Frontier Lord Chapter 017: The third visitors, twelve, uh…
Chapter 017: The third visitors, twelve, uh…
Standing on the grassland, I looked towards the endless blue sky.
I thrust my spear forward, raised it, and brought it down. Thrust, raise, drop. I repeated this series of actions as I synced my breathing with the movements of the spear, not allowing myself to rest in order to push myself to greater heights.
I had done this every day without fail — for the ten days that had passed since I joined the ranks of Dias-sama. Not only did I train with the spear, but also with a sword and a bow, not to mention the long runs I did to improve my stamina. I requested to spar with Dias-sama when he was free so that I could, little by little, bring myself closer to his level. Wishing to become strong enough to be an asset to Dias-sama in battle, I poured my heart and soul into this endeavor.
The royal capital was, at present, in total disarray over the issue of succession. The nobles had dissolved into various factions each supporting a possible heir — the eldest or second-eldest prince and the eldest, second-eldest or third-eldest princess. A crossfire of meaningless offensives, coated in the repulsiveness only nobles could achieve, had engulfed the place.
Post-war restoration had come to a standstill due to this counterproductive dispute. Not only were the people affected, but the soldiers and mercenaries as well — their salary had steadily grown more and more wanting. Social unrest had thus broken out, causing the area around the royal capital to descend into even more chaos.
The outskirts of the kingdom were faring even worse. Good-for-nothing lords, now that they had been spared the eyes and ears of the central government, were free to do as they pleased. The neighboring fiefdom governed by that rascal Casdekus had been especially badly hit.
I had seen it for myself on the way here… and just thinking about it made me feel nauseous.
The grant supposedly given to Dias-sama had, in fact, never reached him. It had probably been siphoned away by the second-eldest prince, whose hunger for riches was rumoured to be insatiable. The third-eldest princess who had visited Dias-sama had done so undoubtedly for reasons related to the power struggle — her faction was supposedly weaker than the rest, so it was likely that she had come to get him involved at all costs.
This was unlikely to be the last ripple that reached Nettsrose, but I already knew Dias-sama’s way of dealing with these aftershocks. Just like how he had roared at the third-eldest princess, he would probably adopt the same attitude and disregard for propriety towards any similar visitors. That was in turn likely to bring yet more trouble to this grassland…
And I would keep training in anticipation of that day.
—
Dias-sama was the same as he had been during the war. Kind, sincere and softhearted, his personality had not changed in the slightest despite the elevation of status and his newly attained lordship.
Knowing this, it crossed my mind that I wouldn’t mind dying for his sake. It was a much better way to go — a myriad times better than dying for Casdekus or any of those idiots back at the capital. Just when I had thought that peace had finally returned to the kingdom, things had gone south again. The nobles were even acting as if they thirsted for more war…
I could at least die an honorable death on Nettsrose.
It was one of the thoughts that had accompanied me on the way here.
For some reason, Dias-sama had provided equipment made of dragon material for me. The spear I held in my hand right now was a ‘dragon spear’, a spear fitted with the tooth of a dragon. My breastplate, gauntlet, loinguard and shinguard were all crafted from a dragon’s shell. I wasn’t even sure if the nobles… no, even the royals themselves in the capital could get their hands on such equipment.
And I received so much of it to boot…
That was how much Dias-sama expected from me — a person with the idiotic mindset of wishing to die an honorable death. So how could I let him down? I couldn’t afford to die! I had to live, and live, and live until I became strong enough to offer him support.
Above all, Dias-sama was dead serious on becoming a good, dependable lord. How he would develop his fiefdom, as well as increase its population, was always on his mind. Though this was supposedly the bare minimum that a lord should do, Dias-sama was the only lord in the entire kingdom doing it. And so I must —
Hm?
Dias-sama and Aruna-sama, even Francis and Francois-san… what are they doing coming out of the yurt at this hour? Dias-sama’s grim expression tells me that something serious is afoot.
