Chapter 155: Where's the Sailor?

Atop the watchtower, Hardin and Mulgybson were facing each other.

With a worried look on his face, Mulgybson slowly began to speak.

“To maintain this level of military strength on a regular basis, wouldn’t the costs—not just for salaries, but in many other ways—grow exponentially? I’m sure you have your reasons, Young Master, but I can’t help but feel concerned.”

Hardin quietly nodded, as if he understood.

‘Well, it’s true it doesn’t come cheap.’

The financial burden of maintaining a standing army year-round was on a completely different level compared to conscripted soldiers only summoned during wartime.

Conscripted soldiers returned to their lands once the war ended, resuming their trades as farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, or fishermen, and contributed to the household’s finances by paying tributes. On the other hand, the standing army—used in war and for maintaining order—generated no wealth whatsoever.

And that wasn’t all.

There was also the food, lodging, and various supplies needed to support them.

All of those costs grew exponentially—far beyond comparison to that of conscripted troops.

For someone who had only ever seen the household in a state of poverty—or more bluntly, utter destitution—Hardin’s orders could understandably feel rather extreme.

However—

‘That’s exactly why now is the time to push forward.’

A slight smirk tugged at Hardin’s lips as he spoke.

“It’s fine. Our household can handle this much now.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. The income from port fees and the unit facilities is going to keep growing. And more importantly…”

Chuk!

Hardin pointed toward the merchant ships undergoing renovations by the coast.

“We’ve got those now. Those.”

“...You mean the ships?”

As Mulgybson looked in that direction and asked, Hardin nodded readily and continued.

“Yeah. Once those ships are fully refitted, they’ll head into the Empire and across to other continents, carrying trade goods back and forth. The revenue from that will more than cover the manpower expansion we’re planning.”

“I see. That makes sense.”

The Young Master... had it all planned out.

As Mulgybson nodded, confidence spread across Hardin’s face.

Just as their conversation was wrapping up—

“Brother, um… may I ask you something?”

“Hm? What now?”

Hardin turned his head to find Malion wearing a somewhat awkward expression.

“Well… you just said that once the ships are done being refitted, you’re going to send them out for trade, right?”

“I did.”

“Is that something that has to be rushed?”

“Of course it is. What kind of question is that?”

What’s with this guy all of a sudden?

The expansion of the standing army and the knight order—

That had already been decided in a family meeting, so there’s no way Malion didn’t know.

Hardin narrowed his eyes, then waved a hand dismissively as he replied.

“Of course we need to send them out the moment they’re ready. There’s going to be a mountain of expenses coming our way. If we delay and hit a snag somewhere, it’ll be a massive headache.”

It was an obvious point.

Right now, they still had the money earned from ransoming the Tread prisoners, but with a force of this size, that amount wouldn’t even last a year… no, maybe not even half a year before it completely dried up.

So to maintain financial flexibility, they had to launch the ships ahead of time and secure successful trade.

But then, Malion scratched his head and continued.

“Then, could we maybe delay things a bit?”

“Huh? Why the sudden change?”

“…I don’t think we can send them out.”

“What can’t we send out?”

Ugh, why doesn’t this guy just give a straight answer?

As Hardin’s voice grew sharper, Malion averted his gaze and replied.

“I’m talking about the ships… I don’t think we can send them out on time.”

“…What did you just say?”

Hardin’s fist slowly rose.

“Whoa, whoa, just hear me out. There’s a reason for all this.”

Tuk!

Malion grabbed Hardin’s arm and lowered it as he spoke.

Sweat beaded on his forehead—he looked truly flustered.

“It’s just… during the family meeting, I was the one assigned to hire the sailors, right?”

“Right.”

They had captured nine ships from the Count of Tread.

One of them had been handed over to Princess Medeia, and during the family meeting, it had been decided that four of the remaining eight would be converted into merchant vessels.

Of course, having ships alone didn’t mean they could immediately start trading.

Ships of that size required at least dozens of crew members each—regular sailors, deckhands, helmsmen, navigators, captains, and so on.

Since no one in Daphne had any experience with such work, Hardin had left the task of hiring the necessary personnel to Malion…

Malion took a deep breath and said,

“I can’t hire anyone.”

“What?”

What the hell is he talking about?

As Hardin’s expression began to darken, Malion cautiously explained.

“I’ve been asking around everywhere I can, but apparently there’s just no one in this region who’s worked on ships of that size.”

“What are you saying…”

“The only ones with that kind of experience were from the Count of Tread’s domain, but as you know… they’ve already been absorbed by Ignima…”

Hardin scratched his head roughly and asked again,

“No, seriously—how can that be? Did you check the Free Cities near the port?”

“Well, our house is way out in the boonies, and…”

“And?”

As Hardin pressed him, Malion lowered his voice and finished.

“There’s a bad rumor going around among the sailors. That we’ve gotten involved with the Duchy of Ignima.”

“What?”

So what he meant was, they’d basically become a target to avoid.

‘…Is that it?’

A deep sigh escaped Hardin’s lips.

‘Damn those Ignima bastards. They’re nothing but trouble.’

After the lands of Tread were absorbed by Ignima, the Skull Monster they sent had come to Daphne’s territory and taken the prisoners of war.

From a third party’s perspective, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume there was “something going on” between Daphne and Ignima.

No—in fact, in this case…

‘They probably spread the rumors themselves on purpose.’

If that was how it went down, then the whole situation made sense.

Sailors were especially quick and sensitive when it came to rumors like these, so it was only natural.

Even under normal circumstances, it was hard to find decent sailors out in this remote region. But now, with those rumors spreading throughout the nearby area, recruiting anyone would be like trying to pluck stars from the sky.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Malion continued.

