Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“ILD, I DON’T KNOW what I’d do without you.”

“You don’t mean that!”

“No, I do! I’d be lost if it weren’t for the two of you,” I insisted.

Now that Ild was back from Soler, I was of a mind to ask for his advice on how to proceed. As it was, I already kept the merchant busy trying to find staff to work at Castle Getaeus. Now I needed to inform him the castle would be more than just my abode.

“Listen, Ild.”

“Yes?”

“You’re one of the first to know, but I plan on gathering like-minded companions at Castle Getaeus to make strides toward protecting the world from daemons.”

“…I see,” Ild said, nodding. Trying to imagine what I should do next, he most likely came to the same conclusion as Brauze. Upon reaching that conclusion, he began to give off a completely different air. His smile was still as warm as ever, but he was brimming with the determination of a skilled merchant. “That is truly

a grand undertaking, one that none but you could hope to accomplish, Lord Margilus.”

“That’s just it. I need you to find castle staff who will support my goal. If you know of anyone who might be willing to join my cause, I’d appreciate if you let me know.”

“…It won’t be easy, but I will find the people you need.”

That was the extent of our discussion at the time. But a few days later, Ild and Mora stood on ceremony as they brought it back up.

“First, I would like you to hire me as your steward for Castle Getaeus. Then Mora can tend to you at your side. Finally, three members of my staff can come along as your valets.”

“What…?”

“Please! Mister Geo, please take us with you!” Mora begged.

A steward’s job was to oversee the practical matters concerning the estate along with all of the financial affairs on behalf of his lord. In a way, the steward was the brains of a castle, issuing orders to grunts, maids, and servants. If I hired a bunch of servants and other subordinates without a steward to guide them, my days would be wasted issuing tedious orders and calculating salaries. If I wanted to build a large organization, it was absolutely necessary to hire one.

I couldn’t ask for a better man to fill that important position than Ild, the talented merchant whom I trusted wholeheartedly. I’d be lying if I said the thought of asking Mora to join me had never crossed my mind…not when she was a bona fide master of all forms of housekeeping. Plus, she’d remained a dear friend even after realizing I was nothing but a normal person on the inside. But that was beside the point!

“Wait, what about all of the business you’ve established with your caravan? What about your home here?” I asked.

“I will transfer the business and mansion to my cousin. I have already cleared this with the head of the Merchants’ Guild—Chairman Zatow,” he replied.

“But even Mora? What if more adversaries—like those daemonists—go after you again?”

“I hate to say this, but I believe we have associated with you enough that the risk is the same no matter where we go.”

“Urk!”

“Furthermore, Mora was the one who brought this up with me. Even if I don’t accompany you, I am certain she would leave to serve at your side.”

“Absolutely!” Mora declared with hands on hips. Her adorable lips pursed into a big pout.

“…Nnngh…”

Ild posed a solid argument about the potential danger. The distance between my castle and their home in Relis would make it all the harder for me to reach them in time if they were suddenly attacked. But gosh…I hate to tear a father and daughter from their normal lives…

“Lord Margilus, we have put considerable thought into this over the past several days.” Ild leaned forward to continue, while I fell into my usual habit of stewing silently. “As a petty merchant, nothing could be more exciting than the opportunity to support an endeavor that…might go down in history. I am not offering to serve you out of any sense of debt, but in pursuit of my own ambitions.”

His own ambitions, huh? Is what I am trying to achieve worthy of his dreams?

“Besides…how do you intend to contend with the daily necessities and salaries when your staff grows to exceed a hundred? Or a thousand? All of your time will be consumed merely managing the castle, procuring supplies, and calculating salaries for your staff. Do you know of anyone else who is not only capable of these tasks, but also trustworthy?”

“When you get down, no one can cheer you up the way…uh, I guess Clara and Reyha can… Anyway, I can cheer you up, too!”

I didn’t stand a chance against the logical case Ild presented, let alone the tear-jerkingly sweet words Mora offered. “…Very well. Actually, I should be the one asking the two of you. Ild, Mora, would you please come help me?”

“Of course! I shall devote all my energy to serving you.”

