Arrival of the People from the Family
...
Lorist was totally stunned. What did Alisa just say? That beggar said he was searching for a person called Norton Lorite? It should be Norton Lorist, right? That's the name of the original owner of this body. Given that everyone calls me by my nickname Locke, it wouldn't be weird if they didn't remember that my original name, Norton Lorist and that I am the second young master of the Norton Family of the Northlands…
"What's going on? I think I heard Alisa mention your name just now," said Els. Els was aware of Lorist's full name as he had helped him handle the ownership documents when the building was purchased.
Lorist regained his composure and saw that Alisa had already hopped back to the backyard cheerfully. He stood up and said, "I think the beggar Alisa mentioned just now is looking for me. I'll go take a look, they might actually be from my family."
"Oh?" said Els curiously. He bit into the drumstick in his hand as he said, "I'll go with you."
The two of them reached the backyard and saw the beggar that Alisa had mentioned. Dressed in rags, he sat on a bluestone pavement at the backyard and was consuming a bowl of oat porridge. The chicken drumsticks Alisa had given him were wrapped in a piece of grey cloth. It seemed that he planned to take the chicken away with him.
Alisa chewed on the chicken in her hands as she asked, "Why aren't you eating the chicken? Isn't it a little bland to have the porridge without it? Chicken drumsticks are delicious you know…"
The beggar nodded towards Alisa and smiled. "Pretty little princess, thank you for giving me these delicious chicken drumsticks. However, I have another person accompanying me so I intend to share it with him later…"
After that, the beggar looked towards Lorist and froze up entirely. He put the bowl in his hand down and rubbed his eyes before inspecting clearly once again, as if he couldn't believe that the one standing in front of him was indeed Lorist.
"Second young master… Sniff… I finally found you… Ueeerrrghhh…." That beggar desperately crawled towards Lorist and even ignored the bowl of porridge that he had knocked over and hugged Lorist's leg tightly as he cried nonstop.
"Ugh…" Lorist wanted to pull his leg back but the beggar had a rather firm grip on it. "Um, please get up first. You are…"
"Young master, don't you recognize me? I'm Shadekampf!" exclaimed the beggar with a face full of snot and tears.
"Shadekampf?" Lorist mulled deeply and a scene of a young, honest young servant who shouted as he ran towards him… Young master… Wait for me! At that time, the young Lorist was rather haughty and bossed around that young servant quite a lot…
No wonder he recognized me almost instantly… Shadekampf was actually Lorist's personal attendant from a long time ago.
"Shadekampf… It's been too long… Has it been ten years already? First things first, stop crying and stand up properly," said Lorist as he smiled.
However, Shadekampf ended up crying even harder. "Young master… You must return to the Northlands quickly. The old master is gone… the first young master is dead… and the third young master as well… The Norton Family only has you now… Everyone's waiting for you.. for you to go succeed the position as the lord of the dominion… Wuueerrghh…"
Lorist's body suddenly shivered. Even though his consciousness was not of this world, he was unable to ignore the blood of the Nortons that flowed in his current body and the throbbing emotion from the depths of his being shook even the core of his soul.
Els walked forward and held Lorist up and said to Shadekampf, "Stop crying and say things clearly. What is going on?"
"Last year, the old master lead a group of people to fight against the barbarian pillagers but got ambushed and was badly injured. Ever since then, he was bedridden and finally passed away at the start of this year after instructing us to come here to look for the second young master to inherit the dominion. We know that the second young master had went to Morante City for his education but we were unaware of which academy he was studying at. And, given that 10 years had already passed, we weren't sure if the second young master would still be here and could only try our luck. After we finally arrived at Morante City, we went to every academy to ask about the young master but nobody bothered to entertain us because we were from the Northlands. Patt mentioned that the heroes of legend usually gathered information in taverns, so we did just that. And finally, here at the Red Grace Inn, we finally found you, young master," explained Shadekampf. The conclusion of his arduous journey that he had with Patt had caused him to shed tears uncontrollably.
Lorist managed to stand up properly again and said, "Shadekampf, why did you say that my father and two brothers are dead? And, who's Patt? He sounds rather familiar. Also, doesn't my third uncle know where I study at? What happened to him?"
"The first young master had died from battle three years ago after he was drafted into the army of Duke Loggins who was serving under the Second Prince of the former empire. When that news reached the old master, he fell sick and became bedridden. The matters of the dominion were handed to the third young master after that. But three years ago, when the third young master was on patrol, his mount got startled by a magical beast and he fell from horseback and incurred serious injuries and passed away despite three days of emergency treatment. The old master's sickness got a turn for the worse, but he recovered a bit during spring last year. Even so, he had to go to the battlefield once again as the barbarian pillagers started causing trouble again. In the end… sigh. Second young master, don't you remember Patt? He is the eldest grandson of the old butler Gleis who had played with you quite often when you were small. He's quite an impressive youth and is already an Iron Swordsman. The old butler sent us to come look for you because we were the only ones who knew how you looked like."
Having said that, Shadekampf started to hesitate. "Second young master, your third uncle Lodesieg died seven years ago after the family's merchant convoy was attacked by bandits. There were no survivors. The news stunned the whole of the Northlands at that time and there were even rumors that the soldiers of the First Prince were masquerading as bandits to gather military funds and resources. That's why the first young master pledged his allegiance to the Second Prince rather than the First Prince."
The bad news that came one after another caused Lorist to be unable to think clearly. The fact that the once proud and strong Norton Family that was entitled by the Krissen Royal Family themselves was actually embroiled in so much conflict and misfortune to the point where they had to summon the second young master that had been exiled from his homeland for more than ten years was rather depressing.
After calming down, Lorist asked, "Then, where's Patt? Isn't he with you?"
Shadekampf said in an embarrassed tone, "Patt… Um… He's working as a baggage carrier at the pier…"
"Baggage carrier?"
"Yes. Given that we had spent all our own money during the journey, Patt went to the pier and started working as a baggage carrier to earn enough for our living costs here," said Shadekampf stammeringly.
Lorist called out in the direction of the inn. "Reidy!"
Reidy quickly appeared before him.
"Go ready the carriage and fetch Shadekampf to the pier to seek out his friend and bring them to the public bath. Let them wash up and give them some clean clothes before bringing them back to me," instructed Lorist as he put two gold coins in the hands of Reidy.
"That won't do, young master. We have our own money, we can't use yours," said Shadekampf quickly as he took out a black, dirty pouch. "Young master, I still have 20 imperial gold coins here."
"Oh? Didn't you say you ran out of money just now?" asked Lorist curiously.
"Young master, these are the funds for your return trip to the North. Now that we've found you, we don't have to worry about using it anymore," said Shadekampf as he entrusted the bag of coins to Lorist.
Lorist was somewhat touched at how they wouldn't spend the 20 imperial gold coins they had and would rather have one work as a laborer and the other in charge of begging for food. Were they just stubborn or really that loyal to the family?
Lorist then handed two gold Fordes to Reidy and said, "Have them change into clean clothing."
Reidy then brought Shadekampf along and went to seek out Patt.
Lorist returned to his table in the inn with a distraught mood and opened the black money pouch and emptied its contents on the table. 20 golden coins could be seen: these coins were slightly smaller than regular gold Fordes and had a picture of a crowned old man's head on one surface.
Upon seeing the gold coins, Charade's interest was instantly piqued. He took one up and inspected it before saying, "An old head of the former Krissen Empire… It's no longer worth much… 1 gold Forde can be exchanged for 3 of these. Currently, the three kingdoms and seven duchies in the northern part of the continent have started to use the currency of the Forde Trade Union and started recalling these imperial currency to be exchanged for trade union currency instead. Where did you get these, Locke?"
"Some people from Locke's family came here and summoned him to return to his homeland to inherit the dominion. These old heads are the money they prepared for Locke to use to travel back to his homeland," explained Els.
"What? Locke, you're going back to become a lord?" Suddenly, every one of Lorist's acquaintances gathered around the table.
"What are you guys so surprised about? I haven't decided if I would go back yet," said Lorist as he furrowed his brow in frustration. Right now, he had already made quite a name for himself in Morante City and already considers himself a Moranite after ten years of living there. The sudden summons from his family was far too shocking for him. Even though the Northlands were technically Lorist's hometown, he wasn't too familiar nor attached to it given that he had left it at a very young age.
"What is there to hesitate about? Of course you should go back and inherit the land. In Morante City, you're only an academy instructor but back at your homeland, you're a mighty and respectable lord! In your dominion, you are the law!" The one who said that was Terman, whose homland was a place called Rigol, which was also well-known for their mercenary knights. Craving battles and adventures were second nature to most Rigolians.
"However, Locke's life here is pretty good now and he even has his own property here in the city. Additionally, he's a famous dual Gold ranked instructor of our academy. There really isn't a point of going back to the desolate Northlands as life here in Morante City is definitely way better," said Steve. Being a local of Morante City, he was rather proud of the city and being one of its local inhabitants.
"Maybe Locke can go back once, inherit the dominion and then come back. He can leave the managing of the dominion to his subordinates and live his life in Morante City as usual," suggested Yuriy, thinking that it was the perfect solution for both spectrums of the issue.
Lorist gave a bitter laugh and thought, it's not as simple as you think, Yuriy… The dominion in the Northlands is easily over thousands of kilometers away from here and traveling to and back on quick horseback would take 3 months at least. After all, Lorist wasn't like the nobles who had their dominions on the Falik Plains or the neighboring kingdoms who could return to their dominions within a few short days from Morante City.
