How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 175

Chapter 46. The Blue Mountains, Revisited

“I need a quiet place.”

It was Rahelna’s request.

At first, I thought anywhere near Leydin, where Rahelna resided, would be sufficient.

However, to minimize attention and respect Rahelna’s extreme aversion to nature being harmed, we had to find a new location.

The place we settled on was simpler than expected.

“Let’s go to the northeastern Blue Mountains.”

“The northeastern Blue Mountains?”

“I have a fortress under my jurisdiction there. It’s teeming with monsters, not people. It’s barren, but it provides lodging and food, and there are no prying eyes just a short distance away, making it ideal for training.”

“Many monsters, you say? That’s an advantage.”

Rahelna was right. Since we were going there to gain strength, having opponents to test our power against was a plus.

Moreover, the northeast was a good location to quickly join Redran when he started the war. Besides, I had been neglecting the Sky Fortress too much.

Once we made the decision, our actions were swift. I and my party quickly made preparations and left Capital for the north.

Of course, Marquis Irfe seemed quite reluctant for me to leave Capital. But I persuaded him that it was necessary for our future plans, and he had nothing more to say.

Cella decided to stay in Capital under the protection of Marquis Irfe. Considering the purpose of this journey, that would be better for her too.

Having arrived in the north after that journey, it was time to part ways with Rihas at the crossroads dividing the west and east.

“Going west from here leads to Wind Nest.”

“Guess I should head out from here.”

“It’s a shame. I wanted to stay with you longer, Young Master.”

“Wait for me. Even if I have to pester the lord, I’ll call you back someday.”

“If you do, I’ll gladly help.”

I nodded at Rihas’s revenge-fueled eyes.

“But you’ll have a lot to prepare. I can’t just give you work because I know you. I already know your skills, but I don’t know how outsiders will see you, so building and proving your abilities will be your task.”

“Proving, you say…….”

“You’ll have to prove your command abilities first. Right now, I need a mind to ease my burden more than a warrior to fight on the front lines.”

“I’ll study hard!”

“Try your best.”

Rihas shook hands with me and then shared a hearty hug with Ruth.

“Take care.”

“You too, Senior. Stay safe.”

“Worry about yourself, kid.”

“Lady Ilia, the same goes for you. Always be careful.”

Rihas exchanged awkward but sincere greetings with Ilia before gradually walking away.

Ruth clicked his tongue, looking regretful as he watched him go.

“He was always slick, but it feels empty now that he’s gone.”

“Don’t be sad. You’ll see him again.”

“When are you planning to tell Rihas the secret?”

“I don’t know. I need to think about it more. There’s no reason for Rihas to know right now. The fewer people who know a secret, the better.”

“That’s true.”

After parting with Rihas, how long had we waited? Rahelna slowly began to walk towards us from afar.

“Lady Rahelna.”

“Finally, I can go in peace.”

She had been acting separately, not joining us here because Rihas was present.

Perhaps she was bored with her solitary journey, as she quickly got into the carriage, settled down, and took out a book.

“Who’s going to stop you?”

At the sight of her, Ruth and Ilia smiled silently and returned to their places.

The carriage started moving again. Now, our destination was just around the corner. I nodded lightly, confirming the faint blue mountains in the distance.

* * *

For Ruth and Ilia, the Blue Mountains were unfamiliar territory, which meant they were about to experience the Ice Trolls and Yetis that I had encountered before.

“What kind of place is this…….”

Ilia agreed with Ruth’s words as he threw off his cloak, now heavy and soaked with blood.

“I’m starting to get tired of this.”

“How many Trolls and Yetis have we caught? There’s no day my hands don’t smell like blood.”

“I forgot to count a long time ago. There are too many.”

At first, they thought they were just dealing with monsters, but after being tormented to the point of having hollow eyes, they seemed to have changed their minds.

“I told you it would be tough, didn’t I?”

I scoffed at their appearance, and Ruth shook his head.

“Still, I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Was it like this last time too?”

“It was worse than this. Back then, Rahelna wasn’t here, and it was winter.”

Ruth was about to say something but nodded instead.

“Hmm, I was spoiled.”

Ruth, who readily admitted it, silently continued walking.

That was understandable. When I came last year, it was the coldest season of the year.

Besides, Rahelna, who had conserved her strength during the day, cast a barrier using illusions at night, which allowed us to sleep comfortably without being disturbed, at least.

“Was it Lord Roben?”

Ruth opened his mouth as if something had suddenly occurred to him.

“Yes. Roben Wonders.”

A knight who left the Capital Knights after losing his wife and retired to his hometown.

He later accepted my request and the will of his friend, Cold Nais, to serve as an advisor and commander of the Sky Fortress Knights.

“The Young Master’s Knights……. I’m curious.”

“It’s not even a knight order yet. It’s just starting to take shape.”

“What does it matter? The Wind Knights and the Capital Knights all had beginnings.”

“It’s a bit of a downgrade to put them on the same level as those well-established knight orders.”

“Well, it’s not something you can do in a day or two to train a knight.”

Ruth was right. Unlike ordinary soldiers, knights were elites who deserved to be called specialists.

“How long does it usually take for the Wind Knights to train a trainee into a formal knight?”

