by Michael Sisa
There was also the question of whether or not the Tears of Ubroxia was enough to heal His Majesty.
“The king is ill, huh?” Lark mumbled as he continued watching the group through the vision crystal.
He still hadn’t learned what kind of illness struck the king of this country. But based on the conversation of the knights and the princess, His Majesty only had a few years to live, hence his issuance of the decree for the competition for the throne.
Lark remembered the king who appointed him as the Commander of the Third Army. Despite the opposition from the other nobles, the king did not waver in his beliefs and appointed Lark to lead the Kingdom’s soldiers in a battle which would determine the fate of the entire country.
Although the king was no genius tactician, nor was he a great magician, he was a benevolent ruler who truly loved the Kingdom. Lark found it a waste for such a kind monarch to succumb to his death due to an illness.
Unfortunately, Lark was unable to glean any further information regarding the king’s illness from the conversations of the princess and her men.
CHAPTER 7
While the princess and her men were searching for the flower in the Endless Forest, Lark continued with the management of his territory. Each morning, he would read through piles of documents in his office, all the while listening to the reports of his subordinates.
“The Central Market’s doing extremely well despite being opened only for a week,” reported Gaston. “Aside from wheat, eggs, animal skin, meat and fish, we’ve also started selling local herbs and medicine. The local seamstresses also opened up their stalls on the second floor.”
Lark flipped through the documents handed to him by Gaston. The Central Market was an establishment located in the Central Plaza and opened just a week ago. Surprisingly, despite the fixed price policy they implemented to all vendors in the Central Market, several merchants still chose to open up their stalls there.
“It’s going far better than expected, huh?” said Lark.
“Yes, Young Master. The merchants shunned the proposal at first, after they heard of the fixed price policy implemented by the lord. But after they learned about the decreased taxes imposed on all members, some of them reconsidered.”
Lark nodded in satisfaction at this. Although the fixed price policy had its drawbacks—such as culling healthy competition among merchants—the benefits outweighed the downsides. Currently, after the abundant harvest and the implementation of the fixed price policy to all stalls in the Central Market, the price of wheat was at its lowest. The price of wheat was almost a third of last year’s. Right now, even the poorer residents were able to eat their meals at least twice a day.
“Young Master, if you’ll allow this old man to voice out his opinion.”
“Speak.”
“Although the residents clearly benefit from the fixed price policy, I’m afraid several people might take advantage of this decree. Especially the merchants from the city.”
Lark understood what the butler was trying to say. Not all territories in the Kingdom had an abundant harvest this season. Some had been devastated by the Black Famine, and there were even some villages on the brink of dying from starvation. No wonder people were migrating to this territory, especially after hearing of the recruitment notices and the abundant harvest.
Merchants from the city would probably try to take advantage of this decree by buying cheap wheat and meat from Blackstone Town and selling them to the starving territories.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” said Lark. “We’ll be imposing large tariffs to all exported products from unassociated merchants. That should be enough to deter the greedy ones from taking advantage of this policy. This decree is for my people, and for my people only.”
Loud knocks were heard and a servant entered. “Young Master, Captain Qarat’s here.”
“Let him in.”
The Captain of the Blackstone Soldiers entered Lark’s office. He immediately saluted and said, “You called for me, sir?”
Lark placed the documents he held on the table. He looked at the captain and nodded. “How many soldiers do we have at our disposal?”
“A hundred and seventy soldiers, My Lord.”
“A hundred and seventy, huh?” repeated Lark. “Listen, I plan on creating a separate division in the military. The town’s population has grown tremendously these past several months and according to the reports, there has been an increase in incidences of theft and violence in the town.”
“A separate division, My Lord?”
“I plan on establishing a Ministry of Defense. And under it will be two divisions. The military and the police.”
In cities, the patrol or the police was responsible for the safety of the residents. Their responsibilities were a bit different from the military, whose purpose was to kill bandits and monsters in the surrounding regions.
“The police will be responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities. They’ll also be in charge of inspecting the goods coming in and out of our territory.”
Lark and Qarat locked eyes with each other.
“Captain, I want you to select two of your most trusted men. Together with my most trusted guard, Clarkson, they’ll be responsible for overseeing the entire police department. I heard that there are over a hundred recruits in the military. Half of them shall serve as the patrols of this city.”
Lark pointed at Qarat. “And Captain Qarat, starting today, you are promoted to the Commander of the Military.”
It was the position previously held by Anandra. For a moment, Qarat could not believe what he’d just heard.
Qarat stuttered his reply, “U-Understood! I-I’ll do my best to meet the Lord’s expectations!”
Lark chuckled. “No need to be so stiff. The two men who’ll be leading the police. Do you have anyone in mind?”
Qarat pondered for a moment. “Yes. I do and I’m sure we could trust them. They’ve been protecting this town as hunters, even before the young master became the lord of this territory.”
Lark was intrigued on who the two might be. “Hunters, huh? After explaining things to them, tell them to come and see me in my office.”
