#191
Settler (2)
The Kingdom of Lesque was the southernmost nation among the alliance of four kingdoms located in the western part of the Ion Continent.
If there was anything noteworthy about it, it would be that it possessed vast grain-producing regions, enough to be called the greatest food production area in the west.
Thanks to its warm climate, which was ideal for growing crops, it was the result of focusing for many long years on expanding its farmland.
‘And the existence of the Pikaol Grand Temple could also be called special.’
The grand temple built on the site where the second Immortal King had fallen three hundred years ago.
The place Heinrich had once visited to obtain the holy sword held great significance, not only historically, but religiously as well.
After all, as the only grand temple in the western part of the continent, it also served as the authority that oversaw the dioceses of the surrounding region.
And Geos Calkin, the lancer knight who was a member of the Hero’s party—
Was a noble who held the rank of count in this very country.
“Welcome, my lord. I have continued to hear news of you in the meantime, but seeing you safe and sound like this puts my heart at ease.”
“...Yes. Oliver, you’ve worked hard as well.”
“Hohoho, what hardship could there be for an old man like me when all I do is manage the house? Compared to the work you are doing, my lord, it is nothing at all.”
The place Heinrich’s group, who had been in the Viscounty of Glatan, arrived at next was a village in a small barony located fairly far out on the kingdom’s frontier.
It was a territory they could not even reach through the temple’s gate, and so they had no choice but to come by Isea’s spatial transfer.
This was Geos’s hometown.
“Oh dear, I am late in greeting the guests. My name is Oliver, and I manage this mansion. I will do my utmost to ensure that all of you may rest comfortably. If there is anything inconvenient, please feel free to tell me at any time.”
The elderly gentleman in butler’s attire bowed politely to the group in greeting.
No matter how small the Kingdom of Lesque might be, someone of count rank was unquestionably a high-ranking noble.
Naturally, there was nothing particularly strange about him having built a villa with a butler in his hometown village.
“Now that I think of it, Lord Geos, you said you were a count, right? Then do you perhaps have a territory as well?”
Once Oliver, who had shown them to their lodgings, left to prepare a meal, Isea turned to look at him with a curious expression.
She was similar to him in that she had earned her title through ability alone, but at the time, she had not accomplished any particular merit and had not received a territory.
Back then, Princess Riley had also been in the midst of a power struggle with the crown prince, so it had been difficult for her to take care of such matters separately.
‘In any case, I’m planning to return to Earth within a few years, so receiving a territory now would only be troublesome.’
Still, she could not help but become curious about how things had been in his case, since he had been in a similar position to her.
After all, couldn’t the foundation of a noble’s power be considered their territory?
“...A short while ago, I liquidated all my assets and stepped down from the position of lord. The way I am now, I have no leeway to be responsible for others.”
“Ah.”
“But I simply could not bring myself to dispose of this mansion. ...This place is my hometown, and it is also where I met my wife. That’s why, unless there was something special going on, we stayed here rather than in the territory.”
A lord who ruled a territory was a position with as many duties as authority.
It was a position responsible not only for presenting the path forward to thousands, even tens of thousands of people, but also for their very survival.
On top of that, the territory he had received was only a county in name; in reality, it was a harsh land made up mostly of wasteland.
Even in peaceful times, there had been so many things to pay attention to that it gave him a headache, and in these troubled times, protecting the people of his territory was something ordinary effort could never accomplish...
There was no way that a man who had lost the family that had been no different from his everything and fallen into despair would have any such room left in him.
“Ahem.”
Isea gave a light cough and carefully watched his reaction.
She thought she had made a mistake by needlessly touching on a painful wound, but contrary to her worries, he showed no particular change in expression and remained indifferent.
As though he had already been worn down so much that he no longer even had the strength to express it.
“Of course, at this point, none of that matters anymore. There is a reason we came all the way here, isn’t there?”
But that indifferent appearance did not mean he had abandoned all emotion.
His heart, worn away as much as it could be, was filled only with emptiness.
Yet even amid that, there remained one fierce emotion that drove him onward—
That emotion, burning vividly even in the midst of the void, “anger,” was the force that moved him.
“Of course! Damn right! We didn’t come all this way for a vacation!”
