Black Iron's Glory Chapter 9

Chapter 9
Two Paths

Madam Ferd, who had brought Little Blowk into her arms and was busy feeding him milk, expressed her dissatisfaction with Arbeit . "Arbeit, you are our eldest son, yet you haven't carried out your responsibilities as an elder brother at all and served as their role model . You didn't even bother to hold Little Blowk once, and he doesn't like you either and always cries when you get close to him .

"Claude on the other hand has changed a lot since he recovered from his illness . I often see him reading quietly in a corner and his grades at school have also improved . When I bumped into Instructor Weckham from his middle-school when I was out on the streets, he praised Claude a lot . He has also become much more mature and frequently helps out with chores and takes care of his younger siblings . Both Anna and Little Blowk like him a lot and always asks him to read them stories .

"You on the other hand regard him with the same attitude and hate him . He's your younger brother, not your nemesis! Arbeit, you're already an adult and have a proper job already, but that doesn't mean you can boss your siblings around at home . You even treat our home like a hotel and only come back for food and sleep . Usually, I don't see a trace of you at all! What's more ridiculous is that you ask Anna to wash your socks and underwear! She's only twelve!

"As your mother, I don't want to know where you spend all your salary and I won't ask you to help supporting the household financially . But at the very least, you could spend some money to hire a maid to wash your clothes, right? Anna doesn't have a strong personality, so she won't refuse a request from you, her elder brother . But if Claude finds out about this, I doubt that it will end well for you . . . "

"Alright, let's not talk about that," interjected Morssen . He turned to his son and said, "Arbeit, I want you to hire a maid to take care of your laundry . You get what I'm saying?"

Arbeit nodded stiffly . "Understood . "

Morssen then took out his beloved pipe made out of black-mulberry-wood and elephant tusk and a pack of tobacco . He stuffed some into his pipe and lit it with a match . After taking in a huge huff, he leaned back on his chair and decided to have a serious talk with his son .

"Arbeit, the reason I chose this path for you is so that you can become a government official . Before you turn 18, you can enjoy the benefits of a national because I am one . But now, you are already 20 and you are considered an adult by law . You can no longer benefit from my national status . Right now, you're just a commoner administrative worker . If you want to change your social status, you'll have to rely on your own efforts and dedication .

I recommended you to Sir Fux in hopes that you won't have to spend more than a decade working this tough job to become a national like I did . With his help, you can decrease that time by half at the very least, but it goes without saying that you'll have to get him to trust and rely upon you first . I won't be able to help you much in this and it'll have to depend on your own abilities . I have already pointed you in the right path, and whether you'll be able to traverse it is up to your own two feet . "

Morssen took another puff and slowly exhaled, letting the smoke shroud his face . "Claude is different from you . He's a physical stream student and has an athletic body and good reactions . He's 16 this year and he will graduate end of next year . There's still two years before his status reverts to that of a commoner when he's 18 . Your mother and I have decided to send him to the Nubissia continent after he graduates . Viscount Jerrihausen Van Cruz is the governor of the Tyrrsim and Claude's godfather . So, Claude will join his unit in the military there to get his help .

"Arbeit, you don't have to worry about Claude taking away your share of the inheritance . Even though joining the military is a path to glory, it is one that is fraught with dangers . People can lose their lives at any time in war . Just like you, I don't have the slightest adventurous spirit nor courage to stand on the battlefield in front of all those firearms . So, I chose to become an administrative official .

"But joining the military also presents one with many opportunities . If one manages to obtain impressive achievements, one can shorten the time to become a national and might even stand a chance to be given a noble title . The rate of promotion is much faster than that of an administrative official . Perhaps Claude will help to raise the status of the Ferd household if he's lucky .

