After finishing breakfast, Jared prepared to inspect his territory. He originally planned to start next week, but meeting Lena yesterday made him move up his plans. He was worried that delaying even a day might cause him to miss a fateful encounter. Since acquiring Lena, a promising talent, Jared's desire for more promising individuals had grown.
For an inspection of the territory, there were no soldiers waiting or servants accompanying him, so Hayes approached him eagerly and spoke up.
"Lord! Can I come with you? You might get thirsty or need something else... I really want to be by your side!"
Her response was sharp, as if she had prepared her words in advance. It was understandable. In the past, Jared had driven her to the point of neurosis with endless errands, including fetching chocolate. This was why she had a B-rank in hypersensitivity due to her special disposition. It wasn't a good trait.
"It's okay. Take a rest. If you're worried, just keep the basement clean. Make sure no cobwebs or dust settle. And take care of Lena a bit more."
Instead of outright rejecting her, Jared gave her a task. She was looking for ways to help him through 'devotion,' and cleaning was one of those tasks, so there was no problem.
"Yes! I'll make sure the basement is spotless and I'll educate Lena more!"
"Good, I'll look forward to it."
"Yes, my lord!"
"Give me the insight! Give me the insight!"
Taking advantage of a brief moment, Isabella screamed loudly. She scrutinized Hayes' face with an intensely angry gaze. Then, for the first time, Isabella said something different.
"She's pretty."
"Right, she's pretty, isn't she?"
Jared ended up saying it out loud in response to Isabella's comment. It didn't matter if someone heard.
"What? What did you say, my lord?"
"Oh? Ah, Hayes, I said you're pretty."
"Thank you! Hoho."
"Well, I'm off."
"Yes, my lord."
"Give me the insight! Give me the insight!"
"Enough already. I'm never giving it to you, so give up and go back. I don't need you anymore."
Jared whispered a sharp retort to Isabella and then stepped out of the mansion with a satisfied expression. He was ready. It was time to inspect the Krivia territory and use his insight to find any promising talents.
On the road to town, his only companion, the chief of security, Rakis, offered Jared a carriage. However, he firmly refused and continued walking along the path. If he traveled by carriage, he might miss seeing people passing by. So, the two of them were out inspecting the territory on foot, not on horseback or in a carriage.
Meanwhile, Rakis was dressed in plain clothes and wearing a mask at Jared's request, making it difficult to recognize him. Jared also wore clothes similar to a commoner's and had an unadorned face. Unless someone was familiar with the lord's face, they wouldn't easily recognize him.
"Give me the insight!"
Ignoring Isabella's tiny screams beside him, Jared continued observing the townsfolk and checking them with his insight. He had left the mansion in the morning, and now it was evening, with the sun setting in the west. During that time, Jared tirelessly explored various parts of the territory. As a result, his complexion didn't look good, and Rakis was worried, but Jared kept insisting he was fine and continued his rounds.
How much time had passed? As they turned onto a somewhat deserted path, the surroundings grew quiet, and Rakis cautiously spoke up.
"My lord, thank you sincerely for entrusting me with the great responsibility of chief of security. It feels like the perfect fit for me, like wearing a perfectly tailored suit. I, Rakis, pledge my loyalty solely to you and will devote myself to maintaining security!"
Listening to him, Jared felt a sense of pride in Rakis' loyalty. He patted Rakis on the shoulder encouragingly.
"I'm counting on you, Rakis."
"Trust me! I will definitely meet your expectations."
At that moment, a system message appeared.
[Rakis' loyalty has increased significantly! The maximum loyalty value is updated to 200. Current loyalty is 150. If loyalty reaches 200, the subject will enter a 'first awakening' state.]
"Rakis, you're a beacon of light for the territory. Your stats as chief of security aren't bad, and if you experience a first awakening, it'll be great. I'll definitely nurture that loyalty!"
A first awakening occurs when a subordinate's loyalty to their lord surpasses a certain threshold, causing an internal change that breaks their limits and results in significant growth. Their level rises significantly, and their stats increase rapidly. This is one of the fascinating aspects of being able to cultivate an F-rank warrior into an S-rank one.
"With traits like orderliness and justice, when fighting bad guys, he's almost like Lu Bu! He must have been thrilled to fight."
Jared was pleased. Rakis was born to be the chief of security. At least for the time being, he wouldn't have to worry about the territory's security.
"Having the hidden skill of insight is my greatest fortune, truly."
Awakening to this life and summoning Isabella to gain insight was the best decision he had made.
"Give me the insight! Give me my eyes back!"
Of course, it meant having a pesky nuisance tagging along.
