Baron Raven Ota Griffith

Baron Raven Ota Griffith

"So, this is all the property my dear uncle left me..."

In the Eagle Fortress meeting room, Raven tossed a shriveled money pouch onto the table. Three gold coins bounced out and nearly rolled off the uneven tabletop before Raven pinned them down with his palm.

"Thirteen gold coins in total!?"

Old Gordon awkwardly adjusted his monocle. "More precisely, thirteen gold coins, fifty silver coins, and thirty-seven copper coins..."

"Why is there so little?" Raven asked.

"You know that anything related to magic is extremely expensive." Old Gordon carefully chose his words. "Lord Donald had been obsessed with researching 'magic,' draining the family's gold reserves. To fund it, he even leased out all the territory across the Golden Sand River."

"Shining Gold Town, Eagle Quarry, and Thousand Needle Pine Forest. Those three lands account for ninety percent of Eagle Territory's population and income."

Raven's brow twitched. "Then... roughly how much do those three lands bring in each year, and how long are the leases?"

At that, Gordon let out a helpless sigh. He flipped his notebook to a particular page and pushed it, along with two contracts, before Raven.

Raven stared at them, his brow tightly furrowed. After a long while, he finally let out a heavy sigh.

The most valuable was Shining Gold Town. Though it had only two thousand residents, its thriving trade brought in no less than four hundred gold coins in taxes each year, and in good years, even more than seven hundred.

The other two lands, Eagle Quarry and Thousand Needle Pine Forest, were not as valuable as Shining Gold Town, but together they had over two thousand residents and generated roughly three hundred and twenty to four hundred and seventy gold coins in profit each year.

Yet Raven's uncle, Baron Donald, had leased those two places out separately: the former to Viscount John of the Luke Family, and the latter to Baron Anger of the Worton Family.

For fifty years at a time!

Even now, forty years remained on the leases.

Though they had brought in a total of sixteen thousand gold coins, none of that money had reached Raven's hands!

Donald! Did you really have to squander the family fortune this badly!?

Raven roared silently inside, then turned expressionlessly to Eric. "What is your annual salary?"

"Sixty gold coins, my lord." Eric looked puzzled.

For a First-tier Transcendent, that was a perfectly reasonable price, well within Raven's expectations.

What surprised Raven instead was Old Gordon's ability. With fewer than five hundred mu of farmland, he could not only feed eight hundred serfs, but still maintain a surplus after supporting a First-tier Transcendent.

Gordon truly knew how to manage money.

"That makes five gold coins a month." Raven pushed the pouch, now containing ten gold coins, toward Eric. "This is two months' pay in advance."

"Then go to my room and bring over the chest under the bed."

With a clink, another gold coin arced from Raven's hand and landed in the pouch. "That is your bonus."

A hint of delight appeared in Eric's eyes. He pocketed the pouch and turned to leave.

Soon, Eric returned, carrying the money chest one-handed and setting it on the table. Raven opened it with some reluctance. "Mr. Gordon, tell me about our plans from here."

Old Gordon took out a notebook, spread it open on the table, and adjusted his monocle. "To hold your succession ceremony alongside Lord Donald's Memorial Service, first, we will need to spend one hundred gold coins to redecorate the castle..."

"Can't we save a little?" Raven asked. "There will not be many guests anyway. Wouldn't it be enough to repair the hall and a few guest rooms?"

"My lord, this is already the absolute minimum. Any lower would disgrace a baron's status. And the scope has been strictly limited to the hall, guest rooms, and washrooms."

"Wait, the washrooms?" Raven pulled the notebook closer and frowned at its contents. "Why do the washrooms need to be rebuilt? And why would that cost ten gold coins!?"

Gordon said earnestly, "My lord, the washrooms will be among the places guests visit most frequently. We cannot be careless. And we are already cutting costs as much as possible. If we did not still have some Granite Marble in stock, the expense would be even greater."

Raven had to admit that Gordon had a point. "Fine. What is next?"

"Your formal attire," Gordon said. "That will cost around one hundred and twenty gold coins..."

"How much!?" Raven abruptly sat up straight. "One hundred and twenty gold coins?"

"Uncle Donald's old formal clothes could be altered into three sets for me!"

Gordon explained, "As a noble, your attire must be newly tailored, perfectly fitted, and worthy of your esteemed status. It requires gold thread, silver thread, and gold and silver ornaments blessed by priests of the Lord of Light."

"Beyond that, there are emerald gemstones representing your noble status. These traditions have accumulated over centuries. If you do not follow them, I am afraid you will be unable to fit into that circle."

Raven sighed helplessly.

People respected fine clothes before they respected the man.

