Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Lacking Conversation (1)
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All the banquets had come to an end.
Federback, uncharacteristically, mingled in conversations with noble boys and girls his age.
Countless young ladies wanted to talk with Federback, and just as many young men felt the same.
On the way back home after the banquets ended,
people were all saying the same thing.
"There's no one in the Meursault territory who can match Young Master Federback among his peers."
"His peers? Even if you look at the generation above, and the one above that, there won't be anyone."
"Federback seemed like a decent guy. I thought he was skilled but hot-tempered, but he wasn't."
"I got a whole new look at the young master of the Meursault House today. Dare I say, he's worthy of being my friend!"
Whether women or men, young or old, everyone was praising Federback.
They talked about him nonstop all the way home, their mouths running dry.
And there was someone watching them from a high window.
"It's all about you."
Soleil.
He smiled contentedly and drew the curtains over the window.
In the patriarch's office, located high in the castle, only Soleil and Federback were present.
"......"
Federback stood there at Soleil's summons.
Soon, Soleil spoke.
"I still can't believe it. A mithril mine, of all things."
"It's true."
"Of course it is. It's not that I doubt your word. It's just that this reality feels a bit surreal."
Soleil went over the details Federback had investigated once more.
"It's been decades since a proper mithril vein was discovered. The entire empire is suffering from an extreme mithril shortage."
"Just the reserves I confirmed with my own eyes in the Beauvoir mine district are enough to resolve the mithril crisis in one go."
"Truly... what an astonishing thing. To think such a secret was hidden in the land where our ancestors are buried."
Mithril was the ultimate super-rare ore, holding the highest rank among all resources.
Beyond weapons for war, it was essential for materials in magic used for roads, buildings, and construction, as well as the medical industry.
Simply possessing a mithril mine could completely reverse a territory's fortunes.
Federback continued.
"Even if you combined the output of every mithril mine discovered so far, it wouldn't match Beauvoir. And some of it was even in high-purity form."
With that, Federback placed a few chunks of purple ore on Soleil's desk.
They emitted a faint purple glow—undeniably pure mithril ingots.
Soleil picked them up with trembling hands.
"These things... there were really this many in the mine?"
"So many I couldn't take them all in at a glance. We need to send miners as soon as possible to start extraction."
"The mana concentration in the air around Meurso Mountain is unusually high. That's why ores with such high mana affinity can be exposed to the atmosphere like this."
Soleil pushed the mithril ingots on the desk back toward Federback.
"Use these as you wish. If you need more, just tell the administrative office. I'll tell them to give you anything."
"Thank you."
"Planning to make a sword and shield with them?"
"......"
Federback nodded at Soleil's words.
He planned to forge a usable sword and shield from the fangs and scales he obtained after slaying the ice dragon Adara.
Adding mithril would make them even better.
Soleil nodded.
"In any case, we'll assemble a mining team as quickly as possible. No, we should select people to build an entire mining village."
"Rorschach has probably already started preparations."
"That child... I see. No wonder he's been so busy these past few days. You two work together seamlessly."
Soleil grinned at Federback's words.
Then, in a low voice, he asked,
"This father approves, for now."
"?"
"Your intentions matter most, though. Give it your best."
"......"
Federback merely nodded without replying.
Thud— thud— thud— thud—
Federback left the patriarch's chambers at the top of the main keep and headed down the corridor leading to the outer keep.
Whoosh...
A cold wind blew from beyond the stone walls, rustling the conifers in the garden.
Federback stopped in front of a corridor window.
"Sister."
Across the corridor stood Cardina.
Her usually expressionless face bore an awkward smile today.
"Want to walk together for a bit?"
"......"
As Federback resumed walking, Cardina matched his stride.
The lanterns along the corridor cast her shadow long across the floor.
Federback spoke first.
"Sorry about the sword."
"Huh? What sword?"
"Baekrin."
Before the expedition, Cardina had lent Federback her beloved sword 'Baekrin (White Scales)'.
And Baekrin had fulfilled its role as a famed blade before vanishing.
"The culprit that turned the Beauvoir mine district into an uninhabitable place was the ice dragon."
"......"
"And I was able to pierce the ice dragon's heart with the sword you gave me."
"......"
"Without it, I couldn't have slain the dragon. Though Baekrin melted piercing its heart, it saved my life."
"......"
Cardina's expression shifted several times as she listened.
But there was no trace of regret over the sword.
Finally, she spoke.
"The sword doesn't matter. I'm just glad you came back alive."
Her usually stiff tone softened a little.
But as if it had never happened, the cold wind through the window froze her words stiff again.
"More importantly, I came because I have something to ask."
"What is it?"
"It's about the family."
Cardina stopped and turned to Federback.
Under the pouring moonlight, she asked,
"The Five Fingers of the North are making moves."
"......"
Federback nodded.
The Five Fingers of the North, or the Five Fingers of Meursault.
They referred to the houses of Portofino, Furo Sange, Modificata, Daytona, and Levarb.
