Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 166

The long meeting about taxes finally ended. Some people cheered because it was over, but others looked worried about the new rules.

Logan, looking rather tired, asked the loud group to be quiet.

“It’s getting late, so let’s quickly handle the simple matters first. First of all, Master Clayton, how much more funding do you need for the Magic Tower?”

“Well, the problem is less about the Magic Tower’s security and recruiting disciples, and more about the research costs…”

“Yes, I am well aware that the research is needed. Please tell me the amount you need. I will support you as much as possible.”

Logan made a generous offer without saying any specific conditions.

Clayton leaned forward, his eyes wide and a hopeful smile spreading across his face. Logan’s words sounded like he could have all the research money he dreamed of.

“However, I will certainly check how the money is spent. Dwayne will thoroughly audit the material purchases and consumption costs, so please state the amount within reasonable bounds.”

Logan made his expectations clear.

This clearly showed the difference between being smart with money and being wasteful.

Only then did Clayton realize his excitement and chuckle.

He was amused that he was disappointed.

‘Since when did I have so much money to spend?’

Plus, wasn’t this a sign that he would get as much support as he needed, if he had good reasons?

There was no reason to wait.

“I understand, Great Lord. For now, I think ten million gold should be enough.”

Ten million gold.

The room went quiet for a moment at this huge amount of money.

“Very well. Dwayne, we have that much, right?”

“…Yes. It’ll be tight, but we do.”

“Then it’s settled. Master Clayton, does that mean the research problem is solved for now?”

“Yes. Thank you, Lord.”

“Not at all. Please try a little harder. The day the research succeeds, I will reward you greatly.”

“Reward? This is already more than enough!”

“Yes?”

“The fact that I am seeing the school’s dreams come true these days is reward enough for me. I will try to help the estate even more.”

They exchanged compliments with smiles.

But in those compliments, it was clear that Clayton’s research was very important.

Most of the vassals knew this and their eyes lit up, but none of them tried to find out secrets Logan didn’t want to share.

“Then, next, the workshop problem can be solved by hiring dwarf artisans… ahem, bringing them in. The workshop’s budget should be enough, so I’ll leave that to Phillip, who has experience with trading companies. Phillip, no problem, I assume?”

Logan expected him to say yes, of course.

However.

“…I think it would be better to wait for now.”

The young man with grey eyes gave his opinion, looking worried.

“Why is that?”

Hamar glared at Phillip, and Damian, who was next to him, tugged at Phillip’s sleeve.

Phillip, however, started to explain his ideas without paying attention to them.

“Harun Castle, where the largest slave… ahem, human market is, was one of the main places of the civil war. With the market closed down, trying to get dwarf artisans now would make their already high prices go up a lot. Now is not the right time.”

“Then?”

“In the next month or two at the earliest, or three months at the latest, the supply will be available again, and the artisans’ prices will drop a lot. It would be much better for the estate to wait until then and purchase… bring them in.”

Hamar, who didn’t like the words ‘supply’ and ‘purchase,’ nodded when he heard that explanation.

‘Phillip is as sharp as a knife when it comes to money matters.’

Logan smiled as well.

He also thought about letting Phillip go back to his main job instead of administrative work soon.

“Alright, Phillip. That was a very good idea. Hamar, please wait a little longer. You understand, right?”

“Hmph. I understand, Master.”

With the workshop matter settled, Logan looked at Heinkel.

“The knighthood issue that Father mentioned earlier would be best discussed with Sir Heinkel. Sir, if you have any thoughts, please speak honestly.”

“…Lord. As I have already told the Lord, I am thinking about retiring.”

“Oh, hush. How can you say such a thing!”

Patrick even raised his voice sadly, but Heinkel’s expression didn’t change.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to give opinions about the knighthood in my condition.”

“Hmm. What a fellow…”

Logan sighed.

“Sir, the family understands your situation. And I believe we can’t thank you enough for your sacrifices and loyalty to the family. But Sir Heinkel, the family needs your experience now. Would you be willing to help us just a little longer?”

