Chapter 44
Chapter 44
"So. Did you broaden your horizons well in the capital?"
"Yes. It was very helpful."
"...Good. Then that's enough. Anything else you want to say?"
Even in that brief exchange, Logan could clearly sense that his father's perception of him had changed.
Because he trusts me now. It meant his father wouldn't question or interrogate him anymore.
But for the sake of the future, Logan still had things he needed to say.
First, before getting to the main point...
Logan swallowed dryly.
"I did some business in the capital and made some money. The profits will keep coming in for a while."
"...Money? No, before that—business? What kind of business?"
"The medicine I gifted you. I started selling it. Fortunately, it went well, so I made some money."
"W-what?!"
His father's expression, which had been indifferent at first, instantly stiffened. Then, as realization dawned, his face flushed bright red.
"Y-you mean to tell me you went all the way to the capital to sell potency medicine?!"
His voice trembled slightly, a mix of shock and disbelief.
"Surely... you used a proxy?"
"I sold it directly to nobles. For that, I had to step forward myself."
"You sold it yourself?"
"Yes."
"...Under the MacLaine name?"
"Yes."
"Guh... Huh... Ugh... Haaah..."
Patrick's horror soon turned into a long sigh and lament.
"Ugh... I have no face to meet our ancestors..."
A groan escaped through the fingers covering his face.
After exhaling several deep sighs, Patrick finally raised his head and looked at Logan.
Logan braced himself, expecting a furious rebuke.
"Haaa. Logan, I've decided not to interfere with your actions anymore, but..."
Contrary to his expectations, his father's voice was low and serious, accompanied by another long sigh.
"Next time, could you at least give some consideration to the family's honor and dignity?"
Despite his father's conflicted gaze, Logan only smiled.
I thought I'd have to persuade him with all sorts of arguments.
It seemed his reputation had improved far more than he'd anticipated.
This might make convincing him easier.
So Logan answered cheerfully.
"Yes!"
"...Are you thinking before you answer?"
"Of course!"
"Ugh..."
Patrick, speechless at Logan's overly casual response, covered his face again.
But Logan was genuinely unapologetic.
In his own mind, he was already considering the family's honor and dignity—not just the bare minimum, but to the fullest extent possible.
It was just that, in his priorities, honor and dignity came after survival and profit.
If Father knew, he'd probably start clutching his head again.
Amused by the thought, Logan stifled a laugh.
Since he'd already given his father a headache, it was time to deliver some good news.
That would surely add weight to his next proposal.
"Oh! By chance, I met the Sword Duke in the capital and formed a good connection."
Fortunately, this time, the reaction came exactly as Logan expected.
"The Sword Duke? You mean Duke Felix Esperanza?"
His eyes lit up as if all his earlier frustration had vanished.
Seeing that look, Logan smiled pleasantly.
"Yes."
"How did you meet him?"
"I sold him the medicine. And it turned out to be quite..."
"What?!"
Like a dam bursting, Patrick roared, his face flushing red.
Not only had his son sold potency medicine under the family name, but he'd sold it to the very man Patrick revered most—the kingdom's greatest swordsman.
It was enough to make Patrick's blood boil.
"Just how much disgrace have you smeared on our family's—?!"
"In exchange, I received proper intermediate swordsmanship and a decent secret technique."
"...face— Wait, what?"
Somewhere between anger and bewilderment, Patrick's gaze locked onto the book Logan pulled from his pocket.
"Iron Blood Sword Technique. A proper intermediate swordsmanship. Guaranteed by the Sword Duke himself. And as an extra, a useful secret move..."
Patrick's body shot forward like lightning.
"Th-that's real?! H-how? No, that's not the point. Let me see it first."
Patrick had spent his entire life yearning for proper Force swordsmanship—true intermediate-level techniques.
For over a decade, he'd wondered if his stagnation was due to the limitations of his swordsmanship.
To him, an intermediate swordsmanship manual personally vouched for by the Sword Duke was like rain after a long drought.
Flip. Flip.
"Yes. Like this... Then... Haaah."
Patrick's eyes devoured the pages as if he could chew through the book.
Seeing him like this, Logan hurriedly interjected before his father could draw his sword and start practicing right there.
"With this, I think it'll be a great help to the family. What do you think?"