"That is also why I chose to send him to Viscount Cruz's . Tyrrsim is a newly occupied area and it is rife with conflict and revolt . However, the casualty rate there isn't high, so Claude shouldn't be in that much danger . The borders of the kingdom have stretched far and wide during the past two years of war and Nasri formed yet another anti-Aueras alliance . Almost all the kingdoms and duchies on the continent joined the alliance and I believe that yet another huge territorial war will erupt in two more years . I will be sending Claude to the continent of Nubissia precisely to avoid him having to enlist in this war . "

Morssen put his pipe down and sighed . An unspoken rule of the kingdom was that every physical stream student was a reserve soldier . The Bill also stipulated that children of any national will revert back to commoner status upon turning 18 . Their parents' national status would no longer extend to them and they will have to serve in the military to get their status as nationals back .

A rushed set of footsteps could be heard coming downstairs . Claude rushed down with his leather rucksack .

"Father, Mom, I'm heading out . " He ignored Arbeit like usual and pinched Little Blowk's baby-fat cheeks before rushing out of the house .

Little Blowk opened his mouth and was ready to cry after having been pinched so much . Madam Ferd hurriedly stuffed some fried egg into it, causing Little Blowk to cough when he found the egg to taste odd . He completely forgot about what his elder brother just did .

"Baby, eat lots of egg and grow up quickly," said Madam Ferd .

"I don't want egg . It's not sweet . " Little Blowk shook his head hard like a Japanese pellet drum .

"Eggs are usually eaten with salt . Since when were they eaten sweet?" She was completely dumbstruck .

"Whatever, just put some honey on and feed it to him . Don't forget to get him to brush his teeth when he's done," Morssen said as he stood up, "I'm finished too, so I'll be heading to the mayoral office . "

"Oh, Bennie . . . " Morssen used his wife's nickname as he took his hat off the clothes rack . "I already talked to Laor from the hygiene department and he will send someone over to take care of the cesspool . Just hand the workers a tip of three sunars . Also, I'll be having some guests over tonight and someone will be sending something over during noon . Just sign and receive the goods . Even though I'll be receiving my guests at home, you only have to set it up . I already talked to Pjard from the tavern and he'll send someone over to cook . There's no need for you to trouble yourself . "

Madam Ferd nodded . "Alright, I know . Don't worry . "

Morssen approached her and knelt down to give Little Blowk a kiss . He then turned to Arbeit and said, "You have to be here during dinner as well . Even though they are people that you know, you must appear humble and serious to improve their impression of you, understood?"

When Claude rushed out of his house, he saw two youths dressed similarly in uniform waving to him from the shop on the opposite side of the street .

"You're here! Where's Boa?" Claude crossed the street quickly to where they were .

The taller one, Welikro Fezka, was the son of the hunter, Kubrik . His father was a veteran who participated in two of the kingdom's wars and was fortunate to not sustain any injuries . However, he didn't manage to cement any achievements for himself either . After attaining national status from his 15 years of service, he chose to retire and went back home to take a wife . He got a daughter two years later and his wife gave birth to Welikro after yet another two years .

The one beside him, Eriksson Altroni was a tad shorter, but he was really tough . His father was a sailor and his family owned a long-distance fishing boat called the 'Shark of Red Sea' . Sometimes, his family's boat would also be used to be transport goods and they were quite well-known in Whitestag .

"Boa might arrive later . Did you manage to get the money?" asked Eriksson .

Boa was a nickname, like how Eriksson was called Eyke, and how Welikro was called Wero . Boa was the son of the most famous merchant of Whitestag, Beaver Bodeman . His full name was Borkal Bodeman . The three of them were Claude's good friends and classmates in middle-school .

The former owner of the body fell really sick partly because of them . During winter last year, the four boys decided to head to Whitestag's frozen lake for ice fishing . It ended with Claude accidentally falling through the ice and into freezing water . Fortunately, the other three managed to save him and send him home . Later, Claude fell ill to a strong fever and ended up having his body occupied by the transmigrator . Because of that, the three of them didn't dare to head to Claude's home in fear of seeing his parents .

