Because she was pretty.
That was the entire reason he wanted to keep her as a companion.
‘But as I raised her, she turned out to be a Grand Magician and a Grand Alchemist…’
Truly an incredible talent!
Even if it cost 20 gold to pay off her debts, it was worth it. She was an extraordinary talent.
However, her current stats were far from impressive, making her unusable for now.
That’s why he needed to help her unlock her potential as quickly as possible.
‘This 20 gold is for raising her.’
Ian fiddled with the money he had received from Hugo.
There was only one reason he had to hurry.
‘Because we need to cure the Count’s illness!’
He needed her alchemy skills to create a special potion.
‘To do that, her talent must bloom as soon as possible!’
Therefore, the 20 gold he had saved had to be spent on her.
‘The problem is the crafting success rate, though.’
Every potion had a crafting success rate.
Without the ability to save and reload now,
he had to raise her alchemy skill level as much as possible to increase the success rate, even by just 1%.
Meanwhile.
“….”
“….”
The mother and daughter, having heard Ian’s words, fell silent as their hearts sank.
‘When he said to devote her body and mind…’
There was only one thing they could think of, given they had nothing else to offer.
“Ah, come to think of it, you should know who saved you. I’m Ian von Schrantz.”
They had guessed he was a noble’s son from the carriage, but they never imagined he was the young lord of the family ruling this territory.
Ian smiled, trying to leave a good impression, but in contrast, the mother and daughter’s faces turned pale.
The moment they heard his name, his smile seemed like that of a devil.
His infamous reputation had spread far and wide in this village.
‘The young lord who’s so violent that he swings his sword wildly at the slightest provocation?’
‘They say he’s crippled at least eight people just for talking back…’
Of course, the rumors they had heard were exaggerated as they spread, but they had no way of knowing the truth.
Sera bit her lip.
‘I could end up like that too.’
She even thought it might have been better to be sold as a slave, but it was too late now.
Having heard so much, it was only natural for her to feel anxious.
Moreover, judging by his earlier feats, his skills were far from ordinary.
If she wasn’t careful, who knows what could happen?
“I understand what you’re saying, young lord. I will repay your kindness with all my heart.”
Ian smiled contentedly at Sera’s response.
“Good, I’ll be counting on you.”
Sera bowed her trembling head.
Ian simply assumed her nervousness was due to meeting someone of high status in this territory.
[Sera has become your vassal.]
Name: Sera (Lv.2)
Race: Human
Class: Commoner
Occupation: ―
Title: ―
Loyalty: 10 Ambition: 0
Strength: 7 Agility: 6
Magic: 4 Leadership: 0
Stats that no one would pay attention to.
‘Vassal skill window!’
With her becoming his vassal, Ian could now see her skills.
He could now check the skills of his companions or vassals.
<Skills>
―Herbology (Beginner) Lv.3
Her only skill was Herbology.
It was knowledge she had gained from gathering herbs with her mother, who was an herbalist.
But these stats would change dramatically in the future.
‘Sera, you’re mine!’
Unaware of how she felt about him, Ian simply grinned.
“Young lord, please let me come with you. My daughter isn’t used to such things.”
[‘Rimil’ wishes to become your vassal. Will you accept?]
“Huh? Sure, why not.”
Thinking it was natural for the mother to be uneasy about sending her daughter alone, Ian readily agreed.
Having one more person wouldn’t hurt.
[Rimil has become your vassal.]
“Mother, please don’t worry. I’ll work hard enough for both of us!”
“My daughter is still young and knows nothing. So I’ll…”
“No, I’ll…”
‘What’s with this mother and daughter suddenly acting like they’re in a drama? And I haven’t even told them what they’ll be doing yet, so why are they making such a fuss?’
Still more of a modern person than the son of a lord, Ian had no idea his words had been misunderstood.
‘Well, they seem so eager, so they must be really grateful.’
He simply watched the mother and daughter, filled with enthusiasm (?), with a satisfied smile.
By the time they arrived at Rosen, where the lord’s estate was located, the sun had already set.
After returning the carriage and horses, Hugo urgently called Ian into his office.
Hubert, who had been working with Hugo, was also present.
“I heard you brought some women with you. Who are they?”
Hugo and Hubert had received reports about the people Ian had brought.
“Did you get into some kind of trouble without my knowledge? Did you bring them out of a sense of responsibility?”
Hugo’s anxious expression was evident.
But before Ian could respond,
“That can’t be it, Father. Brother Ian wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Young Lord Hubert is right, my lord. Young Lord Ian would never do such a thing.”
Hubert and Jurdan defended Ian.
‘This is strange. I thought Hubert and the aide despised me.’
It was odd that they were defending him.
Jurdan, whose loyalty was extremely low, was the first to quit if Ian became the lord.
