A Son Starving for Filial Duty (2)
A Son Starving for Filial Duty (2)
In the colossal mobile palanquin official residence, I concluded a new contract with the Carlton Marquisate.
It was a contract to supply 100,000 kegs (200 liters each) of beer every month.
The price was set at one-third of the marquisate's market rate for beer, and Rebecca's pupils shook with astonishment.
"If you sell it this cheap, what on earth is left for the Marshall family?"
Even if you just take it off my hands, I make 1 budget per keg.
'Budget duplication by discarding' was a headache, so honestly, I'm the grateful one here.
"We're hardly on ordinary terms, so I can at least do this much for you."
"But if you sell at a loss, won't the supply eventually get cut off? That's what worries me."
"It's not a loss. There will be no such thing, so please rest assured."
"Well, that's a relief."
Rebecca smiled, grinning broadly.
"Thanks to you selling it cheap, Piel, I can turn a middle profit, you know? And the territory's residents get quality drinking beer cheaper than before."
And I get to secure an additional 100,000 budget every month.
Everyone wins.
'The rebate is insane. This is why they say real military life starts at colonel...'
The impoverished Hildea was watching from the side, sweating nervously.
I smiled and reassured her.
"For the county, I'll release it free of charge. Consider it a retainer tax and accept it comfortably."
"Thank you, Colonel Piel."
Unlike other food items, the rebate beer doesn't require brain-breaking budget planning, so it's easier for me too.
No matter how much I release, it's always a net positive.
I casually sounded out the two women.
"You're not asking anything this time either."
"You mean, how you can supply so much beer so cheaply, something like that? Why should we be curious about that?"
"We're not fools who would split open a keg that births golden beer."
"The Commander-in-Chief is right. As long as we can drink it deliciously, that's all that matters."
"Having been implicated in rebellion, fallen, and then revived—if the one bestowing grace were to suspect us, I think I'd feel true disgust. If I were a Marshall, that is."
"Yeah, yeah, we're not fools."
"...."
I gazed at the two women for a moment, then brought my face closer and whispered softly.
"Someday... I hope the day comes when I can share the secret with the two of you as well."
"...."
"...."
This must have been unexpected, as both were silent.
Hildea grasped both of my elbows and met my eyes.
"I will not wait for that day."
"I won't be curious about it either."
"I am simply grateful to you and the Marshall family, just for helping from alongside."
"A she-wolf does not interrogate the male wolf about where he fetched the prey. She simply receives it and eats it deliciously with the cubs."
I could feel that the trust these two women had in me was greater than my own caution.
Maybe it was because we'd grown closer through the daily massages.
'Perhaps it's thanks to all the frequent skinship...'
"Anyway, Colonel Piel, what do you plan to do with the 2 years' worth of rye for 100,000 men, the week's worth of livestock, and the 100,000 gold coins that the Noble Council is to provide?"
"Well, that's for Hildea-nim to..."
"It is not mine. It is your spoils of war. However, as Commander-in-Chief, I am curious how you will use it."
Since they're important strategic assets for the territory... well, is that right?
Anyway, as a feudal lord, it's a perfectly natural curiosity.
"Then I'll give the rye to the county and keep the livestock. Not to eat, but to try breeding them to increase the number of livestock."
"Mm-hmm. And?"
"You keep the gold coins, Hildea-nim."
At that, Hildea jumped up.
"I have no need for that much gold! Just use it yourself!"
"The county's finances are impoverished, so please just take it. I have the gold coins I receive from Carlton Marquis-nim, and unlike you, Hildea-nim, I have many sources of income."
What matters most to me is not gold coins, but population.
Since all supply budgets come from headcount, my top priority for expenditure lies there.
Selling supplies externally for the purpose of securing gold coins was never an option to begin with.
'But the rebate beer is different.'
Sell it as drinking water to other regions and secure both budget and gold coins at the same time!
That's a complete win.
'Hiding the place of origin is the problem. I can't sell it in kegs, so I'd have to put it in regular wooden barrels, but then shelf life becomes an issue.'
