Chapter 42: 43

As if that in itself were not some sort of hopeless end as Hisch thought.

But rather a consolation that is given as if it were nothing. 

‘So, for the things that have been lost, can you make them bloom even brighter? Can you do that?’

Without even realizing it, Hisch nodded his head to the smiling woman. The young lady before his eyes changed Hisch’s depressed heart in the blink of an eye, making his tears dry up as if it was something ridiculous.

As if she herself became the sunlight that shone upon Hisch who was easily disappointed in the trivial things that he faced every day.

The young lady, who was shorter than him, looked at the man who was blankly nodding his head with a handkerchief tightly clenched in one hand as if he were cute and left a brief farewell before disappearing.

Hisch stood there, watching the diminishing figure of Liddell.

He wanted to talk a little more. 

Just a little bit more about her. He wanted to know just a little more…

On a clear spring day, as his hair fluttered in the wind and tickled his cheeks, the gardener, one of the many servants of the mansion, thought to himself.

・❥・

Lately, Hisch has been having trouble sleeping.

I felt a bit worried as I watched Hisch tearing apart a piece of bread with his tired eyes at breakfast.

When I asked if he was having a hard time at work, he shook his head, and when I asked him if he was uncomfortable in bed or if he had any pain anywhere, he assured me that it was nothing like that.

However, despite his words, Hisch’s condition hasn’t changed. Lately, he seemed a bit slow to react, had more absent-minded moments, and seemed to smile less than before.

Even so, when our eyes met, he reflexively smiled at me like he always did, which was both lovely and heartbreaking.

“Is there something on my face?”

When I asked Hisch, who was looking at me quietly today, he shook his head.

“Just because. I had a dream yesterday, after a really long time.”

“Oh?”

“Hmm… I felt like I had really summoned up the courage.”

“Courage?”

Without saying anything, Hisch just smiled vaguely. Since he didn’t seem like he was going to respond, I decided to speak up and say what I wanted to say.

“How about taking a little break at the mansion today? You look really tired these days.”

After thinking for a moment, Hisch responded.

“Today… um. There’s some complaint I need to settle.”

“Hisch…”

“But I’ll be back early today.”

As I worriedly called out his name, Hisch quickly made an excuse.

He’s really diligent in his work, which is good, and I appreciate it. But lately, Hisch seems to be busier than even me, the lord.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Okay.”

“And don’t push yourself too hard. It makes me sad to see you struggling so much these days.  Just make sure you get some rest every now and then, even if it’s just for my sake. Got it?”

Hisch smiled happily at my words.

“Yes.”

‘… You’re really good at answering.’

Even with that thought, I kept my mouth shut.

I didn’t want to pry too much, so I asked Albert and Sein if they thought Hisch was pushing himself too hard, but neither of them had any suspicions.

But even if Albert doesn’t know, Sein should have some idea about it.

“…….”

But since Hisch himself didn’t say anything, can I really pry into why he’s not telling me, just because I’m worried?

Train of thought raced through my head, but I couldn’t come up with an answer. I gave my vassal a sullen glance, as if taking out my anger, and continued to eat.

・❥・

A wide plain spread outside the castle walls, and fluffy white clouds floated in the blue sky above. 

Underneath the walls, soldiers armed with weapons and dressed in sparkling armor stood in formation.

I felt strange. When I first arrived here not long ago, we were attacked by goblins, and the only ones defending us were those who could shoot a few arrows weakly…

In the distance, I could hear the faint sound of a horn heralding the procession of the territorial army.

Looking down at them on such a sunny day like this, it seemed like a perfect day for a sports day even though it didn’t quite match the situation. 

Behind me on my left stood Sein and to my right, Sir Ted, while Sir Jane and Sir Bethel, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, stood solemnly in front of the soldiers with serious expressions.

I leaned over to the right and asked the brown-haired knight, who was looking down in silence.

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“Don’t you have to go down?”

