Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 50

Hamar looked confused. “Town? A big village for pioneers? Master, what are you talking about?”

Hamar looked unhappy. He had just come back from a short break after the water gate opening. Logan had called him back to the office right away.

“We are going to farm the big plain,” Logan explained. “But the farmers live far away in the castles. They can’t travel back and forth every day. It would take too much time. We need a new village in the middle of the plain.”

“So, you want *me* to build this village?” Hamar asked.

“Hmm. You don’t think you’re good at building? Well, I haven’t heard that dwarves aren’t good at building…” Logan teased.

“What are you talking about!” Hamar exclaimed. “Building is the second best thing dwarves do, after making weapons!”

“Ah. Really? Just as I thought! I knew it!” Logan said, acting surprised.

“Ah… this blasted mouth…” Hamar muttered.

Hamar got flustered and said something without thinking. He quickly realized what he’d said and sat down heavily.

Hamar gave Logan his most pitiful look, hoping for mercy. But Logan wasn’t going to let him go.

“The village will have roads that cross in the middle, making four sections,” Logan explained. “We’ll put houses of the same size in each section. We want as many people to live there as possible, but let’s aim for half the territory’s population for now.”

Logan smiled, thinking about well-planned cities he had seen before.

“We’ll build wells for everyone to use in each section, and bathrooms separated for men and women. And we’ll dig ditches to carry waste away from the village,” Logan continued.

Logan’s orders were very detailed, from the overall layout to the small things.

Hamar listened to Logan, grinding his teeth.

“Where did you see something like that again?!” Hamar asked, annoyed.

“Oh, does it show?” Logan asked innocently.

“Who are these people giving you these strange ideas!” Hamar shouted. “You said you’ve lived here your whole life!”

Logan couldn’t tell Hamar about the empire cities from his past life, so he just said the same thing as before.

“It’s not exactly the same, but I have seen something like it,” Logan said vaguely.

“Aargh! Blast it all!” Hamar said. “I’m going mad. It sounds like it could work, which makes it even more annoying.”

“Oh? It definitely is a good idea!” Logan said. “I saw it myself. It makes things cleaner and stops sicknesses.”

Logan saw Hamar’s face twisting and quickly added, “Just design it for now. Build a few wooden buildings to test it out. Then, I’ll give you a long vacation after the mine work is done. As long as you want. How about it?”

“Ugh. How many times will I fall for this…” Hamar grumbled.

Hamar trembled, clenching his fists, half agreeing. Logan smiled, making Hamar’s face twist even more.

“Ah, but with a village that big, you’ll need a lot of wood. Have you thought about how to get it? Even in Tritan, that much wood won’t be easy to find…” Hamar said, trying to argue back.

“Wood? We can get it from the south. It’s not like we need special materials for things like crossbows,” Logan replied.

“The south?” Hamar asked.

Logan pointed to the mountains covered in green trees that they could see from the window of McLaine Castle.

“You don’t mean the Monster Forest…?” Hamar asked, shocked.

Logan nodded as if it was nothing.

Hamar tried to argue against the crazy idea.

“For now, just start the groundwork and build a simple example house,” Logan said. “Then we can slowly build the village with the wood we can get. As soon as the new soldiers finish training this winter, we’ll cut down the trees. So, we won’t have any problems with wood in the future. You can rest until then, once the mine is finished.”

It seemed like Logan wouldn’t listen, so Hamar just sighed.

“Heh… and then I have to help build the village again?” Hamar asked wearily.

“Hey, I promise you a long vacation after that,” Logan said. “I heard the mine work is ending soon, right? You can rest for at least a month. How about it? A perfect plan, isn’t it?”

“Ugh…” Hamar groaned.

Hamar didn’t want to say it, but even he thought it sounded like a plan that could work.

More than anything, he was Logan’s servant. He couldn’t refuse to work.

“McLaine Town. That village will become the center of the McLaine territory,” Logan said. “Half of the people in the territory will live there, so it might become even busier than the castle. You’re creating the future of this territory.”

