The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

39 – The Value of a Name in the World of Swords

“…You got a job? You?”

“The tone of disbelief, had it been someone else, might have felt dismissive, but as the voice belonged solely to his sister, it didn’t sting as much.

“Oh. So, it’s settled.”

“You’re still a student. Where did you get a job?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Isn’t that strange? The place you joined?”

“You don’t trust me?”

“That’s not it.”

Even if their relationship mirrored that of real siblings, Seller never underestimated Ashheit’s abilities.

While his skill with a sword was nothing remarkable, administratively, he surpassed Seller by far.

Hence, he was considering employing himself in the Royal Knights’ administrative staff upon graduation from the academy.

“How long are you going to work?”

Ashheit simply extended two fingers without saying a word.

“Two years, then straight to the knights after work, I suppose.”

Seller never even dreamed that the two fingers Ashheit held out signified 20 years.

******

In the study of Count Asrian’s mansion, where the entire family had gathered, Count Asrian suddenly spoke up.

“No response.”

“He must have suffered a lot.”

As rumors of Logan suffering from Stella’s curse reached Count Asrian, the Count and his wife had sent a letter of apology to Logan for the incidents, but even after nearly a month, there was no reply.

“Perhaps going to him directly would be best.”

Lady Astrian’s words made Rephaire click his tongue softly.

“It’s not a relationship that can be reversed at this point.”

Rephaire knew Logan well.

If he hadn’t said anything, maybe she wouldn’t have known, but after boldly expressing his intention to sever ties with the Astrian family, a few apologies wouldn’t make it right.

“I bet she’s even blocked the letters.”

It was clear that she hadn’t just ignored or unread the letters, but had specifically asked the postman not to deliver any letters addressed to the Astrian family.

As evidence, Logan’s recent reply to Rephaire’s letter didn’t include any mention of the letter sent to him by the Astrian family.

“I think it’s counterproductive for my sister-in-law to visit him right now.”

He wasn’t lying.

Lady Astrian visiting Logan now, and in the future, would only be counterproductive.

“So, I’ll go and talk to him myself. How about the Astrian family returning?”

This was a blatant lie.

She would go, engage in trivial small talk, discuss the money in Logan’s reply, and come back to tell him that Logan had no intention of returning to the Astrian family.

“Given the circumstances, wouldn’t it be better if I went in person?”

“I think it would be better for me to approach him than my sister-in-law. Once the wounds heal, I’ll be able to bring him back to see the family, whether he wants to or not.”

Rephaire’s persuasion was well received, and it was decided that she would go to see Logan as the representative.

“I’ll go too. I haven’t earned Logan as my brother-in-law’s resentment. I think I can be of great help if I go with you.”

There was no way to refuse Royan’s joining, so she was taken along, but it wouldn’t disrupt the bigger plan.

*****

“Astrian! Put more strength into your sword!”

Logan gave up the sword, but that didn’t mean he could completely avoid swordsmanship classes.

His method of admission itself was proof of his sword skills, so it was impossible for him to switch to a different department altogether.

That’s why, while taking swordsmanship classes, Logan would spend his time thinking about other things, but the new swordsmanship instructor didn’t allow him to indulge in his distractions.

“Direct guidance from Master Gumsung…”

“I heard rumors that Master Gumsung is Asrian’s master. That’s why she’s here as an instructor this time.”

Arna had decided not to hide the fact that Logan was her disciple anymore, but revealing that he was her disciple right now posed a risk.

So, she only maintained rumors to the extent of ‘just a rumor~’, but as she conducted her lectures, she couldn’t help but show favoritism towards Logan, and the rumors quickly spread like wildfire.

Of course, the rumors were not always wholesome.

“I heard there was even a rumor that Logan was Master Gumsung’s slave?”

Of course, students who spouted such nonsense were promptly reprimanded by Gumsung, so the baseless rumors didn’t spread far.

