Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 165

The knight’s announcement echoed as the main hall doors swung open, revealing two figures with red hair and eyes, father and son, walking in together.

“Huh? The Young Lord?” Henderson blurted out, surprised. He hadn’t expected to see Logan here. Remembering the Lord’s warning, Henderson quickly shut his mouth when Patrick glared at him.

People who worked for the Lord came into the hall. They watched as the two lords, father and son, sat in their special chairs at the front.

“I hereby start the first regular meeting of the McLaine Marquisate,” Patrick announced.

Logan stepped forward. “I’ve heard that many things have changed since the war ended and our family gained more power. Let’s talk about the problems one by one and find solutions. Who wants to speak first?”

Dwayne, a tall man with a serious face, raised his hand first.

“Like I said before, we really need to hire more office workers. We need to get more people to help with paperwork for the family,” Dwayne said.

“I heard about that,” Logan said, “but… why are there so few officials? Didn’t we just get all the officials from Bipros when we took over?”

“The Lord told us to be careful,” Dwayne explained. “We didn’t hire anyone who seemed even a little bit dishonest or who was connected to the old, bad family. That left us with very few people.”

“Ah….” Logan nodded, not sure what else to say.

Logan understood. They didn’t have enough officials because they had removed anyone who was dishonest or connected to the old, bad family.

“Alright, I understand. Does anyone else have any problems?” Logan asked.

Clayton stepped forward, looking a little uncomfortable. “I’ve figured out the research you asked for. I need money for it,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh…!” Logan’s eyes lit up when he heard about the research.

“Also,” Clayton continued, “now that I’m more famous, more wizards who travel around are visiting the Magic Tower, and people are trying to become wizards. This is becoming a problem.”

“…Isn’t that a good thing?” Logan asked.

Wizards were coming to the tower because of Clayton, who was now an Archmage and called the Golem Master.

“The thing is… very few of them are actually good at magic,” Clayton explained. “Most of the wizards who travel around were kicked out of their old towers or schools because they caused problems. I need help to find the truly talented ones.”

“Hmm. What kind of help do you need?” Logan asked.

“It’s a little embarrassing to say…,” Clayton said.

“Clayton is very important to our land. Anything…,” Logan replied.

“I think all I need is money,” Clayton admitted.

“Ah….”

It was indeed something to be embarrassed about.

Seeing Logan’s expression, Clayton quickly added, “I need to create magic to protect the Magic Tower, and special objects or magic circles to find children with magic talent, and also…” He noticed the sharp looks from the others.

“I really need a lot of rare metals for the research Logan asked me to do!” Clayton said, making his request clear.

Making the Golem Magic Tower strong again was very important to the McLaine territory.

That alone was a task that could not be ignored, but…

‘Kraune’s research… I have to do this,’ Logan thought.

He remembered the secret technique from his past life that increased the power of the Imperial Knights by 20%. He had to create it if he could.

Logan nodded with a small sigh. “Hmm. I understand that problem too. Anyone else have any other problems?”

Hamar, the dwarf who was in charge of the workshop, spoke next. “The workshop also needs more people. You told us to sell repeating crossbows everywhere, but we don’t have enough workers to do it. I’m working myself to death here. To do it right, I need three times as many artisans as we have now.”

“Three times as many?” Logan asked, his eyebrows rising.

“Yes! Three times!” Hamar exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “And that’s the minimum, Master! I’m working myself to the bone here!”

Hamar’s request also meant he needed money.

Logan sighed again. “Haa, I understand. Anyone else have any other problems?”

“Heinkel ‘Baron’ will talk about the problems with the Knights,” Patrick said, emphasizing the word ‘Baron’ and gesturing to Heinkel, who was sitting below the platform.

Heinkel spoke, his voice quiet. Wrinkles around his eyes seemed deeper, and his white hair was even whiter than before. He gently touched the wooden hand that replaced his missing arm. “I don’t think I should be involved with the Knights anymore,” he said, trying to sound strong, but a hint of sadness was in his voice.

After the awards ceremony at the royal palace, Heinkel, Clayton, and Ronian, who had done great things in the war, were made Barons with the right to pass on the title, thanks to Patrick.

