Chapter 34 - Chapter 33: Winter Daily Life ①
"Hmm..."
Even after the new year began, winter remained deep. While the period of spending most of the day cooped up inside continued, Noein was in the living room, buried under a massive amount of paper, reading through them.
What was written on these papers was the accumulation of knowledge Noein had acquired in the first half of his life... in other words, these were notes of knowledge he had read in books during the time he lived in the detached residence of the Count Kivileft family.
Predicting that he would eventually be kicked out of the Count's house, Noein had thought about how he would live afterward in advance.
He figured he would likely be given a severance payment and have ties severed, so after that, he thought he might become a merchant, or perhaps clear some land and do farming... regardless, he believed he would have to survive by his own strength.
Therefore, Noein had read every book available in the Count's mansion, memorized that knowledge, and summarized the detailed parts he couldn't fully memorize on paper. This was also thanks to his father, Maximilian, who, as a display of vanity for a high noble, had stocked an abundance of books that he himself hardly ever read.
And now, Noein was reading those papers.
"Noein-sama, are you alright?"
Anna, who was doing paperwork at the end of the large table in the living room, asked in a slightly exasperated voice. She too was working in this living room to keep warm, rather than in the retainer's office, which became freezing cold in winter.
"I'm... maybe not alright. I think I've used my brain too much and got tired. I'll take a break."
"That would be for the best."
"Then I shall brew some tea. Would you like some as well, Anna-san?"
"Yes. Thank you, Matilda-san."
Matilda, who had been helping Anna with her clerical work, stood up and left the living room to brew tea.
"So, have the plans for development after winter's end come together?"
"I have a few candidates of things I want to try, but some seem like they'll take a long time, or the procurement of necessary items seems difficult; they each have their pros and cons."
While looking back over the massive amount of notes, Noein had been thinking about the territory development plan for after winter ended.
The vein of raw lapis lazuli showed no sign of running dry yet. For the time being, an income of 1.2 million Rebro would be generated every month, allowing ample funds to be used for development. Therefore, Noein was searching through the bundle of knowledge he had accumulated for something that could become the seed of a new industry for the Arqvist territory.
He had found a few things that served as hints, but all of them seemed to require a fair amount of effort.
"Couldn't you just try the things that interest you thoroughly, without worrying too much about the effort? You have both time and money, after all."
"...You're right. There's no need to force myself to rush."
Noein thought that Anna was right.
After all, even after winter ended, it would only be the second year of development, and Noein would only be sixteen this year. There was no reason or need to rush. It seemed that because he had been cooped up in the room using only his head, his thinking had become a bit stiff.
While they were talking about this, Matilda brought the tea, and Noein and the others entered their break.
.....
In the dead of winter, many people end up spending their time cooped up in their homes, but there are those who must occasionally go outside to work.
Radley, a retainer serving the Arqvist Knighted Baron family, was one such person. Even during winter, he was in charge of patrolling the surroundings of the capital city, Noeina.
There are monsters that continue to be active without hibernating even in winter. Although not at the same pace as in other seasons, he had to patrol regularly to check for signs of monster appearances, and hunt them if he found any.
"Ugh~, it's still stupidly cold as always."
"Is it? This much should still be fine."
"Radley-san's body is exceptionally sturdy, so normally it feels much more painful."
Bringing along Rick and Dant—who were particularly physically fit among the residents and had experience working as part of the Lestio Mountains survey team—as assistants, Radley stepped outside the grounds of the capital city, Noeina, while having such a conversation.
The patrolling around Noeina had been almost entirely entrusted to Radley. This was also because his sturdiness was recognized.
Radley was born with a sturdy body. He had been free of illness since he was young, felt little pain even when punched in a fight and his wounds closed quickly, and on top of that, he was strong against both heat and cold. Combined with his unique facial features, he had even been teased with "Do you have some orc blood in you?"
Even in battle, in situations where it would be normal to die, his sturdy body had saved his life.
"Well, it's thanks to this body that I've managed to rise to the rank of retainer."
Precisely because his body was sturdy, he was able to demonstrate his strength as a handler of such physical labor among the retainers of the Arqvist territory. Despite having little education and not being very bright.
He was lucky. He felt he must repay the favor to the Lord Noein-sama, who gave him this luck, with his own abilities. Thinking this, Radley faced the grueling work of patrolling the winter forest again today.
.....
"Ah geez, it's so cold."
Complaining thus, the retainer Bart was walking the road to Retovik, dressed in thick furs. Behind him followed horses pulling wagons loaded with raw lapis lazuli, and two male residents accompanying him to assist.
Like Radley, Bart was also one of those who had to do outdoor work in the dead of winter. However, this job of his occurred only once a month during the winter.
Workshops in urban areas do not stop operating even in winter. Therefore, these raw lapis lazuli stones had to be transported while maintaining the monthly delivery pace.
The reason they weren't delivered all at once before winter was to prevent trouble, given the large amount of the transaction, and because Noein judged that it would be better for people from the Arqvist territory to visit Retovik about once a month to prove their survival.
As a trade-off, so to speak, Noein provided a not-insignificant amount of special allowance to Bart and his group for heading to Retovik.
The northern part of the kingdom was colder compared to the south, but even so, the roads were not closed by snow for long. On days when snow had not accumulated and the sky was clear, traveling between the capital city Noeina and Retovik was possible. It was by no means a job one would want to do willingly.
"As expected, I really don't want to be a supplies transport officer during winter..."
"Someone has to do it, so it can't be helped. Besides, aren't there girls in Retovik waiting for Bart-sama?"
"Hahaha. Well, that is true."
Bart replied with a wry smile to the young resident who had gone out of his way to answer his monologue.
The reason Bart became the officer in charge of transporting supplies back and forth to Retovik was that his refined appearance, friendliness, and ability to handle the escort of supplies as a former mercenary were comprehensively valued.
Among the employees of several shops with deep ties to the Arqvist territory, and the staff of the restaurant Bart always used in Retovik, there were many young girls who looked forward to the arrival of the handsome man.
Because Bart was someone who easily left a good impression regardless of age or gender, and of course on such women, he was given this role.
Therefore, Bart walked the road leading to Retovik even in winter.