Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 59

“……Earth Wall!” Clayton spoke the words softly. As he did, the ground began to tremble. Along the edge of the village, where lines had been marked in the dirt, a wall of brown earth pushed upwards. It rose quickly, like a giant waking up, stretching a hundred meters long.

*Woooong.* The earth rumbled.

*Thud.* The wall settled into place.

“Woooow!” The workers cheered, their eyes wide at the amazing sight.

Before their cheers quieted down, the foremen were shouting from all directions.

“What are you all doing! Pack the earth!”

The earth wall, one meter wide and three meters high, slowly became smaller as the workers shoveled at it. But it also became stronger, turning into a solid outer wall with even firmness.

Logan bowed respectfully to Clayton, who was sweating as he kept the magic going.

“Thank you again for agreeing to such an unusual request.”

Logan was thankful for more than just Clayton helping with building for months, even though it wasn’t in their agreement.

Logan had offered Clayton the best spot in the new village to build his magic tower. This was unusual because the village was just starting to be built, not like a strong castle.

If Clayton hadn’t agreed so easily, it would have been understandable if he had been offended and gotten angry.

But Clayton seemed to think differently.

“Lord Logan, you are too kind. You promised 10 million gold each year. What does it matter if it’s a castle or a village?”

“Haha. I’m glad you see it that way.”

“The center of the kingdom’s biggest village, bigger than a castle. It’s quite interesting. I have no complaints at all.” Clayton’s sincere tone and faint smile showed he meant what he said.

A frontier village where farmers lived together on a large scale was new to him.

Except for trade cities like Kyle, most people lived in villages scattered around the lord’s castle, which was the symbol of the land. They lived their own lives separately.

Only vassals, knights, soldiers, or important skilled workers like blacksmiths lived inside the castle. Most of the population lived outside.

But building a village bigger than a castle and having everyone live together was something he had never heard of.

“If Lord Logan’s plan works, this town will become the center of the land, even more than McLaine or Tesron Castle. Usually, you would build a castle in the middle of a plain this big……”

“Is that really needed? It’s a waste of time. It’s enough to make it easy for the people to farm and live.”

“Indeed……”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

If many people lived in one place, the risk of rebellion would also be higher.

That’s why people were usually divided into villages in other areas, to lower that risk.

Logan’s answer was simple.

“That’s only a problem if you treat the people badly. If you make sure they live well, why would they rebel?”

“You are truly…… remarkable.” A warm smile appeared on Clayton’s serious face.

‘His way of thinking is very different from other nobles.’

Logan was just doing what he had seen work in the future, but Clayton thought he was an amazing young man.

Logan knew this and felt a little guilty about the admiring looks. He changed the subject.

“Anyway, if you need anything for the construction or the magic tower, please tell me. I will help as much as I can.”

If Clayton was going to be so helpful, Logan wanted to show that he was also willing to help.

But…….

“It’s not likely, but if this town fails and becomes a ghost town, please take care of our school. I don’t want to be alone in an empty village……. Haha, just kidding. Was that… funny?” Clayton looked at Logan, a little unsure.

Logan just blinked, his face still. Clayton coughed. “Right, not funny. Sorry.”

“Ahem, ahem. I apologize. I’m not good at jokes……. Ahem, then, seriously, is this outer wall made of earth really okay? What if this place is invaded……?” He stopped, worried about ruining the mood again, but Clayton’s words made sense.

But Logan answered quickly and firmly.

“No,” Logan said, his voice firm. “War will not come here. I will make sure of it. This town is meant to be the heart of McLaine, and it will stay that way.”

“……I shouldn’t have said anything on such a good day.”

“No. War will truly never happen here. I won’t let it. This place just needs to remain the center of McLaine.”

“Your care for the people is truly……” Clayton was impressed again and smiled. He wouldn’t have smiled if he knew Logan’s real plans.

‘Because we’re planning to invade other places before that.’

Logan smiled awkwardly and looked at the sky.

No matter what Clayton thought, Logan was happy that the plan was moving faster than he expected.

Most of the tasks that Logan had to handle himself were already done or starting well.

He was used to being the acting lord, and his work was getting done faster.

“Confirmed.”

Thump.

“This is also confirmed.”

Thump.

“Alright, I’m off to train now……”

“L, Lord Logan. Are you really checking the documents before stamping them?!”

“Then Dwayne can check them again and bring them up if there are any problems!”

“I, if you do this, it’s the same as me working alone…… He’s already gone…….”

Plop.

“You’re worse than your father! You’re going to ruin the family…… No, you haven’t. Sigh, what a miserable fate…….”

Of course, this was possible because of the hard work of one administrator.

‘Now, I just need to get stronger!’

Luckily, Logan’s training was also going well.

Woooong.

Spot.

With a small noise, a streak of golden light flashed from the tip of Logan’s sword, brighter than the sun. It shot forward with a *snap* sound, like lightning.

The light pierced through the huge rock in front of him and several trees behind it before disappearing.

All that was left on the rock and trees were small scars.

But Logan knew that those scars could easily cut through steel.

Divine Sword Secret Art, Form 2. Iron Cleaver (斷金斬, Dangeum Cham).

Logan, who could unleash a powerful strike that most knights and magic users could only dream of, smiled brightly even though he was sweating.

One month later:

“The town center was now filled with neat rows of wooden houses with red tile roofs, all newly built and waiting for families. The 3,000 houses built in the center of McLaine Town have been completed, and those who worked on building them are starting to move in.”

Lupen, the man who looked after the walls of the castle, had become much thinner because of all the extra work.

Logan, Lupen’s boss, noticed Lupen was losing weight, but thought it was good for him. Logan didn’t even look closely at Lupen’s tired face. He only cared about the good news Lupen was bringing.

