episode_0023

It had been a long time since I came down to Taildon.

As expected, it had changed a lot in the interim.

Even when I came down every two weeks, the feeling was slightly different each time, but visiting after a change of season made it feel like a completely different village.

“Ritsu Hyung!”

Vincent was the first to spot me and wave.

He dashed over.

“Hyung, Hyung! It’s been so long! Is your body all better?”

“What? You knew too?”

“Of course! All the kids here know! Ritsu Hyung’s glorious wound—!”

As he spoke, he made a gesture as if scratching his own chest with his fingers. The children nearby also chattered loudly.

“He’s a hero! A hero!” “They say he fought a bear to protect Tia Unnie!”

“…Huh?”

I wondered what they were talking about, but it seemed the rumor had been distorted into me getting injured while fighting a bear to protect Tia.

The truth was that Tia had actually clobbered the bear and chased it away.

There was no need to properly correct them, nor was there even time for that.

I’d just have to let them think what they wanted.

“Hyung! Can’t you show me your wound just once?”

“No.”

“Ah— Ritsu Hyuung—. Pleaseee—.”

I tried to ignore him and leave, but Vincent clung to my pants, dragging on the ground. Good grief, these kids must be crazy.

Sigh. I guess I should just show them quickly and be done with it.

“There.”

I rolled up my shirt to show them the scar.

The children gasped in shock at the hideous, stretched-out skin.

Then they poked at it with their fingers, asking if it hurt.

What was there to say?

I’d shown them all there was to see, so I put my shirt back on.

“Done? I’m leaving now.”

“Hyung! You’re really cool!”

“Awesome! Hero—!”

Receiving meaningless praise, I entered Taildon.

The first place I sought out was the tall spire in the middle of the village.

They said it used to be a castle.

Hardly any trace of it remained now, but seeing how it was built with sturdy stone, it didn’t seem like a lie.

A special person lived in this stone house.

Lord Kintop, Taildon’s only noble.

I didn’t know his exact status.

I vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that he was a distant relative of the Goldburg Lord.

But for commoners like us, it was a trivial detail we didn’t even need to know, so it wasn’t important information.

All I needed to know was that Lord Kintop was the lord who governed Taildon.

In front of the house, a servant was sweeping the yard.

At first, he didn’t seem to recognize me, but when I introduced myself as Ritsu from Breezedon, his face finally showed surprise.

After the message was delivered to the Lord and a short wait, permission was granted for me to enter.

The Lord’s room, which I saw for the first time, was more humble than I expected.

Papers were scattered messily on the desk, as if he had been writing letters.

Lord Kintop was an old man who looked well over sixty.

He wore decent clothes, and all his hair was gone, save for a few strands remaining on his sideburns.

What was striking was the long beard extending from beneath his chin.

“Take a seat.”

I was guided and awkwardly sat down on a chair.

A servant offered me a glass of bright red wine.

I didn’t drink it, just placed it beside me for now.

“Are you Amon’s son?”

“Yes, I am.”

The Lord mentioned the Village Head-nim’s real name and observed me carefully.

“I offer my deepest condolences for the fall of Breezedon’s great tree. With this, the supreme Dragones Mountains will become a little more humble.”

Indeed, noble speech is always convoluted and difficult to understand.

“Thank you for readily granting me an audience, my Lord.”

“Not at all. Amon once told me that his sons would visit me someday. I am rather pleased to confirm that ‘someday’ is now.”

“…”

“You were also badly injured, I heard. Seeing that you are fine now, that royal medicine must be truly remarkable.”

“Yes. I came to express my gratitude.”

Lord Kintop chuckled.

“Why would I refuse an opportunity to owe Amon a favor? Though I never expected him to pass away first. Haha. By the way, you didn’t come all this way just to express gratitude, did you?”

“No.”

“Your eyes tell me so. I see the youthful vigor and ambition of a young man. Speak comfortably.”

I gulped.

And then I spoke the words I had prepared.

“My esteemed Lord of Taildon. I humbly request that you lend our village five cartloads of firewood.”

“Firewood? Hmm, I see.”

The old man swirled his wine glass, as if thinking.

“Do you think this winter will be difficult?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, it has come to that.”

The conversation was going to be swift.

Indeed, the Lord accurately discerned our village’s situation with just one request.

Perhaps that keen sense was what made Taildon even more prosperous.

Lord Kintop stroked his beard.

