Weekly chapters (2/2)
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Translator: Raizu
Editor: Raizu
Chapter 20 – Change
The spring of my 11th birthday had arrived.
Rolo and I were steadily growing taller… our voices would probably start changing soon.
A small incident occurred this spring.
The Earl of Lioncoeur family received a mobilization order from the Royal Capital.
Count Berger, who is located in the southeast from the Royal Capital and southwest from Lioncoeur, started a rebellion involving the minor nobles in the surrounding area.
Nobles are allowed to own land by the Royal family and are guaranteed rights.
In return, the nobles are obligated to respond to the Royal family’s request for mobilization.
His father, Rudolph, mobilized his troops and led 2,000 people to the territory of Count Berger.
My older brother Robel, who has become a knight, also went to battle.
When I was looking at the formation of the army, for some reason, merchants and monks were accompanying them in a relatively large group this time.
[Albert, what about those merchants? Are they part of the army?]
When I tilted my head, Albert laughed, [Gufufu].
[Look closely. Those merchants buy the spoils of war, collect supplies needed for the expeditionary force, and sell them… They are responsible for a kind of supply. There is a fee, though.]
I see, although it may be an army, in order to sustain its size, the amount of supplies they would need would be enormous.
It’s brave of them to use that as a business opportunity.
[What will happen to the merchants if that army is defeated?]
[Robbed and murdered.]
I knew he would say that.
It’s extremely high risk and high return.
The monk probably takes care of the spirits of the soldiers by holding memorial services for the dead and conveying God’s teachings to the soldiers.
I have heard that even in the modern military, there are many soldiers who become mentally ill on the battlefield.
Religion will give you solace.
[I might be able to participate next time, I’m looking forward to it.]
[Well, Jean is 10 years old, so he has about 5 years left to go, right?]
Jean and Rolo were laughing happily.
It’s brave of them to want to go to war.
Generally, Amoros people reach adulthood in their mid-teens.
When we become adults, we will probably go to the battlefield as well.
[…I see, it’s almost here.]
I muttered to myself.
After my father, Rudolph, went off to war, I found myself in a bit of trouble.
[Varian-sama, my name is Sumina, the daughter of Jorge Cocaris… I saw you wrestling the other day.]
Even now, there is a commoner girl with her companion in front of me.
Due to Rudolph’s absence, the butler Albert was busy, and I could only speak to him during self-training with Rolo and Jean.
I’ve been experiencing this a lot lately.
A girl I didn’t know would suddenly call out to me… It might sound like I was boasting about my popularity, but the situation isn’t that simple.
I got a lot of attention at the wrestling match the other day, so more and more people started trying to match their daughter to me.
Some even went as far as asking Albert to make them my schoolmate, but fortunately the butler scared them away.
In short, people wanted to “invest” in me since I looked promising, but I can’t stand it if some weird ambitious guy gets caught up in it, making my brother and I end up fighting.
Up until now, Rudolph has been a bulwark against people like this, but now that he’s away, they’re probably trying to create a fait accompli.
After all, I’m 11 years old. It’s no surprise that I’d start to be attracted to cute girls.
I’m an old man on the inside, but there’s a good chance that my body will react and I won’t be able to hold back…that’s the way men are.
That’s why I’m in trouble.
[Oh, miss Cocaris, is it?]
[No, please call me Sumina.]
I inwardly sighed…it’s such a hassle.
Honestly, she’s a bit of a nuisance, but Sumina isn’t at fault… She’s just here because her parents told her to.
I didn’t want to hurt her, and I wanted her to go home well, but I’m not that eloquent.
All I could do was have them go home without getting their hopes up.
She’s only here to make a sale, and she’s reasonably good-looking.
Braided black hair, long brown eyes…maybe a mixed race?
She looked older than me, but girls are more developed at this age. We might be of the same age.
She was well-dressed and I could tell that she comes from a fairly wealthy family.
[…Sumina-san, thank you for watching the wrestling… The second knight was tough, he was a big man.]
[Yes, of course I was watching! I was thrilled to see that you were able to defeat such a big opponent!]
“Hoo”, I said with a deliberate sigh.
[My second opponent was my brother’s schoolmate. He’s not even a big man.]
I shrugged my shoulders and said, [Let’s go, Rolo, Jean], and left with the two of them.
And I left her behind.
It hurts a little, but it would be cruel to give them unreasonable expectations. It’s OK.
[Ah, isn’t it a waste? She’s so cute. Should I go comfort her?]
[It’s no good, Jean, Master Varian is admirable. If you choose a bad opponent, the Earl will be in trouble.]
I was listening to their conversation with mixed feelings, but I suddenly became curious and decided to ask a question.
