Chapter 29

Ricardo obtained a piece of land in the suburbs, but land alone was not enough for research and experiments. He needed a fence and a shed. Ricardo asked Bernardo to introduce him to a skilled carpenter.

The carpenter was about fifty years old and seemed to be the foreman who built Bernardo's mansion. His name was Romano Solinas. He was a craftsman whose skills were guaranteed by Bernardo and was known to be a serious carpenter.

When Bernardo introduced Ricardo to Foreman Romano, the foreman gave him a strange look.

It was understandable, as the client turned out to be an eleven-year-old child. Somehow, after Bernardo's persuasion, he agreed and took on the job.

That day, Ricardo went to check the land in the suburbs with Foreman Romano.

Monta, who had just learned to climb trees, immediately came out of the shoulder bag and started exploring.

"Kyuekyu" (I'm going to play)

Monta, who had jumped from Ricardo's shoulder to the trunk of a conifer, started climbing smoothly.

Ricardo only wanted a fence and a shed, but he received criticism from the foreman.

"When building structures outside the city, you have to consider attacks from monsters."

Ricardo was puzzled. Soldiers and monster hunters often passed through this area, so monsters rarely appeared. When he told this to Romano,

"Well, that's usually the case, but in winter, some of them wander in search of food."

"Really?"

"That's why it's common to surround the fence with a moat."

Apparently, some monsters could jump over the fence. While making the fence higher was an option, combining the fence with a moat was more effective and cheaper.

Incidentally, he planned to scatter seeds of medicinal herbs that monsters disliked around the area, but it was uncertain if they would grow in the salty soil.

"So... how large an area do you want to enclose with the fence and moat?"

Ricardo designated an area of thirty meters along the coast and twenty meters parallel to the city wall. This was a location that would not be affected by high tides or rough seas.

He then requested that a small hut for sleeping and a larger workshop be built on one-third of the land.

Initially, he thought a small hut would be enough, but he reconsidered and decided that a spacious area for work was also necessary. However, he asked for the workshop to be a simple structure with walls and a roof, and to be built cheaply.

"Alright... since you're introduced by Mr. Bernardo, I'll give you a discount, but it will still cost about fifty gold coins."

Ricardo, who could pay with the money from selling the magic rod, answered that the amount was fine and handed over twenty gold coins as a down payment.

This was the money needed to purchase materials and gather workers.

After making all the arrangements, Ricardo bid farewell to the people who had taken care of him, including Sydney, and set off from the capital to return to his hometown.

His travel companion was only Monta. He asked Patrick if he wanted to return together, but Patrick declined, saying he couldn't take that much time off.

Ricardo boarded a ship bound for Burg in the Cogats territory from the capital's port and then took a stagecoach from Burg to Delb in the Fabius territory.

Monta, who initially seemed excited by the novelty, started spending more time sleeping in the bag as the monotonous journey continued.

The carriage ride, though leisurely, was more physically demanding than expected.

The carriage shook violently on the unpaved road, and talking to the passenger next to him made him almost bite his tongue.

He heard a concerning rumor from that passenger.

"In the Fabius territory, a large group of goblins has invaded."

Ricardo was surprised.

"Where from?"

"Those who nested in the western Mirage Mountains have multiplied and come down to human settlements."

The Mirage Mountains were home to many monsters. They usually didn't come down to human settlements, but they sometimes descended in search of food when their population exploded.

Ricardo was concerned about the apprentice magicians and the magicians serving the Viscount Fabius. If there was a battle with monsters, the magicians would be sent to the battlefield.

Perhaps the apprentices had also been sent to the battlefield.

Ricardo thought it was a good decision not to return to Alessandro. If he had, he might have been sent to the battlefield in Alessandro's place.

When the carriage finally arrived in Delb, Ricardo felt that the atmosphere of the town had changed. People's faces were anxious, and the cheerful voices of children playing were fewer.

Ricardo went to the catalyst shop of Marta, one of his few acquaintances, to find out the details.

When he entered the shop, Diego, Marta's son, was manning the counter.

"Ricardo, you're alive?"

Diego was dramatically surprised. It had been about three months since Ricardo disappeared from Delb, and they had been worried about him.

"I went to the capital to take the magician's exam."

"Really? Did you pass?"

"Yes, here it is."

Ricardo showed his certification tag.

"If you've become a magician, what are you going to do now?"

