Volume 16 Chapter 4 Kane's Subordinates [Map Included]
Al reported what he had seen and heard to his father, but he decided to leave everything else to his father, brother, and Neville for now.
He had his own reasons to head to the border city Parker, but more than that, he was not interested in whether he should report it as a resource or what would happen to the development rights in that case. In fact, he wanted to avoid such matters as much as possible.
Being the third son, he was already somewhat out of the family situation. He thought it probably had nothing to do with him.
His father seemed quite confused by Al and the others' sudden discovery, but since it wasn't bad news, he would likely consult with Al's older brother, Gustave, who was in the capital, and decide what to do.
The next evening, Al arrived at the Levy merchant guild's mansion in the border city Parker. It seemed that Kane was occupying a large room and working on something from morning till night.
Wanting to let him know he was back, Al knocked on the door.
"Kane, I thought it was about time, so I came back. How are the plans going?"
The door opened immediately. A young woman, around 20 years old, appeared. It was the first time Al had seen her. She was quite tall, about 180 centimeters (5'11").
Her chestnut hair was straight and cut short, and she wore a blue tabard, a type of coat worn by attendants. She had a slender build and a very small face.
"I'm not sure who you are, but Sir Kane is busy right now and cannot meet with you. If you have business, please tell me your name and--"
"Oh, you're back. That's great. Teresa, let him in."
Al heard Kane's voice from inside the room, interrupting the woman. Teresa was probably the name of the woman in front of him. Al made eye contact with her.
She bowed apologetically and welcomed Al into the room.
"It's really perfect timing. I was just thinking it was time to check the irrigation channels."
On a large table, there was a map spread out, and next to it was a stack of parchment.
Glancing over, Al saw that it depicted the area between the border city Parker, where he had previously flown around with Kane, and the great river that marked the border. It was likely a map of the new Naresh's Baron territory.
Noticing Al's gaze, a young man, also around 20, who was working across from Kane, tried to cover the map with another piece of parchment.
"It's okay, Tor."
The man called Tor was even taller than Teresa, probably around 190 centimeters (6'3"). He had a sturdier build and seemed to have some martial skills.
His hair was also chestnut like Teresa's, but it was wavy and fell around his eyebrows. Kane and Tor were both wearing the same blue tabard as Teresa.
"Could it be that these two..."
"Ah, Tor and Teresa. Thanks to Guildmaster Levy, they will be working as my subordinates in the Baron Sennett family's Internal Affairs."
His tone was welcoming, yet there was an underlying seriousness to his words.
"Actually, they are related to someone who used to serve the Count Sennett family, so you can trust them."
He gestured toward Al, who stood nearby.
"This is Al. Like me and Ruella, he studied at the same middle school as Sir Naresh and the Margrave Rain family," Kane explained, a hint of admiration in his voice.
"And he's an amazing magician. You see, he's so good that everyone says he's a bit strange."
"Strange... huh?"
Were they saying that about him? Al tilted his head slightly and gave a light bow to the two.
"Oh, so you are Sir Al. My apologies. I've heard various things from Sir Kane and Guildmaster Levy. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
Tor and Teresa both bowed deeply to Al. He wonders what they were talking about.
"You both look cool. Did you make those matching blue tabards?"
"Yeah, we consulted with Sir Naresh. We decided to wear a dark blue color, similar to what the people serving the Viscount Lester family wear."
Kane rubbed the back of his neck and added, "I suggested that just the armbands would be enough, but since the three of us go around the villages in the territory for tax collection and such, we decided to match."
He sighed, his expression turning a bit gloomy. "It's tough with all the expenses. Especially since we don't have much money..."
Since they interact with the people in the territory often, they wanted to look good in their tabards. The blue color will stand out, but wearing it seems like it would be a lot of work.
Especially since these two are good-looking and tall. Kane, standing between them, is shorter...
"What's up, Al! Did you look at me weird or something?"
"Huh? No, not at all... Um, should we check the irrigation ditches? Are we leaving tomorrow?"
Al hurriedly changed the subject. Kane looked a bit suspicious, but when Al smiled, he seemed to give in and shrugged.
"Teresa, do you have the points for checking the irrigation ditches organized? Tor, how about the complaints from each village that we need to check?"
"Um... we need a final check, but if we have about 2 more hours, we can manage..."
At Teresa's words, Tor murmured that he was in the same situation. It seems they have managed to organize things to some extent.
But it's already evening. Will they be able to finish by tomorrow morning?
"Then, I'll need you two to work a bit harder. Al, I'll ask you to take care of it starting tomorrow morning."
"Got it. Well, I asked to stay at this mansion tonight, so just let me know when it's convenient for you."
Kane nodded lightly at Al's response.
"By the way, Kane, I heard that Sir Naresh is giving me some land. Have you heard about it?"
"Ahhhh!!"
At Al's question, Kane suddenly remembered and raised his voice.
"I'm sorry, I had heard about it... but I haven't looked into it yet... Hey, Al?"
Kane spoke in a suddenly gentle tone. His way of speaking seemed to suggest he had some ulterior motive.
"Al, you aren't planning to grow crops, just build a tower, right? Um, this York River..."
Kane pointed to the river flowing just west of the border city Parker on the map spread out on the table. So, this river is called the York River.
"The York River has several streams coming from the northern mountains, but actually, one of them is called the River of Death."
He paused for a moment, as if to emphasize the gravity of the name.
"I talked to a hunter who knows a lot about this area, and he said that even though it's called the River of Death, it doesn't mean you'll die if you go there."
He leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. "It's just that the land around the river is a wasteland where hardly any trees or grass grow, which is why it got that name. Further upstream, there are white rocks everywhere, and some kind of smelly smoke is said to be drifting around. No one goes near that area, so that's about all the information I have."
Kane looked at Al with a grin.
"But, according to Sir Naresh, you're going to build a magician's tower, right? I thought it might have the right vibe for that..."
'Wait a minute...! Are they trying to push us into a place where no one can live?'
Glee's angry voice whispered in Al's ear. However, if what Kane said is true, the fact that no one goes near it might make it a perfect spot for teleportation.
Also, he remembered that near the Tempest's grave, there was smelly smoke drifting from the 'Hidden Spring' hot spring in Clarence Village. That means there might be a hot spring there too.
He had used it once or twice, and soaking in the hot water was surprisingly nice. Since he didn't plan to grow crops anyway, that might be just fine.
"Hmm. If Kane is busy, I'll check it out. So, if I think it's good, can I claim the River of Death and the surrounding area as my land?"
"Really? Yeah, please do that."
Kane's excitement made Al wonder if it was simply because he had one less task or if there was something else going on.
But for now, he thought he would check out the place once Kane finished his work.
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