Lord of Rot

In the study of Green Forest Castle.

His grandfather was the only other person in the room. This was the first quiet talk between grandfather and grandson.

Knight Wisdom looked at him. ”Won’t you stay a little longer? Stacy is quite fond of you, and Bode likes you a lot, too.”

”I’d love to, but I’m a lord. I need to be in my own territory.”

Knight Wisdom said, ”Bor Kaine has six territories, yet he does nothing but drink in the royal capital.”

”But he’s the King,” Leech replied, exasperated.

As long as the country belongs to the King, it makes no difference where he is.

”You were recruiting craftsmen in Linta Bay?” The Knight changed the subject.

Leech knew word of him buying craftsmen would certainly reach the ears of Green Forest Castle. He was prepared for this; all he had to do was plead poverty.

’I’m his grandson, after all. Blood is thicker than water. Surely there’s no problem with a little whining to an elder for some candy?’

”Grandfather, Porcupine Territory is barren! My soldiers are still in cloth armor. They need swords and plate, but my territory only has one blacksmith’s apprentice. He only knows how to forge hoes! Oh, right, and iron pots. And my carpenter is a dwarf! You have no idea how awful the place is. It’s not just that we’re broke, we don’t even have enough people...”

The corner of Knight Wisdom’s mouth twitched as he cut him off. ”You can recruit some of the craftsmen. If there’s anything else you need, you can tell me. We are family.”

”Yes!” Leech nodded emphatically. ”I also need a lot of people. They don’t have to be farmers; slaves will do. Women and children are fine, too.”

Knight Wisdom was speechless. He hadn’t expected Leech to really push his luck.

”How many soldiers does Porcupine Territory have?”

Leech replied, ”Around a hundred.”

The Knight assumed the hundred Leech mentioned included the militia. ”I’ll give you 500 slaves. We acquired about 3,000 of them during the recent conflict.”

’Give them all to me,’ Leech wanted to say. ’I’ll take every one of them.’

But he could only think it. To an outsider, there was no way Porcupine Territory could handle 3,000 slaves. A revolt would be inevitable.

”Thank you, Grandfather. I’ll buy them at their full price.”

”They’re just slaves. Consider them a small gift.” The Knight paused for a moment, then asked, ”What do you think of Stacy?”

”...”

Leech didn’t answer, instead looking at his grandfather.

’Weren’t you the one playing matchmaker?’ he thought. ’If I say we’re not a good match, you’re not going to accept that.’

Knight Wisdom smiled. Nothing more needed to be said.

”When you turn twenty, I will have Stacy attend your birthday ball. You’d best make sure Porcupine Territory doesn’t look too shabby.”

’I have no intention of throwing a birthday ball,’ Leech thought.

Baron Porcupine disdained such extravagance and waste. It simply wasn’t cost-effective.

But out loud, he could only say, ”Yes!”

Leaving the study, Leech felt a sense of relief.

Five hundred slaves and craftsmen, too. If he’d known talking with his grandfather would be so rewarding, he would’ve wanted to chat much longer. The population of Porcupine Territory had just doubled!

Add to that the seeds suitable for Porcupine Territory that Radish and Little Joel had bought, plus the Extraordinary Corpse Ghost Aina, and this trip had been an incredible windfall.

「Not long after Leech departed.」

「The study of Green Forest Castle.」

”What did he say?” Lewis asked his father insistently.

”He said nothing.”

”What!”

Lewis faltered. Remembering he was speaking to his father, he flinched slightly. ”I saw him dancing with Stacy. They seemed to be getting along wonderfully.”

’Such a shame to let the opportunity pass.’

”They’re fond of each other. Let Stacy visit Porcupine Territory next year.”

”He didn’t refuse?” Lewis clenched his fists in excitement.

”That’s right.” Knight Wisdom appeared to be in high spirits.

”Then they should get engaged,” Lewis said. ”Married this year, even better.”

He was far too eager.

”No. Leech returns to Porcupine Territory tomorrow. He is a lord.”

Knight Wisdom continued, ”That boy has Lierde’s stubborn streak; he’s so much like him. He and Stacy might get along, but whether they are suited for marriage is for them to decide.”

In marriage, it’s best for personalities to be complementary. If two strong-willed people get together, they will only argue, neither willing to yield.

Through his observations over the past few days, Knight Wisdom had discovered that Leech was a very strong-willed person. He might appear gentle on the surface, but his character was unyielding.

And Stacy was the same.

It was precisely because they doted on Stacy that they had allowed her to remain unmarried at twenty. If their only goal was to marry her off, she would have been engaged after her first ball, with no power to refuse.

”Let Stacy go to Porcupine Territory next year,” he said. ”Let her see it with her own eyes.”

Lewis understood his father. He was seeing a shadow of Lierde in Leech. The old man, known to the world as the Crocodile Baron, had admired few people in his life, and Lierde Clarence was one of them. Though their tempers clashed, they never belittled one another.

Otherwise, the Old Crocodile would never have allowed his daughter to marry Lierde, who hadn’t even been a lord at the time.

It seemed that, because of Lierde, he now held higher expectations for Leech. Perhaps he hoped to see a new Lierde emerge.

’An old man’s sentimentality can be so troublesome,’ Lewis sighed to himself. But in this family, his father’s word was law.

He could only hope nothing unexpected would happen in the coming year. ”Yes. As you wish.”

「The next day, Leech rose bright and early.」

Today he would be leaving with the craftsmen. The column of slaves would travel slowly to Porcupine Territory, escorted by the slave overseer. Leech had specifically stressed that they shouldn’t rush, that their priority was to keep everyone alive, but he was still uncertain if all five hundred slaves would make it to Porcupine Territory in one piece.

It wasn’t realistic for him to travel with them, as it would double his journey time, so he had no choice but to entrust the matter to Green Forest Castle.

He had arrived with only a few carts, but now, for the return journey, they had ten carriages.

Some of them carried the craftsmen’s belongings. Lured by Leech’s high wages, they had decided to leave the fierce competition of Linta Bay for a high-paying, leisurely retirement in the countryside.

However, they were likely in for a major disappointment once they arrived.

Several other carriages were loaded with food, dry rations, and drinking water.

Most important were the seeds: various flower seeds and some flowering saplings. Honey was currently Porcupine Territory’s largest source of income, so it was crucial to plant more flowers and experiment to see which nectar from the Lu Leiyi Continent was most suitable.

There were also some crop seeds.

Leech saw his squire, Radish, place a bag on his horse and asked curiously, ”What did you buy?”

”My lord!” Radish said at once. ”They’re soap pods. I wanted to buy some for my sister to wash her clothes with. A whole bag only costs ten copper stars! I’m planning to take some back, and maybe I can even sell some for extra money.”

”A good head for business. Not bad.”

Leech knew Radish had a sister who was a slave, and Radish had been diligently saving money to buy her freedom.

But what caught Leech’s attention more were the soap pods themselves. Crushing them and soaking them in water created a solution for washing clothes, which was the primary laundry method on the Lu Leiyi Continent.

Of course, those unwilling to spend money on soap pods would simply boil their clothes in a pot.

Once their preparations were complete, the party set off.