Homecoming (13)
I bolted out of the house in a fluster and made straight for the place where the beacon had been set up.
A good number of villagers were already there—members of the self-defense force, mostly—along with well-armed soldiers.
At their center stood Priest Daniel and the Instructor.
Young Master Maximilian himself, however, was nowhere in sight.
“Huh? I heard the young master was here…?”
I’d come running in such a rush…. Had he already left because he was busy?
“You mean Maximilian?”
The one who spoke the young master’s name so naturally was Priest Daniel.
“Yes. Mary said he was here….”
“If it’s him, he’s over there.”
When Priest Daniel turned and stepped aside, I saw the young master directing the soldiers from the front.
I’d already seen his face at the outpost, but his attire was different now. First of all, his clothes were luxurious. More striking still was the armor he wore over them. It wasn’t full plate; he had pieces fitted to his chest and abdomen, the lower body, his shins, his arms, and so on—and it suited his splendid outfit remarkably well.
“Y-Young Master. What brings you here?”
“W-Well, o-of course I came to check on things.”
Some of the soldiers behind him, and a man who possessed mana—likely a knight—wore distinctly displeased expressions. Had there been some sort of quarrel after all?
“Was there a problem by any chance?”
“I-It was nothing major. You needn’t worry.”
That was as good as admitting there had been some kind of dispute.
“I-I’m truly sorry for detaining someone as busy as yourself.”
“It’s really fine.”
Seeing Young Master Maximilian put my mind a little at ease. Judging by how carefully he was looking after things, even if the barbarians attacked, as long as we lit the beacon properly and held out, we should be all right.
“Would you care to walk and talk for a moment?”
At the young master’s words, the reactions around us shifted oddly. Only one person—Priest Daniel—was smiling.
“Yes, all right.”
When I took the hand he offered and moved away from the spot, the knights and soldiers behind us wore blank, stunned expressions.
I couldn’t help but smile a little. How flustered they must be, watching their leader suddenly act so friendly with a villager.
Once we’d put a little distance between us and them, I spoke.
“I never expected you to come in person like this.”
“I-I-I was worried. We’re comrades, after all, aren’t we?”
The young master seemed to try for a bright smile, but he couldn’t completely hide his awkwardness. Well, considering I’d rejected his confession, it was only natural he’d act that way…?
His reaction brought that incident back to mind, and I felt a little embarrassed.
It was an experience I could never forget even if I wanted to. The moment was still etched in my mind and surfaced from time to time. Honestly, he was such a handsome, decent man—why he’d done something so regrettable, I truly couldn’t understand.
We walked slowly around the village outskirts, talking as we went.
“I wanted to see for myself the village where Miss Julian grew up.”
“Is that so? Now that you’re here, it’s nothing special, right?”
Just an ordinary village—no, a village less than ordinary.
“Is that so?”
The young master’s eyes curved gently into crescents.
“Coming here, I think I understand why Miss Julian is so kind.”
Me, kind?
“The villagers are simple and pure; you must have been positively influenced by them.”
Uh, well….
You could look at it that way.
“And I’ve realized that people live even in places like this.”
The young master’s story grew longer. He said he’d known of it roughly from reports, but seeing people who had put down roots and were living on land he’d assumed would be uninhabited had made him feel a sense of responsibility.
“I’m sorry if I’ve placed a burden on you.”
“No. It’s a mindset a noble with a territory ought to have by nature. I’ve simply become aware of it a little earlier.”
If he put it that way, I was grateful, but….
“D-Did you see the Instructor? How was he?”
Since he’d originally been a knight belonging to this territory, the young master would have known of him.
“I only knew him by name. When he retired, I was still young, and we didn’t have any direct connection.”
“I see.”
“He retired at a rather young age, but he seems to be doing well, which puts my mind at ease.”
“Why?”
“Among knights who fail to marry early, there are many who wander and fall into bad paths.”
Especially among knights of commoner origin, such cases were more common, he said.
Knights of noble birth tended to marry early and had sufficient wealth, so they rarely caused problems, but commoner-born knights often faced comparisons and contempt.
I’d heard about that from the Instructor as well.
After retiring from knighthood, some became mercenaries or bandits and got mixed up in unsavory affairs….
“Well, the Instructor doesn’t have to worry about that.”
“Yes. Seeing him run the self-defense force and exert a positive influence on the village puts me at ease.”
Because he’d been a knight who served the Meyer family, he felt a slight sense of responsibility.
“I hear you’ve seen his children as well.”
“That’s joyful news.”
As the young master walked around and looked at the wall I’d built, his expression turned worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“W-Well, the wall is fairly sturdy in its own way, but….”
Was there some problem?
“You’ll need to make it higher.”
“Pardon?”
Make the wall higher?