“Thank you! I love you, Mister Geo!”

“Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Mora clung excitedly to my arm. I felt like I could do anything if I was rewarded with her smile at the end of it all—a smile as bright and radiant as the sun. … I suspect this is a taste of how the guys at the office with families felt when they were pushing themselves hard after hours…

“Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Congratulations, Lady Mora!”

The Four Dark Elf Sisters entered the room and began congratulating Mora. Evidently, they’d been somewhere nearby, watching the whole thing unfold. They looked ready to lift her up in celebration. Those four really care about her, huh?

“Master, I believe this goes without saying, but as your loyal Si, we swear to dedicate our hearts and souls to waiting on you. We shall serve you for all eternity.” Suddenly kneeling before me, Reyha made this declaration. Out of all the dark elves, it just had to come from the one completely masking her presence.

“…R-right. I’m glad to have you all on board,” I replied. You’re coming on way too strong… Er, I mean, I appreciate the sentiment… I just wish you’d stop popping up without any warning, sheesh. I swear, this can’t be good for my heart.

***

I held interviews with the staff willing to accompany Ild, Mora, and me to Castle Getaeus.

“It is our job to look after the master and young lady,” said Sam. “Wherever they go, we will follow.”

“Now that you’re going to be our head master, we’ll naturally work hard for you as well,” added Anna.

The elderly couple smiled sweetly as they lowered their heads in unison. I could have sworn they were younger before, but they had been the two escorting Mora when I ran into her at the gate my first time visiting Relis. They were the longest-serving members of the staff, having worked under Ild’s father. The help they provided with the cleaning and most of the mansion chores made them invaluable members of the household.

“I’ve never worked on a castle before, but I’ll do my best!” exclaimed the robust young man named Zek. His eyes were glistening with excitement. Primarily entrusted with carpentry work, he was the son of another servant who went back a long way with Ild’s family. From what I gathered, he was an able hand at all sorts of repairs, helping to maintain caravan wagons and fix up the mansion.

“I realize it won’t be easy adjusting to a completely new environment, but I’m glad to have you.”

Now the livelihood of these three, not just Ild and Mora, rested on my shoulders. Under the weight of that pressure, my head fell limply against my chest.

***

I managed to recruit the people I needed to maintain the inside of the castle. As icing on the cake, the irrepressible virago Clara was even going to join my party. Technically, that was just a temporary assignment by the Sorcerers’ Guild, but in my mind, she was already a full-fledged part of the family.

Now that I have her, I should go ask the other person I desperately want to join the team. My mind made up, I paid the adventurer Sedam a visit…at his home.

“It’s the real Lord Magician!”

“Don’t you beat up daemons with Daddy?!”

“Come on, drop some meteors! Kaboooom!”

“Gosh, I’m sorry about this,” Sedam apologized. “I didn’t mean to make you come all the way out here.”

A scene unlike anything I’d expected unfolded before me in Sedam’s home. The building itself was a splendid three-story house, suitable for an upper-class citizen. However, it still felt cramped, what with three children running around and a beautiful wife diligently chasing after them.

“Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting this…”

“I get that a lot,” Sedam replied with a wry grin. I’d pictured him in seclusion in some shack in the forest. I certainly hadn’t pegged him as the marrying type.

I’m pretty sure he said that he’s thirty-two years old. I shouldn’t be surprised he has a wife and kids at this age… Dang, this makes asking him a lot harder.

“Ild has already filled me in. Didn’t you come out here to insist on me becoming your subordinate?”

“You’re as sharp as ever… However, I don’t want you as my subordinate.”

He already knew the reason for my visit. Not only that, it looked like he’d been considering the idea for a while now. Neither his wife nor the children made any fuss (well, the children were making a fuss, but not over that).

“Not as your subordinate? Would you prefer if I said ‘vassal,’ then?”

“No, that’s not what I meant… I can’t say this will be made official, but I’d like you to think of me as your friend or colleague.”

In all reality, there was no way I could treat a veteran adventurer rich with actual combat experience as my inferior. This was someone who’d traveled the lands of Sedia with blade in hand for over a decade. It probably wasn’t wise to start the organization off with an ambiguous hierarchy, but I felt even more strongly that it would spell my doom if I didn’t clear up this misunderstanding between us.