Hubert was the same.
As a sibling who had lived under the same roof and witnessed Ian’s behaviour over the years, he knew better.
‘They’re saying I’m not that kind of person, but it doesn’t sound like they mean it in a good way.’
And Ian’s guess was correct.
Hubert, who had suffered more than anyone at Ian’s hands, knew his true nature better than anyone.
To Hubert, Ian was like a collection of all the worst traits one could have.
‘Bringing them out of a sense of responsibility? Even a passing kobold would laugh at that.’
The idea of this troublemaker having a sense of responsibility was laughable.
It was a strange situation where their deep-seated distrust of Ian made them defend him, even though it wasn’t true.
But Ian had something more important to report.
“I’ll explain why I brought them later. For now, please take a look at this.”
Ian pulled out a stack of documents from his coat and placed them on the table.
“What is this?”
“These are the ledgers of the loan sharks who were selling villagers into slavery from their base in Dobina Village. I found their hideout and took care of them.”
“….”
“….”
The room fell silent.
Everyone gathered in the office doubted their ears.
“W-what did you just say? You caught them?”
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
It was understandable. Hugo had issued orders to arrest them months ago, taking the matter seriously.
But there had been no news of their capture.
They kept slipping away, making it difficult to locate their base, and the investigation had hit a wall.
And now, Ian had solved the problem.
‘Is he lying to claim credit, arresting innocent people?’
Hubert briefly entertained that suspicion but quickly shook his head.
‘Brother Ian wouldn’t even know about this.’
Ian, who had no interest in managing the territory and only sought his own pleasures, wouldn’t even pretend to listen when asked to help.
If told, he would likely throw a tantrum, asking why he should bother with something that wasn’t his business, so they hadn’t even mentioned it to him.
Still, they needed to verify the facts, so Jurdan examined the ledgers first.
After skimming through them, Jurdan was stunned.
“T-this is real.”
It detailed who they lent money to, how they collected it, and even who they bribed.
Everything was recorded.
“Y-Young Lord Ian, how on earth did you find this?”
Jurdan asked in a trembling voice, unable to believe what he was seeing.
“It just happened that way.”
“….”
Unable to explain the truth, Ian’s vague answer left everyone except Hugo with expressions of disbelief.
Hubert’s face was the most twisted.
‘Everyone here has been working so hard on the investigation, and he just “happened” to find them?’
It felt like all the effort he and Hugo had put in was being dismissed.
Especially since it was Ian, whom he didn’t even want to acknowledge as his brother, who had done it.
On the other hand, Hugo didn’t seem to mind.
Even if it was by chance, his beloved son had accomplished something great.
He smiled warmly and asked,
“So, what happened to them?”
“I captured all of them, but unfortunately, the leader was killed. It seems there’s a mole in the village’s defense force. But with these ledgers, we should be able to root them out soon.”
“I see. No wonder they always managed to slip away.”
Hugo had suspected as much but never thought there would actually be a mole.
Realizing there was corruption within, Hugo nodded.
“Alright, let’s set that aside for now. Going back to what we were discussing earlier, why did you bring three people? One of them seems to be a soldier.”
“The mother and daughter were being oppressed by the loan sharks, so I brought them with me after rescuing them. The soldier from the defense force showed exceptional talent during this operation, so I thought he had potential to be trained as a knight.”
“Do you think so?”
“Or it could mean I have no eye for talent.”
Judging people’s potential was important.
Especially the ability to recognize and nurture talent was crucial.
In other words, Ian’s statement was a declaration of his commitment as a member of the Schrantz family.
Of course, Ian himself had said it without much thought, in a “take it or leave it” manner.
Hugo looked at Ian with a satisfied smile.
‘It seems Ian has matured after this mission.’
He seemed like a completely different person.
“Alright. Since it’s your doing, handle it as you see fit.”
“Understood. I’ll keep them with me for now. I plan to have the mother and daughter stay in an empty house. As a reward for their contribution, please issue them residence permits.”
All the land in the territory belonged to the lord.
Villagers lived on the land under lease, so a residence permit was sufficient.
“Very well. You’ve accomplished a great feat by taking down those who’ve been a thorn in our side for months. I’ll grant you a separate reward.”
“Thank you.”
Hubert and Jurdan, who had been listening, sighed simultaneously.
‘It seems he’s not expecting much this time, so why is Father insisting on giving him pocket money?’
No doubt he’ll spend it on alcohol or women.
While they understood the lord’s joy, it was a waste to think he’d squander the money so carelessly.
“I’ll have Sir Oswell assess whether the soldier I brought has the potential to become a knight.”
“Understood. You’ve worked hard today. Leave the cleanup to me and go rest.”
“Yes.”
Ian bowed and left the office.
