Pfft!
The corner of Lawrence’s mouth rose slightly as he watched Lilgia’s agitated state, as if he found the sight ridiculous.
However, although it was merely a sneer, the unstable atmosphere Lilgia had been giving off vanished like the ebbing tide.
That was how great Lawrence’s presence was.
Compared to Lawrence, Lilgia was nothing but a small candle beneath the sun.
“For someone who is only a Lower Aura User, your pride is practically a Sword Master. In my opinion, you might be the weakest knight in the entire Kingdom of Lumiere.”
Lawrence’s condemnation was merciless.
At the extremely direct criticism, the knights who could no longer bear to watch sent gazes that seemed to ask whether this was not enough, but when Lawrence glanced at them, they all lowered their heads and tucked their tails like dogs.
Under Lawrence’s continued mockery, Lilgia, whose heart had already been stinging and burning with anger, choked again and again, as if a ball of fire had filled his chest and made it impossible to breathe.
It was the first time he had ever received such an insult.
He badly wanted to refute it, but no particular words came to mind, and overwhelmed by Lawrence’s momentum, he could not open his mouth.
“Y-Y-You.”
Lilgia let out a groan through his teeth, clenched his fists so tightly that the blood drained from them, and trembled all over.
It was true that he had grumbled a few words, but he thought this was too much, far too much.
His pride had been wounded by Lawrence’s relentless fact-based beatdown, and he was nearly losing his mind.
Lilgia wanted to storm out, but he could not.
Because he knew better than anyone that if he was driven out of the count’s house, he was nothing.
It was because he had the fence of the count’s house around him that he had enjoyed so many benefits until now.
Even the wages he received were no small amount.
With his ability, he would not be able to receive that much money anywhere else.
And had he not personally seen the knights who were expelled from the territory?
That miserable sight of them being struck by stones thrown by the people of the territory.
Even so, Lilgia did not lower his head.
His precious pride kept him from bowing until the very end.
At that sight, Lawrence’s eyes rippled fiercely.
His gaze was thick with disgust, as if he no longer even wanted to deal with him.
“What are you all doing! Drag this bastard out at once. And expel his family from the territory along with him.”
Even so, Lawrence did not touch Lilgia’s mana circuit or property like he had with Juan’s gang before.
That was the best favor he could show.
Of course, he knew very well that Lilgia would not be grateful for it.
“Yes!!”
The moment Lawrence’s stern order fell, the knights rushed at Lilgia.
As Lilgia was dragged away by the knights’ rough hands, not only was his collar torn, but his skin was scraped against the stone floor and bled.
His body shook like a branch swept away by rough waves.
Only after the situation had reached this point did Lilgia barely come to his senses.
Blinded by pride, he had failed to properly grasp reality.
“No!!”
The scream that burst from Lilgia’s mouth contained desperation.
If he was expelled like this, it was clear that not only he, but his beloved family would be finished.
The faces of his elderly parents, his wife, and his four children passed through his mind one after another.
Under the heavy responsibility he felt toward his family, he felt pressure as if he could not breathe.
Thinking that this truly could not happen, he used every last bit of strength he had to escape the knights’ grasp and knelt before Lawrence.
“Y-Young Master. I must have lost my mind for a moment. This will absolutely never happen again. Please forgive me just once.”
Lilgia hurriedly clung to Lawrence’s leg and pleaded tearfully.
But Lawrence, whose heart had already turned away, remained cold.
In order to make sure something like this never happened again, he needed to cut off the sprout completely.
“Forgiveness…… When I went out and fought at the Barrier Wall, I saw many fine talents. With the money spent on you, I could easily raise two knights better than you and still have plenty left. They would be grateful for that grace their whole lives and faithfully carry out a knight’s duty.”
These were not words Lawrence spoke to mock Lilgia. They were what he sincerely thought.
The soldiers had worked with bone-carving resolve to protect the territory’s peace, which the knights had turned their backs on, and among them, a few had shown dazzling growth.
And in truth, Lawrence had no expectations not only for Lilgia, but for the remaining knights either.
They had simply not actively joined Juan’s gang. It was still true that they had clung to them, neglected their own duties, and enjoyed only the benefits.
From the beginning, aside from Martin, he had planned to expel all of them someday.