Charade asked, "Where are the people sent by your family?"
"Reidy brought him to go find his partner. Both of them split up to look for me in Morante City," replied Lorist.
"Find you? But you're so famous. Doesn't your family know that you are an instructor at the Dawn Academy?" asked Charade in a surprised tone.
"I have already lost contact with my family for almost 7 years you know. The people who do know about me studying at Morante City had already perished from bandit attacks, including my third uncle, who was the one who sent me here in the first place. The rest of my family members know that I'm studying in Morante City, but not which academy I've enrolled in. After that, the 6-year-war made it even harder for us to communicate. Only with the recent turn of events in my family did they decide to send someone to come for me. However, none of them know of my reputation as Iron Locke here. They have asked people at many different academies but no one knew who Norton Lorist was. After that, they decided to gather information from different inns before they met Alisa, who then came over to tell me about them," explained Lorist.
"I see… No wonder they had a hard time looking for you. While many people know you as the famous Iron Locke, those who know your full name don't even number more than ten. So, what are you going to do?" asked Charade.
"I still don't know…" Lorist shook his head and said, "I'm really confused right now and I don't really know which is the right course of action. I'll decide after I talk to them when they come back."
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A moment later, Reidy brought Shadekampf and Patt who were dressed in clean new clothes back to Lorist. At that time, he was hugging Alisa as he sat looking at Howard having his hair cut by old man Luke across the back alley of the Red Grace Inn. Alisa looked at Lorist and asked, "Uncle Locke, you said that that beggar just now was looking for you? Are they sent here by your family?"
Lorist nodded and said, "Yes, I really have to thank you, Alisa, for treating him to the chicken drumsticks. Alisa really is a good girl."
Alisa furrowed her brows and thought for a bit before showing an enlightened expression. "I know, Uncle Locke's family are people who beg for food! They're beggars!"
Pffft! Els spit out a mouthful of ale at Charade who was sitting opposite to him. Ignoring Charade's complaints and clutching his belly while laughing, Els said, "A… Alisa… What you said was… too funny! Locke's family members… are beggars… hahahahahaha!"
Lorist showed a troubled expression and said, "Alisa, Uncle Locke's family members do not work as beggars. Look, he's in front of you right now. Does he look like one to you?"
Shadekampf who stood before them had a face that was as red as a baboon's rear. He really felt like finding a small hole and diving into it. Patt, who was standing beside him wore a swordsman garb and looked rather valiant.
Lorist placed Alisa down and walked towards Patt. After comparing their heights, he sighed and said, "Patt, long time no see. Both of us have already grown up to be so different from the rowdy brats we used to be."
Patt sighed as well and said, "That's true, young master. We've really grown up haven't we…"
In Lorist's memories, Patt was his rival from the days of his childhood. When the both of them met, they always broke into a fight and one of them always went home crying. If they meet on the next day, the whole cycle would begin all over again. Now that the both of them had met after such a long time, a feeling of intimacy and nostalgia sparked between them instead.
Patting Patt's shoulder (TL: pun unintended. Please don't kill me XP), Lorist laughed and said, "That's great. You're even taller than me now. I really don't know what you ate to grow so tall. This journey must have been tough on you. Let's fill our bellies first before we talk about the rest. I've already got the cook to start preparing the food in the kitchen. Sister Louise, you can start serving the dishes now," shouted Lorist towards the inn counter.
After that, he turned to old Luke and said, "Luke, after cutting Howard's hair, take care of Reidy's too, followed by Shadekampf's and Patt's. I'll pay you two large silvers in total."
"Thanks for your patronage. I'll make sure that they will looked refreshed like never before," said old Luke, elated.
Lorist noticed Shadekampf's and Patt's uncomfortable expressions for having their master pay for their expenses and said, "This is my turf, so you better leave things to me. I'm your young master to begin with, so just let me handle the things my way. I'll bring you back to my house after we have a nice meal. We can start having a serious talk after that."
Troubles Within the Family
The carriage stopped in front of the entrance of Lorist's house. Reidy turned to Patt, who was sitting beside him in the coachman's seat, and said, "We're here. This is master's house."
After that, he got off the carriage and opened the door. Lorist came down with Alisa hugged in his arms with Howard, Els and Shadekampf following behind him.
Charade, Terman, Yuriy and Steve rented another coach that arrived a little later, after which they all got off one by one and entered Lorist's home. Patt didn't follow the group into the lounge and instead helped Reidy with bringing the Zeno Horses back into the stable.
Reidy asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why aren't you following them inside?"
Patt thought for a bit and said, "I have come here to look for the young master because it was my grandfather's wish. He instructed me that even if the young master refuses to go back to the dominion, I was to stay here by his side and watch out for him because he is the sole heir of the Norton Family from the main line of descent. No matter what, no harm can come to the young master."
Reidy laughed out loud before saying. "Brother Patt, it's not that I'm looking down on you, but given the situation, it should be you who gets protected by the master instead of the other way around. Given your ability as an Iron rank, it's already pretty commendable if you can take care of yourself and not become a burden for master."
Patt rolled his eyes and talked in an snappy tone, "In the Northlands, we have a saying that goes like this, 'even the most alert magical beast has a moment of weakness; even the strongest of horses have times when they slip'. I already know the young master's reputation as Iron Locke, Silver Undefeated. However, no matter how strong he is, he's still only one person. As long as I'm with him, it's enough if I can serve as a silent shield for him. Even if I'm only an Iron rank now, I believe that I'll be able to help the young master out much more when I reach the Silver rank."
"Well said, Patt." Suddenly, Lorist showed up beside them and said, "Did Butler Gleis really ask you to stay by my side and serve me?"
Patt nodded honestly and said, "If you are going to return to the dominion and inherit the place, then I will serve as your personal attendant. Even if you don't, I'll still stay by your side and offer whatever protection I can to you."
Patt laughed at what he said himself with a hint of derision before continuing, "Then again, after seeing you again for myself, you have changed way more than I could ever imagine. It's not only your skills... Even your personality has become totally different. You no longer need a person like me to protect you anymore. When the family lost communications with you, my grandfather Gleis and the rest of the elders thought that you might have been in a rather tight spot. It seems that they were wrong."
Feeling a little touched, Lorist nodded and said, "It's been ten years. The moment when I left the household has already passed for so long and I have been unable to contact the family for the past seven years as well. I had to adapt to survive. For me to have turned out like this today wasn't without its hardships. Alright, Patt, let's go in and have a chat about the family's situation."
It appeared that Shadekampf was more informed about the situation back in the Northlands that Patt. After the series of tragedies, the Norton Family's military might decreased by a whole lot. Even though Lorist's father was unable to advance from the One Star Gold rank due to an injury he had incurred from hunting magical beasts in his youth, he was still the main pillar of support for the family and his death had greatly destabilized the family's rule. Lorist's elder brother's death was an even heavier blow to the family. Being a Gold ranked knight, he had been struck with a poison arrow when he was leading a charge on the battlefield and had passed away soon after. As for the third young master, due to contracting a rather serious illness as a result of being pushed into the well at a young age, he was unable to awaken his Battle Force and had lost his life from falling off his horse which was startled by a magical beast.
Lorist truly felt rather unsettled at hearing all that. He understood that half the cause behind the third young master's death was due to the fact that he had fallen sick and wasn't able to train in Battle Force from an early age, which was chiefly the fault of the original owner of Lorist's body who had pushed his little brother down the well out of jealousy. Now that the current Lorist had inherited the body, he had also took up the fault and guilt for being half responsible for his little brother's death.
According to Shadekampf. when the third young master encountered the magical beast, the sole Three Star Silver Knight which was part of the young master's personal guard was present. While he had successfully slain the magical beast, he incurred heavy injuries and had to rest and recuperate for a period of time. Currently, the family only had one other One Star Silver female knight. Her name is Andrea Pesha and she is the daughter of Knight Andrea, who had served the family before his death, and was also the childhood friend of the first young master. While she was engaged to the first young master due to a the decision of the old master, she was never formally married to him as the first young master had perished in battle before that could happen. Shadekampf asked Lorist if he still remembered the face of that red-haired girl who always followed behind the first young master.
Lorist nodded. Within the memories he had inherited, there was indeed a red-haired girl who was as rowdy as most boys of her age. Lorist remembered the painful episode of her heavily pummeling him because he pulled on her ponytail once out of mischief.
Shadekampf continued and said that aside from Pesha, the rest of the main force of the family were a few Iron Swordsmen in the garrison squad as well as several other Iron ranked old men who lived in the castle. Currently, Pesha was in charge of managing the affairs in the dominion as Butler Gleis had stepped out of the limelight due to his age. That's why the family desired Lorist to return to succeed the position of the dominion lord as soon as possible.
Patt, who had been part of the personal guard of the late Baron Norton, described the events that led to Lorist's father's death. According to him, when the Lord Baron had heard about the attack from the barbarians, he quickly summoned the armored cavalry that was stationed within the castle which numbered only 18 people. This was all that remained of the main force of the family's military. Including the Lord Baron and Patt, they were a force of 20 mounted soldiers. As the barbarian pillagers had come with a force of about 50 people, the Lord Baron requested help from the garrison and was prepared to take out the invading barbarians.