That saying from his previous life still held true in this world.

Though Raven disliked such so-called traditions, he currently had neither the intention nor the strength to oppose the entire noble class. He could only follow local customs. "Understood. What else?"

Gordon adjusted his monocle. "The remaining major expense is the 'gift money' for the Noble Council Inspector. You know, this is to let Lord Donald 'rest in peace.' That will cost around two hundred gold coins."

After saying that, he looked at Raven. To his surprise, Raven remained extremely calm about this expense and simply waved his hand in approval.

Because Raven's experience in this life had taught him that whenever money could solve a problem, it was best not to create unnecessary complications.

He would treat it as two hundred gold coins spent to buy a baron's title!

"The next expense..." Gordon had barely begun when a knock sounded at the door.

After receiving Raven's permission, the guard Link entered. He presented a document with both hands. "My lord, a knight riding a Gryphon just delivered this letter. He said I had to hand it to you personally."

Raven nodded and took it. "You may leave."

With that, he held the document in his hand and examined it carefully.

The document was in the form of a scroll, made from fine Parchment and sealed with wax. The seal bore the letters N&C in ornate, elegant script.

When Raven opened the document and read it, his expression darkened by the moment, while a cold sneer tugged at his lips.

Gordon and Eric had no idea what was happening, but neither dared ask after seeing Raven's expression. They could only stare at each other.

After all, Old Gordon was a cultured old man. Staring into Eric's little eyes would have been far too rude.

"Ha! Good. Very good!" Raven slammed the document onto the table, laughing in fury. "The Noble Council... what a joke!"

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, then flung the scroll onto the table. "Read it yourselves."

Gordon took the document and adjusted the focus of his monocle. Unable to contain himself, Eric leaned over his shoulder to read it.

Slowly, Gordon's hand began to tremble. Then the entire table shook—that was Eric's hand trembling.

Even the usually composed Old Gordon's lips turned purple with rage. "Shameless! Utterly shameless! This is nothing less than blasphemy against the name of nobility!"

"Damned parasite, trash!" Eric slammed his fist onto the table. "I want to drag this Winston here and stuff gold coins down his throat one by one!"

The document's wording was far from friendly. It could even be called deliberately provocative.

First, it gave a lengthy account of Raven's lowly origins. Using more than a dozen words and rhetorical devices, including but not limited to examples, parallelism, and metaphors, it compared Raven to rats, cockroaches, and bedbugs, ultimately concluding that Raven was still better than those creatures in certain respects.

It then viciously disparaged Eagle Territory, claiming that only a lowlife of Raven's background would regard such a poor, fragmented backwater as a treasure.

Finally, the noble named Winston Ota Ingle graciously provided an address, ordering Raven to deliver three hundred and sixty gold coins, along with genealogical records and other information, to the Gryphon Knight in Shining Gold Town within three days. Only then would Raven be allowed to inherit the baron's title.

"This is blatant extortion!" Even refined Old Gordon was thoroughly enraged. "My lord, we cannot pay this money! I will immediately write a complaint and send it to the Noble Parliament in the royal capital! We must seek justice!"

Raven had already calmed down. He could also guess what Winston had been thinking when he wrote the document.

The Noble Council's members were all nobles, but most were collateral branches without inheritance rights. True nobles disdained involving themselves in such "mundane affairs."

Winston's middle name was "Ota," which meant he was a legitimate viscount or baron, and certainly one without fiefdoms.

Such nobles were commonly called Court Nobles.

Of course, that was only the official term. In reality, people preferred to call them Landless Nobles, pitiful dependents, or the king's lackeys.

A noble without land was like a dog with its spine broken. No matter how high the title, they had no status.

The document's vicious tone was most likely born of jealous resentment.

"Calm down, Old Gordon," Raven said with a smile. "It is merely the impotent barking of a stray dog. Getting the title is what truly matters."

Gordon was still unwilling to accept it. "But..."

"Mr. Gordon, I know what you are thinking." Raven grasped his aged, withered arm. "As a member of the Griffith Family and lord of Eagle Territory, believe me when I say that I am no less angry than you."

"But anger solves nothing. Before the formalities are complete, I do not even count as a noble. I do not even have the right to throw a glove in his face and demand a duel!"

"What we need to do now is secure the baron's title, manage the territory well, and wait until we have gold coins by the handful. One day, he will come begging us for help!"

The Noble Council operated entirely on donations from local nobles.

Gordon drew a deep breath. "I understand, my lord."

He organized the documents in his hand and tore out several pages. "In that case, the money for renovations and formal attire can be delayed. But there is one expense we must pay."

"Security."

