Episode 71
Amy opened the door and said quickly, ‘A magic stone was found in the gold mine.’
Fortunately, at this time, only slave soldiers were staying in Yeongju Castle, so there was no need to worry about her words spreading outside.
“where?”
“Gold mine in the wasteland!”
“That’s a fake gold mine with no gold in it.”
Even after the wasteland was declared to be free of gold mines, construction of underground facilities continued. With the abundance of workers from Srein and the solid ground, it was a shame to use it only as an underground prison.
So, he planned to build a castle in the wasteland. He showed his determination to expand his territory to the territory of the old Antaria Kingdom someday, even if it was not right away.
This was something that even the royal family of Zeno welcomed with open arms, and they even received a promise from Gaius that ‘if you build a castle in the wasteland, you will be rewarded.’
If the information is true, a fortress should have been built, not a permanent residence.
Amy said, pounding her fist on my chest as if she was frustrated.
“So, what you’re saying is that gold didn’t come out there, but magic stones did.”
“how?”
“It was the land that the Kingdom of Antaria was trying to take over. That’s why famous adventurers searched the wasteland like crazy, thinking that there must be something there.”
“But since I couldn’t find anything, it became an abandoned wasteland.”
“That’s what we found! The magic stone mine that no one had ever found before!”
Was it a coincidence or an act of God?
It wasn’t that they just dug up the land that caught their eye without thinking. They tried to build a city assuming that all administration would be centered around the mine. Under that assumption, they placed the mine in the most ideal location.
It was clear that it was a geographically unusual area.
“I wish it had been a gold mine… … What should I do about it?”
A blessing that could not be endured was poison.
The Magic Stone is not something that a single artist can manage.
The Seoljanggasan mine is located in a wasteland. It is impossible to control that vast land, so the surrounding lords could invade at any time.
“We have to dig it out quickly!”
“If we dig it up? Can we protect it? For now, the best thing to do is to inform the royal family of the existence of the magic stone and have the royal family take the lead in mining the magic stone. In return, we will receive a portion of the magic stone mining volume.”
“Contact Inspector Gaius. I’m sure he’ll be able to help you.”
In the current situation, it was best to hand over the mining rights to the crown and receive some of the profits. It was reasonable, and it was also possible to shorten Hebron’s ten-year plan by half.
But then I got greedy.
The proverb that greed fanned the flames of misfortune came to mind, but the magic stone mine was powerful enough to shatter that old saying.
I lowered my voice as much as possible.
“Or… … we could take possession of them when we can afford the magic stones.”
Amy’s breathing became ragged.
It seemed like he thought what I said was too risky a gamble.
“It won’t be easy. There are quite a few people who have seen the magic stone in the mine.”
“They will never leave the wasteland. They are spies sent from Srein to spy on Hebron, so they will have to pay a price for it.”
Amy swallowed. Her breath touched the back of my hand.
I gave Prime Minister Amy the big picture. That was my job as Lord Chancellor.
“What would happen if the magic stone mine was discovered when Hebron became a count?”
“Marquis… … Perhaps this will lay the foundation for moving forward.”
After the Marquis came the Duke.
Since the fall of the Sardia Dukes a century ago, a third Duke has reappeared in the Kingdom of Zenon.
It was a surreal growth path that far surpassed the theories and fantasies in my head.
But the path lay before me. It was a precarious cliff path, but I could not take my eyes off the splendid destination that had come into view.
“Get ready. All other plans will be postponed.”
This was not an incident that I could script and manage on my own. There could not be even the slightest mistake, not even the slightest rumor that could arouse suspicion.
“First, send the Earth Elementalist Verni to check the mining volume of magic stones. If he is too weak to check, send Verni to me. I will train him to death and somehow bring him up to par.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Bernie was trustworthy because he was a slave soldier.
No, right now it seemed like I couldn’t trust anyone but the slave soldiers.
‘Let’s be calm. The magic stone might be slightly buried near the surface.’
Magic Stones are minerals that are mined in large quantities around a single discovery. This is why Amy got excited even before the earth elementalist could confirm it.
I took a cold look at Hebron’s capabilities. If it had been discovered early while harboring the magic stone mine, it would have been doomed.
Even if you reported it to the royal family late, you could be charged with treason.
‘Should I warn Gaius? No, it’s not the time yet.’
As planned, they decided to build a castle on top of the mine.
If we built a castle on top of it and controlled the underground entrance, it would be much easier to protect the mine.
It took time to start mining. Not only did they have to establish a castle, but they also had to have enough military power to maintain a mine of magic stones.
‘Hebron is far from enough. So it must grow faster. We must promote the Viscount of Hebron to a Count.’
The original plan was to make Hebron a count within ten years. To bring that forward, the existing ten-year plan had to be destroyed and a new plan had to be drawn up. I thought about what was most necessary for that.
‘Is this ad-lib…?’
Adlib means improvising a performance that is not in the script. Since you act while watching the audience’s reaction, the audience becomes more immersed in the play, but if you are not careful, you can expose a weakness through an awkward response and ruin the whole play.