As Patt and the Lord Baron had arrived at the enemy's base early, they discovered that the barbarians were not yet prepared for battle. As the agreed time for the joint attack with the garrison was nearing, the Lord Baron decided to launch the assault first and believed that the garrison would later arrive from the other side of the battlefield and join them in launching a pincer attack to wipe out the invading barbarians.
Patt said that he had tried to warn the baron to wait for the arrival of the garrison troops before launching the attack, but his warning was ignored and the baron initiated the assault immediately. At first, the surprise attack seemed to work and the barbarians weren't able to react in time. However, as they noticed the troops of the baron were far fewer than their own, their morale rose and they gathered for a counterattack. Had the garrison troops arrived at that moment, the barbarians would be completely defeated without a doubt. But no matter how long they waited, not a single garrison soldier could be seen on the battlefield. Seeing his troops starting to falter, the Lord Baron himself joined the fray even though he still hasn't completely recovered from his sickness. It was at that moment when the barbarians started cheering as their reinforcements of 50 more people joined the battle. The baron's troops quickly crumbled and Patt and the baron were the only ones who emerged alive from the carnage.
When Patt returned from battle, he got wind that the garrison troops were never dispatched in the first place. In a fit of rage, he went over to the main camp of the garrison and injured Malte, the commander of the garrison troops, which prompted the rest of the garrison members to go on a strike at the Norton Family castle and demand for Patt to be sent out for them to punish. The matter was only settled when Butler Gleis and Pesha tried very hard to calm them down on account of the relationship the family had with the garrison over the past hundreds of years. That was also the other reason why Butler Gleis had Patt leave with Shadekampf to look for Lorist so that he doesn't get into trouble with the garrison troops again.
Based on Shadekampf and Patt's explanation, it could be said that the Norton Family was in a rather tight spot at the moment. The first one was that every winter, a wave of migrating magical beasts would move to the dominion from the wilderness to look for a food source. If the magical beasts that come to the dominion were only herbivores like those magical bulls and goats, then it wouldn't be much of an issue. At most, the farmlands and orchards would sustain some amount of damage. However, what usually followed behind those beasts were carnivorous magical beasts like snow wolf packs or leopards which attacked even the towns and bastides.[1]
The second problem were the barbarians. The Norton Family dominion is located in the far desolate north. Further north was the limitless Blackmud Marsh and to its west was the Bladedge Mountains which separated the dominion from the sea. To procure salt, the Northlanders had to cross the Bladedge Mountains to boil seawater, which was needless to say, an arduous task. That was also why the price of salt in the Northlands have always been relatively high. To the south of the dominion was the Black Forests and the desolate hills, where the sole passageway out of the Northlands from the dominion was located. To the east was the Magical Dragon Mountains which was nothing but dense, primal forests and tall domineering peaks where the barbarians mainly resided.
It was said that the barbarians were the descendants of humans who had went into the mountains to lay in hiding for survival after the fall of the magical civilization during the dark ages. Having lost all contact with the outside world, their culture and customs deteriorated into a more primal form, among which included worshipping ancient totems, eating their food raw and not having any rules but the law of the jungle where the strong oppressed the weak. Even though in recent times they have started coming into contact with people outside of the mountains, they retained their old barbaric ways and made no effort for communication.
The barbarians had already started causing trouble when the first generation family founder of the Nortons was enfeoffed the dominion by plundering and pillaging. They were even harder to handle than the waves of magical beasts in the area. The family founder had once tried to set up 10-odd outpost villages to develop the dominion but had to abandon the plan as the attacks of the barbarians caused much loss of lives and property. The main reason for Lorist's father, the late Baron Norton in launching the attack against the barbarians was also because they had plundered the only livestock ranch of the Nortons and took almost all their cows and sheep.
The third main problem the Nortons had was the garrison squad in the dominion. Out of the 5000 citizens the Norton Family has in their dominion, almost 3000 of them lived in Wildnorth Town, the only town within the lands of the Nortons. The citizens there were mostly relatives of the garrison squad who occupied two-thirds of the safe farming areas within the dominion and only paid a tax of ten percent of their harvest and nothing else.
Back in the day, due to a low population in the Norton Family's dominion, the founding family leader invited vagabonds as well as purchased slaves and granted them freedom in his dominion so that he would have a workforce to develop the land. Those who joined the dominion garrison were also granted preferential treatment and privileges despite their meager salary, such as an exemption from all other taxes apart from 10% of the harvest they get and unconditional ownership over their farmland.
Other than that, as a dominion lord entitled by the Krissen Royal Family, the Norton Family had the responsibility of sending military support if the royal family requested it and also had to pay a yearly tribute of 10% of the harvests of their farmland to the imperial government. At that time, most other noble families levied a taxation rate of about 50% of the harvests of the citizens under their jurisdiction along with other taxes like per capita tax, trading tax, fishing tax, firewood tax, etc. It was already rather benevolent for the nobles to let the citizens of their dominion have enough to feed themselves.
The treatment that the garrison squad members received was as if the Norton Family didn't collect any taxes from them at all apart from the 10% that was required to be submitted to the empire. Initially, not many wanted to enlist as a garrison member, as that represented risking their lives to drive off the magical beast wave every winter season. However, as the safe zones in the dominion expanded and stabilized, a rising number of people could see the great treatment they would receive as members of the garrison and the garrison troop numbers rose quickly, much to the Norton Family's delight, until much later when they discovered a flaw with the system.
Normally, on the Grindia Continent, when a family's descendants became adults, they would leave their parents and start independent families of their own. However, these garrison members refused to leave their homes and lived together even though many of them had already married and started their own families. The main reason for that was so that the other family members get to enjoy the preferential treatment granted to their parents, who were members of the garrison. Some garrison members even demanded for their siblings who were not enlisted into the garrison to be granted farmland.
It wasn't until then that the Norton Family started regretting enacting a policy like that. However, at that time, due to the tremendous contribution the garrison had, instead of scrapping the policy altogether, the family only enforced a limit of roughly 6000 square meters of land per person, which can only barely sustain a family of three from the yearly harvest and believed that would limit the garrison family members from exploiting the policy. Little did the Norton Family know that the garrison family members were after the tax exemptions rather than the farmland and heavily fished and engaged in salt smuggling to the point where their lives were even more lavish than that of the Nortons.
Over the course of a hundred-odd years, the garrison members grew in number and many other families sprouted in Wildnorth Town with the smaller ones having at least 20 people and the larger ones having around 40, making them a force to be reckoned with in the dominion.
While the Nortons had wanted to wipe out the garrison troops at one point, they had to give up as the entanglement of the Nortons and the families of Wildnorth Town was too deep: many of the servants and soldiers of the family's main army had relatives living in Wildnorth Town. If there were any military movements, the garrison would quickly get the news about it. If the Nortons really wanted to use brute force to wipe the garrison out, the result would only be disastrous for both sides and the Nortons would become the laughing stock in the noble circles.
On the other hand, as long as the Norton Family doesn't touch the preferential treatment the garrison family members have, the garrison would still heed their orders. When the first young master was still alive, the garrison still remained loyal to him and were willing to participate in skirmishes here and there. But after the first young master's death and the old master becoming bedridden from an illness, the third young master took over and the garrison started to show signs of disobedience. For example, when magical beasts attacked the third young master's group, the garrison members fled immediately and allowed the beasts to startle the young master's horse, causing him to fall to his death.
That was also the case one year back when the old master launched the attacks against the barbarians. Due to the garrison not showing up for the battle, the old master incurred serious injuries. They even dared to surround the family's castle and demand for Patt to be handed over. In one way or another, that behavior could already be considered treason to the ruling family nobles. However, due to the Norton Family's deteriorated military force, they had to try to negotiate for peace with the garrison. Thus, the problem of the garrison is an undertaking that the next family head will have to solve.
The other issue was territorial disputes with the neighboring noble families, especially with Viscount Kenmays whose dominion was located south of the Norton Family's dominion. Given that the Northlands were mostly barren, disputes over territory rarely occurred. However, the Morgan Hills where the Norton Family's mines were located had drawn the Kenmays' attention. As the mines were the main source of the income for the Nortons, they engaged in several martial conflicts with the Kenmays, causing them to incur a huge loss.
In actuality, Viscount Kenmays had no jurisdiction whatsoever over that region as it was originally part of the Norton Family's territory as per the enfeoffment of the founding Krissen emperor himself. On the other hand, the Kenmays' territory was only recently granted to them by the Second Prince almost five years ago, which also included the Morgan Hills. Whether the mistake was intentional or not was debatable. Even so, the Kenmays should have conceded the territory and asked the Second Prince to redraw the borders as the land originally belonged to the Nortons. However, the Second Prince couldn't be bothered to settle the dispute and asked the two families to handle it themselves, which ultimately resulted in armed conflict with the Nortons emerging victorious.
However, now that the Norton Family's influence was declining, the Kenmays tried to claim the Morgan Hills for themselves once again. And this time, due to the cousin sister of Viscount Kenmays becoming the mistress of Duke Loggins of the Northlands, the Kenmays became even more bold and started another mine at another spot of the Morgan Hills and started taking the resources that rightly belonged to the Nortons, who could only swallow their anger and endure.
If Viscount Kenmays knew of the true predicament the Nortons were in, it wasn't hard to imagine him launching another attack at the Morgan Hills right away and take the mines of the Norton Family for himself. Should that come to happen, the Nortons would lose their main source of income and soon go bankrupt. This was the fifth issue the Norton Family had, an economical crisis.