“I’m in, either way,” Sedam agreed casually with a nod. “Subordinate, minion, colleague, whatever.” Doesn’t leaving his family to live in Castle Getaeus bother him at least a little?

“Are you sure you don’t need to think this over more? What about your family…?”

“My wife can handle things here just fine. But while I won’t push for this right away, I would appreciate it if you came up with a way for me to live with my family eventually.”

“…That’s a perfectly natural request. You’ve got it. I can’t say for sure how yet, but I will make arrangements for you all to live together as soon as possible,” I promised.

I bet we’d be able to bring his family over within a few years after we get the living environment around Castle Getaeus in good shape. Assuming everything goes smoothly, that is.

“I appreciate it. By the way, what exactly is my position?”

“You’ll need a salary, right? So I was thinking I could hire you as an adventurer on retainer for the time being. However, I want to stress that in my mind, we stand as equals. Companions in the same party.”

I wanted Sedam and Clara both to freely offer their advice . Unlike Clara, I expected Sedam to quit the Adventurers’ Guild. It technically made me his employer…but I sincerely doubted that would deter him.

“That’s quite the honor!” Sedam exclaimed. “…All right, adventurer-in-service it is. Oh, I have one other request.”

“I’ll do anything within my means.”

“I guess you could say I’m just throwing this in. You see, it’s got to do with my…dream.”

“Your dream?” I asked with a tilt of my head. I was surprised to hear that word come from such an extremely realistic and intellectual man.

“Don’t laugh, okay? …My old man was actually a pretty famous scholar in the Kingdom of Shrendal.”

“Oh, so that’s where you get it from! I’m not surprised.”

That explains his wealth of knowledge and love of learning. I noticed there were books and scrolls scattered all across the house.

“He’s already passed away, but my old man spent his entire life searching for something. Truth be told, the whole reason I became an adventurer was in the hopes I’d run across it someday.”

“What is it? From the sound of it, it must be pretty amazing.”

“Well, I guess you could say that,” Sedam replied. In an unusual display of mild embarrassment, he began to rub the back of his head. “It’s Qadr Brueys, the library from the age of gods. The first humans to come to the Sedian continent built that library. There, they stored all their knowledge about the beginning of this world. As you can imagine, the generally accepted opinion in the academic world is that the library doesn’t actually exist.”

“…And what about you?” I asked.

“Can’t say. But if I find any leads on Qadr Brueys…I want you to help me search for it. Can I count on you to do that?”

From the look on his face, Sedam didn’t seem to really believe we would uncover this mythological library. For him to bring it up anyway, I suspected he was counting on my magic to a certain degree. But even more than that, there was probably a part of him that wanted to pursue his dream.

“Of course. We’ll definitely have to find it someday.”

“S-sounds good, then.”

As far as I was concerned, he might as well have said, “I know a place where you can learn all the secrets of this world.” With any luck, I might learn the Watcher’s true identity, or discover why he transported me to Sedia in the first place.

Needless to say, I promised to help Sedam search for Qadr Brueys so passionately that I’m pretty sure it put him off a bit. On that note, we bound the deal with a hardy handshake.

***

For the time being, I had all the hands I needed to work at Castle Getaeus. Gathering a crew for the castle was only a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. Nevertheless, I felt it still counted as a step in the right direction.

I wanted to set out for the castle right away, but in reality, I was stuck in Relis for another three days. For one thing, that was how much time it took to make preparations to transport a total of nearly thirty people and gather the supplies needed to support them for a while. Admittedly, Ild did almost all of the work; I just provided the funding…

Procedures to officially form an alliance with Relis also held me up. Some members of the city council were still wary of me, but I managed to win them over. I never could have done it without Brauze’s full support. The announcement of plans for a concerted effort with the Sorcerers’ Guild to bolster city defenses by deploying golems also helped tremendously. Of course, I suspect their decision was in no small part swayed by the fact it would get me to leave Relis and establish a stronghold at Castle Getaeus.

