How Much Is Enough? (4)
The night Roy finished crafting his staff, the Baron summoned him to his study.
He had something to give him.
"What is this?"
"What else? Something I had specially made to mark your enrollment."
Roy's mouth fell open.
It was a sword.
Come to think of it, Anna had received one last year, and Jerry long before that. Gifting a fine blade before departure for the Knight Academy was practically an old tradition among the kingdom's nobility.
"But... haven't you heard the news yet?"
"You mean the staff? That's one thing, this is another. In a moment of true danger, nothing is faster than a sword."
Not true. The fastest thing is a guardian amulet that senses damage and activates on its own. The one I never take off my body.
"Thank you. I'll treasure it."
Outwardly Roy smiled, but inside he had a great deal more to say.
Why give me this now? I'm already swamped imbuing runes into the staff. Without a proper enchantment, a sword like this is just decoration.
"You look dissatisfied."
"Not at all. I'll carry it with care."
"Good. Don't lose it. Since you handed the one I gave you before to another child, I ordered this one specially."
He was referring to the birthday sword Roy had given Lily. And he had gone out of his way to prepare an even finer blade to compensate.
Roy's curiosity stirred. He carefully opened the box the Baron handed him and folded back the fine cloth inside.
A sword whose grip was banded in gold met his eyes. The scabbard was not gaudy, yet clean and elegant. Most striking of all was the Greenhilt family crest stamped upon it.
A custom piece?
Shrring—
He drew the blade. The straight edge spoke of a true craftsman's hand. Even without calling upon his Golden Eyes, Roy could feel that this was a fine sword.
"It's a good sword."
"I tracked down the finest blacksmith in the kingdom to make it. Took considerable effort."
The Baron rarely spoke in such terms. Which meant that this time he had truly gone all out.
"Thank you."
"Even to my eye, this is an excellent sword. But for it to become a legendary blade, the character of the one who wields it matters just as much. I hope you will make this sword worthy of that name."
"I will."
"What's with that look? I am not telling you to slap powerful magic onto it!"
"I know. Even if I enchanted it, people would only praise Master Geren. Would anyone call the sword itself legendary? Besides, I don't have the materials for a proper enchantment right now anyway."
"Hm. Fair enough."
"In any case, I'll put it to good use."
Roy bowed with proper courtesy, and the Baron smiled. Then the two of them spoke at length for the first time in what felt like ages—their first real conversation since Roy's winter visit to the witch's house.
"Even with your increased mana, that place is a den of monsters. Above all, never give them the slightest pretext to attack you."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The Baron went on to list the things Roy would need to watch for at the Knight Academy. In truth, Roy already knew them well. Arrogant nobles who looked down on those beneath them existed in every age and every place. He had only to think of the greedy men in his previous life who had schemed to monopolize his technology. Even while plots and intrigue swirled around them, they had smiled and shaken hands—then turned and stabbed without hesitation. Roy had stood in the middle of it all and learned more than he cared to remember.
"You should be more careful than I am, Father. Once the reclamation project ends and grain production truly rises, the pressure from the neighboring nobles will grow far worse than it is now. The ones I'll face are still children. The ones you have to deal with are the great houses that fly and crawl with power. Even now they're throwing every obstacle they can at our territory's ventures."
"Haah... And how did you learn of that? I don't recall telling you..."
The Baron exhaled a heavy sigh and muttered as if soothing himself.
"Don't worry. As lord of this land, I'll handle it."
"And you need not worry about me. I intend to keep my head down at the Academy and come home quietly."
Roy smiled with confident ease, hoping to ease his father's mind. It had the opposite effect.
"...Please, just do that."
The Baron had no idea what schemes hid behind that expression. All he could do was pray that the four years in the capital would pass without incident.
At last the day of departure for the capital arrived.
"Here. The ten percent in gold I promised."
