episode_0002

2. I Want to Live While Farming.

The silver-haired woman with crimson eyes was named Liliana Pendleton.

A distant relative of the emperor who had conquered an entire vast continent, she was an adventurer.

And traveling with Liliana were two sworn sisters.

A woman with vibrant green eyes and hair like fresh leaves.

And Elara Laverno, who wielded a long weapon reminiscent of a blue dragon crescent blade.

The youngest, Taisi Wenz, had pinkish-red hair and matching eyes.

A lively giantess who loved her drinks, she casually carried a massive greatsword on her back as if it were a broom while eating.

They had decided to stay at our house for the night and were now conversing while enjoying a meal prepared by my parents.

“The Frontier Empire is currently in severe decline. It wouldn’t be surprising if the nation collapsed at any moment.”

“Huh… I suspected as much, but those Five Lords…”

The Five Lords.

Five individuals holding significant titles within the imperial palace.

The Minister of the Inner Court.

The overseer of all palace officials, the top boss.

The one who calculates taxes collected from each region and determines budgets.

The Chief Steward.

The enforcer of the law within the capital, as well as the one who proposes new laws.

In modern terms, you could say they combine the roles of the judiciary and legislative branches.

The Chamberlain.

The one who manages the stewards, maids, and attendants.

Essentially, the person overseeing the servants who care for the king’s health and personal affairs.

The Minister of Finances.

The official responsible for purchasing the king’s clothes, money, goods, and weapons, holding financial authority.

Simply put, they function as the empire’s in-palace bank—or piggy bank.

The Secretary.

Handling practical affairs and administration.

That’s roughly how it’s structured.

Positions and authority practically tailor-made for corruption.

Even if they’re stuck in medieval-level civilization, why did such a system come to be?

Because, above any authority, there was the emperor.

No matter how much the Five Lords try to ruin the country, in the end, the emperor’s presence acts as a brake.

I heard the Frontier Empire managed to survive decently for over 300 years like that, but…

Liliana sighed as she ran her fingers through her long silver hair.

“Of course, since His Majesty doesn’t attend to state affairs…”

“What kind of emperor is that…?”

“Taisi, quiet.”

Elara rapped Taisi on the head with her fist.

Despite her delicate appearance, her strength was monstrous—a fist-sized lump instantly bulged on Taisi’s pink-haired scalp.

As if embarrassed by her sisters, Liliana let out an awkward chuckle.

A world without newspapers.

While I leisurely spent my time tinkering with inventions and farming, the empire was undeniably crumbling.

But… well, not my problem.

My parents were simply curious about the outside world, but they didn’t think much of it either.

Personally, I planned to live an uneventful life farming, completely detached from national affairs.

After all, our family was just ordinary farmers living in the countryside.

“That was delicious.”

With that, I got up from the table and headed outside.

To the barn now serving as a storage shed.

Inside, a familiar workbench came into view.

My secret workshop, built in secret with my father after enduring my mother’s nagging worries.

I lit five candles on the table with a flint stone.

“Later, I should try making something like a lightbulb… It’s too dark here.”

Despite the five candles brightening the table, it was still dim and gloomy.

But at least I could see well enough to place my explosive arrows on the workbench.

“First, warm up my hands.”

For a modern person like me, this world was unbearably dull.

No smartphones, no consoles—once night fell, there was nothing to do.

Since I’d only ever played crafting games anyway, my current research was no different from entertainment.

Plus, it served a purpose—my father always carried a few explosive arrows as emergency supplies.

I tinkered and researched for fun to relieve stress, and my father took the arrows for safety.

A win-win.

For a long while, I busied myself crafting explosive arrows while refining the blueprint sketched on papyrus.

“Hmm… Is there no safer way to trigger the explosion?”

The principle behind my explosive arrows was friction.

Inside the cylindrical container filled with gunpowder and fuses, ignition occurred through friction, like striking a match or using a flint stone.