“An otherworlder... I hope they’re an Earthling like me. I wonder what country they’re from?”
“Hmm, then shall we eat and set out right away? Since we’ve come all the way here, I hope we can gain something.”
At that, the other party members beside him quickly chimed in one after another.
Yes, the reason they had come all this way...
Was to find someone who might know well about the “special ability unique to otherworlders” that Hesperon possessed, the ability that had revealed a weakness in the Immortal King, and somehow obtain information from them in order to strike at that opening.
***
Thanks to his lofty realm, Geos had a considerably youthful appearance, but he was unquestionably the oldest member of the party, already in his forties.
‘Well, when you think about it, it’s only natural.’
In truth, the strange cases were the Awakened, who grew rapidly with the help of all sorts of corrections and skills.
For the people of this world, who required grueling, bone-shaving training to raise their realms, it was not particularly unusual at all.
‘That must be why people look at Isea with awe and call her a genius mage.’
She had reached the realm of archmage at the young age of barely being in her twenties, and on top of that, she was still continuing to grow even now!
Heinrich was an exception since he was the Hero chosen by a god, and Harley, being of the unfamiliar race called dragonkin as well as looking older than his age, did not feel particularly out of place...
But Isea was a pure human, and even her appearance was nothing more than that of a young girl in her mid-teens, so the shock could only be greater.
“It has already been well over twenty years since I first met him. Back then, truly... I never imagined I would become like this.”
They had left the mansion built atop the hill and had been walking along the narrow path toward the village for about ten minutes.
Geos, who had been guiding the way, looked around and murmured quietly, as if filled with emotion.
How many twists and turns must there have been for a young boy who had been a commoner and an orphan to rise to his current position?
Perhaps the events he had experienced were every bit as turbulent as “Harley’s Great Adventure.”
‘No, no matter what, maybe not quite that much.’
Harley, who inwardly took pride in his own story, stroked his chin in thought before nodding heavily.
Thinking that, as expected, he would need to add an even more dramatic scenario sometime soon.
“Hmph! But brother, will that man still be there? If he happened to have moved somewhere else...”
“...No. The last time I saw him was two months ago, so he should still be there. He was also with me at my family’s funeral... After that, he looked after me in many ways while I was struggling...”
“Ahem!”
It was another situation that felt as though a landmine had been stepped on.
Since it seemed the whole area around them was nothing but a minefield right now, it looked better to simply keep his mouth shut.
“And he will not be able to abandon the place where he has settled now and go anywhere else.”
“Hm?”
With those last words, they continued walking for some time while following Geos, who had fallen into his memories.
Arriving at a fairly sizable village below the hill, they crossed the street while drawing everyone’s gaze.
“Huh! Over there, could it be...”
“Isn’t that Count Geos? I thought we hadn’t seen him for a while. Has he come back?”
“Who are the people with him?”
As expected, he seemed to be a famous figure, and the villagers who immediately recognized him began whispering in small groups.
‘Well, it would be stranger not to know him when someone from the same village suddenly came back as a noble, built a mansion nearby, and settled down.’
On top of that, even his rank was higher than that of the baron who owned this land.
They must have benefited from that in ways both obvious and subtle, so it was only natural that the residents knew him.
“...This is the place.”
And the place they arrived at while receiving everyone’s attention was—
The largest and cleanest building in the village, one that looked as though it had not been built long ago.
However, its purpose was somewhat unexpected...
“Huh? It’s Uncle Geos!”
“Wha? It weally is! It’s weally Uncle!”
“Dad~! Uncle Geos is here!”
“But who are the people with him... Eek?”
“Waaah! It’s a monster! Sis! Siiiis!”
The voices of young children burst out one after another in the wide front yard enclosed by a low fence, enough to make one’s head spin.
There were far too many of them to be children born from one family.
“This place is?”
“...An orphanage?”
At that moment, a strange man’s voice reached the ears of the slightly flustered party.
“What? Geos? And what monster are you talking about! Who dares do something to our kids... Hm?”
A man who had hurriedly rushed out of the building at the noisy cries of the children ringing through the yard froze for an instant when he spotted the group.
A black man with close-cropped hair and a neatly trimmed white beard.