Just ten years prior, while the Norton Family didn't levy heavy taxes on their dominion folk unlike most other nobles of the time, they relied on their own armed forces to hunt magical beasts for their furs traded them along with some other local products of the Northlands at Morante City through the family's own merchant convoy. Back then, the yearly income was rather great and the family had easily over 200 fully mounted and equipped soldiers in their famous armored cavalry.
But the good times came to an end when the whole merchant convoy led by Lorist's third uncle fell under the attacks of bandits, causing the family to lose its main source of income. After the first young master led the armored cavalry to war under the Second Prince's banner as well as the battle which the old master had fought with his barbarians, only tens of the original 200 soldiers of the cavalry remained with almost half of them crippled. The pension the family had to pay to the relatives of the dead soldiers cost the family another great fortune.
The Second Prince's order for the Norton Family to become the subordinate of Duke Loggins instead of the Krissen Royal Family further exacerbated the situation. Had the first young master been alive, he would have definitely refused to accept the order even if that meant making an enemy of all the other nobles in the Northlands as the Norton Family had pledged their allegiance to the Krissen Royal Family and not some random prince.
The Second Prince was still rather courteous when the first young master was still alive. However, shortly after his death, the Second Prince quickly tossed the Nortons to the duke and didn't reimburse the Nortons for their losses when they fought for him. Not only was this a huge blow to the Norton Family, it could also be considered a huge breach of etiquette and insult against them. But most of the nobles in the Northlands served the Second Prince at that time so the Nortons had no choice but to accept the situation.
Even though Duke Loggins wasn't of the Krissen Royal Family, the ridiculous taxes he levied on the lands under his rule easily rivaled half of the revenue of a noble family's dominion. While the other noble families could still somehow cope with it, the Nortons didn't collect as much taxes from the family members of the garrison troops and had to pay it from their own pockets. Had it not been for the mines, the family's accounts would have been in the red long ago.
Even though the wars in the empire had ended, the duke made no attempt to lower the taxes and instead introduced yet another country-rebuilding tax with bringing back the glory of the Krissen Empire being the main excuse. However, no one knew how long the collection of that tax would go on for. Given that the main transportation route for the Nortons were in the duke's territory, they could do naught but endure yet again.
When Shadekampf finally finished describing the whole situation of the Norton Family's dominion, everyone fell silent. Even Terman, who suggested that Lorist go back to inherit the dominion, was totally speechless. It was practically a pit of fire! Nobody would willingly jump into one and try to put the fire out.
Charade asked Patt and Shadekampf, "Did the family specify a deadline for Locke to return to the dominion?"
Patt replied, "The old master had passed away around the 3rd month of this year and we took about 3 months to come all the way here from the Northlands because we were caught up with bandits, slave traders and conflicts within noble dominions along the way. After arriving here, we took another month before finally finding the young master. My grandfather said that if the young master intends to inherit the position of the lord, he has to arrive at the Northlands before the 3rd month of next year or another successor will be picked from the illegitimate children of the old master."
Charade nodded and said, "That's great. At least there's still time to decide. For the two of you, you should stay by Locke's side and decide for yourselves which option will be better for him and give him some time to think about it as well. Let's leave it at this for today."
[1] Fortified medieval towns. See Wikipedia.
The Fanatical Female Students
Lorist was starting to feel that his villa might not be as big as he had once thought as the attic was already remodeled into the two children's bedroom and the guest room on the second floor was by Potterfang with only one guest room left vacant. The two servant's quarters were occupied used by Kelly and Reidy as well. It seemed that Shadekampf and Patt have no other choice but to stay in the guest room.
He then decided to got to the storeroom on the first floor to move the things within out so that Patt and Shadekampf could each have one room. When Lorist told those two his intentions, they looked at him with a weird gaze and strongly objected to the idea.
Shadekampf said that he was only Lorist's servant and not his guest, so he only needs to sleep on something during the night and didn't need a room of his own since he was going to be following Lorist around all day. With his position and status, if Lorist were to let him stay in the guest room, it would become a huge joke among the nobles if word got out, as there has been no precedent where a noble would let a servant stay in a room on the same floor with the master. He suggested to have a simple mattress or even a rug be placed on the empty space beneath the stairs for him to lie on during the night.
Patt also rejected the offer to stay in the vacant guest room for same reason Shadekampf mentioned. Being the young master's personal bodyguard, he could only stand guard outside the master's room but couldn't stay on the same floor as the master.
Having come from a world where people treated each other as equals, Lorist almost forgot that he is currently living in Grindia where nobles lorded over the common folk. The mercantile atmosphere in Morante City has also made Lorist forget his status as a person of noble descent, leading him to treat Patt and Shadekampf as guests, only to have his offer rejected and be reminded of the difference in status between them.
Lorist was at a little loss when Reidy gave him a satisfying suggestion, "Master, why don't you remove the flower parterre in the yard and set up two wooden huts there?"
"That's a brilliant idea, Reidy. We'll do just that. Go to Supervisor Skali and have her send someone to come work on it as soon as possible. When the construction is completed, pick one of the huts for yourself and let Patt have the other one. Shadekampf will then move into your servant room."
"Okay," said Reidy as he dashed out of the villa and went looking for Skali.
"Master, you don't have to spend any money on us. As long as we have a place to sleep, we'll be fine," said Shadekampf.
"Hehe," laughed Lorist. "I have earned quite a bit lately, you know. Since the both of you have decided to follow me around, then let me handle this my way. Your treatment will also affect the image of the Norton Family. I will treat you the same as how I treat Reidy for now. Every month, you will each receive two gold Fordes. And Patt, I will have someone provide you with the appropriate equipment so you don't have to worry about it."
"Thank you, young master," said Patt candidly.
"Master, aren't you paying us a little too much?" Shadekampf was a little startled as two gold Fordes was equal to six imperial gold coins, or sixty imperial silver coins! When he was working at the Northlands, his salary was only five imperial silvers a month! It had instantly risen by a huge amount!
Lorist merely waved his hand and left no room for negotiation. "That's what you deserve. But make no mistake, your tasks in the coming days will not be easy. Patt, I see that you're already a Three Star Iron rank and can break through to the Silver rank within two to three months. Shadekampf, you haven't been training your Bronze rank Battle Force for quite some time, have you?"
Shadekampf made a difficult expression and said, "Young master, I don't know why but somehow I keep forgetting the major blood circulation paths I've learned… It was already quite a stroke of luck for me to have been able to awaken my Battle Force back in the day. It's not that I don't want to practice it, but I just keep forgetting those paths. The old master has said before that I don't have any talent for Battle Force training and the successful awakening of my Battle Force is wasted on me…"
Like Patt, Potterfang and Shadekampf were both citizens of the Krissen Empire and practiced a standard middle-ranked Battle Force technique taught in the Krissen Imperial Army. It was a technique that allowed one to train to the Silver rank and allowed the practitioners to train further in any other higher-ranked Battle Force regardless of attributes. However, it was much more complicated than most normal Battle Force techniques and even had higher requirements if used to awaken one's Battle Force.
The first reason why Potterfang came over to Morante City was due to the fact that the city allowed anyone to come and go as they wished because of the propaganda of freedom and equality propagated by the Forde Trade Union. It was his intention to let his children have a peaceful and blissful life over here. The other reason was because the standard army Battle Force technique he had trained in had already reached the peak of the Silver rank so he could no longer advance any further. WIth that in mind, he intended to continue working as a mercenary to save up some money and purchase a high-ranked Battle Force manual to break through to the Gold rank.
In Morante City, Potterfang had a much better chance of buying a high-ranked Battle Force manual as in the former Krissen Empire, such techniques were usually monopolized by the nobles. Unless Potterfang managed to serve under a noble family for more than ten years or have some kind of major accomplishment and get a high-ranked Battle Force manual as a reward, there was no way he could get his hands on one there. As such, Potterfang has been taking up some missions day and night to earn money and put his children in Lorist's care.
Lorist smiled and said, "It's alright. I have a much simpler Battle Force manual with me whose major circulation paths are much easier to remember. As long as you train hard for two to three years, it shouldn't be a problem for you to reach the Iron rank."
Lorist was referring to the basic Battle Force technique used by the students of his Battle Force awakening course. It was indeed a rather simple technique that was ideal for beginners who had just managed to awaken their Battle Force.
Shadekampf could only agree hesitantly to continue his training.
Lorist looked at him and said in a serious tone, "Shadekampf, as your young master, I won't tolerate incompetent subordinates. If you don't at least train to the Iron rank I won't keep you by my side. In the future, I will give you a test every three months and every time I see no improvement in your Bronze Battle Force I will decrease your salary. If your salary gets decreased until there isn't any left, then you'll be sacked. Got it?"
"Yes, young master. I will definitely give it my all," promised Shadekampf.
"As for Patt, follow me around for a bit to familiarize yourself with the Dawn Academy. When the wooden huts are complete, you can start training with Reidy. When I have some free time, I'll come up with a training regimen for you to raise your combat potential.���
"Yes, master." No matter what Lorist said, Patt agreed right away.
"I think you should stop calling me young master. Just call me Locke. I'm more used to it that way," instructed Lorist.
"Okay, young master Locke," replied Shadekampf and Patt in unison.
