Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 66: Reconstruction of Mudside (2)

Hardin, Cobalt, Malion, and even Mulgybson.

The four of them trudged through the rough wooden buildings erected along the coast.

"The dining area is over there."

As Hardin pointed in one direction, they could see a large group seated around wooden tables that looked hastily chopped and assembled from logs.

At a glance, there were easily a hundred people, chatting noisily.

Noticing Hardin’s group, the village chief quickly came over in small, hurried steps to greet and guide them.

"Y-Young Master! Please, sit over here."

"Ah, thank you."

The four of them were led to the head table, situated at the far end.

And soon after—

“Whoa...”

“Y-Young Master!”

Viscount Cobalt and Mulgybson's eyes widened in surprise.

The wooden table was filled to the brim with seafood.

Steamed lobster, grilled fish, and a stew loaded with clams.

"This table might just break under the weight."

"There’s no table leg to break, though."

"It’s just a saying. A saying."

As Hardin replied, pouting slightly, Cobalt cleared his throat in embarrassment.

At that moment, the village chief spoke with a grin.

"Hoho, ever since the Spider Crab disappeared… fish have been biting like crazy. All thanks to you, Young Master."

"Already? That’s quicker than I expected."

"Yes, it seems many of them had been too scared to come near while the beast was around. Here, would you like to see?"

"...Hmm?"

The village chief stepped aside briefly and lifted the lid of a nearby wooden crate.

Splash!

Water splashed up and hit Hardin in the face.

Hardin stepped back momentarily, his eyes widening.

"...Wow."

The crate was overflowing with fish, conch, octopus, squid, and other seafood.

With no proper fish hold available yet, they seemed to be using crates as a temporary storage solution.

"To catch this much in just a few days..."

How much had they lost because of just one Kreveion?

The ones behind it… he could just grab them and smash their arms and legs right now...

Hardin trembled with fury for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

'No. There's nothing I can do about it right now.'

First, food.

The fantastic scent of the sea mixed with the smoky aroma of the fire tickled his nose, making his mouth water.

Just then, as Viscount Cobalt licked his lips, unable to tear his eyes away—

Poke poke!

Hardin jabbed his elbow into his father's side and said,

"Father, let’s pray. I’m hungry."

"Ah… y-yes."

When Cobalt lifted his head, he saw everyone looking at him.

They were all waiting.

"Keep it short, we’re hungry."

"How short?"

"As short as possible."

Viscount Cobalt clasped his hands together tightly.

He moved his lips for a while, then slowly turned his head and said,

"Excuse me, village chief."

"Ah, yes, did you call me?"

“It would be better for you to do it than for me.”

“Pardon? Me, sir? I couldn’t possibly…”

“No, it’s Mudside that suffered the most because of all this. That’s why I think it’s only right for you to do it.”

“…”

“It’s really fine. I’d feel more at ease if you did it.”

“If you insist, then…”

After a moment of hesitation, the village chief finally nodded.

He clasped his hands tightly together and spoke in a calm voice.

“First, I’d like to give thanks to everyone in our family who made it possible for us to eat this meal… and especially to the Young Master.”

“Huh? Me?”

As Hardin tilted his head and pointed at himself, everyone at the table looked at him with pleased expressions.

“Yes, I heard everything in detail from Manton. Without the Young Master’s courage and sacrifice… there’s no way a day like this could’ve come.”

“Oh, really?”

When Hardin turned his head and looked toward Manton at the far end of the table, he noticed Manton quickly averting his gaze.

‘You little…’

At that moment, the cheers of the people of Mudside erupted.

“You’ve done so much for us, Young Master!”

“Thank you so much!”

Hardin waved his hands dismissively.

“Hey now, that’s enough. No need for all this. Let’s eat, I’m starving.”

His twitching lips and awkward smile showed on his face.

Though he didn’t say it outright, that alone was enough for everyone to understand how Hardin felt.

