chapter_0012

12 – A National-Level Mage Comes to the Territory

12 – A National-Level Mage Comes to the Territory

That day was a truly beautiful day.

It was the perfect time to plant crops in the newly cleared fields, so I thought it was fortunate.

Just as I was thinking that today would be peaceful, the news came to me.

“‘Crimson Sorcerer Sharen’ has come to see the lord.”

“…I must have misheard you; I didn’t sleep well last night. Hart, who did you say came?”

“The candidate for sage and the heir to the Red Tower, ‘Crimson Sorcerer Sharen,’ has come to see the lord.”

‘Crimson Sorcerer Sharen’

The moment I heard that name, the knowledge of my past life and my current life clashed and screamed.

That name was also in Calix’s memories.

A free half-elf magician who roamed the empire without serving any lord.

Rumors said that she could perform the work of a hundred magicians alone, annihilate an orc legion, and heal a village suffering from a plague with a single spell, suggesting she possessed the abilities of a grand magician or even a sage.

No, it was true that she was one of the candidates for the heir of the Red Tower, so the rumors were almost facts.

And the Sharen in my past memories was one of the human rights characters known as the Three Divine Instruments in the World Archive.

The evaluations of Sharen I saw on strategy sites were as follows.

“If you don’t take Sharen with you, hell will break loose in large-scale battles.”

“No, you’ll see hell even in the territory part.”

“I’m in hell right now. Damn it.”

She was one of the strongest SSR magicians receiving such evaluations.

One might think I should be happy that such a magician has come.

The problem is that there is something called reputation in the World Archive.

This reputation not only includes what I do well but also what my subordinates do well.

Just as Guan Yu’s reputation rose when he returned to Liu Bei after beheading An Liang and Mun Chu, if I were to have a top-tier magician like Sharen as my subordinate, my reputation would skyrocket.

If that happens, I could evolve from being “beloved but incompetent, so let’s keep him alive” to “beloved and with competent subordinates, so let’s kill him.”

In other words, Sharen’s visit was terrifying news for me.

“This is an opportunity! Let’s invite Sharen as our exclusive magician, my lord!”

“I agree with Noah. If someone like Sharen becomes the exclusive magician of the Crones Family, it will be a great strength.”

Whether they knew my feelings or not, Noah and Hart raised their voices to recruit Sharen.

Sharen was one of the characters that was extremely difficult to recruit unless obtained through spending money.

I had played casually without closely examining strategy sites, and I hadn’t met or obtained Sharen until I finished the game.

“Where shall we accommodate Sharen?”

In the meantime, the guard who brought the news spoke.

Hart answered as if it were obvious.

“Isn’t it obvious? Bring her to the guest room for dignitaries; we have the best guest room in the southern castle, so take her there!”

“Yes! Understood.”

Hart commanded that she be taken to the guest room for dignitaries as if it were a matter of course.

Considering the magicians I had seen in the World Archive, it would indeed be the right choice to accommodate her there.

Magicians generally had high pride.

But the problem was that I shouldn’t press that right answer now.

If I were to recruit Sharen, my life could be in danger, so I said.

“Wait a moment!”

“My lord?”

“Please accommodate Sorcerer Sharen at the inn in the commoners’ district.”

“What!?”

“My lord!!”

“My lord! That’s not good. If high-minded magicians receive such treatment, they will leave immediately.”

I know; that’s exactly what I want.

Suppressing my desire to respond to Noah’s words, I answered.

“I have my reasons for saying this. Follow my orders.”

“My lord… understood. Accommodate Sharen at the inn.”

“Yes! Understood.”

Hart spoke as if he had no choice, and the guard left the room.

This time, even Noah looked at me sulkily, as if he couldn’t understand my words.

I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped.

Just with Noah’s reputation, I already felt I was in a very dangerous situation.

If Sharen became my vassal, it would truly become an unmanageable situation.

Thus, I sent Sharen to the inn.

“You can stay here.”

“Thank you.”

Sharen was guided to the inn with her mother and daughter.

The room at the inn was very ordinary.

It was a very typical inn room by the standards of this era, with a bed made of wood, cloth, and straw, and a wooden table sitting alone.

“Wow!! A bed!!!”

Laila seemed so happy to be able to sleep in a bed after a long time that she jumped right onto it.

Sharen was very surprised by her treatment.

For years, whenever she received news of her arrival, lords had guided her to luxurious rooms.

Each time, she couldn’t sleep due to the screams of spirits felt in the luxurious rooms.

But this place was plain and simple.

And it felt warmer than any room she had been guided to before.

“I need to ventilate this place.”

Aila, Laila’s mother, immediately began cleaning and opened the window.

When the window was opened, the territory of Cron came into view.

In the fading sunset, she could see the people of Cron living their lives.

Workers were diligently working in the salt fields, and in the distance, she could see people clearing new land.

In the nearby market, merchants were selling good goods, and mothers were haggling to buy them at a lower price.

In the meantime, the officials guiding outsiders like herself were bustling around.

It wasn’t flashy, but everyone was working hard with bright smiles.

As bright as their smiles, the spirits also flew around the sky of Cron, smiling.

“Wow… it’s beautiful, Sharen.”

“It is… truly beautiful.”

How long had it been since she had seen such a beautiful territory?

No, it was the first time in her life that she had seen a territory where everyone looked so happy.

After spending a comfortable day at the inn, the next day, a guard came to visit.

“Sharen, the lord has a request for you.”

“Yes… please go ahead.”

Sharen felt nervous.

Whenever a high-ranking official made a request like this, it was always a disgusting request for her own sake.

As Sharen was feeling tense, the guard said.

“The lord has asked for your help in healing the commoners.”

“Pardon?”