Patrick looked up at Logan with dazed eyes.
"It's genuine. And not just any intermediate technique—one of the higher-tier ones. How can we ever repay the Sword Duke for this...? No, before that—Logan, you've done well. Really well!"
All traces of his earlier fury were gone.
His father smiled brighter than when Logan had resolved the family's debt and patted his shoulder proudly.
Seeing him so elated, Logan seized the moment to bring up his main point.
"Is this good enough to teach the knights?"
"Of course! If they master it properly, our knight order's strength will increase by at least 30%! I guarantee it!"
"That's great. Then, about my proposal—"
"Yes. But first, I need to master it properly."
"Huh? No, I was going to—"
Logan tried to speak, but Patrick, too engrossed in the manual, didn't seem to hear him.
"This is really... I shouldn't be wasting time like this. Logan!"
"Yes?"
"I need to learn this as quickly as possible. So I'll leave the rest to you for now."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
As Logan stood bewildered by the sudden turn of events—
Thud.
Patrick pulled out a heavy, fist-sized object from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Here. The family seal."
"Excuse me?"
"For the time being, assist Dwain with the family affairs. I need to focus on mastering this swordsmanship."
"W-what? That's not—"
"Discuss things with Dwain and handle them well. Logan, thank you!"
"Wait, Father, before that, I need to tell you—"
BANG!
With a loud noise, the office door slammed shut, and his father vanished like the wind.
Logan's voice bounced off the invisible wall, unheard.
"What in the world...?"
Patrick's passionate reaction, completely trampling over Logan's expectations, left him momentarily stunned.
The large seal left alone on the desk—emblazoned with the vivid flame crest of House MacLaine, a remnant of their former glory as a count's family—looked particularly pitiful today.
"I didn't even get to the main point."
Though he was flustered, Logan soon realized this might actually work in his favor.
This means I don't need permission anymore.
With that thought, the flame-shaped seal in his hand suddenly felt much more welcoming.
"Perfect. I'll get everything done before Father finishes his training."
Just as Logan muttered this to himself—
Slam!
"Young Master! I heard you were back! You're here!"
The bulky figure of Dwain rushed in, greeting him with unusual enthusiasm.
"Welcome back! Welcome back!"
After the brief formalities, Dwain immediately cut to the chase without even catching his breath.
"I heard about what you did in the capital! Please contribute some money to the family! It's urgent!"
His desperate plea bordered on tragic.
"What's so urgent? We still have money from the war."
"That money isn't even enough to maintain the two castles! And this year's harvest is expected to be terrible. The projected taxes are already in deficit..."
Due to the war, most of the able-bodied men in Tesron Castle had died, leaving a severe labor shortage. The already impoverished finances of MacLaine Castle were strained further.
Add to that the sudden halt in support from the Cairos family right before the war, along with various other issues Dwain listed—the conclusion was simple.
"Give me money! Money! I already know you made a fortune! Don't try to hide it!"
But—
"Sorry."
"Sorry? Why are you sorry? No, no. You shouldn't be sorry. What are you trying to say? Don't be sorry—just give me the money!"
"I spent it all."
"...Excuse me? Haha, very funny. I heard you made millions of gold. What could you possibly have done to spend it all so quickly? Young Master, the territory is really struggling! This isn't the time for jokes!"
"I'm not joking."
"Ugh. It's not funny. Really not funny."
"...I really spent it all."
"......"
After staring into Logan's eyes for a moment, Dwain slumped down weakly.
"W-what did you spend it on?"
"Magic scrolls and mages cost 1.2 million gold. Then food supplies. Oh, and construction materials too, so there's nothing left."
Truthfully, even after all those expenses, nearly 2 million gold remained. But the minimum expenditures for the next six months alone would amount to 2.2 million gold.
With the possibility of Imperial's sales slowing down, he couldn't afford to touch the remaining funds.
And there was another reason.
"1.2 million gold?! Magic scrolls?! What in the world are you planning to use them for?!"
The wide-eyed, burly administrator looked so amusing that Logan couldn't help but tease him.
"Collapse magic. I'm planning a major construction project. I'll need to mobilize a lot of the territory's people too."
"A lot? How many?"
"Hmm. At least a few thousand..."
"A few thousand?! Have you lost your mind?! Do you realize what season it is?!"
