Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 113

“Vector’s classes seem to be going okay, then?”

“That guy definitely remembers the old days and is holding a grudge, I tell you. He’s really making things hard for people, like he’s trying to break them. And what’s worse, Layla is interfering for no reason…”

I had just smiled kindly, but it was like I had pushed a button. Suddenly, he started complaining, a flood of angry words rushing out.

*Logan thought, seeing Rick’s upset face.* *He was clearly having a really tough time.*

Logan chuckled softly, interrupting Rick’s complaining.

“Here, I have a letter for you to deliver. It’s an important errand. And I’ll talk to Vector, so why don’t you take a few days off?”

“Huh?”

“Why? Don’t you want to take a break?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that I don’t want to rest…”

“It’s not?”

“Haha. Well, it’s just… I’m not really used to running errands anymore. Ack! No, I’m kidding! I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”

Logan was a little surprised by Rick’s reaction, so he playfully pinched Rick’s cheeks. Rick seemed to snap out of his complaining mood then.

“These letters are important, so make sure you deliver every one. There should be a Knox branch in Bifrost City. To get there…” *Logan explained the directions to Bifrost City, still gently holding Rick’s cheeks, who was now blinking back tears, partly from the cheek-pinching, partly from relief at the break.*

“Go to Knox and tell them McLaine is looking for knights from families that have fallen on hard times. Explain the situation clearly. If they are interested, tell them to come here and talk to us. And remember, this needs to be done secretly, okay?”

“Got it! I’m writing down everything! I’ll deliver the message exactly as you said!”

“Oh, and deliver these letters separately.”

Logan then handed him a stack of letters – dozens of them!

“W-what’s all this?”

“Letters, I said.”

“When did you even write all of these? Who are they for? Please tell me you’re not writing love letters behind Aileen’s back!”

*Whack!*

“Ouch!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you idiot!”

“B-but still! This is a lot of letters!”

“They are all for men. Just deliver them. And don’t cause any trouble.”

“Okay, okay! Just kidding! I’m kidding!”

Logan watched Rick hurry off, then sighed softly and turned away. *‘Will they agree to join?’* he wondered. *‘Well… it would be good to help even a few of them. If not, there’s nothing more I can do.’*

The letters were for people from small and medium-sized lands that were recently falling apart. They were also for young soldiers training to be knights. If left alone, these people might just become wandering mercenaries.

Most people wouldn’t see them as important – just minor nobles or soldiers who weren’t even knights yet.

But Logan knew they were important.

It wasn’t just because he knew many of them would become powerful Force users – people with special abilities. Actually, some of the people he thought were most important hadn’t even awakened their Force abilities, even years after *he had regained his memories of the future.*

*‘The Grandia Liberation Front,’* he thought. *‘In the end, they were people who gave everything for their country.’*

They were true fighters for independence, people Logan, who had been driven by his own anger and desire for revenge, had found it hard to connect with before. They were real patriots, trying to free their country, even if it cost them their lives. They would be loyal allies in the coming war with the Empire.

*‘It’s a pity I can’t remember exactly which families they were from or where they were right now, but this is good enough for a start.’*

Experience changes people. Time can turn good people bad, and bad people good. So, they might not be exactly the same good people Logan remembered from before.

But even if they were the worst possible people now, *‘At least thirty or forty talented people who are sure to become knights will emerge from this,’* he thought. And all it took was a few sleepless nights, *trying hard to recall his memories and write these letters.* There was no reason not to try.

But those sleepless nights had taken their toll. Dark, sad memories he’d rather forget kept creeping into his mind. A shadow crossed Logan’s face as he thought of his noble friends from his past life. They felt so close in his memories, yet so far away now.

*** Damian Nadal was the second son of the Nadal family. They were a small noble family in the southeast, so unimportant that hardly anyone would recognize their name. Damian himself felt just as insignificant. He didn’t have much pride in being a nobleman anymore. In fact, these days, he almost hated being born into his family.

*‘Is it even right to get mixed up in these fights just because my great-grandmother was related to some important family? That’s why our family is ruined,’* Damian thought bitterly, as he gulped down another glass of beer. His family was probably one of the first to fall apart after the civil war started. He hadn’t managed to save much money when he escaped just before everything collapsed. He felt like he would break down completely if he didn’t keep drinking. He told himself this drinking was a way to remember his family, who had died for nothing.