Currently, the territory of Cron was facing a severe shortage of doctors due to a large influx of immigrants.

Relieved by the lord of Cron’s request for her help, Sharen gladly accepted.

Thus, guided by the guard, Sharen began to roam the territory, healing people.

During this time, she witnessed an astonishing sight.

It was a farmland under cultivation.

At the front was a silver-haired young man, and behind him were many people.

And with the young man’s shout, they began to plant crops in the field together.

“Then everyone, one!”

“‘One!!!!’”

“Two!”

“‘Two!!!!’”

As the silver-haired young man shouted, the people planted crops in the field without any gaps.

Feeling an undeniable nobility, Sharen asked the guard beside her.

“Who is that noble-looking silver-haired person?”

“Oh! That person is our lord of Cron, Calix Crone!!”

Sharen was astonished by the guard’s words.

It was hard to believe that such a young lord was the lord of this paradise.

“That person?… But why is the lord doing farm work directly?”

“Our lord says that farming is the most important task to fill people’s bellies. So he participates in farming to set an example.”

“I see…”

There is a saying: “Farming is the foundation of all under heaven.”

Everyone knows it and understands it, but it is rare for a leader to step forward and execute it.

Sharen had seen lords who valued securing food through agriculture.

But she had never seen a lord who took the initiative like that.

Curiosity about Lord Calix grew within Sharen.

A week passed.

Sharen stayed in the territory and asked the people about the lord.

Everyone told similar stories.

“The lord? He’s a very good person! Thanks to the lord, we no longer have days of hunger!”

“Our lord is a gift from heaven! There’s no lord like him anywhere in the world.”

“Oh, there’s no need to mention the lord. If anyone speaks ill of the lord in our territory, they will die. Seriously.”

“Thanks to the lord accepting us, we were able to survive. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if we had been dragged to the Lion Family… I’m so grateful even now.”

Everyone loved, cherished, and praised Lord Calix.

There were sometimes lords who brainwashed their commoners with magic, drugs, or religion.

But in such cases, there was no unnatural magical wave from the spirits.

They genuinely loved their lord.

And Sharen even met that family.

“The lord is a benefactor of our family. He has made it possible for us to eat and live abundantly and saved my son, who almost died in a storm. Our family will repay that grace until the moment we die.”

“That’s right! The lord saved my life, so I will definitely repay that grace!!”

Sharen was astonished by the words that the lord had saved their lives.

Was the bard’s song true?

However, living in the human world had made Sharen more suspicious, so she cautiously asked.

“Would it be alright if I saw the memory of that time?”

“Is it possible to see memories with magic?”

At Baron’s question, Sharen nodded.

Baron boldly said.

“Of course! Feel free to look. Just… please only look at that memory. The next day with Aron’s mother…”

“Dear!!”

Seeing the affectionate couple, Sharen smiled slightly.

“Understood. Don’t worry. I will read only that memory. Now… please recall that memory.”

As Sharen placed her hand on Baron’s head, she used the memory projection magic.

Amidst the whirlpool of countless memories, that memory unfolded before Sharen’s eyes.

In the stormy sea, the shoes of the abandoned child and the sound of their wailing echoed.

In that memory filled with despair, his gaze turned toward the sea.

Then, there was the silver-haired lord she had seen, emerging from the sea with the child in his arms, placing his hand on the child’s heart, and desperately taking action.

Whether that action was effective or not, the child coughed up water and regained consciousness.

That scene, devoid of any magic or blessing, was the most beautiful sight of a lord Sharen had ever seen.

“You must have suffered… thank you for showing me the memory.”

“No, thank you, Sorceress. We are more grateful for receiving treatment for free.”

Seeing that memory, Sharen felt her mind clear.

Sharen made up her mind.

I met Sharen a week after she arrived.

The time spent like this was to make Sharen turn her heart away from me.

She must have been disappointed in me, the incompetent lord who gave a room in an inn to a magician respected and revered everywhere and only healed commoners for a week.

Honestly, I didn’t want to see her like this forever, but Hart and Noah kept urging me to make proposals to her, so I called Sharen to at least show off as a lord.

“Hello. I am Sharen.”

“I am Calix Crone. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Crimson Sorcerer Sharen.”

In person, Sharen was as beautiful as a goddess of flames.

With her short elven ears typical of half-elves, her flowing red hair down to her neck, and her goddess-like beauty, it was truly breathtaking.

Feeling my eyes being treated, I said.

“I’m sorry for not meeting you sooner. I’ve had a lot of affairs in the territory.”

“It’s alright. I understand, my lord.”

She looked at me with a strange gaze.

It was different from Noah’s.

If I were to compare it, it felt like a sister cheering on her younger brother?

I felt something like that.

“Let’s get to the point; the Crones Family would like you to become the exclusive magician of our territory.”

Avoiding her gaze, I got straight to the point.

Beating around the bush was not my style.

And there was no need to do so.

I had already heard that she was investigating me and our family.

Then she would know.

I had no money because I invested everything in the commoners, and there was a lot of work due to the immigrants.

There was no way someone of her caliber would become the exclusive magician of a rural territory at the southern end like this.

It was akin to Zhuge Liang serving under Liu Bei, who had nothing, and such a thing wouldn’t happen easily.

Thinking that way, I spoke, and Sharen answered immediately.

“Yes.”

“Really? That’s unfortunate… huh? What did you just say, Sharen?”

Lately, I felt my hearing wasn’t good.

So I asked again, and she answered clearly.

“I will become the exclusive magician of the Crones Family, my lord.”

That day, I became Liu Bei.

Author’s Note:

The protagonist wanted to live comfortably as Yoo Sun but ended up opening a path of hardship as Liu Bei.