‘Believe in Louis and Louis’ talent.’
I decided to throw myself into a dangerous situation that was out of the tight-knit board. However, I had no intention of rushing in blindly. I would take measures to increase my chances of success.
“Do this as quietly as possible. If we’re not careful, it might be not Srein but the surrounding lords who advance on Hebron. Send additional troops secretly, and imprison the workers to punish them for their crimes. Only spare those who signed slave contracts, and execute the rest. We need secret workers who are not known to the outside world, at least for the development of the mines.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“We must take this opportunity to strengthen Hebron’s intelligence capabilities.”
“How?”
“Now, I can’t even think about this or that. I guess I’ll have to choose the fourth option, even if it’s a bit risky.”
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“Was there a fourth option?”
It was only natural that Amy frowned. There were three plans to strengthen the information power that had been established after consulting with Amy.
I took a document from the bookshelf and handed it to Amy. Amy flipped through the thick document and opened the last page.
There was only one line written there.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“It wouldn’t be bad if it was managed well. And there are limits to how much we can do to establish a new information organization.”
A while ago, Amy learned of the existence of the three spirits I had contracted with. I decided that I should at least reveal their secret to her so that I could devise an elaborate strategy.
Amy nodded and put the papers down. On the last page, which was wide open, two words were written clearly.
-Iredem sortie.
* * *
It was common for me to visit the Jarlson estate. Now, the soldiers of the Jarlson estate were so familiar with me that they readily opened the door for me without me having to give them advance notice.
Once a week, I would stop by the Hebron shop in the Zayleson Market. I didn’t really have anything to do, but I would carry my sister Dinah on my back and come back. This was possible thanks to the ‘Sway-Free Saddle’ that the Hebron blacksmith Baryan had specially designed for Dinah.
Even without any magic, the saddle holding Dina remained level on the rocking Syang’s back.
Today, a staff member who lives in Hebron greeted me again.
“Are you here?”
“Please take care of Dina. Is her father here yet?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. He will be leaving for work soon.”
The only thing different today is that I won’t be seeing my father.
I was looking around the market and went into ‘Smia Bookstore’ which was located a little away from the downtown area.
It was a truly unchanging bookstore, with no new books available no matter when you looked around.
As I crossed the threshold, a musty smell came out. As expected, there were no customers.
Even though the Jaylesons were prosperous, it was rare for anyone to buy expensive books. It was known that only occasionally would the nobles, including Jaylesons, obtain the books they wanted, and use them to pay taxes and cover their master’s living expenses.
Bow.
As I walked deeper into the bookstore, the owner of the bookstore nodded to me. He was a man with white hair, but he was actually a slave soldier named Lucy.
After I bought the rights to the Sumia Bookstore for a high price, I left the store in the hands of Lucy.
I carefully examined the old books on the bookshelf and reached deep inside. There, with a simple operation, a secret safe opened and a small ledger was in my hand.
‘There were so many customers yesterday too.’
The true identity of Sumiya Bookstore was a kind of ‘detective agency’. It handled all kinds of shameless work, from assassination to simple theft and fraud, and the bookstore arranged the work.
If the Canaan Mercenary Group handled requests from the sunny side, Sumiya Bookstore could be said to be a mercenary group in the shade.
However, this does not mean that Sumiya Bookstore directly hires assassins or thieves. They do not belong to any organization. They simply receive and process commissions collected by the bookstore.
I felt a presence at the entrance of the bookstore, so I put the ledger back in the secret safe.
“Is there no scripture about Irederemnul?”
“doesn’t exist.”
“I think I heard that answer last time too.”
“sorry.”
“What about Wizard Bake’s
“sorry.”
“There’s nothing there.”
“sorry.”
While I and Lucy were talking, the sound of people disappearing disappeared. Only then did I leave the bookstore.
“I’ll come again next time.”
After I left, someone entered the bookstore. I could guess that he was an assassin just by looking at his steady stride, his stealthy manner of walking without even leaving a sound, and his head bowed low.
The Sumia Bookstore was crowded from late in the evening. Shadows gathered secretly in the morning dew. They never entered the bookstore all at once. They waited in a set order, if there were other customers ahead of them, and then entered the bookstore. That was their rule.
‘That guy is the assassin Soleiro.’
A man with a large amount of aura stood out. He was a figure closer to a gangster than an assassin, who did not bother to hide his presence.
He smelled dangerous. It was the distinctive herbal smell of those who dealt with poisons.
The owner of the Sumia Bookstore gave up the rights to the store for a high price. Not only did he give the store building and the books, but he also gave the authority to distribute orders to assassins and receive commissions.
That was a rule that existed before Walter became active. However, in the past, requests were distributed from the Luden Tavern in the Srein Viscounty, not the Smia Bookstore.
The customers liked the new owner of the bookstore because he took on many requests while also managing his customers systematically.
Of course, they did not anticipate that information from the back alleys would leak to Hebron during the process.
I opened the dark space. This time, I brought not only a skeleton, but also a full plate armor that matched it. It was constantly draining my magic power, but I could handle it.
