Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Securing Iron Mountain
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“I left a will during the last contract renewal with the Iron Mountain Dwarves, instructing them to adjust it to a 5:5 split.”
“Ah!”
“Only a few direct descendants of that era know about the will. Naturally, Gede isn’t one of them.”
“I-I see.”
Sitting across from him in a much more relaxed posture, Smirnov nodded.
“But they offered you 4.5. Foolish as you were, you thought Gede was looking out for the Iron Mountain Dwarves and jumped at the deal.”
“…I have nothing to say for myself.”
“I’m not bringing it up to blame you. If anything, it’s Sion’s fault for letting it happen. I should be the one apologizing to you and the Iron Mountain Dwarves.”
“No, no. How could you say such a thing….”
“But that’s that. Colluding with an outside force to put your own kin and Sion in jeopardy? That’s an act with no excuse, even in death.”
“……!”
Smirnov froze in the middle of waving his hand dismissively.
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll do anything to you. As I said earlier, do one job with me, do it well, and it’s all water under the bridge.”
“Just tell me what to do. What do you need from me?”
In truth, Smirnov was no dwarf lacking in eloquence or negotiation skills.
A dwarf without such talents wouldn’t have become Mine Foreman in the first place.
It was simply that he’d sat in the top seat for so long that he was out of practice dealing with those superior to him. (Sion didn’t know it, but among the Iron Mountain Dwarves, Smirnov’s nickname was none other than “Maw of Hell.”)
“Simple. Wrap up today’s mess roughly, grab a few Labor Office staff, and come with me to the ducal castle. Once there….”
“Yes. Yes, yes. Ah! Got it. That’s all I need to do? Ah, yes.”
Smirnov nodded incessantly as he listened to Sion.
Sion’s proposal (essentially an order) was simpler than expected, so there was no trouble memorizing it.
Nor any doubts.
Given their current situation, and since it wasn’t particularly difficult, that made sense.
If anything, Smirnov worried whether something this straightforward could truly resolve everything.
“Anything else, sir?”
“Nothing. Ah, one thing I want to ask.”
“Yes.”
“Any Iron Mountain Dwarves complaining about seeing strange letters floating in the air?”
“Gasp!? How did you know? Lately, a few lunatics have been….”
“Hoo….”
Sion’s eyes curved softly.
It had appeared among the dwarves too.
And it confirmed that the cataclysm didn’t discriminate by race or class.
For warrior-scarce dwarves to have those who could see the “status window,” it was surely tied more to specialized craftsman roles than fighters.
“Gather those lunatics later.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. I’ll do that. Um, but….”
“Hm?”
Smirnov hesitated, glancing at Sion’s expression.
“What do you plan to do with Longlive and the soldiers?”
“Hm.”
Longlive didn’t seem to harbor any other intentions.
And Longlive and his soldiers were forces dispatched from Paloma.
Even if the family head Gede’s orders took priority, defying Gede’s half-brother Yonas and his favored youngest son Sirban outright would be tough.
Longlive didn’t strike Sion as the type to blindly obey only the family head’s commands.
Above all, Longlive seemed extremely vulnerable to “Sailun,” just like his ancestors.
“I will follow your will.”
Sion’s guess proved correct.
Longlive displayed a polite and compliant attitude.
Perhaps, rather than the Longlive family’s long-held sentiments toward Sailun, the realization that everything was exposed had led to a resigned mindset that showed him the path to survival, Sion mused.
“It may sound like an excuse, but I was merely following orders. As a knight receiving Paloma’s stipend, I could not disobey the family head’s command.”
To Sion’s eyes, it was indeed resignation.
But in this case, it seemed to have brought him relief.
The Paloma knight, who had been utterly flustered and watchful when things first went awry, appeared to have sorted his thoughts while Sion spoke with Smirnov.
Thus revealing his true colors as a knight.
“Is it because I’m Sailun?”
“That would be a lie. But I am also a knight of the Dukedom. If asked whether Paloma or the Dukedom comes first, it’s the Dukedom—no, the ducal family above all.
When I first received the order from the family head, I wasn’t without doubts or unease. But I believed knights shouldn’t meddle in politics. Receive an order, execute it—that’s what makes a knight of Sion.”
Sion was a bit surprised by Longlive’s calm demeanor, so different from their first meeting. And on another note, it didn’t feel bad at all.
Precisely, it felt gratifying.
Like the feeling when he first met Piot.
Come to think of it, Sirban and Yonas had been the same.
Initial meetings were somewhat disappointing, but as he got to know them, their strengths as descendants shone through.
‘Must be my great family education… Yeah right. It’s my wife raising them well and my kids teaching them right.’
Sion, with his decent self-objectivity, gave a wry internal smile.
In any case, it was fortunate and commendable that Longlive wasn’t your typical stubborn, blockheaded knight.
And as always, Sion favored those quick to reflect and honest.
“You’re right. Following orders is a knight’s duty. But if that order seems like a plot to disrupt the ducal family, a true knight agonizes and shows flexibility. So I ask you this.”
“…….”
Locking eyes with the dry-swallowing Longlive, Sion continued.
“As a knight of Sion—not Paloma, not Sailun—are you prepared to fulfill your responsibilities and duties?”
“Yes.”
Unaware of Sion’s true identity, Longlive found it odd for someone not of the ducal family to say such things but nodded anyway.
“The Iron Mountain Mine Foreman will come with me to the ducal castle to testify about this incident. You’ll come too.”
