The canal construction on the Renard River progressed smoothly, and the shipbuilding was almost complete. After some initial trial operations, we publicly opened a guild called Renard Water Transport. It soon became a hot topic in other territories, in part thanks to the people who completed their sentences at the monastery and returned to the capital with goods and tales from Renard.
Everything was gradually getting off the ground, but there was a problem: We had ships, but not enough oarsmen.
Marcel had the solution. In his life of adventuring, he’d also become proficient at operating ships.
“If you’ll entrust me with the task, I can teach people to run ships,” he said, and did just that.
Marcel was running a class about ships at the Renard River. The water was clean and sparkling, and a refreshing breeze rustled the greenery by the bank. Besides those with an interest in boats, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered, curious about the former swordmaster.
“I’d expect nothing less,” Lord Reineke said, impressed by Marcel’s skill set.
Liam and Bal were excited too.
The first step was observation. The crowd’s eyes lit up as they watched Marcel’s brilliant pole-swinging.
“Master is so cool!!!” Bal yelled.
“That’s a legendary adventurer for you. He’s incredibly experienced,” Liam said with admiration.
The children were kicking up a fuss, while the young adults stared at Marcel with envy.
“Maybe being a boatman would be kind of cool. My parents told me to become a packhorse driver because ships are too dangerous, but I think I prefer this.”
“The drivers get decent pay, but I think I wanna work on a ship!”
The youths discussed among themselves.
“If you’re interested in being a boatman, please inquire about it at the Renard Water Transport guild! You can sign up for the training course at the reception!” the guild workers shouted, distributing flyers.
The youths happily took them, and some even ran off to sign up then and there.
“This is a great success!” I said.
I looked up at Liam, and he smiled.
“I wanna be a boatman too!” Bal said, gazing at the guild flyer with jealousy. Unfortunately for him, he was too young to sign up.
“He should have greater aspirations,” Lord Reineke huffed in a voice only I could hear.
That’s right. In my past life, Bal was a hero who toppled the monarchy.
We got along perfectly now, but back then, he brought down the royal family and condemned House Renard to death. He possessed the talent and qualities to stand above others.
Suddenly, I sensed someone’s gaze and turned around. A packhorse driver who pulled a horse bearing a pile of baggage was staring at me. He had a small child with him. When I met his gaze, he glanced away with a grimace and left.
What was that about?
Despite my suspicions, I was soon carried away by the cheerful air around me and forgot all about it.
✦ ✦ ✦
The canal was finally complete. Prior to the opening ceremony, we were running trials. More people were interested in being boatmen, so we could operate more ships, but there was an issue.
“A fire?” Liam asked, frowning.
“I would like to consult with the wise Lord Reineke,” father said, turning to the fox.
Lord Reineke was resting his chin on my lap and relaxing. He opened his eyes slightly and nodded.
“Speak.”
Relieved, father began explaining.
“A lot of our ships have broken right before the launching ceremony. At first there were only a few small cracks, so we thought they were simply accidents. However, as we observed more closely, we noticed that the damage was gradually getting worse, culminating in a small fire.”
Lord Reineke scoffed.
“Thankfully, only the ships were damaged. But if we leave things as they are, we will be risking lives.”
“Have you not uncovered anything yet?”
My father was strict and earnest, so there was no way he hadn’t done anything about it until this point.
“Naturally, we are carrying out an investigation. However...” The usually rational and composed man struggled to find the words for a moment. “I believe a child may be behind this, and I’m having difficulty with discerning how to deal with that.”
“Oh?”
“The work is crude and the cracks are superficial. It’s hard to imagine an ill-intentioned adult would accomplish so little. We’ve been supervising everything closely, but with that fire breaking out, we can’t just leave things be.”
House Renard placed orders for the ships, which meant we also dealt with the damages. If the accidents were caused by a mischievous child’s pranks, father wouldn’t have them punished severely. However, things were different now that a fire had occurred. The culprit had to be caught and punished, but the most severe penalty for arson was death. Father probably already had an idea about the culprit’s identity, but he wasn’t sure how to proceed and so decided to consult Lord Reineke.
“Hmm. You should let Liam deal with it,” the spirit said nonchalantly. “If a child is behind the fire, it’ll be easier if another child speaks to them.”
“Liam?” the marquis echoed.
“Yes. The next lord of this domain should be able to handle something like this.” Lord Reineke cast Liam a challenging look, his eyes glinting threateningly.
Liam gulped. “Me...?”
“You don’t think you can do it?”
I looked at my brother in a panic. After glancing at me, he nodded.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said resolutely.
Lord Reineke huffed and closed his eyes again. I petted his forehead, causing him to wag his tail.