Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 42: Waiting for Spring (1)
A long silence settled over the deserted mansion.
And a month later...
Creak!
"Has anyone arrived?"
The first to return was Daniel, who had been to the Lengbaster territory.
He looked around and walked into the mansion.
As it hadn't been maintained, dust was rolling on the floor, and the air was stuffy.
"I'll have to clean up a bit."
Daniel muttered with a frown.
"Then let's do it together."
Someone spoke from behind.
A man walked in through the open door.
At the sight of that familiar face, Daniel unconsciously raised his voice.
"Hamel!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Sir Daniel."
Hamel nodded calmly.
Seeing this, Daniel grinned and asked,
"It seems things went well."
"I was lucky. How about you, Sir Daniel?"
"Well, it wasn't that difficult."
Daniel took out a contract and handed it to Hamel.
Bearing the seal of the Lengbaster territory, it contained the details of the transaction.
The unit price and quantity of the lumber, the supply of the lumber, the delivery of the lumber, the payment, and the delivery period.
"This should be enough firewood for this year. And this much lumber for construction..."
Hamel examined the contract carefully, slightly surprised.
It was enough to build a small village, with a bit of exaggeration.
It would be more than enough to repair the villages in the territory.
At Hamel's reaction, Daniel laughed awkwardly and added,
"It's not because I'm good at this. It's thanks to you for saving the Lengbaster territory before."
"I didn't do that alone. You were with me, Sir Daniel."
"...Thank you for saying that."
Daniel was slightly touched, but then his expression hardened as he seemed to remember something.
"Ah, but there's something you should know."
"Something I should know?"
Hamel tilted his head at the heavier atmosphere.
Daniel continued with a grim expression,
"The Lengbaster clan... was almost annihilated."
"...!"
Hamel's eyes widened at the unexpected news.
This was the first time he was hearing about it.
Seeing Hamel's surprise, Daniel nodded as if he had expected it.
"I see you didn't know. The only survivor is Lady Irene Lengbaster. It seems everyone, including her family and servants, died overnight."
Hamel was speechless.
The people he had risked his life to protect were all dead.
He couldn't believe it.
"Who in the world would do such a thing..."
"It hasn't been revealed. Since the territory is in a vulnerable state, they seem to be investigating confidentially without making it public. The young lady is barely holding on, though she must be out of her mind."
"..."
Losing her family and the servants who helped manage the territory overnight.
Not to mention the emotional shock, there was no way the territory could function properly.
The territory must have fallen into even greater chaos than before.
And yet, she was enduring it alone.
Hamel nodded and said to Daniel,
"Apart from the contract, I must offer some assistance."
"...Hamel, I'm sorry, but isn't Heidern in no better shape than Lengbaster?"
Daniel asked hesitantly.
From his perspective, Heidern was in an even worse state.
But Hamel seemed to think differently and slowly shook his head.
"That's not necessarily the case."
After replying, Hamel perked up his ears and, with a faint smile, walked outside.
Daniel, puzzled, followed behind him.
There...
Rattle, rattle!
Dozens of carriages loaded with food entered the territory, flags fluttering.
The flags with the emblem of the Lawrence Trading Company fluttered in the wind.
With the hundreds of Blue Mane Tribe members following behind, the procession seemed endless.
"...What in the world is that?"
As Daniel muttered with a dumbfounded expression, Hamel nodded calmly.
"It should be enough to offer some help, though it may be insufficient."
The appearance of the trading company caused a great commotion in the village.
"What, what is that?"
"It's the Lawrence Trading Company!"
Surprise and relief.
And cheers mixed with joy were carried by the wind to the mansion on the hill.
"...They must have been short on money. What kind of magic did you use this time?"
"Didn't I say I was lucky?"
Hamel replied calmly, as always.
"My lord!"
Just then, a group of people approached the mansion.
It was Den and Dane, who had been traveling around the territory recruiting servants and soldiers.
"Wow, wow! My lord, I've never seen such a procession of a trading company before."
"As expected of you, master."
Behind them were twenty sturdy men and a woman dressed in a maid's uniform.
The new recruits all looked somewhat awkward, but their faces held a strange sense of hope.
Perhaps seeing the trading company made them feel that the territory was changing.
"Thank you all for your hard work. I look forward to working with you."
Just as Hamel nodded with satisfaction, looking at them,
"It's awfully noisy."
A man suddenly appeared from behind Den and Dane, as if he had been there all along.
It was Ono, who had left for the harbor.
He frowned, looking rather scruffy compared to when he had left.
"...I feel like I still smell like fish."
"Welcome back, Ono."
At Hamel's greeting, Ono glared at him and replied curtly,
"Never again will I go to the harbor, so keep that in mind."
"Was it a demon?"
"Yes, some kind of amphibian or fish thing. My nose is still messed up because of its stench."
"You've had a hard time."
"Just so you know."
Ono turned around and headed straight into the mansion.
But then he stopped and hesitated, saying,
"...I was wrong."
"...?"
"I thought it was already a ruined territory. But now it seems like a place where people live. You've worked hard too."
Hamel's eyes widened slightly at Ono's unexpected compliment.
Then he nodded slightly.
Ono was right.
A wind of change, which no one had expected, was blowing in the territory.
***
The warm spring breeze melted the accumulated snow.
The cold winter passed, and the wind, carrying the scent of damp earth, sprouted green buds everywhere.
