Chapter 61: What Use Is a Fool? (4)
Vanessa’s craziness was largely due to her flawed mastery of the Mana Circulation Method, but it was also influenced by the wounds she had suffered from the people of the world.
The pent-up anger in her heart intertwined with her incorrect Mana Circulation Method and surfaced.
Even among the knights, there were occasional ones who fell into such a mind demon during training.
“But this life will be different.”
Ghislaine intended to teach her the correct Mana Circulation Method and properly support her.
If he taught Vanessa to unleash her talent freely, she would be a great asset in the upcoming war.
Although there wasn’t enough time to accumulate the necessary amount of magic power… there were thoughts he had set aside regarding that matter.
“I’ll make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen this time.”
To do so, he had to bring her in, even if it meant a threat. Of course, Ghislaine didn’t actually resort to such threats.
Having accomplished the purpose of coming to the Tower of the Bloody Flame, he felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment. Ghislaine spoke with a satisfied smile.
“Since our transaction is complete, I will take my leave. I’ll return with the Runestone as soon as the territory stabilizes.”
Hearing his intention to leave, the tower lord and elders showed their joy openly.
It was only natural to feel happy when someone they despised was voluntarily leaving.
However, the problem was Hubert’s mouth, trained through numerous social gatherings.
“Oh dear, why are you leaving already? Why not take a look around the city and rest a bit? Just to brag a little, I’ve put some effort into running the city, so there’ll be more to see than in other places.”
Hubert wore an expression filled with subtle pride.
“Well, should I?”
However, when Ghislaine responded positively, everyone immediately scrunched up their faces.
The elders shot him disapproving looks, as if to say why he was saying such unnecessary things.
Hubert also wore a face like he bit into rotten ginger, unsure of what to do.
“Ugh, dense idiot.”
Social etiquette suggested one should pick up on subtle cues and decline appropriately, but the rude guy right in front of him had no grasp on such basics at all.
Watching the ever-changing expressions of the mages, Ghislaine chuckled to himself.
“They really can’t act worth a damn.”
Though he wasn’t particularly skilled at acting himself, the mages’ acting abilities were downright terrible.
Then again, how often would those highly regarded as prodigies in their youth have needed to cater to others’ moods?
It was amusing to tease them a bit… but Ghislaine had plenty of things to attend to instead of wasting time lingering here.
“No, I have a lot to do, so I really must be going now. I’ll be sure to enjoy myself next time I come.”
“I’ll enjoy it when I get there,” she said.
At that, Hubert’s expression brightened instantly. He spoke quickly, as if worried that Ghislaine would change her mind.
“Yes, yes. The Grand Duke shouldn’t be away from his territory for too long. The money is already prepared, so take a look at it. I’ll make sure the mages are sent promptly.”
The mages were set to depart after some time and would enter the territory separately from Ghislaine’s group.
If they moved together, rumors might spread that mages were following them from the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
Ghislaine emphasized once more to Hubert.
“You need to ensure Vanessa arrives safely at the territory as well. Please take good care of her until then. She’s now my exclusive mage, so you must treat her well. She can’t get hurt, you know.”
“Of course! I’ll treat her like a precious guest, so don’t worry.”
Hubert replied with an exaggerated show of enthusiasm.
Ghislaine approached Vanessa and spoke softly.
“I want to set off together, but we can’t this time. Anyway, be careful on your way.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Vanessa’s expression was somber. Ghislaine urged her once more.
“If anyone bothers you, make sure to tell me. You shouldn’t keep it bottled up inside. It could explode, and that would be a problem. Got it?”
It was a confusing message, but Vanessa merely nodded.
“Yes… I understand.”
Ghislaine patted her shoulder a couple of times and turned right around.
When they all came down to the lobby, mercenaries were already waiting there.
The wagon was filled to the brim with boxes of gold coins.
“Verify the amount,” Ghislaine commanded, and the mercenaries promptly began counting the money.
The mages frowned at the unrefined display. Did they think they’d try to shortchange them? How dare they!
