I am the Monarch Chapter 148 : Tale Barony (3)

Lemming and McCrum unknowingly and suddenly stood up.

'What the? Even though our ages seem same……'

McCrum gulped as he stared at Roan.
For some reason, his heart jolted.

'He's big.'

The first impression from seeing Roan.
It wasn't that his body was big, but the pressure pouring out of his body was amazing.
Even so, it wasn't as if Roan was violently spouting out a threatening pressure.
An air of dignity that naturally flowed out of his entire body.
That was clearly an aura of majesty.

'How at such a young age……'

The one who was shocked wasn't only McCrum.

'It's a pressure like a general who roamed the battlefield for decades.'

Staring at Roan, who was already exuding a presence of a great general, Lemming became speechless.

'Would a man like this sponsor us?'

Putting aside self-confidence and looking at it objectively, the current Reno school was a useless school with nothing that was worth sponsoring.

“Nice to meet you. If you are Lemming Ade, then……”

Roan extended his right hand as he cautiously asked.
Lemming immediately grabbed the hand and made an awkward smile.

“I'm not a noble, sir. I was merely granted a surname as a head of a school.”
“I see.”

Roan slightly nodded his head and then also shook hands with McCrum.

'So this very man is McCrum, who blew a small city away completely.'

He was a genius whose talent at least was the best but was born in a wrong era.
Roan offered seats to the two people and sat down on a chair on the opposite side.

“I wonder for what reason the famed sir mages came to find me.”

He went abruptly to the point.
Lemming and McCrum hesitated for a moment.
Especially Lemming, who had only been rejected by many people, couldn't even raise his head.
In the end, the one who stepped up was McCrum.

“I know that it's shameless to say this after coming so suddenly, but…… could you please sponsor us, Reno school?”

Blinking his eyes, he searched Roan's face.
Roan gently smiled and didn't show any notable reaction.

“Ah! Just a moment please.”

McCrum awkwardly smiled and took out the magic lamp from a large bag.

Tung.

When he put the lamp down on the table, a heavy sound echoed.
McCrum lightly glanced at Roan, then pressed the controller.

Paat!

Instantly, a small ball of light appeared inside the lamp.

“Hmm.”

Roan let out a quiet exclamation.
Even though the reception room was on the brighter side, blinding light shined out around the lamp.

“It's the magic lamp we made.”

McCrum widely opened his chest.
Lemming, who was lowering his head deeply, also looked at Roan with a confident expression this time.
Roan brushed the lamp with a tip of his finger, then spoke in a calm voice.

“Does it use a magic stone?”

Instantly, McCrum's face turned stiff.

'Darn. To think he would recognize it instantly.'

A magic stone per lamp didn't meet any profit.
It was the truth that he wanted to hide it until the end.
Of course, he had no plan to back off like that even so.

'I will express our school's development potential.'

McCrum purposely made a confident smile.
It was when he was just about to speak up.

“Anyway, it's excellent. With just this, the people will no longer fear the dark.”

Roan suddenly nodded his head with a content look.

“Ye, yes!”

Lemming abruptly jumped up and shouted.
Abruptly shocked, McCrum looked at him once.
His look seemed to be asking to please keep some face.

“Hm.”

McCrum coughed and turned towards Roan again.

“That's right. Although it needs to use a magic stone about the size of a fingernail because it's still at the early developmental stage, it may be usable with just a wheat grain size, no a dust of magic stone if we repeat the research several……”

When his words reached about that point.

“Okay.”

Roan brightly smiled and nodded his head.

“I'll sponsor it.”
“Yes?”

McCrum, who was rambling on and on, asked back with a completely surprised look.
Roan stared at him for a moment and then shook his head.

“No, instead of that……”

With a quiet voice, he spoke as if to whisper.

“I will build you a magic tower in the fief, so what do you think about researching as an affiliate of the barony instead?”
“As an affiliate of the barony?”

McCrum asked back with a shocked expression and turned to Lemming.

“Hmm.”

Lemming leaked out a quiet groan.
Currently, the number of magic schools in the Rinse Kingdom was thirteen in total.
Amongst them, the top five schools with the biggest factions were patronized by the kingdom.
The rest of the schools were each sponsored by nobles or various factions and were continuing their research.
Although most of them were sponsored, they did their researches independently and only few schools were affiliated to noble houses.

'And even they are all affiliated with the houses of dukes.'

Because of that, there wasn't any problem in seeing them as affiliated to the kingdom.

'An affiliate to a house of baron……'

It was something historically unprecedented.
His contemplations went deeper.
Roan quietly stared at that sight, then took a step back.

“Since it's a matter with the school's future on the line, it shouldn't be easy to come to a decision. Then, for now, I will sponsor the school. Please continue your research here and personally see, hear, and feel the Tale Barony. Let's discuss today's offer again at that time.”

