161. Are You Trying to Buy Me with Money?
161. Are You Trying to Buy Me with Money?
The territory of House Russell, one of the Empire's Five Pillars, was located near the Blade Mountain Range.
While not quite as rugged as the Blade Mountains, the Russell territory was dotted with treacherous rocky peaks, making farming extraordinarily difficult. Instead, it boasted numerous mines that produced such an abundance of minerals even dwarves would be envious.
The mansion of House Russell, which governed this region, was built some distance away from the mines where the territory's residents worked.
A small-scale mine rising behind the mansion caught the eye.
It was strange because what rose there wasn't just a hill, but a properly operating mine located directly behind the manor.
In an office located inside the Russell mansion, an exceedingly large person was admiring the scenery outside.
He seemed to stand about 2 meters tall.
His thick, imposing physique radiated a sense of pressure, but in contrast, he had the face of a handsome middle-aged man with delicate features.
Decadent emerald eyes gleamed, and his curly black hair flowed richly below his ears.
Such was the man Carlos Russell—Lucia's father and the current head of the Russell family.
"My son... is Lucia adjusting well?"
"Contrary to our worries, it seems he is adapting quite well."
"...I was concerned because the child is so shy. That's a relief."
It was an odd conversation.
What they were talking about was the young master of House Russell.
But House Russell had only one heir, and that was Lucia Russell alone.
Despite being tall and boasting incredible strength, and having a chest too large to fit in one hand with a slender waist—
no matter how strangely you looked at her, Lucia was a woman. Yet they called her their son.
"Edward and Linda said they've been to the Academy before."
Carlos Russell recalled memories from his days as an Academy student.
They were joyful memories from before he became the head of the family, when all the current heads of the Five Pillars gathered at the Academy and chattered noisily, enjoying themselves.
He had clashed with Linda multiple times and subjugated magical beasts; they were truly enjoyable memories.
It seemed he felt regretful that something akin to a class reunion had happened without his knowledge.
"... I should go visit once as well."
"Then I shall send word to the young master."
"No, that won't be necessary. If I go without saying anything, I'll be able to see his unadorned, everyday self properly. As for sending word... yes, do inform Edward or the others."
"I shall do so."
One of the Five Pillars decided to visit the Academy.
The purpose was an inspection, driven by curiosity about how well Lucia was doing at the Academy and what the general atmosphere there was like these days.
If Edward, upon hearing the news, decided to come as well, perhaps they could even hold a reunion of the Five Pillars at the Academy for the first time in a long while.
Though the person in question, Lucia, was completely unaware of this fact.
—————————————
The reconstruction work proceeded smoothly and swiftly.
Thanks to the holy relic, my body had recovered, allowing me to finally put into practice what I had only been thinking about in my head.
The very first thing I did was demolish the mansion and then head to the Dwarven Guild.
I had visited several times during my adventurer days, so I could find the place even with my eyes closed.
"Well, look who it is! I thought you'd all died out in the Snow Country, but here you are, alive and well!"
The person I sought out in the guild was a dwarf craftsman with an abundant grey beard, twisted and tied up like a piece of metalwork.
As soon as he saw me, he tossed aside his small magnifying glass and greeted me joyfully.
"It's been ages since the Snow Country expedition ended. Haven't you gotten any news yet?"
"For news from the Empire to reach all the way here, it'd take far more than that, I tell ya!"
The grey-bearded dwarf who laughed heartily was Grey Pillar, the dwarf craftsman who had made the Snow Country Expedition Team's equipment.
Grey Pillar was an alias of sorts used within the guild. It was said that when a craftsman achieved the status of a master, the guild would bestow such a name upon them.
So even I still did not know that dwarf's true name.
"So, what's the matter this time? If you've come looking for me, it must be some damned annoying job like last time, right?"
I explained the outline of this construction project to Grey Pillar.
"What? You're going to build a villa at the Academy? Then you've come to the right place!"
Grey Pillar, a member of the guild, readily accepted my proposal.
"For construction... you'll need at least three of us. According to what you've planned, you'll need a mage too. Is that part sorted?"
"I've already approached a reasonably usable mage."
"Then three will be enough! Our services don't come cheap, though. Did you bring plenty of gold?"
"This is the advance payment. I'll give you more as each stage is completed."
When I pulled a pouch full of gold from my chest, he snatched it swiftly and measured its weight on a scale nearby.
"Whoa! As expected of the Snow Country Expedition Team leader!! I love the generosity! When shall we start the work!"
"Is it possible to start tomorrow?"
"What? Just to get from here to the Academy takes a full week, and you want to start tomorrow??"
"I'll handle that. Just be at the designated location by tomorrow."
"Haha, you said you hired a mage— are you going to use a teleport or something? Lads, we've got work! Everyone, come out!! On a fine day like this, we can't go without a drink!!"
