Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I WAS FINALLY GETTING USED TO the constant noise of giant-fueled dwarven construction.

Ild and Nox had come back, leading the soldiers and servants they’d recruited in Relis. They’d brought a modest handful of servants and some thirty soldiers, not to mention a plethora of livestock and wagons.

That was all well and good. But as I looked down from the main tower at the soldiers that were streaming through the castle gates, I felt uneasy.

“Reyha,” I wondered out loud, staring down at the courtyard. “Why do they look so restless?”

Only then did I hear Reyha’s soft footsteps padding up behind me. I hadn’t perceived even a whisper of her presence until then.

Lately I’d realized that the sound of Reyha’s feet was her signal to me that she’d released her invisibility magic.

Reyha spoke as ever with utmost seriousness as she knelt beside me. “I would wager that it is due to all the construction along the approach to the castle. Likely they beheld the giants.”

“Oh. I see.” I had to admit that made sense.

Even here on our side of the wall, they were being bombarded by the sound of huge trees being cut down. Seeing fully twenty-seven forest giants, each one comparable in size to the average Relis home, would be surprise enough in itself. Seeing them hard at work on a civil engineering project under the command of dwarves would be even more strange.

They had probably heard rumors of me as well. Now that they’d seen evidence of my abilities with their own eyes, they’d be that much easier to talk to. Things had actually worked out perfectly.

***

Ild had sent for me, so I decided it was time to descend from the main tower and speak face-to-face with the new arrivals.

“Margilus! The Great Wizard Margilus!”

The moment they saw me, the thirty soldiers lined up in the courtyard started chanting out my name. The servants both new and old had gathered to watch as well. It was quite a striking scene.

“I am indeed the wizard Geo Margilus, lord of Castle Getaeus.”

I felt a chill run through me.

Thirty young people had gathered in response to my call, all of them soldiers. I planned to stand on the front lines myself when we fought against the daemons, but even so, there would definitely be a time when I would have to ask these people to put their lives at risk.

I couldn’t value the lives of my senior companions more than theirs. I now bore the weight of their lives and future.

I didn’t see Sedam or Clara anywhere.

I struck the ground firmly with the base of my staff, then used it to support my weight. Ild stood a step behind me, and Reyha knelt a few feet away. I saw Mora on the other side of the soldiers, tightly clenching her fists.

I approached a young man standing at the front of their ranks. He looked no more than twenty years old. His young face was red with excitement and he looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“What is your name?” I asked him.

“I am Lend, Lord Margilus, sir!”

“Lend. It’s nice to meet you.”

When I offered my hand, he opened his eyes wide with astonishment. He wiped his own hand on the leg of his pants before shaking mine. He had a surprisingly powerful grip.

I wouldn’t be able to have a deep relationship with every young soldier, but I could at least learn their names and faces.

I moved to the next. “What about you?”

“Ahh! I’m Daath, milord! Margilus, sir! You honor me!”

“And you?”

I shook hands with every one of them, including the servants. When I was done, I climbed the stairs in front of the main tower and looked down over them.

“For ages, the people of Sedia have been threatened by the daemonic scourge. People have accepted it as an inevitable fact of life. But today, we set out to break that cycle! I ask you to join me! Lend your strength to mine!”

“Margilus! Margilus!”

The cheers went on for some time, echoing throughout the castle.

***

“They all seemed rather…enthusiastic,” I said. “Zealous, even.”

Ild smiled. “I would imagine so.”

After inspecting the troops, I invited Ild to my quarters to hear his complete report.

When he’d set out to recruit soldiers through the Relis City Council, he’d gotten nearly three hundred applicants. Ild had interviewed every candidate personally, and after a careful review, he’d selected thirty for the job.

“I certainly factored in their experience and physical strength, but above all, I valued the extent to which they sympathized with your objective.”

As a result, our recruits were mostly those who had lost at least one family member to the daemons. There were plenty of people out there who were totally consumed by a thirst for revenge against the daemons, but Ild decided not to hire any of those.

“So,” said Ild, “Around half of your soldiers don’t actually have any field experience. My apologies for that.”

“No, that’s fine,” I said. “Actually, you chose perfectly. You did every bit as great as I expected.”

