The Prah Territory was a rural fief located on what people commonly called the frontier of the Empire.
A territory situated deep in the borderlands, stretching along the ridges of the Haidin Mountains that extended far to the west.
Beyond the mountain range lay the Great Forest of the Elves, a region still unknown to mankind, which was why this place was commonly referred to as the end of the Empire.
Therefore, it was only natural that there would be no territorial residents who came to such a remote place of their own accord unless they had been born here.
Especially since the founding of the Empire had outlawed the slavery of humans, making forced relocation all the more impossible.
And yet, our geographically remote territory was always bustling with people.
Though there was not a single proper road to speak of—nothing but well-maintained dirt paths—people disembarked from carriages that arrived every day.
"..Mom, is this it?"
"Yes, dear. This is where we'll be living from now on."
Before a scenery exactly like the one before me now, in the large clearing that served as the village square, people kept arriving incessantly, just like that mother and child disembarking—why was that?
"Ah, excuse me?"
"What is it?"
"Um, we heard that you were hiring workers for the newly cleared farmland, so we came..."
Indeed, it was because there was a constant need for hands that people always gathered here.
Moreover, since they wanted settlers who would put down roots and live here for life, the mere opportunity to have their own land was enough to bring many people flocking to the Prah Territory.
"If you pass the church building over there and go right, you'll see a two-story brick building. You can register there."
"Ah! Thank you for your kindness! You too, say thank you."
"Thank you, mister!"
"Not at all."
I responded to the mother and child bowing toward me with a modest gesture, then moved away.
As I walked, I glanced back and saw the pair holding hands and walking in the direction I had pointed.
"..You're doing something you don't usually do, Brother."
Right then, as I was watching the two, a familiar little blonde face popped into my view.
There stood my younger sister, looking at me with her usual blunt expression.
"What is it?"
"What wind blew to send my Brother, who usually coops himself up in the castle doing nothing but breathing exercises, out to inspect the territory? And without even an escort knight, all alone."
Clack!
When my sister gestured to the side, the man standing beside her shifted his scabbard and bowed.
"Greetings, Young Master."
"Ah, Sir Hans, have you been well?"
"Much the same as usual."
The person beside my sister was Hans, a knight and our House's retainer in charge of martial affairs.
He was also a nobleman who held the title of baronet—a traditional knight background rarely seen in this day and age.
That was why he had been tasked with guarding the family head's children.
After all, protecting the children, who were the family head's weakness, was a duty only the most honorable could undertake.
"..It is dangerous to leave the castle without an escort, Young Master. Even though our territory has good public order, so many people come and go that you never know when ruffians might seek to harm you."
"That's right, Brother. You are the legitimate heir of our House, are you not? Shouldn't we prevent the disgrace of our House being forced to pay your ransom to villains?"
"So you came looking for me? Thank you for worrying."
"W-well, ahem! Who else would look after a Brother like a babe left by the riverside, if not me?"
At my words of gratitude, my sister blushed, embarrassed.
The people here had a tendency to be excessively bashful about sincere, straightforward expressions of thanks.
Perhaps because of the authoritarian culture, plain, honest words never seemed to grow familiar to their ears.
"Ahem! So, Brother, why are you wandering around alone?"
"Hm? I don't know when I'll return here, so before leaving, I wanted to take in the scenery."
"..."
At my thoughtless answer, my sister's expression darkened in an instant.
"What's wrong?"
"..Aren't you angry? You were conscripted to Akademia against your will."
"What? I wanted to go to the capital anyway, and it's nothing I could refuse. Then wouldn't the journey be at least a little lighter if I kept my heart joyful?"
"..I don't like it."
My sister gave a small signal to Sir Hans standing beside her.
At that, Sir Hans dispersed the onlookers and cleared a path.
"This is a busy street, My Lady, Young Master. Wouldn't it be best to move elsewhere for a moment?"
"Let's do that."
"Yes."
I followed my sister and Sir Hans.
As we walked briskly and drew closer to where Sir Hans was leading us, I stopped unconsciously and opened my mouth.
"..This place."
"Shouldn't you pay your respects before leaving the territory?"
A graveyard.
The entrance to a well-kept communal cemetery lay before my eyes.
"..I'll wait here. Please go and come back, Brother."
"You didn't have to go this far."
"You wouldn't have come if I hadn't brought you here like this, would you? Please go."
"...Thank you."
I expressed my gratitude to my sister and Sir Hans, then slowly passed through the cemetery entrance and walked inside.
Thud, thud.
Passing the graves kept trim by the resident caretaker, I went deeper inside.
Thud.
"..."
And when I finally arrived before one grave, I quietly fell silent and gazed at the grave and the tombstone erected before it.
[Ishel. May her warm smile never be lost, even in the underworld.]
The deceased's name and a phrase that seemed to honor her in life were engraved on the stone.
Swish.
Having stared at the tombstone for a moment, I slowly traced the engraved words with my hand.
Tok, ttodok.
The texture of the cold stone stole my warmth through my fingers, as if to erase its own chill.
That feeling felt so much like conversing with the dead that I stood there for a long while, caressing the tombstone.
"Hmm, a meeting before a grave. How much more atmospheric than I expected."
Tap, tap.
A stranger came swooping in upon me as I touched the tombstone.
Wearing a deeply drawn hood, the stranger approached my side without inhibition, as if she had belonged there all along.
"I hope I haven't disturbed your time of mourning by speaking to you while you honor the dead?"
"..Who are you?"
"Me?"
The stranger broke into a grin at my question and opened her mouth.
"A mage."
"..A mage?"
"And a guide. You're Jin Prah, right? I recognized you right away because of that black hair, so rare in the Empire."
The one who introduced herself as a mage lowered her hood, grinned, and extended a handshake to me.
When the hood came off, a young woman's face appeared there.
And quite a beautiful one at that.
"Nice to meet you."
Thwack.
When she extended her hand, I unconsciously reached out and took it—the first handshake I had been offered since my reincarnation.
Shake, shake.
She then showed a delighted expression and broke into a bright smile.
"Wow, accepting a handshake from a strange woman! You have manners for someone who's not even from the capital, don't you?"
"..So they greet with handshakes in the capital?"
"Yes. It's simpler than bowing to each other like in the old customs, isn't it? These days in the capital, everyone shakes hands like this, regardless of gender."
"I see."
"Hmm?"
When I nodded at her words without any particular reaction, she looked at me as if I were some curious creature.
"Are you really a noble? Why don't you look offended?"
"Do people usually ask that to someone's face?"
"Huh? You're an interesting person. What a relief. Do you know how much of an ordeal it is to travel with a boring noble?"
She ignored my question and only said what she wanted to say.
What was with this my-way personality?
She was the first person of her kind I had encountered since being born here.
"Ah right! Look at me, I was told to greet the family head ruling the territory first when arriving at a fief, but I ended up greeting you first... Did I do something wrong?"
"Usually, that is the proper etiquette."
"Really? But I arrived earlier than the designated date, so wouldn't it be fine to do it later?"
"Usually, that wouldn't do."
"Ah, who cares! I'm not an official envoy, so perhaps your father will overlook this much rudeness?"
"Yes... well, do as you please."
"Right? It should be fine?"
I nodded with as benevolent a smile as I could muster at her question.
There was no use wasting my breath on someone with no intention of listening; I would be the only one to lose.
In any case, she would be the one in trouble, so she could handle it herself.
There was no way the Akademia would have selected someone incapable of conducting herself as a guide.
As I looked at her with that thought in mind, she also stared back at me with a bright smile.
Our eyes met, and we fell silent.
..Wouldn't they?
I wanted to believe so.
Truly.