They were merely beings meant to buy time until new knights could be raised.
New wine had to be placed in new wineskins.
These men had already lost the qualifications of knights.
If they wished to regain those qualifications, they would need bone-carving effort and sacrifice.
And the reason Lawrence could take such a hard line was that he had something to rely on.
It was the fact that Jason’s injured mana circuit was healing.
The reason Lawrence had gone to the Barrier Wall every day and hunted monsters was not only because he wanted to protect the territory and raise his level.
Another hidden reason was to heal Jason’s mana circuit.
Naturally, the shop activated through his interface ability sold Healing Potions.
In the game, a Healing Potion was like a divine medicine that healed any wound.
Then would there not be a possibility that it could restore a mana circuit as well? Lawrence had thought.
And in order to prove his hypothesis, Lawrence first purchased a Lowest-Grade Healing Potion.
In truth, he had wanted to purchase a highest-grade Healing Potion, but even the Lowest-Grade Healing Potion was not cheap.
The price of a Lowest-Grade Healing Potion was 300 points.
That was the amount of points that could only be obtained by killing a full 300 goblins.
In the game, hunting 300 goblins was nothing, but reality was different.
Three hundred goblins were not a pixel army inside a game, but savage living creatures with sharp teeth and claws.
Only after fighting a fierce, life-or-death struggle in which not a single mistake was allowed could points be obtained.
Moreover, it required hundreds of times more effort and time than in the game.
In addition, even if the hunt succeeded, realistic problems that followed, such as injury treatment, equipment repair, Barrier Wall duty, and so on, piled up like mountains.
But even if he had to endure all of that, healing his father’s mana circuit was worth far more than that, so Lawrence secretly mixed the Healing Potion into the wine his father drank.
And a few days later, the effect appeared.
His father’s complexion improved noticeably, and his mana operation became far smoother than before.
After confirming that there was an effect, Lawrence continued purchasing Lowest-Grade Healing Potions whenever points gathered and had his father take them.
At this rate, full recovery was not far away.
Therefore, if his father regained his former martial power, the number of knights would not be a major problem.
Moreover, now that Lawrence was there too, there was no need to worry about the territory’s safety.
“As I said earlier, Lilgia is no longer a person of our territory. I have no intention of reversing my decision, so drag that bastard out at once.”
Following Lawrence’s order, the knights approached in perfect order and grabbed Lilgia by the scruff of the neck.
“Let go, let go, you bastards. What are you doing right now? I said let go.”
Lilgia struggled violently, but in the end, he was merely dragged out of the training ground like a dog being hauled off to be sold to a dog dealer.
“Y-Young Master. I was wrong. I will do well from now on. Please forgive me just once.”
Lilgia still seemed unable to give up his lingering attachment and pleaded desperately with tears in his voice, but it was useless.
That was the last anyone saw of him.
Before long, the knights who had dragged Lilgia out returned, and the already heavy atmosphere sank even further.
The remaining knights merely watched Lawrence’s expression with complicated faces.
A short while later, Lawrence, who had been standing silently, looked at each of the remaining knights’ faces one by one, then slowly opened his mouth.
“I believe all of you felt something as you watched Lilgia be expelled just now. I will say this in advance. Those who think training is difficult should leave now. Those who have no desire to become stronger do not possess the qualifications of knights. The only knights qualified to remain here are those with indomitable will and those who constantly sharpen and polish themselves. And from this moment on, I will officially take office as Knight Commander, while Martin will serve as Vice Commander. If anyone has any complaints about this, speak here and now."
In truth, until just a moment ago, Lawrence had not intended to become Knight Commander himself.
Until now, it had been custom for the Knight Commander to be chosen from among the Knight Order, and considering the knights’ morale, that was best.
Once the structure had been established to a certain degree, he had intended to raise Martin to Knight Commander.
However, seeing their behavior now, Martin alone seemed insufficient.
Thus, Lawrence decided that he himself had to take the position of Knight Commander.
“…….”
And even if they had complaints, there was no knight bold enough to protest to Lawrence in this atmosphere.
In that way, Lawrence seized control of the Knight Order in one stroke.
Fortunately, perhaps because making an example of Lilgia had been effective, the remaining knights did their utmost not to fall out of Lawrence’s favor.