"Yup, I got it . My father gave me one silver thale . What about you guys?" asked Claude .

"I also got some . My father tossed me one silver thale when I told him about it," said Eriksson with satisfaction .

"What about you, Wero?"

"My sister said that we didn't have much money, so she handed me two goatskins for me to sell at the shops . She doesn't care how much I manage to sell them for," replied Welikro with a low voice, obviously dissatisfied with his sister .

Claude had just realized the sack beside Welikro's feet . Within it should be the two goatskins his sister gave him .

"No worries, Wero," Claude consoled, "Regardless of how much those goatskins sell for, you won't have to worry about the horsemanship fee with the three of us here . Also, according to our plan, we'll be renting one training horse for two of us . We'll manage to save half of it that way . "

Since each person would have to pay one thale to rent a horse for personal use, the four of them decided to rent only two . Not only did that save cost, the horse also didn't have to sit idly when they were not taking lessons . After all, they couldn't possibly learn how to ride for the whole day . They could use the extra money for something else .

"Hey, I'm here . " The chubby Borkal ran over to them as he greeted, before he turned to the mutton biscuit stall by the roadside . "I want a biscuit, that one--"

"Cut it into four pieces!" added Eriksson in a hurry .

Claude approached Borkal and patted his chubby belly . "You came here without breakfast? I think it's about time you lost some weight . You won't die if you starve a bit . "

"Come on," Borkal said as he swatted Claude's hand away, "I woke up late and had nothing but a cup of tea . Running over here with an empty stomach has made me famished . "

"Two sunars, thank you," said the stallkeeper as he came over with a quartered biscuit .

Each of them took a piece without hesitation . Only Borkal kept on complaining as he paid for it . "You guys are going too far . You're robbing me of my breakfast . "

Eriksson swallowed his bite and said, "I think Claude is right . It's about time you lost some weight . Eating less will be beneficial to you .