Viktor and Aileen, the top knights from the 1st to 10th squads, and Chief Instructor Kaisolon also received the title of Baron, a reward that was one step higher. Only Ronian didn’t get it.

But even that reward didn’t seem like enough to make up for the fact that a high-ranking knight had lost his arm and his Force.

Patrick looked at him with a complicated expression.

“Alright, I’ll say it myself,” Patrick said. “Since the northern part of Kalia became our territory, most of the Kalia Knights decided to stay and join our group.”

“The majority?” Logan asked, surprised.

“I thought you’d be happy that we have more knights,” Logan said.

“We have 112 knights who survived the war. But 201 Kalia Knights chose to join us,” Patrick explained.

“Wow… Wicken Kalia must be angry,” Logan commented.

“No. He actually told them to go,” Patrick said.

“…Pardon?” Logan asked, confused.

“Count Wicken Kalia said they should spread their wings by coming to McLaine, which is becoming a new power, instead of staying in Kalia where they would be watched and controlled. Maybe that’s why the Kalia Knights Commander, Sir Jorge, also joined us,” Patrick explained.

“What? The highest-ranking knight?!” Logan exclaimed.

“Yes. That’s why it’s a problem,” Patrick said.

Logan quickly understood what his father meant.

Wicken Kalia’s decision was unexpected, but since the area that belonged to them was now part of McLaine by the king’s order, it wasn’t strange that the knights chose to move.

However, a much larger number of knights than they already had, including the highest-ranking one, had joined all at once. Even if they wanted to obey, it wouldn’t be easy to manage them.

And probably…

“It’s also hard to decide who should get the Iron Blood Sword, which is now our symbol. If we treat them the same, the knights who helped build our territory will be upset. But if we treat them differently, problems might happen later,” Patrick said.

“‘They’ll become friends as they spend time together,’ isn’t that your motto, Father?” Logan asked.

Fighting wars all the time can only go on for so long. Besides, the situation is very different now than it used to be.

The time of never-ending wars for land was finished. It was a time when no one knew what would happen next, and the kingdom was fighting itself. But that time was over.

There were times of chaos, and now there is peace. Because of this change, it was natural that how knights were treated had to change.

Logan sighed. He looked around at the group of people gathered in the room. Knights and administrators stood waiting, their faces serious.

Logan looked at everyone. ‘Are there any other important things we need to talk about today?’ he asked, his voice clear and strong.

Confirming that no one else was coming forward, Logan fixed his gaze on Dwayne.

Right, then let’s discuss the issue of hiring administrators that Administrator Dwayne brought up. It’s not difficult to put out a recruitment notice, but how many specifically should we be hiring?

We have twenty castles,

Dwayne explained, “but not enough people to manage them. The administrators from Bipros are working hard in their areas. But because of the war, we couldn’t send people to check on the other castles. So, many castles are being managed by village leaders working together. If this goes on, the territory’s work will stop, or everything will fall apart.”

When they heard how bad things were, the faces of everyone listening became serious and worried.

Is the situation really that bad?

“Even with all the administrators here, including me,” Dwayne continued, “we are working day and night. We are just barely able to manage the work for the two towns and the castles of Silvan, Tesron, and McLaine.”

Logan thought to himself, ‘And yet, Dwayne was drinking a lot and having fun at the festival.’

‘Even if I was ordered to,’ Logan thought, but he stopped himself from saying it out loud.

This was a serious situation. There was no time to talk about what happened before.

So, how many more do you need?

“We need at least thirty experienced administrators who can be sent to the castles right away.”

Thirty? Is that enough?

…For now, yes. And actually…

Encouraged by Logan’s enthusiastic response, Dwayne cautiously added a word, glancing subtly at the people around him.

“Also,” Dwayne added carefully, looking around, “it might be hard to send new administrators to be lords of the castles right away. Maybe we should send people who are already trusted here. That way, each area can be managed well without problems.”

The room became quiet for a moment. Everyone, administrators and knights, looked at Logan and Patrick, waiting to hear what they would say.

