"Looks like Dugan found a good place," Corbin Joasen said, looking at the letter Dugan had written to Landen. "Of our group, only he and John got to go to Blue Dragon School, which is a relief. The rest of us were sent to various places."
Corbin stared blankly, recalling those familiar faces from over a decade ago. "They assured me back then that they were just coming in to go through the motions, that nothing would happen, and that we just needed to keep an eye on things, and everything would be normal the next day," he muttered.
"Captain?" Landen asked softly, seeing his superior in a daze.
"What do you mean, 'everything as usual'?" Corbin's voice rose, the letter crumpled and torn easily by the Count's large hand. "So in the end, they're the ones doing everything as usual, and we're all taking the blame for these rebels?"
"Sir?" Landen said loudly, trying to calm him down, "Please don't bring up old, trivial matters."
"Ah, Landen," Corbin finally came back to reality.
"Call me Captain, or Old Corbin, but don't call me Count, it sounds like an insult." Old Corbin gave a wry smile. "Look around here, is there anything about this place that looks like a place for Count?"
"Don't you have a Patrol Squad of 50 Knight under your command?" In Landen's view, Corbin Count only Royal Capital and subordinates to serve him, but also a title and Transcendent rank. His current life was something that his other superior, Earl Kempins the Count Bristle-Wolf, could only envy.
" The Patrol Squad you mentioned has 25 members who are the Royal Palace Knight Order ' honor guard, 15 of whom are young men from various families registered here, and 5 of whom are His Majesty's sister's Little White."
"Well, so our sacrificial Patrol Squad is just a place for all sorts of people with connections to collect salaries without working?" Landen thought to himself, complaining about the 80% of his unit's salaries being paid without working, while admiring the princess for managing to put five of her lovers in one unit.
After silently counting the number of people, Landen asked, "Where are the remaining 10 Knight?"
"... The rest are my sons." Old Corbin looked at Landen, "... and that's my sons."
Well, what Landen admires most is that the Count has 10 sons, and each of them meets the standards for joining the Knight Order Knight Order, which requires at least a junior level to enter.
"Does your granddaughter work here too?" Landen suddenly remembered the girl he had seen at the door.
"You've seen my eldest daughter-in-law? She's the accountant here; the others aren't here..." The Count pondered which Landen was referring to.
"Your accounting office is in the tree?" Landen pointed to the shrine gate. "When I came in, I saw a girl in the treehouse by the entrance."
"A girl?" Old Corbin's brow furrowed, then suddenly relaxed. "You're not talking about the Arbor Great Fairy, are you?"
"A... fairy?" Landen suddenly became interested.
"Yes, that's not my granddaughter," the old Knight chuckled. "She's the Great Magic Fairy of the Pine Tree and tall trees around here, Liel the Tall Tree. It seems you haven't seen Great Fairy before, have you?"
" Dragon Terrace Mountain is rich in magical elements, with Dragon Nest at its summit and multiple Magic Tower on its slopes. Therefore, it is easy for Magic Fairy to emerge here, and ordinary Magic Fairy can also easily advance their ranks here," the Count said, looking towards the shrine gate. " Liel Qiaomu was promoted 200 years ago under the throne of Her Tyriana Dragonblood, and has since protected all the trees on Dragon Terrace Mountain."
"Every tree on Dragon Terrace Mountain is her spy; otherwise, our Patrol Squad, which is paid without working, wouldn't be able to protect the shrine."
"So the Great Magic Fairy is the true guardian of this place, and our Patrol Squad is just there in name only?" Although Landen had already guessed it, the Count's frankness still shocked him.
"Yes, that's how it is. So you didn't actually need to come. You've already got your permit to go up the mountain. The salary for this temporary post isn't much; you can get it directly from the Royal Palace. We don't have anything to do here." The old Count spread his hands and said, "You're not the only one on this temporary post; there are seven or eight Deputy Captain alone."
"Okay, then I'll head back." Landen nodded. Since the boss had confirmed that she didn't need to come to work, there was no need to rush back.
"Please wait a moment, Viscount Landen," the old Knight said with difficulty as he rose from his recliner, "Do you need an assistant or a family Knight by your side?"
"What?"
The old man pointed to his grandson, "My grandson, Tierney Joasen, is 15 years old and Junior Knight. This shrine Patrol Squad is really full. If you need a family Knight, could you take him with you?"
"Grandpa?" Tierney was also very surprised to hear the old Count mention him.
