Chapter 237

And generally, the substitute for money was food.

Hence, Logan sought to maximize the productivity of the farmland while he was raising an army to strengthen the national defense.

Fortunately, he had once tried a method that was expensive but proven effective.

The Mana-infused Farming Method.

The technique, which involved dissolving magic crystals in water to enhance soil productivity, crucially depended on adjusting the right amount.

‘Especially at a time like this when every penny of the budget is precious.’

But there was a problem.

Even though this farming method had been successfully tested at the McClain Dam and Taren’s two dams, it was challenging to determine the correct dosage with only three experiments, since each dam had different capacities and scales.

‘Then…’

It meant if they were to apply the Mana-infused Farming Method to the lands directly governed by the royal family and Esperanza’s lands, they would need someone who could visually confirm the degree of mana infusion into the soil.

In short, they needed someone who could see mana.

Not a matter of spells or abilities, but of innate talent.

But with the situation as it was, Logan could not leave his post, and the only person who came to mind was not particularly enthusiastic about it.

“What? A girl who just turned seventeen? Even if she’s a student of Lord Clayton, that’s a bit…”

Dwayne expressed his concern as he tried to gauge Logan’s reaction.

Logan, however, replied with a smile, adding an explanation.

“A supervisor can be assigned to accompany her. It’s just that we need her unique ability.”

“If Your Majesty insists, I will call her immediately.”

Logan’s worry, though, lied elsewhere.

A three-month-long mission to roam around the national territory and protect and administer a critically secret resource.

Although a mage, the task was quite a burden for a mere seventeen-year-old girl.

However.

“I’ll do it! No, please let me!”

Victoria, on the contrary, was ecstatic and insisted on participating.

“…Lia. Are you sure you understand what you’re agreeing to?”

Upon hearing that there was a magic crystal mine in the country, Victoria’s eyes had grown wide with excitement, but afterwards, she showed no further curiosity and instead was interested only in the difficult task at hand.

“Yes. The magic crystals stick to the soil in certain proportions when dissolved in water. The soil then guarantees nearly a decade of good harvests. I need to visually check the degree of mana absorbed and adjust it accordingly. Am I missing anything?”

“…No, there’s nothing missing. Still, the task is harder than you think.”

“Not at all. It’s not difficult at all, Your Majesty.”

Confronted with the girl boldly looking at him, Logan felt a strange sense of shifting generations.

A tiny child when he first saw her.

A child who had been brought along as an extra when he sought to acquire the great genius Victor.

That same child now stood before him as a young lady, and even as a mage who could utilize four circles of magic.

After many events following his return, it was at this moment that Logan truly felt the passage of time.

He smirked.

“Alright, I understand. But of course, you won’t be going alone. You will have knights escorting you and a main supervisor. You’ll be handling the most important task of verifying and adjusting the consumption of magic crystals.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”

Victoria silently cheered as she left the office, and Logan could only chuckle, wondering why she seemed so happy.

‘At last, I can prove my worth!’

Victoria was overjoyed at the Emperor’s orders.

Now she was a mage, a Fourth Circle mage who had caught up with even the executioners. She received considerable respect at the Mage Tower, but a solo mission had never been assigned to her.

– You’re still young.

– Just assist. Can you do that?

– Overflowing with talent? Of course I know. That’s why I cherish it more. To be cautious.

The surrounding’s consideration was gradually becoming burdensome, and her pride was also being wounded.

– A very important task, something only you can do.

The Emperor’s command felt almost sweet.

‘This is my chance to show them. That I’m not a child who needs protection anymore.’

Suddenly, Victoria heard a familiar voice from afar.

“Lia! I heard you came to the palace!”

“Oh? Brother!”

“I just finished my duties for the day, so let’s hurry home and have dinner together!”

A face resembling hers approached with a radiant smile, the knight with red and blue odd-eyes known outside as the stoic “Ice Knight” but showed a different side only to her.