Moments later, the mercenaries spoke in confusion.
“We’re short three gold. They say mages are smart, but it seems they can’t count money properly?”
Suddenly, the faces of the mages turned bright red.
It appeared there had been a mistake due to the large sum. Though the discrepancy was minor compared to the overall transaction, it was a terribly embarrassing slip given the reputation of the Mage Tower.
Hubert, flustered, stammered, “It seems the person in charge of the calculation made a mistake. I’ll check again. Sorry about that.”
Ghislaine sighed and called someone over.
“Gordon.”
“……”
Gordon quietly reached into his lap and pulled out five gold coins to plunk into the box.
“……?”
A moment of silence fell over the lobby.
The issue was not just what Gordon took, but also that the mercenaries had made a mistake in their counting.
Kaor seized Gordon by the neck and dragged him to the corner, swinging his fist.
“You little piss pants! I’m not letting this slide today. You said you weren’t interested in money, right?”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Ugh! Sorry! I thought it wouldn’t hurt to grab a bit early… Agh! Stop hitting me! I can’t take it?! Ack! Violence, stop!”
Watching Gordon getting beaten in the corner, Hubert and the elders could only blink in disbelief.
Ghislaine chuckled, looking a bit embarrassed at them.
“Sorry about this. There are just so many uncultured fools around, you see. Hahaha, well then, I’ll be on my way.”
Before the mages could say anything, Ghislaine turned swiftly and added, “Alright, let’s hurry. You idiots.”
Ghislaine’s group promptly exited the Mage Tower.
Even as they left the city, the mages stood there in a daze, at a loss for words.
The moment they stepped out of the city, Ghislaine suddenly exclaimed, realizing something.
“Ah,” Ghislaine exclaimed as if realizing something.
“What’s wrong?”
“I forgot to mention the gatekeeper.”
Belinda looked at Ghislaine in disbelief.
“Were you teasing me out of spite?”
“Teasing? I’m always sincere.”
“Yeah, right….”
Gillian quietly stepped in front of Belinda, who was glaring at him.
“Seems the Grand Duke’s plan really succeeded. I never imagined the Mage Tower would agree to all the conditions.”
“Looks like the Young Master’s luck has finally turned. Everything he does is going well.”
“Aren’t they all just idiots pretending to be mages? Why in the world did they agree to everything?”
“Yeah, they must be fools. You’ll meet plenty of fools in the future.”
There was a clear reason, but Ghislaine couldn’t explain it now. He simply smiled.
“By the way, why did you make that woman your Exclusive Mage? She seems entirely useless.”
Kaor asked again.
A completely ordinary woman with no trace of mana or momentum.
She probably just played maid at the Mage Tower, so her knowledge must be lacking.
But Ghislaine just smiled again without answering the question.
“You’ll find out later.”
Kaor looked puzzled for a moment, then gave Ghislaine a thumbs-up. What was going through his mind? A sly grin appeared on his face.
Ignoring Kaor, Ghislaine spoke to Gillian.
“We’ve only taken one step. We need to prepare for the next one.”
“Understood.”
We couldn’t let our guard down since we didn’t know what kind of character the enemy would bring or the level of their forces.
Being careless in war was as good as throwing away one’s life.
Ghislaine wanted a sure victory.
“I’ll show anyone who touches us that they die.”
His determined expression was colder than ever.
*
Baron Homern, the Chief Officer of Perdium, was waiting day by day for Ghislaine to arrive.
Since his strategy of soliciting from the surrounding folks had failed, he had no choice but to ask directly for money.
However, the Grand Duke, who had gone to sell the Runestone, had not returned for over a month.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t he back? Did he run into bandits and get robbed?”
Once a strange thought crossed his mind, he could hardly sleep.
It was a situation that naturally caused worry.
Ghislaine was the hope of this territory. No, it wasn’t Ghislaine but the Runestones he had taken that were the hope of Perdium.
