Domain Management (3)

By reading the profile, I was able to save a considerable amount of time.

Even if I set aside their talents, thanks to seeing their intentions, I could instantly tell why those who came here had come.

As I had expected, there were quite a few among the applicants who tried to use the name of the Seven Heroes to satisfy their own selfish desires.

The fact that I could filter out such people without much effort saved me a great deal of time.

‘Truly, being able to see their profile is convenient.’

Grancesia often warned me not to get too fixated on the profile, but in situations like this, it was nothing but a handy ability.

“Why on earth is this happening! I can’t accept it!”

There were a few who reacted like this, unable to accept the results, but after having them spar with Teo or Kisea, they always ended up quietly slinking away.

Going through such steps, I eventually created two new knight orders with those who remained until the very end.

One was formed by gathering the existing knights, and the other two were newly established.

And so, in the end, three knight orders were established in Vanhart territory.

While this was only barely enough to maintain appearances, I couldn’t help but feel moved, thinking back to the past.

‘Now, I won’t have to rely on strength from elsewhere.’

Up until now, knights sent by King Leogart and Duke Gale had been maintaining security in the domain, but I planned to send them back to their original domains now.

However, since they had worked hard all this time, I intended to give them proper rewards or allow them to become knights of Vanhart territory if they wished.

“For the time being, I’ll personally take charge of the knight order’s training.”

“What!? You, Count, will lead it yourself?”

“That’s right. Moreover, if you wish, I intend to teach you Vanhart’s family swordsmanship, the Dao Inscribed Sword.”

At my words, most of the knights looked at me with excited faces.

Receiving those gazes, I felt a renewed sense of emotion.

‘Just a year ago, this family swordsmanship was looked down on by everyone.’

The Dao Inscribed Sword, Vanhart’s family swordsmanship.

I had no intention of teaching it to them exactly as it was.

“And to those who master the Dao Inscribed Sword perfectly, I will also teach the higher-rank sword art of the Dao Inscribed Sword.”

“There’s a higher-rank technique to the Dao Inscribed Sword?”

One knight asked with a puzzled look.

It seemed he knew a fair amount about House Vanhart.

“Yes. It’s not well known, but the sword technique I use is precisely that higher-rank art of the Dao Inscribed Sword.”

“Ooooh!”

Seeing their reaction, I smiled in satisfaction.

‘Of course, it’s a lie.’

The Dao Inscribed Sword was good for learning the basics, but there was no such thing as a higher-level technique.

[You’re really going to teach them that?]

‘That’s why I created this sword art.’

Over time, I incorporated sword techniques I’d recently learned into the Dao Inscribed Sword and created a new style.

Thanks to having Grancesia review it, a pretty convincing sword art was made, and this was exactly what they’d be learning.

‘It’s not at the level of the Moon Severing Divine Sword or the Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword, but…’

At the very least, it wouldn’t be a sword art that got embarrassed anywhere.

I was feeling satisfied as I looked over the knights’ faces filled with anticipation, but my gaze narrowed when I saw the two people standing among them.

“Why are you two standing there?”

The two who’d naturally mixed into the group of knights were Kisea and Ian.

Kisea, glancing around, cautiously opened her mouth.

“I’m interested in the sword art that Clay learned. Is it possible for me to observe as well?”

“I feel the same.”

“… You want to observe another family’s sword art for free?”

“In return, I’ll help train the knights.”

“I’ll assist as well.”

I could understand Kisea, but with Ian, his blunt response left me wondering what he was really thinking.

Still, it was clear that they were interested in the sword art… so maybe it was fine.

‘If they help train the knights, it’s not such a bad deal, is it?’

Of course, I didn’t plan to teach them the sword art, but if just observing helped the knights in their training, there was nothing to lose.

Kisea, being from a sword family, knew various skills and could clearly contribute greatly to the knights’ training.

And Ian—there was no need to even mention it.

He was the son of Ban Sylvest, famed as the continent’s strongest, wielder of the Twin Poles Sword.

“Fine. But observation only. I have no intention of teaching you the sword art.”

“Yes, that’s enough for me. I just want to know what kind of sword arts you possess, Clay.”

She spoke lightly, but I was actually a bit surprised inside.

‘She said ‘what kinds’… She must have realized that I haven’t only learned one or two sword arts.’

[See? She certainly has sharp insight.]

Grancesia seemed slightly impressed as she looked at Kisea.

[If you’re okay with it, why not give her a little help? If you can win her over, she could be helpful in many ways.]

‘Help?’

[Like giving her a vague piece of advice about her current bottleneck.]

‘How could I know something like that?’

[I’ll tell you what to say.]

At first, Grancesia had been wary of Kisea, but now she seemed to be warming up to her.

I’ve thought about it before, but Grancesia really likes talented individuals.

‘For now, I’ll watch a bit longer.’

[Alright.]

I knew Kisea was talented.

But I only intended to help under the assumption that she would become a perfect ally. While she did feel somewhat close, I wasn’t confident enough yet.

‘Now, I’ve gotten the general outline of the knight order sorted out…’

The biggest time-consuming issue was over.