The highlights of the alliance could be summarized into the following points:

Relis City acknowledges Geo Margilus’s complete dominion over Castle Getaeus and the surrounding territory.

Relis City and Geo Margilus hereby enter an alliance with regard to all matters pertaining to anti-daemon countermeasures.

Relis City will encourage other city-states in the Ryuse Alliance to form alliances with Geo Margilus under the same terms.

The nature of the alliance should make future operations in the area surrounding Relis easier to conduct. Now only that, I could use my relationship with Relis as a foothold to form cooperative relationships with the entire Ryuse Alliance—maybe even the Kingdom of Shrendal.

By coming to this city, I’d made a good start on achieving the goals I’d set for myself. I could step forward with firm determination.

***

“We’re finally ready to go.”

Everyone was gathered in the square before Relis City’s gate. We had five wagons and five mounts. Before that group of twenty-seven, I was overcome with emotion. The party consisted of the sorceress Clara Andell, the adventurer Sedam, Sedam’s party members (the warriors Djirk and Ted, the scout Fijika, and the warrior-priest Torrad), the merchant-turned-steward Ild, Ild’s daughter and my head housekeeper Mora, the gardener Sam and his wife, the cook Anna, the carpenter Zek, the assassin-turned-spymaster Reyha, and the Four Dark Elf Sisters, who served as spies and maids. Then there were the three former Mage Knight cadets Log, Daya, and Tel, who were going to become my golem artificer pupils. Last but not least, there were seven other former Mage Knight cadets, but they were supposed to join the Calbanera Knights at some later date.

Seeing everyone gathered in one place made for a truly impressive sight. And to think, I only ever had three or four people work directly under me back when I was a businessman…

It came as a shock when I learned Sedam’s entire party was joining us, but none of them other than Sedam had families of their own to worry about. As a result, they accepted his invitation without batting an eye.

“Lord Margilus, please share a few brief words with us before we depart.” Ild’s tone brooked no argument.

Hearing that, all eyes fell on me in an instant. Even the crowd of onlookers stared! I couldn’t help but gulp nervously. From now on, their futures and livelihoods rested on my shoulders. As if reconfirming the weight of that burden, I ran my eyes over each of their faces.

Clara, Sedam, Ild, and Mora looked the same as always. Ild’s staff also looked upon me with a clear and abiding trust. The former Mage Knight cadets met my gaze with hope glistening in uncertain eyes. The dark elves knelt with their heads lowered. I could sense the strong devotion they always displayed in the perfection of their form.

As I looked upon each of them, an emotion unlike anything I could have imagined in Japan began to well within. Responsibility? No, I’m no stranger to that. But what’s this other feeling? It’s like I’m eager to lead them to protect the masses… Oh, is this the sense of purpose that propels leaders?

Their faith in me is nourishing my own personal growth… Then again, my emotions might just be getting the best of me.

“My friends, I wish to offer you my sincerest gratitude to you for joining me once more,” I began. An edge of uncertainty still remained, but the sense of purpose I felt right now told me what to say. I needed to assure these people that they’d made the right choice.

“We are about to depart for Castle Getaeus. At the moment, it is nothing more than a small castle in the middle of nowhere. However, I believe that if we work together, we can turn it into the mightiest of fortresses—a bulwark for defending humanity from daemons!”

“As your loyal Si, we swear by our ancestors to serve our Olry, Master Margilus, even should darkness devour the earth!” The dark elves shouted their words of loyalty in unison a heartbeat after I finished my speech.

“On behalf of the Sorcerers’ Guild, I will do everything within my power to assist the wizard, Lord Geo Margilus.”

“And, ah, I look forward to working with you,” I said to the group.

Clara curtsied elegantly with the tip of her cloak in either hand and Sedam shot me his usual grin. Going by how everyone else applauded, pumped their fists in the air, and cheered in response to my little speech, I guessed it was a hit. But when the surrounding bystanders started clapping and shouting, the whole thing became unbearably embarrassing.

“All right, let’s head out!” I shouted.

“Yes, my lord!”

“Quickly,” I urged. And with that, we departed for Castle Getaeus.