Low-alcohol drinks oxidize quickly upon contact with air and turn into vinegar.
That's why, in this era, alcohol made for consumption is produced and consumed immediately.
'I'll have to think about the distribution method too. It's not urgent right now anyway.'
Rebecca gave me a mana massage with more devotion than usual.
Her face was full of joy.
"Thanks to Piel, I get to pocket the beer distribution profits, and my territory's residents save on the barley they'd use to make beer. Our territory's food situation is going to get even better."
"Carlton Marquis-nim, please stop encroaching on my territory. I'm doing the massage here."
"We're taking turns anyway, what's the harm if I touch a little?"
Chiiik. Chiiik.
While I was leisurely receiving the mana massage, the composite radio hailed me.
I reached out while still lying down and brought the wired microphone over.
"This is Marshall. The little boy is not yet."
-This is Dvill Colonel. To the one chasing the Tsar.
Since it was open shortwave communication, after confirming minimal communication security with cipher.
-Colonel Marshall, Count Anbelrum has made an insane proposal.
"What kind of proposal?"
-He asked if I wouldn't marry Elenoa and become the matrilocal son-in-law of the county.
"...!"
It was so shocking that even the hands of the two women kneading away at the massage stopped.
I, too, froze for a moment, then fury boiled up inside me.
'No, no matter how good a man Lord Deville is, you're trying to attach our noona to a married man in his forties?'
I was momentarily enraged at Count Anbelrum, then my heart suddenly went cold.
"Objectively, that's far too absurd. Count Anbelrum, if nothing else, is exceedingly calculating and materialistic.
Our noona may not be on Hildea-nim's level, but she's still a recognized swordsmanship prodigy and the heir—I can't imagine he'd try to secure Lord Deville by giving away a noona like that."
There's something. Something is definitely going on.
As expected, Lord Deville's troubled voice followed.
-The Count is mistaking me for a Sword Master.
"What? How could he mistake that?"
The Aura Blade—the proof of a Sword Master.
Neither a Mana Sword nor an Aura Sword, but the flame of aura that engulfs the entire blade in a blazing mantle.
That absolutely cannot be faked.
-During Mandrake training, I used the Aura Blade exactly once. Of course, after the Mandrake effect wore off, it was impossible to reproduce.
This can't be.
Lord Deville became a temporary Sword Master?
-The Count saw that and misunderstood, and I didn't exactly rush to correct him. But then things turned out like this...
Just like how I was dragged into the military, my noona's will means nothing.
Suddenly, I felt an intense longing to see 'abeoji.'
"Please draw a clear line. I hope my noona won't be pressured over this matter."
-Understood. I'll take a stronger stance.
We exchanged a few more words, then ended the communication.
"...."
"...."
The two women's hands, which had stopped, began moving again.
But instead of my whole body's muscles relaxing, they stiffened with tension.
"Piel, how about paying a visit to the count's family?"
"What? Me? Go there?"
"You've been wanting to go for a while now, haven't you, Piel?"
"But..."
"Right now, your face is in exactly that state of wanting to go right now and beat your biological father to a pulp, isn't it?"
"...."
Hildea massaged my shoulders and murmured softly.
"Colonel Piel, is it perhaps because it's too far?"
"...Yes, that's part of it."
From here, the Dwein River, to the unit would take several days even traveling leisurely by palanquin official residence.
If Hildea carried me on her back and ran, we could get there within half a day.
But the county is much farther south.
If something happened in my new home, Einshvan, I wouldn't be able to respond nimbly.
"Don't worry about Einshvan. We have the mortar knights, and there's plenty of food and shells you've stockpiled."
"Even so..."
"It's fine."
Hildea took my hand.
Soft, warm, long fingers.
"Colonel Piel. Let's show the Count clearly just how foolish a choice he made."
"Yeah, yeah. I still don't get it. Did the Count really not know the true power of the Marshall family at all?"
"Trust the knights of the North. With the stockpiled supplies you've built up, they can endure a brief leave of absence just fine."
