Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 84 - 84 61 War and Peace_2

84: Chapter 61 War and Peace_2 84: Chapter 61 War and Peace_2 “My elderly parents have already died tragically, and that good-for-nothing child has committed such a disgraceful act against the villagers; as a humble man and a father, I no longer have the face to continue living in Selva.

Now, whenever I close my eyes, all I see are nightmares,” Tok said, lowering his head deeply in sorrow.

Not only that, he also had to consider his eldest living son, knowing that continuing life in Selva meant unavoidable ostracism from the villagers.

“I won’t offer you empty courtesies,” Leon said.

“Where I come from, we have a saying, ‘If a child is not taught well, it is the parents’ fault.’ Although you have a good reputation in the village, you still cannot escape the responsibility for your younger son’s domineering daily behavior.

As such, I agree to your request to leave the domain, but as a punishment for your failure in upbringing, and also as a moving tax you owe me, your family home cannot be sold.

I will use the value earned from its sale to provide for the widows of the deceased.”

Leon nodded in agreement.

He had not intended to continue employing this village official anyway, so the man’s voluntary resignation made it a dignified solution indeed.

As for the already scarce working-age population losing two more, well…

it was inconsequential.

With the decreased population, there was more land than Selvians; as long as the domain remained open for enough time, there was no worry about finding new families seeking refuge here.

As for the new village official, Leon already had a suitable candidate in mind.

Brian the Blacksmith, as a freeman who was also an elder well-respected in the village and capable of reading and writing, was perfect for organizing the villagers on his behalf.

Time passed quickly.

The next evening, Mr.

Brian Sr.

brought the collected opinions of the villagers to Leon.

“Out of 130 votes to 9, even if we were to vote collectively once more, most of the villagers still opted for the substantial ransom after hesitation.”

Mr.

Brian Sr.

presented the records to Leon: “Everyone has made their decisions, except for Tok and his son.”

“Tok has already resigned his position as village official and applied to move away, never mind him.

Even if a ransom is obtained, it won’t be shared with them.”

“All right, Mr.

Brian Sr., I plan to appoint you as the new village official.

It’s a big responsibility, but help lead the villagers to restore production, and ensure that we try our best to not under-harvest this year’s winter crops,” Leon said as he set down the paperwork.

Upon hearing this, Mr.

Brian Sr.’s eyes twitched…

He hadn’t even prepared to move yet, and someone had already taken the step before him.

And upon receiving the appointment from the young man in front of him, he had to temporarily put aside his moving plans.

He thought that it was unlikely for Selva to experience another such disaster soon, and the question of moving North would have to wait for a more suitable opportunity to be raised.

Besides, these few young lords were also willing to protect Olivia.

The old man calculated in his mind.

“By the way, uncle, do you know where I could find a messenger to safely deliver a letter to the south of Kantadar?” Leon asked Brian casually as he prepared to handle matters related to war prisoners.

This wasn’t Earth; he couldn’t just call the families.

Even if he wanted the ransom for war prisoners, he first had to send a letter to the prisoners’ hometowns.

Furthermore, even after informing the prisoners’ families, waiting for them to send the ransom money would also take an uncertain amount of time.

Leon had learned from Azeryan that some nobles from countries that had been captured in past wars often ended up dead because the ransom payments came too late.

That Knight named Mamor had been loitering in Leding Castle in the northern Kantadar under the Sealing Lord, but his actual granted domain was far in the southeastern part of Kantadar.

These trips alone would take a considerable amount of time, especially with the ongoing war at the border.

Generally, nobles entrusted such message delivery tasks to capable messengers in their retinues.

Unfortunately, despite being newly knighted, Leon and his fellows had no such skilled individuals; they could only hope to employ a paid messenger to carry the letters to distant lands.

He hadn’t really expected any advice from Mr.

Brian Sr., whom Olivia had mentioned never left rural Selva for years.

Unexpectedly, however, Mr.

Brian Sr.

actually had an answer to his question.

