Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 359

“Great job, everyone!” Patrick McLain’s voice boomed from the top of the new fortress wall. It sounded loud and clear inside the huge fort.

“Let’s celebrate with food and drinks today! The Third Legion will give us all the food we need!”

“Woooaaah!” Everyone – dwarves, workers, and wizards – cheered loudly and hugged each other when they heard this.

And with good reason.

The fortress was on the Adventurer’s Road in the south of the kingdom. It was between the Luther River in the north and the Southern Mountains in the south, at the very bottom of the land. This huge fortress stood where the main roads from the kingdom met the roads to the empire. It was so big and strong, it was amazing it was built in only two months.

The wizards and dwarves had certainly played a significant role, but no one present had been spared from hard work.

“He’s really energetic!”

“Of course, he’s the Emperor’s father.”

“So, was he a king before?”

“King? No! He was never a king. ‘Former king’ means someone who *used* to be king and is now dead. Forget it. Do you even care about this country? What can I even talk to you about?”

“Hey! What’s wrong with you?”

“Hey, hey, calm down! Why are you angry on such a happy day? Drinks and food are coming! Just drink!”

“Let them argue, who cares? More food for us!”

“Haha!”

Inside the fortress, it started to feel like a busy market. In the cheering crowd, two people were smiling more than anyone else: a man and a dwarf.

“I… I did it! I really did it!”

“Well done, Lord Hamarr,” Clayton said.

Hamarr laughed even louder at the praise and hugged Clayton hard.

“Wahahaha! Wizard, I’m even stronger than before! Soon, I’ll be a super dwarf!” The dwarf, with dark circles under his eyes that went almost to his nose, yelled, his face red.

Next to him, a dwarf with only one arm grabbed him by the back of his neck.

“Foreman, you’ve drunk too much. You still need to see ‘it’ work. Lord McLain is coming himself to see it.”

“I don’t care! Activating it is the only thing left! I’ve worked like crazy for three months, building two forts. Is it too much to ask for a drink?”

Temar smiled nervously at Hamarr’s loud complaint and looked around at everyone else.

But Clayton, who was the most important person there, just smiled, and nobody stopped Hamarr.

“See! The wizard isn’t saying anything! Hey, Wizard, now that I think about it, we’ve been through a lot together. Come drink with us! It’s time to relax!”

“No, thank you,” Clayton replied. “My students and I need to set up ‘it’ in three forts on the west border, so we have to leave tomorrow.”

When he heard this, Hamarr, who had been talking excitedly, suddenly stopped. He looked sadly at Clayton and lifted the huge beer mug in his hand.

“I hope you get rewarded for working so hard, friend.”

After saying this quickly, Hamarr turned around and yelled, “I’m free!” as he kept drinking and eating meat.

Everyone stared, surprised, but the dwarf, who seemed crazy, didn’t notice and just kept filling his beer mug again and again.

Soon, even the people who tried to stop him started to act like him.

“Hmm… maybe I will too…” Temar looked around carefully, wiped his metal hook hand, and took a big piece of roasted pork from the plate. Then, he poured beer into a huge mug like Hamarr’s and started drinking it all at once.

*Glug, glug, glug.*

How could such a small person drink so much beer?

“Kyah!” Temar finished his beer with a loud shout that surprised everyone, and then started eating the meat quickly.

The sound of him chewing was rough but also made you hungry.

“Ugh…” Victoria, who had been watching like she was in a trance, slowly backed away from the two dwarves, trying to get away from them.

The two dwarves didn’t notice how others were reacting and kept eating and drinking like they were in a contest. They continued like this until Patrick McLain, who had been walking around and cheering on the workers and soldiers, finally arrived.

By then…

“Wahahaha. Temar, your hook hand looks really useful today! It’s perfect for ripping meat!”

“Phoo hee hee. Foreman, do you want to cut off your hand too? It’s a great way to lose weight!” They were completely drunk and saying silly things.

“Hey. Thanks for all your hard work…”

“Gasp! Red hair! It’s the devil’s father!”

”
……??” Patrick McLain, the king’s father and the leader of the Third Legion, who was in charge of protecting the southwest around the McLain lands, was confused.

When had anyone ever called him that?

Clayton’s students, Grik and Enan, quickly came forward when they saw Patrick standing still, looking shocked and confused.

“Lord Hamarr, let’s stop now.”

“Mmph!?”

“Temar, you too.”

“Mmph? Mmph?!”

While the two students were trying to quiet the drunk dwarves, Clayton stepped in front of Patrick a moment later, blocking his view. He bowed a little awkwardly and smiled.

“Lord Hamarr was just very happy and drank too much. I hope you understand, Your Grace.”

“Haha. Well, this is quite funny. I won’t blame someone the Emperor likes for something so small, Clayton.”

“Haha. Thank you, Your Grace. Should we go to the underground place now?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Patrick laughed at the funny situation and followed Clayton to the underground part of the fortress. People who didn’t know better thought it was just for storing food and weapons.

The guards at the entrance were all McLain’s knights, who were known to be very loyal.

“Sir!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing, Your Grace!” Patrick patted them on the shoulder and went into the underground area.

In the middle of the area was a huge magic circle, already glowing. It lit up the whole place, which was very large.

“Wow, it’s truly grand,” Patrick said, his eyes wide.

