Chapter 1 - 001_Border Territory Inheritance
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001_Border Territory Inheritance
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Approximately 50 years have passed since the ruins were discovered in the Godorzak Forest in the Serudo Region. Many artifacts were discovered from the ruins. They are precious items that cannot be made nowadays, and among them, artifacts that greatly increase a country's military strength were also discovered.
Once, there were even those who founded countries with the power of artifacts. The Kuodo Kingdom and the Jabaru Kingdom fought for a long time over such artifacts.
The Serudo Region is a region in the eastern part of the Kuodo Kingdom, a land bordering the Jabaru Kingdom. The discovery of ruins in that Serudo Region triggered an invasion by the Jabaru Kingdom.
They wanted to obtain them even if it meant starting a war. They wanted to seize them before the neighboring country got the artifacts. Perhaps the war was started out of an ultimate defensive sentiment.
On a hot summer day, the Kuodo Kingdom Army and the Jabaru Kingdom Army made moves. The battle fought near a town called Karugu became the most intense in recent years, with nearly 40,000 soldiers from both sides clashing.
At first, it was a back-and-forth battle, but gradually the southern noble army of the Kuodo Kingdom began to be pushed back. The southern noble army tried to regroup, but the Jabaru Kingdom Army did not allow it, and gradually the southern noble army's formation crumbled. In the end, they became like herbivores devoured by a lion.
A part of the Jabaru Kingdom Army, riding on momentum, struck the northern noble army of the Kuodo Kingdom from the side. This attack caused great damage to the northern noble army.
The northern noble army suffered even greater damage than the southern noble army, but the Kuodo Kingdom Knights broke through the center of the enemy Jabaru Kingdom Army, causing the Jabaru Kingdom to retreat. The Kuodo Kingdom Army tried to pursue, but the rearguard unit of the Jabaru Kingdom Army performed well, so they could not inflict as much damage as they had hoped.
Thus the Karugu Campaign ended.
Since battles have been fought many times near the town called Karugu in the Serudo Region, this battle came to be called the Sixth Karugu Campaign.
In the Sixth Karugu Campaign, the Kuodo Kingdom won. It is judged that the Kuodo Kingdom won because the Jabaru Kingdom Army retreated first.
However, the Kuodo Kingdom Army suffered greater damage. Especially the northern noble army suffered devastating losses, with many noble house heads killed, so it was not a time to bask in the feeling of victory.
At the same time, the Jabaru Kingdom Army also loudly claimed victory. Given that they inflicted heavy damage on the enemy and took the heads of many noble house heads, that judgment is probably not wrong.
It took about two months after the conclusion of the Sixth Karugu Campaign for the Kuodo Kingdom to complete postwar processing. This was due to the large number of casualties in the northern noble army.
Furthermore, there were voices saying that the responsibility for the heavy damage to the northern noble army lay with the southern noble army, and the king, after ruling that there was no fault on the southern nobles for this matter, ordered the southern nobles to pay condolence money. The northern nobles were dissatisfied, but they accepted the king's arbitration and settled the matter.
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In the northernmost lands of the Kuodo Kingdom, there is a region called the Dedel Territory. True to its northernmost location, it suffers from freezing cold in winter, and is not very hot in summer. It is a territory that is hardly fertile, to say the least.
A boy was watching the sun set on the horizon. In his eyes was a wavering that could be interpreted as sadness or agitation. This was because the boy's father, Beck, had been killed in action in the Sixth Karugu Campaign.
He was never a capable father, but he was a father who valued his family. He was an unreliable father, but he was not disliked. Thinking of that father, he gave himself to the sea breeze.
"Fifteen years since being born into this world. I never thought I would have to become independent so soon."
He, Rodney Elias Forvas, was to inherit the knight baron house ruling the frontier Dedel Territory in the Kuodo Kingdom. The house was hardly wealthy, to say the least, and if he inherited, it was obvious he would struggle.
He asked himself over and over whether he could manage the territory, but no answer came. He had no confidence, but if Rodney refused to inherit and ran away, they would have to bring in a husband for his 13-year-old sister to continue the family. That would be too pitiful for his sister. That was why he thought he had to inherit the house.
"I have no choice but to do it."
He clenched his fist tightly and swore to the red, scorching sun sinking on the horizon that he would do it.
In the Kuodo Kingdom, the knight baron rank is the lowest. It is the lowest lineage among nobles, and the population of the territory they rule is quite small.
Nevertheless, if war breaks out, they must lead their retainers and go to the battlefield. At worst, they may have to perform public works (road construction, flood control, etc.) on orders from the royal family.
His father also went to war with the neighboring Jabaru Kingdom and never returned. He inherited the rule of the Dedel Territory and the small village from that father.
He returns home with a heavy gait. Not a mansion. A house.
Rodney did not know it yet, but the Forvas family finances were in dire straits. It was a situation where owning a fine building like a mansion was impossible.
"Rodney-sama. Welcome home."
When he entered the house, the only servant, Riti, greeted him.
Riti, who was about the age of a grandmother, had also lost her husband in war during the time of Rodney's grandfather, and had been working as a maid ever since.
"I'm home. Where are Mother and Emilia?"
"In the mistress's room."
Inside the house was dark. Partly because they only had minimal lighting of lamps and candles to save oil, but also because the air was heavy with gloom due to his father's death.
