Leonard's father
After returning from Shulin Village, Elena was finally able to pour out all the questions in her mind.
"Why are all the people in your village different from us?" Elena said "different" people euphemistically instead of using sensitive words like "strange, mutated, bestial", for fear of causing Leonard's displeasure.
Leonard replied, "Because their ancestors were all pitiful people from that dark age. Magical beasts not only devour humans, but the dark aura they carry also contaminates them. Those contaminated will gradually transform into beasts. Many will go mad and die during the transformation. The lucky few who survive will also become monsters. These beast-transformed people will never be accepted by human society, and the Magical beasts won't consider them Magical either. So they become aliens rejected by both worlds."
It was another heavy history. Elena pursed her lips tightly, feeling heavy in her heart.
After a long silence, Elena looked up and asked Leonard: "Is that village their final habitat?"
Leonard nodded.
"Then why did you become the chief of that village?" Elena asked again.
Leonard replied: "Actually, I am the second village chief. The first village chief was my father. He was a golden knight and a true knight. He was fair, brave, honest and compassionate."
"Because he was a true knight, he couldn't bear to see people suffer. Seeing those beastmen being driven away, harmed, and left with nowhere to go, he felt pity for them. He found them a place on the Paddes Prairie, built them houses, set up defenses, and even bought them food, cloth, and daily necessities. Gradually, this place became a village dedicated entirely to the beastmen."
A glimmer of admiration appeared in Elena's eyes. Although she did not have such great love and could not do such a great thing, she respected such people.
"He's a great man."
Leonard nodded. "He's truly great. But to be honest, the village's establishment wasn't solely due to my father's efforts. His friends also helped him a lot. Otherwise, in that era, such actions would have been too sensitive and too dangerous, and could easily have drawn attacks from outsiders."
"After the village was established, my father traveled all over the continent, bringing back beastmen from all over. Sometimes he would bring back some pitiful normal people he saw, regardless of whether they were disabled or seriously ill. My father always said that even if it was irreparable, they should be given a final peaceful time. Oh, and I was actually brought back by my father as well. I'm one of his adopted sons, and the youngest."
Leonard smiled at Elena.
Elena's green cat-like eyes widened even wider.
Leonard continued, "My father ruled this village for over a hundred years, spending more than half his life here. Fortunately, with the end of the Dark Ages, the normal people in the village have found their own places to go and can return to the human world, which has greatly reduced my father's burden."
Speaking of this, Leonard couldn't help but sigh, "Raising humans is truly a difficult task. Beastmen have difficulty reproducing, so over time, their numbers have naturally decreased. But normal humans are incredibly fertile, giving birth to large litters upon litters. Raising them is truly a heavy burden."
"My father was busy taking on missions every day to make money, but the money he earned was barely enough to support them. Fortunately, the human world also underwent many changes. Some kingdoms disappeared, some kingdoms split, and some kingdoms were annexed. More and more places needed people. Only after sending normal people away could my father breathe a sigh of relief."
Elena blinked: "What about you? Did you send it out too?"
Leonard nodded. "Of course. Only if I go out can I integrate into the human world, take orders and make money, and bring money back. Otherwise, if I stay in the village, even if I'm strong, can farm and hunt, how much money can I make? It's still just eating for nothing."
Elena suddenly understood why Leonard always kept to himself.
Because in his heart, he does not identify with the identity of a "normal person", he does not think he should belong to human society, his real home is Shulin Village, and his family are beastmen.
In the human world, he is a loner, and human society is just his training ground and the place where he works.
"So, you got all your money back?" Elena's face showed a rare expression of respect. She didn't respect many people, and Leonard was fortunate to be one of them.
Leonard looked up at the sky. "Of course, this is my responsibility. My father was already very old when I was adopted, and his health deteriorated even more when I grew up. Even though he's a Golden Knight, his life span is finite. How can I bear to see him struggling so hard to make money at such an old age? This kind of thing should, of course, be done by a son like me."
"Where are your brothers?" Elena asked again.
Leonard shrugged: "Either they lack talent or character, and they're all too old. They still have to rely on me."
Elena opened her mouth and wanted to ask her father, but finally closed it.
Although Elena is not a very smart and versatile person, she is not stupid either. Leonard is already the second village chief, and she did not see his father when she went to Shulin Village, so his father should have passed away.
She didn't know how to comfort him, and felt that dry comfort was meaningless and embarrassing.
"Because you are the best and most powerful, you became the second village chief?" Elena winked deliberately playfully.
Leonard was indeed amused by her. "That's about right. Of course, there's another more important reason. I'm the Golden Knight. Only I can protect the villagers if I take over as village chief. The others are too weak. They just need to take care of themselves."
Elena nodded: "This consideration is very correct." After all, this is a world where the strong are respected, and the real truth is the strong fist.
Leonard continued with a smile, "Also, even though Shulin Village is far away from human society, it actually has a bit of a reputation. Many beastmen have special abilities, like extraordinary strength, accurate mineral finding skills, and the ability to tame animals. In short, many people seek them out for work. I have to be there to protect them, making sure they don't get bullied or tricked into signing a master-servant contract. Without sufficient strength, I can't be a good village chief."
Elena nodded as she listened: "You are right."
Leonard picked up several large bags of finches and said, "Jenny, who suggested we bring these birds, is the beastman who understands bird language best."
Elena immediately smiled sweetly: "Then he must be right. Well, now that we have brought back the insect-eating birds, let's go to the insect-infested village and release them."
Leonard nodded.
Elena left as soon as she said she would. She cast a wind spell and took Leonard out of the castle.