The knight replied briefly.

“Serving my master is my top priority.”

Still inflexible as ever.

I turned my head as the sound of the soldiers’ roaring voices faded away in an instant.

“Hail to the Great Lord of Ensis!”

Sir Bethel exclaimed in a voice that seemed to be drawn from the tip of his toes to his vocal cords. Behind him, Sir Jane stared unwaveringly at him.

Boom boom boom.

What kind of military band was this? There were percussive sounds everywhere that seemed to forcibly draw out some instinctive stirring of the heart.

Still, it feels proud to see them like this.

The territorial army had a plan to continue to increase their numbers in the future. They would train their current soldiers to recruit new ones, who would then train their seniors, who would then train their juniors…

This cycle would be closely monitored to ensure that it was established.

Not only from a military perspective, but various parts of the territory were also expected to be developed. Once the name of Ensis had been raised to prominence, knights would gather here.

“Let’s show our achievements so far! Our loyalty! To our master!”

The reverberating shouts were deafening for a moment. I realized that I was indeed in a fantasy world.

When Sein asked if I could at least wave my hand, I awkwardly raised it, and soon, the subsiding shouts rang out again.

Hmm… There is a thrilling aspect to this. Is this what it’s like to be in power?

However, when I think that these people who are blindly cheering at me depend on my orders for their lives…

As expected, regardless of power or anything else, I feel like I just want to live quietly.

Today was not only an event to check the soldiers who had been trained until now and boost their morale, but also an important day to demonstrate the recently introduced magic cannon to the territory.

The quite expensive magic cannon, which had been imported at a high cost, had an explosive magic on its shells, and its projectiles were much lighter, giving it excellent performance in hitting airborne enemies.

“Well then, we will now have a demonstration of the new weapon that will further raise the stature of our territory, the magic cannon.”

Sir Jane looked back at me as he spoke, and I nodded silently.

I knew it had been imported, but today would be my first time seeing it in action.

Sir Oswald stood in front of what looked like a cannon in the distance. He raised the torch high into the sky, stunned by the sudden focus on him.

“For Ensis!”

He lit the wick, and in an instant, Sir Oswald startlingly began to hastily load the shells.

Wait, what is this…

With a scream of “Aah!”, multiple shells that were probably supposed to be loaded one at a time, rolled into the cannon and soon went off like fireworks, shooting into the sky with a spectacular explosion.

The sight of clueless soldiers screaming “Waaaaah!” was quite amusing.

I stifled a laugh, however, as a ferocious aura was already emanating from the backs of Sir Jane and Sir Bethel, who were watching the spectacle.

“This is… the first time it’s being introduced, so the instructions are still unclear… right?”

As I had barely said that, Sir Ted, who had been looking at it in silence beside me, said in a low voice.

“I will correct it.”

I will correct… Sir Oswald.

Actually, I felt like I should be scolding him, but since there were already three angry knights, I decided to leave the discipline to them and pray for Sir Oswald’s well-being.

Soon, under the command of Sir Jane and Sir Bethel, the soldiers changed their formation in an orderly manner according to their units and also adjusted their lines. 

While pondering whether to treat the soldiers to some drinks after this event to foster camaraderie… similar to what a CEO might do at a company dinner.

Albert suddenly rushed over to Sein and whispered something in his ear, and Sein, who had heard the story, bent down and said in my ear.

“An urgent message has arrived from Duke Catlan.”

My father? I looked puzzled for a moment, but soon nodded, and after telling Sir Ted that I would be away for a moment, I rose to my feet.

・❥・

Sitting in front of the video sphere, I waited for a moment and soon a flash of light came on and the image of a middle-aged man was seen in front of me.

The man, who had been talking to the person next to him for a few moments, with a nonchalant but cold look in his eyes, turned around and smiled faintly when he realized that the video sphere was on.

[Liddell. Have you been doing well?]

“Yes, Father… It’s been a long time.”

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