As Grey Pillar shouted, dwarves came rushing out from inside.
They're a race that can never miss out when alcohol is mentioned.
"I'm in the middle of recovering, so alcohol is..."
"This isn't just any alcohol! I said it's medicinal liquor! It's a cure-all panacea, word has it, that erases all manner of bad ailments from your body! Come on, come on, drink up, drink!"
"Just one glass."
In the end, I emptied three oak barrels.
——————————————-
Having secured the craftsmen, I needed to hire a mage.
Mages had often participated in construction work since the old days, and since it brought in quite a bit of money, these days they even sold prefabricated structures separately that a mage could erect on their own.
In truth, there were plenty of mages I could hire from outside, but I had someone in mind and intended to ask her first.
"You're doing construction, and you want me to use my magic for you?"
"Yes, sunbae. Isn't that why you practice earth elemental magic?"
"...That's right."
Rio-sunbae admitted it meekly.
When elemental mages choose their primary element, they consider several conditions.
The most important is how much talent they have for it; the second is why they are learning magic; and the third is how useful it will be.
There's nothing more to say about talent.
An element you have no talent for at all is terribly difficult to handle, even if you want to.
The reason why one learns magic depends on whether the person is learning to research magic, or learning for practical purposes to make a living.
While all elemental magic is good, those who focus on combat often use destructive fire elemental magic or wind elemental magic, which can assist movement.
However, earth elemental magic was a bit different in nature.
Earth was certainly an element with many versatile applications in combat.
You could erect sturdy defensive walls, and it excelled at delivering powerful physical attacks.
But the true strength of earth elemental magic was that it was incredibly useful in real life.
Whether for farming or constructing buildings, earth elemental magic was extremely useful in most situations.
Considering her background, it was easy to understand that she had focused on mastering earth, an element with many potential uses no matter what happened.
"But anyway, a student is leading construction at the Academy? Are you sure this is alright??"
"You're worried I didn't get permission?"
"Yeah. I do want to help, but... if I get caught for nothing and expelled..."
It did look like she genuinely wanted to help, but she seemed quite hesitant.
In truth, I hadn't received any permission.
"This is the down payment. Hmm... a shame. I came to talk to you first before approaching anyone else."
The pouch I subtly presented contained a weighty amount of gold.
What I'd given Grey Pillar was for three people, so it was much thicker, but the gold in this pouch was by no means a small amount either.
Permission... right. For a model student like Rio-sunbae, that might have been more important.
If she said no, I could just bring in someone from outside, so it was regrettable but unavoidable.
"I'll do it."
However, as I moved to put the thick pouch of gold away, Rio-sunbae grabbed my arm.
"Huh?"
"P-Please, let me do it!!! If I get caught, so what, I'll just get expelled!"
It seemed it was too much money to refuse.
————————-
After finishing my business outside, I returned to the hospital room and lay down.
I pulled out the thick book I had set aside to read whenever I got bored.
As I lay there, a commotion arose outside.
A moment later, the door burst open, and the Commander and the Holy Knights came pouring in.
Every single one of them seemed to have girded themselves with solemn determination.
There wasn't a weapon nearby, but I quietly pushed myself upright and stared at them.
I prepared myself to respond instantly if need be.
"What, are you here to pick another fight?"
"...Haah... haah..."
The Commander, gasping for breath and staring at me, looked like a half-crippled wreck even at best.
His entire body was wrapped in bandages, his leg was in a cast, and he hobbled on crutches.
As I quietly emanated a killing intent, the Commander shouted.
"I sincerely apologize for having been discourteous without properly ascertaining the facts!"
The Commander, who had hobbled in, suddenly fell to his knees and bent his back until his forehead touched the floor.
His hands remained at his sides, and the sight of only his forehead pressed to the ground was a peculiar posture.
It was the stance signifying the greatest apology one could offer in the Papal State to someone who was not a god.
Normally, one would extend one's hands forward past the head as well, but to them, that posture was reserved only for God.
""""""""""We are sorry!!!!!""""""""""
Following suit, the other Holy Knights also knelt and pressed their foreheads to the floor.
I had a rough idea of how the Saintess had glossed things over to them.
"Well, what are you trying to achieve."
"For inflicting meaningless harm upon you, the entire Red Flag Holy Knight Order offers its apologies!! We are... truly, deeply reflecting on our actions."
It seemed they were sincerely trying to apologize, but seeing eleven large men crowded into the hospital room pressing their heads to the floor made me feel suffocated.
"Enough. Just seeing you here gives me a headache, so please get out."
"...Yes, sir!"
The moment the words left my mouth, they all scrambled out.
They'd all banged their heads on the floor, but this was a troublesome mess.
How was I supposed to deal with that.