"That's right. And you also have the communication magic tool, so you can stay in contact instantly, right?"
Rebecca took my other hand.
"Come with me. I'll press down on the Count with the authority of a marquis."
"Huh? Why would Piel go with Carlton Marquis-nim?"
"The Commander-in-Chief has to stay in Einshvan and defend it, right? One of us two has to stay behind."
"Carlton Marquis-nim, you stay."
"I'm a marquis, you know."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Wouldn't going together with a marquis rather than a count make it easier to press down on Count Anbelrum?"
"A Sword Master can press down on a duke, too."
And so, a power struggle broke out between them over who would accompany me to the county.
A competition between two women whose mouths sprout thorns if they go a single day without eating a Marshall Burger.
All sorts of wildly creative reasons came out...
"I'm better at massages."
"I'm better at it now!"
"You learned it from me. A student can't beat the original."
"Colonel Piel said my massage feels more refreshing."
"Piel, is that true?"
I had been watching with great interest, but realized it couldn't go on, so I mediated.
"I'll go with Hildea-nim. She is my direct superior and liege, and also a Sword Master..."
"So in an emergency, she can carry Piel on her back and return quickly. I understand."
Surprisingly, Rebecca conceded readily, which flustered both Hildea and me.
Rebecca looked back and forth between the two of us, smiled softly, and continued kneading the massage with the hand that wasn't holding mine.
"I was just teasing the Commander-in-Chief a little."
"Eeek...!"
"For Piel's security and rapid return, a Sword Master is far better than a Bow Master. When it comes to carrying someone on your back and running, I'd be several times slower."
"Why on earth did you play that prank?"
"Hmm, the conditions of being the legal wife?"
"P-Piel will marry the territory I gave him!"
...Well, I was planning to check later whether the supply cheat is inheritable anyway.
But I couldn't bring myself to throw cold water on Hildea while she was huffing and puffing like that.
***
And so, I decided to go to my old hometown, carried on Hildea's back.
I scraped together every last bit of my remaining budget, including the 4 million emergency savings, and bought flour, beer, and shells.
【Available Budget: 0】
With this, even if I'm not in the North, wouldn't it be the same as if I were?
'Anyway, new budget comes in a few days from now.'
"If there's even the slightest danger, please don't hide it and tell me. Please don't conceal the dangers to my hometown out of consideration for me."
The two women seemed slightly moved by those words.
"Understood. I'll do that."
Suddenly, Rebecca spread both her arms wide and embraced me face-to-face.
"Carlton Marquis-nim! Right now, to my duty officer...!"
"Hold on. I'm staying here, after all."
"Kgh... I'll let it slide just this once."
Rebecca's embrace was warm, soft, and carried an immensely huge pressure.
We'd had plenty of skinship through mana massages, but this was the first time we'd embraced face-to-face like this.
Awkwardly unsure where to put my hands, I hesitated, then carefully wrapped my arms around her back as well.
"You have to come back healthy, okay?"
"...Please don't raise flags."
"Flag? What do you mean?"
"...It's nothing."
The soldiers were neatly organizing the supplies I had scraped my budget dry to pour out.
Within half a day, the unit mages would arrive and simplify the transport using storage warehouse magic.
My A-rank soldier, Corporal Baren, was thoroughly supervising the quantities alongside the supply department soldiers.
"Have a safe trip, Piel."
Rebecca, who had been holding me for a long while, let me go.
Leaving behind Rebecca, smiling brightly and waving her hand, I climbed onto Hildea's back.
Hildea hung her own luggage bag around her neck and carried it in front, secured me firmly on her back, and stepped onto the surface of the vast Dwein River.
Feather Step—it really is absurdly overpowered.
No, the Sword Master itself is what's absurdly overpowered.
Abeoji's voice surfaced in my memory.
「Do you understand, Piel? Never look upon the lands south of the Dwein River again.」
'Abeoji... right now, your illegitimate son is crossing the Dwein River riding an amphibious vehicle.'
I am going to my hometown.
Riding Hildea, the strongest tank of this era.