Chapter 3

3. I came here to heal, but it turns out the next place is the Demon Realm?

The Lord's manor in Haloon was a bit away from the village.

It was in an ambiguous location between the western forest and the village.

There was a reason why the manor was built in that spot.

Gallant, the captain of the guard, who was rolling a cigarette, waved to Mauk.

Mauk clicked his tongue as he looked at Gallant, who had his spear stuck in the ground.

"Gallant. If Lord sees you slacking off, he'll be furious."

"I've been helping with the land reclamation from morning till now. Isn't it okay to rest a bit and then pick up the spear?"

Gallant was a man with good wits, to put it nicely.

To put it less nicely, he was rather lazy.

Still, as a retired mercenary, his spear skills were quite decent.

Even in a frontier domain, the captain of the guard wasn't chosen by a dice roll.

Gallant and Mauk were old friends.

They spent their childhood together, and while Gallant joined the White Deer Mercenary Group, Mauk went to the Imperial Academy.

They returned to the village around the same time.

Both had talents and skills that weren't bad, but the life of a frontier villager without connections had its limits.

"Hey, Mauk. What do you think of the new Lord?"

"He's terrible."

"What? He seemed to be treated well enough."

"From what I could see, he looks like a knight who was demoted. He clearly lacks etiquette and knowledge."

"Still, the horse he rode in on looked quite fine. The harness seemed to be quite expensive too."

"Of course, he has noble blood, so he must have sufficient wealth. Given that he was appointed as Lord despite only having a knighthood, his charisma isn't bad."

There were several meanings behind those words.

Not all knights are skilled in combat.

Many knights rely on their lineage to wield political power.

If they slip up, they end up being exiled to a place like this.

"Indeed. He came to Haloon alone, without any retainers, right?"

"Yeah. He looks like a man who's been kicked out of his home."

"What's his personality like?"

"He's not cruel."

"That's good enough, then."

"I think Haloon needs a strong Lord, even if he's cruel."

"Well... you're not entirely wrong. Speaking of which, it's about time."

At Gallant's words, Mauk looked down.

"Life is really tough for both of us."

"Hehe. Just take it easy. It's better to give up on things that won't work out."

"I didn't study hard to end up like this."

"...Still, you should have, no, I should have learned more about using a sword. The young men in Haloon are weak and can't wield a spear properly. They can't use wooden ones either."

While a spear is advantageous for survival, they only have swords, so there's no choice.

"Otherwise, you might end up a corpse and never return."

"Well, that's true."

The hopeful and dream-filled days of our youth are over.

Gallant and Mauk were learning to adapt to the harsh realities of life day by day.

"This is what it means to grow up, I guess."

Gallant rummaged through his coat and started rolling another cigarette.

"It's fine for today, but from tomorrow, you need to be more careful. The Lord will be touring the domain."

"I know, that's why I'm having one more, Mauk."

Gallant's laugh made Mauk sigh deeply.

'Maybe I should start smoking cigarettes like this guy.'

Otherwise, there's no way to ease this suffocating feeling.

'I hope the new Lord is a decent person, unlike the previous one.'

* * *

"I present the Lord."

"I present the Lord."

I looked at Mauk with a troubled expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm. First, send the children outside."

"Yes. Both of you, go outside the door."

As the children left with confused faces, I tapped my fingers on the table.

"What's not to your liking? I picked the cutest children in the village."

"They're too young."

"Excuse me? Do you have a preference for older...?"

I was shocked by Mauk's words.

Who does he think I am, some pervert?

"No, what are you talking about? They're too young to be assigned tasks."

"Those children are sixteen. They are capable of doing their part. They help with farming now."

I doubted my ears.

In this world, sixteen is considered an adult.

"Sixteen? They look like they're only ten to me."

"...The domain's situation isn't very good."

"Yesterday and today, the meals weren't bad, though."

"Of course, it's the Lord's meal, so we paid special attention."

Paid special attention?

I arrived at an awkward time yesterday.

Breakfast was meager, but considering we couldn't hire servants, it wasn't bad.

But that was considered special attention?

"What about the meals for the villagers?"

"For breakfast, they usually eat a small piece of wheat bread and a soup made with grains."

"What about lunch?"

"They mainly eat tree fruits or freshly baked corn. They catch fish from the lake, but it's not abundant. The fish are mostly used to flavor the broth."

In this world, unless you're a noble, two meals a day are common.

Breakfast is around 7 AM.

Lunch is around 1 PM.

In places without lamps, people usually go to bed when it gets dark, around 5 PM to 6 PM.

It's the opposite of the life of nobles who wake up late and party until dawn.

"What about winter, when there are no tree fruits?"

"Since they can't farm, they break the ice on the lake and go fishing. Or they share salted meat they've stored in large quantities."

"Buy meat?"

"Yes."

That was strange to hear.

Haloon is a remote area, but its location isn't bad.

Ultimately, real estate is best in the long term when the location is good.

If this village were in the middle of a major road, it might have been very prosperous.

"The west is a forest, and the south is a grassland, right? There should be plenty of animals to hunt."

