Josh couldn‘t help but get excited as they walked down to the clearing. After all, he had seen what Leo did to those goblins with that sword of his. And he‘s gonna get trained to be able to do exactly the same.

As soon as they reached the clearing, Leo pulled out two wooden swords from God knows where and threw one for Leo to catch. Josh somehow managed to not fumble and caught the sword with ease.

“Milord, look at me!” Leo shouted to draw the attention of Josh. “This is the basic guard position. It’s essential as it keeps you balanced and well poised for any advance.” Leo said, starting the lesson straight away.

After saying that out, he walked over to Josh, who was doing his best to mimic the guard's stance. Leo just lightly knocked on his fist and shoulder to correct him before showcasing him how to slash.

“This is a downwards slash. It’s one of the most powerful slashes with a sword you can do and is one of the best at breaking guard. Yet it comes with the most risks as it leaves you off balance and exposed to counterattacks.” Leo performed the slash for a good minute, allowing Josh to appreciate it.

You raise your sword, you lean forward, and you slash with your core muscles.

After repeating that inner mantra, Josh tried to mimic the slash, but he struggled to do it correctly until Leo corrected his form, adjusting his grip and stance. “Remember, Milord. It’s all about consistency and not leaving any gaps.” Leo said, full of confidence in his voice.

Only a handful of minutes had passed since Josh started to perform the downward slash, yet sweat poured down his face, his breath shaky from exhaustion.

This is mind-numbingly good for me. It reminds me of the runner’s high I experienced a couple of times back in middle school.

Leo felt that Josh was ready to move on from the downward slash, so he started showing him all of the essential slashes, stabs, thrusts, and stances.

At least two hours had passed since they sent out the letter. Josh was utterly exhausted, but with a smile on his face, the heavy exercise definitely made him feel better.

After they finished the training, Leo entrusted the family relic ‘Stellar Night’ to Josh.

“Keep safe hold of it, Milord,” he said.

“I will,” Josh kept his reply short.

As the last part of today's training, Leo showed Josh how to properly sheathe and unsheathe the blade.

“Leo, from now on, every morning straight after breakfast, I want you to train me in swordsmanship,” Josh spoke after properly sheathing his blade.

“With pleasure, Milord,” Leo replied.

As they walked back into the manor, Josh couldn’t help but ask Leo. “Do the indentured servants under my rule pay tax in coins or the harvest?”

“Milord, they usually sell their harvest to merchants and pay the tax in coins,” Leo replied.

We definitely should be making a surplus of harvest, considering that over ninety percent of people I’ve seen work in the fields.

“Do we have any documents on how much harvest we have each year? Or what are the prices of grains in Cities?” Josh enquired, his mind spinning of ways to make money off it.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Milord, I believe we harvest around four hundred thousand bushels of wheat each year, with about two hundred thousand being for consumption of our own people and another two hundred thousand sold to merchants,” Leo replied

“And what price do they sell the grain for?”

“Milord, I believe it depends on the season, but usually it’s around one to two large copper coins per bushel,” Leo replied.

So they sell all of it for roughly ten platinum coins.

Holy shit Elaria earns enough to buy half of our yield.

“Wait, the numbers don’t add up. You said we earn around eighteen platinum coins in tax, and that should only amount to nine or ten?” Josh asked Leo.

“Milord, most of our tax comes from citizens, not the serfs,” Leo replied.

That means one citizen needs to pay around a hundred times more tax than a serf.

“I need a written documents that lists how much and who paid tax last year,” Josh asked.

“I’ll do my best to get you one, Milord,” Leo replied.

Before they parted their ways, Josh came up with one last instruction for his steward.

“Actually, I have something for you to do, Leo. Now that the fields are sowed and weeks have passed, the serfs should have plenty of time. I want you to make serfs lay direct roads between our villages, with their pay being two small copper coins exemption from tax for each day worked,” Josh, with a thoughtful expression, commanded his steward.

“Milord, we can’t afford that,” Leo quickly replied.

“Don’t worry about it. Just do as you’re told,”

It’s going to be a good test useful at being a steward instead of a knight he truly is.

Leo just grunted in affirmation, with clear displeasure on his face the orders that didn’t make sense to him.

Elaria Kryos is a genius mage who managed to achieve a rank of Magus with a measly mana sensitivity of four and all of that before the age of thirty. Even being banished from her Elven forest together with being discriminated against in the Human kingdom she resided in now didn’t stop her. Let alone taking care of one snot-faced dumb brat in the middle of nowhere for a year will.

She was reading a book in her students study room when Josh walked in and interrupted her.

What does he want now?

As Josh entered the study room, his eyes wandered. He couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer pinnacle of beauty compared to the modern standards his elven mentor exuded.

“Lady Magus, I come with a proposition for you,” he said, not daring to meet her eyes.

Oh? A proposition, he says.

“Enlighten me, Ward Josh,” she replied, her stone-cold face hiding her emotions.

Josh pondered for a moment before lashing out.

“Work for me for free,” he said.

Excuse me?

Flabbergasted, Elaria interrupted him. “This is insulting, Ward Josh. I hope what comes next out of your mouth makes sense, or else.”

“Lady Elaria, how long is your contract with the crown to tutor me?” Josh asked her.

“It’s a year, with the wage at the market rate of Magus services,” she replied, humoring his questions.

“I want you to extend it to two years, where you work your first year for free. But in the second year, you will earn 9 platinum coins coins instead of the usual four,” he said.

Interesting.

“If you can’t pay me now, how will you be able to pay me next year?” Elaria, intrigued, asked.

“I have a plan, but it’s slow. For it to work, I need to know more about this world. About the surrounding cities and towns and the kingdom as a whole. Also having information on the Count and Marquis would come in handy as well,” he fervently explained to her.

Madness, pure madness.

“And I’m expected to take your word for it that it will work?” for the first time since she got her, a smile broke out on her face as she asked that.

“Yes, I’m hoping you will make a bet on me… No, I plead for you to make a bet on me. You already saved my life once. You are the only one in this world I can fully trust.” Josh knelt on the ground as he asked that.

Poor kid.

Elaria had a thoughtful expression for a handful of seconds before she uttered, “Let me think about it. No promises, though.”

Josh, not convinced, stood up and unsheathed the sword at his hips. “I’m also willing to use this as collateral if I fail to pay you even once,” he handed the sword to her as he explained.

“This is ‘Stellar Night’, one of the dwarven masterpieces ranking at 487th place. I’ve been told its worth is in hundreds or even thousands of platinum coins.”

Impossible. How could he have one of the masterpieces? Only Dukes and Royals or famous Generals should have one.

Her hand shook as she examined the blade. Not believing her eyes, she chantlessly cast a spell that encased the blade in frost. After doing that, she chanted [vis ruptio], which shook the blade with invisible force, smashing all the ice away, leaving the blade in pristine condition, and even cleaning the dust off it.

It’s real.

She pushed the sword back to him.

“It’s too precious I can’t rob it off you for a measly one year of work.” Erratically, she said.

Josh pushed the sword back to her. “Better a poor man but alive than a dead men with fancy sword.”

I can’t. It’s too precious. I truly can’t.

“Also, you are only getting it if I fail to pay you. Please, I need you to help me, Elaria. I don’t know who to trust in this world. And I’m willing to bet it all on trusting you,” he pleaded once more.

He reminds me of Elio.

She just shook her head at the displeasing thoughts that started to plague her mind before saying out loud.

“Fine, I accept your deal, Ward Josh. I’m willing to bet on you. No collateral needed.”