Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 767: Castin Town

CH767 Castin Town ***

Three days later...

Alex rode through the gates of Castin Town atop Dread as part of a group of fifteen escorting a cloth-covered carriage.

Inside the carriage sat old Milton, Zora, and Eleanore, who observed the town through the openings as they passed through it.

Milton looked between Alex, who rode beside Kavakan while making a show of letting the were-tiger lead the group, and the two ladies seated beside him.

To Milton, the three of them appeared to be people born into nobility, raised amidst the finest luxuries life had to offer.

Yet he could not understand how they could be so understated.

A comfortable noble carriage had been available at the manor, yet they had chosen to travel in a shabby peasant carriage instead.

Alex had gone even further, dressing like a mercenary and riding into town rather than sitting inside the carriage.

At the moment, even his mannerisms resembled those of a seasoned mercenary.

The powerful noble aura he usually carried was nowhere to be seen.

Alex, however, was oblivious to Milton’s contemplation.

Thanks to the old man’s objections, he had eventually decided against sending the hard-line message he originally intended to deliver.

Instead, he chose to visit Castin Town personally and speak with the garrison leadership before deciding what stance to take regarding both the garrison and the town itself.

However, unwilling to make Castin the sole purpose of his journey, Alex decided to tour the settlements under his domain first and see their conditions with his own eyes rather than relying solely on written reports.

Starting from the smaller camps and villages, he travelled through each settlement before finally arriving at Castin Town.

For the most part, conditions within those settlements matched what had been recorded in the reports—or were only slightly worse.

That discovery allowed Alex to breathe a sigh of relief.

It confirmed that, despite its shortcomings, the albeit little information that was gathered by magistrate’s administration was largely accurate and dependable.

Now that they had finally entered Castin Town under the guise of a merchant caravan, Alex carefully assessed his surroundings.

On average, both the town and its inhabitants appeared wealthier than those of the other settlements, including Fonterra Bastide itself, which was supposed to be the capital of the domain.

Moreover, unlike Fonterra, the town did not rely on beast dung as a defensive measure to keep monsters away.

On that note, one of Alex’s first instructions as domain lord had been to have all the foul-smelling beast dung cleared away.

Contrary to what many of the townsfolk expected, removing the beast dung did not immediately result in monster attacks.

What they did not know was that Alex had instructed his hundred guards to subtly release their auras for a brief instant.

However, under the effects of the Fortune Army Formation, that single instant had been sufficient to warn all nearby beasts away from the town.

It was a far more effective deterrent than relying on beast dung.

Shaking his head, Alex continued examining the town around him.

As they travelled through the streets, he gradually began to notice something after entering the western district.

’There is segregation here,’ Alex mused.

The western district was clearly more developed than the rest of the town.

’It’s like walking into the noble quarter of a capital city.’

Every so often, he spotted houses constructed from stone.

This was a very expensive building material. Within the domain, only the Magistrate Manor should realistically have been able to afford both its construction and maintenance.

Yet here in Castin Town, there were more than a few buildings built with stone.

Stone was one of the resources regularly shipped to the Frontier Stronghold.

What remained behind should have been scarce and prohibitively expensive.

Yet here it was, being used throughout Castin.

’If there was ever a challenge to the authority of the magistrate’s administration, this would be it,’ Alex thought.

These buildings were statements.

Statements declaring that their owners considered themselves the equals of whoever resided within the Magistrate Manor.

Alex guided Dread closer to the carriage carrying Milton and his wives.

"What is this area?" he asked.

"This is the district where the families of the current garrison members reside," Milton replied. "While the northern district is where the families of former garrison members, who have been ousted from here, gathered," he added.

"Is that so?" Alex muttered.

’So they have turned themselves into nobles and royalty upon land that does not belong to them...’

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

’If this is how they carry themselves, then it becomes easy to see how they view themselves. And if this is how they view themselves, then their ambitions is obvious to see.’

He subtly glanced at old Milton.

’Sorry, Vice-Magistrate, but these people are a lost cause,’ he thought.

Milton’s greatest concern was that any overt action against the five families ruling Castin would trigger a territorial crisis that the Frontier March could not afford.

In Alex’s eyes, however, they already were a crisis the domain could not afford.

Still, he decided to humour the old man.

That way, Milton would have fewer grounds to complain when Alex eventually did what needed to be done, and it would help preserve the old man’s loyalty.

Milton was an important piece on the board—one Alex believed he needed on his side.

At the very least, ruling the domain would be significantly easier with Milton’s support than without it.

The group eventually found a clean inn within the western district.

It was easily one of the finest inns in the entire domain, and the quality of its rooms reflected that status.

"I am the Count of Skywalker, Alex Fury, the domain lord of this territory. I expect the finest service your establishment can provide," Alex said.

To Milton’s surprise, Alex announced himself so overtly as he placed five complete low-grade berserk stones on the counter—a complete difference from his usual lowkey demeanour.

The innkeeper could count on one hand the number of times he had seen complete berserk stones instead of fragmented shards.

Five complete stones were more than enough to rent the entire establishment for at least a month.

The innkeeper immediately sprang into action, chasing away any loafers and destitute patrons lingering around the building, lest they somehow offend this wealthy young lord.

"Why did you reveal your identity, Sir Count?" Milton asked.

"Prepare to meet the leaders of the five families," Alex replied nonchalantly.

He sat down at one of the tables in the common hall alongside his wives.

Roughly five minutes later, beverages were brought out and served.

’Oh? They even have milk and honey here.’

Alex raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had not expected the inn to actually fulfil his request.

In truth, he had only ordered those items because he expected the staff to offer substitutes, allowing him to gauge the level of wealth and trade available within the town.

Milk, honey, and black tea...

These were luxury goods that should not have been readily available in a struggling town located within a downtrodden domain.