Shame of Shatren (6)

-Crack!

The axe came down, splitting the thick log clean in two. I'd miscalculated the force of the swing — with a heavy thud, both halves toppled over onto the ground.

Ordinarily, I would have scratched my cheek and muttered something about how controlling my strength with weapons was still a work in progress, then stoically picked the flying pieces of firewood back up and set them upright on the stump.

But as I gathered up the scattered wood pieces one by one now, no such thought crossed my mind at all.

"...How on earth did it come to this?"

Truly, I had no idea.

The Rusmayer Territory episode — which I'd ended up tackling in advance, before the Eastern Noble Conference, for one reason or another — had largely stayed on its original rails.

Punish the knights running roughshod over this isolated territory, and rebuild the land by steadily earning the people's trust. That was the shape of it.

The single biggest obstacle to clearing this episode, however, was time.

No matter how I investigated, winning the trust of villagers wounded by nobles was never going to be easy — and even if I showed them I wanted to help, there was a good chance they'd take it for hypocrisy.

Which was exactly why time was needed.

Time for them to slowly come to realize that Karsein was someone they could trust.

At this point in the story, Karsein had to show small, careful kindnesses starting from Remten Village — the heart of Rusmayer — and then simply wait until the villagers noticed and their perception began to shift.

Even if he dealt with the knights directly himself, the result was the same.

There was no magic bullet that could instantly lower the guard of villagers who had known nothing but wounds.

In a word, it was a matter of taking things step by step.

So: first raise Kiyan's affinity at the banquet hall in advance, then build up affinity with Kiyan's friends, Melik and Tony.

With that groundwork laid, raising Diena's affinity at last would finally bring word to Remten Village and the rest of Rusmayer — and only then could I work through the choices that appeared, picking them carefully.

Once all that was done, the villagers would say, one and all:

That they, too, needed time.

After that, the scene skipped ahead — nothing more to see.

The only catch: Karsein was never supposed to act rashly here. He was supposed to put off entering the village until the following day. Of course, thanks to my having chosen a different option, I'd been about to head back on my own instead.

Either way, only after burning through several whole days like that would entering Rusmayer become possible. Only after investing that much time with the territory's people could one become its lord and shift their perception.

Which meant that right now, at this very moment, I should have returned to the ducal estate, waited for their anger to cool, and come back the next day...

"..."

When I tilted my head, that was the window staring back at me.

Right. I was already inside Rusmayer Territory.

And I'd gotten here by helping two characters I'd never once managed to reach in the game — Diena and Delphina.

-Crack!

But here I was, having forced my way into the territory exactly as I'd wanted — chopping firewood in somebody's front yard.

'It's not a bad situation, honestly. I saved time, and my Recognition is climbing through reputation, ranked by tiers. The zones I can move through are still restricted, but...'

Still, something itched at me.

The fact that I'd entered Rusmayer on day one without carrying a single risk.

Above all, what worried me most was the possibility that developments I knew nothing about might spring up.

Given how even the smallest change in this game's environment could ripple into branching paths and altered choices, I couldn't just sit back and be pleased with myself.

'There's only one answer. I have no choice but to investigate this village even more thoroughly.'

The test hidden in a single glass of milk had been proof enough of that.

More meticulously. More exhaustively.

I had to keep my hands reaching into the domain of every possible choice this place could produce.

'They asked me to stay a day, and setting up a single room to use as an office shouldn't be hard. While I'm at it, I'll dig up every last scrap of information this village has.'

-Crack! Crack! Crack!

Chopping wood wasn't the goal here, but I decided to at least finish this job first.

"Ha. Unbelievable."

So swinging an axe counted as exertion — as exercise — and therefore raised my stats?

Meaning that even though it was an axe instead of a sword, it still registered as swinging a weapon?

"...Well, whatever. Might as well knock it out properly."

It was just a little something on the side.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"The weather's finally letting up, so it's actually possible to step outside during the day now."

"This winter was strangely brutal... Oof. Our whole dress code was nothing but layer upon layer, wasn't it?"

"Thank goodness Lady Claire spearheaded a whole new fashion, or it might have been worse. Without that, we'd probably all have caught colds."

"And wasn't that technique for extending the duration of warming enchantments on clothing wonderful as well?"

"Without it, none of us could have attended half our parties. Come to think of it, that was another of Lady Claire's creations, wasn't it?"

"Hohoho. Precisely."