The extent of the insect infestation can be seen from the extent of the vegetation damage, which is clearly visible from a high altitude.
This insect plague is a bit serious. It affects not just the two villages that Elena "foresaw", but five villages. The reason why there were only two villages in the "forecast" is probably a problem of information transmission. The transmission speed is too slow and the information is incomplete.
Leonard shook open the net bag and released the bigfinches.
After chirping and flying around aimlessly for a few times, the great finches finally realized that they were being released. They then formed teams, locked onto their targets, and dived towards the ground.
After the great finch was released, Elena took Leonard to the five villages affected by the insect plague and told the village chiefs not to harm the birds.
"These birds all have my marks on them. If one is missing, your village will have to pay an extra bag of tax grain next tax month." Elena warned in advance.
The five village chiefs repeatedly assured that they would never harm the birds.
After giving the instructions, Elena took Leonard back to the Viscount's Mansion. It takes time for a bird to eat an insect. There is no point in just waiting. She will come back tomorrow.
Moreover, she also had to prepare food and cloth for the villagers of Shulin Village.
As soon as they entered the hall of the Viscount's Mansion, Elena and Leonard saw Leopold.
Leopold sat in an ottoman with a book in his hand, and there were teacups and desserts on the coffee table in front of him.
He looked up at the two of them and asked, "Where did you go to play?"
Ah, I forgot! Elena's heart skipped a beat.
When she saw Teacher Leopold, Elena remembered what she had forgotten. She forgot to ask the tailor whether the wizard robe was ready.
Elena quickly replied to Leopold, "Several villages have had beetles appear. Leonard and I went to catch some finches and have them eat the beetles."
Then she instructed the old housekeeper, "Send someone to ask the tailor if the mage robe is ready. If it is, bring it here immediately."
Seeing that Elena still remembered the wizard robe, Leopold couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth a little higher.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to rush you." Leopold didn't care about his "hypocrisy". "I just came here for dinner."
When it comes to eating for free, Leopold is quite open about it. This is the benefit of being a teacher.
Elena looked at the old butler, who immediately replied, "The kitchen is ready, and we can have dinner anytime."
"Okay, let's eat." Elena said.
After dinner, the tailor brought the wizard's robe. The robe was extremely exquisite, with gold-edged embroidery in many places. It looked very high-end and classy at first glance.
Leopold was pleased.
This is the wizard robe that suits his status.
Leopold returned to the Royal Academy of Magic with satisfaction, as the purpose of his visit today had been achieved.
After Leopold left, Elena immediately took the opportunity to summon the treasurer and the general manager of warehouses.
The treasurer and the general manager of warehouses hurried over immediately after receiving the summons.
It's so late, what could be the emergency? Both of them were a little worried.
The two hurried into the Viscount's Mansion, but unexpectedly, the Viscountess and Lord Leonard were waiting in the hall, which made them even more nervous.
"Miss Viscount, Lord Leonard." The treasurer and the warehouse manager saluted respectfully.
Elena said straight to the point, "I called you here tonight because I have something urgent for you to do. I need to know the available cash and the food and fabric in the warehouse. Please verify it as soon as possible and report to me."
She needed a definite total number before she could make the next arrangements. Food and cloth had to be given to Shulin Village, and the five villages that had suffered from insect plagues also needed food relief. If the total number was not clear, the subsequent arrangements could not be made.
The treasurer and the warehouse manager immediately withdrew. They immediately summoned their men and checked the information overnight.
The next morning, the Finance Officer and the Warehouse Manager came to report with red eyes.
Elena quickly arranged the food in the warehouse. Half of it was kept as reserve food, and the other half was divided into two parts. One part was sent to the five villages affected by the insect plague, and the other part was taken out and prepared to be delivered to Shulin Village.
As for the cloth, there is not much in the warehouse, because there are not many textile workshops in the Field Territory, so the cloth submitted for tax deduction is naturally less, but the quality is still good and can be given to Shulin Village.
Elena turned around and instructed the financial officer: "Go and purchase some fabrics. They need to be strong and durable, but also have some nice patterns. In terms of the total amount, buy a whole truckload first."
The treasurer received the order.
The subordinates were very efficient in handling matters that the lord cared about. Before noon, the food for the five villages had been loaded onto trucks and sent out. The finance officer also purchased a truckload of cloth, and all of it, along with the allocated food, was loaded onto the truck, awaiting the lord's instructions.
Elena drew several teleportation scrolls and refined new positioning points throughout the morning, and gave them all to Leonard. Leonard then delivered the food and cloth to Shulin Village himself.
"What about you? Don't you want to go over and take a look?" Leonard asked as he took the teleportation scroll and the new location point.
Elena shook her head: "No, I think Mr. Leopold will come to me for enchantment class soon. His wizard robes haven't been enchanted yet."
Knowing his friend's character, Leonard asked, "Did you also buy the magic gem?"
Elena nodded.
Leonard felt a little unhappy. Leopold had taken too many advantages.
"You should let him pay for it himself." Leonard frowned. "Forget it, you must be too embarrassed to tell him. I'll tell him the next time I see him."
Elena said, "It's actually okay. They're just a few magic gems. Mr. Leopold has taught me so many classes, so it's only right that I give him a gift. The magic gems are just accessories to the wizard's robe and can't be counted separately."
Leonard snorted twice: "It's still a bargain for him."
Elena knew that Leonard was speaking for her, and she was happy in her heart, and the smile on her face became a little sweeter: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore, go to Shulin Village quickly."
"Okay, I'll be leaving then. See you tonight." Leonard waved.
"See you tonight." Elena waved.
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