“…My opinion might not be helpful.”

“Whatever your opinion is, every knight in our knighthood will respect Sir Heinkel’s opinion the most. Including me and my father.”

At those words, the old and tired knight looked up at the head table, surprised.

The lord’s sad look and gentle smile, which he had been avoiding because he knew it would hurt him, stirred his tired heart again.

Heinkel sighed deeply and then paused to think.

And, as everyone watched, he gave his opinion.

“I think the answer is to just keep running them.”

“…?”

The conference room was silent for a moment.

Everyone was surprised and disappointed.

He could feel the changing mood of the room.

The most worrying thing was the dumbfounded look of his lord, who was staring at him with his mouth open, so he quickly continued.

“I don’t mean just keep running them without a plan!”

The old knight spoke with the loudest voice since the meeting began.

“The most important thing is whether the Iron Blood Sword, which is the symbol of our knighthood, is passed on, right?”

Everyone was hopeful again.

“The existing knights can teach the new knights, passing on the Iron Blood Sword and leading the training. That way, we can respect them as senior knights and unite them with the new knights.”

The vassals nodded, agreeing.

“It would also be a good idea to give special allowances to the existing knights who teach.”

Heinkel passionately shared his opinions, as if he had never been gloomy.

It was like seeing flowers bloom on an old tree.

Heinkel’s face seemed to become more alive as he spoke.

Patrick smiled as he saw that.

Logan also smiled and nodded.

“That’s a good idea, Sir Heinkel. We will do that. You are a great help.”

His idea might not be perfect.

But the lord and the Great Lord listened carefully and agreed with him.

Heinkel smiled faintly at that.

‘That’s good.’

A knight who had been loyal to the family for a long time had found his motivation again.

Even if he was hurt and tired, the family would respect those who had been loyal.

Logan hoped that Heinkel would be a symbol of that. And for that reason alone, he thought Heinkel’s opinion was worth trying.

The meeting had dragged on, and Logan could see everyone was tired. It was probably best to end it now, even if someone had a new idea.

“Alright,” Logan said, his voice clear. “It seems like we’ve heard all the opinions on the main agenda items. Thank you all for your hard work during this long meeting. If there are any agenda items or problems you haven’t mentioned yet, please speak up now.”

He was mostly saying it to be polite, ready to wrap things up. But as he looked around one last time, he noticed Lonian raise his hand slightly.

“…Lonian? Do you have something to say?”

All eyes turned to Lonian, who hesitated before speaking.

“Yes, Brother. There’s a problem I’d like to mention.”

“Really? Tell me anything.”

His younger brother rarely spoke up during family meetings. Logan was happy that Lonian was speaking up. He looked at his brother with a warm smile.

“As the family’s status has risen, many merchants and migrants have come to us. Because of that, crimes against the territory’s residents, such as theft and robbery, have been happening more often since the end of the war. If this continues, the problem will likely get even bigger soon.”

At Lonian’s words, a murmur went through the vassals.

“Hmm, I thought it was just leftover noise from the festival.”

“Now that I think about it, there were still a lot of disturbances.”

“I heard rumors that the soldiers were having a hard time…”

The vassals seemed to agree with Lonian’s opinion.

“A problem with public order. By using more soldiers for the public order unit and increasing patrol hours…”

“Brother, how about changing the system completely instead of that?”

“Change the system?”

“Right now, the soldiers are divided into training, guard duty, security, dispatch, and rest groups, taking turns doing their jobs. Even if we forget the other tasks, it seems better to create dedicated soldiers to continuously manage public order within the territory.”

“Hoo? Create a public order corps?”

Logan smiled.

“Public order… corps? Yes. It means creating a unit just for public order. It would be good to separate them from the combat troops if veteran soldiers or retired knights were the main people in it.”

“Oho!”

“Good idea!”

“The Second Young Master is very clever.”

Lonian’s words got a good response from the vassals.

‘This fellow…’

He seemed to be hearing the name ‘public order corps’ for the first time, yet he came up with this himself.

