Chapter 46
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Gathering Talents (2)
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“Hey, buddy, why'd you go and drink so much of this stuff you can't even hold your liquor against?”
“...What else can I do on my own terms?”
The man was small in stature with a bushy mop of hair. Though not yet thirty, he could pass for a weathered old-timer at first glance.
No one could say if it was his ragged clothes or the hopelessness etched into his soul that gave him that look.
“Tsk tsk. Up you get. Sir Thomas from the Commercial Development Bureau sent a letter. We haven't opened it yet—saving it to read with you. Come on.”
“...You guys still holding out hope?”
His words dripped with bitter self-mockery.
A whiff of booze hit the air, but his friend, come to fetch the drunken man, just clenched his trembling lips in silent reply.
Truth be told, he knew it too.
Sir Thomas was no typical noble—always supporting him and his friends, commoners like himself, with both words and resources, promising to help them spread their wings.
But society doesn't bend for one outlier.
His head already told him this letter would start with the same old “Regrettably...” as the last ones.
Yet here they were, repeating the cycle of hope and despair.
“Innkeeper, that was great. Thanks.”
“Thank you! Come again!”
“I got you.”
As his friend paid the tab, lost in thought for a moment, he headed for the door.
The man reached for his arm, but...
“I'm fine. This much is nothing.”
“Ah, sorry about that. Guess I overdid the drinking.”
The two shared a wry smile.
The drinking man took the lead, stepping out first.
Limp, limp.
He was lame.
The lame genius.
Once, his name was known to everyone in the capital's social circles.
Top entrant and top graduate of the Imperial Academy.
Karim—no family name.
A handful of commoners admitted to the empire's premier academy under the banner of showcasing imperial grace were, naturally, prodigies renowned for their brilliance from childhood.
They once grew to bolster the empire's foundations. But as the capital's nobility hardened their grip, academy scholarship students from common or fallen noble stock became playthings for the crueler noble sons.
[What? That guy's top again? Have the professors lost their minds? This sympathy's gone too far!]
[So full of pointless pride. Make him pay dearly for refusing. He needs to learn that youthful arrogance can ruin his future.]
[Let's see that flimsy pride hold up. Though he'll have to figure out how not to starve first. Pfft!]
Karim was prime prey.
A commoner orphan with desert tribe blood in his veins—exotic looks, and a congenital limp.
Straight-laced to a fault, refusing to utter a single compromising word.
But what really made him a target was his brilliant mind.
The Imperial Academy's exams were unique.
Each test paper and answer sheet bore matching patterns. Students took the test paper home and submitted only the answer sheet.
Professors graded anonymously; students matched patterns to claim scores. A blind test born of the academy's peculiar hierarchy, where students often outranked professors.
[I swear I remember his handwriting from before...]
[Changed it again, the sneaky cat! So underhanded—just like desert stock.]
Karim toyed with those sneering professors and held the top spot to the end. But after graduation, despised by nobles, all he got were laughable offers.
Transcribing letters in elegant script for clients with awful handwriting at the post office.
Labeling reagents all day in a grumpy mage's lab.
Updating inventory endlessly in a capital junk shop's warehouse.
Not even tutoring gigs that went to other commoner alumni came his way.
Sabotage from noble classmates played a part, but the real issue was his mixed blood and disability.
After that, Karim drowned in drink forever.
Nothing else was allowed him.
“Ah, there you are. I've been waiting. Karim.”
“Sorry.”
“Sit. The servant who delivered it from Sir Thomas said this one's worth getting your hopes up for.”
“...Is that so.”
“Don't look like that. He said Thomas's face was brighter than ever while writing it.”
But Karim's expression stayed grim despite his friends' words.
‘The Bureau Chief and Deputy would never approve us.’
Sir Thomas meant well, but his bosses were rabid blood purists. Karim could only muster a bitter smile.
“I'll read it. Let's see... ‘I have words for you, so I've sent this letter—please hear me out...’?”
“This doesn't sound like a recommendation...”
“Let's hear it first. Keep going.”
But the opening felt off.
“Ahem. Continuing... ‘The south is a beautiful land. A free land. Among them lies a small village called Evergreen in the Sinclair Count's territory—have you heard of it? Right now there...’”
The reader, Karim, and the others were soon utterly engrossed.
