Chapter 44

"Here comes the caravan!"

"Is there anything unusual this time?"

"Don't be so picky, securing salt is the bare minimum."

My name is Fritz.

I am a farmer living in a pioneer village that has crossed the mountain range from the Margraviate of Breichreder at the southern end of the Linggaiya continent.

I am twenty-six years old, and my family consists of my parents, my wife, and two children.

The boy is five years old, and the girl is three.

I have a younger brother named Holst, but he has married into a neighboring village.

This is because no male children were born in that family.

I don't know much about it, but apparently, the village head of our village and the village head of the neighboring village decided this after consulting with each other.

This pioneer village is the only place where people live on the southern side of the mountain range.

It seems that over a hundred years ago, the fourth ancestor of the current lord brought people from the capital and spent over a hundred years developing this area.

I can imagine the unimaginable hardships, but to me, it's just a "Hm" and that's it.

Moreover, it's not as if we can live a carefree life even now.

About ten years ago, when I was still a minor, there was a large-scale military expedition.

About thirty people from our village were ordered by the lord to join the expedition.

I remember the young lord, who is the lord's great-uncle and the chief vassal, wearing heavy armor and riding a beautiful horse, different from the farming horses.

However, the expedition failed, and only five out of the thirty returned.

Naturally, the chief vassal and his sons, who were assisting him, did not return either.

I remember the few survivors returning in a terrible state, emaciated and worn out.

They had to kill and eat their horses due to hunger halfway through, and they walked hundreds of kilometers using their spears as walking sticks.

Along the way, some were injured, fell ill, or were attacked by wolf packs.

Some had to be left behind.

I remember the five survivors talking with regret.

Even they were not unscathed.

They were unusually afraid of the dark and panicked at the sight of large boars or bears during the autumn group hunts.

The place they went to is called the "Forest of Demons," and it seems they had a truly terrifying experience.

Another issue was the conflict between the villages.

The official name of this pioneer area is the Baumeister Knight's Domain.

There is a lord's manor.

The domain is roughly divided into three villages, with a total population of about seven hundred.

It seems to be one of the larger knight's domains, but our domain is poor.

The failure of the expedition significantly reduced the population.

Then, for some reason, the lord ordered us to participate in labor to expand the farmland.

Naturally, our village head and the neighboring village head opposed it.

With the workforce reduced, maintaining the current farmland was already a struggle, so why rush the reclamation plan?

It would be better to focus on hunting to prepare for winter.

In my opinion, our village head and the neighboring village head were right.

But, the lord and the village head of the main village, Klaus, who offered his daughter as a concubine to the lord, had their way.

As a result, I was very busy.

At fourteen, I was considered an adult and had to work.

Even children younger than that worked hard, helping with reclamation and household chores, with only occasional breaks to play.

Naturally, the time for fishing in the river or hunting and gathering in the forest was reduced, and the meals became meager.

It's dangerous to go out at night in this domain, so hunting at night is not an option.

With all the daylight hours taken up by reclamation and farming, life was tough.

The wheat harvest had increased, but the lord bought most of it, except for what we needed for food and taxes.

Naturally, there were complaints, and there were rumors that part of the funds for buying the wheat and the reclamation costs were used as one-time payments to the families of those who died in the expedition.

Apparently, the Margrave of Breichreder, who forced the expedition, paid more than the required amount, but the lord took a cut of the excess.

It's a nasty rumor, but in a village with no entertainment, rumors spread quietly and secretly.

As a result, for a while, the meals consisted only of thin salted vegetable soup and crumbly black bread, with no lunch.

Only the village head's and the lord's families had three meals a day.

But, in Breichburg, everyone has three meals a day.

Hearing that, I felt a bit envious.

In this situation, my childhood friend Boris, who lives nearby, is leaving the village with the next caravan.

He is going to become an apprentice at a workshop in Breichburg.

Boris's parents didn't oppose it because he is their third son.

The village head had asked him to marry into a farming family that had lost its head, but Boris is only twelve.

It's impossible for him to marry, and it would be cruel to make him feel uncomfortable at home during that time.

In the end, Boris left the village.

I think it was for the best.

Oh, right.

This is the most important part of the story.

When the reclamation was almost finished, and I was about to turn twenty and start looking for a wife, a rumor about the lord's eighth son started to spread.

Apparently, he can use magic.

I don't know to what extent.

I've never even seen his face.

He might be able to produce a little water, or he might be able to blow up a mountain with magic.

Rumors are unreliable, after all.

But, I thought, wouldn't it be nice if he could use magic to move the large rock we are struggling to move with five of us, including me?

Am I just lazy?

Later, the people from the main village said, "Vendelin's magic isn't that great. Don't rely on it; focus on the reclamation."

It seems the lord's eighth son is called Vendelin.

You might ask why I didn't know, but since he's the eighth son, he wouldn't stay in the village, and there was no need for us to remember.

Also, I've never seen him use magic.

After all, the people from the main village said it.

The reason the Baumeister Knight's Domain is divided into three villages is due to regional conflicts.

The descendants of the residents brought from the slums of the capital by the old lord live in the main village, where the lord's manor is located.