*‘I can’t even bury them properly, and here I am, running away and drinking. What kind of remembrance is this…?’*

Damian signaled for another drink, knowing his excuse was pathetic. He half-hoped his little money would run out soon, or maybe his miserable life would end first.

*‘If I somehow survive all this, will I even be proud of it? I’ve been drinking for three days straight, but this stubborn life just won’t end.’*

Damian laughed humorlessly, picturing himself old and ugly, bragging about this to other sad old men in the future.

Suddenly, a voice surprised him.

“Mr. Damian Nadal?” *Thump thump!* Damian jumped, nearly falling off his chair.

“W-what? Huh? Who are you?!” He scrambled back, knocking over his beer, and fumbled for his sword. He couldn’t even find it at first, waving his hand around his waist uselessly. His mind was foggy from the alcohol. He thought maybe someone was hunting him down. The man in front of him was blurry. Damian slapped his own cheek hard to try and clear his head. The sting of blood helped a little. He could now see a middle-aged man with a plain face, frowning at him.

“Are you Mr. Damian Nadal?”

“A… a hunter? I… I haven’t done anything…” He sounded like a typical drunk, shouting one moment, then blaming himself the next.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”

The middle-aged man seemed relieved that Damian could still speak clearly. He pulled a letter from his coat.

“I’m from the Information Guild. I have a letter for *you*.”

“……What?” *Who would send me a letter? And how did they know where to find me? I didn’t even know I’d be here a week ago.* His already drunk mind spun with questions. But the messenger wasn’t interested in his confusion.

“Right, letter delivered.” He pointed at the paper. “Sign here… Ah, never mind.”

The messenger grabbed Damian’s unsteady hand, pressed it onto the paper roughly, and then quickly left. Damian stared at the letter in his hand, feeling lost. “What in the world is this…?” It felt unreal, like a strange dream.

“Tsk, tsk,” said a voice. “A young man like you, getting so upset about a letter? Just open it! Maybe your girlfriend who ran away has come back for you.”

The man next to Damian, who seemed a bit drunk and old, laughed. He was making fun of Damian. The air in the small, smoky tavern smelled of stale beer and sadness. Damian just wanted to be left alone.

‘Fine,’ Damian thought, annoyed. ‘I’ll open it and see.’ If this was a joke, he would be very angry. He was already feeling terrible and had nothing to lose. His stomach twisted with a bad feeling as he thought about more bad news.

With a sigh, Damian opened the letter.

As he read, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth tightened. His expression grew grim.

To Damian Nadal,

I am Logan McLaine, the eldest son of the McLaine family.

I was deeply impressed by ‘The Drunken Moon’s Poem’ you left at the Academy of Gran.

I had thought of you as a remarkable talent, and having heard of your recent misfortunes, I am writing to you.

Our family, which continues to grow even in these difficult times, needs talents like you, Damian.

If you are looking for a new place to settle, please consider McLaine.

Sincerely, Logan McLaine.

“What is this nonsense…?”

A poem he had drunkenly scribbled at the academy.

He was indeed the author of that embarrassing poem that had once been the talk of society.

But in this country, poetry was merely a hobby for nobles.

No noble would call a fine poet a remarkable talent.

Why would a small noble family offer me a job just because their son liked my poem?

He already felt bad, and this letter felt like a mean joke.

“No, that’s not it. I’m not in a position to be picky right now.”

Even if it was a trick, he still had his health.

Even if the sender of this letter was a con artist, he had nothing to lose.

“…Should I go?”

A future he could not foresee.

Damian Nadal was important in the Independence Army. He made secret codes and managed spies. He decided to go to McLaine territory the next day.

And around the same time.

Letters from the same sender arrived for the heirs and dozens of soldiers from small families directly affected by the civil war.

And most of them couldn’t help but be tempted by the fact that the lord of a territory remembered their personal history and praised them as ‘talented individuals’.

Two months after the start of the civil war.

At the McLaine family, new soldiers and members of the local defense force were in the midst of training.

People began to arrive in McLaine Town one after another.

A large and spacious territory.

