!”
The most important thing in the military was to follow the orders of superiors. Moving as one to achieve a goal was the hallmark of a true soldier.
However, the rcenaries were all stubbornly set in their ways, each insisting that what they knew was correct. To them, the fact that they had managed to survive until now was proof that their thods were right.
“I’ve sohow managed to drill the necessary basic knowledge into them, but I can’t do any more. Ugh, I just want to kill them all,” Randolph said, pressing his temples as if he had a headache, shaking his head.
Before he could even finish his rant, the rcenaries ca rushing out, excitedly welcoming Ghislain.
“We’re saved! The Lord is here!”
“Ah, we were getting so sick of this!”
As he looked closely, he noticed they were all covered in bruises.
Apparently, Randolph had resorted to knocking sense into them since they refused to listen.
“Anyway, I’ve taught them most of what you asked, so I’m going to head back now,” Randolph said, shuddering at the thought of staying any longer, firmly insisting on leaving as soon as possible.
Ghislain nodded, a bit disappointed.
‘Ah, I was hoping to get him to handle things a bit longer… Looks like I’ll have to take care of it myself from now on.’
Still, from what he could see, Randolph had managed to teach them the basics of formation and at least the minimum military knowledge.
The basic training of the new recruits was also in decent shape.
Honestly, it was clear that Randolph had dealt with the most botherso parts of the job.
“Thank you for all your hard work. I’ll make sure to compensate you properly.”
Randolph responded with a sense of pride, “I even managed to teach a few of the illiterate ones to read a bit.”
Though Fergus had been the one actually teaching them, Randolph spoke as if he had done it himself, without any pangs of conscience. After all, the allocation of training ti had been under his control, so it wasn’t entirely untrue.
“That’s great to hear. At the very least, they need to know how to read,” Ghislain said.
He had made it a point to tell Randolph to teach the rcenaries how to read and write.
No matter how well a soldier followed orders, being literate allowed for a broader range of tactical operations.
There had also been a promise from earlier to teach the illiterate rcenaries how to read.
Among the rcenaries that had gathered, ‘Pisser Gordon’ spoke up proudly.
“I can write well now, and I can read everything!”
Given that Gordon had always been taken advantage of in contracts because he couldn’t read, he had every reason to be proud.
“Oh, really? Congratulations. So you can read the contracts on your own now?” Ghislain asked with a smile.
Gordon then pulled out a small book from the waistband of his trousers and waved it.
“Of course! I’m even writing my own stuff here now!”
“Really? What, are you writing a novel or sothing? I’m curious, can you show it to ?”
Wanting to see how well Gordon had learned to write, Ghislain asked. But Gordon shook his head.
“No, I’m not showing this to anyone.”
“Well, suit yourself.”
Ghislain answered nonchalantly, but the rcenary next to Gordon didn’t share the sa attitude.
“What is it, anyway? Even the lord is curious, so let us see it. You’re always scribbling sothing in secret.”
“Ah, I said no. I’m not going to show it.”
“Co on, let us see.”
The rcenary next to him grabbed Gordon’s arm and tried to snatch the book away.
Of course, it was impossible to easily take sothing away from Gordon, whose body was packed with muscle.
As the two started to struggle, a few other rcenaries joined in, finding it amusing.
“Damn it! Let go of ! I’m going to kill all of you!”
Even soone as strong as Gordon couldn’t hold out when five or six n piled on him.
He struggled desperately to keep them from seeing it, but he was on the verge of losing it.
“Ugh!”
Gordon let out a strange scream, wildly flailing his arms, and ended up dropping the book.
Thud.
The book fell, coincidentally landing right in front of Ghislain.
Curious, Ghislain picked it up and opened it to a random page.
[April 2nd, clear weather]
“Once again, Knight Commander Randolph kept nagging at to do this, do that. It’s like his obsession with my life is getting worse.
I’ve already mastered all my skills, but he just keeps on with the lecturing, and I’m seriously at my limit.
It’s cold because the multiplication chill is here, but he keeps glaring at , telling to train.
He must’ve learned how to harass people from so lon molesting device because he keeps trying to teach things. He’s definitely not soone fit to be a ntor.
My dream is to beco a great knight, but I’m not going to be like soone with such a boring personality as his……
Today’s journal ends.”
Snap.
Ghislain imdiately closed the book and shut his eyes.
He couldn’t continue reading soone else’s diary.
Whether it was an invasion of privacy or an obsession with it, it was still the sa behavior.
‘Well, at least he learned how to write.’
There were so serious spelling issues, but the fact that he could read and write even this much was an accomplishnt.
Considering how things were before, this was a significant improvent, sothing to be appreciated.
As he was lost in these mixed feelings, Gordon, who had roughly beaten down the other rcenaries, rushed over in a panic.
“Please give it back!”
“Oh, right… Here.”
Ghislain handed the diary over without hesitation.
“You read it, didn’t you?”
“…No.”
“You read it! Who reads soone else’s diary like that?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Gordon, still on the verge of tears, quickly tucked the diary back into his pants.
He kept glancing nervously at Randolph, probably worried because he’d written so many complaints about him.
Feeling both amused and a bit sympathetic, Ghislain decided to change the subject.
Since Gordon had learned this much, there was no need to check further.
“Let’s continue with the inspection.”
Lowell, who was acting as the temporary supervisor, led them around the estate.
There were significantly more houses for the residents and improved infrastructure.
While many buildings were still under construction, estate developnt wasn’t sothing that could be finished quickly, so they had to get used to it.
“Alright, for now, let’s head back to the castle to discuss the future construction plans. Now, let’s go to the most important site.”
Following Ghislain’s words, the group exited the outer walls once again.
Lowell, who had been leading the way, looked emotional as he spoke when they arrived at their destination.
“It really… turned out just as you said.”
The aides who had been absent during Ghislain’s ti away couldn’t help, but gasp at the sight before them.
“W-Wow… This is no joke.”
“I expected it, but… to this extent…”
“Even seeing it in person, it’s hard to believe.”
They rubbed their eyes, doubting whether what they saw was real.
A rippling wave of golden light.
Towering stalks of wheat, far taller than a person, covered the entire land, an imnse sight that no one could have imagined.
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