“It cannot be.... Valter, what do you mean?”
“I am simply telling you that it cannot be done.”
The moment I conveyed a firm intention to refuse,
the envoy from the kingdom merely gaped, as if she had never imagined such words could be spoken.
No.
It was not just her.
Here, in this administrative hall gathered for state affairs, my mother—Countess Valeria, the current head of House Tark—was the same.
My older sisters and younger sister were the same.
What I had just said was
that I would refuse the order handed down by the Royal Knights.
Which was tantamount to declaring I would defy a royal decree.
At that, the envoy removed the hood she had been wearing.
Sweeping back her beautifully kept hair, she spoke.
It was a trivial matter, but I supposed it was only natural that a woman would be the one handling such affairs.
“Valter, this is a royal decree. Without just cause, you are committing a grave mistake.”
“Even so, no matter what threats you make, it cannot be helped.”
“...Huh?”
“Because I possess just cause.”
But I, who had made my way through life barefoot,
had spent the last three months adapting with remarkable nimbleness,
cultivating my senses for this world, three hundred years later.
Thus, with such senses, it was only natural that I possessed evasive maneuvers I could employ.
I cleared my throat.
To escape this situation, I reflected on my memories of not long ago.
***
Much had happened over the past three months.
Most notably, after rising from my sickbed, when I declared I would take up the sword—
was it the incident where my mother rolled her eyes back in opposition and fainted?
“Valter, on top of becoming a patient from a carriage accident, how, how could you drive another nail into this mother’s heart...?”
“A nail, you say? I fail to see how resolving to train with the sword is such a terrible thing.”
“G-good heavens. How could you say such a thing.... *kheuk*...”
“Mother? Mother?!”
As it turned out,
due to this world’s extremely skewed gender ratio,
men’s treatment was literally that of being “pampered beyond belief,” so this had been a trifling incident born from that.
A boy, from birth until death, would indeed be conscripted for his seed for the prosperity of descendants, but
the common consensus was that thereafter, they received exceedingly courteous social treatment on the surface and absolutely did no arduous labor.
Therefore, was it not the case that most men basically grew up with obese physiques, spoiled and irredeemable?
Even if they acted as such,
no one questioned it.
Truly, this world was rotten too.
I had known it, of course.
Thus, politely conveying my intent to train in swordsmanship was in itself an act that weakened my mother’s very mind and body.
*Kwaang—!!*
“Good heavens, Valter...?!”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Just now, you... did you subdue the captain of the household knights with your sword? No, the knight captain has fainted!”
“As you see.”
“How, how is this possible?!”
“Whether in strength or speed, if I continued to contest him, I would obviously lose. I merely focused solely on the openings I could exploit in a short skirmish.”
Ups and downs may come, but skill is eternal.
Even if my body did not keep up well, swordsmanship, in the grand scheme, was like chess—each move a careful and rapid exchange of offense and defense.
In my previous life, whether human or demon, I had been called the Sword Demon; utilizing senses I had trained thousands upon tens of thousands of times, I completed my adaptation.
“I never knew until now. What I bore in my womb was a genius.”
“I believe so as well. Is it not thanks to your having borne me so well?”
“Valter, perhaps you are—.”
“...What did you say?”
“Hoho, it is nothing. You possess remarkable skill. A child one cannot help but love.”
In any case, I had earned the acknowledgment of my overbearing mother then and there.
As befitted a court where birds listened by day and mice by night,
strange rumors spread through the waiting court ladies.
“Young Master Valter is a genius recognized by Countess Valeria. They say that despite his youth, he subdued the Knight Captain with a single blade.”
“A, a, a boy...? A boy did that, you say?”
“Yes.......”
“He’s different from other boys somehow.”
“Does it only sound lewd to me?”
“A little... lewd. So a strong man really does exist.”
Looking back, after hearing tale of me at the royal palace,
the reason they immediately tried to recruit me into the knights as if abducting me was likely due to these rumors.
In my previous life three hundred years ago, it had been quite common for a successor of a count’s household to display powerful sword talent at this age, but
I was a man.
In this world where it was natural for men to be raised so preciously that not a speck of dust would touch their hands, a man displaying outstanding talent at a young age was a topic perfectly suited for drawing attention.
