Chapter 83
Chapter 83
"This… . "
Jillian and Jerna were seated in the lounge room where we had drunk tea just the other day . They had been playing chess but the problem was that Jillian's face was covered in soot from the charcoal, while the count was was maintaining a handstand position .
"Welcome Johra, Ugh!!!"
"Hee hee~"
"Sir Johra!"
When they finally realised that I had entered the room and had been standing idly, they all greeted me with different expressions . The count was red faced, struggling to maintain the handstand . Jillian looked at me like I would be his savior while Jerna had a mischievous expression of a kid who had just been caught doing something naughty .
"Just what has been going on here?"
"Hahah it is… . !"
I heard the story from Sion who explained it in full from his upside down position .
Jillian and the count had gotten really into playing chess and despite having played several games they didn't want to stop . They even skipped dinner time when the servant came calling . In the end Jerna arrived to put and it to their madness because she was very hungry .
Still, they didn't listen to any of her requests, so she stayed to watch them play and soon began commenting form the sidelines to help her brother out . As a result, Sion lost the game and he challenged his daughter to get his revenge .
From then on both Sion and Jillian lost all of their games against Jerna . Since she soon lost interest in the game because she won too easily, they had to entice her into playing more by bringing up a new punishment rule . This is what led to the ridiculous situation before me .
"If you designed this game then you must be able to beat my daughter!"
"Please calm down count . "
"No I can't do that, a noble doesn't easily go back on a promise . If you feel bad for me, then please win against my daughter to bring and end to my punishment . "
"Why don't you just stand up?"
"There is no such thing as going back on your word in this family, it would be the greatest dishonor . "
I just barely caught myself from asking him what honor could he possibly have left after covering his face in charcoal soot and maintaining a handstand like a clown .
"Sir Johra!"
I took Jillian's seat and looked at the game . I had to win back the count's face . Of course I also had to win for myself so as to not be subject to the same penalty .
Judging by the board position it wasn't that Jillian had been playing poorly, but rather it was Jerna who was too skilled for him .
'Tch! She only learned the game today, how could she play so well?'
At first I had thought that I could easily turn the tables on her but it appeared that it wouldn't be so easy .
"Would you prefer to start a new game?"
I shook my head, since I had to win this one in order to absolve the count from his promised penalty . Still, I was black and there wasn't much room to maneuver .
"Johra, move the King from K6 to K5 . "
Luckily I had the greatest cheating ability possible . Normally moving the king wasn't a good move, but according to Lena's instruction I had to move the King diagonally in order to avoid the checkmate from Jeran's knight . Gaining some momentum by playing unexpected moves I was able to push my way through to her side and she wasn't able to block my sequence .
"Checkmate . "
Waaaaa!
Jerna got up and ran away crying, while the count had regained his confidence and usual air of authority .
"How impressive!"
"Thanks to you I could save some face . "
"Wait, is it ok to just let her run off crying like that?"
"It's fine, one can grow after suffering from defeat in a duel . "
While father and son spoke to each other, I was worrying about how Jerna would get her revenge for this loss .
'I noticed that the previous ??? skill in Jerna's status had now changed to [Wisdom Lv1] . It seems like a rare talent has bloomed due to her exposure to chess . '
"Could we play a few friendly matches Johra?"
Since that time we played chess until 3 am without hardly any breaks . We would only take a small rest to nibble on some food before returning for more games .
'Should I not have taught them chess?'
It seemed that the count and Jillian both had a personality that made them very drawn towards the game . No, it might just be the fact that there is very little in the way of entertainment in this world .
'I might be able to make a surprisingly amount of money with this . '
Early next morning I met with the count .
"Have you come to a decision Johra?"
"Yes count . "
Looking at him with a bright smile on my face I said .
"I would gladly accept the position of knight . "
"Oh, I'm incredibly glad, you're a rare talent that seems to have it all . I should throw a feast . "
"Yes… but I do have certain conditions . "
"If it was what you mentioned to Jillian last time then there's no need to worry . I don’t have any intention of limiting your freedom . "
"Actually I have three conditions . "
Seeing my earnest face the count was put off but rather was waiting expectantly for me to continue .
"Tell me and I'll try to accommodate you as best I can . "
"They aren't too demanding . The first you already know which is not to restrict my freedom . "
"Of course this isn't even worth mentioning . "
"Second I would like to open up a store and would be relying on your manpower and money . "
"Oh, so it was something small like that? It won't be any problem, if anything I'm worried that you won't find any talented people among those in my employ . "
"It'll be fine, and I will choose only form maong your serfs . "
"Are you sure they are competent?"
"It'll be fine, I can teach them well . "
"Good"
"How about splitting the store profits 70:30?"
"Actually I wouldn't mind it even if you wanted all of the store's profit . I would be more than content with the 30 percent . "
"30 percent was my share . "
"No way, how could I treat my benefactor in such a way?"
"70:30, I can't take any more or I wouldn't I feel comfortable becoming your knight . "
"No no, how about we split it 50:50 . I can't possibly take any more than that . "
The count was quite stubborn . so we finally agreed on splitting the profit evenly .
"My last request is that I'd like to teach your kids . "
"Wow! Really? If you did I would really appreciate it . In fact, I wanted to ask this of you, but I thought it would be too burdensome . My deceased wife Leone would be so happy to hear that the kids are receiving a great education . "
His eyes became watery as tears began to fall . I knew he was a doting parent, but I never expected it was this much .
The very next day I began searching among the serfs to find ones which had a special talent .