The young noble ladies had gathered in a cluster, chattering away.

Laughing and gossiping in high spirits, they were reminiscing about the winter just past as the weather slowly crept toward spring.

Except every single one of their gazes was fixed on the same person.

"..."

The third daughter of House Bagrand — the very one who adored gatherings like this most of all — sat with her lips pressed tightly together, quietly sulking, and the others were walking on eggshells around her.

'If we offend Lady Flora, this tea party won't simply fall apart — it'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be a catastrophe, ladies!'

'But we've tried talking to her and she won't so much as pretend to listen...'

'There has to be a cause! Has anyone heard anything at all?'

'No idea. What is it? What on earth could be the problem...?!'

Breaking into cold sweats, carrying on a silent debate without letting Flora catch on, the ladies soon arrived at a single conclusion.

'Wh-what did you just say? Lady Flora was in that state from the moment she stepped out of her carriage?'

'Y-yes, that's right. We stepped down at about the same time and I greeted her... and she was already like that from the very start.'

'Then she's been in a foul mood since before she even left the Bagrand estate!'

'Oh my!'

'At last — a thread to pull.'

Relief washed over the ladies, as if something long stuck in their chests had finally come loose, and they felt certain of it now.

She'd been like that from the moment she alighted from the carriage.

Which meant this wasn't boredom with the tea party — she'd arrived already in that state, straight from House Bagrand.

So then — what unpleasant thing could have happened at the Bagrand ducal estate?

Everyone thought the same thing to themselves: isn't it obvious?

A single face came to mind.

A boy utterly unbecoming of House Bagrand's dignity.

A man of common blood, no noble at all.

The stain upon the ducal house — the beggar boy whom Flora would never, ever call family.

Karsein Bagrand.

Nothing like this could happen without him.

Hadn't it always been so? Hadn't Flora chewed him over and badmouthed him at every tea party without fail?

It had to be Karsein who had ruined her mood like this.

With bright, easy smiles, the ladies turned their eyes and their words at once toward Flora — whom they'd been too nervous to approach this whole time.

"Um... Lady Flora?"

"...Ah? Yes?"

"You seem terribly out of sorts today. At tea parties you're usually so bright and lively."

"N-no, it's not that... it's just..."

When Flora averted her eyes and tried to wave it off, the lady seated right beside her took hold of her hand.

"Please don't let it trouble you. Truly, we don't mind one bit. It isn't as though our tea party failed to amuse you, after all?"

"That's right. I'm sure Lady Flora has worries of her own, that's all."

"Even at the ducal estate, you must carry burdens the rest of us can scarce imagine. If anything, being of House Bagrand must mean sinking into even deeper worries, no?"

As if to say, don't worry.

As if to say, they all understood this was in no way the tea party's fault.

The ladies had Flora's attention fully in their grasp now.

Young ladies of her own age exchanged signals with their eyes.

Confirming each other's gazes, they grinned slyly and moved to put their plan into action.

"Honestly, it must have been a bit dull, no? There was a certain... listlessness to it, if you ask me."

"Then shall we invite one more person each to our next tea party?"

"A... person?"

"Yes. Bring another friend, or better yet, someone you'd like to introduce. Anyone at all — just one person. It's only the same handful of us talking among ourselves, so of course it's gotten stale, hasn't it?"

"Boasting, gossip, anything goes, so long as it makes for good conversation. And we can deepen our friendships while we're at it, no?"

"Deepen... our friendships..."

Flora murmured the words, lost in thought.

The world had not yet changed how it looked at Karsein.

It was no different here.

He was still, as far as anyone knew, a commoner — someone who didn't belong in the ducal house.

And the reason for that reputation was, transparently, herself.

But at the words "deepening our friendships," a thought crept into her head, unbidden.

'Every time we gather, all I've ever done is tear Karsein apart. But what if I brought him here and told everyone the truth — that he saved me? What if I told them Theo and Emma were the bad ones?'

The way people looked at him could change.

By telling them what had actually happened, she could shift their perception of him — even just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little.

With her own hands.

She could lower Karsein's notoriety herself, directly.

A thin thread of light began to seep into Flora's eyes.

"Yes! Let's do it — everyone brings exactly one person to the next tea party!"

At this much, surely... surely they'd trust her a little?

Swollen with hope, Flora looked forward to the next tea party.