His gaze swept over the outsiders who had suddenly appeared, then stopped on Geos standing at the front.
“It’s been a long time, Chehai.”
“...Geos.”
And so, at last, the Hero’s party came face-to-face with the self-proclaimed otherworlder.
A man with the somewhat unexpected occupation of a philanthropist who ran an orphanage.
***
“Tch, calling this man among men, Lord Harley, a monster. Since they’re still young, I guess the kids don’t know anything, huh? A true man is supposed to be packed with muscles like me.”
Harley, who entered the reception room inside the building with a large cloth wrapped over him, threw it off and grumbled in dissatisfaction.
There had been no helping it, since every child who saw him had caused a commotion.
If not for Geos, who had come with them, it likely would have been impossible for him to even enter like this without being driven out.
“Um, Mr. Harley? I don’t think your muscles are the only problem...”
“Huh? What do you mean, miss?”
Isea silently looked at him as he blinked, as though he truly knew nothing.
A massive, muscular body over 2.3 meters tall, tattoos densely carved all over it, clothing that was barbarian itself, and a vicious giant axe.
Add to that the aura of a predator that subtly seeped from him and an appearance that ran to the extreme of macho, and it was only natural that the children would be crying and screaming.
“...Never mind.”
But instead of explaining the fact at length, she merely shook her head slightly and turned her gaze away.
In truth, he only wanted to pretend not to know; even if she did not bother saying it, he would know full well himself anyway.
“Grr.”
At that, Harley frowned, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall.
With that, an even more terrifying visual was complete, but fortunately, there were no children in the room, so it did not lead to a major commotion.
“First, let me apologize for coming so suddenly, Chehai.”
“No, the fact that you came to see me is something I’m grateful for. Do you know how worried I’ve been all this time? ...Of course, I’ll have to accept an apology for the children being frightened because of that gentleman over there.”
When Geos spoke first, the black man sitting across from him, Chehai, glanced at Harley and clicked his tongue.
If he had truly done as he pleased, he would have driven him out on the spot, but he was only holding back because he could not treat so harshly the companion of Geos, who had visited after so long.
...Of course, he also had some idea of their identities.
“Right. So what’s this about, Geos? You didn’t come alone, and you even brought all these people with you.”
“Ah! Before I state our business, let me introduce my companions first. First, this is...”
“Greetings. I am Heinrich Saint Landguard, the First Sword who follows the will of the Supreme God. I apologize for causing you inconvenience by visiting so suddenly.”
“Ah, no. That is fine now. Ahem— I am Chehai. I’m merely a country bumpkin who runs a small orphanage and lives for the joy of looking after the children.”
Though he lived in the countryside, it seemed he had not completely cut himself off from the world; after receiving Heinrich’s greeting, he looked somewhat burdened.
Then came introductions with the other companions.
The expression that had smiled at Isea unknowingly crumpled when it reached Harley, but he did not bring up the previous topic any further.
“Hello, Mr. Chehai! You can call me Hesperon! Of course, that’s not my real name.”
“Mm?”
And after the final greeting with Hesperon, his gaze shifted back to Geos.
Since the introductions were over, he thought Geos would now get to the main point.
“Chehai. Who these people are... and what I am currently doing. You, of all people, should know without me having to say more, correct?”
“...Yes.”
“There is one thing I want to ask you. It is a very important matter, so I hope you will answer honestly.”
At the same time as those words, a heavy air began to drift through the reception room.
Geos, who had spoken, as well as his companions, looked quietly at him with serious expressions.
“Ha ha, well now. Just for the record, I’m not a black mage, and I have nothing to do with the Immortal King, all right? Ah, I did steal some potatoes with the kids not long ago. Surely it’s not because of that?”
At the atmosphere, Chehai burst into a hearty laugh and tossed out a joke, but Geos simply looked at him silently without even the slightest change in expression.
Feeling needlessly awkward at that, he frowned and nodded roughly.
“All right, all right, I get it, so hurry up and ask that question. What in the world are you going to say that you’re making this so stifling...”
“Chehai, by any chance, did you come from a dimension called Earth?”
Unlike the long pause he had taken until now, the question came out bluntly and directly.
And at that very moment—
Chehai’s body stiffened rigidly.