Chapter 9

Having a responsiveness of D meant that, as a wizard, one was truly at the bottom of the barrel.

If she had just stayed in the magic tower, her lack of skill would have led to her being kicked out before long.

In fact, Bandai had been disappointed with Summer's magical abilities and had even considered sending her back to the magic tower.

However, wizards were so rare, and given her aptitude with numbers and exceptional financial skills, he had decided to keep her.

After all, her potential as a wizard could still burst forth at any time.

But that potential never materialized.

Instead, as time passed, the tower became increasingly dependent on her financial management, and the opportunity to send her back to the magic tower slipped away.

Winter, despite his knightly appearance, had a combat ability so low that it was almost laughable.

However, his leadership and experience in training soldiers were quite good.

Autumn, on the other hand, seemed more like an architect than a knight.

His combat ability was as low as Winter's, but he had a talent for building and maintaining structures like walls and buildings.

Frankly, the three of them would receive special treatment only in this fief; elsewhere, they would likely be treated as second-class citizens.

Despite this, Summer's words to me were tinged with concern for the young me.

She was worried about what I, an illegitimate child raised as a poor commoner, could do.

"Cough, cough. Summer."

"Yes."

"Please bear with me for one year. I promise to build you a personal laboratory after that."

Startled.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"How, how will you do that?"

She was quite surprised because I had hit the core of what she wanted.

Summer was set up as someone with mediocre magical skills but a strong desire for magic.

Naturally, I knew what she wanted.

"To build a laboratory, you need a substantial amount of money, and the maintenance costs are also high, right? Cough, cough. I asked Dudden, and he said that even for basic research, the monthly maintenance costs would be at least 10 gold, and sometimes even several dozen gold."

I had asked, but Dudden had admitted he wasn't very knowledgeable about finances.

So where did the 10 gold or several dozen gold come from?

From my experience playing the game.

Within the next year, there would be at least two fief battles.

If the fief were to fail, it would happen within a year, but if it survived, it would generate enough gold each month to cover the costs.

How?

To survive, we needed to win the fief battles, and victory would bring wealth.

"Oh, you've already looked into it?"

Her eyes sparkled with a touch of emotion.

"Cough, cough. Summer, you're the only wizard in this fief, so I have a lot of interest in you. Ah! Of course, it's not romantic interest."

Hehe.

"If it were romantic interest, I would be grateful."

Yes, a love story with a fresh teenager at the age of 40.

For Summer, a spinster, it would naturally be a welcome development.

Auntie, I'm not interested.

"Lord Bandai never mentioned anything about a laboratory... I'm really grateful."

I had gained my first commander.

Though I couldn't see her loyalty, the message that her favorability had increased assured me that she wouldn't betray me or leave.

'Ugh, my head hurts again.'

Thinking and talking at the same time made my head ache.

For now, I had to endure it.

I had earned points, and I would receive points each time I gained a new commander.

However, this wasn't a significant amount, as the game provided only about 40 commanders.

As I mentioned earlier, even after hundreds of plays, I had never managed to gather all of them.

So, gaining a commander was very difficult, and the points earned from commanders by the end of the game would be at most 40.

Summer, knowing what she wanted from my gameplay experience, was easily made my commander.

If I hadn't addressed her hidden desires, she would have left the fief soon.

Summer's eyes were slightly moist with emotion.

I had hit the core of what she wanted.

"Master, it would be good to build a separate training ground for the knights."

It was Winter.

'Haha, what you really want isn't a training ground, is it? You know your combat talent is poor. At your age, training won't help you grow.'

He was clearly jealous that I was building a laboratory for Summer.

Nod.

"Cough, cough. Of course, I will. And I've heard that Winter has been here the longest. You deserve a new mansion."

Startled.

"Really?"

He asked, his voice trembling.

"Of course! You'll need a maid to help with the housework. Start the construction immediately. The fief will cover the costs."

Winter was old but had been married twice and had eight children.

His first wife died of illness, and his current wife is 20 years younger.

He had many children to take care of, and his wife was frail, worrying that she might die young like his first wife.

Offering to solve this problem all at once made him very happy.

Kneeling.

"Lord! Thank you!"

Winter, who had been subtly ignoring me and putting on airs, quickly stood up and bowed deeply.

Moreover, he used the title "Lord" for the first time, instead of just "Master."

Does this mean he now acknowledges me?

