episode_0011

In my dream, I saw a whitish human figure. No matter how much I stretched out my hand, I couldn’t see the face of the unreachable figure, but I knew who it was, so I stretched out my hand and tried to touch it.

Nevertheless, my feet did not move, as if I had fallen into a swamp. Even though I could stretch my hands, I couldn’t move forward.

“Indeed.”

This dream will not allow me to catch that figure. Like the border between life and death.

My hand, which was covered in blood without being able to hold it, had already turned into the ceiling of a new house.

“I was so startled that I almost fell off my beak because he was talking in his sleep inexplicably. Did you have a scary dream?”

“No. I don’t tend to have scary dreams.”

I answered the crow’s question in a dry voice.

“… However, it was a very vain and miserable dream. To the point where a nightmare would be better.”

“Anyway, aren’t you surprised that I’m outside the cage?”

“It is your freedom to leave the cage, so why should you be surprised? In that case, I can at least give you a false answer saying that I was surprised.”

That was the reason why the cage door was not closed so that they could get out whenever they wanted. I just provide them with a place to sleep and food, but forcing them to stay by my side is violence.

The same goes for Liesel and her mother. I also can’t force them to stay with me. They did it to me, so I didn’t force them to do the same.

Coercion that puts one’s own feelings and position first is probably the ugliest form of oppression.

“Raul. I brought you a meal.”

Betty cleverly brought me breakfast just in time for me to wake up.

Crispy grilled bacon, salad with onions, bread with ham, and other miscellaneous things like butter and tea were my breakfast today.

“… I don’t have much of an appetite today.”

“Yes…? I worked hard to make it…”

“You can eat it. I’m not particularly blaming your skills, so don’t misunderstand. It’s just that I can’t eat onions and pork.”

Moreover, I wanted to properly observe this village, which I had not been able to visit due to my travel fatigue.

“I’m going out for a moment.”

When I went outside to get some morning breeze, the sun was already hanging in the sky. The morning breeze I wanted to feel was not blowing.

“Today is a pretty miserable day.”

So I started walking around with just a cane. Although the village was not very large, there were mountains and a river near the village, and the sea was just a short walk away.

It is said that the lord who was guarding this place ran away and the residents themselves took up arms and defended the village.

I can’t help but say I respect it. I defended myself by relying on the poor martial arts of my numerous subordinates, colleagues, and myself, but they used themselves as weapons and defended their hometown without any help.

And on the other hand, I was a little happy. The fact is that they did not only encounter disasters such as the King of Dragons, the Lord of Blood Demons, the King of the Immortals, the Evil Sword, and the Monsters that we faced.

“Are you the new lord…?”

The person who broke up the meaningless fun was an old man who seemed to be over 80 years old.

“Yes.”

“Oh my, you can feel free to treat such a worthless old man with respect.”

“I am comfortable with this.”

“Hehe, you are quite a unique person.”

The old man sat down on a nearby bench, looked at me, and started knocking on the seat next to me as if asking me to sit next to him.

I couldn’t understand what was going on, but I felt like the conversation wouldn’t start until I sat there, so I decided to take a seat next to him.

“I heard that you suffered something quite severe yesterday.”

If it happened yesterday, it seemed like it would definitely be about their reaction to me yesterday and the pile of documents.

“I would like to ask, just in case, is this related to the reaction the residents gave me yesterday?”

“You must have been angry, right? You are a nobleman who has never been treated like that in your life…”

I didn’t lead a peaceful life to the point where I felt special about being treated like that. Besides, that kind of work was nothing to me.

“I didn’t feel any emotions in particular. Knowing the background of this village, I thought it was extremely natural.”

To be honest, I understood their situation. I thought it was natural for them to be wary of me, and I felt proud of the woman who gave me the job fairly.

“This is a very great lord who has come to our village. You don’t feel like living in such a small town.”

I had no choice but to destroy the old man’s expectations. It was obvious that responding to these expectations with silence now would be a huge betrayal in the future.

“I am not that great of a person.”

“Hoo…”

“I did not attend my father’s deathbed. I killed a friend who was my benefactor with my own hands. I betrayed my sister. Do you still think I am a great person?”

It was clear that he would despise me. Even so, I thought it would be better to say it now if I was going to find out later anyway.

