Chapter 298: Attraction

Santis took a moment to process before finally understanding what Kamail meant by “friends like you.”

He looked Kamail in the eye—or at least roughly where his eyes were—and asked, “You mean mages of common birth, not bound by the traditional mage circles or noble families, free to join the Cecil territory, and with a certain level of knowledge?”

Kamail nodded slightly. “Our lands still lack enough scholars. Though we’ve recruited a group of down-and-out scholars and mages from neighboring territories, it’s far from sufficient—in both quality and quantity. I once spoke with Jenny; I know her background is… unusual, so she has almost no connections in the capital. But you’re different, Mr. Santis. Though you come from a common background, at least you’re a legitimate, fully educated spellcaster.”

A formally trained capital mage—even the most unfortunate ones—are fundamentally different from someone like Jenny, who was born a slave. Santis’s “class” guaranteed he would have his own mage social circle, peers with whom he could speak as equals.

If Jenny was once confined to the mage tower, limited to interacting only with other slaves, Santis at least enjoyed personal freedom.

“I… do know some capital mages,” Santis hesitated, “but those who associate with me are mostly down-and-outs, rejected by the mainstream mage circles for various reasons…”

“That might actually suit my needs—and the lord’s,” Kamail said. “You teach runic logic and basic magecraft, so you should understand that a new magical technology path is developing here. In this special field, traditional mage ranks don’t mean much. What we truly value are researchers’ attitudes toward exploring the unknown, their openness to new things, and fundamental mathematical and logical talent. I’m sure among your friends there are people like that.”

Santis thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I can give it a try.”

“Good. But one more thing—being ‘rejected by the mainstream’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘exceptionally gifted.’ Most of the time, people are excluded simply because they’re not very capable. Yet such people often lull themselves with the idea that ‘no one understands my talent.’ I don’t want to hurt your feelings with blunt honesty, but I also don’t want to cause trouble for the lord. I’ve met too many self-proclaimed geniuses—they’re always difficult to deal with.”

Santis couldn’t help but laugh, clearly unoffended. “Of course, you’re right. I’ve met plenty like that myself. In the capital, down-and-out mages form all sorts of small circles, like the noble mage gatherings in high society. These ‘underground arcane clubs’ are full of people complaining about being unrecognized talents. But only a small fraction truly are; most just don’t have the skills. I’ve been part of those circles for years—I know how to tell them apart.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kamail relaxed. “Now, let’s go find the lord—he should know about this.”

Gawain stood before the map of the Cecil territory and its surroundings, staring thoughtfully at the winding mountains, plains, and forest lines.

He had drawn this map himself, striving to replicate satellite imagery with as much detail as possible while keeping it clear and intuitive. He’d also marked all the mineral deposits discovered by the pioneering legion seven centuries ago. He remembered working late in his study, drawing this map—Hetty was utterly shocked, Amber accused him of faking the map just to scare people, and Rebecca got a tap on the head from Hetty for agreeing with Amber. But as Gawain created more and more new things, he himself remained the most improbable “resurrected” figure, and the initial shock of this incredible map gradually faded.

Gawain believed that as his cartographic techniques spread, people would be less amazed by this high-precision, hand-drawn satellite map.

Amber stood beside him, eyes wide as she stared at the map, though she had no idea what Gawain was looking at. After a long while, she finally blurted out, “Hey, Gawain, what are you looking at?”

Gawain raised his hand and tapped a spot near the top of the map. “This is the Kant territory.”

Then his hand moved downward, circling a large area. “Here are the Northern Wastelands, then the North Shore settlement zone, the Whitewater River, the Cecil territory… the mining town is over here, and on this side are the western logging camps and the newly established Frostwood Village… Finally, the southeastern and southwestern plots are reserved for spring reclamation next year. This is the extent of Cecil’s current influence.”

Amber’s eyes widened. “You’ve already included Kant territory?”

Gawain ignored her and continued, almost talking to himself, “The population of the Cecil lordship’s urban area is fifteen thousand, including a large influx of craftsmen and residents who migrated from Kant territory after winter, as well as serfs and the last batch of refugees purchased from Leslie territory and others. But Kant’s administrative infrastructure is incomplete, so population statistics before winter weren’t finished. We can’t say for sure how many people live there…”

Gawain didn’t know how many people a medieval European viscounty or county might have had, but he understood that in this world, humans were physically stronger, and with fertility magic and druidic spells ensuring basic food production, the lower classes, though poor and struggling, were still numerous. Even in this long-abandoned southern region, many people were scattered across the land.