Being in charge of a castle, as the lord’s representative, was a very important and honorable position.

Like Dwayne said, it might not be wise to make a new administrator the lord of a castle right away.

If we count the two towns as castles, the McLaine territory now had a large number – twenty castles.

Except for McLaine Town, where they were meeting, there were nineteen important positions available. The vassals gathered there started to think about these positions and want them.

Okay,

Logan said. “Let’s choose some people who are well-respected and have worked hard for us. We can send them to be lords of these castles.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

And that was the same for Dwayne, who answered swiftly.

Logan chuckled quietly. He could see what Dwayne was thinking just by looking at his face.

Father?

“Yes. Since the candidates are all here anyway, it would be good to decide here and now while the topic is fresh.”

At Patrick’s words, the vassals’ eyes began to gleam in earnest.

Then,

Logan said, “Dwayne, why don’t you start by suggesting some names?” When he said this, the hairy administrator’s face turned red.

Can I volunteer?

Dwayne asked hopefully.

“Ah, no, of course not,” Logan laughed. “You can’t go anywhere. You are our main administrator here.”

“Eh?! Why not?!” Dwayne exclaimed, disappointed.

“Because I value you too much, Dwayne! Why would I send you away?” Logan teased.

“Oh, sniff… Damn it,” Dwayne mumbled, pretending to be sad.

“Okay, okay, just give me some recommendations,” Logan said, still smiling.

Logan was still smiling at Dwayne, who looked clearly disappointed. Then, suddenly, someone spoke from the back of the room, saying something unexpected.

“Even if we are suggesting people,” Damian said, “I think we need at least one rule to help us decide.”

“Damian? Hmm, tell us what you are thinking,” Logan replied.

Encouraged by the positive response, the former intelligence chief of the independence army spoke his opinion with a slightly flushed face.

“Even if it’s not about the old southwestern land,” Damian explained, “I think it would be better to send chief knights to the castles in the Calia and Taren areas.”

Knights?

“Yes. When new lands are added to a country or territory, people there often care more about their local area than the whole territory. This is especially true when areas that used to be enemies are joined together. For example, soldiers might not do their duty properly.”

Aha. So?

“Yes,” Damian continued. “If the lord is a knight, especially a knight with some rank, they can at least fix this problem. We can still send someone else to help with the daily tasks.”

…Good idea. Let’s do that,

Logan agreed.

“Thank you!” Damian said happily, clenching his fist in excitement. Logan watched Damian and quietly thought to himself…

Logan thought, ‘It’s surprising that Damian Nadal, who people call the “Evil Brain” because he is so clever, is so happy just because one of his ideas about choosing people was accepted.’

Logan thought, ‘He is so different from how he used to be. I should give Damian work that lets him use his clever skills.’

A new concern arose, but for now, the territory’s problems came first.

Alright, I will choose the castle lords, using Damian’s idea. Everyone, suggest anyone you think would be good!

As soon as he finished speaking, hands went up everywhere in the room.

I recommend Lugel Hais!

I recommend Ferran Doyle…

I recommend Administrator Reactor from old Bipros…

Castle lord – the master of a castle.

Of course, they were like representatives for the territory. But, unless someone wanted to fight against the main lord, the castle lord was a very important person in that castle, and no noble could ignore them.

Also, in these times, if a castle lord did their job well, they would not be removed from their position. They could even give the position to their children after them. It was almost like being a noble themselves.

So, everyone who wanted to be a castle lord, the vassals, started to compete strongly for those positions.

I recommend Chief Knight Digrom.

I recommend Enrique…

Logan thought, ‘Our family has grown so much.’ Just three and a half years ago, McLaine was just a small, run-down castle that we turned into a strong fort.

For such a family to have grown this much.

Logan smiled, feeling a sense of pride anew, and his eyes met those of his father, who was smiling similarly.

It was like they could read each other’s minds. Patrick, his father, seemed to feel a little sorry for interrupting Logan’s rest earlier. Patrick mouthed the words, ‘It’s all thanks to you,’ and gave Logan a thumbs up.

It was a full four hours later that all nineteen castles, their dispatched administrators, and their lords were decided.