Chapter 70. The Good Mage, the Bad Mage, and the Strange Mage (3)
Once someone reached the position of Mage Tower Master, money was practically something lying around beneath their feet.
Gaston chose personal cleanliness and comfort over money.
He was using his own fortune to dig an entire canal in exchange for the telescope and soap.
To someone like me, it looked completely insane.
Then again, perhaps being eccentric enough to do things like this was exactly how someone reached the highest position in a Mage Tower.
“[Dig].”
RUMBLE!
A powerful vibration interrupted my thoughts.
Six mages cast their spells at the same time.
The ground covered in magic circles sank into a huge depression.
It looked like a crater created by a bomb.
“Waaaaaa!”
“Long live our lord! Long live Marcel!”
A large crowd had gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of the canal.
The canal would be fifty meters wide and forty kilometers long.
Most of the people here had never witnessed large-scale magic before.
Every time the mages cast a spell, cheers erupted.
Terrifying. No wonder the local lords can’t defy the royal family.
Le Capital contained seven Mage Towers.
The royal family used their power to centralize authority.
Even if provincial lords wanted to resist, the overwhelming strength of the Mage Towers and royal knight order forced them to remain silent.
Gaston approached with a proud expression.
“Well? Isn’t our Mage Tower impressive?”
“Yes. I’m genuinely surprised.”
“Never saw anything like this in the Empire?”
“Most Mage Towers in the Germania Empire are also near the capital. I’m just a country bumpkin from Westfalen.”
“What kind of country bumpkin is a great inventor?”
RUMBLE!
The mages slowly advanced while excavating the land.
Four more followed behind them, carefully reshaping the dug-out section.
Behind those, six additional mages embedded stone along the cut surfaces.
A total of sixteen mages were participating.
It was an extremely expensive construction project.
We watched the repetitive work with lazy expressions.
As the mages gradually moved farther away, Gaston suddenly said,
“Oh, right. Viscount. I looked into it, and you need to build the ships first.”
“Ships? Ah!”
Looking at the construction site, I realized the canal was shallow.
Large deep-draft ships like carracks could not use it.
And building a large ship took at least half a year.
Sometimes one or two years.
We needed to order canal vessels immediately.
“Do you know what kind of ships we should use?”
“In Veneto, they use long, narrow flat-bottomed vessels. If you add acceleration magic items, they can travel quickly even on rivers.”
Veneto’s canals were also shallow.
There were no waves.
There was no reason or method to use huge carracks.
So naturally they used flat-bottomed vessels.
The narrow width reduced resistance and allowed two vessels to pass each other.
The lost cargo capacity could be recovered by increasing length.
“Please help us create the standard dimensions.”
“Just copy Veneto’s. I know the measurements, so I’ll give them to you.”
“Thank you.”
Great.
Saved some money.
Then I remembered we needed to produce an entire fleet.
If I wanted to collect transportation fees too, I preferred every vessel operating on the canal to belong to me.
Sugar sales are starting soon. We’re also selling the pirate ships. I’ll somehow manage, right? Should I issue more bonds?
I looked toward Diego.
He was smiling happily while watching the mages.
He was probably delighted by the thought of future profits.
Sorry, Diego.
We need to spend money again.
* * *
Canal construction was expected to take five or six months.
It would finish in late autumn or early winter.
The ships needed to be ready by then.
However, shipbuilding timber could not be prepared overnight.
Normally, it had to dry naturally for years.
Marcel lacked both stored timber and skilled shipbuilders.
So we decided to order the ships from another territory.
Veneto is too far. Let’s check Catalonia first.
I immediately summoned Catalonia’s liaison.
Even though it was mostly nominal, I was technically the Marquis’s son-in-law.
The liaison behaved very respectfully.
“It is an honor to meet the great Viscount Marcel.”
“Enough. Do Catalonia’s shipyards have available capacity?”
“I apologize, but there are no empty slips right now. As you know, the damage from Pirate King Luca’s attack was severe. Every shipyard is fully occupied.”
