Ch#40
Who Edward Wight was, and what kind of person he was, was common knowledge that even a country bumpkin would know.
His life story was legendary to that extent.
Heterogeneous and genius.
These were the labels that followed Edward Wight like a shadow, and they were indeed the most fitting words to describe him.
After all, the fact that he was ranked among the Continent’s 7 Strongest with martial prowess inferior to that of a common knight should be explanation enough.
His mother was Rebecca White, the developer of the Western Armin Circular Railway.
Edward Wight was born to an extraordinary woman who changed an era, and he himself was a man blessed with an ineffable intelligence.
At the age of 10, Edward Wight mastered all existing advanced engineering.
At 11, he took an interest in the structure of the matchlock gun and modified the weapon—which until then had taken several minutes to load—drastically reducing its reload time.
Then at 13, the concepts he introduced succeeded in proving their terrifying power with the outbreak of the Western War, and simultaneously, he sat upon a throne of wealth.
At 14, Edward Wight did not stop there and commenced the development of new weaponry.
However, it was an enterprise that required far more capital than could be provided by the money gathered from selling modified matchlock guns.
It was then that his intellect shone once more.
<I will build a railway that traverses the continent. Together with you.>
It was an advertising slogan that spread beyond the West and across the entire continent.
It was an absurd proposition.
A railway traversing this vast continent—it was unimaginable how much funding it would require or how much time it would take.
Most people scoffed, but a few sharp individuals focused on the phrase ‘Together with you.’
That was it.
He had created the concept of a ‘Joint Stock Company.’
The method of investing capital into an individual and sharing the stakes of that business was a shocking way of operating a corporation, unprecedented on the continent.
He was the first man to legally notarize and realize the concept of investment, which had previously existed only in a haphazard manner.
It was something that could easily threaten the feudal system.
Indeed, had he not created a freakish structure where anyone could exercise power as long as they had money, regardless of status?
Yet, no one could stop his runaway train.
It was because the major shareholder who invested in ‘EW’ at that time was none other than the Demon King, Zerdia.
“Interesting. Go ahead and try.”
The King of Najak and a powerhouse of the continent, he supported Edward Wight.
This carried many meanings.
If one were to pick the greatest among them, it was that ‘realism’ had been breathed into Edward Wight’s vision.
The name of a continental powerhouse, now called the 7 Strongest, carried that much credibility.
“Now, you won’t get another chance to buy corporate shares at such a bargain! Invest now!”
Under his shadow, Edward Wight began to attract investment funds at an explosive pace.
It was a success.
The railway corporation ‘EW’ raised funds amounting to five times his original goal, successfully listed itself, and spread the railway throughout the entire West.
That took a mere two years.
He had bought the time required for the work with money.
Edward Wight was 16 years old at the time.
It was also then that the name of Flame Demon Igret, who was 10 years old at the time, was engraved into the iron fortress known as EW.
“Now, I shall spread the railway across the entire continent. Furthermore, I will devise new means of military force to end the war.”
At 18, Edward Wight made that declaration, and in just one year, he succeeded in one of the two: the introduction of a new concept of weaponry.
Bolt-action.
He had developed a firearm where the gunpowder was embedded in the bullet, rather than being shoved into the muzzle.
Of course, it was a technology impossible to commercialize.
Setting aside its power, the technical skill and capital required to manufacture even a single bullet were astronomical.
Finding craftsmen to make the bullets, educating them, lowering the defect rate, and operating them in actual combat required an immense amount of resources.
Edward Wight eventually gave up on its commercialization.
However, he succeeded in supplying it to the elite troops of Armin.
It was the decisive event that allowed Armin, the weakest on the battlefield at the time, to rise as one of the three great powers.
That very day, Edward Wight was granted the title of Duke.
He became widely known as the Duke of Gold, and despite possessing a body that could not handle a single pinch of mana, he even earned the alias of the Continent’s 7 Strongest, Geumgong Edward.
He had bought martial might with money.
That was at age 22.
Following that, at 25, he completed the transcontinental railway, spreading his legendary life story across the whole world.
Since he was such a man,
“I am in a bad mood. Very much so.”
Elric could not let his guard down.
“State your business quickly. Better yet, I should ask how you found me first.”