“Thank you for the meal!”

“Enjoy your food!”

The shouts, filled with excitement, rang out powerfully along the coast.

---

Even after that day, the restoration work of the coastal village continued day and night.

“Ughhh! Just need to lift this one!”

“Ha ha ha! That’s it, that’s it!”

As the final work wrapped up, everyone who had been working wiped the sweat from their brows with bright expressions and looked around at the scenery.

Thirteen log houses and a wooden palisade built in case of emergency.

A fish hold for storing catches and facilities for drying seaweed.

Mudside had regained the look of a proper coastal village.

Once the work wrapped up and all sorts of preparations were completed, the sun was already beginning to set.

“Phewww, we’re finally heading back.”

Hardin and his men stood gathered in front of the village.

“I’m exhausted. I just want to get cleaned up.”

“Well, at least the food here was decent, right?”

“I’m not really into seafood…”

Though they didn’t completely dislike their time here (mostly because of the meals), their expressions were a mix of relief and slight regret.

Hardin gave a small wave of his hand.

“Well then, we’ll be heading off now. Take care of the rest on your own.”

“Thank you, thank you so much, Young Master!”

From the other side, the village chief and the villagers who had come to see them off bowed deeply.

Their expressions were somewhere between laughter and tears—strangely bittersweet.

Some were even sniffing, clearly holding back tears.

The setting sun falling behind them, the coastal scenery, and the salty sea breeze all mixed together, creating a peculiar atmosphere.

Hardin scratched the bridge of his nose and added, almost out of nowhere,

“Village chief, what’s your name?”

“My name, sir? Why do you ask…?”

“Just tell me. I get the feeling I’ll be seeing you again.”

At that, the village chief briefly turned his gaze and stared intently at Manton.

When Manton gave a small nod, the chief closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again and said,

“My name is Belion.”

“Alright. So, Village Chief Belion, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well then, take care. I’ll be back soon to build a proper grand port. I hope you’ll help out then too.”

“…I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The village chief nodded with a light smile at the corners of his lips.

Hardin gave a slight nod of farewell and motioned to his men.

“Alright, let’s head out.”

“Yessss…”

The knights and mercenaries trudged off toward the opposite side of Mudside.

“….”

Only one person, Manton, stood still, seemingly unable to move his feet, staring at the villagers.

Hardin walked up beside him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

“Hey, you stay here a little longer before coming back.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“You never know, there might still be some stray Sahagin around. We should at least have one knight on standby.”

“Stray… Sahagin?”

Manton turned his head slightly.

“Here, eat up.”

 Shaaa! Shaaaa!

The village chief was tossing leftover fish to the Sahagin, who happily devoured them, clearly thrilled.

‘Strays… there really aren’t any.’

They’d already checked the waters multiple times.

After the Kreveion disappeared, the rest vanished from these coastal waters as if it had all been a lie.

All that remained were a few Sahagin that had only served as guides.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Hardin said,

“Anyway, stay for about a week. Your arm’s busted too, so this is an order from your commander.”

“….”

Manton looked at him, shocked, his lips moving without sound for a long while.

Then Hardin waved toward the village chief and shouted,

“Village Chief! I’m leaving him here, so work him to death for me!”

“…I shall. I’ll suck every last drop of marrow from his bones. Hoho!”

The village chief bowed and gave a satisfied smile.

Only then did Manton, wearing a deeply conflicted expression, finally speak.

“…Young Master, why are you doing this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you hate me?”

“Huh? What are you on about?”

“I know it’s ridiculous to say this myself, but… with everything I’ve done, why would you go so far to care about me…?”

Throughout his time in the knight order, he had always been ignored by Hardin.

The Shut-in Young Master, Hardin Daphne.

He couldn’t even clearly remember why he had hated him so much.

Was it jealousy? That he received attention from Commander Mulgybson without doing anything?

Or was it just that he was an easy target, someone to lash out at to patch up a crumbling ego?