"...It seems you came here knowing nothing about Haloon."

Mauk's troubled expression made me feel uneasy.

"The forest to the west is connected to the Demon Realm, and the grassland to the south is where the barbarians occasionally appear."

Even in this world where monsters exist, I had never heard of the Demon Realm before.

I didn't see anything like that in games either.

"Demo... Are you joking? Such...?"

I laughed, thinking he was joking, but Mauk was serious.

"Indeed, you don't believe it. It's rare to find someone who knows about the Demon Realm."

Mauk brought his hands together at chest level.

A small light appeared in his hands.

"Mana? Are you a mage?"

"Yes. I am a mage dispatched to replenish the magic power of the barrier. The villages near the western part of the kingdom were all established for this purpose."

Mauk being a mage was hard to believe.

But it wasn't as unbelievable as being stabbed by the claw of a Zizeryong Drimula or slapped by the palm of a Cyclops Krugul.

"...I see."

Now it made sense.

Gareth, the rascal, wouldn't have granted my request so easily.

He must have known everything and sent me here.

This is it.

I had a nagging feeling all along.

...Now the puzzle pieces fit together.

Mauk being a graduate of the Imperial Academy also made sense now.

Magic can only be learned there.

The stage for 'The Lord of the Frontier Land' is limited to the kingdom, so mages are rare.

This was a very serious problem.

It meant that right next to my domain, where I was supposed to enjoy a healing life, there was a monster portal.

"Can I see that barrier?"

"Excuse me? Right now?"

"Yes."

"It's quite far."

"Can't you use a warp spell?"

Mauk laughed bitterly.

"Heh. I apologize. Only the great mage Michelan and his disciples can use such powerful magic."

"Is that so? You can't use a warp spell, then?"

Mauk looked at me with a slightly hurt expression.

"Ah, yes..."

Mauk had a surprisingly timid side.

"Then let's just walk there."

* * *

Even though I got the back of my head from the rascal,

My basic intention to enjoy a slow healing life hasn't changed.

If the Demon Realm is next to me, I just need to be a bit more careful.

After all, the Zizeryong Drimula and Cyclops Krugul are boss-level monsters from the Demon Realm.

They can't possibly be swarming around.

For small monsters... does the Lord need to deal with them personally?

Such trivial matters should be handled by subordinates.

"Is it true that you need to inject mana into the barrier once a week?"

"Yes. In fact, once a month would be enough, but the regulations require it to be done weekly."

"Is Mauk the only mage in the village?"

"Yes. If something happens to me, a mage from a nearby village will take over, and vice versa."

Mauk was sweating profusely.

The forest is huge, and even though it looks close, we haven't even reached halfway.

I thought he was a centurion from the Empire because he graduated from the Academy.

But he's a mage.

It would be a headache to work with this guy, who has poor physical strength.

"Really takes a long time to walk."

"Yes, it does."

"Why don't you ride a horse?"

"Managing a horse is not easy. It requires separate manpower to prepare feed and brush the fur."

Horses are sensitive animals.

That's why knights bring retainers.

But I'm not a knight who enjoys jousting, so I don't need retainers.

Nils, on the other hand, isn't a typical horse; he just needs to be fed well.

"Do they teach horse management at the Academy?"

I know a lot about life at the kingdom's Academy through Gareth the rascal.

Everyone thinks he's scary and stern, but he's surprisingly talkative.

But I heard that the Empire's Academy is very different from the kingdom's military academy.

"I also learned how to ride a horse when I was in the Empire."

Mauk muttered with a nostalgic look.

"Is the Empire that wealthy?"

"It's not much different from the kingdom. However, the integrity of the nobles in the Empire is incomparable to that of the kingdom."

"Haha. You can say anything in front of a knight."

"You are a knight under the Duke, right? It's well known that the Duke despises the current king."

"That's true."

Suddenly, I burst out laughing.

The rascal used to curse the king every time we visited other villages.

"Huff, huff... Huff, huff..."

This guy might die young at this rate.

Since he's a mage and seems quite smart, I need to train his physical strength to use him for a long time.

It would be good to get Nils' help until his physical strength improves.

"Alright. Ask Nils if he can give you a ride."

"Nils... the horse?"

Mauk looked at me as if I were crazy.

"Ah, he's not a typical horse. Can't you tell from his appearance?"

"His ears were a bit longer and folded..."

"You didn't know? I thought you'd know as a mage."

"I'm not an outstanding mage. I don't even know a few spells."

Hmm, the mages I've seen were all quite skilled.

They must have been extraordinary.

Mauk's eyes now resemble the way I look at Gareth.

I should write a letter to Gareth tonight.

Filled with curses.

"Explaining it is complicated... You'll understand once you ride Nils. From now on, if you need to go somewhere, I'll lend you Nils. It's inconvenient if you spend all your time walking back and forth and have less time to work."

I have a mountain of work to do.

"Ah, yes... I don't know whether to be happy or not."

For Mauk, it's just a choice between walking and working.

Actually, it's a good deal for me.

I can exercise Nils regularly and use Mauk more.

It's a win-win.

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