At last, the voice stopped.
“...That's it.”
No one spoke easily.
But faint flushes colored their faces—excitement bubbling even from just listening.
“...We head south.”
Karim broke the silence.
“I'll see it with my own eyes and judge.”
“And if it's what you've dreamed of?”
His friends saw an expression on Karim they'd never witnessed.
A boy's face, tear-streaked and beaming, brimming with longing.
“If it's real... I'll stake this life without regret.”
“Ah, why are my ears itching all of a sudden?”
Dominic, frolicking resort-style inside, scratched at his ear.
“You dumped work on everyone else and laze about alone, so they're all griping.”
“Heh heh. I handed over full authority so they'd take ownership. They just misunderstand my true intent and twist it like this. Oh, it hurts. Such is a leader's life, eh? Mm. Gotta get used to it.”
With that, Dominic flopped back into the hammock.
“Hard to tell if you're actually doing everything then slacking.”
“I did it all, I swear. Look—Stonehammer's handling design and construction way better than I could.”
“...True.”
“Academy structure, rules, systems—Ferrot and the Old Lord are heads-down on it now, right?”
“You're the director—what're you doing?”
“I've never even been to an academy. Butting in would just disrupt. Too many cooks spoil the broth, you know? So right now, I'm not slacking—I'm waiting to ensure the ship launches safely.”
“How about some promotion? You need students...”
“Worried about no pupils already? Heh. Don't fret. The fishing co-op uncles and Anton Merchant Group are handling recruitment.”
“...Then what're you doing?”
“...School lunches?”
Dominic caught the look in Ian's eyes—the unspoken exasperation.
“Evergreen's Village Chief Dominic! By order of your lord, Sinclair Count!”
A stranger's voice shattered the quiet between them.
“Sigh...”
Quiet for a bit, huh.
Pulled him from village chief meetings for revitalization efforts, and now this.
“Coming, coming.”
At least they weren't dragging him by rope anymore?
‘This door's been a while.’
The lord's office door in the manor still exuded grandeur.
Fine wood, as always.
Creeeak.
‘Still no oil?’
Dominic wondered if it was deliberate as he bowed familiarly.
“I come before the lord of this land.”
“Sit comfortably.”
“Yes.”
But today, the lord's face was stern. A grave expression Dominic had never seen soured his casual mood. He rolled his eyes, scanning for issues.
“Heard you're pushing something fun.”
“If it's the academy, yes. The Old Lord's thrilled and encouraging it.”
“I'm pleased too—no need to hide behind Father.”
Good—no objections to the academy.
“But it's caused problems.”
“...Pardon?”
“Administrator.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At the count's order, stacks of papers appeared.
Piled right before Dominic.
“...What's all this?”
“Left side: requests from villages in the territory. Lists of folks wanting education once Evergreen's academy's done. Kids and adults alike.”
Names, ages, fields of interest—detailed by village.
‘These village chiefs!’
Always nitpicking in meetings, but look—they knew how to work.
As Dominic marveled,
“Right side: from other territories, sent to me since Evergreen lacks an admin office.”
“Ah...?”
“Amusing, isn't it, Village Chief? The lord handling village business.”
“S-sorry, my lord.”
The count chuckled at Dominic's reflexive apology.
“A bit of old-man worry here.”
“I'll listen closely.”
“Expand the academy. I don't know your plans, but make it bigger.”
“That's...”
“Heard you're doing work-study scholarships?”
“Yes.”
“I'll announce it territory-wide. Merchants and artisans will join your cause.”
“Thank you, my lord. But construction costs... I've poured in every coin, yet even the planned facilities are tight...”
His acting peaked whenever money loomed—Oscar-worthy inflection.
“Well played. You'd have made a fortune in trade. Or are you already? Ha ha. Good. Steward!”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Issue the Village Chief a draft.”
Dominic's philtrum twitched, but he held back the grin.
“Sorted now?”
“Yes, my lord.”
The officials replied.
“Let's avoid me handling village work again. How?”
“Sorry, my lord!”
Dominic bowed low once more.
‘Must've been a hassle.’
Not my fault—I didn't expect this! He wanted to protest but wisely kept it internal.
“Right. Evergreen needs a proper admin office.”
“...Yes?”
“Effective today, elevate Evergreen from village to town!”
The village just got promoted to town.