A fuse connecting from inside the cylinder to the arrow shaft.

Upon firing, a spinning wheel attached to the fuse would rotate rapidly, generating sparks.

Like spinning a top—similar to the old Beyblade toys.

The resulting friction would light the fuse inside, eventually igniting the gunpowder—boom!

But this method had shortcomings…

“I can’t increase the power any further, and the chance of misfires is too high…”

If I crammed in more gunpowder to boost power?

The sparks might directly ignite the powder mid-shot, risking premature detonation.

Making the explosive arrowhead larger would make it too heavy to fly properly anyway.

On top of that, relying on friction ignition meant frequent misfires—about 1 to 2 out of 10 shots.

“Using electronic triggers or pressure plates would be ideal…”

But developing electronics would require time, money, and equipment I lacked.

Feeling frustrated, I did my best with what I had, losing track of time as I adjusted the blueprint.

“Wow, you made this?”

“Gah—!!”

A woman’s voice suddenly came from behind me.

Startled like a freshly caught fish, I flinched and whipped around to see Liliana giggling.

Her blood-red eyes, contrasting with her gentle gaze, studied me warmly.

“Great reaction!”

“What brought you here…?”

“Hmm… It’s been a while since you left, and you didn’t come back.”

“Thought maybe you went to meet a girlfriend and got curious!”

Answering my question, Liliana glanced around the shed.

Her eyes flitted over the messy clutter, the materials I’d bought, and my scattered inventions before settling on the explosive arrows strewn around me.

“What’s this for?”

“…There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Yeah?”

Liliana blinked with an innocent, caring expression—as if she knew nothing.

But those blood-red eyes and something serpentine lurking beneath her demeanor…

I looked at her seriously and asked:

“You’re not really working for the imperial palace or anything, right?”

“Hahaha, like I said before. Just a regular adventurer.”

She laughed airily in response.

Relieved, I sighed and began explaining everything to her.

“These are explosive arrows…”

“Yeah, right. A single arrow with zero mana replicates magic-level destruction?”

“Yep.”

“Oh please. If that were true, every mage would be out of a job.”

She listened amusedly, clearly not buying it.

And so, we talked late into the night.

Don’t get any ideas—just conversation.

———————————————————————————

I met an interesting man.

A strapping young man, standing over 175 cm tall despite being around my age.

With both parents being strikingly handsome, he inherited a good-looking face, black hair, and black eyes.

Having lived only in the countryside, he was endearing—except for his ridiculous claims.

Seriously, expecting a single arrow to rival magic? Absurd.

After bidding farewell to the kind man and his parents, we three sisters returned to the imperial capital.

“So, strapping a little metal tube to a bamboo shaft makes explosions like magic? Ridiculous.”

“Taisi Wenz, that man showed us kindness. Remember your knightly courtesy.”

“Oh, come on… Calling lies ‘lies’ is just honesty…”

The youngest, Taisi, pouted and grumbled.

Since she wasn’t wrong, I forced a strained smile.

“Well, you won’t know until you try, right?”

Even knowing it was nonsense, I answered hopefully.

Firing one shot wouldn’t hurt, and as Elara said, we had knightly codes to uphold.

Though all three of us acted as adventurers now, our true roles were imperial knights.

If we couldn’t even trust the words of someone who helped us, chivalry would weep in disgrace.

Lost in thought, Elara suddenly spoke up.

“So, sister. What do you think of the empire now?”

“The empire…”

A sudden question.

Both Elara and Taisi were warriors with S-tier combat prowess.

Meanwhile, I was barely A-tier.

If not for my Pendleton lineage, why would these two call me “sister” and follow me?

It could only be due to my ability to read situations.

I turned to my sisters and answered:

“His Majesty will soon pass away.”

The emperor had long drowned himself in wine, gambling, and women—a debauched wastrel.

Whether despite or because of that, his health had deteriorated so badly even those outside the capital could hear of it.