Gordon said, "Every year, from January to July, the Bloody Highlands enter the rainy season. The roads become muddy and difficult to travel, so Bandits often cross Eagle Mountain and come to plunder the surrounding area."

"Although the only territory we actually control is Eagle Town and Eagle Fortress, we cannot neglect defense. We must protect the... the residents' safety."

Gordon said residents, but Raven understood that what he truly meant was the lord—that was, Lord Baron Raven, who was still an ordinary man.

"What do you suggest?" Raven asked.

"Go to Shining Gold Town and hire a mercenary squad," Gordon said. "A standard twelve-man mercenary squad usually has one First-tier Transcendent. We would not need to provide equipment. Hiring them for a year would cost around one hundred and ten gold coins."

Raven tapped his fingers against the wooden table and slowly shook his head. "No."

Raven was no stranger to mercenaries. In this world, they had always had a poor reputation.

They were crude, rude, hot-tempered, and often relied on their strength to do whatever they pleased. On the surface, they obeyed the law, but once they ran short of money, they could become robbers, murderers, and kidnappers at any moment.

And Raven currently had only Eric, a single Transcendent, at his disposal. He lacked the force needed to keep a mercenary squad in check.

It was easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away.

If those people refused to leave, they might even shake Raven's already fragile foundations.

After he voiced his concerns, Gordon's brow creased deeply. Eric, however, had an idea. "My lord, I once served in the Steel Legion. I know some old friends who retired for various reasons. If you are willing to give them somewhere to settle, I can go to Monen City and recruit them for you!"

"No!" Old Gordon immediately rejected the suggestion. "Right now, you are the only Transcendent in the territory. You absolutely cannot leave!"

Raven silently noted Eric's words and agreed with Old Gordon. "Indeed. We can discuss that after our finances improve somewhat."

Eric asked, "Then... what should we do?"

"Train troops!" Raven rapped the table. "As a baron, I can have five Enfeoffed Knights and a private army of up to five hundred men. Since we have no usable force at hand, we will train our own!"

As he spoke, his gaze turned toward Old Gordon. "How much food and weaponry do we have left in the warehouse?"

Gordon immediately reported the figures. "My lord, there are currently fifty thousand kilograms of Coarse Wheat Flour in storage, thirteen hundred kilograms of salted meat and jerky, and approximately five hundred kilograms of cheese."

"As for weapons and equipment... I counted them only the day before yesterday. There are only a dozen or so sets of worn Leather Armor and around fifty rusted weapons left."

"I understand." He stood and gave his orders. "Eric, immediately take the gold coins to Shining Gold Town. Find that Gryphon Knight, then buy enough Leather Armor and spears there to equip fifty men!"

"Yes, my lord!" Eric rose to his feet, his fist striking his armor with a booming clang.

"Mr. Gordon, you will go with him as well," Raven said. "Eagle Territory is in desperate need of rebuilding. Every coin must be spent where it matters most."

Old Gordon stood and bowed. "I will follow your instructions."

Eric drove a carriage carrying Gordon away at a slow pace.

Raven stood by the window, watching the two men recede into the distance, his gaze profound.

There was no doubt that Donald had left him with a complete mess.

A fragmented territory, strained finances, and almost nonexistent military strength.

Yet his goals were equally clear.

Reclaim the lands that rightfully belonged to Eagle Territory.

Earn more gold coins.

Build an army of his own!

Two days later, Eric and Gordon returned. With them came two wagonloads of equipment and a document:

"By this order:

Following the Noble Council's fair, enlightened, and prompt review, Raven Griffith is found to possess pure blood, fine character, and the humility, integrity, compassion, courage, justice, sacrifice, honor, and soul befitting a noble.

He is hereby permitted to inherit the baron's title of the Griffith Family, to use the glorious middle name 'Ota,' and to inherit, without reduction, the two thousand two hundred mu of fief land belonging to Eagle Territory."

Gordon read it aloud in a clear, resonant voice. Then, regardless of the dirt on the ground, he dropped to one knee and held up the Gilded Document.

Raven accepted it and pinned the Crest attached to it onto the left side of his chest.

Eric also dropped to one knee and lowered his head. "Congratulations to Lord Raven on officially inheriting the baron's title!"

Raven stood in the Morning Light. Before him were only two utterly loyal retainers.

The scene was somewhat lonely, but Raven's heart had never burned more fiercely.

From this moment onward, he was Raven Ota Griffith.

An Imperial Baron!

In the future, far more than these two people would kneel at his feet!

"Rise!" Raven helped them both up. "Our journey has only just begun!"

"Eric, ring the bell!"

"Gather every able-bodied man in Eagle Town.

Train the troops!"