A blood-colored glow settled in Elric’s eyes.
Edward shrugged his shoulders with a smirk.
“You seem to have forgotten, but this railway is mine. Knowing who boarded where and got off where is a piece of cake. Especially if it’s a person of interest, all reports reach my ears.”
Elric frowned.
‘So he knew since the moment I left the West.’
His thinking had been shallow.
He should have moved while hiding his identity from the start.
“Boy, I was surprised though. I never dreamed the Sword Demon elder would be a married man. A man who acted like he was going to die today… Heek! Don’t look at me like that.”
The moment his throat was constricted by killing intent, Edward shrank back in terror.
“We aren’t on bad terms, are we? Eh? Things were good on the battlefield…”
“I was wondering if I should offer a token of gratitude for my knees.”
“E-ey… what disappointing words.”
Edward laughed subserviently.
“Was that something I did personally? It was our army that did it.”
“It was you who made their weapons. And you go around boasting about that work. Is that all? If I recall correctly, it was you who commanded the battlefield that day.”
“I’d appreciate it if you viewed it as part of business…”
Elric did not particularly like the man’s sly, evasive attitude.
Elric tapped his cane with his index finger.
“I’ll hear your purpose for coming. I have company.”
“Ah, of course. Such a lovely wife…”
“I’d prefer you didn’t mention her further. I’m starting to get angry. No, I am already angry.”
This situation where Edward had learned of Tiria’s existence was too great a disadvantage for Elric.
Should he choose to play tricks, Elric did not have many means to stop him.
He had to at least issue a threat.
“If you play tricks on my wife, I may not be able to stop you. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to take any action afterward.”
“I-is that so…?”
“First, I will be hired by Armin’s enemies without pay. I will stand at the vanguard of the battlefield and tear your country down. Of course, you personally won’t take a hit. Since EW is your cradle.”
Edward swallowed hard.
Elric continued matter-of-factly.
“I’ll have to destroy the railway. I will go around killing your major shareholders one by one. That should decrease your friendly stakes. There will be those who try to sell their shares as well.”
“…….”
“It’ll be a slow rot. And just before EW collapses, I will come for you. After tightening the noose around your neck until you are at your most miserable, I will take your head.”
It wasn’t a simple threat.
If he actually harmed Tiria, Elric was a man who would carry out everything he just said.
“Do you think I cannot do it?”
He likely didn’t. His stiffened expression was already telling.
Discussing the feasibility was laughable.
Sword Demon Kasha was that kind of name.
“Now, do you still wish to talk about my wife?”
When asked, Edward straightened his posture with a more serious face.
“…Tsk, this isn’t what I came for.”
He scratched his head.
‘Ah, I feel like I’m going to piss myself.’
Edward felt his breath hitch as he looked into Elric… Kasha’s eyes.
He thought the man might have softened a bit while recuperating in the countryside.
Indeed, when he was chatting with his wife, he had the air of an ordinary young man found anywhere.
‘So he was wearing a mask.’
Does that man’s wife know?
That her husband is a man-slaying demon who will hunt down and tear apart anyone he decides to bite, even to the ends of hell.
Edward let out a long breath and spoke.
“As you can see, I didn’t come to fight. You know it, don’t you? If I intended to fight, I wouldn’t have come here personally in the first place.”
Sword Demon Kasha was a man who, even among the 7 Strongest, most deserved the title of ‘Powerhouse.’
Would it be enough of an explanation to say that, excluding the current situation of the Empire where he lived in seclusion, there wasn’t a single person who could defeat him in a one-on-one duel?
Of course, battlefields don’t consist only of one-on-one combat.
That was why the 7 Strongest maintained a balance, and why Edward’s head was still attached to his neck today.
Edward was not ignorant of that fact.
In this situation, he was clearly the weaker party.
“If not to fight, then?”
“I came to negotiate.”
Edward leaned his head forward and said.
“I know well that our Sword Demon elder hates talking in circles and hates false modesty, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
Edward took a breath and finally spat out the main subject.
“Please retire. I would like you to never look back toward the Western Battlefield again.”
The back of his neck felt cold.
“I want the war to last longer.”
Kasha’s gaze sank.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)