Her ever-reliable protector and the reason for over-protection.

But she didn’t want to blame him.

She vividly remembered the day after which her brother had tailored his entire life around her, so how could she blame his sentiments?

Her feelings were merely mixed with regret.

‘Such a fool, should be thinking about getting married now that he’s earned some money.’

But knowing he wouldn’t listen even if she spoke out, Victoria just smiled again today.

“Let’s go then. Let’s go eat.”

And that evening, while eating dinner, she made a new resolution.

‘I won’t speak of it.’

For the first time, not as the executioner of the Mage Tower, but as a mage on her own mission.

Since the Emperor also said it was a highly confidential mission, she had enough reasons not to tell her brother.

‘I’ll show them. That now I can do my part as a proper person too.’

But then, a few days later, at the King’s Castle, where she had arrived for the mission, she saw…

“…Brother?”

Victor was already there waiting for her.

“I heard you received an important mission from His Majesty. From now on, just trust this brother. I’ll escort you firmly.”

“Why…”

“Be thankful for His Majesty’s consideration. It shows how much he cares for you. Of course, not as much as I do.”

Although her brother’s smile was as bright as usual, all Victoria could do was turn away with a stiff look on her face.

“…Lia?”

With a puzzled look, Victor quietly followed his sister, but Victoria did not speak for a long time, maintaining a hard expression.

The mission involved 30 knights divided into five groups led by Heinkel, including the siblings, Victor and Victoria.

And while most of the knights making up the mission were unaware of their exact role and the content of their duty, considering that all of them were knights and the mission leader was the once Knight Captain Heinkel, entrusted by both the king and his father, none of them were unaware of the mission’s importance.

However, they questioned why such an important mission included a female mage who evidently appeared to be underage among them.

But they hadn’t been on the road for half a day before they realized the significance of her presence.

“We must rest here for a moment. After crossing this plain, there will be no place to feed the horses grass until we reach our next destination.”

“We are running about 30 minutes behind schedule. You will need to move at a quick pace.”

“There are 3 hours left to reach our camping destination for the night.”

Not only was it an impeccable guide that bared knowledge beyond guessing.

“Summon Golem!”

At the first campsite, with that simple cry, golems took care of menial tasks and.

“I’ve laid a land alarm spell, so sentry duty is also an option. If you still feel uneasy, you can keep it to a minimum watch.”

She even solved the issue of keeping watch at night.

“The mission may be unclear, but the most important person in this party is that young lady.”

“We have to protect her first if anything happens.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

With a more pleasant journey ahead of them, the knights praised Victoria and bloomed with laughter.

Moreover.

“Men. It’s no joke, truly the most important person in this mission is Victoria, and ensure her protection is prioritized.”

With Heinkel’s one sentence added to it, Victoria became, in reality and in formality, the most important person on the mission.

However, Victor, who had been deliberately ignored while trying to aid his sister throughout the day, could only look at her with a complicated expression.

* * *

“We have confirmed the receipt of the goods.”

“Alright, let’s leave.”

Hee-iing.

As soon as Heinkel turned around, thirty cargo carts followed.

The massive carts, as if to ensure the contents were never exposed, were completely covered with black cloth, and the dwarves accompanying each cart did not exchange a single word with the knights, appearing to have been pre-warned.

The procession began, eventually reaching the central plains within the royal demesne before the leader of the dwarves who had joined them, Redbeard Gammalu, spoke up.

“His Majesty has given direct orders that the amount to be dispersed will be determined by the mage.”

Upon hearing these words, all the knights in the party took a fresh look at Victoria.

With confidence, Victoria stepped forward to take charge, orchestrating the movement of the dwarves and the knights as they began to perform their task.

As the sparkling powders were poured over the water.

Under the dark night sky, with no eyes to witness, it seemed as if stars were showering upon the earth, stealing everyone’s gaze.