"I don't think it would be useful for you to search among such lowborns . "
The one who was grumbling beside was Levin, the count chief bookkeeper who was viscount Laheart's second son . Despite not having a title he was one the smartest retainers in Sion's household .
"Levin how about focusing more on this . "
"Woooo,I am bored . Meeting these poor farmers is not at all interesting . "
He had a very lazy personality and would quickly make up excuses if it involved work . Also, he didn't show the proper respect to those in higher positions .
"Johra how about that kid from before?"
Still his observations skills are quite sharp . I was looking for someone with the [Carpenter] skill and had finally found the first one in a 14 year old boy .
"Yes I think I've found the one . "
Most of the day had gone by as I had inspected almost 60 different people, but it was all worth it in the end as I had found the right one . The next day I had the boy with the carpenter skill named Jiden summoned to the manor where I showed him the chess board and asked him to make a similar one . I handed him blocks of wood and some tools before leaving him to experiment and coming back to check on the results two days later .
"Wow, what do we have here?"
"Was that some praise?"
"Yes, it's much better than I expected . I should give it to the count as a gift . "
"I put the count's crest on the backside of the board"
I stroked his head dotingly
"You're amazing, I definitely want you working for me . "
"Really?"
"Yup, for every set you make I'll pay you 5 silvers, it's not bad right?"
"Oh no that's too much! I'm happy to be helping out the Lord with his work . "
"No no, properly rewarding hard work is a principle of mine . "
The chess board crafted by Jiden was greatly praised by the count . If one was to pass there hand over it, the result would be some smooth gliding . It was clear that it had been very carefully made .
"It's quite exquisite . In fact Johra I was thinking of gifting a chess set to the King . What do you think about my idea?"
"Uhm… are you sure?"
"Of course . If we gain the King's favor, then we can receive exclusive selling rights . "
"Ah, then I'll work hard to prepare our best work . "
"Good, can you try to prepare two additional sets for our royal visit next week? I think we should give one to each the King and Duke"
"Okay"
I asked Levin to call Jiden over .
"Please do your best in making two more chess sets . "
"Understood"
I didn't mention anything about the King and Duke . I worried that if I would bring it up it would put a lot of pressure on him .
Later that day in the afternoon I began my first lesson with the count's two kids . To start off, I taught them simple arithmetics . Jillian was a bit slow to catch on but tried hard . Jerna however was very quick to learn and would absorb all knowledge like a sponge .
"Good job Jillina, you've done well . "
"Ah, sorry for being a little slow . "
Next to me Jerna was pulling on my clothes, wanting some recognition .
"You also did well Jerna . "
Hee~Hee~
I didn't want to praise her too much for fear that it would go to her head and she wouldn't focus as much on her studies .
Four days later Jiden presented me with two gorgeous chess sets . It was such great artwork that not even on Earth had they designed such a beautiful chessboard . It was fashioned in such a way that it appeared like a real battlefield .
"Well… I can't praise it enough . "
"Seriously?"
"His face turned red in embarrassment . I took out a gold coin form the money I had received from the count and handed it to him .
"This is a small something to encourage you to continue working hard . "
"No way! This is far too much money!"
"It's the natural compensation for the work you've achieved . "
I forced the gold coin into his hands before sending him on his way home . Levin who had been watching from side grunted in disapproval .
"If you praise him that much then he will begin to slack off . "
"Oh Yeah~ then how about you? Did someone praise you too much?"
"I'm an exception since anyways I'm naturally lazy and wouldn't take it to heart"
"Well… then I guess the only way is to inform Sion"
"Yaaawn I’m sleepy but don't worry I'm yours to command!"
His attitude wasn't good, but he still managed to complete any task I gave him .
Four days later I successfully framed Jilden's chessboard with gold and iron, before coating it with a thin layer of oxide film to protect it from wear and tear . Of course the solution for the liquid coating had been mixed according to Lena's instructions . She had become much more useful since we had solved her power issue .
The day before our departure Jiden handed me the case which would be used to transport the chess set . Once it was all carefully packaged I handed it to the count .
"It's quite heavy, wasn't it made out of wood?"
"Yes it is indeed made out of wood but it has a metal framing . "
"Oh… it sounds cool . Could I open it up to take a quick peek?"
"It would be best to leave it gift wrapped as is because it would take quite a bit of time and effort to rewrap it . "
"O…Okay I'm really looking forward to seeing it . "
After seeing off the count on his visit to the royal palace, I could finally go back and focus on something which I had been putting off lately .
'Time to level up some more . '
In order to be prepared for any future events I needed to make sure that my strength was sufficient . If I wanted to be able to stop a large scale war between two empires my current ability was far from enough . "
"Levin join me in interviewing more people . "
"Ugh… again? how annoying . "
"What was that?"
"Ah, nothing let's go"
Despite his lack of motivation Levin performed well during the interviews, but despite going through 200 people in 4 days the results were quite disappointing .
"Uh… just kill me now"
"I'm already dead sir Johra . "
"Levin, you just watched me working the whole the time"
"Yeah, but our endurance limits are worlds apart, I feel like I'm going to drop dead any second . "
I had conducted many interviews, but the only talents we had found so far were one of [Metalworking], [Carpenter] and [Jewel Crafting] . Everyone else had no special skills .
'It seems like skills are quite rare among humans . '
I was surprised because previously I had seen many people with skills, but now it seemed that among the commoners it was far less prevalent . "
"Did you want to call it a day and head back?"
"If someone were to resurrect me then maybe… right now I'm dead and can't move . "
"To the count's… . "
"Okay fine let's go . "
I knew that I could always get Levin to do something by bringing up the count .
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