Chương 236: Chapter 237

Silas came jogging back out of the manor. He was carrying a brand new, towering stack of thick ledgers. The pile of paper was so high it practically reached his chin.

"My Lord!" Silas called out, rushing toward him.

"The merchants need your final seal on the new tax brackets! And the masonry guild requires approval for the outer moat expansion!" Rudra stared at the massive mountain of paperwork. A deep, heavy sense of dread settled in his stomach. Reading tax laws for three hours was already causing him more despair than when he was fighting against the Phantom of First Deep Sage. Rudra needed a way to escape. He didn't run away. He just smiled and stepped right up to the young clerk. He tapped into his massive pool of stats.

His Charm and Dignity were absurdly high, and his new Political Power stat gave him a natural, commanding presence. Not to mention that he already had maximum affinity with Silas. He used them to project total, unwavering trust. A warm, heavy aura washed over the young clerk. Silas stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened. He felt an intense wave of respect and comfort radiating from his Lord. Rudra placed a hand gently on top of the towering stack of ledgers. He looked Silas right in the eyes.

"Silas," Rudra said softly. His voice was full of deep, genuine appreciation.

"Look at this city. Look at the walls. Look at the people." Silas blinked, completely caught off guard.

"My Liege?"

"I didn't build those walls," Rudra said.

"I didn't balance the budget to buy that stone. You did. You are the backbone of Stormbreak." Silas felt his chest tighten. His eyes actually started to water. To be recognized so openly by the Duke who he admired was overwhelming.

"I am just doing my duty," Silas whispered.

"And you do it better than anyone else," Rudra smiled.

"That is why I am giving you a promotion. As of right now, you have my full, unquestioned authority. You can stamp any document, approve any budget, and set any tax rate you think is fair. You don't need my signature anymore." Silas gasped. He hugged the ledgers tightly.

"My Lord! That is the power of a ruling noble! I am just a common clerk!"

"You are the Administrator of Stormbreak," Rudra corrected him gently.

"I trust your calculations more than my own. Just keep a small summary sheet on my desk once a week so I know what we bought. And to make sure that you have the required status to handle all my authority, I'll promote you to a Viscount status" Rudra, as a Duke of the Murray Kingdom, was able to confer nobility upto 2 Earls, 10 Viscounts and 20 Barons. So he decided to make Silas, a Viscount so that no in the negotiation and trading table could undermine him. [Do you wish to appoint 'Silas' as a Viscount?] [You can only appoint 10 Viscounts.] Rudra accepted it immediately. [You have used your authority as a duke to appoint 'Silas' as a viscount.] [You have an obligation to give 'Silas', a monthly salary of 500 gold every month.] Silas stood up perfectly straight. Tears of pride rolled down his cheeks. He bowed as low as the heavy books would allow. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I will not fail you, Lord Rudra!" Silas promised loudly.

"I will make us the richest territory on the continent!" Silas spun around and marched back into the manor. He looked incredibly motivated, completely forgetting that he had just come outside to get signatures. Rudra let out a long breath. He wiped a fake bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Dodged a bullet," Rudra muttered as he successfully scammed his administrator. He turned around and headed toward the eastern gate. The noise of the city slowly faded as he walked down the dirt path leading to the agricultural sector. The sun was warm. The fields stretched out for miles. The golden wheat blew gently in the wind. The smell of fresh soil and growing crops filled the air. It was a very peaceful place. Rudra walked down the dirt path between the fields.

He heard the rhythmic thud of metal hitting dirt. Piaro stood in the middle of a large field. The Dual Legend wore a simple straw hat and a dirty tunic. He swung a hand plow on the ground. If it weren't for his sword on his waist, it would be impossible for anyone to guess this man was even a swordsman, let alone a Sword Saint. He swung the plow, and the dirt turned over easily. Rudra stopped walking as he saw this scene. He suddenly felt a déjà vu hitting his mind as he saw this scene.

He remembered the day he got jumped on by "Truck-kun" and when his body was almost hijacked by a transmigrator's soul. While he did survive, he did remember the fragments of memory that he saw while absorbing the memory. He had seen a farmer working diligently in a vast field. He stared at Piaro. It was the exact same image. The exact same person. But as Rudra looked closer, he noticed something incredibly important. In the memory from the accident, the farmer only held a plow.

He wore rough clothes and had calloused hands. The farmer in the memory was at peace, but he was completely unarmed. The Piaro standing in the field right now was different. Piaro was swinging the hand plow, yes. But resting securely on his hip was his signature sword. Rudra's grip tightened on his staff. His heart hammered in his chest.

"Wait," Rudra whispered to himself. He started putting the pieces together. If Rudra hadn't intervened in Piaro's life, what would have happened? If he hadn't forced the swordsman to eat his dish in the canyon and made him try farming, Piaro would have stayed a broken, bitter beggar. He might have died seeking revenge and if he has survived he would have utmost become a Sword Saint. But the memory showed that Piaro had become a Farmer in that future and this meant that it should have been about the future.

But Rudra had influenced this future somehow, probably during his spar with Piaro, that allowed him to not only become a legendary Farmer and a Sword Saint. Because of Rudra, Piaro kept the sword. He became a Dual Legend.

"The memory fragment was wrong," Rudra muttered. The soul that tried to take his body carrying the memories of a possible timeline where Rudra hadn't played the game. It seems to know the future of the world where he wasn't present. Before Rudra could dig deeper into the mystery, the rhythmic thudding in the field stopped. Piaro paused. He rested his iron plow in the dirt. The farmer wiped a line of sweat from his scarred face and looked up. His sharp eyes locked onto Rudra standing on the path.

For a second, Piaro just offered a warm, welcoming smile. He was happy to see his Lord return home safely from the ocean. But then, Piaro really looked at him. The Sword Saint's instincts flared. Piaro felt the heavy, suffocating pressure rolling off Rudra. He sensed the divine and demonic power radiating from Rudra as well as the ocean's scent he seemed to be emitting. He saw the way Rudra held the heavy lightning staff, the affinity between the weapons and the Saint seemed to have become greater.

The peaceful farmer vanished. A heavy, overwhelming sword energy erupted from Piaro's body. The sudden burst of blue energy cut the golden wheat around him. His eyes burned with a fierce, familiar hunger. The battle-maniac woke up.

"My Lord," Piaro called out. His voice carried across the field.

"You have changed." Rudra snapped out of his deep thoughts. He looked at the glowing aura surrounding the Dual Legend. A wide, genuine grin spread across Rudra's face. The doubts regarding the memory fragment's origin could wait. Right now, he had a spar to win against a farmer he hadn't won even once.

"I did take a long trip," Rudra yelled back.

"I picked up a few new tricks along the way." Piaro stepped out of the tilled dirt. He didn't pick up a pine branch this time. He reached down to his hip and drew his polished sword. The blade caught the sunlight.