“It depends on the trainee’s talent, so there’s no real standard.”

“What about you, Ruth?”

“Five years.”

“I heard you were fast.”

“If you have a natural talent for feeling and manipulating mana, you may be faster than me. I lived as a slash-and-burn farmer and suddenly took up a sword, so I was a little late because I had no foundation.”

“Aren’t you underestimating yourself too much? Do you think there are a lot of talents like you in the world?”

“Is that so?”

The body I occupy is so bizarre, but in fact, Ruth’s talent is objectively enough to be called a genius.

Just overcoming the limitations of being a slash-and-burn farmer and becoming a formal knight in just five years shows that.

But how many people in the world have as much talent as Ruth? And what are the chances that someone with such talent will join my command, leaving behind prestigious knight orders?

Besides, Ruth was able to grow like that thanks to the systematic and excellent infrastructure of the Wind Knights.

Perhaps if he had been under a humble local aristocrat, it would have taken him 10 years, not 5 years.

And that was the same with my knight order.

Even if a talent like Ruth came in, the continent would already be engulfed in war before I could even raise him to be useful.

And Ruth also knew that problem.

“So I’m a little puzzled. If the tribal war you mentioned really comes, wouldn’t it be better to prioritize recruiting rather than directly training knights?”

“I was going to do that at first. But when I thought about it, there were still problems.”

There was no need to explain what the problem was. Ruth easily realized the reason and nodded.

“It would cost a lot of money to recruit a free knight who can handle mana.”

“A lot? Would that be fortunate? It’s probably beyond imagination. Even if you pour all the gold coins earned by the Blue Wind Merchant Guild, it would only be three or four people. Besides, those who are forcibly brought in with that much money are unlikely to have a strong sense of duty.”

Of course, even if they are knights, their value is not that murderous [expensive].

But the problem was the position of my knight order. Which knight in the world would choose to live in the barren Blue Mountains, leaving behind the knight order in a metropolis where pleasure is guaranteed?

Maybe I’d have to pay three or four times more.

Even if I take knights under such conditions, there are still problems.

Can they share the same mission as me, close to materialism where everything is done with money?

Probably not. In the first place, it would be a figure close to a mercenary who is blinded by gold.

So the conclusion I came to after a long time of deliberation was neither to discover and nurture talent from the beginning nor to recruit already completed knights.

“So I decided to change the route a little.”

“What do you mean by changing the route?”

“I decided to find those who are not formal knights, but not completely newbies.”

“Are you saying you’re going to recruit trainee knights who haven’t been formally appointed yet? But talented trainee knights are already affiliated with leading knight orders.”

“I didn’t say I was going to recruit talented trainee knights.”

“Then what on earth…….”

Ruth, who had been sparing his words for a while, narrowed his eyes as if he had remembered something.

“Don’t tell me, are you thinking about heavy cavalry now?”

“That’s right. Those trainee knights who are full of age but have not become formal knights and have been kicked out as a nuisance. I’m going to look for them.”

Heavy cavalry.

If you only look at the general types of soldiers, excluding knights who handle mana, no one will disagree that the flower of war is heavy cavalry. [Heavily armored soldiers on horseback.]

They trample the battlefield, wearing heavy armor and riding warhorses covered in horse armor.

In the first place, they are mostly cases where trainee knights who have not become formal knights due to the limitations of their talents choose to do so because they have learned that way.

“No, you said you were going to raise a knight order, but why are they those who failed to become knights because they have no talent…….”

It was Ilia, who was listening from the side, who answered Ruth’s question, not me.

“You’re thinking of applying what you did to me to them.”

“As expected, Ilia. You’re quick-witted.”

As Ruth said, heavy cavalry are nothing more than failed waste products who failed to become knights.

But among them, there will surely be rough stones that have not bloomed because of a very small, very faint difference.

Then all I have to do is fill in that little gap.

‘Just like I made Ilia feel mana and transformed her into a true knight.’

Just like I used the progressive technology of the Mana Tunnel in the past to fill Ilia’s missing 2% and lead her to the path of mana, I was going to use the same method for them.

What if I give them a new life, who have become beings who have failed to become knights?

Perhaps their loyalty will be beyond doubt. It will also cost much less money.

“But even if you open the floodgates like that, the limitations of talent are clear, aren’t they? At best, the limit will be the beginner of mana users. It’s still not enough to be called a formal knight, is it?”

It was Ilia’s words that accurately grasped the point, but I shook my head.

“No, if I can use mana, that’s enough for me. The knight order I envisioned is far from the usual appearance.”

“What do you mean by distance…….”

Ruth and Ilia, who did not yet know of the existence of the Hippogriff, tilted their heads.

That’s because the appearance of the knight order I was thinking of was different from ordinary knights.

If I had to compare it, would it be like an all-weather special forces unit? Like the US Navy SEALs, those who are active in all battlefields, regardless of land, sea, or air. [An elite unit of the United States Navy.]

And the source of that ability will be the Hippogriff. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if the individual skills are a little lacking. The slightly lacking parts can be filled with overwhelming mobility and the advantage of battlefield selection.

“It’s better to see it directly than to say it a hundred times.”

Imagining the appearance of the Hippogriff that I will soon see in the Sky Fortress, I moved my steps.