Having said that, there was no avoiding the fact that I felt conflicted about their passionate loyalty. Sure, it’s far better than being disrespected, but isn’t blind loyalty also a problem? Or maybe I’m just being too Japanese about it…

Apparently, the women hired as servants were mainly widows who had lost their husbands or families to the daemons.

Ild produced a sheet of paper. “This is a list of all the new soldiers, servants, and material acquisitions.”

The contents of the note went as follows.

EMPLOYED PERSONNEL:

30 soldiers (men in their twenties or thirties)

5 servants (all middle-aged women)

1 stablemaster (an older middle-aged man)

2 stablehands (both young men)

PURCHASED ITEMS:

40 sets of soldiers’ armor (including spares)

maintenance tools and materials for armor

uniforms, clothing, and bedding for soldiers and servants

livestock (cattle, pigs, chickens)

5 horses, suitable as mounts

1 passenger carriage

“Mora and her team really need more people, so the servants don’t come a moment too soon. What’s this about a stablemaster…?”

Ild explained. “It’ll be his job to manage the horses and livestock. The pigs and chickens would be all right without a professional to look after them, but only an expert can properly care for horses.”

“Perfect,” I said.

“Honestly, if I had my way, I would have also hired a healer and an accountant. I didn’t have enough time to look.”

“You make a good point. Speaking of which, you purchased tools for weapons maintenance, but shouldn’t you have also brought a blacksmith?”

“We do need a blacksmith, but since we have a relationship with Axeholm, I thought it would be better to see if we can hire a dwarf.”

I understood immediately. If a family of architects had that much skill, then it would make sense that a dwarf blacksmith would be just as remarkable. I wondered if they could make something like mithril swords.

The mention of dwarves reminded me of something.

“Actually, Valbo came to me with a proposal…” I went on to discuss with Ild the idea of expanding not only the highway, but also building a town.

Ild nodded eagerly. “I think it’s an excellent plan. It’s true that it’ll help us in matters of trade, but more importantly, you’re bound to expand your power and influence in the future. If the castle stays this size, it won’t be long before it starts to feel awfully cramped.”

“You’re likely right…”

***

We had our soldiers and our servants. Castle Getaeus was stocked with all the basic equipment and personnel that it required.

Clara had also returned from her trip to Relis to request help investigating the warrior clan. Our team hadn’t all been together like this in a long time.

I decided that we should have a meeting in order to make sure the castle was functioning as it should. The war room on the second floor of the main tower was the perfect size for such a meeting, so I called everyone in.

“Our objective is to protect people from the daemons,” I began. “Therefore, there are many differences between me and a normal lord, but I do plan to fulfill my duties properly. I need your wisdom in order to achieve that end.”

I felt confident we were all on the same page.

Ild quickly laid out the main points at issue. “Now, the very minimum obligation we have is to maintain security in the surrounding realm. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly patrol the Lawful Way and the three villages in our territory. We have thirty new soldiers… If you include the ones we recruited in the village, that makes thirty-three. I think we’ve got enough bodies to make it work.”

Sedam spoke next. “Before we send them out into the wild, I want to concentrate on getting them trained up properly, here at the castle.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have the dark elves continue their own patrols in parallel with the soldiers’?”

The discussions were constructive, and our plan of action was decided without the need for much input from me.

First, Djirk would take the position of captain to train and lead the soldiers. Ted would be deputy captain and conduct both platoon-based march training and patrols across our territory.

The soldiers would be divided into three platoons of eleven members each. They would rotate between patrol duty, training, and castle security (including breaks in between).

Sedam would train the soldiers in archery and generally be stationed at the castle. Fijika and Torrad would provide military strength in case of emergency. I asked Fijika to take up an official role as messenger and Torrad to serve as castle priest.

The dark elves would continue to guard the inside and outside of the castle and take turns helping the maids with their work.

In addition to his duties as a priest, Torrad would also teach Log and the other Mage Knights how to read and write. The soldiers and servants would also be allowed to take Torrad’s classes if they wished.

Naturally, Ild would continue to manage the castle on a macro scale in his capacity as the castle steward. Nox from Backwood Village said he would train as an apprentice clerk.

Mora would continue as chief maid. Apparently, she was already getting along quite well with the five newly hired women. We were lucky to have her.

***

Once all the roles of the castle staff were established, Ild raised a new agenda.