“Faster than I thought? You’re starting to rebuild the town right away?”

“Yes. The wizards are helping a lot, so we are working faster than we thought. Hamar will come to check on us in about two weeks. We think we will have finished rebuilding four areas, enough for 10,000 families, just like we planned.”

“Really…” Logan thought for a moment. *It might be a little unfair to Clayton and the wizards from the Golem School, but they really are hard workers. People even call them ‘wizard work experts’.*

“Magic is very useful.”

Logan smiled, happy with the news. Then he remembered something in the report and frowned at one word.

“Wait… Hamar is coming to *check*? Isn’t Hamar here already?”

“He only checks in sometimes. He came at the start to build the magic tower and show us how to build a few simple wooden houses. Didn’t Lord say he would do that?”

“No, Lord didn’t say anything about checking. It would be fine if things were going well, but the town is important…”

“Oh, he’s busy making weapons…”

“Ah, I see.” Logan understood right away and nodded.

They needed 1300 crossbows for the soldiers they already had and the new soldiers. At the rate they were going, it would take at least three more months just to make the crossbows.

*Hamar is working hard,* Logan thought. *As soon as the crossbows are done, I need him to start making weapons for the knights. I should encourage him soon.* Logan stood up, feeling pleased.

*Scritch scritch.* *Squeeze.* *Click.*

“Whew…” Joseph, a blacksmith from McLaine Castle, finished another crossbow. He smiled, feeling happy. Learning a new job at forty was hard work, like being a young apprentice again. But making these new weapons and putting them together made him feel like he was getting somewhere, even in middle age. He wasn’t complaining.

*I thought I would be making small parts forever,* he thought. A month ago, he and five other blacksmiths had been called to the workshop of Hamar, the dwarf. They started to really work on making weapons. They had given the job of making parts to the younger apprentices and started to assemble the weapons themselves. It was lucky, really. If he learned how to make these weapons, he would never be poor again.

*Maybe I could even become rich!* But that was just a dream for now. Joseph shook his head to stop thinking about the future and walked over to Hamar with the crossbow.

“Hamar, I finished another one. So, that’s… how many for today?”

“Life is good~ Oh, really? Put it over there and take a rest.” The dwarf was sitting at his desk, humming a tune and carving a small piece of ironwood. He pointed to the storage room with his toes, without looking up from his carving. His short legs stretched out, pointing with his toes, but his hands were still carefully carving a beautiful sculpture. Joseph thought it was funny and amazing at the same time.

“But… is it really okay to only make two a day and rest so much? I feel like I’m not working hard enough for the money.”

“It’s fine. You only need to make 200 together each month.” Hamar answered without looking up, his voice steady.

“Still…”

“If you finish early, that owner who is like a devil will just give you more work. People need to relax sometimes. Just because you don’t rest, doesn’t mean others shouldn’t. You need to take it easy to work better.”

“Haha. Yes, that’s righ… Gasp!” Joseph was smiling and agreeing when he suddenly gasped. Something strong grabbed his shoulder and pushed down hard. He turned his head quickly. Joseph froze. He looked into the eyes of someone who put a finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet.

Joseph made a strange sound as he spoke, but Hamar didn’t look up. He was still thinking about Noir, his first love from 200 years ago. The memory was so clear in his mind. He couldn’t look away from the sculpture of her beautiful eyes for even a second.

“You should be working hard. Is it okay to be just playing around?” a voice said.

“Working hard is just about doing what you need to do and resting when you need to, to meet the deadline. Right?” Hamar replied.

“Oh, so that’s why you’re not helping build the town.”

“Exactly. I made the plans, built a few simple houses to show them how, and that’s enough. I don’t need to be there all day. Work is about being efficient.”

“But why are you suddenly talking to me like you’re my boss?” Hamar was in a good mood lately, so he decided to ignore Joseph’s annoying and disrespectful way of talking.

“Wouldn’t the town be finished faster if you helped instead of playing around here?”

“How many times do I have to say it? We just need to meet the deadline by doing our best. But your voice is annoying. It sounds very unpleasant. And you’re not being polite…”

“Ah, it’s my fault. I made the deadline too easy then. Yes, it’s all my fault.”

“That’s… Ack?!” Hamar finally realized something was wrong and jumped up quickly. He scratched Noir’s eyes on the sculpture, but he didn’t care. A cold feeling went down his back. He felt something bad was about to happen. He turned his stiff neck around. His master was standing there. He should have been inside the castle, busy with papers or practicing his sword. Logan’s eyes were strangely red and shiny. His eyelids were twitching, and his hand was moving like he wanted to punch someone. He looked very scary.

“L, Lord! Why are you here? Haha.”

“Wow, Hamar! Your cheeks are nice and round. It’s good to see. Looks like you’re having a very easy time?” Logan was smiling, but he looked very scary. *Why does he look so scary?* Hamar thought.

“And I didn’t even know! I brought beer and food for you, because I thought you were working hard. How silly of me.” Hamar glanced behind Logan and saw a big wooden barrel of beer and a whole roasted pig. *Why didn’t I smell that delicious smell before?* *Beautiful Noir. Your memory has made me blind. Because of you, I’m… Aargh.* He lowered his head, feeling a strong sense of danger.

“Hey! Why are you crying, our ‘efficient’ master craftsman? Relax some more, relax. Blacksmiths, have some beer and take a break. You’re finished for today!” Logan put his arm around Hamar’s shoulder, shouting loudly and grinning. But his red eyes were still gleaming, and Hamar could feel a strong feeling of danger coming from them.

“Finish all the crossbows and rebuild the town within one month. You have exactly one month. If you don’t…” *Swoosh.* Hamar shivered as he saw Logan’s thumb move slowly across his throat, like cutting it.