“You’ll be even more amazed when you see what it does.”

“I look forward to it.”

Clayton gestured behind him. Victoria, who had been waiting quietly nearby, stepped forward at once. She quickly walked to the middle of the magic circle and carefully placed a fist-sized mana stone there.

Woooong.

Suddenly, the air changed. The magic circle glowed with a light no one had ever seen before.

“Ooh!”

Patrick felt energy coming back to him. He had been tired after giving a long speech to encourage everyone. “Ooh!” he said, impressed. He was still a little tired, but as a very skilled knight, he could feel the difference in his body right away.

“…It feels like I use about 30% less energy, and I recover about 30% faster. Even just this would be amazing if we were defending a castle!”

“And the second effect I mentioned is…”

“I know what you mean. But bringing a strong enemy here to fight is only a good idea if we are ready for a big battle. It would be better if we didn’t have to do that at all.”

Patrick said this in a strong voice, but inside, both he and Clayton knew it wouldn’t be simple.

“You said it costs a lot of money to build and keep this working, right?”

“Yes. The Finance Minister says we only have enough money for this magic armor, the Shield in the north, and to put these circles in three castles, like Kyle.”

“Five places in total. But they are all important places for defense, so this will really help us.”

With those words, silence lingered between the two for a while.

War. Talking about war with the Empire was serious and they both knew it.

Patrick’s face had been serious, but he suddenly smiled and changed the topic.

“Oh, speaking of other things, I’ve heard some interesting rumors about Ronian recently.”

“Yes?”

“It’s about the princess from the Empire’s Eastern Court. Rumors are going around that she and our Ronian are… well, you know… together? Have you heard anything?”

Clayton laughed nervously. “Haha. Really? I’ve been buried in work lately, you know how it is…”

It sounded like a good excuse, but Patrick thought Clayton was annoyed that he was even asking about rumors.

“Ah, yes, of course. You’ve been working so hard. Ahem, I was just chatting, you know. It’s just that I’m always interested in who my children might marry…”

“Haha. It’s only natural.”

“…Anyway, if it was true, it could be good for our kingdom.”

“…Yes? A good thing?”

Clayton tilted his head, surprised by this. Patrick looked back, confused, as if to say, ‘Why are you so surprised?’

“I heard that in the Empire, they don’t care much when daughters get married. They say daughters are no longer part of their family. If that’s true, and if Ronian really marries the princess, wouldn’t that cause problems inside the Empire? Maybe even one of their top generals, one of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings,’ might turn against the Empire.”

“Ah…!”

Patrick’s words surprised Clayton and made him think in a new way.

‘No, I don’t think I’m the only one surprised by this?’

Louisa came here to marry someone from the start, but everyone forgot about it because Logan said it would never happen. But if they really did get married, it would definitely cause trouble inside the Empire when war starts between our countries. Even a little trouble for the Empire would be good for McLaine.

“I see. The Eastern Court has been getting more powerful lately because of this marriage idea… So, it really could happen.”

“…Possibility? Could it be you haven’t even considered it?”

“Ah, yes. The King just thought she was a spy pretending to want to marry someone. But are you okay with this idea, Sir Patrick?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I mean, Ronian being made to marry her just to help our country.”

“Ah… Haha, isn’t that normal for nobles? My marriage was like that too. If the marriage is good for our country in the end, then it’s fine.”

Hearing this, Clayton looked at Patrick differently. He understood that nobles really did think differently.

But there was something that bothered him.

“…Will His Majesty allow it?”

“Hmm?”

“Even if he doesn’t show it, the King really cares about his family. Especially Ronian. I don’t think the King will agree to this marriage.”

Perhaps everyone thought so.

But Patrick looked at Clayton with a surprised look, and asked, not believing what he was hearing.

“…Is *that* what we should be worrying about right now?”

“Yes?”

“Let’s say war really starts like the King says. Do you think we can beat the Empire?”

“We will prepare as much as possible. I believe we can win.”

“That’s not very hopeful.”

“……”

Clayton didn’t answer, but his face showed he didn’t agree.

‘Is this also Logan’s influence?’

Patrick smiled sadly, thinking about his oldest son, Logan. Logan always caused trouble, but he also changed everything around him.

‘Confidence isn’t bad, but recklessness is troublesome.’

Logan’s extreme confidence had helped them win many times before. But now, it wasn’t just about his family anymore, it was about the whole country. Patrick had been away from Logan for a while, and now he felt he needed to be realistic and tell Clayton the truth.

“Hmm, no matter how I look at it, it seems more likely we will lose the war. They have fifteen armies, a secret Imperial Army we don’t know about, and so many super-powerful people. Honestly, just thinking about it makes me feel like I can’t breathe. So, we need to try everything we can. That’s why Ronian’s marriage might actually be a good thing.”

“Even if Count Ronian becomes unhappy?”

“My son is strong. He won’t be destroyed by something like this. I’ve taught my children well.”

Hearing this very confident statement, Clayton quickly thought of Logan.

“If it’s hard for you to say to the King, should I talk to him about it?”

Is it in their blood to just do things first?

Clayton just took a deep breath, feeling worried.

At the same time, in McLaine Royal Castle, a surprised voice called out.

“A marriage proposal? Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

Louisa looked at the young man with red hair and smiled in a way that was hard to resist.