27 Chapter 27: Banditry is profitable
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Two months had passed since Eric inherited the viscounty.
As a form of warning, he ordered the severed heads of the bandits to be placed on a five-meter spike at the foot of Mt. Tune. He also constructed an outpost at the former bandit's base.
The bandits have three times his wealth in gold coins. For now, his financial worries are in a way resolved.
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Piran castle...
Eric's study...
Eric is scanning the reports and letters on his desk when knocks resonated from the door. "Sir. Moris is here, milord", Spencer announced the knight's arrival outside the door.
"Let him in".
Moris had been seriously wounded and had to stay at his house in town to recover, the young viscount had regularly visited the knight to check-up on him.
Moris is as tall and big as the average bear on Earth, the knight looks like a Russian soldier with gray hair and a squared jawline. Moris knelt down and bow to head to Eric.
"Milord, I thank you for taking care of me and my family while I'm recuperating, especially since my son had progressed steadily as your knight trainee".
"No need to thank me, Sir. Moris, I'm your lord, that should have been expected of me. I welcome you back to your service as my knight, I really need able men like you. You are to assume your position, I just hope Baches will feel relieved sharing the responsibility". Eric gave his order.
"Thank milord, I won't fail you".
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After solving the bandit problem, Eric tried exploring Keith's ability and made sure he knows the specific of it, what the slender man would do is imagine and remember certain emotions he felt and experienced before, then by placing his palm at someone, usually at the persons back, he would release some of his aura while visualizing a transfer of those emotions to the recipient, then the receiver will be able to feel the same exact emotions for thirty seconds.
By Keith's explanation, the ability manifested when he was training to be an awakened and tried using aura, during training the image of the nobleman who murdered his family keeps on appearing on his mind, and the strong emotion of wanting to have that person experience the despair and agony he felt, resulted in the formation of his ability.
Hearing the man's story, Eric decided and told Keith that he might help him in getting revenge in the future, as long as he became useful and loyal to him.
Eric had increased his standing army to a hundred and eighty men, two of the knight trainee also became amateurs, while the most substantial progress is Sera's awakening, even with Keith's help, becoming an awakened in just less than two months, a month and fifteen days to be exact, is nothing short of a genius.
The young lord can't really try to awaken every soldier he has, what he would do in the future is to hold some kind of test, examining the applicant's physique, intelligence, wisdom, and decision-making skills. For now, he is focusing on the potential trainees and trainees he already has in the castle.
Eric also started teaching Keith about his theories and advanced techniques, since the more Keith masters the easier it is for him to transfer those emotions to others. Eric's priority is to teach Keith concealment and object transmission techniques making him a knight master, then he planned to prioritize Drake's advancement to knight master. Eric is confident that Drake will soon learn it by himself, but he wanna make it as early as possible.
Eric would occasionally hold a closed-door lecture session with only Drake, Sera, and Keith, the individuals who are bound to him by his ability. Based on Eric's observation, Drake is serious, decisive, and cunning, he is a conjurer type, while Sera is extremely perceptive and intelligent, a manipulator. Lastly, Keith is not really the combat type and more of the scholarly perceptive guy, an emitter.
Eric would elaborate on aura usage techniques and possibilities, he already has an envisioned ability for Drake, while he is letting Sera explore for herself and come up with something. While Keith already has an ability so Eric wants the man to master it and improve.
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Later that day, two hours after the aura training session.
Eric is back in his study drinking some self-made ginger tea with honey while reading records about iron mines.
Knocks sounded on the door, "La-lady Sera's here milord", Spencer announced.
Eric smiled a little and said, "let her in".
Sera sat at the front of the big desk facing the young viscount, staring at the tea poured by her cousin.
"Try it".
"Thank you, milord".
"Something to report?"
"Yes, milord".
Sera had sent half a dozen people to Baron Jar's territory, pretending to be immigrants wanting to live a better life in a bigger town. One of the individuals she sent was able to work under the merchant who is well connected to the Baron.
Eric had learned from Keith that stolen goods that his crew acquired would be sold for a fixed price to a middle man that turns to be one of Baron's Jar's people, the Baron will profit by selling the goods to other merchant groups at a higher price.
That is why Eric ordered Sera to focus on the merchants in the Baron's inner circle.
"We might have found the warehouse, where they store the stolen goods, milord. We also believe the Baron has ties to a number of bandit crew around the area".
'Banditry has increased significantly around the southeastern region, and Baron Jar might be one of the reasons for it'.
"I understand, I'll have Drake go and take a closer look at it. Good work cousin".
"Thank you milord", Sera stood and walk out of the room.
Eric also stood and walk towards the window and looked at the horizon, feeling the night's breeze on his face, "banditry is really profitable, maybe I should try it too. Ku ku ku".
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