With the Levarb House, which had shifted to a merchant stance, on the verge of disintegration thanks to Federback, they might now be called four fingers.
Cardina said,
"Those who were once vassals of the Meursault House are showing suspicious activity."
"The houses of Portofino, Furo Sange, and Modificata, I assume."
"......You knew?"
Federback nodded at Cardina's words.
"Many of the prisoners I took on the expedition were connected to those houses. I got all sorts of information from them."
"Right. The Levarb House, which you already crushed once, is quiet. Daytona too. The other three are ramping up military activity. They've even arranged political marriages among themselves."
"Rorschach reported that each house is expanding their forces. It was expected."
"I moved as soon as I grasped the situation. Increased troops and multiplied surveillance on the border regions. I've blocked them from expanding further for now... but I doubt they'll comply obediently."
"Naturally."
Federback nodded.
Humans are ultimately black-haired beasts.
They don't come to their senses until a blade touches their neck.
No, even when it's severed.
As Federback was lost in thought, Cardina spoke.
"The reason I'm telling you this... is to burden you with it."
"Burden?"
"I'm planning to hand over scouting and containment duties for those three houses to you."
"......?"
Federback tilted his head.
Diligent Cardina handing off her own duties to someone else was unimaginable, even for a regressor.
Especially since it was a task she handled with strong sense of duty and expertise.
But her following words were even more unexpected.
"You can handle containing Portofino, Furo Sange, and Modificata. The duties I've handled so far can only be entrusted to you. No, 'rely on' is more accurate."
"First time I've seen you trust and rely on someone, Sister."
"Yeah."
Cardina bowed her head.
In the moonlight, she resembled a finely honed blade, and the faint smile on her lips evoked the tassel on a sword hilt.
Then, she asked,
"You're not asking why I'm handing you this duty."
"If it's you, Sister, there must be a reason."
"......"
Cardina nodded at Federback's nodding words.
"Right. I'm planning to head to Meurso Mountain, the abandoned Beauvoir mines. To lead miners and their families there and build a mining village."
"!"
Federback's eyes widened slightly.
Meurso Mountain was dangerous.
They had subjugated the ice dragon Adara, but not all the monsters inhabiting it.
With Adara gone, yetis, sasquatches, frozen horrors, and other threats would roam the snowy plains more actively.
Cardina said,
"I'll keep slaying monsters until Beauvoir becomes a peaceful land where our people can live without worry."
"Your sword won't dry of blood anytime soon."
"It can't. Every drop I spill saves a child's life."
"It's a harsh place, so prepare thoroughly. You'll need fox-tail sleeping bags too."
"Advice from someone with experience helps a lot. I plan to train my swordsmanship there until I'm sick of it. When we meet next, I'll be completely different."
Cardina took a breath.
Then, in a serious tone, she continued.
"Federback."
"Yeah."
"Don't let them take it."
Their gazes met.
Cardina said,
"Don't let them take anything you've achieved. Not a single thing."
"......"
Those words forced Federback to recall the past.
The hero, mage, saintess who sent him back in time, sacrificing the present, and all his expedition comrades.
They had said the same.
'......You'll get it once you regress, right? Don't screw up like before.'
'......Take it all, sweep it all away. Monopolize everything.'
'......Remember studying history with me every night on the way here? Never forget.'
Federback smiled faintly.
"I'm sick of having things taken. For a while, taking them myself will be more fun."
"Good."
Cardina patted Federback's shoulder.
At this point, after the Meurso Mountain expedition, Federback was just a bit taller than Cardina.
Federback returned to his room.
He washed with hot water for the first time in a while and applied scented oil to his body.
'......She's changed a lot from the sister I knew before regressing.'
In the past, Federback hadn't been close to Cardina.
Pre-regression Federback had been consumed by an artist's affliction, squandering the family fortune on paintings and instruments, doing nothing for the house.
Meanwhile, Cardina had shouldered all the family affairs in his place, living a hectic life.
So Federback had felt very uncomfortable around her.
He envied and feared his sister who handled flawlessly the duties he should have but couldn't.
But after regressing, his impression of Cardina changed.
A person bearing too much for her young age.
Someone who lived so desperately, diligently, faithfully, yet perished in mere months when the Demon War broke out—a tragic genius.
'I have to make sure fate doesn't follow that path this time.'
Federback lay on the bed, thinking.
He had given Cardina the family's secret swordsmanship manual and lightened her unnecessary workload.
Now she could focus solely on her own growth.
In the process of subjugating the abandoned mines on Meurso Mountain, her blade would be honed sharper than ever.
'Hopefully, it becomes a good opportunity for both of us.'
Federback closed his eyes.
Right then.
Knock knock knock—
Someone knocked on the door.
Federback replied without opening his eyes.
"......What is it at this late hour?"
"When does work care about the time?"
The knock was mere formality; the door opened without waiting for a reply.
Rorschach leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking at Federback.
"You took my reports well during the expedition, but now that you're back, you can't even meet me once?"
His expression seemed somewhat sulky.