“So why am I doing it…” Hamar grumbled.

“The wizards will help too. You will do your best, won’t you?” Logan said.

“Devil…” Hamar muttered.

Hamar had no choice but to agree. Three weeks later…

“Just as I thought, it’s Hamar,” Logan said, nodding happily. He had just heard that Hamar had finished the design and model house for the big pioneer village, McLaine Town.

Then, the news Logan had been waiting for arrived.

“Young Master!”

Dwane burst into the office, pushing the door open.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Logan asked.

“Hamar, no, Master Hamar! He sent word that they can start mining in that gold mine!” Dwane shouted.

As soon as Dwane said that, Logan ran out of the office like the wind.

The money that would help the family grow was finally here.

‘Now all the plans can start moving forward,’ Logan thought.

His heart was pounding, and he ran faster and faster.

“Lo, Lord. Me too…!” Dwane called after him.

Logan didn’t pay attention to Dwane’s weak voice.

“This is a gold nugget that is rarely found in gold mines,” Hamar said. “Usually, the gold is mixed in small amounts with other rocks, so you have to work to get it out. But we’re already finding things like this.”

Dwane stared at the fingernail-sized gold nugget in Hamar’s hand, his mouth open in shock.

Logan patted Hamar’s shoulder, proud of him. But Hamar looked exhausted.

“You’ve worked hard! Really hard!” Logan said. “Thanks to you, Hamar, this territory is coming back to life!”

Logan’s compliment was sincere, but Hamar just looked blank.

“Now that I’ve made sure the mining is going well, can I rest?” Hamar asked.

“Ah… Haha. But how much gold can we mine from now on?” Logan asked, avoiding his eyes.

Hamar looked at Logan suspiciously but answered anyway.

“As I predicted, I think we can get 1 ton of gold per month,” Hamar said. “I don’t know how much gold is there in total, but I think it will last at least 10 years. So, can I rest now?”

“1 ton… then that’s…” Logan started to say.

But Logan changed the subject again.

“Hey, Master? Hey, you Master! What about my vacation? Don’t avoid my eyes!” Hamar demanded.

“Ahem. Well, the town construction is just starting, and we need to make more crossbows, and weapons for the knights too…” Logan said awkwardly.

“Oh, please! Just let me rest! I can’t do it anymore!” Hamar shouted. “A bloke should have a conscience! I can’t do it! I won’t do it! Just kill me!”

Hamar’s eyes were wide and red. He lay down on the ground and started to throw a tantrum.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this before…’ Logan thought, feeling déjà vu.

‘Ugh. There’s still so much to do…’ Logan thought.

Only Logan knew that as he prepared for war, there was no end to the work that needed Hamar’s help.

But now he really had no excuse to ask for more work.

‘Maybe I should find another dwarf in the future…’ Logan thought.

Hamar was already doing much more than Logan had expected.

Now he really had to let him rest.

Besides, if he didn’t, something bad might happen again, like last time.

“Alright. I’ll give you a vacation as I promised,” Logan said. “For a month…”

“Waaah! Master! Don’t look for me! I’m going to sleep for a month!” Hamar screamed.

Before Logan could finish speaking, Hamar let out a strange scream and ran away.

‘A month is too long. I was going to tell him to rest for only two weeks,’ Logan thought.

But Hamar’s eyes were red, and the dark circles under his eyes were very deep. Logan thought Hamar might hurt him if he said that.

‘Well, I have other things to do in the meantime. I’ll just start things and make Hamar clean up a month later,’ Logan thought, planning things that would horrify Hamar if he knew.

Hamar moved his short legs so fast they were invisible and disappeared down the mountain.

Logan chuckled as Hamar ran away quickly. It was clear Hamar really wanted to rest.

“Waaah!”

Another strange scream came from right behind him.

“Wh, what is it?!” Logan asked, surprised.

“100 million gold!!” Dwane shouted.

