How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 271: 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (5)

“I met and drove them away.”

“That was quite an accomplishment. It must have been possible because of the wizards.”

“. . .?”

The dwarven rescuers who were listening were confused.

“That wasn’t magic. Schweibeck-nim. His Excellency the Count defeated the spirits with an ancient weapon made by the dwarves.”

“Is that true?”

Schweibeck was surprised.

A weapon capable of harming the furious spirits.

It was an incredible weapon that the dwarves couldn’t easily make, even if they were an excellent captain. As a dwarf himself, he really wanted to see it.

“Your Excellency! Would it be too much to ask if I could see the weapon for a moment?! If you do, it will be an eternal honor!”

Asking to see the count’s weapon in this situation could be seen as rude, but dwarves tended to lose their patience in certain situations. Schweibeck was no different.

“There’s nothing difficult about that. Here.”

“. . .???”

Schweibeck was confused when he saw the weapon Johan handed him.

He didn’t feel anything special about it.

If it could harm the spirits, even Schweibeck, who didn’t know magic, should have been able to see something extraordinary, but this was just. . .

Wasn’t it just a crudely heavy and large war hammer?

It was extremely strong and sturdy, as expected from an ancient dwarven weapon, but that wasn’t anything extraordinary.

“????”

“Is it okay to put it away now?”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Schweibeck made up his mind. He would somehow get permission to take a closer look at the weapon again.

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After they barely escaped and ate some warm food, and drank some strong alcohol, the dwarves, who held positions of responsibility, were overwhelmed with a sense of despair.

“Is it a hangover?”

“What are you saying, you idiot!”

When another dwarf spoke without thinking, his voice became louder.

“Even so, where are there any idiots who would rely on the help of His Excellency to get down!”

“Guh. Do you think it was a sacred fire that saved you when you were about to die? If we hadn’t gotten the help of the wizards, what do you think would have happened!”

“You should have just left us to die!”

“Stop it. It’s not right to talk about the favor we received that way.”

Schweibeck calmed the commotion. He had calmed down to some extent.

“Prepare a letter. We need to honestly report what happened to the family.”

“However, Schweibeck-nim’s reputation. . .”

“There are times when things go well, and there are times when they fail. As I said earlier, let’s be satisfied that they saved our lives.”

The other dwarves in the family might have been surprised, wondering how things turned out like this, but there was nothing they could do.

The situation was too definite for them to stubbornly insist.

It wouldn’t have been strange if the count had demanded compensation, let alone the mine shares. The dwarves sighed and nodded.

“We succeeded in defeating the goblins and going inside!”

“You’re finally back.”

When the dwarven miners returned to the fiefdom late, the dwarves welcomed them happily.

Some of the young dwarven miners stayed behind with Johan’s subordinates to explore the rest of the mine and make an estimate while the exhausted expedition team returned first to rest.

“How was it? Did the goblins hide any useful veins of ore?”

“Schweibeck-nim. That. . . far exceeded our expectations.”

“. . .?”

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The three wizards and one count were having a very serious discussion.

The hardliners were Caenerna and Suetlg. The neutral party was Jyanina. The moderate was Johan.

“Speak to them sternly after you call them. ‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴! 𝘎𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨!’ If you say that, the dwarves will cry and say, ‘𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺!’”

“That sounds like a really good idea.”

Johan looked at Suetlg and Caenerna nodding their heads in satisfaction with astonishment.

“Isn’t that too. . . harsh? To those who work so hard?”

“What do you mean harsh!”

“How shameless and corrupt the Empire’s dwarven families are!”

Suetlg and Caenerna protested as if they had been wronged.

Suetlg had a grudge from when he had given advice to the dwarven families regarding flood control and was hit in the back of the head when he was young, and Caenerna had a grudge from when she had negotiated with the dwarven families under the emperor and was hit in the back of the head.

“Even so, I think it will build up useless resentment if we do that. I don’t want that.”

“I. . . I think so too.”

“. . . . . .”

The two wizards looked at Jyanina. It meant, ‘𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳?’ Jyanina, who was insignificant compared to the two of them, bowed her head deeply.

“If Your Excellency shows mercy, we have nothing more to say.”

Caenerna also backed down as she agreed with Suetlg’s words. As they were roughly concluding, a dwarf came in and spoke urgently.

“I have something to tell Your Excellency about what happened inside.”

“Did another goblin appear?”

“It’s not that. . .”

The dwarf looked around. He was asking if it was okay to speak in front of the wizards. It was a very subtle glance, but the two wizards, except for Jyanina, noticed it right away.

Wizards were the feudal lord’s advisors, but that position could change at any time. Basically, you couldn’t expect wizards to be as loyal as knights.

Therefore, it was common for feudal lords to have private conversations when conveying really important information.

“It’s okay to speak as it is. The wizards here aren’t people who would betray me.”

Johan clearly saw it at that moment. Caenerna quickly glanced at Jyanina and then quickly looked away. Then, she gave Johan an apologetic look when their eyes met.

‘𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥.’

‘. . . . . .’

The sad thing here was that Jyanina really didn’t notice. Johan shook his head and opened his mouth.

“Tell me anyway.”

The dwarf’s report was something Johan hadn’t expected. It was a report that the amount of silver ore discovered inside was much more than expected.