However, these people were not yet considered subjects of Cecil territory. Even Kant, which had effectively become a satellite town of Cecil, remained legally independent.

Amber stared at Gawain’s serious analysis of the territory, confused by what the man was saying. After a while, she blurted out, “So? You think the population isn’t big enough? Listen, a city of ten thousand is already pretty impressive! You…”

Gawain cut her off suddenly. “Don’t you think this area is still too small?”

Amber paused for two seconds, then her ears perked up. “…So you’ve finally decided to start a fight! Think carefully—if you try to reclaim your fief, the entire southern region will…”

“I have no such plans for now,” Gawain shot her a glance. “I just think our strategic depth is too shallow, and the potential population is far from enough.”

Amber looked puzzled. “Strategic depth? What’s that?”

Gawain thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Never mind, I can’t explain it to you.”

Amber’s eyes narrowed, ready to argue, but before she could speak, Betty’s clear voice rang from outside the study. “Master! Kamail and Mr. Santis are here to see you!”

“Oh?” Gawain was a bit surprised that these two unrelated people came together. He walked to his desk. “Let them in.”

Amber pouted but obediently stood beside Gawain. Moments later, the study door opened, and Kamail and Santis entered.

A few minutes later, after hearing their purpose, Gawain’s face showed genuine interest. “You plan to start with the capital’s mage circles, attracting talent through Santis’s network?”

“My lord, I… don’t really have a network,” Santis said nervously. “Those grand mage gatherings are the real networks. The people I know are mostly small-time, down-on-their-luck mages meeting privately. And I don’t know many of them.”

Gawain waved his hand. “No matter. As I said, our target isn’t the grand mages, just intellectuals. Honestly, I’ve thought about recruiting from the kingdom’s prosperous areas before—including the capital’s mage circles.”

Kamail asked, “You tried? Without success?”

Gawain nodded. “Yes. Though I didn’t have Santis’s connections then, I offered very high pay. Nearly a year has passed, and no one has shown interest in joining Cecil territory—you should know why.”

“Borderlands, desolate and harsh, next to the Gondor wastelands. No one thinks being a ‘magic advisor’ here has a future,” Santis suddenly understood, his voice bitter. “People in the capital don’t know the real situation here; they judge only by imagination. Cecil territory holds no appeal for them. Even with high pay, capital mages won’t leave the kingdom’s center… For most mages, the capital means the knowledge hub and promotion opportunities. No matter how down-and-out they are, they won’t leave.”

Though the founding hero’s reputation was high, mages were practical. They saw no hope in the southern lands, so the hero’s fame wasn’t enough to sway them. Gawain had offered generous pay, but not unlimited.

“Mr. Santis, do you think you can persuade your friends to leave the capital’s ‘magic center’ and become pioneers in Cecil territory?”

Santis hesitated, nervously fiddling with the buttons on his chest. “I…”

He wanted to say yes confidently, but just imagining it made him realize he lacked that confidence.

Leaving the capital wasn’t easy. Even if he personally persuaded his friends, with his “reputation” in the capital mage circles, he doubted he could convince a single person.

He didn’t have friends close enough to follow him into the wilderness on a whim—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been pushed out of the capital’s mage circles and assigned to the southern aid team in the first place.

The young arcane mage’s face darkened; his hard-won courage and enthusiasm took a heavy blow. Then Kamail suddenly spoke up.

“Lord, Cecil territory has no appeal to those capital mages, so they’re unwilling to come, right?”

“Exactly,” Gawain nodded. “To recruit talent, Cecil territory must have enough attraction.”

“We do have enough attraction,” Kamail said firmly.

Gawain raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell.”

“I,” Kamail spread his arms, bright arcs of arcane energy crackling around him, his voice humming, “am an ancient Gondor mage. Is that not enough to attract them? A grand mage from a thousand years ago personally guiding them—is that not enough? Lost ancient magical techniques—is that not enough? I refuse to believe that a thousand years later, mages have fallen so far as to lose their hunger for magic!”

Santis, Gawain, and Amber all felt a spark of excitement. Gawain smiled faintly, leaning forward. “But what if those mages who come for the ancient secrets find things aren’t what they expected? Many of your ancient spells don’t work in this era.”

“Then they’re welcome to leave!” Kamail shot back.

(End of chapter)