I know it's farming season, you idiot.
Logan suppressed a laugh.
"What kind of construction?! No—whatever it is, now isn't the time! The family head won't allow it either! Just get a refund!"
"No. And right now, I'm the acting family head."
Logan waved the flame seal tauntingly in Dwain's face.
"Th-the seal?! Where's the family head?!"
"Training."
"Y-you—again!"
Dwain, who had seemed drained moments ago, suddenly sprang up like a wild boar.
"FAMILY HEEEEEEAD!"
With flames practically shooting from his eyes, the enraged administrator charged toward the inner castle.
- There's nothing more important than this right now! You two discuss and handle the rest!
- Family Head?! FAMILY H— Hey! You bastard!
After storming off in a rage to the training hall, Dwain returned dejected, having been scolded by Patrick, who had just begun his training.
With a resentful glare, Dwain looked pleadingly at Logan—but Logan remained firm.
"Are you really going through with this?"
"It's necessary."
"It's the busiest season for the territory's people! What kind of construction could possibly be so urgent?!"
Even in this barren land, farming was still done.
The yields were meager, but the people survived by hunting, gathering herbs, and scraping by however they could.
And summer—this season—was when nature's bounty was at its peak.
Meaning it was the busiest time for the territory's people.
"With morale already unstable after the war, this could lead to disaster! Please reconsider! Please!"
"Who said I'd force them to work? Don't worry."
"...Then what are you planning?"
"I'll provide food. There are plenty of starving people in our territory lately."
"Huh?"
"I'll distribute food. To those who are starving, and more to those who join the construction."
At this seemingly ideal solution, Dwain's face twisted as if he'd eaten something rotten.
"If you do that, within a month, even you won't have any soup left to eat."
"It's fine. There's enough."
"What's fine about it?! There isn't enough! I told you!"
"Weren't you listening earlier? I said I bought food too."
"Huh? Earlier, you said magic scrolls for construction..."
"Tsk tsk. You should listen properly. I said I have both—scrolls and food. So it's fine, right?"
"Even if you bought some food, distributing it to the entire territory..."
"1 million gold."
"Huh?"
"Every month. Until this time next year."
For a moment, Dwain stared blankly at Logan before suddenly rubbing his ears.
"Ahem. I must be hearing things from overwork. Young Master, what did you just say?"
"1 million gold per month for a year—to buy food and distribute it to the territory's people."
"Guh... N-not hearing things... Young Master?"
"Yes. Me."
"Did you eat something bad?"
Logan smiled wryly at the absurd look on Dwain's face.
This reaction is to be expected.
Until now, Logan had never shown the slightest concern for the territory's people.
Even if his reputation had improved as a war hero, who would believe his ideology had changed?
But for the sake of the future, this was something that had to be done now.
"I'm perfectly fine. Will that be enough?"
"MacLaine Castle has 30,000 people, Tesron Castle has 50,000. We can't feed them all fully, but moderately... it should be possible."
"If we ration minimally and give double to those who join the construction?"
"Well... that should be more than enough. But Young Master—why do you insist on doing this?"
"Hmm?"
"I still oppose the construction, but separate from that—why spend so much money on food for the territory's people? They'll manage on their own even without handouts."
"...People could starve to death."
"A few might. But that's happened every year. If you start giving out food now, those country bumpkins will keep expecting it forever. Use that money for something else instead. There's so much else we need..."
Hmm. Right. This is how everyone still thinks.
It wasn't that Dwain lacked compassion.
It was simply the common sense of the time—keep the people fed just enough to prevent riots and ensure taxes were paid.
But that's not common sense—it's a misconception that eats away at the territory's potential.
Which was why Logan had to correct it now, even if by force.
"It's my money anyway. What's the problem if I spend it as I please?"
"Young Master!"
"Acting lord's authority. And the funds are from my pocket. You have no grounds to oppose me, right?"
Logan's words were undeniably true.
Dwain racked his brain for a rebuttal but eventually grimaced in defeat.
"Sigh... The family head would oppose this too."
"He's not here right now."
"If you must do this, at least limit it to preventing starvation..."
"No. That's not enough. This is for the family too."
And so, it had to succeed. No matter what.
Faced with Logan's resolute expression, Dwain finally fell silent.