"My lord, can't you keep Tierney by your side?" Landen, somewhat puzzled. "You've already brought in all ten of your sons, what's one more grandson?"
"Don't let the fact that this place is just a place where people draw salaries without working fool you; not just anyone can come and eat here," the Count said, patting his grandson. "My ten sons all broke through to higher levels nine years ago, and I had to plead with the higher-ups for a long time to get them all in. Tierney was too young then, and although he's qualified to Knight now, there's no place for him."
"Well, Count Excellency, my place isn't exactly a pleasant one. Tierney is used to living in these mountains and might not be able to adapt." Landen didn't want to take over the young master beside him, after all, his Knight Order were really going to fight the Barbarian to the death, but he didn't want to refuse outright either.
"It's alright, he's young, how can he not endure any hardship?" The old Count didn't seem to care much, and even leaned closer to whisper to Landen, "My boy will at least reach the Silver Knight in the future, he has much more potential than Dugan."
Landen eventually agreed to Count Joasen's request. Although Tierney was a relative, he had connections that allowed him to enter and leave the Royal Palace. Even if the boy stayed in Dragon Tooth City to help deliver messages, it would still be useful.
Tierney did not go down the mountain with Landen because he wanted to say goodbye to his father, uncles, and Liel Jormu.
When Landen returned, he saw the complete form of the Arbor Great Fairy, which resembled a 1.6-meter-tall girl with gray-green hair and two pairs of huge, blue-green wings resembling bees and butterflies behind her.
"Little Tierney, are you leaving already?" The Great Fairy hugged Tierney tightly, very reluctant to part with her. "Who will play with me if you leave?"
" Liel, don't be sad. I should come to see you in a few days." The Knight Tierney actually nestled in the Great Fairy's arms.
Landen was still thinking, wasn't that Great Fairy already 200 years old? Sure enough, under the Fairy Queen's rule, the Great Fairy's lifespan was indeed longer.
" Liel has watched Tierney grow up since he was a child. Without her help, Tierney wouldn't be Junior Knight now," the Count explained to Landen.
At this moment, however, Landen finally realized that although old Corbin looked down on his so-called Count title, he had never left this shrine.
It's probably because of the great fairy Liel Arbor Great Fairy here. With the Great Fairy's protection, their family can produce High-Rank professionals generation after generation. Even if the family has fallen in Wealth and status (actually not, that Count wasn't self-proclaimed, and his salary was still quite considerable; they could also freely harvest Magic Plant around Dragon Terrace Mountain), they can still rise again sooner or later because they produce talented people generation after generation.
In short, Landen's boss had reached the ceiling of his career and started to give up. However, he never imagined that his current state after giving up would be exactly what Count Bristle-Wolf dreamed of.
Some sell themselves for their family and Bloodline, only to end up with nothing, while others inherit a legacy and start their own businesses. The joys and sorrows of life are indeed diverse. Landen sighed as he descended the mountain.
At 3 p. m., Gleia arrived at the Landen Chamber of Commerce of Commerce to hitch a ride back to school.
" Liel Tree? I've met her. She's one of the most powerful Great Fairy under Queen Tyriana's command. She usually oversees the growth of the trees on Dragon Terrace Mountain." As Landen recounted his experiences on Dragon Terrace Mountain that day, Gleia further introduced Landen to the Magic Fairy.
"I heard that you composed several songs of completely different styles on the Gallop Plains?"
Gleia brought up Landen's astonishing (and outrageous) creative level, which made Landen feel somewhat ashamed.
Have you ever sung any songs about dragons?
"Oh... there really is one," Landen thought for a moment, and actually remembered a song related to dragons, "There's one called < Clear Sky Rhapsody >."
"Oh no, how could this happen?"
Just because of some small things in the past,
It's as if I'm seeing my former self.
Da la la la la la la la
I don't know why this is happening.
He only wanted to fly directly into the sky.
Then he entered a willful state.
As mood changes, the past
It seems like it was like this from the beginning, not what I truly wanted.
I have the courage to transform into the wings behind you.
No matter how time is considered, my magic remains unchanged.
To commemorate our first meeting, I offer you a bouquet of flowers.
Even if we can't communicate, it doesn't matter, as long as tomorrow is just another ordinary day.
"This is... a description of a dragon?"
"I heard it's a song written by a dragon about himself." Landen didn't know if the theme song from the Dragon Girl anime in his previous life could be considered Dragon Kingdom song, but Gleia definitely hadn't heard such a cheerful song.
"That must be a gentle dragon."