“What?” Logan asked.

“That unbelievable story was true! If we get 1 ton of gold a month, then we can definitely get 100 million gold in a year!”

Dwayne cheered loudly after finishing the calculations, dropping into a crouch.

“Now our territory is saved! We don’t have to worry about anyone else’s opinion!”

Dwayne shook Logan, his eyes wide and almost wild with excitement.

“Are you… that happy?” Logan asked.

“Of course!” Dwayne exclaimed. “Whether it’s equipment, food, or any problem, we don’t have to worry about it anymore. Haha!”

Logan remembered how wildly happy Dwayne was about the gold mine before. This excitement was even bigger, but Logan knew he needed to calm him down.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Logan said. “It’s not like everything can be solved with money; we have to do it ourselves.”

“What are you even saying? Money fixes everything, Logan! The problem is we’ve never had *enough* money before!” Dwayne exclaimed.

Dwayne seemed to have completely lost his senses.

Logan realized that just talking to Dwayne calmly wouldn’t work to bring him back to his senses.

Logan had no choice but to pull out his last card.

“By the way,” Logan said, “you do know that this gold mine isn’t owned by the family, but by me, right?”

“……Y-yes?” Dwayne stammered.

“The gold mine is my property. Not the family’s,” Logan stated firmly.

“What? W-what do you mean? Come on, young master. You’re joking,” Dwayne said, clearly taken aback.

He really didn’t seem to have thought about it at all.

Logan thought, ‘He’s probably pretending not to know.’ Logan decided he needed to be very clear this time.

“It’s the private land I received as compensation after the war. Did you forget?” Logan asked.

“……You received such compensation? No, I don’t remember at all. Why are you making such unfunny jokes on this wonderful day?” Dwayne asked, his expression shifting.

Looking at his expression, Logan was starting to get scared because he might be serious.

So, he presented undeniable evidence.

“Here’s the document,” Logan said, waving the paper.

As Logan waved the paper, Dwayne’s eyes, which had been wild with excitement, slowly focused on it.

“Ah, ah……. *Sniff*…….”

As if awakened from a happy daydream, moisture soon began to form in his eyes.

“S-surely. Young master, you’re not going to use that money all by yourself again, are you? Surely you wouldn’t…….” Dwayne asked, his voice trembling.

“No, I won’t do that. I’ll use it for the family,” Logan assured him.

He wanted to joke a little, but he thought he would see that big guy crying his eyes out if he did.

“R-right? You’re sure, right?!” Dwayne pressed.

“Yes. But, as I see fit,” Logan added.

Dwayne’s expression, which was about to brighten again, changed complexly.

“Still, 30% of it should go to the family as taxes……” Dwayne started to say, trying to appease the loyal financial administrator before he developed bipolar disorder.

“Haa……. Well, I’m sure you’ll do well, young master,” Dwayne said with a sigh.

Suddenly, Dwayne nodded, a look of understanding spreading across his face, as if a lightbulb had just turned on in his head.

“……Huh?” Logan was surprised.

“The dam construction and everything went well……. Nothing has gone wrong because you insisted on it so far. I trust you,” Dwayne said with newfound confidence.

Logan couldn’t just be happy. Like Clayton before him, Dwayne was being *too* positive.

It was good that things were going smoothly, but he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy because it felt like they had an exaggerated ideal of him.

‘Well, what’s good is good,’ Logan thought.

So, he decided to throw in an unreasonable request while the good atmosphere lasted.

“Good. Then, now that the mine construction is successfully finished, push forward with the newly started pioneer village construction. As soon as Hamar’s vacation ends, speed it up,” Logan instructed.

“Yes. I’ll prepare it,” Dwayne replied promptly.

Reserving winter labor for the best talent in the McLaine territory before his vacation was even over.

“We’ll give priority for reclamation to the people who want to live there. Is the announcement ready?” Logan asked.

“Yes. I’ll do it right away,” Dwayne confirmed.