He knocked on his mother's door and announced his return through the door, then his younger sister Emilia came out.
"Welcome back, Big Brother."
"I'm home. How is Mother?"
His sister was usually lively enough to train with swords among the boys, but now her expression was very dark.
"She just fell asleep."
"I see. You should rest too, Emilia."
"Yeah."
Emilia hugged him. Her body trembles slightly. He could tell she was holding back her sadness. When he hugged her tightly and stroked her head, she sobbed.
"It's okay to cry a lot. I'll protect you, Emilia."
"Yeah..."
He strokes her head until she calms down.
Upon hearing the news of his father's death, the adult mother collapsed first. He understood her sadness, but she was more upset than her child Emilia. She was far too unreliable. That was why Rodney thought he had to be strong.
That night, after Emilia fell asleep, Rodney entered his father's study. It was the place that would become Rodney's study from now on. It wasn't very large, but the bookshelves were packed tightly with books collected by successive heads of the family. To Rodney, it seemed as if the history of the Forvas House was packed into them.
Books are quite expensive, not something anyone can buy. That's why he had no memory of his father buying books. Nevertheless, the bookshelves in this study had books lined up. Even just these were a considerable asset, but he had no intention of selling them.
When he shifted his gaze to the opposite shelf, there were the Forvas family ledgers. He took them and flipped through the pages.
"I expected it, but we're in the red..."
In autumn, they collect grain in kind from farmers, and in spring, they collect a poll tax from villagers and a commercial transaction tax from merchants. Since it's a frontier land, imposing customs duties would stop people from coming and going, so they do not collect customs duties.
As he looked at the books regarding loans, the amount gave him a headache. Even just repaying the interest was a huge amount. Expenditure exceeds tax revenue. He couldn't be sure without checking carefully, but the amount of debt would probably be considerable.
"How am I supposed to manage the territory..."
Since he was a noble, he had received an education in reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, his father passed away before he could learn territory management.
He let out a deep sigh and looked through the desk drawers. There was nothing much inside, but one drawer was locked. He looked for the key, but it was nowhere. Just as he thought it would be impossible to open it tonight, he noticed a pot that his father had treasured.
"Could it be?"
When he peered inside the pot using the lamp light, it was there.
"Hey, hey, is this really the right place for such an easy-to-find spot?"
When he inserted the key into the lock of the drawer, he heard a clicking sound of unlocking. When he pulled the drawer open, a single book was enshrined inside.
The bookshelves were filled with books, so he could easily put this one book among them. Yet only this book was stored in the drawer. And locked.
Wondering how important this book was, he picked it up, but there was nothing written on the cover. The spine was also blank. A book with a black cover with nothing written on it. Thinking it might be a diary, he opened the cover.
A dazzling light emanated from the book, and Rodney covered his eyes with his hand. The light enveloped the room, and Rodney, struck by a terrible headache, lost consciousness.
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Being shaken by someone, his consciousness was pulled up from deep sleep. Riti was waking Rodney, who had collapsed on the desk.
"Rodney-sama. It's already morning."
"..."
Rodney's eyes wandered, and Riti, thinking he was still half asleep, called again.
"It's already autumn, so if you sleep in a place like this, you'll catch a cold."
"Huh, ah, yeah..."
He stared at the desk, wondering what happened last night. Then he noticed the book was not there, and asked Riti.
"Do you know about the book that was on the desk?"
"A book? I didn't touch it."
Riti, who had worked for this house even before Rodney was born, had never lied. However, even after checking under the desk and inside the drawers, the book was gone.
"Please go wash your face. Breakfast is ready."
"...Understood. I'll go now."
Thinking it must have been a dream, he left the room after Riti.
He washed his face with water from the well located outside the back door, and his head cleared. Then he felt a sense of wrongness and placed his hand on the edge of the well.
"Wh-what...?"
Into his mind came visions of huge buildings that Rodney had never seen, and carriages running without being pulled by horses. They were buildings dozens of stories tall, and what were called automobiles that run on power from engines and motors.
There are no such things in this frontier knight baron territory that Rodney was to rule. He had been to the royal capital twice, but it was not a sight seen there either.
The royal capital was an urban area beyond compare to a knight baron territory, but even there, there were no dozens-story buildings or automobiles. As such scenes ran through his mind, he suddenly realized.
"This... are these memories from a past life...?"
Rodney's past life memories were from a world different from this one. Those memories circulated in his mind. He couldn't remember his past life's name, parents, or friends, but he did remember the culture and the education he received.
Rodney had regained his past life memories, but his past life personality did not surface. It seemed this was merely past life memories, not something that formed a personality.
When he calmed down and looked at himself, sweat was pouring from his entire body, as if he had just done strenuous exercise. Sweat dripped from his sticky emerald-colored hair, creating round marks on the ground.
"Rodney-sama. The mistress and Emilia-sama are waiting for you... What happened to you in that state!?"
Seeing Rodney standing there drenched in sweat, Riti hurried over.
"I'm fine. I just bathed in some water."
"In this temperature, if you bathe in cold water, you'll catch a cold. Please change quickly."
"I will."
Thus scolded with great vehemence, Rodney returned to his room as if he had been kicked in the rear and changed clothes.
I'd be happy if you supported me with ★★★★★.