Now it was time to tackle the other things I’d postponed.

* * *

Because I’d spent so much time wandering outside the domain due to the Seven Swords Under Heaven or the calamities, there was an overwhelming number of things I had to deal with.

For example, the construction of waterways.

While the country provided the manpower and funds for the construction, there were still many other things I had to pay attention to.

During the construction, the domain residents living in affected areas had to be relocated, even if temporarily, and supporting and protecting them was a problem as well.

“This is why you shouldn’t just charge ahead mindlessly…”

If you bite off more than you can chew, you’re bound to get sick.

Luckily, it was still within tolerable limits, but if I’d pressed any harder, it might have become dangerous.

‘Taking over the tasks Maria was handling has given me quite a headache.’

That wasn’t the only issue—there were plenty more problems besides the waterways.

Recently, the number of new domain residents from outside had sharply increased, and, as a result, formal complaints from existing residents were piling up.

‘This shows how fame is a double-edged sword.’

Of course, the risks were high, but so were the rewards, so there was no choice but to endure.

After tidying up some documents, I leaned back in my chair and sighed.

“The work never ends.”

It was at times like this that I truly felt Riya’s absence.

‘… Thinking this way, maybe I’m just taking advantage of Riya too much.’

She was happy to help, but it made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I’d shown my reluctance a few times in response to Riya’s affection, but she paid it no attention whatsoever.

‘And now, I really don’t know anymore.’

How I truly felt about Riya.

And not just her, but Maria as well, and…

[By the way, why did she return to the Empire?]

‘Damn, you startled me.’

[Why are you so surprised?]

It seemed Grancesia, sensing me thinking about Riya, had brought up the question out of her own curiosity, and I’d been startled.

I took off the ring for a moment and caught my breath.

‘Because of the Eye of Shimosha, I can’t even think freely.’

If I’d carelessly thought of Grancesia just now, who knows how she would have reacted.

‘I wonder how Grancesia feels…’

There was no doubt that she was conscious of me, too.

Of course, I wasn’t used to this sort of thing, so I could only respond awkwardly.

After gathering my thoughts, I put the Eye of Shimosha back on my finger.

[Why are you acting like that? Why’d you take off the ring again? Were you having weird thoughts?]

“What are you talking about? I just had a lot on my mind, and you kept talking, so I needed to gather my thoughts.”

[Sounds suspicious…]

‘And Riya went back to the Empire to learn magic.’

I calmly changed the subject, ignoring Grancesia’s rapid-fire questions.

[Magic? Why now? Isn’t she already more than good enough?]

‘Now that I’ve become one of the Seven Heroes, she probably thinks she needs to develop the skills to match. Not only as a dragon, but as a person, and as Riya Asktalin, I think she went back to strengthen herself.’

From what I’d seen of her, I was sure she had made that decision for such reasons.

Come to think of it, Riya is known as the Empire’s treasure. For someone like her to show such affection toward me is honestly hard to believe.

“Phew, anyway, what’s next on my list?”

Shaking my head, I combed through the remaining documents.

Among them, one item stood out—it was about a novel whose sales numbers had recently skyrocketed.

‘This really proves how important distribution is.’

It was the novel I’d written, with Fabian as the protagonist.

Titled ‘Sound of the Sword’.

Perhaps because it was sold with the support of the Empire and the Timmons merchant guild, sales were incredibly strong.

I didn’t use my real name as my pen name, so no one knew it was my work, but it was still a strange feeling.

I’d even heard that people now talked about the story casually in public.

At this rate, tales about both the calamities and the Seven Swords Under Heaven could naturally spread among people.

‘Still, if I work just one or two more days, I’ll probably have most of the important things wrapped up.’

[Then, when you’re done, are you going to train in the evening?]

‘Of course I am.’

[Wow. You’re relentless. Really relentless.]

Morning and afternoon, I managed the domain, and during sleeping hours, I trained with Grancesia by borrowing Maria’s strength. Repeating this day after day felt like hell, but there was a sense of accomplishment, too.

[I could never live like that.]

‘Am I really in any position to be picky?’

[Haaa, there’s no way I could do that, not with my personality.]

I couldn’t help but laugh at Grancesia’s words spoken with such exaggerated disgust.

‘Once this is done, I’ll get moving right away.’

[Get moving?]

‘I’ve finally pinpointed where Sehenz is.’

I’d known he had moved near Setram, but only recently did I discover exactly where.

‘… It turns out a new corridor leading directly to the demonkin’s land has been found.’

The demonkin’s realm, the demon realm.

To cross from there to our continent, you have to pass through certain corridors.

Most of the old corridors were sealed during the war with the demonkin long ago, but somewhere in the world, a few have survived.

And the one recently discovered was exactly that.

[So Sehenz went to seal that corridor?]

‘That must be it.’

Of course, things wouldn’t go so smoothly.

Thinking about the synopsis I’d seen around Setram made that clear.

‘Honestly, it’s hard to just take this at face value…’

There’s a chance the demonkin might not be our enemies.

At least, ‘for now.’

—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep