The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 19

The Dragnil territory was a very quiet place. It was small, with no special products or tourist attractions.

However, its location was good for farming, and Baron Dragnil, unlike other nobles, diligently looked after his people, making it a decent place to live quietly. But today, the usually quiet territory was bustling with noise.

“Wh-where are they?!”

“They’re coming from the north!”

Baron Dragnil, who had been leisurely handling his duties, heard a desperate voice. As a lord who had handled various matters for a long time, Baron Dragnil had never heard such urgency. However, when he heard the situation from the soldier, Baron Dragnil himself felt the urgency.

‘Why on earth would an imperial official come to a place like this?!’

He had been told that a group of people bearing the imperial symbol, the double-headed eagle, on their flags were rushing towards the castle. He had seen the symbol before, but this was the first time such a large group of dozens of people had come.

Guided by the soldiers, he left the mansion and headed north, and soon he was able to see the double-headed eagle again after several months.

“Hah… Hah…”

It was only natural that he was out of breath after sprinting with all his might, unbefitting his status as a noble. Moreover, Baron Dragnil’s body was slowly approaching old age. Unlike his two sons, he had no talent for magic or training, which made it even worse.

“Are you Baron Ignil Dragnil?”

“Y-yes, I am. What brings an imperial official to this small territory?”

“Baron Dragnil, receive the Emperor’s command!”

Baron Dragnil was dumbfounded by the envoy’s words. Receiving the Emperor’s command, experiencing an envoy reading the Emperor’s decree in person, was something he had only done once before. It was when the decree acknowledging his succession to the title was issued after the death of his father, the late Baron Dragnil, which suggested something similar was happening.

Thud-

“I receive the Emperor’s command!”

“From this moment on, Baron Dragnil is promoted to Viscount. Furthermore, one-tenth of the mine’s output for the next twenty years is granted, so that you may forever devote your loyalty.”

Even in his bewildered state, Baron Dragnil’s body, which had lived as a noble for decades, knelt down without him realizing it. However, the envoy’s subsequent words were enough to throw his already confused mind into further chaos.

‘What on earth is going on…’

It had only been a few dozen minutes. But in those few dozen minutes, he had been more surprised than he had been in the past year. However, he realized that there was something he had to do before seeking answers to the problem, thanks to the envoy’s clearing of his throat.

“I will devote my loyalty!”

#

“Could you please explain what’s going on?”

“Of course, Viscount.”

He had been called Baron for decades, and the title of Viscount felt so awkward. But now, he was more curious about the story the imperial envoy would tell him.

“Your son has made a great contribution.”

At the word ‘son,’ Viscount Dragnil turned to his side. His gaze fell upon his eldest son, who looked just as dumbfounded as he did.

His eldest son, Boris, who spent his days training at the mansion, assisting with duties as the next lord, or patrolling the castle, could not have made a great contribution. He didn’t have the ability to do so, and even if he had made a contribution, he would have known if it was enough to achieve a promotion.

‘Then…’

Viscount Dragnil didn’t just have one son. There was his younger son, who was fighting for his life in the dangerous north in place of his brother.

“What on earth did my second son do?”

After hearing the whole story, Viscount Dragnil sighed softly. The envoy, who had brought both good and bad news, was escorted to the guest room for rest, and only he and his son, Boris, remained in the drawing room.

“You don’t look happy.”

“Boris.”

“Isn’t it good news? Renil is alive, and he has made a great contribution, raising the family’s honor. Why do you only sigh?”

“…It is good news. It must have been hard enough for him to adapt to a strange place, but he even sent us such a gift. As you said, it is a great honor for the family. I’m just worried that we might not be able to handle the gift.”

From the moment he heard the situation from the envoy, Viscount Dragnil’s mind had been ringing with alarm bells.

Even though Dragnil territory was far from the center, he was still a noble with a territory. He knew how valuable magic stones were. The mine that Renil had discovered must be quite large. That’s why the Emperor had promised a promotion and one-tenth of the output.

Dragnil territory had not experienced war for a long time. Viscount Dragnil knew that the reason was not that they had a strong military force that prevented others from invading, but that they were not worth invading. He was worried that Renil’s gift would become a seed of discord that would ruin the peaceful territory.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you send it to Renil?”

“To Renil?”

“Yes. Aren’t you worried that others will covet the magic stones and cause conflict? Even if we have them, we don’t have anyone who can properly utilize them, and it would be better to send them to the Terra Barrier, at least while Renil is there, rather than letting them rot in a corner of the warehouse. The Emperor would be satisfied once again, and if that fact is known, others won’t be greedy.”

“…That’s not bad.”

Boris’s words sounded quite good to Viscount Dragnil. As Boris said, they would only take up space in the warehouse if they kept them.

