Weekly chapter (1/2)
Good news! There is no delay on the VGA delivery, so this week batch will posted like usual.
Enjoy~
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Travis
Chapter 16 – Moving Tale
After the boring winter, spring had finally come.
Butler Albert’s unreasonable training wasn’t so bad during the winter, and I was only required to practice martial arts and kill the sick.
After all, there is no shortage of sick people in winter, so I ended up killing many.
As Albert said, it’s scary to be able to kill efficiently as you get used to it.
Recently, it feels like slaughtering a goat or a dog… It’s still unpleasant, but it’s more like work now.
I guess it’s human’s ability to accustom themselves to their environment.
Jean, who has been chosen as my schoolmate, was only 8 years old… he is in his second year of elementary school, but has become accustomed to killing people. It’s worrying to tell the truth.
==========
[Varian, what are you reading?]
That Jean spoke to me with great interest.
Apparently I laughed while reading Rona’s letter, which caught Jean’s interest.
[This is a letter from Rolo’s older sister. She can read, write and do math, so she seems to be entrusted with an important task.]
Jean gave Rolo a look while humming.
[Can Rolo read too?]
[Yes, but paper is precious, so I can’t write a letter.]
Rolo laughed sheepishly.
Parchment was expensive.
The letter from Rona was also scraped and reused for my letter.
Since parchment is thick, it can be reused by scraping off the surface with a knife.
[So, is Rolo’s sister a concubine of Varian-sama?]
[No, not really. We’re friends.]
As I answered Jean’s question, I remembered Rona.
Rona is probably around 12 years old too… in a few more years, there may be stories like that.
In the Kingdom of Amoros, the ideal age for marriage for women is in their late teens.
Perhaps sensing my delicate feelings, Rolo explained to Jean that “the social status is too different”.
However he’s starting to take after me, who was originally an old man, but Rolo feels strangely more mature than his age, which is also a little worrisome.
While we were chatting, a large shadow appeared. It’s Albert.
[You must be able to at least read, even better if you can count.]
Albert talked to Jean, but his face was still scary.
[If you can’t read, you’ll have to have someone else to read military orders on your behalf, which makes it easier for confidential information to leak out. Arithmetic is also necessary for rewards and food counts.]
Albert gave his grandson Jean some common sense advice.
It’s surprising.
[Right, if Varian has feelings for that woman, why don’t you just kidnap her already? No, you little shits can’t afford to have children yet.]
Albert muttered unbelievable things.
As expected, this butler had a warped common sense.
The longer I spend time with this man, I could feel my sense of morality becoming paralyzed. It scares me.
[Okay, then get ready to go steal.]
Albert urged us to go do training.
According to this man, stealing is training.
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We left the territorial capital for a while and went outside the fortified city of Portu.
It took less than a day because we traveled by horse, but Albert told us to spend the night in Portu so we arrived at our destination early in the morning.
This is no longer an Earl’s territory, but the neighboring Viscount Bazelard’s territory.
The Viscount Bazelard family was located so as to block the outside of the fortified city of Portu, and of course, they are on bad terms with the Lioncoeur family.
Viscount Bazelard was no match for Earl Lioncoeur in terms of force, but he often harassed him by damming up the supplies from entering Lioncoeur. He is like a thorn to the Lioncoeur territory.
Albert intended to raid Viscount Bazelard’s territory, so we started by moving to a slightly elevated place.
And then, it seemed that he had set his sights on a certain farming village.
[Look at that forest.]
There was a small forest in the spot pointed by Albert.
It’s some distance away from the village.
By the way, the owner of the forest is fixed, so hunting and gathering without permission is considered poaching.
If the owner of the forest is a noble, a manager called forest guard or forest officer will be assigned to strictly control poaching.
If you are caught, you will usually be fined, and if you are unlucky, you will be shot dead by the forest manager or bitten to death by hounds.
[It seems that there are pigs grazing in that forest. Steal it.]
Albert’s instructions were often messed up.
Stealing from other territories may earn you the death penalty if you get caught.
As sidenotes, in the days when forest resources were abundant, pigs were often raised in the forest.
If left alone in the forest, the pigs will eat acorns and other nuts that humans don’t eat, growing and breeding on their own.
Most of the pigs were slaughtered in the winter when there were no more nuts, making them a valuable source of food for the winter.
Because goats and sheep eat tree buds and bark and damage trees, they are raised in pastures instead of forests.
Let’s return to the story now.
When I heard about stealing, I gasped.
[A knight’s duty is to kill and steal. Kill and steal elsewhere. Divide it among your relatives… A good knight must be able to do that.]
Once again Albert said something racy.
Apparently the idea of chivalry and justice don’t make sense to him.
[But, wouldn’t there be a shepherd there? And dogs too…]
When I asked that, Jean laughed, saying [That’s what this training is for, right?].
This 8 year old boy’s way of thinking is scary.
[That’s right, in enemy territory, food supplies are basically procured locally. From what I can see, the shepherds consist of one male, one female brat, and two dogs.]
[…Are we going to drive them away and steal the pig…huh?]