“No choice, then. Can you recommend another territory’s shipyards?”
“Lisboa is busy forming fleets for Western Continent colonization, so there probably won’t be room. Hmm... Liguria should have spare capacity.”
Liguria was another trading port near Marcel, like Catalonia.
However, trade between our two territories was limited.
We were not exactly hostile.
We simply had little reason to interact.
The Great Forest also stood between us geographically.
There was almost no overland contact.
I should send an envoy and test the possibility first.
Captain Adrien was the only close subordinate I had who truly understood ships.
However, he already had too many responsibilities.
Sending him to Liguria would be wasteful.
I stared at the liaison in front of me.
“W, what is it?”
“You seem to know a lot about ships.”
“Very well! My father is a sixth cousin of the Marquis of Catalonia. He receives government ship orders and handles commissioning and delivery. I don’t personally build ships, but I know more than most captains.”
That was a very long way of saying yes.
“Go somewhere with one of my knights.”
“Where...?”
“Liguria.”
“Me? There? Why?”
“Find out whether their shipyards can take an order for canal vessels. You’re the expert. I’ll put in a good word with my father-in-law when you return.”
“I’ll leave immediately!”
I should write a letter to the Ligurian shipyards and send it with them.
Surely they would not insult me because my envoys were only one knight and another territory’s liaison.
* * *
Several days later.
Two Mage Tower Masters were playing cards.
“I have a flush. Show me your hand, pupa.”
“You thug. I won. Straight.”
“A straight is below a flush.”
“What? Isn’t this the strongest hand?”
“That’s a straight flush.”
“Damn it. Why are the rules so complicated? I’m ruined. I’ve run out of soap.”
The two old men were gambling with bars of soap.
Naturally, they had bought it from Mother.
“Could you two play cards somewhere else? This is my office.”
Gaston alone was already annoying.
Now Javier had joined him and made himself comfortable.
It was driving me insane.
The old men never stopped talking.
I wish I could send them to the free meal center for old men in Jongno. Wait. At seventy-two, they’d probably be among the youngest people there. Someone would smack the back of their heads and ask why these kids were here.
“We have nowhere else to go. Understand us, hahaha.”
“Forgive me. This thug insists your office is the most comfortable.”
They were Mage Tower Masters.
I could not exactly throw powerful men out.
I was about to say,
“Why don’t you visit the salon near the harbor...”
Knock, knock, knock.
“Chloe.”
She did not wait for an answer.
She opened the door and entered.
“My lord, Sir Pirel and the Catalonian liaison we sent to the Ligurian shipyards have been detained.”
“What? Who did it?”
“The Genoa Tower Master. Apparently, he owns the Ligurian shipyard.”
“On what grounds?”
“He says our envoys brought trolls with them...”
That bastard was insane.
I had heard many strange excuses in my life.
This was a new one.
“Tell Captain Adrien to prepare for departure. I’m going personally.”
“I’ll handle it immediately.”
At that moment, both Mage Tower Masters stood together.
Had they been waiting for a chance like this?
“We’ll come too. We may be useful.”
“...I know you’re only coming because you’re bored.”
“Hahaha! You caught us!”
Whatever.
As long as they did not cause trouble.
Actually, even if they caused trouble, would it matter?
They were extremely powerful people.
* * *
The lord’s ship departed immediately.
We entered Liguria Port the next dawn.
The Genoa Mage Tower rose high into the sky at one end of the harbor.
Finding it would be easy.
Still, this was someone else’s territory.
We should visit the lord’s residence first.
“Chloe, find about three carriages.”
“That may not be necessary. They sent people to greet us.”
Five passenger carriages were approaching from the direction Chloe indicated.
Apparently, they had seen the flag of the lord’s ship.
“The Margrave of Liguria doesn’t seem involved in this.”
“Probably not. If he was trying to play games, he wouldn’t have sent carriages.”
“Only the minimum group will move. Everyone else stays here.”
Chloe, Martin, Raul, the two Tower Masters, several servants, and I disembarked.
