Chapter 55: The Sword of Dawn’s Worry

When everyone left the Temple, they found that the square and streets outside were not as quiet as when they first arrived. George looked up at the sun’s position. Based on the current season, it must be around ten o’clock by now.

The pedestrians on the road in the Temple area were mostly walking slowly in small groups, showing that they had no important business to attend to. As for the devout believers, this was not the time to come to the Temple for prayer. At this hour when the sun was high in the sky, those walking in pairs or small groups were mostly idle noble children. However, everyone has their own way of life, and as long as they did not harm George’s interests, he would not say much.

Just as Craig stepped down from the Temple steps, he hurriedly asked, “Mr. Val, we don’t have any arrangements this morning, do we?”

“Oh! Has our little Craig already can’t wait to go to the Candy House? Don’t worry, there is nothing urgent to deal with next. You can all move around freely. I, as an adult, will not get involved with you.” Saying this, Knight Val paused, then said with added emphasis, “You and Hiren must remember to follow George’s arrangements! Do not cause any trouble for us right after arriving in Karada.”

“I know, I won’t cause any trouble,” Craig replied in a deep voice, opening his watery big eyes. Hiren, on the other hand, showed an embarrassed smile and let out a “Heh! Heh! Heh!” laugh.

Seeing the performance of this pair of funny characters, even though he knew they were doing it on purpose, Knight Val still couldn’t help but sigh, “Anyway, Ultrad didn’t come with us this time. I’m sure the two of you can’t cause any big trouble on your own.”

Immediately, Knight Val pulled George over and whispered in his ear, “George, the rest is up to you. Do not let the two of them funny characters out of your sight.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Val. I will watch over them. Besides, they are not really children, so nothing major will go wrong,” George whispered back in Knight Val’s ear.

Knight Val sighed, “You are the one I can trust more. If the two of them were even half as capable in this regard, that would be great.”

Taking the opportunity when the two were close, George whispered in Knight Val’s ear, “Everyone has their own quirks! If they were all the same, where would be the fun? But Mr. Val, your action of exchanging for the Fireball Magic Wand just now, won’t it make some people think that war is coming soon?”

“Do you think if we didn’t do this, some guys would feel the threat of war? It’s better to prepare early than to get hit suddenly. The Eastern Front has not seen war for one or two hundred years. Even if the rotation system of the Northern Fortress keeps the strength of the Knights and a few elite soldiers from dropping, war is not just about these high-level troops. Although you might not be too clear about the situation of the local defense forces there, do not have too high expectations.” As he spoke, Knight Val’s tone suddenly rose a bit.

George was first startled, then asked in an unbelievable voice, “Doesn’t the unit sent to the Northern Fortress rotate just like in our territory?”

“Do you think anyone can afford to keep so many soldiers like Bolerum Territory? Even the method before your reform wouldn’t work. So, to handle military service, a batch of elite soldiers was specially trained to garrison the Northern Fortress for a long time. As for those local defense forces, they might be fine dealing with ordinary little thieves in normal times. But if a real war breaks out, without months of special intensive training beforehand, they can only be used as auxiliary troops.” Knight Val realized that George’s understanding of such matters was completely different from his usual performance. He had to let go of the hand he was holding, stand up straight, and explain.

Seeing George and Knight Val separate, and hearing Knight Val’s final words, both Hiren and Craig sighed with relief. They had been worried that the two were plotting how to tease them. Unfortunately, they did not hear the previous conversation between the two, otherwise, they would have realized that being happy now was too early.

George lowered his head and thought about Knight Val’s words for a while. After deducing and comparing them in his mind, he exclaimed, “That means they are even worse than the militia in Bolerum Territory. How can they be like this? Don’t they care at all about the security situation in their own territory? This is really, really taking potential threats too lightly. In that case, if a group of bandits with the strength of the last attack on Greywood Town came, they might just turn their whole territory upside down.”