Because the territory still needed more people, they were deliberately spreading rumors to attract war refugees.

However, the dozens of people who had recently arrived were different from ordinary refugees.

“I came because I heard you were looking for knights without a lord.”

There were knights who were clearly well-equipped, but also quite a few who looked like people who looked lazy and messy, from noble families that had lost their money. Their fine clothes worn and soiled, knocked on the town gates.

And each of them had a letter from the young lord when they came to the town.

‘Knights aside, what are these guys?’

The guards who checked the letter were confused, but they had to take these people to Logan.

“Damian… Nadal?”

“Yes, that’s me. Perhaps….”

“Welcome. I am Logan McLaine. Have a seat.”

The man was a few years younger than him, but he was the acting lord.

Damian didn’t care that Logan spoke casually. Damian looked poor and was hungry, so he wasn’t going to be picky.

Moreover, when he called his name, he seemed genuinely pleased to meet someone he knew.

‘Have I met him?’ Damian thought. He tried to remember, but shook his head. No, he didn’t think so.

Red hair and red eyes, he couldn’t possibly have forgotten such a distinctive appearance if he had seen it.

But the other person knew him.

‘Well, he said he saw the poem.’

He forced himself to find an excuse.

And he cautiously took the offered seat.

“So, you accepted my offer and came?”

“Yes… but, what can I do here? My only talent is scribbling a few poems. Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else?”

“How could that be? Having a talent for poetry means you have the ability to understand and encapsulate the context of things. It will be of great help in management and administration.”

‘Even to me, this sounds like nonsense,’ Logan thought.

‘This is nonsense,’ Damian thought at the same time. Neither of them knew the other was thinking the same thing.

Of course, Logan was just spouting nonsense because he wanted to recruit this young man with the shabby impression into his territory.

‘Damian Nadal. A genius of cipher systems. And a prodigy of information management.’

The Grandia Liberation Front had been able to resist for over twenty years, largely thanks to his efforts in thoroughly protecting the identities of its members.

Logan wasn’t sure how Damian’s spy skills would help now, but he knew Damian was smart and could be very useful in managing things.

And also.

‘Damian Nadal has already lost his entire family in the civil war. Yet, he is a man who has been engaged in a hopeless and bleak struggle for decades with nothing but patriotism. If I win his heart, he will be someone I can trust unconditionally.’

Even without special skills, each new person was helpful.

So Logan could say with confidence.

“Hmm, you went to the Academy and studied how to run things, right? That means I can trust you. I’ll give you a position. Of course, you’ll start as an assistant to our chief administrator, but if you demonstrate your abilities, you could be in charge of an entire district. The monthly salary… hmm. Shall we start with 300 gold?”

“…What do you see in me to do this much?”

“You don’t like it?”

“Ah, no. Not at all!”

“Then just accept it. Why are you hesitating so much?”

“What if… what if I am a spy, an enemy here… Oh, never mind, that’s silly. Sorry! I’m not a spy, I promise!”

“Haha. Yes, I know. Good, then I’ll prepare a room for you, and you can start working tomorrow. Ah, you should meet the person who will be your supervisor first, right? Come with me.”

“Ah. Yes, yes.”

It was a lightning-fast hiring and job decision.

‘Is, is this okay?’

Damian followed the young lord with a bewildered expression.

Of course, Logan felt a sense of satisfaction, quite apart from that.

‘Even someone so serious can be like this when they are young. Interesting. Very interesting.’

Among the recent visitors, there were twenty-five who would become Force users in the future, but somehow, obtaining this one Damian felt more rewarding than all of them combined.

‘Maybe later, I can get a group of spies and let Damian lead them.’

He couldn’t keep paying Nox or other information guilds forever.

It might be fine when it was a ‘small’ family like now, but in the future….

And when that time came.

‘He will be in charge of spies, not just office work. He might not like the office work now, but he has to do it for a while.’

Thinking that, Logan introduced Damian to Dwayne.

And.

“Hahaha. Excellent, Lord. Philip and that Damian fellow are doing the work of more than ten others. Where did you pick up these guys? I’d like just three more like them. Then I won’t have to worry about anything.”

After only one week, Damian was already getting great praise from Dwayne, Logan’s most trusted helper.