"This is nice."
Hamel murmured unconsciously.
The warm sunlight warmed his body, and the gentle breeze tickled his cheeks.
Four months have already passed since the new year.
Spring.
The season when new life is conceived and new beginnings are announced.
Hamel felt his heart flutter for the first time in a while.
He had been practically confined to his office, taking care of the territory's affairs.
But now the end was in sight.
"You've worked hard."
"Not at all. I haven't done much."
Hamel shrugged at Daniel's consolation.
It was half true.
In less than half a year, Hamel had been busy just learning all the duties of a lord.
But the reason the territory was functioning now was simple.
Arandel, the chieftain of the Blue Mane Tribe, took care of road maintenance, harbor management, and village repairs.
Benjamin, the former leader of the Lawrence Trading Company, managed the finances and the trading company.
Dane, the former headman of the salt mine and a knight, was in charge of public order and the military.
And Ono, the exorcist on sabbatical, took care of communication with the order and demon extermination.
Hamel's only task was to set the direction for what they should do and authorize the concrete plans they brought to him.
Of course, with limited resources and manpower, they prioritized their tasks, and thanks to that, they had managed to put out the most urgent fires.
There were no deaths from starvation or freezing during the winter.
It was a very peaceful winter.
People in the territory unanimously praised the new lord.
It was because Benjamin had spread the word while distributing the relief food and firewood that Hamel had purchased.
'It's time.'
Now that the territory had stabilized, it was time to move again.
‘I'm in top shape after a good rest.’
“How long has it been since I've put down my sword for this long?”
Just as he was fiddling with the sword at his waist, his hand itching,
"You little rascal! I'll pluck your ears off if I catch you!"
Squeak!
Azi Dahaka, trapped in the body of a rabbit, darted across the garden, with Ono chasing after him.
Azi Dahaka, skillfully dodging Ono, ran with a leisurely air.
"What's going on?"
"It seems he ate the seeds Ono sowed."
Daniel replied to Hamel's question with a somewhat deflated expression.
At first, Daniel had been wary of Azhi Dahaka, with a special-grade demon sealed inside, but seeing him like this, his vigilance seemed to have disappeared.
By the way,
"...Is Ono farming these days?"
"Since the order won't take him back, he must be looking for a new job."
Feeling a pang of sympathy, Hamel decided to contact the order soon.
At the same time, he subtly blocked Azi Dahaka's path.
"Squeak?"
Azi Dahaka flinched and looked up.
Hamel stared at him with an impassive expression and said,
"Stop."
"...!"
Halt!
Azi Dahaka stopped in his tracks as if frozen.
He might ignore others, but he always obeyed Hamel like a ghost.
Hamel approached him and said,
"Don't touch the seeds Ono sowed. If you're short on food, I'll give you more."
Sque... Squeak!
Just as Azi Dahaka was nodding vigorously,
"Gotcha, you rascal!"
Ono grabbed Azi Dahaka by the ears and lifted him up.
Then he grinned and said,
"How dare you, a mere rabbit, interfere with my farming? Last time you pooped in my room. Today I'll teach you a lesson..."
Yawn!
Azi Dahaka yawned openly and ignored Ono's words.
"You... little...!"
Ono's face turned red with fury, and he yelled.
Daniel, watching this, made a tired expression and approached Hamel, whispering,
"Do you think it's okay not to tell Ono the truth?"
"It's fine."
Azi Dahaka's seal was strong.
More importantly, Hamel had used an artifact from the mansion to cast a subjugation spell on him.
Now he couldn't harm anyone without Hamel's command.
Since he couldn't kill him, being immortal and indestructible, Hamel thought he might as well use him as a watchdog for the mansion.
He was strangely obedient to Hamel.
However, Hamel kept Azi Dahaka's identity a secret from Ono.
Because Ono's hatred for demons was even stronger than Hamel's.
He would surely, without question, blow off the head of the rabbit that Azi Dahaka was sealed in.
'That would be no different from releasing Azi Dahaka into the world.'
Hamel's hatred for demons was no less intense, but after a series of events, his thinking had become a bit more flexible.
Hamel's eyes widened slightly as he looked down at the village, turning his gaze away from the two.
"That's..."
He saw carriages and escorts along the forest path leading into the village.
It was the road connected to Lengbaster.
'Did Lengbaster send someone?'
His question was short-lived.
Because the flag on the carriage caught his eye.
"The order?"
Hamel tilted his head.
Given the direction, it was clear where they came from.
They were definitely people from the Letria diocese.
"Someone has come."
"Indeed. I wonder why..."
Hamel suddenly stopped speaking as he was replying to Daniel.
He could now see the figure sitting next to the coachman.
Priestly attire.
He was much smaller than the coachman, almost childlike, and above all,
He was wearing a white 'blindfold' over his eyes.
Hamel started running without realizing it.
Daniel, not knowing why, chased after him.
After running for a while,
Hamel reached the carriage that had just entered the village.
The blindfolded boy in the carriage suddenly got up and waved with a bright smile.
"That gait that conceals prayer, and the sound of that armor. It's been a while, you two!"
The surprised coachman tried to restrain the blindfolded boy, but he continued without a care,
"I'm back as promised! Lord Hamel! Sir Daniel!"
"..."
Hamel paused for a moment to choose his words, then nodded and replied calmly,
"I've been waiting, Antonio."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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