Chapter Nine

After the training, the soldiers and the guards fell down the ground like stringless puppets. Their entire body was drenched in sweat, and their chests rapidly rose and fell in succession. The heavy spear they carried made running around the vast hall arduous, almost excruciating.

To Lark's surprise, aside from the three soldiers that fainted from exhaustion, everyone finished the task. As promised, he gave each of them a lavish meal with a dried fish included. Everyone immediately regained their vigor upon seeing the food. Some of them even drooled like rabid dogs. Great food after a rigorous task was definitely more delicious.

Seeing this, Lark was clearly amused.

While everyone was eating, Lark clapped his hands once. "As promised, the one who finished first, aside from dried fish, will also get an extra egg." On his signal, a servant came and brought out a boiled egg. She gently placed it on the plate of Clark, the Head of the Guards.

Seeing the envious looks of the soldiers on him, Clark smirked and slowly ate his prize. Now that they were in the middle of winter, eggs were a luxury.

"Damn, to be eating wheat porridge with both dried fish and egg."

"The Head Guard is so lucky."

"Hey, just think of the guys that are still unconscious over there. At least we get to receive a reward."

The soldiers looked at their unconscious comrades, their eyes filled with pity.

Lark cleared his throat. "For now, everyone will rest for an hour," he said. "After that, all of you shall proceed to the room on the second floor to receive further training."

At the words 'further training,' everyone stiffened. They looked at the young master as though he was the devil incarnate. Making them run around the hall three hundred times while holding a spear was already excruciating enough, and now, they were supposed to attend more of those stuff?

The soldiers wanted to protest and grumble, but they were afraid that the porridge and dried fish would be taken away from them if they complained. In the end, they all shut their mouths, except for one – the Head of the Guards.

"Young Master," said Clark carefully. He knew that the room on the second floor was a bit small for training. "What kind of training is it?"

The young master smiled. "Basic Education. We will be teaching you guys how to read and write."

***

Night came. Under the light of the candle-filled candelabra, Lark reread the documents Gaston handed to him a couple of days ago. Although Reading Magic enabled him to read at a relatively faster rate, comprehending everything at one go was still impossible. Lark once again checked the documents and reports that seemed confusing or suspicious. Currently, his attention was on the number of deaths in Blackstone Town.

"Five hunters died last year," mumbled Lark as he contemplated.

The number was actually small considering the risk of the profession. To the citizens of Blackstone Town, a hunter being killed by its prey was a normal occurrence, especially considering the fact that the Endless Forest was uncharted territory. Although fierce animals seldomly attack the town, it was an entirely different thing for hunters who purposely look for such beasts.

Everyone simply dismissed the deaths of the hunters as natural, a consequence of the job. But after analyzing the reports, Lark found out a peculiar point – they all died in the eastern part of the Endless Forest.

Currently, the eastern part of Blackstone Town was the place Lark was trying to expand. After it reached a certain size, he planned on clearing out some trees in the Endless Forest.

"Gaston said that the deaths of the hunters last year must have been a coincidence," said Lark. He had consulted the old butler for his opinion this afternoon. "But the state of the bodies… all of the wounds are quite identical."

Lark could not rest easy until he confirmed the authenticity of the state of things himself. He donned a black cloak, swept aside the curtains, then opened the windows. The night breeze brushed against his body.

The entire town was sleeping.

Lark breathed in the night air, amplified the strength of his body using mana, then jumped out the window. He landed with a soft, thud sound. After checking that there was no one around, he quickly ran outside. His body blurred as he sped through the empty streets, his cloak violently fluttering.

Eventually, he arrived at the eastern border of Blackstone Town. He saw some builders resting near the half-constructed houses, their chatters heard through the quiet night. Since several Heat Stones have been installed in this area, the workers were able to stay outside.

"The construction project is going smoothly." Lark smiled. "Good."

Although the workers were amateurs, under the guidance of Lark, they were able to build decent houses. It was not as good the houses in major cities, but they were definitely better than the shacks frequently seen here and there. At the very least, each of these half-constructed houses were built with wood and stones. Those houses would not easily collapse from the weight of snow, leaving them homeless during winter.