“Understood.”
Since he’d already steeled himself, Longlive agreed without hesitation.
Seeing Longlive’s relaxed expression, Sion asked,
“I hate to pry, but is it really okay? This means defying Paloma and Family Head Gede.”
“Yes. It doesn’t matter. I’m a knight of Sion too. It’s not good for the ducal family to remain split and feuding. This incident will bring some resolution, won’t it? As a knight of Sion, I’m actually relieved.”
“Good. What about the soldiers? Any issues with them?”
The Dukedom’s soldiers weren’t mindless slaves who obeyed every whim. They followed their superiors’ orders, but they had their own thoughts.
Having their superior Longlive blindly follow the words of Sion—an outsider to them—didn’t paint a good picture. It could disrupt the chain of command later.
“A few sharp-eyed veterans seemed to have a rough idea. Some asked what was going on while you spoke privately with the Mine Foreman. But now that it’s resolved this way, they’ll be glad. Soldiers don’t like causing trouble with the Dukedom’s long-time allies either.”
“Fine soldiers.”
“Of course. I may be worthless, but our soldiers are excellent.”
For the first time, Longlive straightened his shoulders.
Sion couldn’t help but chuckle. A good man. Just like his grandfather.
“You’re a fine knight too.”
Pleased with Longlive’s response, Sion gave his shoulder a light pat with a faint smile.
Though puzzled that Sion—who appeared around his own age—was encouraging him like an elder, Longlive felt oddly at ease and smiled back.
* * *
The next day, Smirnov gathered the Labor Office staff and announced that the contract with the Sion Ducal Family had been renewed.
The clueless staff questioned how it was possible without a ducal representative present, but showing them the handwritten letter Sion had obtained from Yonas quelled most doubts.
Above all, Sion was the one who had protected Iron Mountain from the intruders.
Moreover, whatever had happened, the fact that Mine Foreman Smirnov was actively backing him shut the dwarves up.
“Sir Sailun is a member of the royal family and deeply tied to the Sion Ducal Family. That means he’s trustworthy. And if, by any chance, this contract renewal doesn’t pan out as I described, I’ll take responsibility.”
Some Labor Office staff, unaware of the full story, eyed the position of next Mine Foreman with ambition as Smirnov stepped aside.
But having received promises from the embodiment of the Sion Ducal Family itself, Smirnov had no worries.
Sion had even pledged support to keep him in the Mine Foreman seat for the next ten years.
He’d made a brief foolish choice, but now his path was paved smooth.
Of course, there was the demand to hire more ducal territory residents and increase output by twenty percent, but that was fine.
Later additions included quarterly ducal auditors visiting Iron Mountain and full cooperation—minor things, in Sion’s words—but those were no issue either.
What mattered most to Smirnov was that the benefactor who saved his life in childhood had now saved him again and secured his position.
Thus, Sion renewed the contract exactly as he’d calculated decades ago, extracting even greater gains from the Iron Mountain Dwarves.
Along with the cooperation of the Dukedom’s three elf tribes, he’d secured powerful weapons.
‘Now, the trick is packaging this well and making the most of it.’
Walking while brainstorming plans with Smirnov and the Iron Mountain Dwarves, plus Longlive and his soldiers in tow, Sion spotted Yonas’s group—whom he’d parted with days ago—in the late afternoon.
“Si… Sir Sailun!”
“Good thing we’re not late!”
Piot and Yonas approached Sion, greeting him like someone they hadn’t seen in years.
“Sir Sailun. This is a payment letter sent to you by Proxy Jenna Allot in August Territory. That’s why we came this way.”
Yonas handed over the letter sealed with an official stamp first.
Sion immediately realized why those who should have gone to the ducal castle were here, took the letter, and broke the seal.
While Sion read, Sirban approached the surprised Longlive.
“Sir Longlive. What are you doing here? Weren’t you dispatched to Iron Mountain? Did you come from there?”
“Ah, Young Master Sirban. Yes, something like that.”
Longlive glanced tensely at Yonas standing beside Sion.
“But why are you and Sir Yonas here? Sir Sailun said you’d gone to Three-Headed Eagle Castle.”
“No idea. Uncle Yonas decided it. Anyway, the dwarves make sense, but who are those guys?”
Sirban nodded toward the ragged men led by the soldiers, and Longlive’s face darkened slightly.
Sirban was completely unaware of the plot orchestrated by his father Gede.
How could he say, “Those are the evidence of the scheme your father cooked up, dragging in your maternal family to undermine the Dukedom’s alliances for his bid to become duke—and got caught”?
‘He said he’d handle everything himself….’
Glancing at Sion intently reading the letter, Longlive decided to dodge the question.
“You’d be better off asking Sir Sailun.”
“Hmm.”
Sirban eyed Longlive suspiciously.
But as a young master, he had no right to order around a mid-level family knight like that.
Even if he did.
‘Seems like that guy’s involved. Better not pick a fight.’
Sirban, with his solid learning ability, shelved his curiosity.
At that moment, Sion finished the payment letter from Allot and looked up.
Surveying the many eyes on him, he spoke with a slightly hardened expression.
“Change of plans. We’re heading to Count Pamell’s territory.”
“…!?”
Suddenly?
Why the neighboring territory?
Only Longlive and Smirnov, who suspected something, flinched; everyone else was shocked and confused.
Sion continued calmly.
“Count Pamell sent troops to the Dukedom. We’ll go and crush them.”
A stunned silence fell.
(To be continued)