“And after him remains only a nine-year-old princess. A puppet for the Five Lords.”

“Being female, they may force her onto the throne or use her to bear their heirs.”

The emperor’s only daughter.

A mere child, too young and politically powerless.

The empire was already rotting, and nobles were too busy forming factions for survival.

If the emperor truly died early, leaving a young empress…

“The great empire will fracture. Multiple kingdoms will rise, plunging the land into war.”

“…”

At my words, Elara and Taisi fell silent.

The worst outcome—and the likeliest.

Claimants would declare themselves kings, conscripting innocents into war, birthing heroes from their spilled blood.

For that future, we needed talented allies.

Just then, Taisi’s beast-like senses flared as she spoke up.

“Sisters, wait… Something’s ahead.”

Following her words, we halted, crouching low.

Moving silently in a crouch, we spotted a lone monster some distance away.

“A Hard Boar.”

Hard Boars—B-tier monsters notorious for their tough hides and brute strength.

Knowing this, we readied mana-infused weapons when Taisi interrupted.

“Oh yeah, sister. Try that arrow.”

“The explosive arrow…?”

“Yeah. Since we’re all melee fighters except your bow, might as well test its magic-level power from afar.”

After some hesitation, I picked up an explosive arrow.

Following the man’s instructions, I tied the protruding fuse from the bamboo-sized cylinder to the bowstring and took aim.

The arrowhead was slightly heavy, so I adjusted higher.

Calculating the wind against my cheek, I injected a trickle of mana into my fingers.

The moment I felt the “certainty” of a clean shot, I released the string.

**—Piiing—!**

Propelled by my mana, the explosive arrow flew far faster than normal.

Striking the Hard Boar’s flank with pinpoint accuracy.

Its hide, normally too tough for arrows to pierce, gave way thanks to my mana and archery.

But given its size, the small blade wouldn’t kill it instantly.

“Nothing’s happening… Told you.”

“Well, the weight could be useful for siege—”

Just as I tried defending our benefactor’s gift…

**—KWA-BOOM—!!**

A thunderous roar exploded right beside us.

Instinctively covering our ears, we stared in disbelief at the Hard Boar.

Now a mangled carcass—its famed toughness and vitality rendered meaningless.

As if magic had detonated inside its guts, its abdomen and flank had been blown apart, leaving only grotesque meat chunks.

Taisi, the most skeptical, gaped in awe.

“Holy…! No magic was used, right?! How… without mana?!”

“…That man may be the talent you’ve been searching for, sister.”

“Haha…”

Not just that—the blast crater suggested lightning magic had struck.

I pulled out the three remaining explosive arrows he’d given us.

“What if we go recruit him? Offer him a position when we establish our nation.”

“Against chivalry, but if you command me, I’ll even kidnap…”

“Enough, enough… What face would I show him?”

The man clearly loathed work.

The only way to lure him would be wealth and power.

But right now, I lacked political backing, land, justification, personnel, and gold.

Still, once the empire fragmented and I successfully founded a nation…

I swore to recruit him.

Complacently thinking, *Surely no one would poach him from this remote countryside…*

Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Elara sighed wistfully.

“Had that man honed his skills, he could’ve ruled the world…”

“Haha… Let’s try recruiting him someday.”

I silently agreed—with weapons like his, world domination wouldn’t be impossible.

And inwardly vowed to scold him with money and work him to death.

———————————————————————————

While tinkering with the matchlock gun I’d previously built…

A sudden chill ran down my spine, as if a ghost had passed through me.

“Ugh, what the…?”

What was that?

It wasn’t something I could easily define.

Like the instinctive dread of being stalked by a predator?

Or maybe the awe the legendary minister Hwang Hui felt before King Sejong?

“Maybe I should brew some tonic… Eat better.”

Surely…

No one could drag me away from this backwater countryside…?

With that naive thought, I resumed working on my gun.