“There are many messengers in the Baron’s town, but with the east side war intensifying, and even disbanded soldiers reaching Selva, I fear that the messengers of the ‘Gray Pine Valley’ domain won’t take on this assignment until the war is over.

It might be better to send someone farther west to ‘Farayel’ in ‘Bunelrots County.’ There’s a flourishing commercial city there, and the guild messengers might still accept the job.

However, given the long distance and the danger on the roads, it will be much more expensive.”

Leon couldn’t help but feel perplexed after hearing this, “If there’s a war at our border, isn’t there one at the western border too?”

Little did he know that Mr.

Brian Sr., the old blacksmith, actually nodded, “The west is probably still trading normally with Kantadar.”

“Ah?”

Leon was even more confused.

Before they had accidentally trespassed into Nightmare Forest, they had personally witnessed the brutal battlefield where Mamor’s border saw Orland and Kantadar’s armies clashing fiercely against each other.

One side was killing so vigorously that brains were exposed, and yet the other side could still conduct business?

“It’s not strange you find it odd; the reasons behind this are rather complex and also related to the history of Orland.

At present, the western trade routes are vital sources of wealth for the Farayel Domain and the Great Vestra Territory.

As long as His Majesty the King has not mobilized the Duke of Weststral, the west will certainly not initiate combat with the Kantadar people voluntarily.

In fact, I think General Trosa’s move southward is probably more a royal command to help pressure your homeland to the south to prevent Kantadar’s forces from becoming too overwhelming.

We’re not truly trying to start a full-scale war with the Kantadar people.

After all, their conquest of Seryan’s thousand-year-old Holy City, ‘Rolannar’, is beyond what anyone could have imagined…” Mr.

Brian Sr., instinctively analyzing the current situation, tugged at his beard and began to sweat profusely as he stopped speaking mid-sentence.

Leon, who was following the argument closely, saw him suddenly close his mouth and couldn’t help but look at him, “Uncle Bryan, you really know quite a lot.”

The old blacksmith moved his mouth, looked down, and interrupted with a smirk, “I’ve just heard random stories from past merchants.

I too was once full of passion in my youth, but alas, I never made a name for myself in the military.

After a leg injury, I had to return home in low spirits, not quite the prodigy like you youngsters.”

Leon did not press on but tried to inquire about more crucial information, “So which city in Bunelrots is possibly still trading?

Do you know how to get there?”

Grinning bitterly, Mr.

Brian Sr.

answered, “It seems… if you follow the road to the town and get on the highway and then continue westwards…

you should be able to reach it, approximately.

I’m not too sure, having never been to such a distant place, but I’ve heard it’s a busy commercial city.”

“Alright, after that captive writes the letter, I’ll personally go to Bunelrots County to see,” Leon nodded.

…As the old blacksmith left.

Leon leaned back in his chair, gently tapping on the armrest.

A common blacksmith who hadn’t left the countryside for at least a decade, how could he possess such geographical and political acumen?

Recalling his strangely urgent words to himself some time ago, Leon found the identities of the old blacksmith and Olivia increasingly mysterious.

…

Forget it, after all, this concealed story currently does not hold much significance to him.

They had lived peacefully in Selva for many years; were it not for that band of Kantadar troops accidentally breaking in, this father and daughter might have continued to live out their lives quietly in this remote village corner.

The secrets that needed to be known would eventually be revealed; those that shouldn’t be delved into could cause more trouble.

At this moment, Leon was more concerned with the information he had obtained.

More critical than whether he could send the letter.

Was there no conflict on the border of Bunelrots County?

Could the three of them possibly use the trade route there to openly enter Kantadar?

Rising joyously from his seat, he couldn’t wait to share this good news with Lokhak.

It would also be good to interrogate that prisoner of war again to ask about matters concerning the Felcon Family of Western Port.

He hoped that this journey would smoothly lead to finding the whereabouts of that kind-hearted girl; as long as Lokhak’s sister was still alive, he would use any means necessary to rescue her.