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First thing in the morning, Lorist got up early and was training as usual in the yard. Howard was exercising according to a routine Lorist had given him that had the effect of enhancing one's fundamental capabilities and physique. Alisa, on the other hand, was still lazing around in bed. Reidy had his own training regimen which also included the eight fundamental sword moves. Lorist had him train along with Shadekampf and Patt.
After finishing his morning training, Lorist could see workers carrying building materials into the yard. When Reidy brought back the contractor the day before, Lorist had him measure the dimensions of the land on which the wooden huts will be built and the contractor said that they could be completed within seven short days as the design of the huts were rather simple. However, the cost for the labor and the materials would cost up to 18 gold Fordes.
Lorist agreed to it without a moment's hesitation.
Now that he had finished the breakfast Kelly had prepared, he left Reidy at the yard to oversee the workers before bringing Shadekampf and Patt around the academy. Quickly, they arrived at the plaza where the Peterson young master, Dorsedaus, was training at.
Sol, I knew that it would be like this, Lorist cursed in his heart.
"Excuse me, please make way. I'm an instructor," said Lorist. Looking emotionlessly at the wave of girls who were all dolled up staring at him with razor sharp glares while moving out of the way, he finally managed to pass through the wave of fanatical female students and made his way to join the other instructors.
"Young master, there are so many girls here that they've filled up the whole plaza! There should be at least a 1000 of them, right?" said Patt. He had never seen so many pretty young girls gathered at the same place at one time. His face was reddened from passing through so many of them for the first time in his life.
Lorist said in an annoyed tone, "All the girls in the academy who think they look somewhat decent are gathered here. Even if they aren't 1000 people, there should be 800 at the very least."
Yuriy then came over. The group of commoner students he was put in charge of had all successfully awakened their Battle Force and were allowed to enjoy their semester break after they familiarized themselves with the basic Battle Force circulation paths. When they return during the start of the semester, they will be taught the fundamentals of training and applying their Battle Force which wasn't a huge problem and normal instructors could be put in charge of it. However, Dorsedaus's training was far more important as it involved the bonus payment all the instructors were going to get. The 3000-gold-Forde bonus promised by President Peterson was far too alluring. Apart from some instructors who were still monitoring students whose Battle Force have not yet been awakened, the other instructors who should have already been allowed to take their vacation came over to work overtime of their own accord.
There were 30-odd instructors and assistant instructors surrounding Peterson Dorsedaus, essentially creating a record high instructor to student ratio that was unprecedented. Then again, there was no other way around that as the instructors had to prevent the fanatical fangirls from interrupting the young master's training.
That's right. The female students that were gathered all over the small plaza were there for the heir of the Peterson family. And each and every one of them had the same daydream, that was to get to know the young master better and form a relationship with him to marry into riches and live the rest of their lives in bliss and enjoy the delicacies, jewelries, dresses as well as inexpendable wealth that came with it. Most of the girls who held that pipe dream were of commoner families.
As for the girls from noble families who were far better dressed than the rest of their peers, they were probably smitten by Dorsedaus's current handsome and dashing look, or the influence and power of the Peterson Family. Or, perhaps they were encouraged by their family elders to accost the young master so that their families may benefit from a relationship with the Petersons. Unlike most other commoner girls, these noble young ladies had at least a couple of bodyguards standing right behind them.
I'm really out of words. I didn't expect for that fatty who's trying to lose weight to end up becoming top grade bodybuilding material… Lorist sighed inwardly.
Not only was it far out of Lorist's expectations, everyone who had seen the young master who couldn't even run a single lap without breathing raggedly months ago were shocked as well. Nobody could have imagined that after shedding all that fat from the hellish training he had endured, he would have such a perfect and magnificent figure beneath.
Dorsedaus was already 190 centimeters in height in the first place; he was taller than Lorist by about 10 centimeters. But at that point, nobody paid any attention to that because of his obese body. But now that he had successfully slimmed down, his height and physique started to shine through. Coupled with the painful training under the threat of the whip for all that time, he had also developed nice muscles all over his body which gave his upper body a perfect inverted triangle shape, much to the envy of many. The two huge lumps of muscle on his arms only served to further display his strength. His skin even had a healthy tan having been training all day outdoors and gleamed and sparkled from the sweat that trickled down all over.
If Dorsedaus were still the fat lump he was a couple of months ago, even if the female students in the academy knew of his wealthy family background, none of them would even bother to give him any attention. But when he had successfully lost all that weight, the female students who passed by the plaza occasionally accidentally caught glimpses of his handsome form as he trained away all day and stayed there to admire his looks.
At first, the instructors didn't mind that much as having a few girls around was quite a pleasing thing. It didn't take long for those instructors to start telling the girls about his impressive family background.
So the man training nonstop in the plaza is actually the future heir of the Peterson Family, which is one of the seven most influential establishments within the Forde Trade Union! He even looks so handsome, bright and cheerful! Oh, he looked me in the eye and smiled! I can't take it anymore! I'm going to faint, thought one of the girls who later became his first fangirl.
In time, the whole academy's female students got to know about Dorsedaus's looks and family background and started gathering around the plaza all dressed up, cheering him on and hoping to gain some of his attention for themselves. Even when one instructor told the girls that the young master was actually doing weight loss exercises and not some kind of strength training, they were all in denial and refused to believe that their prince had any need to lose fat given how he looked now. They even compared Dorsedaus's physique to the instructor's and said that he was the one who needed to lose weight more than the young master and laughed at the belly he had.
Any man would be unable to stand hearing all the praises the fangirls showered on the young master. Some went like, "Oh, he truly is the manliest of men! He's the prince charming of my dreams," while others sounded like, "Look at his magnificent body and muscles! How strong! I really want to jump into his arms and be spoiled by him! Oh… I think I'm drunk with desire…".
Some praises were even more over the top. "Oh the heavens be praised! He is definitely the human incarnation of the Sun God Singwa! Look at his charming smile and deep, complicated gaze… His body radiates nothing but power! It seems that he could shatter a whole mountain with but a huge stomp to the ground…"
Whoa whoa whoa there, young miss… You're talking about a man who only has muscles but not an iota of Battle Force you know, thought Lorist.
"What's with the situation here?" asked Lorist.
Yuriy gave a bitter laugh. "It's like this every day. Most of the instructors are at their breaking point. Why are there so many fanatical female students in the academy?"
"Even I don't know the answer to that… It seems that I have to ask Charade to dispatch someone from the Enforcement Division to maintain the order around here. Also, when overseeing that kid's training, make sure to also be alert and don't let any one of the girls have a chance to get close to him," said Lorist in a worried tone.
"Huh?" Lorist turned to look at Dorsedaus stopping and chatting to a girl who was sitting under a parasol.
"Who's that?" Lorist asked Yuriy. "Why is no instructor punishing him from stopping his training halfway? Where's the whip?"
"That's the daughter of the Morosen Duchy's duke and she bears the title of a princess. Rumor says that their family are quite close to the Petersons and she often stops by to cheer on the young master's training."
"As for the whip…" Yuriy shrugged. "It's in this box. Nobody dares to use it now! Last time when an instructor tried to teach the young master who was slacking off a lesson, he was almost torn apart alive by the fangirls all over! Right now, they have no choice but to politely encourage him to continue training instead of whipping him like they used to."
"Yuriy, bring Shadekampf to the great hall and let him see the basic Battle Force major circulation path diagram and have him memorize and copy it down before letting him train in it for about an hour. This fellow finds it hard to remember his own technique's circulation path and it's a waste of his awakened Battle Force! Just leave the situation here to me," said Lorist as he took the whip from the box and walked over to Dorsedaus followed behind by Patt.
Dorsedaus was chatting away happily with the young princess in front of him and ignoring the warnings of the instructors around him about how he still had ten laps to run. Suddenly, the familiar sound of the whip cracked in the air and a searing pain could be felt by the young master on his back. He turned around only to see Lorist's demonic form standing behind him and instantly balled up on the ground in fear and froze up.
As the crowd around the plaza started to get noisy, the cracking sound of the whip and Lorist's loud roars resounded throughout the place. "How dare you slack off and ignore the instructors! Your training in the afternoon will be doubled and you'll get only half the serving of your lunch for today! If you dare to do this again I'll make sure to starve you for three whole days! Understood?! Now get up and start running!"
After whipping the young master for ten more times, Lorist couldn't help but hear curses sounding from the crowd of fangirls. He turned and looked at their bloodlust-filled gazes as they seemed to want to rush over and tear Lorist into a billion pieces.
Whap! Whap! Whoop! Crisp sounds of the whip cracking once again reverberated in the air. Subsequently, Lorist's deep and clear voice reached the ears of everyone present at the plaza. "If you crazy fangirls dare to interrupt the instructors from conducting the training, then don't blame me for being merciless! I will ensure that the lash from this whip on your faces will remain forever and ruin your looks! Don't forget that the Peterson Family will also make sure your families pay the price for interrupting the young master's training! Who wants to give it a try?!"
Cracks from the ground near Lorist that was caused by his heavy whipping could be seen clearly. The crazed fangirls were finally stunned awake from their trance and looked at those cracks in fear before finally retreating backwards.
If the whip only broke the bones of their hands and legs, they would still be willing to try to enter the sights of the prince of their dreams. However, when Lorist threatened to whip their faces, they started to rethink their actions. After all, there wasn't a point in showing up in front of the prince with a ruined face…
"How dare you treat my Brother Haus like that!" This time, the beautiful princess finally snapped out of the shock and started reprimanding Lorist before telling the bodyguards behind her, "Catch him and make sure you give him a good whipping."
