"You're talking absolute bullshit. I'm standing right in front of you!"
Sean could only watch as this old geezer sprayed him with accusations, yet he couldn't argue back... To outsiders, everything that happened in a territory was attributed to the lord's leadership.
And it was true—without the local lord making decisions, the residents wouldn't go too far out of line.
Now, Sean had no chance to ask the previous Viscount Weigel why he insisted on keeping the town independent. From the manuscripts and items he later organized, it wasn't hard to see that his 'father' had actually wanted to connect with the outside world. Otherwise, why would he have taken a liking to painting?
In a town raised under that kind of education, who would appreciate painting?
Clearly, he wanted to interact with other nobles... But for some reason, he never managed to leave that small town in his lifetime, leaving behind a pile of portraits stored in the warehouse.
Perhaps noticing the displeasure on Sean's face, the old coachman stepped in to smooth things over.
"Isn't the current Viscount Weigel doing well? They say he's a young heir with great insight!"
"I've heard about that too. Word has it that when Taylormian was hit by a snow disaster, that Viscount personally led people to help and even requested aid from Koga City. It caused quite a stir and earned him praise in many places." The man scratched his chin as he spoke.
Huh?
Sean hadn't expected that he, a reclusive local lord, would have such a far-reaching reputation!
Quite surprising.
Suddenly, he recalled the man mentioning 'the forest town!' when talking about Taylormian's situation...
So that's it!
Only then did Sean grasp the full chain of events.
No wonder Count Hamilton had been so generous, giving him all those supplies at once—not just relief goods, but also a hundred thousand gold coins and plenty of food. There was a purpose behind it all.
Taylormian had always been known among the surrounding nobles' territories for its isolation. When disaster struck and they sought help from Koga City, news spread quickly, so Count Hamilton had to assist.
Now it seemed this not only brought Sean some good reputation but also earned similar praise for the generous count.
At the time, it coincided with the selection of the count's heir, so Sean hadn't considered this angle. More importantly, he never realized how much attention his little town attracted in the region until he stepped out.
Aelia probably didn't know her family's plans back then, which was why she helped him without holding back, and he hadn't noticed any other signs from her... Later, after she returned, someone must have tipped her off.
So that was the end of it.
This explained why the trade routes to the town had gone quiet after she left.
She had already secured his support, and the count had achieved his goal, so there was no need to keep funding Taylormian.
As for the mercenary guild and trade market, they were just fulfilling their promises, so Sean couldn't accuse the Hamiltons of going back on their word.
Tsk~
Each taking what they needed.
Sean had no reason to resent them. He was just glad he had stepped out.
Otherwise, he might never have known what the outside world was really like...
Sean followed the convoy and had a simple meal at the inn. The meat here was something he'd never tasted in his town—a particularly flavorful type of poultry.
As he ate, Sean kept an eye on the people around him.
Those talking were in [Conversation!]; those sitting alone were almost all in [Listening Intently!], including that sturdy Adac woman.
It seemed the old coachman was right—this place was great for exchanging information. Almost all caravan drivers would swap news from various regions here, and then these tidbits would spread everywhere through merchants to the public...
This must be the most common way rumors circulated in this world.
After eating, Sean booked a private room to rest...
The convoy had planned to share rooms to save money, but Sean, as a despicable capitalist noble, refused and chose his own room.
It was quieter this way, with no interruptions!
More importantly, he could study the grimoire Lucille had given him.
Back home, Sean had never opened it to study... mainly because he was busy during the day, and at night, he'd get too tired after practicing a bit of magic.
He kept putting it off, thinking he'd start reading tomorrow, but he hadn't even flipped it open yet!
However, today's events made Sean reconsider his travel goals. While there were agreements among nobles, such pacts also depended on one's strength.
Right now, he lacked the leverage to negotiate with the Count of Koga City.
For the time being, Aelia Hamilton was still fulfilling her obligations. At least until she secured her inheritance, Sean figured his town would still get some benefits.
But if she won or lost, whether that support would continue was uncertain.
So he needed to boost his own 'weight.'
Leave development to Luke, while he himself needed enough strength to face potential challenges from the Wizards' Association.
From the day he buried Bachler, Sean had never forgotten that...
He lit the candles in the room,
And opened the grimoire.
It was a handwritten manuscript with messy script, but the curves of the letters were somewhat endearing, suggesting it was written by a girl or Lucille herself.
Her grimoire divided magic into several categories: Combat, Support, Alchemy, Summoning, and Other Rare Magic.
Rare magic referred to special spells like witchcraft, necromancy, and so on.
Some were individual spells recorded and completed, so anything unclassified fell into this category.
After skimming a few pages, Sean felt these spells weren't much help to him... except for the alchemy formulas and magic circle diagrams, which might be useful. The rest seemed unnecessary.
Because the way he understood magic release relied on imagination and proficiency. As long as his magic proficiency improved, he should be able to cast these spells.
Still, Sean decided to give it a try and see...
How his understanding of magic differed from the common type in this world.
He flipped to the summoning section, which had fewer spells and was easier to read through.
He found one called [Mind Sight].
Wasn't this the spell Lucille often used on her ravens!
He hadn't seen many spells so far, but [Mind Sight] was definitely memorable.
He opened the window. The road outside was pitch black.
The only light came from the inn and a few surrounding buildings. Beyond a dozen meters, the road was invisible, but he could hear crickets and animal calls.
Sean guessed they were night birds like hawks or owls.
It was too dark to even see their health bars, but he could locate the target by the sound's direction...
Pointing at the page of characters, he recited them somewhat awkwardly.
If an ordinary person chanted these incantations, they'd likely have no effect. But since Sean had unlocked his magical talent and gained magic proficiency, casting felt different.
Suddenly, Sean noticed a green bar appear just above the book at the bottom of his vision.
A casting bar~
He could actually see a casting bar now!
The spell displayed [Mind Sight~] followed by a casting time of about five seconds. Since the bar completed, Sean assumed it was successful.
But he didn't feel anything special.
Was it too dark, so the 'spell ineffective' text wasn't visible?
However, when Sean closed his eyes and tried opening them again, his entire perspective shifted.
It felt like he was standing on a tree trunk across the way...
Facing himself, standing by the window dozens of meters away!!