Two Paths Madam Ferd, who had brought Little Blowk into her arms and was busy feeding him milk, expressed her dissatisfaction with Arbeit . Arbeit, you are our eldest son, yet you haven 39 t carried out your responsibilities as an elder brother at all and served as their role model . You didn 39 t even bother to hold Little Blowk once, and he doesn 39 t like you either and always cries when you get close to him . Claude on the other hand has changed a lot since he recovered from his illness . I often see him reading quietly in a corner and his grades at school have also improved . When I bumped into Instructor Weckham from his middle school when I was out on the streets, he praised Claude a lot . He has also become much more mature and frequently helps out with chores and takes care of his younger siblings . Both Anna and Little Blowk like him a lot and always asks him to read them stories . You on the other hand regard him with the same attitude and hate him . He 39 s your younger brother, not your nemesis Arbeit, you 39 re already an adult and have a proper job already, but that doesn 39 t mean you can boss your siblings around at home . You even treat our home like a hotel and only come back for food and sleep . Usually, I don 39 t see a trace of you at all What 39 s more ridiculous is that you ask Anna to wash your socks and underwear She 39 s only twelve As your mother, I don 39 t want to know where you spend all your salary and I won 39 t ask you to help supporting the household financially . But at the very least, you could spend some money to hire a maid to wash your clothes, right Anna doesn 39 t have a strong personality, so she won 39 t refuse a request from you, her elder brother . But if Claude finds out about this, I doubt that it will end well for you . . . Alright, let 39 s not talk about that, interjected Morssen . He turned to his son and said, Arbeit, I want you to hire a maid to take care of your laundry . You get what I 39 m saying Arbeit nodded stiffly . Understood . Morssen then took out his beloved pipe made out of black mulberry wood and elephant tusk and a pack of tobacco . He stuffed some into his pipe and lit it with a match . After taking in a huge huff, he leaned back on his chair and decided to have a serious talk with his son . Arbeit, the reason I chose this path for you is so that you can become a government official . Before you turn 18, you can enjoy the benefits of a national because I am one . But now, you are already 20 and you are considered an adult by law . You can no longer benefit from my national status . Right now, you 39 re just a commoner administrative worker . If you want to change your social status, you 39 ll have to rely on your own efforts and dedication . I recommended you to Sir Fux in hopes that you won 39 t have to spend more than a decade working this tough job to become a national like I did . With his help, you can decrease that time by half at the very least, but it goes without saying that you 39 ll have to get him to trust and rely upon you first . I won 39 t be able to help you much in this and it 39 ll have to depend on your own abilities . I have already pointed you in the right path, and whether you 39 ll be able to traverse it is up to your own two feet . Morssen took another puff and slowly exhaled, letting the smoke shroud his face . Claude is different from you . He 39 s a physical stream student and has an athletic body and good reactions . He 39 s 16 this year and he will graduate end of next year . There 39 s still two years before his status reverts to that of a commoner when he 39 s 18 . Your mother and I have decided to send him to the Nubissia continent after he graduates . Viscount Jerrihausen Van Cruz is the governor of the Tyrrsim and Claude 39 s godfather . So, Claude will join his unit in the military there to get his help . Arbeit, you don 39 t have to worry about Claude taking away your share of the inheritance . Even though joining the military is a path to glory, it is one that is fraught with dangers . People can lose their lives at any time in war . Just like you, I don 39 t have the slightest adventurous spirit nor courage to stand on the battlefield in front of all those firearms . So, I chose to become an administrative official . But joining the military also presents one with many opportunities . If one manages to obtain impressive achievements, one can shorten the time to become a national and might even stand a chance to be given a noble title . The rate of promotion is much faster than that of an administrative official . Perhaps Claude will help to raise the status of the Ferd household if he 39 s lucky . That is also why I chose to send him to Viscount Cruz 39 s . Tyrrsim is a newly occupied area and it is rife with conflict and revolt . However, the casualty rate there isn 39 t high, so Claude shouldn 39 t be in that much danger . The borders of the kingdom have stretched far and wide during the past two years of war and Nasri formed yet another anti Aueras alliance . Almost all the kingdoms and duchies on the continent joined the alliance and I believe that yet another huge territorial war will erupt in two more years . I will be sending Claude to the continent of Nubissia precisely to avoid him having to enlist in this war . Morssen put his pipe down and sighed . An unspoken rule of the kingdom was that every physical stream student was a reserve soldier . The Bill also stipulated that children of any national will revert back to commoner status upon turning 18 . Their parents 39 national status would no longer extend to them and they will have to serve in the military to get their status as nationals back . A rushed set of footsteps could be heard coming downstairs . Claude rushed down with his leather rucksack . Father, Mom, I 39 m heading out . He ignored Arbeit like usual and pinched Little Blowk 39 s baby fat