The four Silver ranked bodyguards instantly leaped over. Within but a single moment, two of them fell face first towards the ground. The one who was injured lighter was half kneeling and vomiting with a pained expression on his face while the more heavily injured one was twitching uncontrollably on the ground unconscious. The other two bodyguards were stunned frozen and their eyes finally widened as they recognized who Lorist was.
"Your Highness, that's Iron Locke…"
"It's precisely because he's an Iron rank that I asked you to take care of him! Surely four Silver ranks can handle a measly Iron rank without a problem, right? Huh? What happened to the other two?" said the princess as she noticed the two guards lying on the ground.
"Your Highness, That's Iron Locke the Silver Undefeated. The likes of us are from being able to take him on," replied the bodyguard bitterly. It was evident that the princess only paid attention to the latest fashion trends and gossip going around the noble parties and didn't pay attention to anything else, including the news about Iron Locke's triumph. The bodyguards decided that it was better to not mess with Lorist at all and tried to persuade the princess.
"Hmph…" Since the Silver ranked bodyguards have already admitted that they weren't a match for Lorist, the princess had no choice but to give up the notion and turned haughtily with a humph after giving Lorist a deathly stare and left. The other two bodyguards hurriedly nodded in apology to Lorist before taking their fallen comrades away without delay.
Lorist returned to the instructor group and appeared to be in deep thought as he looked at the young master training hard while ignoring the subtle curses directed at himself from the fangirls at the plaza.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Instructor Marlin as he came over.
"Look at all those fangirls gathered here to see the young master train… If we move the training venue to an indoor training hall and set up a ticket booth, don't you think we'll make tons of money?" mused Lorist.
All the instructors who heard that collapsed on the ground immediately...
The Decision
On the third day Patt joined Reidy in his morning training session, he asked him, "Reidy, what's that weird metal wheel with a chair strapped on it in the corner of the yard for? Is it a toy for Alisa and Howard?"
Reidy shook his head and said, "That's not a toy. It's something I used before for my training. It's not like we don't let the kids play with it though. They simply just don't want to."
"A training equipment? I don't seem to understand how it works," said Patt as he gave it another look and tried to imagine how it could be used for training.
"I used to play around in the mountains and forests a lot when I was small. And there was this one time when I accidentally knocked on a bees' nest and naturally, they started swarming around me. I was so scared and started swinging a branch around and managed to kill quite a few of them, but I got stung by many more and had sores all over my body and only managed to recover after a month. Because of that incident, I've developed a phobia of sorts. Don't laugh, that's what master told me," said Reidy, dissatisfied at Patt's laughter.
"Alright, sorry. My bad… Please continue your story," apologized Patt.
"Before, I used to learn swordsmanship from my father. When I came over to Morante City, I also got some lessons from Uncle Charlando, who's the owner of the Red Grace Inn. Don't be fooled by that limp he has, he's actually a Gold Swordsman. When I'm only practicing normal sword moves, I would perform without a problem. However, when I start sparring with someone, the moment I see the flash of a sword, I will unconsciously be reminded of the shiny tails of the bees that have given me so much grief and uncontrollably close my eyes and swing my sword around randomly. At that point, I've already forgotten all the techniques I know. My father and uncle both came to the conclusion that I wasn't swordsman material…"
"But you seem to have pretty good skills now, don't you? I didn't see any of that behavior when I sparred with you yesterday…" Patt couldn't imagine how the current Reidy still had any of those bad habits that he had just mentioned. During the sparring match yesterday, he was surprised and quite dissatisfied with the fact that a Three Star Iron rank like him was evenly matched with Reidy who was at the Three Star Bronze rank. And during the duel, it could be seen that instead of closing his eyes, Reidy had both of them wide open and seemed like he was paying attention to every single move Patt was making. That made Patt doubt the story Reidy had just told him.
"Of course it's no longer an issue for me. I've been treated by master using that training machine. The big metal wheel is called a hollow rotor while that metal chair is called a spinning chair," explained Reidy.
"Hollow rotor? Spinning chair? These two things managed to treat that bad habit of yours? Tell me how it managed to do that," asked Patt curiously.
"Alright. When I first started to train with master, he discovered that bad habit of mine and asked me patiently about the reason that made me develop that habit. I told him about the incident with the bees and he said that it has caused a phobia to develop within my psyche which causes me to unconsciously close my eyes every time I felt like I was in danger. He said it was something called 'ostrich mentality. Don't ask me what an 'ostrich' is, I don't know that either. According to master, it's a kind of bird that lives in desert that hides its head into the sand every time it detects a predator and believes that as long as it can't see the enemy, it would be safe. Do you think there's actually a stupid bird like that?"
"Then what happened after that?" asked Patt impatiently.
"Master said that it would take quite some time to treat the phobia through some kind of psychological treatment to slowly change that mentality of mine. But he also said that there was a quicker method that made one feel extremely horrible but could allow one to gain a unique visual ability that lets one see fast moving objects at a much slower rate. As long as I can see things moving slowly, I wouldn't feel that I was in danger and the instinct to close my eyes wouldn't kick in," explained Reidy.
"So you chose the quicker way?"
"Of course. I decided to do that right away. After that, master had someone make the hollow rotor and the spinning chair. All my life I've never experienced something that dreadful. It took me almost two whole months to be able to get used to the sensation. After that, master said I was successfully treated and put some honey all over my body before releasing a couple of bees for me to strike down with my sword. At first, I was horrified at the notion. But when the bees came at me that time, I suddenly noticed that they approached very slowly. I could even see every flap of their wings clearly and managed to easily kill each and every one of them." Initially, Reidy showed a pained expression when he talked about the treatment process, but he started to sound more eager when he reached the part where he fought against the bees once more.
"Master said that the ability I developed was called dynamic vision which allowed me to perceive fast moving objects at a slowed rate when I focus. When I sparred against you yesterday, I could see each and every one of your sword strikes clearly and could parry every single one of them without breaking much of a sweat, thus allowing a Bronze rank like me to match up to a Three Star Iron rank like you. That's why our sparring match ended up in a draw," said Reidy with a satisfied expression.
Patt looked at the hollow rotor and spinning chair and was instantly moved. "Then Reidy, if I use that chair to train like you did, will I develop that dynamic vision ability as well?"
Reidy was surprised before he said, "You should be able to. Master said that this equipment was built precisely for normal people to develop dynamic vision. If you want to try it out, I'll go ask master for permission. However, let me warn you that when you first start, you'll feel so horrible that you might even want to die. Are you sure that you don't want to reconsider?"
Patt shook his head and said, "I've made up my mind. As long as I can have the same ability as you do, I'm sure that my skills will definitely rise and I will be able to better protect master. I think I'll go ask him myself."
"No, there's no need. I'll ask for you," said Reidy excitedly as he turned and ran towards the house entrance.
Patt touched the equipment and thought, these two things look so simple. I wonder if it's really as horrible as Reidy had described? He couldn't just be trying to dissuade me from using it, could he?
Without delay, Reidy came back and said happily, "Brother Patt, master has already agreed to let you use it. But he said that you have to endure it no matter how terrible you feel and must absolutely not give up in the middle."
Patt said, "Then I promise that I'll never give up. No, I'll even swear."
"Alright, then would you like to start now? Master has said that as long as you train the way I did, you'll definitely be able to develop dynamic vision," said Reidy, who looked like he was about to enjoy a good show.
Maybe it's just my imagination, thought Patt.
At that time, the sound of a horse galloping could be heard approaching the yard. Kelly had returned from the Business Sector from a shopping trip using the carriage shuttle service of the residential area.
Reidy and Patt went over to help her carry the luggage into the storeroom.
"Miss Kelly, what are we having for lunch today?" Reidy asked.
"I'm going to make steak, fish soup, salad, fruit pudding as well as Alisa's favorite chicken drumsticks."
"Alright. You should make one less portion of steak. Otherwise, it'll go to waste," said Reidy.
"Why? Is the young master not coming back for lunch?" she asked.
Reidy smiled and said, "Nope, it's not the young master. You'll know soon..."
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The dark night has come and a veil of silence blanketed the land. Even the frequent croaking of the frogs around the Moon Lake were significantly quieter.
Lorist got up and stood by the window of his room and looked straight at the night view of the Moon Lake. A chilly breeze lifted the curtains and let it dance under the illumination of the silver moon.
The sandglass on a table nearby showed that it was around two in the morning. But Lorist had no desire whatsoever to sleep and after pondering for a bit, he decided to go take a walk by the Moon Lake to calm his feelings down.
The 8th month has already passed and it was currently the 1st day of the 9th month. The academy semester break was officially here.
Few days back, President Peterson sent a box containing 30 gold coin notes to Lorist and thanked once again the instructors as well as the assistant instructors because his son Dorsedaus has successfully managed to awaken his Battle Force along with the last batch of students.
Academy Head Levins also issued the promised reward of 1000 gold Fordes to the instructor team. Coupled with President Peterson's gift, there was at least 4000 gold coins in total. As the head instructor, Lorist collected 300 gold coins. Hughes, Marlin and Anfya each had a bonus of 200. The 24 other instructors each got 100 gold coins while the assistant instructors got 50 each. The remaining gold coins were used for a celebration at the Red Grace Inn where everyone engaged in fervent merrymaking during which Lorist was forced to drink so much that he puked over three times.