"There aren't many promising talents around. If they were easy to find, they wouldn't be promising. Plus, our territory is a small one on the outskirts of the continent."
He had walked around for quite a while, but there was no gain. There were a few kids who caught his eye, but upon checking with his insight, none of them had any special traits. Special traits are akin to potential. Without them, even if you nurture someone, their limits are clear. They can only reach the level of a C-rank talent at best. Only with immense effort and rare luck could they occasionally become a B-rank, and that was only for young promising talents. For older talents, growth was often slow and stagnant.
There are 10 years until the Holy War and 5 years until the Nas Continental War. It's not a short time, but it's not long either. There was a need to choose and focus.
Just then!
Jared spotted a girl pleading with a group of herbalists in front of a tavern. The girl was shouting desperately, asking the herbalists for help.
"Please! Please help my mom! Sell me the herbs to cure her! If you want, I'll even sell myself to get the money, please!"
"Mia."
The girl's name appeared, followed by her stats and traits.
[Mia – Lv. 1]
[Strength: 3]
[Stamina: 4]
[Magic Power: 1]
[Wisdom: 7]
[Agility: 3]
[Charm: 5]
[Physical Defense: 0]
[Magic Defense: 1]
[Special Trait: Mana Detection S]
[General Traits: Filial Piety, Curiosity]
"Mana Detection S? That means she has a naturally good ability to sense mana. Otherwise, a child couldn't have an S rank already. She's as talented as Lena!"
Mana Detection S was one of the special traits Jared possessed. But that was because he had trained in the mana technique passed down as a family secret from his father, Baron Barrett. However, for a child who seemed to have neither learned the secret mana technique nor magic to have Mana Detection S!
"I've struck gold!"
That was his only thought.
"We must help that child. Rakis, let's go."
"Yes, my lord. Just give the order whenever you need me."
Rakis was absolutely obedient. To him, Lord Jared was a savior-like figure, someone he was immensely grateful to. He even apologized for mistakes that would have been difficult for a lord to admit. How could he resent such a person?
A plump appearance? It didn't matter at all. Rakis knew well that a person's worth shouldn't be judged by their appearance. Moreover, his previously plump body was now slimming down at a decent pace!
"Huff, huff."
Jared wiped the sweat off his brow as he headed toward Mia.
"I respect you, my lord."
Rakis silently followed behind.
"Haaa."
I ran to Mia, who had collapsed in exhaustion from crying. My body, not yet fully slimmed down, quickly ran out of breath, but that wasn't important.
"Child, what's your name?"
"Who... are you? I'm Mia."
"Mia! This is the lord!"
Rakis, standing beside me, bluntly revealed my identity. He seemed to think it was rude for her to ask who I was. It was a natural reaction for a child, though. It didn't really matter. In fact, revealing I was the lord seemed like the quickest way to lower her guard.
"You're the lord?"
Seeing Mia's incredulous expression, I nodded and immediately asked for details.
"Can you tell me what kind of herb you were trying to get from the herbalists to treat your mother?"
"My mom, my mom! She has the Ronella disease. They say we need herbs to cure it, but the herbalists won't sell them to us!"
"Ronella disease?"
"Yes! The herbalists say it needs expensive medicine to treat, and they don't know any herbs that can be used directly for the disease..."
Ronella disease. It was a familiar illness to me. It was a type of lung disease, similar to tuberculosis. Fortunately, it wasn't contagious. I learned about this disease in <Paradiso> when users who visited a dungeon on the outskirts of the continent contracted a debuff-like illness called Ronella disease. The name Ronella came from the Ronella territory, where the disease was prevalent.
Ronella disease caused chronic coughing, continuously lowering stamina and making vision blurry, which was a nuisance for users. Initially, users treated it with a master potion, known as a cure-all in <Paradiso>. However, the master potion was extremely expensive, and its price skyrocketed to an unaffordable level. As a result, herbalist users began searching for a treatment method to tap into a niche market.
While they were engrossed in their search, a treatment was finally developed! They discovered a recipe for a treatment herb made by combining three relatively inexpensive herbs. Of course, the recipe wasn't known from the start. It was a trade secret. However, later on, herbalist users who developed the treatment argued over profits and split up. One herbalist user, in a fit of anger, publicly revealed the recipe on the official website, allowing users to learn about the cheap treatment formula for Ronella disease. Naturally, it reached my ears as well.
This was also a story that unfolded after the main storyline. In other words, under normal circumstances, the treatment would appear 10 years later.
"Should I just make the Ronella disease treatment now? With the territory's direct trading company, it wouldn't be hard to develop a sales route."
A good idea came to mind.