Either way, the important part was that Manton—and the knights—had blatantly looked down on the Young Master.

It wouldn’t be strange for him to take revenge for that at any time, yet Hardin’s behavior now… Manton simply couldn’t understand it.

Hardin let out a short, scoffing laugh through his nose.

“Care, my ass. Is it weird for me to protect what’s mine?”

“…What?”

“This village, and you too, will belong to me one day. Won’t they? I’m the Young Master of Daphne.”

“…That’s…”

As Manton blinked in confusion, Hardin blew a soft puff through his nose and continued.

“And, I hate you, you bastard.”

“…What?”

“Think about it. I hate you so damn much I’m working you to the bone. Isn’t that obvious?”

“Young Master…”

Manton’s gaze dropped to the ground, and his body trembled slightly.

Sadness? Shame? Regret? Or maybe…

He didn’t know. He couldn’t name what this feeling was.

Seeing this, Hardin scratched his head and gave Manton’s shoulder a couple of pats.

“I’m off.”

With a mischievous grin, Hardin turned and walked away.

Manton quietly watched his retreating back and murmured in a soft voice,

“…Thank you. Truly.”

His face quivered with an expression that was difficult to describe.

It was the hour when the sea began to swallow the sun.

---

For years, Mudside had been Daphne’s problem child.

But after the Kreveion Subjugation, its revival had triggered a series of small and large changes across the Daphne Viscounty.

“Hoho, tribute delivery here.”

“Oh… Fish?”

“Yes, it’s mullet season now.”

“Nice, sounds delicious.”

First of all, in front of the gates of Daphne Castle.

A cart piled with dried fish entered the castle, welcomed by the guards.

With full-scale fishing resumed in Mudside, they were now regularly sending seafood as tribute.

Now self-sufficient, the region no longer required relief supplies, saving the house tens of thousands of gold each month.

“Three more servings of steamed fish!”

“Yes, yes, just a moment. We’re a bit backed up with orders.”

In addition, restaurants in Calpion had started adding seafood dishes to their menus, creating more buzz.

These were especially popular with drinkers looking for unique side dishes.

Of course, the place that had undergone the most dramatic change from the subjugation was, without question, Mudside itself.

“Whoooa, another full haul today!”

“Ahh, tell me about it.”

Fishing boats now sailed the waters once teeming with monsters.

The rough currents remained, but the seasoned wisdom of fishermen familiar with the tides was enough to overcome them. As if to compensate for the difficult times they’d endured, every haul of the net brought up all kinds of fish.

“Ahahaha! It tickles!”

“Come here, Bucky!”

On the beach, children were laughing and playing with the sea and the guide Sahagin as their companions.

“Whew, make sure they dry well.”

“Shouldn’t we flip that other line over too?”

“Yeah, probably.”

The women were drying cleaned seaweed and fish on the lines they had set up.

“From there to that side of the shore, let’s measure the length first.”

“Yes, sir, understood.”

The Third Young Master Malion had arrived with his retainers and began surveying for the construction of the port.

And so, several weeks passed in a flash.

Inside the conference room of the Daphne Viscounty, a regular family meeting was underway.

“Third Young Master… is your skin alright?”

“Yes, well, it’s nothing serious.”

Malion gave a slight nod in response to the worried looks from the retainers.

But despite what he said, his face was flushed and burning red.

‘It hurts.’

After spending days out and about in Mudside conducting surveys, he had ended up with a bad sunburn.

Just then, Hardin, whose skin had tanned dark, grinned playfully and said,

“Hey, Malion. Take off your glasses for a sec.”

“My glasses? Why?”

“Just curious about something.”

“Then no.”

“Come on, I’m begging you. Just once, from your big brother.”

Hardin clasped his hands together and made a pleading expression.

“Haaa…”

When Malion finally removed his glasses—

“Ahahaha! Hahahahahaha! Your face looks hilarious!”