As for the aftermath of the duels, Lorist finally secured his title as the Silver Undefeated the moment he got his 3000th win. When the dueling event was finally over, the academy administration had Lorist's physical proportions measured for the life-sized statue they were going to commission for him. Starting from the next semester, his statue will be erected within the academy, forever immortalizing the legend of Iron Locke the Silver Undefeated.
In a few more days, Els finally wrapped up his betting pool. By that time, Lorist will finally receive the 26000 gold Fordes he was entitled to, causing him to have a grand total of almost 30000 gold Fordes. In Morante City, a person with that kind of money could already be considered a tycoon who would be able to live in luxury for tens of years even if they stayed jobless.
And when the next semester comes during the 10th month, there would be no tasks at the moment that the academy can hand to Lorist, meaning that he could use that time to enjoy his life at home or go adventuring with a couple of friends as he has done so in the past. Even though the semester break had finally come, for some reason, Lorist still felt as if a burden could be felt deep in his heart which caused him to be unable to relax to the point where he didn't have any appetite and started having sleepless nights.
The silver moon's light made the lakewater seem to glisten. Lorist sat on a large rock by the bank and stared at the moon's reflection as he thought…
Indeed, he was merely trying to run away. If it were the past few days, he could still use the dueling event and the Battle Force awakening course as an excuse to postpone the decision to return to his homeland. But now that everything was settled, he had no choice but to face the facts squarely.
Why should I return to inherit the dominion? That place is completely foreign to me and I don't know anybody there at all. Also, the family is also in deep trouble and accepting the title of the lord is equal to jumping into a pit of fire… Lorist really couldn't understand. He had lived at Morante City for the past ten years and formed connections with the people here and even got a stable job and was practically a living legend here. This was where he belonged.
Very much satisfied with his life here, Lorist was really unwilling to go to the Northlands to inherit the position. As Shadekampf had said when he first arrived, the standard of living in Morante City was far better than that of the Norton dominion; Morante City was practically paradise. When it came to food and many other necessities, Lorist's homeland couldn't even compare as it really was far too underdeveloped.
So, why, then did he feel a tinge of longing in his heart? It was as if a voice called out nonstop for him to leave Morante City to return to his dominion. Perhaps it was the blood and soul of the Nortons that was ingrained within him that prompted him to feel a deep desire to develop his dominion and strengthen his family. That was probably the deepest dormant instinct the descendants of the Norton family had.
Even though Lorist really wanted to stay in Morante City and not return to his homeland, that wish conflicted with the imprinting of his soul thus making him feel unsettled and bothered till symptoms of insomnia and lack of appetite even manifested. If he continued to go on like that, who knew how bad it would become should he choose to endure the torturous inconsistency within his mind? Maybe if I continue to endure it until the 3rd month next year, the feeling will disappear when the family picks the previous lord's illegitimate child as the heir, Lorist thought.
So what if that person isn't from a proper line of descent? Doesn't he also have the Norton Family's blood in him? The moment Lorist had that notion, a sudden intense wave could be felt within the core of his being, sending chills down his spine.
"Achoo!" sneezed Lorist.
Alright, fine… Illegitimate children still have a fundamentally different status from the bloodline of the official line of descent that flows within my veins… Oh little Locke… It truly feels like we are two people sharing one body… Now that my mind is living in your body, it wouldn't be comfortable for any of us if you continue to struggle like this… Come on, I beg you… stop making me feel so bad… After his sincere pleading, the wave in his body finally calmed down. But a barely audible voice of someone crying could still be heard in his mind. "I want to go home… I want to go home…"
That's right. I want to go home too. Little Locke, your homeland is still within reach but there's no way for me to return to mine...
Lorist silently teared up as he sat alone on the rock by the lake. As the first rays of dawn broke the veil of the night sky, a trail of dried tears could be seen on his face. Lorist stood up and faced the rising sun before saying, "Little Locke, let's go back home together."
Convoy Plans and the Oath of Allegiance
That's right, why don't I just head back? I can treat this trip back to the Northlands as an adventure and also resolve the inner conflict I have with the desperate desire to return home this body has. Whether I will inherit the position of the lord is a whole other matter altogether. If things are really that bad there, it'll never be too late for me to return to Morante City and live my life out in luxury. I wonder why I have been losing sleep over something as small as this…
Lorist's mood instantly turned for the better as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Now that he had decided to go back, he couldn't just visit empty-handed and had to plan and prepare carefully and also wait for Patt to recover from the spinning chair…
On that day, Lorist stood by the window of his study seeing Reidy drag Patt across the yard like a dead dog and strapping him onto the spinning chair before pulling the rope and spinning it faster and faster. Patt, who had been tortured quite horribly for the past few days didn't have the ability to resist at all and didn't even have enough energy to scream for help. He only made a grunt or two from time to time in protest…
Hehe, he's reaping what he sowed. Did he think that dynamic vision is this easily acquired? Back in his previous life when Lorist was still serving in the military, his comrades who could endure unspeakable hardships without batting an eye and were even able to joke around as they used their knives to dig out bullets from their body, couldn't withstand more than two days on the spinning chair. The moment they tried it, they were scared shitless and didn't dare to get on the chair ever again.
The unpleasant feeling after getting on the spinning chair came from the intense vertigo that could turn a 7-foot burly man into a limp noodle within minutes. When Lorist used Reidy as his guinea pig four months back, it took him two whole months for him to be able to get used to the sensation. He also had Potterfang try it out once after he had just recovered but that was also the last time Potterfang used that chair. It seemed that unless one was forced to keep going on to the spinning chair, one would instantly lose that determination to continue using it.
Reidy was doing that exact thing to Patt just as Lorist had once did to him. It was no wonder he was so elated when Patt showed some interest in the training method. For some reason, it was in a human's nature to wish for someone else to experience what one had suffered from before. When one fell into a pit, one would also hope that someone else would suffer the same fate as well.
It had been seven days since Patt started training with the chair. It seemed that he would take at least two months to recover just like Reidy. Lorist decided that he wasn't going to return to his homeland with Shadekampf and Patt empty handed. He recalled that the merchant group led by his uncle was at least worth 1000 gold Fordes or more. Even though the scale of their operations were quite small when compared to the other merchant guilds in Morante City, they were able to earn about 300 gold coins of profit each expedition: that was more than 1000 imperial old head gold coins. Even though Lorist's annual income was close to that, that amount of money would easily boost the family's financial and military strength by a lot.
Now that Lorist did not lack any money, he decided to bring out a few thousand gold coins to form a merchant group or a supply convoy to alleviate the family's grim situation. Even though he still wasn't set on inheriting the position of the dominion lord, the least he could do was to contribute some resources to make up for the fact that he was currently occupying the original owner's body.
However, the process of actually forming a merchant group wasn't simple. The scale of the group and the goods to be delivered had to be carefully considered. Otherwise, if the family a certain type of supplies he brought, the whole trip would end up a waste of time.
He was thankful for the presence of Shadekampf for that. While he wasn't the most talented person when it came to Battle Force training, Shadekampf was quite well-informed of the status of the dominion and understood what type of resources would be most beneficial to the family given his prowess in management taught to him by Butler Gleis. Every night, Lorist had Shadekampf go to his study to tell him more about the dominion to make a list of the things that the family is really in need of.
Now that the question of the resources was settled, what about the manpower required to run the merchant group? Currently, apart from Lorist, Shadekampf and Patt, it was still uncertain whether Reidy would want to follow him back. After the new year, he would only just turn 17 and the highest he can reach while training within these few months was the One Star Iron rank. Lorist was also a little worried about Reidy joining as the trip to the Northlands would no doubt be filled with various risks and dangers. I guess I'll cross the bridge when I come to it. At most, I'll hire a few laborers for a high price. Lorist was quite confident that he would be able to accomplish that with the amount of gold Fordes he had.
The next problem was the route they would take. According to the map, there were three paths that lead to the Krissen Empire's capital from Morante City and there was only one route from the capital that lead to the Northlands. Lorist recalled that the journey when he traveled to Morante City with his third uncle's merchant convoy took about 57 days. The merchant convoy mostly had four-wheeled carriages and could travel about 50 km per day. That meant that the distance of the Northlands from Morante City was about 3000 km.
Before the fall of the Krissen Empire, it was much easier to travel to and fro. Now that the former empire's territory had been split up between 3 kingdoms and 7 duchies, various complications would arise when they cross borders and customs. Given that I'm a noble who's on the way back to inherit my position and my convoy isn't planning to conduct any business, I shouldn't have to pay a lot for the toll costs, right? I better make sure of that before I start the trip. Maybe I should try contacting President Peterson, thought Lorist, as the Peterson Group also had business connections with certain companies in the former empire's capital. If Lorist were to join them on the way to the capital, it would save him lots of trouble.
The last concern Lorist had was the issue of defense and security. Given the volatile state of the former empire's territory, it was not uncommon for convoys to be attacked and pillaged by bandits along the way. After deciding that he would hire a group of mercenaries for a high price to protect his convoy, Lorist went to the mercenary guild to get an idea of the fees required, only to return later on that day with a grim expression. Nobody would have expected that a team of 45 mercenaries would cost 1000 gold Fordes to hire. There was even a restriction that the convoy couldn't be too large. The Gold ranked mercenary band leader was very clear that the price was the best they could offer. If there were to be more than 12 carriages or if the convoy transported weapons and equipment, the price would have to rise even more as it couldn't be helped.