“Yes, in the eyes of this old man, he still looks like an innocent young man. You must be quite reckless, my lord, to try to break this old man’s stubbornness.”

I couldn’t understand. Each and every one of them was a disgusting mistake and sin. That was the reason people hated me.

But why doesn’t this old man hate me? Why don’t you despise me? My friends wouldn’t know this, but I’ve never even met this old man.

In the pond of my heart that was supposed to be very calm

“Why is it like that? If you’re just doing it to impress me, let me tell you that it’s useless.”

“What can this old man do because he can see well? Just…”

The old man said a sentence I had never heard before in my life. Although I had heard each word before, it was my first time hearing the combination out loud.

“Because I never heard the circumstances of why such a sad thing happened.”

“… Why.”

My reason, which had always been cold, became hot.

My mind, which had always been calm and peaceful, began to ripple.

“Why can you say something like that…”

Growling.

But at that moment, the old man burst into laughter at the sound of the belly button ringing in my stomach.

“Why, my lord, should I skip meals already? Whether it’s being a lord, a carpenter, or a baker, it’s all about making a living.”

The old man took out a loaf of bread from the basket he was holding, cut it in half, and handed the half to me.

“What is this?”

“This is this old man’s lunch box. My wife bought it for me so I wouldn’t eat it outside, but the taste isn’t that bad.”

Of course, it was just a slightly smelly cheese sandwiched between rye bread.

“Why are you handing this to me?”

“Didn’t you cut it in half so we could eat it together?”

I couldn’t understand.

I warned this person that even if he did something like this, I would not give him any convenience. If so, it would be clear that such actions would have no meaning.

Why would someone who doesn’t know me as well as my friends do something like this? Why do we do favors that we cannot expect to receive in return? As a foolish person, I couldn’t understand.

“Go ahead and eat it. It won’t really cool down, though.”

I didn’t want to trample on his heart like this, so I just took a bite of the bread.

The outside of the bread was rough, the inside was soft, and the cheese had an overly strong flavor. Still, it felt like something I missed. I didn’t really miss bread or cheese.

I just felt like I was missing something inherent in the process of this work.

“… I enjoyed it.”

“Doesn’t your throat feel clogged? I brought some wine…”

“It’s okay.”

I didn’t want to drink anymore. It was because I didn’t want to use that as an excuse to take out the things I had stored inside me.

“I will treat you next time.”

“Hehehe, these old people seem to be doing well in their old age.”

“Miscellaneous things are not a problem when it comes to enjoying what you deserve.”

I got up to go to my next destination. And I was scared that if I was next to this old man, I would have to tell him the most embarrassing stories.

“But isn’t that the same for you, my lord?”

At those words, I turned my head and looked at the old man.

“What are you talking about?”

“Hehehe… This old man was just embarrassed and was just saying nonsense.”

okay. There was no way this old man knew me. Moreover, only a very few people know about it. This old man was just saying nonsense because he was embarrassed.

“But would it be okay if this old man asked me a small favor instead of repaying the favor…?”

“What if it’s a small favor…?”

“The child who was rude to the lord yesterday.”

It was clear that this old man was referring to the woman with pure white hair who came to me yesterday and presented me with the documents. Did you say Cecilia?

By objective standards, she was a girl whose appearance could be said to be quite beautiful.

Because it is rare to find a woman who can represent the people at such a young age, she was someone who remained strongly in my mind.

“The place where that child works is the Adventurer’s Guild, which can be found by following that street corner to the right. He’s quite an A-level adventurer.”

“That sentence does not constitute a request.”

“Why don’t you go there and watch that child work?”

It was not an unfair request, nor was it a request that was difficult to carry out. Moreover, I had no idea what benefit the old man would get from carrying out the task.

“I will accept your request to that extent.”

“By the way, my lord, I would like to ask one more question… Do you have a woman who is your ideal type?”

“I’m not really looking at a face, but…”

I looked at my once bloody, horrible hands. And he continued his answer while remembering the owner of the blood.

“… A person who can move forward honestly. Someone who can hold my pathetic hand and guide me. A person with the boldness to destroy everything that stands in their way.”

“Oh…”

“And I like people who smile a lot.”

“Ugh, this is impossible.”

Again, I couldn’t understand what the old man said.