“It’s good for us, isn’t it? Thanks to Asrian, we get to receive guidance from Master Gumsung as well.”

Arna had become a professor at the academy to keep an eye on Logan, but she didn’t neglect her duties as a professor.

While she did favor Logan a bit, she did her best to guide the students during swordsmanship training.

“Shohel, it would be better for you to try using mana a little more slowly.”

The opportunity to receive swordsmanship guidance from Gumsung was rare, so students from all grades were selected to receive her guidance.

50% from the 2nd year, 40% from the 3rd year, and only 10% from the 1st year were chosen, and Arna was confidently one of the three chosen from the 1st year to attend Gumsung’s swordsmanship classes.

“Understood!”

“More talented than I thought?”

Arna, with a name similar to his own and seemingly friendly with Logan, didn’t particularly appeal to Yeong, but her sword skills were indeed real.

Apart from Arna, who far surpassed human abilities, there were few in the Empire who possessed talent greater than hers.

‘I can’t always protect Logan.’

Even without considering the prestige attached to the name Geomseong, it was true that I couldn’t always be by Logan’s side.

Considering the scant time I had actually spent by Logan’s side in the past ten years, even though I was far from sufficient, cultivating enough skill in swordsmanship to protect Logan was quite effective.

‘It’s unpleasant, but…’

Shohel hadn’t done anything wrong, but it seemed that some rigorous training for a while would help ease the mind.

While Arna devoted herself to training Shohel in swordsmanship, Logan embarked on a new business.

Despite the acceleration in the development of engine-powered machines through the recruitment of Ashuhiit, they were not yet completed enough for release. Hence, Logan started a business that would guarantee income for a while.

“You’re a real genius.”

From Noble mtl dot com

Although the production of cars using magical engines took more time, the engine itself was almost complete, capable of generating almost infinite power given enough mana.

What caught Logan’s attention first was, unsurprisingly, the automated production line.

The aim was to automate the production of expensive items, as they required a lot of craftsmanship when made by human hands, thereby reducing their unit cost. The first thing that caught their eye was ingots.

The profit from simply smelting them might not be very high, but well-refined ingots could be sold in any blacksmith, given their versatility.

Despite the considerable investment in machinery and funds to refine iron and shape it into ingots after creating structures that could move items automatically using power and produce temperatures of over several thousand degrees using mana, it seemed not so difficult to reach the breakeven point when consistently extracting a certain level of ingots.

“Offer additional incentives!”

The idea of automating ingot production was Logan’s, but to materialize it, Ashuhiit’s knowledge was absolutely essential.

Ashuhiit, who had spent a week designing and experimenting without proper access to the academy, seemed to have bloodshot eyes, probably due to that.

“Of course.”

Logan readily paid the additional incentives.

It wasn’t regrettable at all.

Without Ashuhiit, many things would have taken at least another month to accomplish.

Simply paying a little more money could afford him a workforce of twenty thousand. It was truly a stroke of great luck.

“Why do I feel like I’m at a loss?” Logan responded with a smile to Ashit’s chubby expression.

*****

‘Regarding Logan’s matter…’

Each day bit into it and chewed.

Until he received his first disciplinary action, he thought this matter would quickly pass each day.

Logan had a painful story, but he lacked the strength, and people generally disliked hearing the same story repeatedly.

He quickly thought the story would fade away and find its place again.

However, the situation increasingly favored Haru day by day.

Rumors spread that Logan, a disciple of the Swordmaster, was shamelessly selling iron ingots, raking in a considerable sum.

It was a disruption to the system’s economy, and while other forces could have restrained him, the Swordmaster’s name sheltered Logan.

‘This can’t go on.’

Something decisive was needed.

A clear move that would bring about Logan’s downfall.

If he continued to procrastinate, his position would become even more precarious.

‘In the end, you’re just trash, aren’t you?’

Lea Haru began cautiously seeking out those who had suffered from Logan at the point where he was supposedly cursed.