Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 845: The Future of Mirador’s Citizens

CH0845 The Future of Mirador’s Citizens

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“What?” “Please do not leave.” “Please stay, Count Skywalker.”

The people cried out in different ways, each plea asking him—or rather, his troops—to stay.

Fabien looked around at the people as they begged Alex to remain.

‘Indeed, this is what you wanted all along…’ Fabien thought as he looked towards the man standing upon the podium.

With the people of Mirador City requesting Alex to stay, and with the domain having lost all of its leadership, Alex could arguably extend his regency over the territory. In doing so, the people would essentially be handing him the reins of power over the city.

‘Once Count Skywalker has these reins of power, it would be difficult to expect him to let them go. He will probably influence the choice of those who form the new leadership of the Stronghold through this authority—effectively becoming the true ruler of the Stronghold and Mirador City, just as Marquis Brandford had done in the past,’ Fabien deduced.

On the podium, Alex appeared to be faced with a difficult decision. He seemed to struggle over what to do. But before long, he appeared to come to a firm decision.

Contrary to what Fabien—and many others—expected, Alex shook his head.

“Unfortunately, Imperial law cannot be disobeyed. Even if you all wish for me to continue my regency over these lands, aristocratic etiquette dictates otherwise. As such, though I am honoured by your trust, I have no choice but to decline your offer and withdraw my troops at the earliest opportunity,” he said, much to everyone’s surprise.

‘What? He turned it down?’ Fabien was stunned. ‘Isn’t this what all of this was about? He had everything wrapped up. All he needed to do was accept it. Was I wrong?’

Fabien began to doubt his own reasoning.

“As a Pioneer Knight of the Emperor himself, and a noble of the Empire, it would be unbecoming of me to reach beyond my station.

“I would gladly accept were such an order to come through the proper rites and etiquette—preferably by the decree of the Emperor himself. However, as things stand, I cannot accept it,” Alex stated.

But after pausing for a moment, he gritted his teeth as though arriving at yet another decision.

“That said, I truly do not wish to leave you all like this. As such, I would like to offer you two paths you may take.”

“First, in fulfilment of my responsibilities as a Pioneer Knight, I will do my utmost to ensure that you can continue living here and rebuild your city. I will order my troops to clear the area between here and the border of the Great Berserk Beast Forest. And in the near future, I will organise an expedition to push the current border further back in favour of the Empire.

“Once that happens, you will have little to fear from the berserk beasts, even if the Frontier Stronghold fails to rebuild itself,” Alex said.

For some reason, Fabien’s eyelids twitched ominously at Alex’s closing statement.

“Second, if you do not wish to endure this period of insecurity within the Mirador area, you may instead choose to emigrate to my Frontier March. Though closer to the Great Berserk Beast Forest, we have established strong defensive installations that protect the domain from the forest. There is also the domain’s army, whose strength I believe I need not explain to you.

“While I cannot promise that the Frontier March will be completely safe, at the very least, it will be safer than the current Mirador area. Furthermore, as a developing frontier domain, there are greater opportunities for growth, development, and prosperity for all those willing to take the risk of relocating—especially as you will receive favourable support from both myself and the domain’s administration.”

“These are, unfortunately, the best I can offer you,” Alex concluded sincerely.

With that, Count Skywalker stepped down from the podium.

He immediately began issuing orders to his entourage, who appeared genuinely caught off guard by his declaration. This only served to convince the people that this wasn’t a premeditated stunt by the Count, but rather a decision made on the spot out of sympathy for their plight.

The officers of the Frontier March who had accompanied the Count immediately began making arrangements.

They started hiring every available carriage from the surrounding areas, as well as those that had survived the destruction in Mirador.

The Count also ordered that the carriages which had been used to transport relief supplies from the Frontier March, along with those used to transport troops, be repurposed to carry those who chose to relocate to the Frontier March.

On a side note, many people looked on in shock and awe when they finally laid eyes on these carriages.

They had initially assumed the carriages had lost their draft animals during the beast tide. However, they were in for a major surprise when they discovered that these were actually magical carriages that required no mounts to move.

This alone gave the people who made the difficult decision to emigrate to the Frontier March a sense of belonging to their new home, as well as a subtle sense of superiority over those who stayed behind, since the operation of these carriages was revealed only to those who had chosen to relocate, and only on the day of their departure.

One of those who decided to relocate was, surprisingly, Fabien Ingram.

After Alex’s address to the people of Mirador, Fabien was left conflicted about Alex’s role in the events that had befallen the city and the Stronghold.

However, rather than dwelling on that uncertainty, he chose instead to focus on the Count’s likely motivations behind those events and how they had ultimately concluded.

While the Stronghold had indeed fallen after standing for almost a century, and Mirador City had likewise been devastated, for the most part, the innocents had been spared.

Furthermore, the Count and the Frontier March had been the ones to step forward and aid those affected in the aftermath of the disaster.

Fabien therefore chose to view the events as a necessary act for the greater good.

From the perspective of a mid-ranking officer of the Stronghold, he saw an institution that had stagnated and a Frontier March that was experiencing growth.

Count Skywalker and the Frontier March had clearly demonstrated a determination to reclaim the territory lost to the Great Berserk Beast Forest—a mandate that the Stronghold seemed to have long since abandoned.

So, while he still had reservations about the fate of the Stronghold’s leadership, once given the opportunity through a personal invitation from Count Skywalker himself, Fabien chose to jump ship to the Frontier March.

In his mind, he chose progress over stagnation.

And with that choice, many people who had come to regard him as their de facto leader also chose to relocate to the Frontier March.

Thanks to this, together with the calm, sympathetic, and decisive image Count Skywalker had presented during his address, more than seventy per cent of the survivors from the Stronghold and Mirador City—including soldiers, artisans, and semi-skilled labourers—chose to relocate to the Frontier March.

Aside from their status as refugees, many of those descended from Mirador’s original settlers felt they were finally taking steps to honour the wish of their ancestors, who had settled in what eventually became Mirador not to build a permanent city, but to establish a staging ground for one day returning to their true homeland.

Thus, what permeated in the hearts and minds of these people was the hope and conviction that they would finally fulfil that dream and return to the home their ancestors had always yearned for.

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