For Victoria, who, unlike others, could see the magical essence of the magic crystal powder dissolving and clinging to the soil, the scenery was bound to be even more stunning.

It was as if another Milky Way unfolded above the land beneath the night sky.

Yet, she was not simply intoxicated by its beauty.

“That’s enough over there. Move a bit more to the right, ten steps!”

“Stop there! To the left, ten steps back.”

Following Logan’s advice, Victoria immediately adjusted the movements of the dwarves and knights pouring magic crystal powder whenever she noticed clumps of mana forming.

The golems moved without question at her command.

As she gazed at the Milky Way spread upon the land and commanded dozens of people with her hands, Victoria looked happier than ever.

And as Victor observed his sister, his eyes grew increasingly more complex.

“They’ve truly grown up. Both of them.”

“Excuse me?”

Startled from his reverie, Victor was caught off guard by Heinkel’s pat on the shoulder.

Even then, his eyes remained fixed on his sister, and seeing this, Heinkel greeted him with a pleased smile.

“When Your Highness first brought them here, I thought he had just brought some kids with unusual appearances, but these young ones now represent their territory as knights and a mage… It’s astounding, really, the forsight of His Majesty, but you both are just as wonderful.”

“…That’s high praise, sir.”

As he simply smiled and bowed his head, Victor reflected internally.

‘Both of them…’

That simple phrase resonated in his heart for a long time.

It was only when he heard that phrase did he realize his sister, whom he had always considered someone to carry and protect, had grown up so much.

– It’s not always right to interfere with everything.

Reminding himself of the master’s words, Victor’s eyes began to ease.

“What could be so magnificent?”

After all the work was done.

Gazing at the newly mana-infused farmland with a dazed expression, Victoria jerked as she turned around.

“Oh, brother…”

“It’s been a while since I saw you smile. You’ve been playing dumb all this time.”

“…Sorry. I was just upset because you were treating me like a young child…”

“…I did it because I was worried about you.”

“…That’s what it feels like to be patronized.”

With an offending look, Victor inwardly panicked and quickly changed the subject.

“Ah, got it. I’ll be more careful. But what’s so magnificent? Do you still see something?”

“Ah… That’s obvious. It’s not only beautiful but also a significant magical discovery because…”

From that moment, Victoria began to talk excitedly.

Even though she was a mage of the Golem Tower, she inherently linked to the earth and for her, the sight of soil absorbing mana was both mystical and breathtaking, and the magical value and potential were immense. She enthused over continuous calculations of the right ratios and plans to analyze the composition of the mana-infused soil in her excitement.

After much time had passed, she realized that her big brother couldn’t possibly understand everything she was saying and paused abruptly.

However.

“You really have grown up. My sister.”

For some reason, with a proud yet sorrowful smile, Victor gently stroked his sister’s head.

Was this what their father, whose face could no longer be remembered, was like?

Feeling a surge of emotion that threatened to bring tears, Victoria gruffly shouted.

“I’ve been grown up for a long time now!”

“Yes, it seems so.”

Suddenly, she realized that her brother’s interference had significantly decreased over the last few days, and she saw the relief and bitterness on his face once again.

And for some reason, that annoyed her, and she knocked his hand from her head.

“From now on, I will protect you! You saw my golems, right?”

“…What?”

“You’ve suffered a lot because of me until now. So now, I’m going to protect you!”

Unspoken gratitude mixed with embarrassment, Victoria raised her voice despite herself.

Pfft.

“Haha, ha ha ha!”

Victor’s laughter, which started with a gusty breath, soon turned boisterous, making Victoria, watching him, burst into laughter too.

Now, seven years after arriving in Maclaine.

The siblings, originally slaves with odd-eyes, had changed as much as, if not more than, the world around them.

And as grateful as they were for every change.

‘I’ll definitely protect all of it.’

The siblings looked at each other, reaffirming the same resolve.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om