Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Not even two weeks had passed since the dwarves settled into MacLaine Town, and already hundreds of crossbows were being produced daily.
Thus, Logan's proposed militia training officially began.
"But if we're training, doesn't that mean we'll be mobilized for war too?"
"Ah, what nonsense. Our territory is neutral, right? Neutral! Don't you know what neutral means?"
"Still, I can't help feeling uneasy."
"It's just a militia."
"What does that matter? The important thing is we get paid just for archery training."
"Well, it's not like we have much else to do in winter anyway. Works out fine, I'd say."
Murmur, murmur.
The gathered men huddled together in small groups, chatting idly as they shielded themselves from the biting wind.
Then, a knight accompanied by five soldiers appeared before them, pulling a cart.
"Are you the men from Tanri Village?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Then we'll begin training now."
The cold wind gnawed at their skin.
The knight, clearly not in the mood for lengthy explanations, immediately pulled a crossbow from the cart.
"This is the rapid-fire crossbow used by our MacLaine soldiers. Tanri Village has been assigned five training crossbows. Starting today, you'll train with these."
For most of the men gathered, this was their first time seeing a rapid-fire crossbow in person.
But rumors of MacLaine's explosive growth—fueled in part by these very crossbows—had already spread quietly among the territory's people.
Eyes filled with curiosity instantly fixed on the weapon.
And then—
"These rarely break, but even if they do, replacements will be provided immediately. There's no need to handle them delicately. Lord Logan's orders are clear: thorough training comes first, not the condition of the equipment. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Most of the men answered loudly without much thought.
But one among them had his eyes gleaming particularly bright at the words, "Replacements will be provided immediately."
"Reports indicate both militia and soldier training are proceeding smoothly. However, there's been an issue in one area."
"An issue?"
"In Tanri Village near Tesron Castle, some individuals falsely reported their training crossbows as broken, intending to steal and sell them. They've been caught."
"......The rapid-fire crossbows? For how much?"
"Huh? Is the price the issue here?"
Logan chuckled at Dwain's reaction.
"Why? If they're expensive, maybe we should sell some too—just kidding! Joke!"
"......The knight who grew suspicious during the third resupply caught both the seller and the buyer. How should we handle them?"
"Execution."
"What?"
"Make an example of them. Ensure no one dares try something like this again."
"But isn't that too extreme? Crossbows are already spreading among factions in the civil war. Soon, they'll appear on battlefields anyway—"
"We need to set a precedent now. It's not about the crossbow itself. The act of smuggling the family's weapons is the problem."
"......."
Dwain fell silent at Logan's firm, unyielding tone.
"Dwain. Soon, we'll begin developing a new weapon. This one is far more important than the crossbows—it absolutely cannot be leaked. Consider this punishment a warning for that."
"A new... weapon?"
"Yes, a new weapon. The rapid-fire crossbow's design is simpler than you'd think. It's a miracle they haven't been replicated elsewhere already. Sooner or later, everyone will copy it."
Especially the Empire—they've probably already started.
"So we need a new weapon."
One only we know about. A secret weapon the Empire won't see coming.
Dwain bit back the words "That's not so easy" before they could escape his throat.
After all, the Grand Duke before him had already achieved the impossible once.
So doing it again wouldn't be strange.
This baseless faith in Logan stirred Dwain's imagination, and soon, he found himself wondering what this new weapon might look like.
But Logan never spoke of it again—at least, not to those who weren't directly involved.
- By order of the territory: Pedersen of Tanri Village is sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle military secrets outside the territory.
The news of an execution—for something as seemingly minor as stealing supplies—sent waves through the territory.
The Grand Duke's first display of extreme punishment since reviving the territory.
Some whispered cautiously that this was the true nature of the man who had fought four battles in three years to expand his lands.
But rumors from the most recently conquered region—Vifros's domain—never spread beyond its borders, quickly dismissed.
Because more residents were relieved by MacLaine's lowered taxes and neutrality declaration than angered by the conquest.
As a result, Logan's intended message—leaking territory secrets means death—began to settle into the minds of the people more naturally than expected.
- Where else is safer or better to live than our territory right now?
As bizarre rumors about the civil war began circulating, external threats subtly united the territory's people—who had lived under different rulers their whole lives.
And the Grand Duke, backed by this majority support, remained tirelessly focused on developing a "new weapon for war" in the Golem Tower at the town's center.
"No. No. That's not the right feel. It needs to vibrate when a certain level of impact is applied, then—boom!—after a set time. Is that so hard?!"
Yes, it's fucking hard, you lunatic.
Hamar barely swallowed the curse on his tongue.
Where did this madman get another insane idea? Now he was demanding they develop an impossible weapon.
The only silver lining was that he wasn't suffering alone this time.
"So you want the effect of at least a 2nd-Circle spell... but at one-tenth the cost of a 1st-Circle scroll? What kind of—?"
Clayton stared at Logan with an expression that screamed, Are you out of your mind?
"I've already listed all the materials it roughly requires. Is it still difficult?"
"You also said you weren't 100% certain. Besides, compounds can exhibit entirely different properties based on mixing ratios—even without magical intervention."
Clayton held back from adding, Do I really need to explain this? out of respect for Logan's pride.
But the near-delusional insistence showed no signs of backing down.
"I've used it before. It's definitely possible!"
Hamar shuddered the moment those words left Logan's mouth.
Uh... I feel like I've heard this before.
A terrible sense of déjà vu washed over him.