His previously hidden eyes appeared starkly pale.

While the rest of his face was sunburned bright red, the area around his eyes, protected by the glasses, remained untouched.

“Pffft!”

“Mmgh, mmggh!”

Spit flew from the retainers’ mouths.

They turned their heads, pinched their thighs, and covered their mouths, doing their best to hold back laughter—but the visual was just too aggressive.

“Please don’t mock me… over something so trivial, brother.”

“Pwease don’t mock meee.”

“Please don’t mimic me either.”

“Pwease don’t mimic meeeeee.”

Hardin puckered his lips and made a ridiculous face while mumbling, and Malion’s brow furrowed.

“You mad? Are you mad?”

“I… I’m not mad.”

He was absolutely mad. You could tell just by looking.

Hardin chuckled as he watched Malion’s body tremble slightly in frustration.

As the room filled with scattered, playful chatter—

“The Lord is entering.”

A voice came from outside the door, and all the retainers rose to their feet.

Creeeak—

The door opened, and Cobalt entered to everyone’s attention.

The moment their eyes met, Cobalt and Malion—

“Pffft!”

Just as expected, even Cobalt couldn’t hold back, and spit sprayed from his lips.

“S-Sorry, Malion. It just caught me off guard.”

“…It’s alright.”

Malion let out a deep sigh and put his glasses back on.

Though the Lord tried to compose himself, the shocking image from moments ago kept resurfacing, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Malion. L-let’s start the mee—Pffft!”

“…We’ll now begin the meeting. Engelmann, start with your report.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tap, tap, tap!

With his brow twitching, Malion slapped his palm on the desk and forcibly pushed the meeting forward.

After that, things proceeded as usual.

“First, with the tribute delivered from Mudside last week… the warehouse is currently about seventy percent full.”

“Hmm, alright.”

Each retainer took turns reporting on the responsibilities they were in charge of.

Progress, issues, and proposed solutions were exchanged.

‘Tch, boring.’

Hardin had wanted to tease him more.

He blew a breath through his nose and quietly observed the meeting.

“And the food supplies were delivered to the Calpion estates?”

“Yes, hoho. The reception has been excellent. I hear the seafood is flying off the shelves at the restaurants.”

“That’s a relief.”

The retainers showed no signs of worry, and their tone carried a newfound ease.

The corners of Hardin’s lips lifted naturally.

‘Their faces have brightened up.’

Not long ago, they’d been flailing in panic at the slightest issue.

But now that money was coming in and internal affairs had stabilized, they seemed much more relaxed.

It’s always easier to get things done when there’s no noise or chaos.

Especially for the paper-pushers.

And then…

“I have something I’d like to propose for this farming season.”

“Go ahead.”

“There’s a new farming tool developed at a workshop in Windrun. Apparently, it’s very effective for wheat cultivation. Perhaps we should consider introducing it…”

“Bring in a prototype first. If it checks out, we’ll try using it.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you.”

Even the tone of the meetings had changed significantly from before.

Back then, they would merely report what had already happened…

‘Now it feels like they’re actually thinking things through.’

Each person was identifying areas for improvement in their own field and clinging to them.

Simply put, there was a growing sense of ambition.

In any case, it seemed everyone was slowly starting to think about moving forward.

Hardin nodded in quiet satisfaction, feeling pleased.

Just then, Malion cleared his throat and slowly opened his mouth.

“Seems the reports are finished. Father, do you have anything to add?”

“Not really. You’re all doing well.”

“In that case, I’ll go ahead and introduce the main topic of today’s meeting.”

As Cobalt nodded, Malion opened a bundle of parchment laid in front of him.

Then, lifting his gaze, he looked around at the people gathered in the conference room and spoke in a rather solemn voice.

“We’ve completed the preliminary research for the construction of the port.”

Port construction…

On everyone’s face appeared a mix of anticipation and tension—an odd blend of expressions.