Lark once again moved forward, towards the eastern part of the Endless Forest. Upon reaching the place, the darkness of the night swallowed him entirely. The canopies of leaves blocked the moon above, amplifying the darkness of the night. The sound of insects and ravens filled the forest.

Now, let's see. There should be something here. I don't believe the deaths of those 5 hunters last year are mere coincidence.

Deep within his heart, he sincerely wished that it was actually a mere coincidence, but his instinct was telling him that there was something dangerous in this place. After searching the area using magic, his instinct was proven right.

Over there.

His body shot forward, skillfully moving past the root-blanketed ground. After a few minutes, he arrived at the entrance of a small cavern. If a normal person was around this part, they would not easily see it due to the vines that blocked the view.

Lark once again scanned the area using magic. But this time, he focused it inside the cavern.

His brows rose when he detected numerous presences inside. At the very least, there were around fifty of them.

Lark erased his presence, cast concealment magic, then entered the cavern. Although it was very dark inside, he was able to see the flow of mana. Whatever was inside this cavern, they were definitely not humans. The flow of mana clearly told him that.

As soon as Lark entered the cavern, putrid stench assaulted him. He frowned, crinkled his nose, but kept walking. Eventually, he saw the identity of the creatures living inside.

"Goblins," the name of the monsters came out naturally in a whisper. Some of them were walking around, rummaging through the piles of loots here and there, while some simply sat on the ground. The nocturnal monsters failed to notice that someone was observing them. 

Lark looked around, but it seemed that that there was no Hobgoblin or Shamans. He was amazed that despite having no leader, this group was able to live in this place for so long. Judging by the reports, these creatures never once attacked Blackstone Town.

Still, Lark was not naïve. Although these creatures may seem harmless if they took those reports into consideration, they would definitely kill the humans if given the chance. They were probably unable to attack the human settlements because of the lack of a leader. This was a rare thing, even back in Lark's previous life.

The hunters must have encountered these creatures and died. That should explain why all 5 of them died in this part of the forest.

For now, Lark decided to leave the group alone. Once he had trained the soldiers, he would issue a subjugation order to eliminate these monsters. After all, real life battle was different from training. Lark decided to make these weak creatures the stepping stone for the growth of his men.

Of course, if these creatures suddenly decided to invade the town, He would immediately eliminate them there and then. No questions asked.

As Lark was about to leave the cavern, he noticed something glimmering near the walls. He increased the flow of mana within his eyes to see better in the dark.

Kalrane Gemstones?!

Lark's lips visibly rose. For the past few days, he had been pondering on how to solve the current lack of funds for Blackstone Town. Tiling the soil and planting the wheats take time, and it would be several months more before they would be able to reap the harvest. Although Lark still have a lot of gold coins given to him by his father, it would run out sooner or later.

He wanted to find a way to compensate for the lack of funds. But in this town which literally had nothing to offer, he found it hard to find one.

Finally! A product that could become the town's specialty!

Lark licked his lips in anticipation. He could already envision it. Workers from Blackstone Town gathering Kalranes. Merchants coming and going out of the town to buy them. He could already hear the clanking sound of gold coins.

He looked at the Goblins. At first, he wanted to leave them alone until the soldiers were strong enough to subdue them, but now, he decided to act sooner. Although it would be dangerous for the trainees, Lark would accompany them. He would definitely not let anyone die during the encounter.

***

In the morning, Lark summoned Gaston into his room.

"You called for me, Young Master?" said the old butler.

The young master was sitting at his table, scribbling something down on a notebook. After the butler entered, he closed the notebook then smiled.

"Just in time," said Lark. "Here, take a look."

The old butler received a parchment from the young master. There were numerous things listed inside.

"This is…"

"I want you to send a couple of servants, along with some guards, to Lion City and buy those for me," said Lark. He took a sip from the goblet and stared at the butler. "I want you to prioritize the seeds and the iron ingots. We aren't really in surplus of funds, so I want you to buy those two first before anything else."