"Where? I've never seen or heard of such a thing. If it existed, we mages would've been all over it!"
Right. Obviously.
But I think I already know his next answer.
Hamar's unease deepened as—
"I'm certain. I've seen it. It has to be possible!"
—Logan spat out the exact response he'd anticipated.
"Ha... seriously..."
"What in the...?"
The mage and the dwarf clutched their heads in unison.
This dialogue—highlighting the stark difference between an experienced user and the developers—continued for days.
"So, applying pressure to the palm changes its color to red... and it explodes after about five seconds?"
"Yes. There was probably some magical intervention, but only minimal—just enough to detect impact on the surface. The mana recoil felt about that level."
"......."
"What?"
"The way you describe it... it really does sound like you've used it before. Damn it..."
Oh, I've used it alright. In my past life.
Logan smiled bitterly at the resurfacing memories.
The weapon he was trying to create with Clayton and Hamar was Liberatio—Latin for liberation.
An ancient explosive that, a decade into the Empire War, became the Grandia Liberation Front's signature weapon, causing the Empire endless headaches.
'Couldn't liberate the homeland, but sure liberated the souls of those Imperial bastards.'
Its effectiveness was proven in his past life.
The problem, however—
'I've handled procurement missions and used plenty of finished products... but I don't know who made them or how.'
The creator of Liberatio was known only to a select few in the Liberation Front.
Regrettably, Logan hadn't been among them.
He'd even asked Louis Hyon—the Sword Duke's adjutant and Liberation Front commander in his past life—just in case.
- Someone who can make strange devices? You mean a mage? Uh... I don't really know any mages.
A dead end.
But he couldn't give up.
Liberatio's estimated production cost was 50 gold.
A steep price for a disposable weapon, but dirt-cheap considering its impact.
In his past life, Louis Hyon had lamented countless times: 'If only we could've mass-produced these bombs when the country was still intact...'
Now, MacLaine had the funds for such an investment.
'I know the materials and characteristics. That should be enough.'
Logan wasn't a fool.
He knew that even in cooking, the same ingredients could yield vastly different results—let alone a dangerous weapon like this.
But he also had faith.
'Liberatio's design was undoubtedly inspired by ancient dwarven weapons.'
His gaze flicked to Hamar, then shifted sideways.
'And while I don't know who made them, I'm certain the creator was an earth mage.'
And the most capable earth mage he knew was standing right in front of him: Clayton.
With these two combined, he believed they could pull it off—even if it took time.
'If not, we'll just have to keep strengthening the territory's power.'
Logan was confident it would work.
Above all, he remembered the sensation of using the bombs in his past life with eerie clarity.
Every detail.
'Well... given how I died, maybe it's not so strange.'
Suppressing the unpleasant memory, he did his best to convey every nuance to Clayton and Hamar.
Now, all he could do was trust and wait.
While Logan busied himself strengthening the territory's foundations, the eastern and western factions' civil war escalated.
The frontlines, stretching from the north to the central regions, soon spread southward, sparking sporadic battles everywhere.
The elite forces of both factions, concentrated in the central region, clashed repeatedly near Harun Castle—a royal demesne.
The decisive, all-out battle everyone expected never came.
Though the fighting was fierce, the two factions' strengths were bizarrely evenly matched.
Neither side's leadership wanted mutual destruction, so they probed for weaknesses, engaging in brief skirmishes.
The ones suffering weren't the great nobles with vast territories—but the minor nobles and small estates beneath them.
And it was precisely in this climate that Logan's next move gained even greater significance.
"Talented people are losing their masters and ending up on the streets."
"So you're planning to recruit them?"
"Oh? How'd you guess?"
"After serving you this long, it's obvious. But even if there are talented people out there, why would they come here? They'd just join other nobles from their original faction."
Rick puffed up slightly at Logan's approving tone, but Logan shook his head.
"That's only true for those who still hold grudges."
"Huh?"
"Many won't have strong attachments to their former houses. Those kinds of people will go wherever the conditions are better."
"And now that we've taken Vifros, our family is one of the wealthiest in the kingdom. We're not even fighting right now. The conditions are better here."
When Rick replied indifferently, Logan stared at him.
"......What?"
"Nothing. Just surprised you can say things like that."
"Hmph. If I'm going to be Chief Steward someday, this is basic. Especially for the Chief Steward of a great house ruling nine castles."
Logan clicked his tongue internally at Rick's smug grin.
'Dream on.'
Of course, as the Grand Duke's personal attendant, Rick would naturally become Chief Steward if Logan became lord.
In MacLaine, the Chief Steward was merely a head butler overseeing servants across all estates—but with the territory's growth, even that required basic competence.
Naturally, Rick lacked such competence, so someone else would have to teach him.
Currently, Vector—the current Chief Steward—was handling that.
But.
'You idiot. I don't plan on becoming lord.'
He'd accepted the heir position and regency out of necessity, but Logan's sights were set further ahead.
Even now, closing his eyes brought back images of his brother—the one who had rebuilt their ruined family alone, who had fought to the end to protect both house and country before being dragged away.
'This isn't my place. It's Ronian's.'
Logan still felt that becoming MacLaine's head would mean stealing his brother's rightful position.
Moreover, he had no intention of "settling down" with the MacLaine family.
'Help MacLaine. Raise it up. Make it great. And use that as a stepping stone to...'
A desire he couldn't voice to anyone yet.
Suppressing the ambition that had taken root in his heart, Logan smiled at Rick.