Even if he tried to sell them, it would be difficult because they were a gift from the Emperor, and it could cause the conflict he was worried about due to unnecessary competition.

But if he sent them to Renil? He had heard that magic stones were very useful for mages. If the Terra Barrier became safer, Renil’s chances of survival would increase, and it could be an opportunity to build friendships with his colleagues.

However, not long after he made that decision, a group from the Magic Tower arrived in Dragnil territory. Coincidentally, it was the day before the envoy was to return to the capital.

#

“Good. It was a really long discussion, but it seems like we’ve mostly refined our opinions. I’ve been here for seven years now, but this is the first time I’ve seen you guys so enthusiastic.”

“If we were going to sit still in this situation, we should give up being called mages. Isn’t that right, team leader?”

“That’s right. If there’s anyone like that, they should give up the title of mage. Yes.”

Many opinions were voiced about the use of magic stones, but few were adopted. Everyone had thought of the ideas at least once, but there was a reason why they hadn’t been realized. The number of magic stones made realization possible, but most of the opinions had to yield to the concept of efficiency. I was no exception. In the end, a conclusion was reached. And everyone had no choice but to realize that the simpler it is, the better the efficiency.

“Okay, let’s put our heads together again. How can we increase efficiency even more? We need to produce something to save face since we’ve received this support, right?”

Mine development hasn’t even started yet. Nevertheless, the reason we can focus on research with magic stones is to be ready to use them from the time the mine becomes active. As Ilde said, if we don’t produce results, we won’t be able to save face with others. Even more so to quell the dissatisfaction arising from the increased risk due to mine development.

At first, I thought of weapons like guns and cannons. But soon I realized that such things were not very efficient at the Terra Barrier.

Weapons that benefit from sending projectiles far away were useless at the Terra Barrier. After all, the monsters rushed towards the walls without hesitation, so there was no need for the concept of cannons. Frankly, all we had to do was light the fuse of a cannonball and drop it under the wall.

Since it was a weapon using magic stones, not gunpowder, that point was even more emphasized. So the weapon we wanted to make was closer to a grenade. Mages would make them in advance, and they would explode just by being impacted.

Of course, the process of making them was not smooth. Magic stones were very sensitive, and magic could be activated even by small impacts, leading to accidents. There were times when the destructive power was not as great as expected, and it was said that it would be better to use them for other purposes. Nevertheless, the fact that a plausible result was achieved was purely because all the mages were enthusiastic.

“You have a result?”

And today was the day to demonstrate the results to everyone. The result itself was difficult to see as outwardly impressive.

It was just a finger-sized magic stone wrapped in thick cloth or leather to make it easy to grip. Even with the excuse of being a prototype, it was true that it was not very impressive in appearance. In fact, there were still a few points to improve. However, all the mages were confident that it was enough to show its destructive power.

“Let’s take a look. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

I decided to demonstrate. I was the only one among the mages who had above-average physical abilities, and that was why I volunteered.

The target was a scarecrow wearing soldiers’ armor, stuck in the ground 1m apart in front, behind, and to the sides. In fact, it was difficult to activate the magic stone with the level of impact of throwing it and sticking it in the ground, but in actual combat, the impact itself would be sufficient, such as the monster stepping on it, so the thickness of the cloth surrounding the magic stone would only become thicker. If it exploded at an unwanted time, it wouldn’t end with just one or two people dying.

And in case it didn’t explode, I had engraved 파 [pa – break] on it, so you could say that an awkward situation wouldn’t happen.

“Then I’ll begin.”

I bowed to Duke Zieg, the commanders of each knight order, Wonder, and the magic team leaders, and then looked at the grenade in my hand once. A lot of effort went into making this. I didn’t use engravings either. I couldn’t stay here forever, and I couldn’t keep up with the consumption on my own. It would be different if it was a weapon I would use alone, but I couldn’t overuse engravings.

Swoosh-

The grenade flew in a parabola towards the scarecrow. Just before it touched the ground, I activated the engraved seal for certainty, and at the same time, a firestorm raged.

Unlike the grenades I knew, the range was not very wide as it had to kill the enemy only with the explosion, but the firepower was definitely enough for Ilde to raise his thumb. Thanks to this, the fire that engulfed the scarecrows on both sides, front and back, in addition to the central scarecrow, made it impossible to find the scarecrows’ former appearance in that short time.

Clap clap clap clap clap-

As the fire subsided, applause swept in from the mages who had worked together on this whole operation. At the same time, my gaze, which had unconsciously turned to Duke Zieg, caught the sight of Duke Zieg clapping slowly but surely.

Not a bad reaction. But the real protagonist was not yet on stage, preparing to surprise everyone.

< The Story of the Second Son of a Baron – 19 > End