Pushing ahead with matters related to reclamation rights that were decided without a word of discussion with his father or vassals.

“We’ll also start recruiting soldiers and start training around winter,” Logan continued, listing plans to replenish the regular troops, who were not even the main force…….

“Yes. Of course, I know,” Dwayne replied.

“……Ah. Seriously,” Logan muttered.

Dwayne, who had been answering immediately as soon as Logan finished speaking, suddenly stopped talking and gave a puzzled expression at Logan’s sharp gaze.

“Why are you suddenly like this?” Logan asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

“Why are you suddenly like this?” Dwayne echoed, confused.

“What are you talking about?” Logan questioned.

“Why are you suddenly being so compliant?” Logan pressed.

“Because it’s something worth doing,” Dwayne replied, his eyes sparkling brightly.

As if he had no memory of opposing his plans on every little thing until recently.

‘Why is he really like this? It’s unsettling…….’ Logan thought.

It bothered him, but since he was responding positively anyway, there was no need for him to say anything.

Logan decided to just think positively and continued speaking.

“Ah, and of course, you know that we have to keep it as secret as possible, right?” Logan asked.

“Of course. If Bifrost, Kalia, or the Marcher Lords find out, there will be chaos,” Dwayne acknowledged.

“Right. The news will spread eventually as time passes, but it’s better to be known as late as possible,” Logan agreed.

Once the gold is mined in earnest, even the workers who were just mining ore without knowing what it was will know that it is a gold mine.

As it is a major event that turns the kingdom’s only four gold mines into five, it is impossible to silence thousands of mouths.

“Yes. Of course. I’ll take care of it,” Dwayne assured him.

‘I really can’t get used to this…….’ Logan thought.

Logan managed a weak smile. Dwayne’s sudden agreement felt unsettling. His overly polite words and eager nods were starting to make Logan deeply uncomfortable.

“Okay. Let’s just go ahead and do everything,” Logan said, deciding to push forward.

Even if his father came out of training and opposed it, what could he do if it had already been done?

The audacity of the acting lord, which had been going on for three months, was growing without limit.

But…….

A week later.

“Father is back?” Logan asked, surprised.

He was about to make plans and create announcements, but he was about to give up his position as acting lord sooner than expected.

Logan’s expression couldn’t help but be distorted.

“Yes. He said he would tidy up his robes and come to the office. He said he would receive a report directly from you, Great Young Master,” Dwayne informed him.

“Ugh. I wish he had come out a week later,” Logan grumbled.

“……What are you worried about?” Dwayne asked.

“If he had come out after I announced the soldier recruitment, the pioneer village reclamation rights, and the tax cuts, he wouldn’t be able to overturn it,” Logan explained.

“Hmm. Are you worried that the head of the family will oppose it?” Dwayne inquired.

“Isn’t that obvious? He’s sure to say I’m doing useless things,” Logan said, stating the obvious.

“Huh…….” Dwayne murmured.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Logan asked, noticing Dwayne’s strange gaze.

“No, well, we’ll see,” Dwayne replied cryptically.

Dwayne’s strange reaction, which had continued since the success of the dam construction and the mine construction, had already become familiar, so he ignored it.

The problem was his father’s reaction.

‘I’ll have to insist on it. The current territory residents’ reactions are also good,’ Logan thought, steeling himself.

For the past three months, the fact that Logan was acting as the lord due to the absence of the head of the family had not been known outside the family.

It wasn’t that he deliberately prevented it from being known, but the fact that it had been able to pass quietly until now meant that there hadn’t been any major problems.

Although he gave food in return instead of forced mobilization, making the territory residents work was not criticized, even if it became a hot topic within the territory.

Above all, he was the protagonist of history who made water flow through the wasteland and was currently receiving absolute support from the residents of the two Seong territories.

So, there was nothing to hesitate about in sticking to his own will.

‘Okay, let’s just bump into it once!’ Logan steeled his heart, ready to face his father.