We immediately boarded the waiting carriages and headed toward the lord’s residence.
A short while later, the Head Butler welcomed us the moment we arrived.
However, seeing two old men in robes immediately caught his attention.
“Viscount Marcel, it is an honor to meet you. Would you introduce the gentlemen accompanying you?”
“Tower Master Gaston of Roches Mage Tower and Tower Master Javier of Algeciras Mage Tower.”
“My goodness! Forgive my rudeness. I’ll report to my lord immediately.”
I sighed while watching the Head Butler run away.
I was a ruling noble, however small the territory.
Yet I still received less respect than Mage Tower Masters.
As expected, without military strength and economic power, even nobles were treated lightly in this world.
Servants helped our attendants settle the luggage.
Then we were guided to the reception room.
Perhaps one or two minutes passed.
The Margrave of Liguria hurried inside.
He looked young, perhaps around thirty.
“I apologize for receiving you in such a humble place. If I had known the Tower Masters were coming, I would have prepared more carefully.”
“We’re not important. Viscount Marcel came because he has business with you. Speak with him.”
Gaston sounded slightly sharp.
Had something upset him?
“Of course. But if I may ask, why have the two Tower Masters come here...?”
“We are Viscount Marcel’s patrons.”
“P, patrons?”
The word ‘patron’ used by Javier was close to saying ‘backer.’
In diplomatic terms, it was similar to a personal security alliance.
Because Gaston and Javier were individuals rather than states, he had used ‘patron’ instead of ‘ally.’
Apparently, Javier thought highly of me because of the antidiarrheal medicine and cork.
Highly enough to personally call himself my patron.
“Then does that mean the two Tower Masters came because of the detention issue?”
“That is correct.”
“Hmm... I will immediately send a pigeon and summon the Genoa Tower Master. Forgive me for a moment.”
Before I could say anything, the Margrave of Liguria left.
I looked at Gaston.
“You two are more impressive than you look.”
“Ahem! Didn’t you know? I am the greatest mage in Franche, and this pupa is the greatest mage in Iberia. The Genoa Mage Tower is nowhere near our level.”
Roches Mage Tower was probably second or third in Franche.
Algeciras was perhaps third to fifth in Iberia.
The old man clearly exaggerated.
Still, I understood that the Genoa Tower Master ranked far below these two.
The Genoa Tower Master appeared in the reception room less than an hour later.
Sir Pirel and the Catalonian liaison, who had been detained, came with him.
The liaison almost cried when he saw me.
“Viscount! You came to rescue us!”
“No. I got arrested too.”
“What?”
“Joking. They fed you well, at least. You gained weight.”
“Hehe. Please speak well of me to our lord.”
“Fine, fine.”
The Genoa Tower Master watched our exchange for a moment before speaking.
“Viscount Marcel. Because the two great Tower Masters came personally, I released your envoys. However, you must apologize for bringing trolls here.”
“Hey, mister. What the hell are you talking about?”
“Mister? Watch your language...”
Gaston suddenly exploded.
The nickname ‘thug’ suited him perfectly.
“Hey, you bastard. How the fuck does a human ‘bring’ trolls with him?”
“N, no, Tower Master Gaston. It’s true. When their ship sailed north along the Ligurian coast, six Red-Haired Trolls ran along the shoreline with it!”
“Of course that was a fucking coincidence! Does that even make sense? If Marcel could control trolls, it wouldn’t be a viscounty. It would already be an empire!”
Javier, who had quietly listened until now, joined in.
“Tower Master of Genoa, I don’t know what grudge you have against them, and frankly I do not care. But this matter has already become too large. Withdraw now. Stop using the trolls as an unreasonable excuse.”
Javier’s words struck directly at the core of the matter.
Everyone fell silent.
No one in this room was on the Genoa Tower Master’s side.
The Margrave of Liguria had not even entered the room.
He clearly wanted no part in this.
“Understood. I apologize, but I will leave first. Tower Masters, please enjoy your stay.”
And with that, the Genoa Tower Master abruptly left.
