The Road to the Capital (1)
For a full eleven years since his reincarnation, Roy had never once left Greenhilt territory.
Today, for the first time, he set out on a journey toward the capital of the Steel Kingdom.
His chest still felt tight because of Anna, who had suddenly burst into tears right before they departed.
Ten years, huh…
Even a man whose emotions had long since dried up had been changed by the weight of ten years. He still did not feel, deep down, that she was truly his birth mother—yet now it seemed he could call them a real family without it feeling like a lie.
Clatter-clatter—
The carriage had already slipped out of the city and climbed onto the highway. He would have to spend a full ten days inside this cramped box. Lodging could be handled by stopping in villages or towns along the way, but the road ahead was truly long. Inside the swaying carriage Roy kept letting out deep sighs at the bleak stretch of days to come.
"Is the capital really that far?"
"I don't know the details either. We'll find out when we get there. This is my first time leaving the territory—what would I know?"
They had set out with two carriages. One carried Roy and Noah; the other held Marek and Misha. Jerry and Anna had managed with a single carriage, but Roy had so much luggage that two were necessary. Thanks to that, he could comfortably bring Noah out into the open.
For the past several days Roy had been drilling into Noah a list of absolute don'ts for the capital—forced, intensive education.
"Please stop already. I get it."
"If you disobey me, consider the contract broken."
"You persistent little brat. I said I understand. I am not a child."
"…You look plenty like a child on the outside. A beastkin child, at that."
"Hmmph? That is the fault of your insufficient mana. Do you prefer more mature women?"
Noah's form began to mature before his eyes. Flesh strained and threatened to burst through the clothes prepared for a child. Roy panicked and hurriedly stopped her.
"Hey—hey! Your clothes are tearing! Go back to normal, please! Don't waste my mana on something that useless!"
"Hmph. As if you wouldn't."
Roy sighed. Having to spend ten days with Noah in this narrow space—he could think of no greater torture in the world.
The stifling carriage life dragged on. In the blink of an eye, a full week had passed.
On the journey to the Knight Academy, the children of House Greenhilt always made a stop at one particular territory before reaching the capital.
Its name was Bacon County—a sizable territory that sat directly south of the king's own lands. In pure land area it was roughly equal to Greenhilt territory, or even a little smaller, yet its population was nearly three times as large, making it a major domain.
Its chief industries were mining and excavation. The land was famous for countless large and small ancient ruins; artifact digging had grown into a vast business. Gold and silver mines were discovered so constantly that the place had been called the Land of Gold since antiquity, and the gold recovered from the ruins was said to rival the yield of the mines themselves.
"…And so people from every corner of the kingdom constantly flock to Bacon County."
"How long are you going to keep reading that same book?"
"I need to know something if I'm going to talk with the nobles there. Act like an idiot and I'll disgrace the whole territory."
"Hmmph."
"I'll play with you once I finish. Just wait a little. Let's see… where was I? Ah—here. However, Bacon County has one great problem…"
A population three times Greenhilt's. Farmland less than one-fifth as large. Food shortages were built into the structure.
"So that's why they want to stay friendly with our house. I wondered what a count's family could possibly need from Greenhilt."
"That is how the world works. One must give in order to receive."
"Land of Gold, huh… I just hope no annoying trouble crops up."
House Bacon and House Greenhilt were not on bad terms. That was precisely why Roy intended to stop there before continuing to the capital.
"Still, as long as they have food as a weak point, they won't pick unnecessary fights."
Today Roy had to visit Count Bacon's castle, pay his respects, and stay the night. The custom had been set long before he was even born.
"Noah. Sorry, but please don't come out today. I have no idea how I'd explain you to those people."
"Very well."
Before they reached Bacon Castle, Roy carefully rearranged the luggage. It was a precaution to keep the chest of gold coins meant for the capital from standing out. He also had to hide the newly brewed Elven Liquor, the magic-imbued weapons, the spare protection amulets—there was more than a little that needed concealing. No one was likely to rummage through the carriages, but caution never hurt. Thinking of the witch, he even laid a barrier over the carriage itself.
Think of it as a practice run. Practice for walking into a place crawling with people of higher rank than me.
Roy steeled himself and stepped into Bacon Castle.