[Don’t you say things like you already know a lot? Isn’t Jean only 10 years old?]
Yes, when I was in 4th grade, just leaving school with a girl would get people saying things like, “Wow! You’re playing with a girl!?” or “You’re so erotic!”.
Jean’s statement would be an outlier back in Japan.
[Huh… are you seriously saying that? Varian-sama is surprisingly picky. Meanwhile, Rolo and Minette…]
[Wait! What are you talking about!?]
Jean and Rolo were playing around with each other.
Minette was a free folk girl who is the granddaughter of a merchant who frequents the mansion… I think she must have been a few years older than us…?
[Eh, what? Does Rolo have a girlfriend?]
[No, I’m not! But, sometimes I get invited to dinner.]
Rolo looked confused by my question, which amused me.
Has he been officially recognized by her parents…? Rolo is certainly a slave-class, but he’s like my close aide and has received an elite education.
He can write, he can also do math.
He would be the perfect person to be the son-in-law of a merchant family.
If such a situation existed, I wouldn’t be hesitant to hand over Rolo to Minette and make him a freed slave.
It would hurt to lose Rolo, but it would mean a lot if Rolo could help me as a merchant that I can trust, and if there’s someone he likes, I’d like him to marry her.
By the way, it is up to the owner to decide whether or not to make slaves free.
In such cases, it is customary for the buyer to pay the owner and turn him into a freed slave.
[Aaah, don’t you know how I feel when I refuse a girl’s invitation… I had no idea that Rolo was living a life full of lust.]
[No! That’s not true! Please don’t say it in a strange way!!]
We walked down the street making a lot of noise.
Looking at him this way, I think he’s a boy of his age.
[Gyahaha, that’s right! Let’s kidnap a woman today!]
Jean said that outrageous thing like he’s saying [Let’s go to karaoke today!].
However, it’s not a bad idea.
[That’s right, why don’t you do that… It’s less painful than choosing a strange partner. Why don’t we all make fun of graduation?]
I guess Albert has rubbed on me a little.
With that decided, the conversation became quick.
Military action does not gain any advantage over time.
=========
After that, we attacked a farm in Viscount Bazelard’s territory.
We struck a small village that could not even be called a village on horseback and kidnapped two women.
A wife in her 30s and a woman in her 20s.
At first, there was a daughter in her mid-teens, but she threw a tantrum and Jean ended up killing her by pushing her off the horse.
We had our way with these poor women until we returned to the capital.
For some reason, it was surprising that Rolo took a liking to the wife, who is in her 30s, and that she became exclusive to Rolo.
During the act with the bound middle-aged woman, he was enjoying the advanced content of calling her “mom”.
…Well, Rolo is also a great shota…
I looked blankly at Rolo and Jean as they worked hard, admiring that even a 10-year-old could do it.
I also had some fun, and in the end I asked Albert to sell the two women at the capital.
The total amount we got from the sale was 25,000 ducats… I don’t know if this is expensive or cheap.
Apparently, in Lioncoeur, much of the business is barter.
The money is like a “common coupon” and can be used without any problems, but some stores may not be happy with it.
The currency of the Amoros Kingdom is called the ducat.
I have no idea how much it is worth in Japanese yen. This is because the standards are too different.
If I had to force myself to convert it, if I had dinner at a cheap restaurant, it would be 10-15 ducats, or about 100 yen per ducat.
However, old clothes with snags cost 800 ducats, so I don’t really understand that part.
I planned to distribute 6,250 ducats between the four of us as a thank you to Albert, but he scolded me for my thinking.
Apparently it’s strange to share profits with Rolo, who is a slave.
I decided to give Albert 5,000 ducats as a fee, and I would manage the rest.
If you think about it, all of our equipment was lent to us by the Lioncoeur family and Albert… I would like to be able to at least get the equipment for the three of us on our own.
Even a pack horse for farming costs about 8,000 ducats.
It’s said that a high-quality warhorse costs as little as 50,000 ducats… There’s a long way to go.
[But, now we know how to make money… just kidnap random young women and sell them, right?]
[It doesn’t have to be women, right? We can just steal a pig or a horse.]
The two of them, having tasted the food, started counting…with the innocence of children.
[Ah, come to think of it.]
[What’s wrong?]
Rolo reacted to my whisper.
[I wrote a letter to Rona saying that Rolo had a girlfriend.]
[Wait! What did you do!?]
We laughed loudly at his reaction.
…Next time, let’s aim for horses, we have to earn money.
I no longer feel guilty about kidnapping or stealing… no, I don’t even feel guilty about murder.
Before I knew it…yes, before I knew it, I had changed.
I didn’t know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
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