“This is reality. If those Goblins hadn’t met us, that hard-to-chew iron lump, they might have even broken through a single Knight’s Manor, which is already a weak point. Of course, they would eventually be repelled, but before that, burning, killing, and looting would be inevitable.” Knight Val shook his head and continued, “As for the militia in our Bolerum Territory. Since you completed your reform, in my eyes, they are no longer just militia. Although they are not elite yet, they can be called usable combat troops. Honestly, the most important thing is that the income of Bolerum Territory is much higher than theirs. This is why your military reform in Bolerum Territory could proceed. So, your decision to reform the military after first increasing income was very wise. The skillfulness of your methods even made many civil officials who had worked for decades sigh in admiration.”

‘By the way, this is the true Middle Ages with a feudal system! Even in a unified empire with long-term centralized rule, the quality of soldiers in different regions varies greatly. How could I simply assume that the military strength of different territories is comparable just because of the Duchy of Nohan’s policy of prioritizing the military? Even before the reform, Bolerum Territory’s military strength was at the upper end of the Duchy due to its economic advantage. It is indeed the economic base that determines the superstructure.’ A thousand thoughts rushed through George’s mind. Sometimes, knowledge and experiences from before his transmigration actually became obstacles to his understanding of the new world. Could this be considered a different kind of cognitive barrier?

“George, when can we go to the Candy House?” Craig’s voice pulled George out of his thoughts.

George finally realized he was still in the square outside the Temple entrance. He had been too anxious and had made such a low-level mistake. It seemed the danger of war put too much pressure on George, who came from a peaceful era. At the same time, the responsibility of being the Acting Lord was also a heavy burden pressing on his spirit.

“So, Knight Val, will you go with us to the Commercial District?” George made a polite invitation.

Knight Val shook his head and said, “No! As I just said, I, as an adult, will not interfere in your young people’s matters. Besides, I still have some friends to visit in Karada. Since there is still some time left, I will call a few of them to sit at a Tavern in the Outer City first. It’s a good way to bond.”

“Bond? Dad, aren’t you going to see a female friend?” Hiren pronounced the word “female” very heavily.

“Even if I am going to see a female friend, what can you do? Even your mother cannot control this matter.” Val showed an expression that said he would do whatever he wanted. Indeed, in this social environment, men who feared their wives were few, and among the nobility, they were as rare as phoenix feathers. In this aspect, Hiren’s attitude as the Heir had a much greater influence on Knight Val than his mother did. Of course, this also required Knight Val to have the intention, but judging from his usual behavior, the possibility was really not high.

This was not the world before his transmigration where feminism was distortedly expanded and the female gender dominated the male gender abnormally. Even in that world, there were very few men in the top three rows or among billionaires who feared their wives.

George also couldn’t quite understand the reason behind Hiren’s provocation to Knight Val, but he quickly stepped in to smooth things over, “In that case, let’s part ways here! See you tonight, Knight Val. I might have some things to discuss with you then. I was a bit out of control just now, after all, this is not a suitable place to talk about such matters.”

“See you tonight, George. And Hiren, regarding the study tasks I assigned you during our previous journey, how have you been doing? I will check on them in the next few days. If there is no progress, heh! Heh! Don’t blame me, your father, for being too harsh.” Before leaving, Knight Val did not forget to give Hiren a light but firm warning.

Hearing this, the latter actually shivered a few times, showing a lack of manliness. This made several women passing by look at the big man with a full face of flesh with strange eyes.

After Knight Val left, George said to Hiren beside him, “I am going to take Craig to the Candy House now, after all, I promised him to do so after that battle on the night in Greywood Town. You come along too. Maybe you will find snacks you like there.”

“Dad said candy is very good emergency food for battles. I want to see if there are any snacks I like, I can’t be wrong.” Hiren actually said this sentence very seriously. But judging from whether he was licking his lips with his tongue, George would rather believe he had no resistance to sweets.

Speaking of this, George seemed to remember that in the world before his transmigration, those European nobles in the Middle Ages also had almost no resistance to sweets. Could this be called similarity in the Multiverse?

George added emphasis to his tone and said to the two, “Okay, since you are also interested, come along. If there is still enough time later, I plan to go check the shops under the Territory’s name. But you two must come with me. Knight Val just said not to let the two of you out of my sight.”