「What’s wrong, Dias-sama? What are you doing out here at this time? The sun has already set.」
「Aruna has detected a presence — apparently belonging to a group of twelve people coming from the east. One of them is giving off a life force so weak that they might be about to die, so I’m thinking of checking it out before it’s too late.」
Though they were engaged only in name, Aruna-sama and Dias-sama lived under the same roof every night. The former knew a variety of spells with astounding effects that were unheard of even in the royal capital. One of those was life force detection magic, which required quite a bit of preparation to use. Although its effectiveness waned with the number of targets and the distance which they were at, it was still an unbelievable skill to have. I had been surprised to learn that my presence had been clearly detected on both of my visits.
「Shall I follow?」, I asked. 「They could be enemies, like bandits… or something…」
「Nope. Please wait for us to return. Today’s the day we receive supplies from the village, so we need you to stay here. I also intend to send Aruna and the Meias back if anything seems off. I trust you to protect them if that happens.」
「…Understood. Please leave it to me.」
I stuck my spear into the ground and placed a fist in front of my chest in a gesture of respect. Dias-sama nodded in response, and headed in the direction of the presence with his battleaxe in hand. Aruna-sama’s horn then glowed, after which all four disappeared…
Now that’s what I call magic.
I saw it fit to prepare in case I had to fight the unknown visitors. I re-tied my belt, hung my sword by my waist, shouldered my bows and gripped my spear firmly with one hand.
Should I go for a slow jog? One that won’t expend too much energy?
I had to keep my body warmed up just in case.
—
Hm? Is that Dias-sama I see in the distance?
He came back faster than expected — even before the monsterfolk arrived with the supplies. What could have happened out there…?
I watched Dias-sama slowly approach the yurt. He didn’t seem to have met with an enemy or a bunch of bandits. In fact, he had a person — who didn’t look like an enemy, either — slung over his shoulder. That was probably the person with the weak life force… which meant that they had returned as quickly as possible to render aid.
That person… no, those people… they do look like they’re on the brink of death.
—
Dias-sama had returned with twelve old ladies in tow. They were dressed in rags, and had scarves tied around their heads. Their wispy, dirty white hair fluttered as they walked.
I was told that they were abandoned people — people who had been displaced by the recent uprising of Lord Casdekus’s second son. This son had rallied troops to topple his evil father and his own elder brother, and had garnered the support of not only most of the citizens, but the fiefdom’s soldiers as well. Lord Casdekus and his eldest son had fought back by using their money and connections to hire mercenaries who had become unemployed after the war.
It was thus that an armed dispute of relatively large proportions was happening in the neighbouring fiefdom.
These old ladies had been driven out of a poverty-stricken village (the result of never-ending conflict) and away from the Casdekus fiefdom altogether. Their self-appointed leader, old lady Maya, specialised in divination. She had used her powers to try and find a path to survival. With no food or water, the old ladies had pressed on in spite of their frail bodies, walking in the direction Maya had divined. They eventually met with Dias-sama.
They had never given up hope, and now that they had arrived, they each found a spot they fancied and sat down. Aruna-sama handed them bowls of herbal soup, which they began to drink. The old lady who had been too weak to walk, though unable to sit up straight, took a sip of soup as she laid on the ground.
A little color soon returned to her face, and I assumed that she was no longer in immediate danger.
「We did it, Klaus! 12 people of my own at once!」
「Dias-sama… I see that you have welcomed them to your fiefdom, and will be treating them as your people. How you wish to treat these abandoned people is up to you… but I’m afraid they won’t offer much in the way of productivity.」
「They seem to be all seventy and above, while old lady Maya is ninety. Did you know that? Their longevity is miraculous! We should ask them the secret to longevity!」
「Even sixty is a ripe old age, let alone seventy… look, Dias-sama, they can pass on at any time — I wouldn’t even be surprised if one of them does so tomorrow. That’s why I think… oh, you’re not listening anymore.」
As we talked, Dias-sama had walked over to the storage yurt with unconcealed glee on his face. He headed inside and walked out with as many yurt-building materials as he could possibly carry.
「H-Hold on, I’ll help too! Please don’t try to yank them out by force — you’ll damage the precious yurts!」
I threw my dragon equipment aside and hurried over to Dias-sama.
It’s a good thing to be nice. A great thing, in fact, but being too nice can be a bad thing!
Can you hear me, Dias-sama?
Everything in moderation! Please!
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Frontier Lord
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