Since Lark was not really aware of the prices in the Lion's City, he could only surmise using gathered data from his subordinates.

Gaston looked at the list once again. It was an amazing list with some items he had never heard of before. Wheat seeds, iron ingots, hemp ropes, loi saplings, ormatane dust, and many more.

Gaston mumbled, "A thousand eggs."

He read it again then asked the young master, "Sorry for the impudence, but young master, isn't a thousand eggs a bit… unnecessary?"

Gaston knew the state of the town. There was no way the residents would be able to afford eggs right now. Without doubt, the eggs would eventually rot in the storage.

"it's fine," said Lark, dismissing the remark. "Just do what I say."

Lark actually planned on using magic on those eggs and force them to hatch. After all, eggs would be cheaper than poultry.

Gaston felt that the amount of wheat seeds and iron ingots were absurd too. If they actually went ahead with this list, they would end up buying a large portion of the wheat seeds in Lion City. Furthermore, the amount of iron ingots was enough to build armor for more than a dozen knights.

The old butler felt that the Young Master was squandering his money.

"Young master, please reconsider," said Gaston. "The amount of seeds is too much. The lands of this town are mostly barren. As for the iron ingots, there's no blacksmith living in this place. Even if we buy those things, they'll only become unnecessary expenses."

Lark creased his brows. He sighed then leaned on his chair. "Listen, when I told everyone that I'm going to reclaim the lands in the north and the west, I meant it. Once winter ends, I plan on making a large-scale farming project in those areas. To do that, we need at least this much wheat seeds. Do you understand?"

Gaston was clearly not fully convinced, but he nodded regardless. Still, the old butler did not immediately back down. "As for the iron ingots. Young master, there's no sense in buying raw materials when there's not even a single blacksmith in town."

 "We have a solution for that," said Lark. He was actually planning on using the iron ingots to make farming and mining tools. He planned to include some weapons too. Still, he did not tell the old butler his thoughts. After all, he was going to transmute those raw materials into high grade tools using magic. It was better, at this current time, for the other party not to know.

Lark grabbed a large pouch from the drawer then handed it to the butler. "For now, just do what I say."

Gaston opened the pouch. Numerous gold coins were inside. He grimaced upon thinking that these would soon be spent on useless things. The list of the young master was simply unreasonable.

After a long sigh, Gaston bowed. "I will do as the young master says." He bit his lips. "This old man shall obey."

He took a peek at the young master. He remembered the reports he received just a few hours ago. According to the "inquisitors" hired by Silver Hand, the Young Master was the one who subdued those men that kidnapped him. They all mentioned the use of magic – silent magic. This single fact alone was hard to believe, since even among the Royal Court Magicians, only a handful knew how to perform such complex technique.

But Silver Hand has no reason to lie. And I was also there when the leader of those scums finally confessed. But… it doesn't make sense. I've been with the Young Master since he was born. He knows nothing but the most basic of magic – the mandatory education required by the Duke.

The old man breathed in.

"Young master?" said Gaston.

Lark noticed that the butler had been staring at him for quite some time now. "What is it?"

Seconds passed. Gaston sighed.

"Nothing," said the butler. "Just some useless thoughts of an old man."

"Gaston, you're becoming a little thin lately," said Lark, his brows creased in worry. "Be sure to take some rest every now and then. If you need a vacation, be sure to tell me."

Gaston softly smiled at the concern shown by the young lord.

That's right. So what if the young master knows silent magic? Even if it's true that he did subdue those kidnappers, it doesn't change a thing. I've vowed to serve him the moment he was born. Nothing will change that. This old man shall see things through until the very end.

"There's no need for the Young Master to worry," smiled Gaston. "This servant is perfectly fine. Then—" he made a bow. "If you'll excuse me."

As Gaston was about to go out of the room, the young master called out to him.

"Ah, I almost forgot," said Lark. He stood up then handed the old butler two notebooks. "Here. Give the other one to Melody."

Gaston adjusted his monocles as he stared at the notebooks. "What are these, Young Master?"

"Basic Arithmetic," said Lark. "I wrote them down myself."