At those words, Lemming and McCrum exchanged their gazes and then minutely nodded their heads.
Honestly, it was a good condition that couldn't be better for them.
The two people deeply lowered their heads towards Roan.

“Sir Baron Tale. Truly, thank you very much.”
“We'll show you first if we get a good result.”

Roan cheerily smiled and lowered his head.

“Yes. I look forward to working with you.”

His voice was composed.
But inwardly, he was greatly pleased.

'Reno school is exactly the magic school that I definitely need.'

If even the Reno school was added to the current alchemists and engineers' unions, it felt as if an unbelievable product would be made.
Most of all.

'If I mind and sponsor them, that tragic accident that blew away a city won't happen.'

He thought that he could stop a big accident in advance.
Roan deeply inhaled.
The season was already Winter.

'I will have to prepare the necessary things before Spring comes.'

He planned to finish the things that could be done before the crop seeds are planted.
A bright future of the Tale Barony was drawn inside his head.

'The Great Warring Era isn't far off.'

Although he had saved Manus Pershion and disgraced Reitas Pershion, he couldn't guarantee that the Great Warring Era wouldn't occur.

'Since it occurred from too many events complicatedly mixing together.'

Three years from now at the latest.
If the Great Warring Era began, the starting point would be three years later.

'At that time, the world will greatly change……'

His heart thumped strongly.

'And I too will greatly change.'

Such thoughts vaguely appeared.
A bright light shined in his brown eyes.

*****

Kang! Kang! Kang!

Sounds of hammering rang out noisily.
The sun that soared above the heads pushed away the Mid Winter's cold.

Deng! Deng! Deng!

Sounds of a bell echoed consecutively.

“Stop working! Stop working! It's time to change shifts.”
“Let's all go and eat some snacks!”

The men, who had been tirelessly carrying rocks, hammering, and sawing, brightly laughed and yelled.
They received and carried thick breads and warm tea, and sat around on a sunny lot.

“So we really built that?”

One man made a satisfied face as he stared at the stone wall that rose high to their right.
A young man who took a bite of bread spoke in a loud voice.

“Instead of Mediasis village, we'll now have to call it Mediasis Castle.”
“Yeah, of course. The wall construction is proceeding on all four directions. It's now a full-fledge castle, a castle.”

Another man enthusiastically agreed.
Another man scrunched the tip of his nose.

“But is it fine not to build a lord's castle?”
“The lord said we need to build the castle walls first. We need to prepare for the monsters and enemy troops' assaults.”
“But even so, the lord living in a shabby building is a bit……”

At those words, many people proudly smiled and spoke.

“Since our lord is someone who thinks of the fief's citizens before himself.”
“He said our safety comes first before his own house.”
“So let's quickly finish constructing the wall and build him a handsome lord's castle.”

The mood was peaceful.
The young man who was eating the bread nodded his head and made a bright smile.

“I'm really glad I moved to the Tale fief. Since they're separately giving wages and plentily take care of three meals and even a snack like this. Right now is a season that should be hungry and hard for a long time, but I'm spending it well thanks to our lord. I'm really glad I moved. Really.”

He was originally a person from Elton Coat Barony.
The people around him all nodded their heads.
The third month since Roan returned to the fief.
The season had passed the Mid Winter and was running towards Spring.
To the ordinary commoners, it was a season when things to eat decreased and people became impoverished.
But thanks to Roan carrying out various constructions and paying adequate wages, the citizens of the Tale Fief were able to live rather well-off lives unlike the citizens of other regions.
At that moment.

Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng! Deng!

The sound of bell noisily rang.
It wasn't the bell sound that notified the change of shift.

Vvuuuuu!

Following that, a sound of horn was heard.
It was a signal that warned of an appearance of monsters or enemy troops.
However, the people didn't show any panic.

“It seems monsters have appeared, right?”
“Didn't the warning just now sounded from the castle gate on our side? If it's from the west direction, monsters should be right.”
“I wonder which troop will march this time.”

It was a very relaxed and peaceful conversation.
They slowly stood up and headed towards the broad street that crossed through the castle.
On the street smoothly paved with stones, there originally were countless number of people crossing the street.
But now, as if they had promised, they were all moved to the sides of the broad street.
Simultaneously.

Dudududududududu.

The sound of horse hooves shaking the earth was heard.
Soon, a group of cavalry, with a troop flag at the lead, appeared from the end of the street.
The flag was embroidered with a panther's face and design.

“Ah! It's the Panther Troop.”
“It seems that the Panther Troop led by thousand-man commander Tane is marching this time.”

The people waved their hands at the troop that was bravely marching out.
The reason the passersby all moved to the sides of the street.
They had emptied out the street so that the troop could easily march through.