“Our small farmers ceased logging long ago. We’ve just entered the beginning of winter storms, and five cartloads sound like an unreasonable request.”

“Yes. Naturally, you would be concerned. However, I ask that you look at the bigger picture. If we cannot survive the winter, it will be extremely difficult to complete the bridge by next year.”

“I know. I heard that the person in charge fled due to an unfortunate incident, didn’t he? But isn’t that your village’s problem?”

“Please listen, my Lord. If the bridge is successfully completed and the mountain path of Dragones is fully opened, traffic will naturally increase in Taildon, just as rivers flow downstream.”

My purpose was here.

To emphasize that the mountain path expansion project was not simply for Breezedon, but a common benefit to be enjoyed by Taildon as well.

“You may levy customs duties afterward, or you may invite facilities for peddlers. Either way, your land will gladly enjoy the glory.”

“…Haha, hahahaha! Truly Amon’s son. Not only bold, but you can speak quite plausibly too. Yes, forgive me for testing you.”

The Lord smiled with satisfaction.

“In truth, that construction was something I desired as well. Joseph also greatly sympathized with my proposal. It might be a bit of a pipe dream, but he said Breezedon had enough power for it. However, Amon didn’t think so. He feared that if the mountain path was opened, Dragones would be swallowed up by Deseo.”

“Yes. My father told me. He said we should be wary of Deseo.”

“That’s not wrong. If you accurately know the state of affairs in Deseo, you might think similarly to Amon.”

The moment I heard those words.

I felt like there was so much I didn’t know.

The Village Head-nim, Uncle Joseph, Lord Kintop.

When I talked with these people, they seemed to know far more than I could comprehend.

And it was true.

They knew the true nature of Deseo, and each was preparing in their own convictions and ways.

That place, so far away.

That city, which was like a completely different world.

Why did they keep talking about it?

I had a premonition that if I didn’t ask now, I would never know.

“Excuse me, but ‘the state of affairs in Deseo’… what exactly are you referring to?”

“It is a matter too delicate to even utter. Let us stop this discussion here…”

A scratching sound.

As the Lord spoke, he simultaneously wrote something on a letter with a quill pen.

[Usurpation of the Throne]

“…!”

In other words, he was talking about ‘rebellion’.

Only then did I realize.

Before those four terrifying characters that were even scary to look at.

Setting aside what these small villages could do, I realized that it was an unstoppable tide.

The words I had heard until now came back to me.

‘Tia is involved in a serious incident right now. Soon, Deseo’s soldiers will come to this village. We need to send her away before they arrive.’

‘Once the bridge is built and the road is maintained, many people will soon come and go. The burden on you, as the newly appointed Village Head, will increase, and things will become chaotic. But… even so, you must protect Tia.’

‘It was—really dangerous there. I almost died because bandits suddenly ambushed us…’

They were still vague and ambiguous words, whose true meaning I didn’t grasp.

But those words were undoubtedly a premonition that a fierce storm was about to break.

The wind of desire that would swallow everything.

The Village Head-nim had been warning me of that.

That’s why he locked down the village and waited for everything to be over.

Lord Kintop asked in a low voice.

“Is Breezedon… prepared?”

“Ah…”

I needed time to think carefully. A lot of time.

But I had to give an answer right now.

Now that I knew the Deseo royal power was unstable, I couldn’t pretend not to know anymore.

The Lord was asking.

If Breezedon was ready to share its fate with Taildon.

If it was prepared to leap into the incoming storm of madness.

If so, he would grant my request.

“I am still…”

“Too young? Just a young blood who came with a bold request? Haha. Not at all.”

Lord Kintop shook his head quietly.

Even that action exuded the dignified grace of a noble, not at all light.

“You are Amon’s son, and Breezedon’s Village Head. What else is needed?”

My hands trembled.

Could I, who hadn’t even come of age yet, truly decide this important matter of people’s lives and deaths?

The lives of all my villagers depended on my tongue.

No one could help me now. Not even Tia, who was always by my side.

Because… this was something only I could do.

With a trembling breath, I made my decision.

“Yes. I am prepared.”

“Haha! Truly courageous. Still, it must have weighed heavily on your heart to say those words.”

The Taildon Lord extended his hand.

“That is ‘responsibility’. You’ve crossed the bridge to manhood. Congratulations.”

“…Thank you.”

I knelt down and repeatedly thanked his wrinkled hand.