When I let out a sigh at Albert’s words, Rolo strengthened his tone and said, [It’s no good].
[Letting them escape may pose a danger for us. We’ll have to kill them.]
Albert grinned after hearing Rolo’s words.
…..This is a complete crime…if you get caught, you won’t have any excuses…..
I felt my heart grow heavy.
[That’s right! I’ll shoot the dogs first…]
[No, let’s aim at the man with the sling string, the village will know when the horn is blown…]
Unbeknownst to me, Jean and Rolo had already begun to gleefully plan the attack.
Thus, I also steeled myself.
[Wait, it’ll be bad for us if something didn’t go wrong.]
The two of them paid attention to what I said…since things already got to this point, it would be useless to preach morality to them.
I changed my mind to at least make it a success and focus on getting us back home safely.
[The shepherds will also have swords and bows. There will also be a horn for communication, so let’s hit and kill them all… Two hunting dogs are bad for one person, so safety comes first.]
Despite feeling disgusted, I ended up joining the strategy meeting.
As expected, it’s hard for me to believe that two children can come up with a better strategy.
[It doesn’t make sense if you die or get seriously injured. There will be another chance to steal, but if you die, you won’t have another chance…if you have to, you can set fire to the forest to escape.]
When I said it clearly, Jean pouted with dissatisfaction.
Perhaps he’s too focused on the “escape” part.
[If it’s dangerous, it’s natural to run away. Dying is the worst, and the next worst thing is to be caught… So, carefully plan your strategy.]
Hearing my words, Albert laughed eerily.
========
We shouted and ran toward the shepherd.
It’s difficult to sneak up in the middle of the day.
In that case, let the enemy know on purpose and lower their guard down… Fortunately, we are children. There is no reason not to use it to our advantage.
We left the horse with Albert and went on foot.
[Help me! It’s a wolf!]
[Heey! The people over there!]
[Help me!!]
We desperately ran to the shepherd.
The shepherds were on guard, but they only whistled to call the dog, probably because they saw us as children.
[Mister! It’s a wolf! A wolf!]
When I raised my voice as I approached, the shepherd asked, [Where is it?].
…..that easily?
The man didn’t seem to even notice that we’re armed.
Rolo and I were carrying swords and shields, while Jean had a bow.
I gloated to myself.
[Over there, over there!]
The shepherd stared at the direction I pointed…and let out a strange voice.
If I were to look back, I’d see Rolo stabbing the shepherd with a dagger on his left chest from below.
Seeing this, Jean also started shooting arrows at the girl.
The second shot landed and felled the girl.
Jean was pretty good at archery.
[There’s a dog coming, watch out!]
As soon as I hit the ground, a hound jumped at me.
I defended myself with my shield, but I was defeated by the momentum of the hound and was mounted by it.
However, Rolo immediately stabbed the dog that was biting my shield with his dagger.
The other ran away, probably seeing the situation as unfavorable.
…..that won’t do! Who knows if that may bring reinforcement from a nearby village!?
Seeing that, I quickly gave the two instructions.
[Jean! Hide the corpses! Me and Rolo will catch the pigs!!]
As soon as I said that, Rolo and I rushed into the forest and pulled out the suitable pigs with ropes.
[Jean! Can you light a fire!?]
After I checked, Jean went to check on the shepherd’s bonfire.
This 8 year old kid is certainly swift on his feet.
[Alright, Rolo! We’re leaving!! There may still be hidden enemies around us! Be careful!]
I desperately escaped with the pigs after giving Rolo instructions.
Afterward, each of us made our escape.
========
[Look! This!]
Jean returned to the meeting place and happily blew the horn.
The horn, which must have been stolen from the shepherd’s corpse, made a silly “Paen” sound.
It seemed that Jean shrewdly stripped the corpses of shepherds and girls of any shoes and clothes that could still be used.
[We did it! Two pigs!]
Rolo couldn’t contain his excitement and let out a snort.
The loot were two pigs, a poorly made bow and sword from a shepherd, and a horn.
Also, the clothes and shoes that were removed from the corpses of the shepherd and the girl… In this pre-industrial era, clothes were luxury items.
He didn’t seem to have any kind of money or other valuables.
…Speaking of which, I haven’t spent any money since I came here, haven’t I? Is the money economy not well developed yet?
I was vacantly looking at the loot.
[Well done, it’s quite a feat.]
Albert came pulling the horses with him.
Apparently he had hidden the horses in the shadows.
[It was a good decision to set fire to the forest. Rather than pursue us, they will have to focus on protecting the forest.]
Albert laughed happily.
Rolo and Jean were also proud.
We are basically a group of criminals.
At least from the perspective of the village.
『A good knight must be able to kill and steal, then divide the loot among their relatives』
Albert said this.
It’s not uncommon for a hero seen from one side to be a murderer from the other.
If I remember correctly, the Duke who was the model for Dracula was seen as a hero by the locals.
[Today we will eat pigs in Portu.]
Albert laughed as he advanced his horse.
I was told that I had stolen pigs from other territories and treated it as my『moving tale』.
Albert’s『good knight image』was correct in a sense.
Nega Translations 