Chapter 149
Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Refugees - 4
"Have you come?"
"Village Chief, try some of this. It's meat seasoned with pepper."
I'd brought freshly made smoked meat with me.
The Village Chief's young grandson was sucking on his fingers, staring blankly at the meat as if he wanted to devour it right then and there.
But the Village Chief didn't seem particularly interested in the meat. He casually set it on the table and cut straight to the chase.
"Did the enthronement ceremony go off without a hitch?"
"Please, eat some first. Your grandson's watching."
"Don't mind him. He'll eat once you're gone. So, the crest?"
"This one?"
When I showed him the crest of a tiger and a human glaring at each other, the Village Chief's expression lit up in a way that was out of character for his usual calm demeanor.
"You've truly become a noble."
"A noble's a noble. What's this about a 'true' noble?"
"I don't know the details myself. Your father just told me that true nobles are the ones who can display crests like yours."
"Dad knew a lot."
"Well, he claimed to be one of the true nobles himself."
"Was he really? From a hero family, after all."
There were currently only six nobles who could display their crests, myself included. Just the four dukes descended from the empire's founding merits and the Saizer family, which had produced heroes for generations.
"So that's why that guy acted so superior."
"He's a hero, after all."
"By the way, your wife said you became a duke, not an earl?"
"Ah, yeah, that's what happened."
"Does one become a duke that easily?"
"...A lot happened."
"I see. You must have been through a lot."
"Thank you."
His words of comfort genuinely lightened my heart. With only women at home, I hadn't had a chance for this kind of warm encouragement.
"Did you bring the documents appointing you as lord of this territory?"
"Yes, here they are."
He slowly read over the land deed I'd received from Camilla.
'I struggle with difficult passages myself, but he's reading that just fine.'
I occasionally thought it, but the Village Chief was no ordinary talent for a place like this village.
"You're now officially the lord of this place."
"I'm sorely lacking. Please help me out."
This wasn't false modesty—it was sincere. I'd lived my whole life around here, but my time actually residing in Lugeron Village was barely a year.
I had a lot to learn, and I needed the guidance of the village elders.
"If it's an order from the lord, I'll obey."
"It's not an order. It's a request from the inadequate son of an old friend."
"You make it hard for me to refuse like that."
"It's lighter than a duke's command."
"Usually, yeah. But with you as a duke, who in the village really feels it? Probably just Tom and Carlson."
Seemingly pleased by my request, the Village Chief looked a bit excited as he offered advice.
"The people in this village are frogs in a well. They don't know what nobles are or the power they wield. They just bow to those stronger than them."
"Hmm... True enough."
Power is an intangible force.
It can dominate many when wielded, but holds no sway over those ignorant of it.
"That has nothing to do with me."
"Oh? Got something in mind?"
A traditional noble might demonstrate power through a beating first, but not me.
"No real method. Besides, there's no one here stronger than me anyway."
If they don't want to get crushed by overwhelming strength, they'll follow me.
"Kukuku, that's certainly true."
Amused by my joke, the Village Chief chuckled happily before murmuring softly.
"So, make it stick in their minds—who's the master and who's the servant."
I listened intently to his advice. Words born from the experience of an elder who'd led the village would surely become flesh and bone for me. I was no longer just a village youth; I was the lord now.
"I'm no match for your father, but I've led people as village chief. One thing I realized: humans are beasts that can speak."
"Beasts?"
I wondered if that was something to say about fellow villagers, but he was serious.
"Don't be too kind to the villagers. They're the type to remember what they gave more than what they received."
His words were cold, but they carried the weight of experience from years of leading the village.
...
Next, I stopped by the smithy.
"Oh! Sian, you're here!"
Unlike the gruff Village Chief, Tom greeted me warmly.
"Tom, try some of this smoked meat. Seasoned with pepper."
"Pepper?! You're giving that precious stuff to me?"
Tom tasted a piece, then suddenly pulled out some alcohol.
Tom? The sun's still high.
"Petra! Sian's here! Come eat meat!"
"What?"
Tom shouted toward the smithy, calling his daughter Petra.
And from inside, something crashed—Petra, startled by my arrival.
"Give me a sec to wash up."
"Wash what? You'll just hole up in the smithy again."
Petra, at an age where she cared about her looks, was embarrassed by her soot-blackened face, but Tom—oblivious to his daughter's feelings—dragged her out in front of me.