Although their duties increased further after Lilgia left, they did not so much as open their mouths.
Meanwhile, the ones most delighted by Lawrence’s official inauguration as Knight Commander were none other than the soldiers.
When they first learned that Lawrence was the count’s son, the soldiers could not hide their astonishment.
The comrade who had laughed with them, cursed with them, and fought monsters with them, and who had been more easygoing than anyone else, was actually the count’s son.
Because it was Lawrence, someone they had never imagined could be the count’s son, their shock could only be even greater.
They worried whether they might have made some mistake until then, or whether some restriction would be placed on them, but contrary to their worries, Lawrence treated them exactly the same as before.
He still mingled with the soldiers without distance, listened to their hardships, and stepped forward first for dangerous work.
At Lawrence’s appearance, the soldiers cheered.
Despite being a noble, Lawrence treated them like comrades, like family. He was someone they had desperately wanted all this time, someone they could truly trust and follow.
The first thing Lawrence began after becoming Knight Commander was repairing the Barrier Wall and clearing its surroundings.
“Mm, its condition is so poor that it’s truly a wonder it hasn’t collapsed until now. Thank you for holding out this long.”
The Barrier Wall, which had been neglected for years, was precarious enough to collapse at any moment.
Thinking that this could not continue, Lawrence immediately began repair work on the Barrier Wall.
It was work carried out in a dangerous environment where monsters could attack at any time, but Lawrence personally took the lead, and fortunately, the work was completed without a single casualty.
They also removed all the grass that had grown thick around the Barrier Wall and blocked the field of view.
It was quite difficult work, but even so, the soldiers did not lose their smiles.
Because the ones who knew best how necessary this work was, and who wanted to do it most, were the soldiers themselves.
Unlike before, the repaired Barrier Wall gave a sense of stability, and the clear, open field of view would allow them to notice immediately even if monsters invaded.
Under Lawrence’s leadership, all defenses were completed, and now only the work of moving forward remained.
Time passed quickly.
And finally, Jason, having completed the recovery of his mana circuit, appeared at the Barrier Wall for the first time in six years.
The soldiers who witnessed his majestic appearance, which they had thought they would never see again, let out cheers of joy.
Some soldiers even shed tears.
‘As expected of Father.’
When Lawrence saw the soldiers cheering, his chest swelled hotly.
“Everyone, I truly thank you. Because all of you were here, this territory could be defended. I will live with this gratitude carved deeply into my heart for the rest of my life.”
Jason, who had looked over the soldiers with a warm gaze, bowed his head deeply with gratitude.
This was an event difficult to explain even with the word unprecedented.
A noble was bowing his head to commoners!
Something that could never happen according to the common sense of this era had occurred.
That was how much nobles valued authority and dignity more dearly than their lives.
They were people who would not hesitate to do anything if it meant protecting their authority and dignity.
The soldiers who saw Jason’s action were so shocked that the Barrier Wall, which had been filled with joy, was suddenly covered by a heavy silence.
“Jason, Jason.”
As everyone was only watching one another’s reactions, one soldier chanted Jason’s name.
And that chant began spreading like wildfire, until at last, every soldier began chanting Jason’s name.
This emotion rising like a tide from the depths of everyone’s hearts was none other than awe and gratitude.
Jason’s figure filled Lawrence’s vision.
It felt as if he were looking at a giant.
He focused all his senses so he would not miss even a single moment of his proud father’s appearance.
That night, a grand feast was held at the castle.
Food and drink were prepared to celebrate Jason’s recovery, and lively music was played.
All the people of the territory gathered with one heart and one will to congratulate Jason and pray for his health.
Jason, the main figure of the feast, smiled and expressed his thanks to the people of the territory.
“Thanks to all your prayers and support, I was able to rise again. In order to repay that feeling, I will do my utmost for all of you. This place will now change. As before, we will actively subjugate monsters and lead the territory’s prosperity with the resources obtained from the Monster Forest.”
The moment Jason’s words of gratitude ended, the people of the territory burst into cheers.
The sight was as if radiant hope had wrapped around the people.
Until late into the night, Jason ate, drank, and talked together with the people of the territory.
Thus, the pleasant night deepened for everyone.
And a few days later, full-scale combat began.