“This is more of a report, not something we need to make an immediate decision on. But I thought you should see the current financial situation of Castle Getaeus.”

Ild showed us a table with the following information.

CASTLE GETAEUS FINANCES (ONE MONTH)

INCOME

None

EXPENSES

Personnel Wages

Castle Steward (1): 120 G

Clerk (1): 20 G

Magic Advisor (1): 130 G

Adventurers (6): 540 G

Scouts (5): 300 G

Chief Maid (1): 30 G

Soldiers (33): 900 G

Servants (8): 120 G

Stable Head (1): 90 G

Stable Assistants (2): 30 G

Daily Necessities: 120 G

Armor Maintenance: 30 G

Fuel: 120 G

Inventory: 100 G

Charitable Expenses: 50 G

Castle Lord’s Living Expenses: 300 G

Castle Management & Maintenance: 400 G

BALANCE

3,400 gold coins in deficit

There was silence.

“That’s one big deficit,” Djirk said, stunned.

Damn. Our castle didn’t have enough income. Actually, it had zero income. Well, that wasn’t really a surprise.

Ild had already shown me the report before our meeting. Actually, at first Ild had kept all of our salaries and expenses very low (although they were, of course, reasonable).

I had never run a business, but I did know that we weren’t hurting for funds so much that we needed an immediate profit to keep the castle afloat. This table was the result of me asking him to lift everyone’s wages to increase morale and make sure everyone could work comfortably.

Incidentally, I had considered a sharp reduction in my lifestyle expenses as castle lord, but Ild had refused. (I’d also gotten an earful from Clara and Mora about it.)

“Three of the soldiers were drafted from Edgewood Village, right? Are you going to pay them?” asked Sedam.

“They won’t get a salary, but we need to feed them.”

Ild piped up. “Let me explain. These labor costs include more than just salary paid out. It includes all expenses such as food, procuring necessary equipment, clothing expenses, and anything else that might come up.”

“I-I see,” Sedam said. “There’s sure a lot to think about.” He wasn’t someone typically prone to stammering. It seems economics isn’t his specialty. Djirk and the others had similar expressions on their faces.

“So, these figures assume we’re purchasing food and other daily necessities from somewhere else?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Ild. “If we manage the territory efficiently, we can likely reduce these expenses by ten or twenty percent. This is just an estimate.”

Clara was the only one who managed to calmly continue the discussion. “In the meantime, we can probably rely on continuous tax income from the three nearby villages… We’d just need to make a bit of an investment beforehand.” Her poise handling this issue was exactly what I would expect from a noble’s daughter.

Ild nodded. “And once the soldiers learn how to hunt in the forest, we can reduce the food expenses even more.”

I gestured at the papers. “I think you can all see from this report that establishing a source of income has become an urgent matter for this castle.”

It wasn’t something you would expect to hear from a great magic user, but it had to be said. The deficit wasn’t a problem right now, but it would have to be remedied at some point.

I continued. “When we’re done here, we’ll form teams to visit Axeholm. It’s vital that we get their consent to formally open a line of trade.”

Clara tipped up her chin. “In that case, I will accompany you this time. Negotiations require courtesy and knowledge of local customs.”

“I’ll leave it to you.” Sedam shrugged.

“Oh, will you now!” Clara laughed brightly.

To the inexperienced lord of the castle, this scene was like seeing the shining sun after a violent storm at sea.

Although I had plenty of problems, I had finally gained a foothold at Castle Getaeus.

Now I would begin the massive task of expanding the anti-daemon alliance.

***

The several days it took for the new soldiers and servants to acclimate to castle life were relatively calm. The soldiers were surprised to find the warrior clan camped out in the courtyard, but there were no major problems.

Once things had settled down inside the castle, it was time to head for Axeholm.

Ild would come to take care of negotiations and Clara would come as a consultant. Ted and three soldiers would escort us and carry the luggage.

It went without saying that Reyha was coming, too.

I left Sedam in charge of the castle this time. The other adventurers and the Four Dark Elf Sisters had to stay to guard the castle and to help with the soldiers’ training.

Also…

“Just so you know, if something happens, it’s my job to hunt you down.”

Lade decided he was coming along, and he made sure I knew why. If a beautiful swordswoman had said something like that to me, I might have thought she was flirting, but this was Lade we were talking about here. He was deathly serious.