‘. . .𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦?’

Johan was puzzled because he couldn’t understand why they were making such a serious expression when they had good news. Suetlg spoke quietly from the side.

“Everyone wants to have treasure, don’t they?”

“. . .!”

Johan understood what he meant right away.

Even though Johan had only recently acquired it, the southern fiefdom, where they could claim their rights to each other.

If a huge silver mine was found in such a place, there would be more than one or two feudal lords who would go crazy. It was inevitable that some of the feudal lords who had been fighting on the same side until now would have evil intentions.

“Has the secret already been leaked?”

“Not yet, but even if our family keeps the secret, it will inevitably leak out if it is this much. Your Excellency.”

There was so much silver that rumors were bound to spread. It was almost impossible to control such a large-scale project without a single rumor.

In fact, the dwarven families knew how much of what came out of the mines in the Empire.

The dwarf who had been speaking felt his heart sink when he saw Caenerna’s cold gaze.

‘𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦!’

The dwarf didn’t know what magic she could do, but he seemed to know what the red-haired wizard was thinking.

She was going to capture all the dwarves in the fiefdom and imprison them.

Even if rumors spread someday, the dwarves would have been able to keep their mouths shut.

“Well. I trust the dwarves, but it can’t be helped that people do things, so it will inevitably spread.”

That’s why when Johan said that he would trust the dwarves instead of saying that he would capture them, the dwarf felt tears welling up. He never thought they would trust him like this.

“I understand. I will think about the countermeasures, so have the dwarves proceed with the mining as planned. If there is anything, tell me.”

Even if there was something, there were no dwarves who were shameless enough to ask the count for more. They had to endure even if they had to bring it themselves from a distant fiefdom.

After the dwarf left, Suetlg opened her mouth.

“I thought this area was relatively okay, but we might have to reinforce the castle.”

“It might be better to imprison the dwarves. . .”

“I don’t think the dwarves will be that loose-lipped. I think they’re deeply touched by the count, so let’s trust them.”

Suetlg was more of a believer than Caenerna. Caenerna said as if she was displeased.

“I don’t know how we can trust those greedy people.”

“Caenerna-gong is also here, isn’t she?”

“. . . . . .”

Caenerna was speechless because she had been caught off guard. Jyanina had to suppress a laugh for the first time in a long time.

“Do you think it will be okay if we just reinforce the castle?”

“If we reinforce the castle and build a fortress near the mine, it won’t be easy to conquer with the terrain like this. Of course, it won’t be easy.”

When they said reinforcement, it basically took several years to reinforce the castle and build the fortress. The cost skyrocketed when you considered the labor and materials that went into it. Even the small feudal lords were careful about building wooden castles.

“With a generous silver mine and a count like you, there will be a line of merchants who want to lend you gold coins.”

“And you were also close to the orcs.”

“That’s right. It will be easy to get money since there were orcs.”

Johan nodded at the two wizards’ words. Labor was labor, but in the end, the most important thing was money.

“I’ve gotten pretty close to those dwarves, can’t I ask them to build the castle?”

“Don’t expect that.”

“I think it would be better to never expect that. . .”

The wizards straightened up before Johan could finish speaking.

The Empire’s dwarves were proud of their buildings. In particular, the castle was the pinnacle of their architectural skills, which they had honed over a long time. Even if a moderately large feudal lord asked them, they would never agree or would ask for an astronomical amount of money.

That was the dwarves’ pride.

“It’s not necessary for the castle to be built by dwarves, right?”

“That’s true.”

The two wizards emphasized again at Johan’s words.

“Never ask the dwarves to do something. It might be okay if you threaten them.”

“Threatening them is also dangerous. They might do something to the castle. If you’re going to do it, you should just cut their throats.”

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’

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Schweibeck visited Johan early the next morning. Schweibeck asked in an extremely polite manner.

“Your Excellency. I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that you gave us mine shares.”

“Wasn’t that the original custom?”

“. . .We don’t dare accept that.”

“If you’re worried about being trapped because you went down and made a mistake, don’t.”

Schweibeck’s face turned red with shame at Johan’s very direct manner of speaking.

“Not just because of that. . .”

“Are you talking about making a mistake when drawing the blueprints? You might not be familiar with numbers. You can do better if you try harder.”

“. . . . . .”

The count was definitely speaking kindly and considerately, but the dwarf who was listening was so ashamed that he was in agony. To hear that a dwarven engineer was unfamiliar with numbers.

“Since I called the Rimpangel family because I trusted them, I am also somewhat responsible for the mistake. Don’t worry too much and focus on your work. It would be ridiculous if the work was delayed because of that.”

“. . .Your Excellency. Your Excellency is the most honorable person in the Empire. No steel from the Rimpangel family will go to Your Excellency’s enemies.”

“Is that a euphemism for the dwarven families just now?”

Johan asked as if he was interested. Instead of answering, Schweibeck spoke with a firm determination.

“I dare to ask you to build a castle up here. No castle will shine less than Your Excellency the Count’s honor, but the castle will remain for a long time even while the forest disappears and the bones weather, boasting Your Excellency’s honor.”

“Hmm. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to spend that much gold coins on a single castle.”

“. . .It was my fault for not speaking up, but I swear on my beard that I had no intention of taking your gold coins. Your Excellency.”