SML Ch 4

Chapter 4

Reynald himself was utterly baffled upon hearing those words. There was no reason he would drive out the domain’s residents. From the beginning, Reynald had planned to leave this place tomorrow, so he had absolutely no reason to drive out people he’d never have to see again into the cold outdoors.

‘What a naive fellow.’

Reynald looked at Heide with a bitter expression. Though the man’s thick beard made him appear older at first glance, on closer inspection, his features were rather gentle, and he gave off the impression of someone who would easily believe others’ words. He probably was quite innocent by nature. Just look at how firmly he believed Reynald would remain in this domain.

Reynald hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not he should tell Heide the truth, but eventually decided against it. Morally speaking, it would have been better to be honest, but given the current circumstances, it wasn’t easy to bring it up.

Telling people who were busily preparing a dinner and cleaning in celebration of their new lord, “Actually, I plan to return to the capital tomorrow,” would be, well… a bit too deflating, wouldn’t it? Of course, if the domain’s residents were secretly wishing for the new lord to leave, he wouldn’t have anything to say. But for now, perhaps it was better to stay silent and observe the situation.

Things have gotten rather complicated, Reynald thought, clicking his tongue softly. In any case, it seemed he’d have to act as the lord for at least today. Not that he was obligated to tiptoe around people he had never met before, but he did plan to slip away tomorrow under a plausible excuse.

Luckily, coming up with an excuse didn’t seem all that difficult. The people of this domain appeared to have little fear or respect for their lord, so if he used that to his advantage, he could easily create a situation to justify his departure. If just one person were to act disrespectfully, he could respond with, “As the lord, I cannot overlook such insolence,” and feign anger—that would be enough.

“Very well. Rest assured, I won’t be driving the residents out.”

When Reynald said that, Heide visibly brightened and beamed with joy. Before dinner was ready, he offered to guide Reynald through the castle’s layout and began leading the way.

To think that a former commander of the Royal Order would find himself tiptoeing around the feelings of a mere domain steward—it was laughable, even to Reynald himself. But it was simply in his nature to be soft-hearted and unassertive. What else could he do? He had to play along for now. If the young men who had just taken a beating from him heard this, they’d be shocked, but Reynald genuinely meant it as he walked.

He was led around the castle by Heide. Though the piles of belongings scattered throughout gave the place a shabby appearance, the castle itself was solidly built and functionally designed—it seemed to perform excellently as a fortress.

He asked Heide about the history of the region: when the castle had been built, what the residents did for a living, and just how long the domain had been left without a lord.

Heide answered most of the questions diligently. The castle had been constructed several centuries ago, supposedly by a king with a keen interest in territorial expansion, who built the fortress here to subjugate monsters.

There was once a time when most of the monsters that inhabited these lands were eradicated, but with the change of monarchs and the abandonment of expansionist policies, the monster population had naturally resurged. In that process, the majority of the original residents left the territory. Those who remained were impoverished individuals with nowhere else to go, or fugitives who had come from outside.

“About half the people here are natives who’ve lived in this area for hundreds of years. They were born in this village and know nothing of the outside world. Myself included.”

The rest, however, had different backgrounds. Some had fled from other domains due to tyrannical lords; others had committed crimes so severe they could no longer remain in their former homes and had come here in desperation. Some were the descendants of such people.

If there was any silver lining, it was that there didn’t appear to be much conflict between the natives and outsiders. Perhaps because the domain itself was in such dire straits, there was simply no room for territorialism or petty disputes. The residents cultivated small plots of land or dismantled monster carcasses to sell off parts, but even with that, it wasn’t enough. Heide admitted that during the spring famine, it wasn’t uncommon for people to go hungry.

With the domain in such a state, it was no surprise no lords would come. Apparently, there once had been a lord, but he died a violent death during a monster attack 23 years ago, and since then, not a single one had set foot in this place.

Hearing all of this, Reynald silently nodded. He could now more or less grasp what kind of place this was.

“A forsaken domain.”

There were quite a few such territories in the Kingdom of Carbonel. With the sheer number of monsters infesting the land, no matter how hard the central government tried, they simply couldn’t eliminate them from every domain. Places overrun with monsters were often abandoned by the kingdom.

The recent incident with the Red Dragon of Mount Rien that Reynald had been involved in was a similar case. That dragon had wreaked havoc for over twenty years, and the kingdom only sent a subjugation force after the southern granary region came under attack.

It wasn’t that the king had been negligent. It was just that unless such a crisis occurred, there simply weren’t enough troops to dispatch. With monsters running rampant across the country, small, unprofitable territories were inevitably neglected.

In fact, the king might not even know what kind of place this was. Reynald had never once heard this region’s name during his decade-long tenure as commander of the Royal Order. How would the king have known? He had probably chosen this territory on a whim, thinking it would be a good place to dump Reynald as a prank.