“Waaaaah!”
“Defeat the monsters!”

The children shouted with utterly excited faces.
Looking at those kids, the adults smiled pleasantly.

Vvuuuuuu!

The Panther Troop blew a magnificent horn as if in reply.
The men who came to watch from the construction sites headed towards the lot again while biting and eating their breads.

“There shouldn't be any problem this time too, right?”

When the young man cautiously asked, the people around him all chortled out a laugh.

“Don't ask something so obvious. Like always……”
“They'll confidently defeat the monsters……”
“And return.”

They took turns looking at each other and brightly smiled.
Looking at that sight, the young man nodded his head.

“Right. That's obvious. Since Tale Legion is……”

He stared towards the west where the Panther Troop marched and finished his words.

“Invincible.”

*****

Bang!

An explosion rang out.
An ugly stone statue that was placed at one side of a small lake comically exploded.

Bang! Bboom! Bang!

Explosions continued.
Each time, a stone statue explode out.
A white dust cloud blew up.

Paat!

One young man violently tore through within it.
Each time, a large splash of water soared.
A black spear moved as if dancing.

Bang!

Once again, another statue broke apart.

“Huu.”

The young man calmed his breath and spat out a long sigh.
As the dust that thickly blew up subsided, the young man's face appeared.
Roan.
The young man's identity was Roan.
With his shirt off, he was clearly showing off smooth muscles.

'Certainly, it isn't easy moving inside the water.'

Roan was currently at a small lake south of Mediasis village, no the Mediasis Castle, and was focusing on spearmanship training.
To make his movements a bit sharper, he had decided to train underwater.
The results were quite good.
His instantaneous velocity and balance became unrecognizably good.
Roan breathed in deeply.
His lungs felt cool.

'I have absorbed almost all the mana from the Dion roots.'

The five Dion roots Simon gave as a present.
After returning to the Tale Fief, Roan immediately ate all of those roots.
In the three months afterwards, he had tirelessly trained the Flamdor Mana Technique and was able to make all the mana inside the Dion roots his.

'Mana is steadily increasing.'

Now, he was able to at least faintly compress the mana.
Furthermore, the mana road inside his body became much more stronger and wider than before.
Even if he poured through a large amount of mana at once, it didn't cause any difficulty.

'The problem is the Flepsse Spearmanship……'

Roan lightly bit his lips.
The Flepsse Spearmanship was much more profound than he had thought.
To Roan, who only learned spearmanship techniques in actual battles and hadn't learnt a proper spearmanship, there were many parts that were difficult to understand.
During the first ten days, he couldn't even turn three pages of the spearmanship book.

'It was good that there was at least Brian.'

Roan asked Brian for help.
He didn't think it embarrassing to ask what he didn't know and request teaching.
Brian, who was tinkering with the foundational mana technique, split his time and helped Roan out.
He, who had comprehensive knowledge in various training techniques, taught Roan the basics and foundation of of martial arts.

'The things I called real battle spearmanship until now were in fact no more than buildings built upon sand.'

A situation where a building itself may be glamorous and large but may collapse entirely at a single moment.
It was a great fortune to be able to strengthen his foundation and basics at least now.

“Huu.”

Roan once again let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.
The water below his waist softly wrapped around his legs.

'It's comfortable.'

His mood was good.
One of the reasons that Roan didn't stop underwater training.
When he dipped his body under water, the mana that moved harshly calmed down and his heart felt peaceful.

'I thought that the Flamdor Mana Technique was incompatible with water, but……'

It was a hard to comprehend situation.
But right now, he didn't want to think such complicated thoughts.
He wanted to feel the flow of water that softly wrapped around his entire body.

'It's nice……'

His mood naturally became good.
At that moment.

[Hey.] (t/n: Hey! Listen.)(e/n This is my alert for text messages/emails, I love that it annoys my friends.)

He heard a buzzing sound at the edge of his ears.
With his eyes closed, Roan frowned.

'What the?'

He wondered if he heard wrong.
But.

[Hey! Can't you hear me?]

He definitely heard a sharp voice at the edge of his ears.

[Just how many months is this. Just how can't the guy who absorbed the spirit king's tears not hear my voice?]

It was a grumbling sound.
With a surprised look, Roan abruptly opened his eyes.
He looked around himself, but there wasn't anything his eyes saw.

“Did I hear wrong?”

He spoke in a quiet whisper.
Suddenly, he heard an extremely excited voice.

[So you can finally hear my voice!]

It was a voice as if a decade-old cold had suddenly disappeared. 1

< Tale Barony (3) > End.

1. “decade-old cold had suddenly disappeared” : Korean phrase that means really relieved. Basically, think of it as a ten-year old stress/grudge was suddenly cleared/revenged in the most breathtaking way possible

Chapter end