***

“Those are Margilus’s bags, so take good care of them.”

“You got it, boss!”

Ted was playing the role of mentor (I guess?) to the three young soldiers recruited from the village during patrol. It seemed to me like Ted was actually a bit younger than them, but he’d definitely been a soldier longer than they had.

Still, the three had been lumberjacks, so they were strong and brave and kept up with Djirk’s training regimen. They’d been conscripted against their will for the crime of attempted assault against me, but if they kept on working hard, then I planned to formally hire them at the same wage as all the other soldiers.

I gave Sedam an Arcane Postcard. He could use it to get in touch with me in case of an emergency.

“Make sure you come back before I die of boredom,” Sedam said. He definitely looked like he wanted to come with us, all right.

Mora, on the other hand, looked worried. “Mister Margilus, please be careful.”

Everyone else at the castle also came out to see us off.

Ild took a moment to give me some advice. “Remember, the land east of Yulei Village abuts the Twilight Wastelands, and that makes it extremely dangerous. Magical beasts sometimes appear, even on the road to Axeholm.”

Weren’t you the one that insisted on taking such a dangerous road for your business? No, I couldn’t think like that. They were worried about me, which was awfully sweet of them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Mora, you’ll take good care of the castle while I’m gone, won’t you?”

“You bet!”

“Oi!”

As I was patting Mora on the head, a boisterous voice cut in, heedless of the moment. It was Valbo, who’d been working diligently on highway construction.

“Master Valbo,” I said. “What seems to be the problem?”

The dwarf folded his arms. “You were going to traipse right off without giving us today’s stone and iron!”

“Oh… Right.”

He was right—without me, there was no way to procure materials for free. But honestly, after using my spells to the max every day, there was a veritable mountain of materials left unused. I could be gone for a month, and they’d have more than enough.

“Open, Gate of Magic.”

Still, better too much than too little. It would be a waste not to use the spells I’d taken the time to charge. I immediately sent my imagined self into the spellbook archive.

I could definitely use a break from this particular line of work…

I stood within the confines of my inner world.

I had a strange feeling in my chest as my imagined self touched the tome that contained Wall of Stone. I’d grown awfully tired of this sight. The document glowed, soon transforming into dice, which I threw at the bookstand.

Clack, clack!

“Hmm?”

I looked at the two decahedral dice and froze. The black and white dice had stopped on 0 and 0. The total of the roll was 100, which meant I had failed at casting the spell.

“Huh?!”

Normally the dice would shine brightly, turning into magical power that would fly away over my head, but instead, they imploded and disappeared.

My physical and imagined selves cried out in unison. “Seriously…?”

Clara heard my shout out and quickly came to my side. “Wh-what is it?” I had never once failed at casting a spell since arriving in Sedia, so it was only natural she’d be surprised.

I could hardly believe it. “I fumbled…”

Clara furrowed her brow when I let that little piece of RPG terminology slip. “Huh?”

Valbo and everyone else looked on suspiciously.

I lowered my voice for Clara’s ears alone. “Er, no. It’s just… Can I tell you something in confidence?”

She frowned. “What’s the matter? Be quick about it.”

There were a lot of outsiders around, including dwarves and warriors. I’d explain to my other allies later, but I wanted to tell Clara as soon as possible. I knew she’d get on my case if I didn’t.

I whispered the truth into her ear: that my spells can fail, one out of every hundred times—and that it had just happened, right now.

Clara was taken aback. “Oh. Well… That’s—”

“Mister Geo!” Mora wedged her tiny body in between me and Clara. “What is it? I want to hear, too!”

The two of us were blushing uncomfortably. Mora didn’t normally act like this when she was going about her duties. She was probably feeling excitable since I was about to leave.

I tried to speak as evenly as possible. “Later, Mora.”

Clara said, “I-It has nothing to do with you, Mora.”

“Er… Fine…”

It really wasn’t something she needed to worry about. I patted Mora on the head one last time.

I had relaxed a bit lately, enough that I hadn’t thought about the possibility that a spell would fail. At a time like this, I could just recite the same spell again (as long as I had charged enough for multiple attempts), but if this happened during a battle…

“I don’t rightly know what all this is about, but let’s hurry it up with the materials,” Valbo said blandly.