Therefore, perhaps it was not so strange for the rumors to gallop frantically all the way to the royal palace.
Well, perhaps rather than being on the level of skill,
it could also be the sinister scheme of some old hag who, thinking strong men were lewd, had tried to possess me through power.
In any case, the reason I could overhear such talk was that
even though I wanted to go out alone, I had simply ignored my sisters’ words that “A boy going out alone is absolutely forbidden” and secretly slipped out.
That day too, I had covered my face and was hovering around tavern alleys, picking up on what others were saying….
“If he is that strong, the territory will prosper.”
“We are fortunate to have such a person.”
“If he has talent, will he leave the county?”
“No, would they leave such an existence idle at home? If it’s to breed offspring with those good genes, it’s only natural to keep holding onto him. Wouldn’t everyone think so?”
“Y-you son of a b—...”
“—A, a man’s voice?!”
“Eek.”
Things like how they wouldn’t leave the Count’s household because they would produce offspring with me at home.
I have a memory of letting out a strangled shriek at these people who were naturally fantasizing about things I wanted absolutely nothing to do with, getting caught, and fleeing.
Well, up to here was just part of everyday life.
The most important thing in this tale was
how abnormal the mindset of this world’s people was, to the point where they all thought that way.
There was no way to turn things back anyway.
I had made up my mind to adapt.
It definitely had its uses.
...Damn it.
Honestly, I hated doing this.
***
“The reason I cannot go is simple.”
“Speak.”
“My sisters are all pregnant with my children; how could I go far away leaving behind children who will soon be born? As one who will become the head of the household, leaving the count’s castle at this time is impossible.”
And when I recited that so boldly,
shock settled over this grand hall.
My mother listening was the same.
The gathered sisters were likewise.
Of course, I had never done such a thing.
Nor had I intended to.
“Aah, Valter.”
“Mother.”
“—That is correct, envoy of the knights. My son has gotten his sisters with child, so he cannot leave the territory at present.”
But before long,
my mother, Valeria, who possessed outstanding political acumen as a countess, winked at me and played along with the lie.
For my mother, rather than having her precious son—whom she had barely kept alive while he was showing promise—snatched away entirely by the kingdom, going along with my words for a moment and protecting me appropriately was far preferable.
By playing along with my words to a suitable degree,
she intended to break through this situation.
“Ah.... Is that so. He was already of such an age.”
Then, as expected, not knowing the actual facts,
the kingdom’s envoy, who had to judge the matter based solely on my mother’s and my words, nodded in a strangely convinced manner, just as expected.
This world’s moral sense was thoroughly wrong.
Yet, as a result of women gathering,
there was a strangely domestic demand for such a being.
Moreover, it even appeared intertwined with the importance of succession as practiced in the world of blue blood.
It could not help but appear as just cause to the envoy.
“Then, please write a formal response to this so that I may report it to His Majesty the King.”
“We shall.”
“However, His Majesty’s interest in the young lord Valter is immense, and he has decreed that you must bring him to the royal capital. So please complete your preparations to depart for the capital while waiting for the children to be born.”
Well, in the end, it turned into an atmosphere like cramming homework at the last minute.
Still, it was better than nothing.
For now, I had managed to fend off the envoy who came for me.
I had bought roughly ten months or so.
With that, I could catch my breath.
If it was time for me to escape this Count’s household,
ten months was more than enough time to spare.
‘Seradion, I have to go take revenge on that rat bastard. If I keep staying here, I’ll get dragged off by the Royal Knights and used as the king’s pawn. I truly detest that.’
Being able to wield a count’s authority was nice, but
if one stood in too high a position, the moment one showed more promise, one would surely be grabbed by the ankle like this.
So I thought.
That it was right to flee this place in haste.
...Well, I also hated that I had to spout such nonsense involving my family, though.
‘This matter has made it certain. I must escape as soon as possible, without Mother or my sisters knowing. Before that, I will make all hasty preparations to flee.’
In any case, that day’s affairs ended there.
Tired from various matters, I went to my bedroom to quickly retire for the night.
“—Urk?!”
“Valter. Quietly.”
“Mother?!”
Without knowing that inside, someone had arrived before me and was waiting.
For her to come find me at this hour.
What on earth could be the matter.