The village head is Klaus, who offered his daughter as a concubine to the lord and now handles all the tax collection, making him the de facto number two in the domain.

Naturally, his reputation is not good.

Our village head and the neighboring village head openly say they hate him.

To us, the village head is like a person from a different world, so it doesn't matter much to us.

But, we do dislike the people from the main village.

They think they are superior to us because they were the first to settle here.

They have a high sense of pride.

Our village and the neighboring village were settled in the second and third waves, and the residents come from various places.

But, we have lived together for over a hundred years, and we get along well because we all dislike the people from the main village.

However, such conflicts in such a small domain make our area seem poor.

I think such matters are the work of the great nobles in the capital.

"Is it a bit better?"

"Yes? I think it's Vendelin, right?"

Vendelin, who was rumored to have some magic, but I have spoken to him a few times.

He would come to exchange the game he hunted for soybeans.

"Today, I have two Holoholo birds and two wild rabbits. I would like to exchange them for soybeans."

"The Holoholo birds are appreciated."

Vendelin is very skilled at hunting, even though he is still young.

Even Ingolf, who is supposed to be the best hunter in our village, can only catch one Holoholo bird every three days.

But, why soybeans?

They are only useful for adding to soup or feeding livestock.

However, the trade is very favorable for us, and I don't want to ask a noble questions and make them nervous.

"Also, I would like to exchange for something with blue seeds."

"Blue soybeans?"

"The seeds inside should be large and just turning yellow."

"I see, thank you."

"Boil them and sprinkle salt; they are delicious."

I remember thinking he was a strange noble.

But, the boiled blue soybeans were indeed delicious.

It made me want to drink, but alcohol is not something we can drink much of here, so that's a bit disappointing.

"Soybeans should be planted at regular intervals to help the growth of other crops."

"Interesting."

Vendelin once said this.

I was skeptical, but the crops did grow well.

After that, the people from the main village started spreading rumors again.

"Vendelin is naturally a bit lazy. But, it's not a problem since he will leave the village soon."

But, I can't trust what the people from the main village say.

A lazy person can't outperform professional hunters.

I asked our village head discreetly, and he said that, from the perspective of the main village, an excellent younger brother is a threat to the domain's order.

"Those people have a high sense of pride as natives. They fear that the lord's succession order will be disrupted by Kurt."

Overall, they value their superiority in the main village more than the prosperity of the domain.

This kind of thinking is not uncommon in rural areas.

I think it would be better if the domain became more prosperous.

"People are like that. Besides, I can't understand Klaus's thinking."

Klaus is the village head of the main village.

Yet, he doesn't seem to fully support the lord or Kurt.

There are rumors that he is doing something behind the scenes, and he is considered a dangerous person.

Our village head is called Jürgen.

I think he is a much better village head compared to Klaus.

"Before that, I dislike him as a person!"

"If Jürgen hears that, it will be a big problem."

After all this, Vendelin, who had turned twelve, left the village.

He was going to the school in Breichburg to become an adventurer.

"The life of eating Holoholo birds for soybeans is over..."

Many villagers sighed like this.

The people from the main village seemed relieved.

Compared to Kurt, the heir, it must have been tough for Vendelin.

There was a similar situation with Ehrich, the fifth son, before.

Then, on the second arrival of the caravan after Vendelin left, everyone rushed to buy things.

There are no shops in the domain, so everyone was eager to buy rare items with their coins, despite the high prices.

First, they bought the necessary salt.

"Everyone, I have brought an extra edition printed in Breichburg today."

It seems it was distributed just before the caravan left.

When I read it, there was an article about Vendelin defeating a legendary ancient dragon.

We can read and write, at least the basics, thanks to the priest at the church.

The priest, who is about to die, taught us.

It's in hiragana and katakana, and kanji is still difficult.

"Is Vendelin the lazy one?"

"Such rumors are unreliable. The people from the main village said it."

"They are favored by Kurt."

Even if they are favored in this poor domain, it's not much.

Besides, it's questionable whether they are truly favored.

They live in the village with the lord's manor and consider themselves natives.

I think they are satisfied with that sense of pride.

"He received a large sum of money from the kingdom for the materials of the ancient dragon he defeated, received a prestigious medal called the Double Dragon Medal, and was appointed as a baron."

"He's not lazy at all!"

Indeed, I've never heard of a lazy person defeating a dragon.

He seems like a great person, not someone from a rural area.

Moreover, why did the lord let such a person go?

Everyone who read the extra edition thought the same.

On the other hand, some people didn't seem interested.

The people from the main village.

Klaus was also there, but he had a creepy smile on his face.

Indeed, Jürgen was right.

"But, this is..."

Jürgen had a look of uncertainty.

"Jürgen?"

"In a few years, there is a high possibility of significant changes in this remote area. Whether it will be good or bad, I can't say."

Then, three months later, the third caravan of the year brought news that Vendelin had defeated a second dragon, become a baron, received a large sum of money, and was engaged to the granddaughter of a high-ranking person called a cardinal.

"Good, this domain will become prosperous."

"Long live Vendelin!"

Some people were happily celebrating, but I'm not sure if it will really turn out well.

Looking at Jürgen's expression, I don't think it will go smoothly.