“What if he got captured by bandits and died? How foolish! He should have taken more soldiers!”
In reality, given Perdium’s current situation, not even a hundred soldiers could be provided as support.
But it was better than nothing, and Homern was reassured.
“Even if the Grand Duke is dead, we can mine the Runestones in the territory… No, wait, I just realized we don’t have the money to hire laborers!”
While he was worried about the Grand Duke’s safety, he also needed to contemplate what to do with the remaining Runestones if he really was dead.
At least Ghislaine had cleared a path to where the Runestones were, so he could probably find them easily.
“Argh! It’s infuriating not knowing if he’s alive or dead. What should I do?”
The other retainers were also worried, and the fortress was bustling with talk about the Grand Duke.
Since they couldn’t keep the northern fortress empty indefinitely, Count Perdium should be returning to the fortress soon, but he couldn’t leave without Ghislaine coming back.
He had left without mentioning his destination, so no one could even guess where he was.
I can’t even guess where I am right now.
“I can’t let this go on. I have to go look for them. Where on earth did they go?”
After waiting for two more days, Homern finally received permission from Zvalter and organized a tracking party. It was a modest group consisting of one knight and about ten soldiers.
They couldn’t afford to form a large-scale tracking party, and since Ghislaine had taken a significant force with him, it shouldn’t be too hard to gather information about his whereabouts without needing many people.
Just as they were about to open the castle gate and depart, a cloud of dust appeared in the distance, signaling the approach of a group.
“Wha-what’s that?”
“Did someone invade? There was no advance notice?”
“Castle gate! Close the castle gate first!”
Armed forces numbering in the hundreds were approaching. Without any flags, their identities were hard to determine.
The alarmed people quickly shut the castle gate and tried to figure out what was happening.
“Uh, uh, isn’t that…?”
One knight spotted the person at the front on horseback and was taken aback.
“It’s the Grand Duke!”
“The Grand Duke has returned!”
“And the troops following him?”
“Are they mercenaries? But their gear looks too good for that!”
Hearing the news that Ghislaine had returned, Homern rushed out to the castle gate.
He gaped as he saw the troops following Ghislaine.
“Whoa, what is that?”
Ghislaine reined in his horse at the castle gate and let out a hearty laugh.
“Have you come out to greet me, Chief Officer?”
“N-no, Grand Duke! What is going on? What on earth is with the troops behind you?”
“They’re people I hired to clear the Forest of Monsters and defend the territory.”
“H-hired? They’re mercenaries?”
“That’s right.”
Homern was left speechless as he surveyed the mercenaries.
The weapons varied, but their armor and steeds were almost identical, shining like new.
Suppressing a bad feeling, Homern asked, “Clearing the forest is one thing, but… what do you mean by defending the territory?”
“I heard a Runestone resource site was discovered, so other lords will come to invade, right? We need to prepare.”
Ghislaine said this as if it was obvious, and Homern facepalmed.
‘This idiot thinks war is a child’s game!’
When rumors about the Runestone start circulating, a territorial war will eventually break out, but not just yet.
“We can hire mercenaries once the war starts! How long has it been since the Runestone was found that other lords would invade? It will take at least a year before that happens, and already!”
Homern poured out his passionate argument, but Ghislaine merely shrugged, looking unconcerned.
Homern was mistaken.
If the mercenaries were hired only after the war had begun, they wouldn’t be able to gather them properly. No one would side with Perdium.
But who would believe him if he said that now?
It would be better to prepare on his own, even if considered crazy.
“Anyway, since they’re already hired, there’s no turning back. If a war doesn’t break out, we can use them to clear the Forest of Monsters.”
“Ugh… what about the money? How much is left from the sale of the Runestones this time?”
“I used it all.”
“What?”
“I spent it all on hiring the mercenaries and preparing supplies, so there’s no money left now.”
“Not even a penny?”
“Not a penny.”
“…….”
“…….”
A brief silence fell between the two.
With tears welling in his eyes, Homern grabbed his forehead and staggered.
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