After 6 years of constant conflict, the territories that once belonged to the Krissen Empire lacked resources so much to the point where certain nobles even impersonated bandits to pillage unknowing merchant groups. If the bandits were to get their eyes on the weapons or equipment, the convoy would instantly become a lucrative target and cause the mercenary protectors to inevitably incur losses and casualties.
Coincidentally, Lorist intended to transport some weapons and armor as Shadekampf had listed that as a resource that the family was in dire need of. The 2000 gold Fordes required to hire a mercenary group was far more than the price he used to procure the resources. Instead of hiring mercenaries, Lorist figured that it would be better for him to form a group of 100-odd armed force to protect the convoy and believed that many Silver ranked mercenaries would be willing to tag along for the trip to the Northlands for a couple of gold Fordes. Sigh, let's settle the issue of security when the time comes.
That was how busy Lorist had been in the recent times, going around the city's Business Sector frequently to check on the prices of the resources he intended to transport to his homeland. At any rate, Lorist didn't plan to stay at the Northlands for long. He could be said to have fulfilled the least of his responsibilities to the family by sending them resources to make his contribution. He would later return to Morante City again to enjoy the rest of his life.
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What Lorist didn't expect was the suggestions from a few people to him when he was busy with the preparations. The first one to approach Lorist was Reidy. "Master, are you planning to return to the dominion?"
Lorist nodded and said that he was indeed going back for a while, but he wasn't sure if he would inherit the position yet. Now that Reidy was here, he was about to tell him that he had planned for Reidy to stay at the city. "Reidy, I think you should remain at Morante City. The journey to the Northlands will no doubt be a long and arduous one, not to mention the risks involved…"
"No, master. I'm definitely following you along," Reidy replied resolutely, cutting off the rest of what Lorist had to say. "I'm your personal attendant. How can I ever leave your side? I will not let you leave me behind."
Lorist felt rather surprised and said, "What if Old Char and Els object to it? It's going to be a rather dangerous trip, you know…"
"The main reason I came to Morante City was to join a mercenary group. But for some reason, it had morphed into a syndicate instead and I have no intention of hanging with the likes of them. I already have no other relatives so I am free to go wherever I want, including following master along, so other people's objections don't matter!" exclaimed Reidy with a resolute face. It seemed that he had already set his mind to it.
"Alright, then you can come along," agreed Lorist. He didn't want Reidy to feel that he had been left behind. Since this attendant of his was stubborn and loved challenges, Lorist thought that it wouldn't be too bad for him to experience an adventure like this and thus allowed him to follow along.
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The moment Shadekampf left the study, he bumped into Potterfang outside and hurriedly apologized to him. He has always been quite curious about the mercenary who his master had cared so much about. When Potterfang came back and finished his mercenary mission, he even called for Shadekampf to talk about the situation of the Norton Family. It was then when Shadekampf got to know that Potterfang was also a Northlander who even used to be a military commander in one of the former Krissen Empire's most prestigious armies.
"Is Locke in the study?" asked Potterfang.
"Yes, he is," he replied.
"Thanks."
Lorist was currently looking over the list of items and resources that he intended to bring back to his homeland which he had gone over once with Shadekampf just moments ago. It could be seen from the list that the homeland was really bereft of even the most basic resources to the point that it was questionable how the family could survive till now. The amount of resources required posed quite a problem to Lorist as it required over 100 horse carriages to transport, which was something he couldn't afford to do at the moment. It seems that I have to cut down on some of them and only bring the essentials. It'll be much easier to take care of the convoy with only 20-30 carriages.
"When are you leaving?" Potterfang asked Lorist.
"Ah, Pog, you're here," Lorist greeted as he stood up and stretched for a bit. "Well, the soonest I can leave is when Patt fully recovers, which is in another two months or more. I hope that I'll be able to depart around the 20th day of the 11th month."
"Oh…" Potterfang merely nodded. "Two days ago, I asked Shadekampf about the situation of your family and it does sound pretty dire. I was under the impression that you wouldn't go back there."
"I don't have a choice, my family needs me now. As a descendant of the Norton Family, I have the obligation to go back and share the burden with them," said Lorist as he smiled and shook his head in futility, feeling that he sounded a little too pessimistic when he said that, as if he was going to give up on everything here in Morante City and actually go back to help his family out for real.
"Oh, Pog, you're just in time. I have something to give you," said Lorist as he changed the subject.
He reached into his drawer and took out a high-ranked Battle Force manual with five other gold coin notes and placed them on the table.
"Pog, your Battle Force is of the metal attribute, right? Here is a Battle Force manual that I've prepared for you that'll enable you to train all the way up to the Gold rank. It even contains some insight from the original owner of the manual who had managed to break through to the rank of the Blademaster. This was given to me by my ex-girlfriend as a memorial gift before breaking up with me, but I have totally no use for it. I'm giving this to you in hopes that you will be able to break through into the Gold rank. As for whether you can become a Blademaster, it'll have to depend on your ability and effort. Don't even bother rejecting this gift. Count it as a parting gift from me."
Potterfang looked downwards to the manual and his whole body was shivering uncontrollably...
However, Lorist didn't take note of any of that. He continued to tell Potterfang his plans, "As for these 500 gold coins, it's not for you. It's my gift as a teacher to my precious disciple, Howard and my cute Alisa for you to hold on to. While Howard's physical qualities are rather good, don't neglect his nutrition as well as his physical training and teach him some of the basics of Battle Force when he finally awakens his own. If his Battle Force attribute is different from yours, then I will find a way to help him acquire a high-ranked Battle Force manual.
"Also, I believe that you won't be willing to continue staying here after I leave no matter what I say. I've already had Els purchase a house near the Red Grace Inn for your family to move in in the future. This way, Charlando, the owner of the inn, can help you take care of Howard and Alisa when you're out on mercenary missions and private requests. Actually, Pog, I hope you can reconsider letting me get you a place as an instructor at the academy so that you will be able to continue living here when you become a Gold Swordsman. It'll be better for the kids too…"
Before Lorist finished, Potterfang suddenly stood up and left the room without saying anything.
"Erm…" Lorist was stunned. What's the meaning of this?
In a moment, Lorist heard footsteps from the corridor outside followed by a knocking sound on the door. Potterfang had returned to the room.
However, he was dressed very differently than before. He was currently wearing a ceremonial military officer outfit of the former Krissen Empire with a sword strapped to his side. Potterfang move forward solemnly and knelt before Lorist on one knee before raising his sword over his head and announcing, "I, Grei Potterfang, captain of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Heavy-Armored Corps, am willing to take Norton Lorist as my lord and liege and pledge my allegiance to the Norton Family. Under the witness of the War God, I am willing to give my utmost to contribute and serve under the banner of the Nortons and will absolutely not let my lord down."
Lorist was so surprised he jumped in his seat. This was the oath of allegiance which was commonly initiated to represent the pledging of one's service to an emperor, a king or a grand duke of a duchy. If this ceremony was carried out to nobles not of that rank, it signified that the initiator of the ceremony was willing to share the fate of whom he was pledging his allegiance to, regardless of good or bad times and be loyal for the rest of one's life and even be willing to follow one's lord into rebellion if necessary. This relationship was even closer than that of a lord and the knights of the family.
"Pog… This… this is…" Lorist was totally without a clue on how to respond.
Potterfang remained kneeling with his head lowered without a single movement.
Aren't these ceremonies only carried out after communication between both parties? Coming at me all of a sudden is unfair! Not being able to do anything else, Lorist stepped forward and received Potterfang's upheld sword and unsheathed it before tapping the longsword on Potterfang's head, followed by each of his shoulders as he announced, "From today onwards, our fates will forever be intertwined. You shall see me as your liege and serve as my arms and feet. Let the War God be the witness of this oath and may time engrave this relationship in the prestigious future that is to come."
Lorist had no choice but to respond as such. If he had hesitated for a little too long, the person who initiated the ceremony would feel that he was ignored and this was a grave insult to the initiator. If it was serious, the initiator would slit his own throat on the spot. Otherwise, he would view the other party as a sworn enemy for the rest of his life.
Taking the sword back from Lorist, Potterfang stood back up and made a deep bow towards him before saying, "My lord."
Lorist gave a bitter laugh. "Pog, is there really a need for that? You could've been so much better off here in Morante City. Why did you choose to jump into that fire pit with me?"
Potterfang also laughed lightly before saying, "I wouldn't have stayed in Morante City either way. To be honest, I've been wanting to go back to the Northlands for quite a while. Since I would have to serve some family one way or another to make a living there, I might as pick you. It makes even more sense considering all that you have done for me."
"Then what about the two kids?" Lorist was already starting to worry about them...
"I've already asked Howard about that. He said that you're his master, so he definitely wants to accompany you on this journey. As for Alisa, she's like a redbud flower that grows in the wild and not a weak flower that grows in the safe shelter of the greenhouse. I personally think that you, my lord, pampers her far too much. As a daughter of the Northlands, she'll definitely need to go back and experience the polishing of the harsh wind and snow there," replied Potterfang.
"Sigh..." Alright. I guess Potterfang's family is coming along to the Northlands as well.
Potterfang then took the high-ranked Battle Force manual and said, "Great, I can finally accept this proudly with my head held high. I hope that I will be able to break into the Gold rank within two months so that I will able to better serve you." He then turned and left the room.
"Pog, please don't call me 'lord' and use my name like you always do," said Lorist.
"Alright, Lord Locke."