“As you wish.” Qarat bowed.
After the soldier left, Lark summoned the head mason into his office.
Silver Claw’s entire body was covered with sweat, on his shoulders was a drenched towel. His clothes had mud stains here and there.
“Sorry for summoning you here, I’m sure you’ve been busy,” said Lark.
Silver Claw shook his head. “Please feel free to call me any time, Young Master.”
Lark took out a parchment and handed it to the mason. “Take a look at this.”
Silver Claw stared at the parchment for a moment. “This is?”
“A design for the Town Hall,” said Lark. “Feel free to alter it to your will, I’m sure you’re more knowledgeable than me in this field. But, if possible, I would like you to adhere to the size and floors of the building.”
“This Town Hall will be larger than the mansion,” said Silver Claw. “It’ll take us several months to finish this thing, and there’s also the large amount of money we’ll end up using that we should consider.”
“I received a hefty sum from His Majesty. Funding the project won’t be a problem,” said Lark. “This Town Hall will someday become the core and foundation of this territory. Along with the school, I’d like you to prioritize this project.”
According to the design given by Lark, the Town Hall would be five stories tall and large enough to accommodate five hundred people.
“I plan on establishing several departments soon. The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Medicine, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Infrastructure, and Ministry of Labor. All of them will be under the Town Hall.”
As someone who’d lived in a major city for decades, Silver Claw understood what the Y
oung Master was trying to convey. Even Lion City had something similar, although they did not have a structure to house all those departments. The hierarchy of Lion City’s ruling class was also vague, with the lord holding most of the power.
“I understand,” said the mason. “I’ll start working on this right away. But Young Master, regarding the location… wouldn’t it be better if we build the Town Hall near the Central Plaza?”
“No. We’ll build it in the Eastern District.” Lark shot down the idea. “You’ve heard that I’ve sent several soldiers to scout the Endless Forest, right?”
The mason nodded.
“If the expedition goes well, we’ll start clearing a portion of the Endless Forest. From the east, we’ll start expanding the town. This is why we’ll build the Town Hall at the current border of the Eastern District. Someday, when the territory has expanded, it’ll be the heart—the center—of Blackstone Town.”
Silver Claw finally understood the reason why the young master wanted to build the Town Hall at such location. This young lord already anticipated the next steps they would undertake in the future. Silver Claw was truly glad that they had such a competent leader ruling this town.
After meeting with the mason, Lark met with the merchants from Lion City to discuss the prices and terms for the umami salt and the wheat they’d be exporting to the other territories. Unlike others, the merchants under Big Mona weren’t given heavy tariffs in Lark’s territory. In exchange, Lark was given some authority over the merchants guild in Lion City. He could freely request for rare materials and goods not found in the Eastern Region at a very reasonable price, and the merchants guild even provided some soldiers to guard the route from Blackstone Town to Lion City. Next week, the merchants guild would be lending several carts and horses to Blackstone Town—for free.
***
The princess and her men finally returned to Blackstone Town after a week of exploring the Endless Forest. As expected, they returned empty-handed. They did not even find any leads on the whereabouts of the flower.
The soldiers sent by Qarat to scout the Endless Forest also returned, bringing good news with them.
They did not encounter any monsters during the expedition, nor did they spot any potential dens of monsters. Everything was simply an unending sea of trees. There were wild animals who tried to attack them now and then, but those were easily taken care of by the experienced soldiers. They did not pose any threat at all, thus Lark decided to proceed with the clearing of the forest.
Upon receiving Lark’s command, dozens of workers started cutting the trees in the Endless Forest. The forest was absurdly large, and even if Lark cut down thousands of trees, it would hardly be noticed.
Later on, the felled trees would be used to build houses and other important structures for the town. The areas cleared of trees would be converted into residential areas. With the help of the strong adhesives they obtained from the shells of the kelnup flies, coupled with cement, it should be possible to build houses for more than a thousand migrants within the next few months. Once these residences were completed, it would provide another steady source of income for treasury.
During dinner, Lark invited the princess and her knights to the mansion.
The princess was reluctant at first, but eventually decided to accept the offer. Although she was a princess, she’d been taught that it would be rude to decline the invite of a lord without any valid reason.
“Thank you for coming tonight, Princess.” Lark sat at the head of the table, with the princess on the chair to his right. “I heard you just returned from the expedition.”
The word ‘expedition’ clearly touched a nerve. The princess scowled at the mention of the word.
“I’d rather not talk about it,” she said. “You’re probably disappointed that we ignored your previous words and went ahead with our own expedition, but the Endless Forest isn’t owned by anyone. We’re free to come and go there as we wish.”
Lark nodded in understanding, despite the childish reasoning of the princess. He could have retorted that His Majesty gave him sovereign over the Endless Forest during the last awarding ceremony, but eventually decided to refrain from mentioning it. He knew that no matter what he said or did, this woman would still go to there until she found the flower. Antagonizing her would not bring him any benefits.