"Master! A mansion!"

"This seems impossible. Our fief's finances can't handle it."

The two of them immediately reacted.

"Ah! Autumn, I know you need a new mansion too. And that you love Marian?"

Marian was one of the maids working in the castle.

I knew about his feelings for her from the game.

"Yes, yes? How did you know...?"

Autumn's face turned red.

He was in his 40s but still unmarried. He wasn't handsome, and he was short.

In fact, his body was unsuitable for a knight.

Like Winter, his physical stats were D, which was at the bottom for a knight, though still higher than an average person.

He became a knight because he came from a lifelong knight family that served the Berguer family.

A lifelong knight family could designate one son to inherit the knight title.

Despite his poor skills in swordsmanship, spear, horseback riding, and archery, Autumn inherited the title.

Although he contributed little to the fief, considering his family's loyalty to the Berguer family, I decided to give him a new mansion and a maid.

"Cough, cough. Propose to Marian. Enjoy your honeymoon in the new mansion."

I successfully gained Autumn as a commander.

'Now, the life-or-death branch should be resolved.'

As I thought this, the expected message appeared.

Reward: 3,000 coins, 1 Growth Spell (Lower), 1 Commander Growth Spell (Lower)

The coins could be exchanged for gold, so 3,000 coins were equivalent to 3,000 gold.

This time, I received a Commander Growth Spell.

For reference, this could also be used on Ming.

I didn't really plan to use it, though.

Ming would grow well on his own.

He was weak at birth, but his physical, mental, and responsiveness stats would naturally improve as he grew.

With the Commander Growth Spell, I could also boost Leana and Anais's mental and physical stats, as required by the life-or-death branch.

'I'll use the Growth Spell I got this time on responsiveness again.'

I was confident it would work this time, as I had failed once before.

After taking a deep breath, I used it, and the result was...

Success!

My responsiveness improved from FF to E.

Looking in the mirror, I saw that a small part of the severed mana pathways had reconnected.

This meant I had somewhat overcome the blockage.

'I'll save the Commander Growth Spell for later.'

Surviving Isabelle was the priority.

If I couldn't solve this, everything else would be pointless.

The immediate issue I needed to address was the fief's finances, which Summer was worried about.

'Building new mansions for the two knights and giving them maids will strain the fief's finances. But a fief battle is coming soon anyway.'

Saving money wouldn't help if we lost the war.

I couldn't reveal the future to Summer, who was unaware of these circumstances...

Also, if someone like me, without a proper background, became the lord, the only way to gain loyalty was to give generously.

"Cough, cough. Summer, I found Father's hidden safe."

Of course, it was a lie.

"Really?"

Naturally, Summer was surprised.

Not just her, but Winter and Autumn were also surprised.

"He had saved quite a bit. However, it's in precious metals, so we'll need to go to a major city to convert it into cash."

"Is that so? Can I see it?"

"Cough, cough. I'm sorry, but that's impossible. It's in a secret place accessible only to the lord."

"...Yes."

Though she looked displeased, she didn't argue further.

"Can the current fief finances cover building two new mansions and three months of operating costs?"

"That much we can manage."

"Cough, cough. Then please bear with me for three months. After that, I'll go to a major city and bring back several years' worth of fief operating costs."

"A major city... The city where Count Obien resides is a major city."

The city's name was Ainstap, the same as the region.

The name of the Obien family was also Ainstap.

The founder of the family was a founding hero of the empire and received this region as a reward, renaming the region and the castle after his family.

"Ah! Oh, really?"

I was suddenly cornered.

There was no such conversation in the game...

In fact, was there even real dialogue in the game?

When the other character spoke, I just chose one of the 1-3 pre-set responses.

Calling that dialogue seemed a bit of a stretch.

"You can dispose of the precious metals while you're in the count's territory, right?"

"Cough, cough. That should work."

I couldn't retract the lie now, so I nodded.

"Lord, your face looks dark. Is there a problem...?"

Shaking my head.

"It's a headache. You know I have a weak body."

My head really did hurt, and I was also worried about the money.

"Oh, I see."

"Cough, cough. Next year, we'll start with Summer's laboratory. You'll need magic books, experimental tools, research reagents, and such. Make a list."

"Yes."

Her eyes were slightly suspicious, but she obediently agreed.

She couldn't imagine that I would lie.

Given my young age and short time as a noble, she thought I was still too innocent to lie.