Count Bacon turned out to be a far more jovial man than Roy had expected. He welcomed the guest from House Greenhilt with open enthusiasm.
Is it because of the food connection?
Roy found himself wondering why a man of a count's rank was being so warm to him, and rather suspected some hidden scheme. Nobles always hid poison behind their smiles.
Fortunately, that was not the case. Roy heard the reason from the count's own mouth.
"Back then your father was fiercely proud. Above all, he could not stand seeing his own people attacked. Once, a marquis's daughter was bullying Anna at a banquet meant only for noble young ladies. In cases like that, for the sake of the family you have no choice but to swallow your anger. But Cliv boldly crashed the party hall, seized Anna by the wrist, and walked her straight out."
"That father of mine?"
"Hahaha! Hard to believe, isn't it? I was stunned myself. Thought the man had gone completely mad. Ah—this is just between us, since we're close."
"It's fine. But did the marquis's daughter simply accept it? She must have felt insulted. A man barging into a ladies-only banquet, and all…"
"Of course she was furious. It nearly became a full-blown scandal. However, the princess who had been present was deeply impressed by your father's actions and quietly settled the matter behind the scenes. Retaliation after that would have been an insult to the royal family itself—so no matter how much that young lady had the marquis house behind her, she could do nothing."
Roy listened with his mouth hanging open, thoroughly absorbed in Count Bacon's stories of the baron's past. With drink in him the count seemed to love digging up old tales; his mouth never rested. Yet there was enough that genuinely interested Roy that he never grew bored.
By pure chance Count Bacon was the same age as the baron. Naturally they had entered the Knight Academy together and graduated together. Despite the gulf between a count's house and a baron's, the two had grown surprisingly close. From the way the stories ran, it seemed the count had been the one drawn to the baron more than the reverse.
That man had that kind of charm…?
Roy felt rather pleased, as though he had collected a few more of the baron's weaknesses.
Soon the dishes were cleared and dessert arrived—drinks and sweets. Already full, Roy only picked at a few pieces of fruit. As he did, the thought crossed his mind that for a territory supposedly short on food, the lord's castle showed no sign of it. He half expected the table legs to snap under the weight of the spread.
Well, with the moniker "Land of Gold," gold coins must be bursting out of every vault. Money can accomplish anything, after all.
He felt a little embarrassed for having thrown a barrier over the carriage for fear of thieves before arriving. The gold he carried would be less than the dirt under a mouse's claw beside the count seated across from him. Even when he first stepped into Bacon Castle the sheer splendor had left him unable to close his mouth.
It was not only Roy and Count Bacon at the table. The count's wives and children were present as well. From Roy's perspective his heart felt squeezed tight. Every last one of them carried far greater innate mana than he did—the pure blood of a count's house. Alone as the baron's son and an outsider, he could not help feeling intimidated.
What about now? Is the gap still large?
Since things had come to this, he wanted to compare mana amounts while he had the chance—how his own level, after drinking Dragon's Breath twice, stacked up against the count's.
"Well then, the adults will take our leave. You children should get to know one another in advance. Roy—until you leave the castle tomorrow, treat the place as your own home."
"Thank you for your consideration."
The meal ended. The count's words seemed to express a hope that his child and Roy would become friends. Whether it was mere courtesy or genuine feeling, refusal was impossible. In any case the count and the countesses soon rose and left, and the older children of the house followed after them.
Left behind were Roy and the count's second daughter—Chloe, who would be entering the Knight Academy with him this term.
She spoke first.
"Your name is Roy, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Speak comfortably. We're not adults."
"All right, then."
"…Is there anything you're curious about with me?"
"Not particularly."
"……"
They might be fellow enrollees, but Chloe was a daughter of a count's house. Conversation did not come easily. From Roy's point of view she was a difficult relationship—too high in rank to order around freely, yet impossible to refuse if she made a request. Get too friendly now and he might end up running errands for her at the Knight Academy. Of course he would never actually do such a thing.
Well, among my peers there probably isn't a single person a baron's son can freely boss around from day one.
"Boring. Why don't you say something?"
Chloe rested her elbows on the table, propped her chin in her hands, and regarded him with a haughty face. Despite her cute features, the indifferent expression suggested she was thoroughly dissatisfied with the world at large.
Roy resigned himself to taking the lead like a proper man and tried to move the conversation forward.