“I’ve tried everything I could, and so have the retainers. But it’s just not easy. At this rate… I don’t think we’ll be able to send the ships out on time.”

“……”

“If it’s really urgent, we could go further out to the bigger cities and try to recruit from there. But that’s obviously going to take more time, and on top of that, the price they’re asking for is just—unbelievably high. That’s why I’m suggesting we push back the schedule instead.”

Malion sighed again and added, looking a bit sheepish.

‘This is a real pain.’

Hardin closed his eyes tightly, deep in thought.

They had a port, and they had ships… but they couldn’t sail because they didn’t have sailors?

It felt like a reef had suddenly jutted out of nowhere, completely unanticipated.

As the discussion settled, Mulgybson glanced at Hardin and cautiously asked,

“Will it be okay to continue expanding the troops as planned?”

Malion shook his head and answered in his place.

“I think it might be wise to slow things down a bit. If we rush and a single cog in the wheel slips, the whole thing could fall apart.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

As the two exchanged thoughts and narrowed down their opinions, they turned their eyes to Hardin.

“So what should we do, Young Master?”

“Brother, you’ll follow my advice, right?”

At that, Hardin drew in a deep breath, then nodded as if he’d made up his mind.

“No.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“The troops will be expanded as planned. And… the merchant ships will set sail as scheduled too.”

“But, Brother—were you even listening to what I said? I told you, we can’t find sailors!”

As Malion protested, thumping his chest in frustration, Hardin stroked his chin and asked,

“How long do you think it’ll take for the merchant ship refits to be complete?”

“Give or take, it should take around two or three months at most to finish,” Malion answered. “But why do you ask?”

“If we manage to recruit the sailors… there shouldn’t be any issues with launching the ships, right?”

In that moment, Malion’s eyes narrowed.

‘Wait, what’s he planning now?’

Four merchant ships.

To operate them properly, they would need at least over a hundred highly trained sailors.

Over the past month, even with all the Daphne retainers putting in the effort, they hadn’t been able to recruit even ten.

So how on earth was Hardin planning to fill those numbers in just three months?

With a shallow sigh, Malion asked again.

“Do you… have some kind of method? Just tell me. If it’s something doable, I’ll give it a try.”

Hardin paused to think for a moment, then quickly organized his thoughts.

‘Sailors… sailors. Then, this is when I use that method.’

He waved his hand dismissively and said,

“No, not you. You can’t do it.”

“Can’t? Why not?”

“Because I’m going to the Calav Archipelago.”

“…Excuse me?”

Everyone standing on the watchtower suddenly widened their eyes, wearing expressions of utter disbelief.

“W-why the Calav Archipelago?”

“Why do you think? We need sailors, and the guys over there are top-notch.”

The Calav Archipelago.

Located to the east of the Fabian Empire, it was a nation formed by multiple islands that served as a strategic hub between the Eastern Continent and the Fabian Empire.

The problem was… calling it a ‘nation’ was generous—it was, for all intents and purposes, a coalition of pirates.

In the Fabian Empire, people from the Calav Archipelago were openly discriminated against, and no one really thought twice about it.

“So what you’re saying, Brother, is… you’re going to bring pirates into the household as our sailors?”

“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Malion adjusted his glasses, bit his lip, and then shouted,

“Please speak sensibly! Pirates? Seriously? Why don’t you go ahead and recruit thieves into the knight order while you’re at it!”

Oof.

‘This guy… always manages to hit right where it hurts.’

Hardin flinched, briefly recalling the Maw Bandits.

“Hey now, don’t be like that. Even back in the day, Lord Varlach brought a bunch of pirates into the household. Once you set aside the prejudice, they’ve got plenty of useful qualities.”

“Nooooo! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Huh?!”

Grab!

Malion finally snapped and grabbed Hardin by the collar, shaking him.

“Young Master, I have to say—I’m against this too,” Mulgybson added, his face pale as he vigorously shook his head.

“At least give it a try before making up your minds—”

“No! Not happening! Not unless you pour salt into my eyes first!”

“Young Master, you absolutely cannot do this. I’m begging you, please, retract that suggestion.”

Cheok!

The two men stood firmly in Hardin’s path, their voices resolute.

From the look of it, if he insisted on going, they might just riot on the spot.

Catching their mood, Hardin glanced around nervously.

“Ahaha, I was joking! Just a joke! Why’s everyone so worked up over a bit of humor?”

He shrugged with a forced laugh and slipped between the two of them.

“Well, I think we’ve seen enough on this inspection, so how about we get something to eat? Heh heh!”

Immediately after, Hardin practically fled down the watchtower, leaving Malion and Mulgybson behind to exchange glances.

‘That guy… you never know what he’s going to pull next.’

Malion clenched his fists tightly and said,

“…Commander Mulgybson. Please keep a close eye on my brother.”

“Of course. You can count on me.”

Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong…

Mulgybson nodded with a worried look on his face.

---

At the Daphne Viscounty Knight Quarters.

“Snore… phoooo… Kkokko… Kkokkoya…”

On the bed by the window, Beryl was lying on his back, tossing and turning in his sleep with his belly exposed.

At that moment, a shadow quietly approached him and began tapping his cheek.

“Hey, wake up.”

“Mm? Who… who is it…”

“I said, wake up.”

As the tapping grew more insistent, Beryl blinked himself awake.

“L-Lord Hardin?”

“Shhh.”

A faint smile appeared on Hardin’s face as he held a hand over Beryl’s mouth, half-shrouded in the darkness.

‘What the hell is this in the middle of the night?’

Something… felt very off.

The moment Beryl laid eyes on Hardin, his brow furrowed instinctively.