Roy handed over the agreed share of gold coins. As lord, the Baron had never reduced taxes simply because the business belonged to his son. Fairness was part of the reason, but a stronger motive lay beneath: he wanted a clear picture of Roy's sales and income. Using taxes as a pretext gave him legitimate grounds to examine the ledgers.
The numbers no longer added up.
"This is all?"
"Pardon? Four hundred gold pieces are 'all' to you, Father?"
"No—it's two hundred short of what I expected. Where did you sell off the two thousand gold coins? When we traveled together in winter, the rough calculations matched, didn't they?"
"That was then. I've already spent them. The deal was that I would settle accounts right before leaving for the Knight Academy, so this is ten percent of what remains."
"What?"
The Baron pressed a hand to his forehead. His son had outmaneuvered him again. To think the boy would spend money just to shrink the amount he owed. Of course Roy had not deliberately spent it for that purpose—but it still rankled.
And more than that—
"You spent two thousand gold coins in a mere three months?"
"Yes."
"On what, exactly?"
"A great many things. As you know, the magic I place on weapons for sale is very different from the magic I place on weapons for myself. The materials alone cost more than you can imagine."
"You call that an answer? Do you realize two thousand gold coins is several years' operating budget for this entire manor?"
"You already know this story, Father, but the fee I paid a few days ago for the staff I'll be using was substantial. I also made a generous donation to the temple. Ah, and I distributed some coin among the servants—a token of gratitude for their hard work while I grew up. I even invested a little in Master Geren's romantic endeavors. And that wasn't all. Everyone connected to the business received a bonus. Of course I also gave Mother and my second mother some spending money."
"...You throw it around like water."
"Money, properly spent, returns larger than before. I consider all of this investment."
The Baron regarded him with a meaningful look, as though Roy had been buying loyalty. Yet if the boy truly succeeded him one day as the next lord of the territory, more than a few people would rejoice. At the very least, most of the household staff would welcome him with open arms.
"Very well. But thrift is important as well. And—"
"I know. This is money I earned selling goods while burning precious mana in a basement. I have no intention of wasting it."
"If you understand, that's enough. I won't say more."
The Baron decided simply to accept it. He had never meant to quibble over a mere two hundred gold coins in the first place.
Roy's reaction, however, was different. He stepped out of the study for a moment and returned with a large leather pouch, which he set heavily before the Baron. The solid weight and the clink of metal left no doubt what it contained.
"What is this?"
"Five hundred gold coins."
"Why?"
"For investment. In the territory reclamation project you're running."
"What!?"
"I'm not simply giving it to you. It's an investment. You don't need to return the money, of course—I'm putting it out for the future."
"The future?"
"Yes. Beyond the Wolf Forest lies a river, and past that river is monster territory, isn't it?"
"It is."
"So I'm investing in advance. Against the day the Wolf Forest is reclaimed."
"...That isn't part of the plan."
"If this venture succeeds, we'll have to reclaim that land too, won't we? There's a river right beside it—easy water, good farmland."
"On land crawling with monsters beyond the river?"
"Once I form my own party, we'll clear it out."
"Ha. Your dreams are grand."
"Didn't you always tell me to dream big?"
"I suppose I did..."
The Baron accepted the gold coins Roy had laid on the table. The future was uncertain, but his son spoke with such confidence that he decided to look forward to it—to see what kind of force Roy would build and bring home in four years' time.
"Ah, and I'm taking Misha to the capital as well."
"The maid? It would be better to hire one once you arrive. Leaving her hometown may weigh on her."
"It's fine. She and I have already settled the matter. I only need your permission."
"If she wishes to go, I won't stop her... but you didn't buy her with money, did you?"
"...If not for a time like this, when would you spend money? Winning people to your side is the hardest thing in the world. If a few coins can manage it, you buy."
"...You're not wrong. Still, I find myself curious how much you gave her."
"You're better off not knowing."
The Baron pressed a hand to his forehead once more. The boy had almost certainly scattered an unimaginable sum. Perhaps once his son vanished to the capital, the headaches would at least grow a little less frequent.
His mind was a tangled mess.