Reynald glanced at Heide with a bitter smile. The young man genuinely seemed happy about the arrival of a new lord. It seemed he believed that the kingdom hadn’t abandoned this domain after all, and that things might start looking up now…

But the truth was different. The king had no interest in this domain itself—he had only used it as a way to mess with his old friend. Sighing quietly, Reynald followed behind Heide without a word. He hoped the young man wouldn’t be too disappointed once he left. While he was thinking that, Heide suddenly turned to him as if something had just occurred to him.

“Come to think of it, my lord, under what circumstances have you come to this place?”

Startled, Reynald looked at Heide. The expression on Heide’s face perfectly mirrored the one Reynald had just been wearing. It was only then that Reynald realized—even someone who had spent his entire life buried in a forsaken domain like this couldn’t possibly be that naive.

“I don’t know if you’ve come here temporarily due to some unavoidable reason, or if you’re planning to settle down permanently… but in any case, it must be quite troubling for you as well, my lord.”

“……”

“I don’t think the villagers are expecting too much. So please, don’t worry yourself too much. At the very least, I hope you can rest comfortably while you’re here. You must be exhausted after cutting through a swarm of wyverns to get here, after all.”

Caught red-handed, Reynald let out an awkward cough. Heide smiled faintly and then offered to treat him to dinner. Without saying anything, Reynald followed behind. At the very least, for now, he felt he ought to accept the young man’s kindness.

—

Reynald took his seat at the dinner table amidst a modest yet sincere welcome from the villagers. The tablecloth was stained, and the chairs creaked, but considering the food shortage, the meal prepared for him was surprisingly plentiful. Grateful for the villagers’ thoughtfulness, Reynald ate heartily and cleared his plate.

“Is this Ratman meat?”

“You noticed right away? I’m sorry. Our food supplies are rather limited…”

“No need to worry. I’m not particularly bothered. I’ve eaten Ratman meat myself during monster subjugation expeditions when rations were tight.”

Monster meat or not, as long as it was properly cooked, it wasn’t that difficult to stomach. Leaving the surprised villagers behind, Reynald headed toward the lord’s manor. Thanks to the townspeople’s thorough cleaning, the manor, though a little old, was more than suitable for spending the night.

Reynald, guided by Heide, arrived at the bedroom. Just as Heide was about to open the door, it suddenly swung open from the inside, and a dust-covered young man stumbled out. Reynald found the young man oddly familiar. Of course he did—it was none other than the young patrol officer whom Reynald had thoroughly beaten earlier.

“Ah—ahh?! You’re here already, sir? I’m not done yet!”

“You had several hours—how could you still not be finished?”

“My body’s aching from the earlier beating… Uh, my lord? How long have you been standing there?!”

“Since the beginning. What’s this? You’re not calling me an old man this time?”

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were the real lord…”

“This fellow’s name is Volant, my lord. He’s still in his prime, so he can be a bit hot-headed and says harsh things at times, but he’s a good kid at heart.”

The large young man, Volant, ducked his head sheepishly. Even without Heide’s explanation, Reynald could tell that the boy seemed rather mild-tempered. His messy, dust-laden hair stuck out in all directions, and his wide black eyes darted about nervously, watching Reynald.

Even when they had briefly spoken earlier, Reynald had sensed it. The boy resembled not so much a person as a large, obedient dog. He looked exactly like the brown retriever once raised by a knight of the Royal Order.

“Anyway, the cleaning’s not quite finished yet…”

“It seems clean enough to me. Thank you, Volant. I don’t think there’s any need to do more.”

Volant gave Reynald a clumsy bow, half-relieved that he didn’t have to keep cleaning, and half-curious about the new lord. Heide gently urged the hesitant young man to leave, and Reynald stepped into the moderately cleaned bedroom with a quiet sigh.

“What a hectic day.”

Though the bedding had apparently been replaced with newer ones, the blanket and pillow were still slightly dirty. Reynald lay down without complaint. As someone born a commoner who had traveled on military campaigns across every corner of the nation, he was well-accustomed to sleeping on dirt floors. A bed like this was nothing to fuss over.

“Heide said something to that effect, too… I suppose it wouldn’t be a big deal to leave tomorrow.”

Still, there was a lingering sense of unease. Reynald let out a bitter laugh and pulled the blanket over himself. Well, it wasn’t like he’d ever see these people again after leaving the domain. The same went for them. After a few days, they might feel a bit regretful—but within a few months, they wouldn’t even remember what his face looked like.

So, no need to feel guilty. He’d return to the capital, grab the foolish king—who still acted like a child despite his age—by the collar, give him a good scolding, and perhaps send some troops to subjugate the monsters here. That would be enough for the people of this place to feel grateful.

With that, Reynald closed his eyes. Perhaps the tension from escaping the swarm of wyverns earlier was finally catching up to him—his whole body felt stiff. Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.