“If one is skilled in horsemanship, a height like this can be cleared on horseback.”
What? The wall was over a meter high! And horses could jump? Even in my previous life’s memories, that sort of thing was hard to find.
“An exceptional horse can jump two meters. Even an ordinary horse should be able to clear a height like this.”
Huh….
“So a height like this can’t stop cavalry.”
“I see….”
“You’ll need to raise it by at least one and a half times for it to be effective.”
The young master’s advice was invaluable.
If I’d been satisfied with defenses this meager and the barbarians had attacked? The villagers would have been overrun by a wall that couldn’t even fulfill its role properly.
“Thank you for the advice.”
I bowed my head to the young master with sincerity.
“Y-You needn’t do that. W-We’re comrades, aren’t we?”
Comrades….
His confession had been burdensome. And yet he still thought of me as a comrade and was helping me.
“I’m truly grateful.”
“I’d like to leave soldiers stationed here if I could, but it seems it would cause friction.”
“Is that so?”
They probably didn’t go so far as to reject outsiders, but the atmosphere hadn’t been exactly welcoming. The Instructor had married a villager and proven himself necessary to the village, so he’d been accepted quickly, but the soldiers were different.
They were clearly outsiders, and people who would leave soon, so the friction was understandable.
“I’m grateful for the thought. Still, village matters should be resolved by the village as much as possible.”
“Yes. Even so, you must light the beacon without fail.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll make sure to instruct them that way.”
After walking around the village once, we returned to the area near the beacon where the soldiers were. The self-defense force and the Instructor had already left, and Priest Daniel was dealing with the soldiers and the knight.
“You’ve returned.”
The knight hurried over to the young master’s side.
“Right. You didn’t cause any trouble, I trust?”
“Yes, sir!”
Hm? He was so terrified as he faced the young master that I wondered if he was the same person who’d been glaring at me earlier.
Well, treating a noble casually would be the strange thing.
“You’re heading back, then?”
“Yes. I’d like to stay longer, but I should return today.”
Today…?
The way he phrased it made it sound as if he’d be visiting often.
“You’re busy, so I won’t keep you.”
For the sake of protecting the village, the young master needed to go back.
“Next time you come, let’s have a meal together.”
I’d blurted out something that sounded like a pickup line.
Young Master Maximilian’s eyes went wide, then the corners of his mouth curved up.
“Yes. I’ll look forward to it.”
The young master gently took my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d done something like this, so I wasn’t startled. Still, I couldn’t get used to it.
More than that, the knight standing behind the young master was steeped in utter shock. Ignoring that knight’s gaze, I looked at the young master.
“Make good use of what I gave you.”
“Yes. Until we meet again.”
The young master looked a little regretful, but he immediately led the soldiers away. Both the soldiers and the knight wore extremely surprised faces whenever they looked at me. And I saw Young Master Maximilian and the soldiers off as they left.
“Sigh, she’s completely married off. Completely.”
He’d confessed in front of a crowd, and now he was acting without restraint even with people around.
What would people think when they looked at me?
“You’ve worked hard.”
Priest Daniel carefully comforted me.
“Sigh, the young master really… if only he’d be a little more conscious of people’s eyes….”
“Haha. That idiot doesn’t seem to have the capacity to care about such things.”
“Well, whatever. It’s beneficial for the village either way.”
They would have realized that the relationship between me and the young master at their head was no ordinary one. And once they realized that, they wouldn’t be able to come to the village and cause trouble or act rudely.
I didn’t know if the young master had acted with that intention… but I was simply making the most of his behavior in order to protect the village.
“I thought the Saintess would avoid him.”
“Y-You did?”
“Yes. After all, he’s the one who confessed to you.”
Recalling that incident still made me embarrassed.
“Well, you’re generous enough to accept even a guy like me again, so maybe it’s only natural.”
What was natural about that…….
“To be honest, when I think back on that time, I’m still embarrassed. But for the sake of protecting the village, maintaining a smooth relationship with the young master is better.”
And because the young master isn’t a bad person…….
I also felt sorry for avoiding him because he was a good person. But I didn’t voice that inner thought.
Even though I’d revealed it as a calculated action, Priest Daniel smiled.
“Is that so? In my opinion, if it’s Maximilian, he’d protect the village even if the Saintess avoided him.”
Finding the smirking Priest Daniel annoying, I kicked him in the shin.
“Enough. We need to get to work right away.”
“On what?”
“The young master said that a horse can easily clear a wall about a meter high. He advised that we should raise the wall height by at least one and a half times.”
When I finished speaking, Priest Daniel’s expression turned serious.
“Indeed. That is extremely important advice.”
“Yes, so we should do it right away.”
There was no reason to delay, so we decided to reinforce the wall immediately.