"I joined the Magician's Guild."

"I see, so you'll be living in the capital. That's good."

Diego's face darkened.

"Have you heard that a large group of goblins has appeared in the Fabius territory?"

"Yes, did Flavio and Alessandro go to the western mining town of Pakito?"

"Yes, they did."

"Is the viscount sending soldiers to Unius Village too?"

"I think Unius Village has been abandoned."

Ricardo's face darkened.

"Why?"

"Unius Village is a small mountain village. The viscount probably doesn't have the resources to send troops to such a small village."

Ricardo's parents and siblings' faces when they sent him off came to mind.

...I have to go and help.

Driven by a sense of urgency, Ricardo left Delb and headed west.

He retraced the path he had taken two years ago, heading towards his hometown, Unius Village.

After about three hours of walking, it started to get dark. He wondered if he had made a mistake by leaving without any preparation.

"Maybe this was rash. I came out without any preparation."

Monta climbed onto his shoulder and rubbed his head against Ricardo's cheek.

"Kyukyu" (Monta is here. It's okay.)

It wasn't okay at all, but he felt encouraged.

He took out a magic light from his storage crystal and turned it on. When he put the magic light in his backpack, a glowing ball of light floated above his head, illuminating the surroundings.

Relying on this light, he continued his journey at night. Normally, this would be dangerous, as animals and monsters could be attracted to the light.

"Maybe a flashlight would be better in this situation."

After walking for about two hours, he reached his limit, both physically and mentally.

"Should I rest here? If I had known, I would have bought a tent... No, that's not a good idea. A tent would be dangerous if attacked by a monster."

Tents existed in this world, but they were not commonly used outside of soldiers. Considering the presence of monsters, a sturdy container-like structure was necessary.

Ricardo reluctantly leaned against a large rock nearby and decided to spend the night there.

He gathered dry leaves and branches to make a fire and burned a bundle of medicinal herbs that monsters disliked.

When he asked Monta about the smell of the herbs, Monta said it was a strange smell but not particularly disliked. Monsters and intelligent beasts were different.

Monta was sleeping in the bag.

"Mokykyu"

He was probably dreaming about eating something, as his mouth was moving.

Ricardo performed probe meditation to relieve his physical fatigue. The power flowing from the source gate replenished his magic and eliminated his physical fatigue, but his mental fatigue remained.

Trying to rest as much as possible while remaining vigilant, he was startled by a rustling sound.

He had fallen asleep. Looking around, he saw a horned wolf staring at him intently. His heart raced, and his blood circulated rapidly. He tried to remain calm, quietly took out his magic rod, and glared back at the horned wolf.

During the day, he could have defeated it with one blow, but the horned wolf in the dark was eerie and frightening.

The wolf stuck out its tongue and turned around, leaving. It seemed to have given up, realizing the ambush had failed.

"Phew, that was close. If I hadn't noticed, I might have been attacked."

Cold sweat broke out on him now.

He spent the rest of the night alternating between meditation and magic detection.

As the eastern sky began to brighten, Ricardo got up. He put on his backpack and shoulder bag and started walking towards Unius Village.

His body ached from spending the night in an awkward position.

"Ugh, from now on, I'll keep basic camping gear in my storage crystal."

Ricardo's storage crystal had a capacity equivalent to a ten-tatami room, large enough to store camping equipment.

Ricardo hurried along the road and arrived at Unius Village in the late afternoon.

Unius Village was a small village on a hill. The north and south sides were cliffs, and the west side was blocked by a high earthen wall built by the villagers. The only way to enter the village was from the eastern road.

The eastern side was also walled, but not as high as the western side, and there was a large entrance.

Ricardo left the road and approached the village from the forest.

"Monta, don't make any noise."

He whispered to Monta in the bag, who looked at him with large, round eyes and nodded.

Two goblins were patrolling the village entrance. They were about 130 centimeters tall with two small horns on their heads. Their skin was red, and they had large, active eyes.

He had imagined something like goblins, but they were more like smaller versions of red demons. However, their hair was not an afro but a skinhead.

They wore dirty cloths around their waists and held club-like weapons.

From the shade of a tree near the entrance, he observed the situation. The two goblins were fooling around but didn't leave the entrance. They were clearly on guard.

He needed to take them both down at once. If he only took down one, the other would alert the goblins inside the village.

He selected a wind catalyst, infused it with magic, and cast the spell "Storm Fang Array."