cheeks before rushing out of the house . Little Blowk opened his mouth and was ready to cry after having been pinched so much . Madam Ferd hurriedly stuffed some fried egg into it, causing Little Blowk to cough when he found the egg to taste odd . He completely forgot about what his elder brother just did . Baby, eat lots of egg and grow up quickly, said Madam Ferd . I don 39 t want egg . It 39 s not sweet . Little Blowk shook his head hard like a Japanese pellet drum . Eggs are usually eaten with salt . Since when were they eaten sweet She was completely dumbstruck . Whatever, just put some honey on and feed it to him . Don 39 t forget to get him to brush his teeth when he 39 s done, Morssen said as he stood up, I 39 m finished too, so I 39 ll be heading to the mayoral office . Oh, Bennie . . . Morssen used his wife 39 s nickname as he took his hat off the clothes rack . I already talked to Laor from the hygiene department and he will send someone over to take care of the cesspool . Just hand the workers a tip of three sunars . Also, I 39 ll be having some guests over tonight and someone will be sending something over during noon . Just sign and receive the goods . Even though I 39 ll be receiving my guests at home, you only have to set it up . I already talked to Pjard from the tavern and he 39 ll send someone over to cook . There 39 s no need for you to trouble yourself . Madam Ferd nodded . Alright, I know . Don 39 t worry . Morssen approached her and knelt down to give Little Blowk a kiss . He then turned to Arbeit and said, You have to be here during dinner as well . Even though they are people that you know, you must appear humble and serious to improve their impression of you, understood . . . . . . When Claude rushed out of his house, he saw two youths dressed similarly in uniform waving to him from the shop on the opposite side of the street . You 39 re here Where 39 s Boa Claude crossed the street quickly to where they were . The taller one, Welikro Fezka, was the son of the hunter, Kubrik . His father was a veteran who participated in two of the kingdom 39 s wars and was fortunate to not sustain any injuries . However, he didn 39 t manage to cement any achievements for himself either . After attaining national status from his 15 years of service, he chose to retire and went back home to take a wife . He got a daughter two years later and his wife gave birth to Welikro after yet another two years . The one beside him, Eriksson Altroni was a tad shorter, but he was really tough . His father was a sailor and his family owned a long distance fishing boat called the 39 Shark of Red Sea 39 . Sometimes, his family 39 s boat would also be used to be transport goods and they were quite well known in Whitestag . Boa might arrive later . Did you manage to get the money asked Eriksson . Boa was a nickname, like how Eriksson was called Eyke, and how Welikro was called Wero . Boa was the son of the most famous merchant of Whitestag, Beaver Bodeman . His full name was Borkal Bodeman . The three of them were Claude 39 s good friends and classmates in middle school . The former owner of the body fell really sick partly because of them . During winter last year, the four boys decided to head to Whitestag 39 s frozen lake for ice fishing . It ended with Claude accidentally falling through the ice and into freezing water . Fortunately, the other three managed to save him and send him home . Later, Claude fell ill to a strong fever and ended up having his body occupied by the transmigrator . Because of that, the three of them didn 39 t dare to head to Claude 39 s home in fear of seeing his parents . Yup, I got it . My father gave me one silver thale . What about you guys asked Claude . I also got some . My father tossed me one silver thale when I told him about it, said Eriksson with satisfaction . What about you, Wero My sister said that we didn 39 t have much money, so she handed me two goatskins for me to sell at the shops . She doesn 39 t care how much I manage to sell them for, replied Welikro with a low voice, obviously dissatisfied with his sister . Claude had just realized the sack beside Welikro 39 s feet . Within it should be the two goatskins his sister gave him . No worries, Wero, Claude consoled, Regardless of how much those goatskins sell for, you won 39 t have to worry about the horsemanship fee with the three of us here . Also, according to our plan, we 39 ll be renting one training horse for two of us . We 39 ll manage to save half of it that way . Since each person would have to pay one thale to rent a horse for personal use, the four of them decided to rent only two . Not only did that save cost, the horse also didn 39 t have to sit idly when they were not taking lessons . After all, they couldn 39 t possibly learn how to ride for the whole day . They could use the extra money for something else . Hey, I 39 m here . The chubby Borkal ran over to them as he greeted, before he turned to the mutton biscuit stall by the roadside . I want a biscuit, that one Cut it into four pieces added Eriksson in a hurry . Claude approached Borkal and patted his chubby belly . You came here without breakfast I think it 39 s about time you lost some weight . You won 39 t die if you starve a bit . Come on, Borkal said as he swatted Claude 39 s hand away, I woke up late and had nothing but a cup of tea . Running over here with an empty stomach has made me famished . Two sunars, thank you, said the stallkeeper as he came over with a quartered biscuit . Each of them took a piece without hesitation . Only Borkal kept on complaining as he paid for it . You guys are going too far . You 39 re robbing me of my breakfast . Eriksson swallowed his bite and said, I think Claude is right . It 39 s about time you lost some weight . Eating less will be beneficial to you .

Chapter end

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