"Aah! Old man!"
"Shut it, eat meat!"
They looked ready for another father-daughter spat, so I mediated.
"Petra, no need to wash your face on my account. No need for guest etiquette between us."
"Ugh, it's not because of you!"
"Besides, I think women who work hard at their craft are cool."
"Ah, ugh! Just take this!"
Blushing furiously, Petra hurled something at me.
"This is?"
"What you asked for before! Keep your promise."
"Of course."
The item I'd commissioned from Petra was finally complete.
It was too simple to call a motor—just gear parts—but if she'd made it exactly as I'd intended, it would conquer the fields.
"You said you became a noble? What should I call you now?"
As Petra went to wash up, Tom offered me a drink and asked about my recent events.
"Yes, Sian T. Atlas now."
"T? Never heard that middle name."
It was the T from Titan, but Tom—unaware—looked at me curiously.
"Your Grace now? Or my lord?"
"Do we need formalities between us? Just Sian like always."
"Puhaha, now I'm a blacksmith with a noble friend."
"Already were. My dad was from a marquis family too."
A true noble from a hero lineage, no less.
"Ian, that friend of yours was quite the figure."
Hurt that his friend had kept secrets, Tom downed a shot.
"Tom, aren't you drinking too much lately?"
"What can I do? At my age, alcohol's the only way to beat loneliness."
"Then remarry. Petra's a full-fledged blacksmith now anyway."
"Full-fledged? She's still green. Not even a year under her belt. It'll take years to drop the apprentice label."
"Really? Her skills seem to improve by leaps and bounds."
"Well, she's growing fast like you said. But remarriage? Over my dead body."
"Why?"
"I don't want to betray my love."
"Heh."
It had been quite some time since his wife passed, yet Tom still upheld his fidelity.
'Well, the man chose to live in a village like this for love alone.'
Compared to me, fooling around with multiple women, I'd look like trash.
"Then starting tomorrow, no more drinking. Work with me."
"Making what now?"
"Obviously. I'm lord now—time to get started."
"Started on what?"
"What else? You know what we do every day if you're with me."
A major overhaul to advance this medieval-level village civilization.
Time to kick it off properly.
"Kekeke, Petra's been stealing my work lately, so I was bored. Thanks to you, no boredom till I die."
"Told the Village Chief, so I'll explain in detail at tomorrow's village meeting."
And so, Tom and I shared drinks and a brief chat.
...
When I arrived at Carlson's house, he dropped to his knees the moment he saw me.
"I greet Your Grace the Duke."
"Carlson, no need for that between us. I'm a noble in name only anyway."
"No, it's only proper to show respect to a noble duke."
"This puts me in a tough spot."
Among the villagers, Carlson was the only one who treated me with such deference. The older Village Chief and Tom kept boundaries but acted normal, but Carlson couldn't.
He had a young family to protect.
"Here, take this. Pepper-seasoned meat."
"Ah, thank you."
Carlson's wife, following her husband's lead, eyed me warily until the meat distracted her.
Once alone, I got straight to the point with Carlson.
"Carlson, I came today with a request."
"A request, sir?"
"Become the captain of the guard for my territory."
I'd had my eye on him for the role for a while.
In terms of skill, he fell short of Gregor or the hired Colin.
But he had something they lacked.
Character.
An outsider like Gregor wouldn't earn the villagers' trust, and the free-spirited Colin wasn't cut out for captain.
In contrast, Carlson—who'd long acted as militia captain—would not only get their support but outperform them as a local.
"Just keep protecting the village like you do now. You'll get paid, of course."
"...A question."
"What is it?"
"Your Grace could protect the village effortlessly without me. Why need someone like me?"
"Hm, fair point."
His observation was spot on.
With my current power, I could defend the village without guards.
But only if I stayed here.
"Being a noble isn't as easy as it sounds."
"Pardon?"
"I'll be away a lot. And I see you as the perfect one to guard the village in my absence."
"Understood. Though I'm lacking, I'll protect the village for Your Grace."
Carlson knelt formally once more, and I handed him a sword I'd bought in the Holy Kingdom.
His old adventurer weapon had worn out over time.
'New wine deserves new wineskins.'
He was no longer adventurer Carlson or an ordinary Lugeron youth.
From now on, he'd live as Guard Captain Carlson.