Dozens of wind blades attacked the two goblins. The goblins didn't realize the ambush until they were cut to pieces.

The two goblins sank into a pool of blood.

He quickly approached and hid their bodies in the bushes.

Observing the village from the entrance, he saw many goblins wandering around. There were also dead villagers on the road, and some goblin corpses, indicating that the villagers had fought back.

Most of the goblins were surrounding the largest house in the village, the village chief's house. The village chief's house had a large storage shed, which served as a shelter for the villagers.

After assessing the positions of the goblins, he slipped into the village when no one was looking. The village had a narrow main street with houses lining it. The south side had the homes and fields of the village chief and wealthy villagers, while the north side had the homes of poorer villagers.

Ricardo's home was on the north side.

Heading towards the north side of the village, he entered an alley. This area was a maze of small, shabby houses.

As he walked down the alley and turned a corner, he encountered a goblin.

"Garururu"

The goblin, emitting an unpleasant growl, raised its club and attacked. The club aimed for Ricardo's head.

He dodged by jumping back, and the club hit the ground with a heavy thud, sending dirt flying. The goblin was stronger than it looked.

Ricardo raised his magic rod and looked for an opening.

The goblin, with a cruel smile, swung the club wildly. Ricardo dodged a powerful swing by leaning back. The goblin couldn't control the momentum and spun around.

The back of the goblin's head was in front of him. Ricardo infused his magic rod with magic and struck the goblin's head.

The shock wave from the magic rod shook the goblin's brain, causing a severe concussion.

As the goblin fell to the ground, Ricardo hurried on. He was close to his home.

He saw a familiar dilapidated house. It seemed smaller, but that was probably because he had grown.

The entrance to the house was open. Peering inside, he saw a man lying in the dirt floor.

He felt the blood drain from his face.

Ricardo approached quietly and confirmed the man's face.

It was his father. His body was cold and lifeless.

"I didn't make it in time..."

He heard a noise inside the house.

He rushed to the source of the sound and found a young man lying on the floor, with two goblins standing nearby.

The man on the floor was his brother, Antonio. Ricardo silently approached and struck the goblin's neck with his magic rod. The other goblin turned to counterattack but was struck in the face with the magic rod.

He confirmed that the two goblins were dead and checked on Antonio.

Antonio was unconscious but not dead. However, his left wrist, which had been struck by a club, was in a terrible state.

"...He's alive."

He remembered his brother's back, which had carried him. Tears threatened to spill out.

Ricardo searched the house to see if anyone else was there. When he reached the kitchen, he heard a child's cry.

"Right, the basement."

He remembered the vertical pit in the kitchen used to store food.

The pit was covered with a board. When he removed the board, he saw his mother and younger siblings hugging and crying.

"Mom"

His mother, Julia, looked up in surprise.

"Ricardo?"

"Yes, it's me."

He helped his mother and siblings out of the pit and returned to Antonio. His mother watched worriedly, and when she saw his broken left hand, she started crying.

Ricardo took out a life catalyst and cast a healing spell on his brother's hand.

He hadn't used the spell much, but it was successful. The swollen, bruised hand returned to a normal state. However, it was a complex fracture, and it was uncertain if it would function properly.

His mother, Julia, was surprised to see Ricardo use magic.

"You don't have to be so surprised. I told you I became Alessandro's apprentice."

"Yes, I heard. But I never thought he would take you as an apprentice."

It seemed that his mother and Alessandro didn't get along well.

Ricardo hesitated but told his mother that his father was dead at the entrance.

His mother, with her younger son, Serge, and daughter, Pamela, in Ricardo's care, wobbled towards the entrance.

A weak cry was heard.

In Ricardo's arms, his younger brother, Serge, and sister, Pamela, looked up at him with curious faces.

"Serge, don't you remember? It's your big brother, Ricardo."

"Big brother?"

His little brother tilted his head, and his sister, Pamela, did the same. He had last seen Serge when he was three, so it was uncertain if he remembered. As for Pamela, who was only one at the time, she definitely wouldn't remember.

He couldn't save their father. Ricardo's heart was filled with regret.

"If I had arrived earlier... If I had walked without resting yesterday..."

He felt his heart becoming dark and cold, but he realized that this was no good. ...What's done is done.

Although he couldn't save his father, he should be grateful that he saved his siblings and mother. He repeated this like a mantra in his mind.