Lord of Rot

”No, your lecture was excellent!” Leech said, almost through gritted teeth. ”But I think you could make it more accessible and fundamental—focusing on things like how to temper and control Spiritual Power.”

”I’ve already gone over that material countless times,” Toma the scholar said. ”I believe they should have a complete grasp of it by now. Instead of wasting time on repetitive content, we should all be studying more advanced topics together.”

Perhaps sensing the displeasure in Leech’s gaze, Toma the scholar hesitated for a moment before saying, ”Very well, let’s review.”

Only then did Leech nod in satisfaction.

While auditing the class, he also noticed two students who were progressing very quickly. Unlike the others, who only had a partial grasp when Toma spoke about applying Spiritual Power, these two could even perform simple applications themselves!

After class, Leech found Toma the scholar and asked about the two students from earlier.

Leech was desperate for talent right now.

”One is called Little Snake, an orphan,” Toma the scholar recalled. ”The other is Yellow Hair. His learning ability is decent.”

”The two of them do have a tiny bit of talent for Magic,” Toma said, speaking very conservatively about magical aptitude. It was clear he didn’t think much of their potential.

He added, ”However, their Spiritual Power is only slightly stronger than an average person’s—just one or two spiritual units more. They don’t qualify as Magic Apprentices.”

”I think that’s good enough to be considered Magic Apprentices,” Leech said. ”Start teaching them Magic tomorrow!”

As far as Leech was concerned, anyone who could use Magic was qualified.

Even if casting a single spell meant they had to drink a dose of Extraordinary Honey water or sleep to recover.

A single unit of Spiritual Power could still do a lot.

For instance, successfully casting a frost enchantment or using a kindling spell to ignite a Magic Cannon.

Further growth and training could come later.

Toma the scholar didn’t refuse Leech’s proposal. To him, teaching two kids a single spell wouldn’t take up too much of his time.

The night school had finally produced two Magic Apprentices, and Leech was in high spirits.

「Back in the study.」

Sure enough, Gelan had already been waiting there for some time.

Leech’s good mood immediately disappeared. He sighed and said to Gelan, ”Come in.”

As he pushed open the study door, he saw the Brass Dragon on his desk, which had been wagging its tail while dozing, instantly freeze stiff.

’That little guy is pretty good at protecting itself. I’m guessing that once it’s a certain distance away from me, the Brass Dragon turns into a small trinket, devoid of any Life Force.’

Gelan had come to discuss the planning and development of the new factories.

The most important topic was funding.

This month, merchants from East Gorge had once again purchased a large batch of goods. At Qiao’s strong recommendation, they had also tried buying some silk, but because the price was set too high, the merchants didn’t dare to stock up on it.

Leech would have to figure out a way to sell the silk himself.

The income from Jinri was barely enough to maintain the current pace of development.

After all, Leech had spent a great deal over the past two months forging armor and weapons for the Iron Valley Soldiers and purchasing Alchemy Materials.

The money was flowing like water.

After seeing Gelan out, Leech couldn’t help but sigh. ”Short on money again.”

’He’d been short on money ever since becoming a lord.’

’Always short on money, short on people. Then even shorter on money, and even shorter on people.’

The development of Porcupine Territory had always been propped up by external funding. Now, with over four thousand new mouths to feed, the entire territory would be dragged down if they couldn’t convert this new manpower into profit as quickly as possible.

The solution was actually quite simple.

Buying grain to brew alcohol was a good option. Porcupine Wine had always sold well, and its reputation had spread throughout the Northern Territory.

’Of course, if I could just find a market for the silk, none of this would be a problem.’

A little while later, another person arrived.

It was a letter.

He could tell from the wax seal that it was from Longship Castle.

The letter’s contents were simple and covered two matters.

First, the Duke had sent a raven to confirm Little Lierde as the new Baron. Until Little Lierde came of age, Lady Jie Lin would act as regent, managing all the territory’s affairs.

This was more or less what Leech had expected.

Second, Annel Little Bill, a member of a collateral branch of the Bill family, possessed inheritance rights. Furthermore, Annel Little Bill had publicly declared her intention to take revenge on Leech.

’That old hag is even older than Wells. How can she become the new Baron?’

’She’ll become the lord one day and kick the bucket the next, only to be replaced.’

Just then, Lacy walked in, carrying the documents Leech had requested.

Leech asked, ”Lacy, do you know of the Little Bill family?”

Lacy paused. ”Little Bill?”

After thinking for a moment, he said, ”Yes, my lord. The eldest in the family is Annel Little Bill. She has three granddaughters and one grandson.”

”How do you know all that?” Leech asked, surprised.

After all, his impression was that Lacy wasn’t particularly interested in the power struggles of the nobility.

His head was filled only with thoughts of a Knight’s honor.

Even Leech’s own detailed knowledge of the Little Bill family came entirely from Beck Little Bill.

”My family had hoped I would marry one of the Little Bill family’s granddaughters,” Lacy said, slightly embarrassed. ”But the arrangement was called off for various reasons, so I never had the chance to meet them.”

”If you get the chance in the future, you might just meet them... on the battlefield.”