“Princess, if you could tell me the reason for your expedition, then this lord will do what he can to help you,” said Lark.
He did not reveal the fact that he already knew what the princess was trying to find. He wanted to take things slowly, one step at a time.
The princess’ face contorted. She looked at Parzival, and after the knight shook his head, she muttered, “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Is that so?” Lark replied softly. “If the princess doesn’t wish to reveal her secrets, then I won’t pry any further. But please remember, Your Highness, as the Lord of Blackstone Town, I hold power over hundreds of men. You’ll achieve your goals much faster with my help.”
The princess knew this already, but she was still conflicted whether or not Lark was someone trustworthy. She’d even discussed this with the knights several times before, and they eventually came to the consensus that it’d be better for them to keep this a secret. After all, it could drive the entire Kingdom into civil war if the people learned that His Majesty was on his death bed. The anti-royal faction would surely grab this opportunity to usurp all authority.
They still had a few years, according to the chief healer treating His Majesty. Hopefully, they’d be able to find that flower by then. And hopefully, the flower would be enough to stop the curse of Agares.
“Thank you,” said the princess. “But I’d rather not bother Lord Lark with it.”
Lark did not reply and simply nodded his head in understanding.
“Lord,” said Parzival. “We heard that the soldiers are done with the expedition.”
“That’s right.”
“Then, could we borrow the guide the soldiers hired?”
Indeed, things would progress much easier if they had the herbalist’s help. Maybe with this, they’ll realize that their efforts were futile—that it’d be near impossible to find the Tears of Ubroxia in the Endless Forest. Hopefully, Mores was knowledgeable enough to point out the fact that the flower grew only in mana-dense areas.
“Herbalist Mores,” said Lark. “He’s the most knowledgeable among everyone when it comes to the Endless Forest. As long as he agrees to help, sure, I don’t mind if you include him in your next expedition.”
There was a pause. Lark added, “On the condition that if you ever find yourself in a precarious situation, you’ll immediately retreat and stop the expedition.”
The face of the princess visibly brightened. She smiled broadly. “Thank you!”
Parzival bowed his head lightly. “Thank you, Lord Lark.”
Lark smiled back. That night, the dinner ended without the princess confiding her secrets to Lark.
CHAPTER 8
The next day, while inside his office in the mansion, Lark received his weekly newspaper from the traveling merchants of Lion City.
It seemed that while he was on his way back to Blackstone Town, a storm had brewed in the capital of the Kingdom. Several shocking events unfolded one after another, enough to stir up the masses.
“Duke Kelvin’s convicted of high treason?” said Lark as he read the newspaper.
According to the news, after the Empire’s defeat at Yorkshaire Mountain Range, Rock Castle was also freed of enemy soldiers. The royal court magicians tasked to rescue Lancaster Kelvin were successful, and they managed to annihilate all the enemies occupying the fort.
But this did not change the fact that the Kelvin Duchy refused to take part in the war with the Empire. Under the pretext that the heir of the House Kelvin was under the enemy’s hands, Duke Kelvin forbade all of his soldiers from taking part in the war. This was a tremendous blow to the Kingdom’s overall military might.
After all, the Kelvin Army was the second most powerful army in the Kingdom, next only to the Marcus Army.
After their victory, the king and his ministers summoned Duke Kelvin to the capital. After heated discussions, the duke was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment and a hundred lashes.
For a moment, Lark was worried that this would result in civil war. The Kelvin Duchy owned five out of the seven major ports in the Kingdom, and they also boasted a strong army of hussars. They held enough military might to threaten the throne.
But after reading some more, Lark was surprised to find out that the duke silently accepted his punishment and was locked up in the capital’s dungeon without any resistance. According to the news, the duke negotiated with the king: He would accept his due punishment as long as he was not stripped of his title and nobility. This way, his sons would still be eligible for the competition for the throne. Afraid of a civil war toppling the entire Kingdom, the king agreed to the duke’s demands.
Duke Kelvin was apparently confident that one of his sons would win the competition. And by the time a Kelvin ascended to the throne, he would naturally be freed from the dungeon. If things went according to the plan, then he would only have to endure for three more years.
Lark sipped his tea. He continued reading the news.
“The Empire sent an envoy, huh?”
A few days after the duke was convicted of lifetime imprisonment, an envoy from the Empire arrived at the capital. Post-war reparations were immediately discussed by both parties, with the Empire demanding the Kingdom to return the captives locked up in the dungeons of Akash City, along with the glaive of General Alvaren. Although the Empire refused to sign a peace treaty with the Kingdom, according to the news, they agreed to pay a hefty sum to retrieve the maginus and for the captives to be returned to their homeland.
Lark nodded in satisfaction at this. The maginus—although a mere replica—should be worth at least thirty thousand gold coins, probably more. There were also the captives in Akash City they had to consider. Five hundred soldiers, and two of them were from prominent families in the Empire. Their freedom should have netted the Kingdom at least tens of thousands in gold coins.