Completely unaware of what those ladies had actually meant by their suggestion.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Finishing the wood-chopping earned me a modest stat reward — along with a few beads of sweat.

I hadn't thought much of it while I worked, but once it was done, I felt oddly proud. It was all going to be used as firewood by the village either way.

Just as I wrapped up and was cooling myself down, though, Diena's mother came fluttering over to me, wringing her hands.

"I-I never meant for you to do all of this... I'm so sorry! I only meant to ask for enough to warm the room..."

Apparently she'd only wanted to serve me something warm to eat and heat a room for me to stay in, but short-handed as they were, even asking for firewood had been weighing on her conscience.

And then, seeing me tidy up enough firewood for the entire village to help itself to, she'd been left utterly at a loss.

'...There it is. A situation I didn't foresee, popping up right on cue.'

At least the content itself didn't look difficult, but hmm. If this state of affairs kept up and I landed in some other bind, who knew how it might go.

First things first, I needed to make the sensible choice. Getting inside that house, safely out of harm's way, was worth considering too.

In that case, this option was the correct answer.

"I stacked all this in advance because I was hoping you'd set aside a small room I could use as an office. Add meals to that, and it adds up fast. Consider this covering my lodging and board."

"B-but... how could I possibly accept such a thing from my lord..."

"I haven't been officially recognized as lord yet, remember? By your own logic, I'm a guest. And a guest works for what he receives."

"Please, don't say such things."

Diena's mother waved her hands in protest — then bristled, abruptly, at the word guest.

As though being treated as merely a guest didn't sit well with her at all.

Ah. That made sense, actually.

Others might not feel that way, but from her perspective, Karsein was the one who had helped Diena and Delphina.

Which meant all that remained was to find a reasonable compromise.

"Then just lend me one small room. The firewood's already been cut — nothing to be done about that — so share it out among the villagers as you like."

As though the choice had resolved itself, she didn't object even to that.

It was only later, when I saw the warm bathwater already waiting in the washroom, that I realized there had been a reason for all of it.

Once I'd bathed, I had to head back outside with a map of the village in hand.

'I need a better read on how the villagers are moving.'

The report Camilla had given me on Rusmayer's situation had been remarkably thorough and accurate. I didn't doubt it — but there were bound to be differences now.

My own choices had already produced major changes, and the milk had gone to Delphina rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than Diena. Factoring in my stay here, further variables could easily emerge, so tracking the villagers' movements was simply a given.

Beyond that, I needed to compare everything against what Camilla had reported, checking carefully what differed — and by how much.

But the moment I stepped outside, Camilla was standing there, as if she'd been waiting.

"My young master, truly... He is the very master I serve, and yet I cannot begin to fathom what means he employed."

Before I could even ask when she'd arrived, or why, that was what she said.

...Wait. What was that supposed to mean?

She couldn't begin to fathom what means I'd employed?

I was still puzzling over it when flames leapt up on the far side of the village. Before long, the shouts of men came ringing across the air.

"This is all thanks to the young master!"

"Camilla, hold on — explain that. What do you mean?"

"Rusmayer comes under attack by demonic beasts on a regular basis. At this very hour, in fact."

"...Demonic beasts?"

The word snapped my head around instantly, and I turned toward the place their voices carried from.

Men who had whittled crude edges out of wooden staves to make spears of a sort were raising a fresh battle cry.

Compared to the disciplined ranks of trained knights, it was pitifully rough — but if this were truly the moment before a battle, I supposed that much spirit could count for a great deal.

Camilla, who had followed me out, smiled faintly.

"When I was administering Rusmayer, I never once saw them take the initiative like this. Come this hour, they would only furrow their brows and pray — please, let fortune be kind to us tonight."

And yet now, on the very eve of a battle with demonic beasts, they were shouting all the louder, shaking off their fear.

I thought I understood what Camilla meant.

People who had always acted passively, who had always leaned on outsiders, had taken up spears and risen of their own accord. It meant they had figured out for themselves what needed doing.

'At last — they're standing on the right path.'

Granted, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a mess I'd made because the original course of events displeased me — but truthfully, I'd hoped they'd manage at least this much.

Though of course, it wouldn't do for that to turn into throwing eggs at a boulder.

"Camilla. Which direction are the beasts coming from?"

"You intend to take the field yourself, my lord?"

"Well — just this once. Pointless losses piling up is a bad look, after all."

With a gentle smile, Camilla pointed out the path along which the demonic beasts would appear.