New Mission

It had been a week since William had started his weapon training. Oswin had kept his word and sent a guard to meet William the very next morning for his training.

This new "coach" of his was very different personality-wise than the captain of the guards, showing much more normal traits such as being respectful to him while also being strict regarding training. Nothing much had changed though, since he was mostly doing the same thing, which was to practice the same moves over and over until he could not.

On the other hand, business was doing well; soap had started becoming a very valued and cheap commodity that had made many routine tasks much more convenient.

This translated to an increase in demand and therefore sales, which demanded an increase in production; the business duo was already thinking of expanding their workforce and potentially switching to a bigger warehouse soon.

This was welcome news for both William and Edmund, as it brought invaluable financial resources that they sorely needed since William could no longer invest money seeing as he had none left.

With this steady growth, all they needed to do now was to let things take their course as well as watch out for any potential rivals that will surely soon come sniffing around for information.

With progress in both his training and business, William finally relaxed a bit and allowed himself to sink into this new rhythm of life.

The lord's dining area, noon, cast district, Landow.

William had just reached the dining area to get his lunch after he had woken up after a good nap, which was preceded by a bath, following a morning of training his body, weapon skills, and riding.

"Hello, father, Hello brother!" He greeted those present before he took his seat.

"Hello son, how was your morning?" The marquis replied before asking.

"Fine, I think I can one day get used to it." He replied.

Marek watched as a servant placed a plate in front of him as he expressed.

"You are finally taking steps to ensure your ability to protect yourself, maybe one day we can spar with each other, so you need to hurry up and learn how to use your sword properly."

"Why? So that you can enjoy making me eat the dirt over and over again? It will take me years just to get close to being able to give you a slight challenge and by then you would have pulled farther ahead, so no thank you." William replied.

"Hey, I am just trying to help you out as your older brother. How can you think of me like that, I would never enjoy bullying you, and it will certainly not be the highlight of my day which I will be looking forward to every time." Marek said with obvious sarcasm.

"Oh, really brother? When you put it that way I think I see your point now and can "feel" your concern. Though I must say it very strange that I somehow feel even more unwilling to spare with you like... ever!" William responded with an even more sarcastic tone than his sibling.

"Enough you two, at least show me some consideration and leave your little witty wordplay until your on your own." The marquis decided to intervene to stop this little quarrel between the both of them.

These little games they play to annoy each other have been increasing lately; if it were not for the fact that he could see that they were simply typical quarrels between siblings with no malice behind them, he would have had cause for great worry.

"How is the business going William?" Lord Ulric asked.

"It's doing very well, sales are going up as more and more people hear about the soap, soon we will need to increase production massively if we wish to satiate the demand in Landow."

"I see, this is good news, when do you expect for the effects to make themselves clear?"

This question was a lot harder to answer, so William had to think about it for a few moments.

"I cain't say for sure, the convenience factor can already be observed as people find the soap easy to use and very effective at cleaning their bodies and clothes. As for the overall improvement of the health of the population? I believe that this will take months if not a couple of years for us to clearly see a difference as more people use it regularly in their daily lives."

"That long?" Marek commented, to him, the time seemed extensive.

"Not really, I would say that is a very short time considering the massive effects it will have on the population, take Landwo at the moment, it has about what? forty thousand people?"

"Approximately Fifty thousand." Lord Ulric corrected William.

"So fifty thousand, if we ignore the resources necessary to support the population and assume them to be plenty and nearby, with the help of soap Landow could easily double its population without risking a massive increase in plagues and diseases spreading around and ravaging the people. This means more population, more manpower, more soldiers, and so on."

With this quick explanation, Marek could indeed see why two years is nothing compared to the benefits gained from the soap.

"This is a strategic resource, we must make sure no one gets their hand on it," Marek stated.

"Do not worry about such things, I as the marquis shall take care of it personally." Lord Ulric stated.

"There is a something I wanted to talk to the boh of you about, and I believe this is as good a time as any."

Hearing this, the brothers both put their utensils down and turned their attention to the marquis.

"I have a task to bestow to the both of you, two nobles under the juristiction of our territory have asked us for help with some issues they were not able to deal with on their own, and for that, I have decided to send each of you to one of them and help them deal with their problem." The marquis said.

"Will this require a long time to solve father?" Marek asked, a trace of frustration in his tone.

Seeing this, the Marques gave a knowing smile before he answered.

"It depends, but I believe that it should probably take a week at most, though it depends on the problem and your ability to aid the local lords in solving it."

"So what are the task's and where and when do we set out?" William asked, he had nothing to do at the moment anyway; other than train, the business can pretty much be put on autopilot for the short term; not to mention that Edmund was a very capable merchant and could handle most situations; therefore, his absence will not affect much of anything.

"There is no strict date, and you can set out as soon as tomorrow if you want, though you can't leave the lords waiting either. As for the where and what, I will send someone to your bed chambers with the necessary information for you to look at at your leisure." The marquis explained.

With that, the trio continued their meal as they engaged in some more exchange while the brothers continued their occasional banter whenever the opportunity presented itself.