The idea of a ‘public order corps’ was not new. Big cities in the empire used this system. It was known to work well.

However, for a small territory, there was no need to pay so much attention to public order that there was no need to have a separate public order corps, so he hadn’t thought of it…

He chuckled.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s do that. You can do it yourself, Loni.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yes. Since you came up with the idea, you should create the public order corps yourself. It seems like it would work well if you did it around the two towns and large castles like Bifrost Castle.”

“…Yes, Brother. I will do my best.”

“Good, I’m counting on you. In the future, too…”

“Yes?”

“Do well.”

He grinned.

“Yes, Brother.”

That day’s meeting ended with Logan’s strange smile.

“Sir Heinkel. Let’s talk for a moment.”

“Grand Young Master…”

“I heard you refused Father’s offer to give you a territory. Aren’t you sorry? It was an opportunity to create the Fides Barony.”

Fides. A word meaning loyalty and trust, it was the castle his father gave Heinkel when he made him a baronet.

“…What would someone like me, without any children, do with a territory? It would just become a problem for the family later.”

“You’re still healthy, why do you say such things? Even if you’ve lost your Force, living healthily is… Ah, I’m sorry.”

“What is there to be sorry about? It’s a wound I received trying to save my lord. I feel proud of it.”

“…Yes?”

Logan stared at Heinkel.

“I know the Lord’s kindness and concern. But I thought I wasn’t good enough, so I refused. Please tell him not to feel bad.”

“…We want to repay your sacrifice somehow. If there’s anything you want, please tell us. Father and I are willing to do anything for you.”

“I know. I know you want to make up for what I’ve lost.”

“Then I hope you’ll accept that feeling. Father is sad that he’s been turned down several times.”

Logan’s sincere voice was heard, and Heinkel spoke again after a short silence.

“…When I was young and first met the Lord, there’s something the Lord always used to say.”

“What…?”

“He said that one day he would bring back the past glory of McLaine, and he wanted me to walk that path with him.”

“…”

“The young Lord always said those words to me, and at some point, the Lord’s dream became my dream.”

“Sir…”

Heinkel’s voice continued calmly.

“Of course, we then faced reality and were frustrated. We lived forgetting that dream for a while, but the Young Master fulfilled that dream.”

“…It was possible thanks to you.”

“No way. I won’t deny that I had a small part to play. That’s why I’m even more grateful.”

Logan was embarrassed as he watched Heinkel suddenly lower his head.

“I’ve achieved my dream beyond measure thanks to the Young Master. So what more could I want?”

A soft smile appeared on Heinkel’s lips.

The smile looked truly relieved.

He looked like he had no regrets left.

Because he felt like he would leave, Logan quickly grabbed his hand.

“We still need your strength. Even if you’re not a knight, there are many things you can do with just that experience. Even if it’s not the territory, think again about retiring…”

“Yes, I will not retire.”

“…Eh?”

Logan was surprised that the task he had been asked to do by his father was done so easily.

Logan was so surprised, he asked again, confused.

“What did you just say…?”

“I lost my strength and thought I wasn’t good enough. So I didn’t listen to the Lord’s request and decided to retire. But I realized again during this meeting that there are still things I can do in this family.”

“…”

“It’s impossible as a knight, but I’m sure I can be a good instructor to train the soldiers. I know that Instructor Kaisolon is excellent, but I think I can help in my own way. Please make me an advisor in charge of the soldiers. I will do my best to help the family by using my abilities.”

“Sir Heinkel…”

Logan couldn’t find the words to say, seeing a man who had even been given a baronetcy volunteering to be an instructor for the soldiers.

“Instead of being happy with a dream that has already come true, I want to see an even bigger dream. I want to dream a little more with the Lord and the Young Master. Will you allow me?”

“…Of course, Sir Heinkel. Whatever dream you dream, I will make sure you see something even bigger.”

Logan would make sure that this loyal subject could dream as he wished. He would make sure he could see even bigger and more wonderful dreams come true.

He made up his mind like that.