A loner also out on the crowd
“Hey, isn’t it the boy. Did you come to sell your catch today too?”
“Yes.”
“You’re working hard to earn money.”
It has been three years that I go frequent to merchant town Breitburg in Brihedar margrave territory.
I’ve finally turn eleven years old but nothing big happen for the last three years.
Since my treatment at home get complicated because of magic, I wake up early morning every day and after finished breakfast and practice sword, entered the depth of the forest at once and depart with teleportation magic.
The destination is somewhere in the southern part of the undeveloped land.
I can do special training in magic accordingly, I can try alchemy in various ways with material like ore taken from the mine, I can try out in creating various food and dish from hunting, gathering and fis.h.i.+ng.
Thanks to my magic bag, a large amount of food, foodstuff, material, metal, and goods that successful in alchemy were stored in it.
Making it quite in large quant.i.ties because of magic training, I make a lot of food because it won’t get worse when putting it into magic bag, thus I repeat putting everything in the magic bag as results.
But what would I plan to do with hundred thousands of self-made jar with ten kilos salt purified by magic in it?
But magic power still need to be consumed a lot if I want to raise my magic power that has become huge but still growing because of special training.
It would be very stupid of me for invoking high rank attack magic that look brutal, I may had no choice but comparatively using magical power by firing many special magic in barrage.
The same with sugar, miso and soy sauce in pot that can exceed fifty thousand pieces easily, I had calculated that it was enough for a lifetime supply.
The most commons would be sugar purified by magic from sugarcane that grows naturally in uninhabited island in south.
I can also make miso and soy sauce in my free time since soybean material is available for purchase even at Breitburg.
Since the quality improve when making it a lot, I had been immersed in production without even thinking about the necessary amount.
And there also a lot of iron, copper, gold, silver and platinum ingot as well.
Development will begin after a few hundred years, anyway, so I can use it a little till that time, there also many abandoned mine with every metal taken.
Rather it’s just me that aware about the mine existence so no one will known that the mine already become abandoned mine.
And I don’t have the talent as craftsman in alchemist and magic tool.
I just store everything in magic bag even the unrefined ingot.
Though with the purity method, all of it were top quality products as my magical accuracy have rose.
I spent my time in such savage land about three days with such feeling and head to Breitburg another time.
With rabbit, weasel, badger, mink and guinea fowl I’ve killed in hunting, I join the bazaar as dutiful son that comes to sales the catch for the household by himself and buy rice, soybeans, and other household goods from selling it.
The rice in particular is an essential item.
I am originally a j.a.panese so I really want to eat it everyday at any cost.
There many kind of rice even in this world.
The red rice, black rice is the kind that called as ancient rice, the long grain, half-length grain and medium grained seed that mainstream in Southeast Asia in my previous life.
And the short grain species is mainstream in j.a.pan.
All of it from ancient magic in civilization era, and seems to be the result after diligently do selective breeding.
But the breeding is not making any progress recently.
The ancient magic in civilization era, there people who used magic “Growth stimulation” in order to improve the efficiency in breeding the plant which is rare now.
So that’s how it is.
I can’t use it either, and the humans that can use it with its effect can be seen, is a weak magic that released everyday from morning till night which reducing about half the harvested time.
They could not improve the breed so easily since they had not develop a place like Agricultural Experiment Station in my previous life.
I have mainly purchased the short grain species though it was the most pricey.
I also had bought the long grain species for fried rice and pilaf as it was quite unusual for someone to buy the ancient rice.
And I also bought glutinous rice.
I can make steamed rice cake with it.
Soybean flour can be made from soybean that I have purchased as material for miso, I can make a bean jam if there also a red bean.
Since there also sugar, I can make Kinako and Ohagi regularly.
I can self cooking like in my previous life if that happens.
It was impossible every day but I take it as hobby cooking in my day off.
For the sweets, thanks to grandmother who taught me in making miso.
That remind me, how is she now?
That make me feel uneasy.
After working in charge of foodstuff purchase for domestic and foreign in second-rate trading company, it is somewhat useful as experience.
If I do not know to some extent the type and amount of spice used as material for curry that I’ve succeed in reproducing the other day, it would take more time for that mixture.
It’s unquestionable even if it take time as I am just alone.
Beside I can spend my own money for lunch and dessert in town.
And there also library in this town.
I can be there all day with just one copper plate as admission fees, I am reading book as much time permits.
I’ve already read all the book in the study room in my house, there a lot of more valuable book stored in here.
I still don’t have that much involvement with the others but I can only be a loner as I can’t afford to reveal my ident.i.ty.
Magic training including food to greatly improve my life.
I’m busy which is the big reason I feel not that much inconvenience.
But I still write a reply regularly to the letter that only comes from Erich nii-san once in a few months.
It said that after Erich nii-san pa.s.ses the test for petty official in Imperial city, he seems to be favored now by his boss.
He is introduced to his boss daughter as that evidence and apparently dating her with prospects of marriage.
That intellectual and good-looking Erich nii-san for you.
He seems to walking without a hitch on the road of fulfilled life.
It’s a large difference with his loner younger brother that get addicted into magic.
And that boss girl’s only daughter of lower cla.s.s vestment n.o.ble.
Which means he will take over that boss house as the future spouse.
That can be called as the winners already.
Anyway, even if one’s born to n.o.ble house in this world, there are more son that eventually lose their social status.
And it was said that the other two brothers also becomes a member of Imperial city security force.
Marriage still not come yet but my believe is that Erich nii-san aiming is just like the one adopted into wife’s family of knight peerage house with only daughter.
Why I known this because it was written in the book that it is not uncommon for second son of n.o.ble house onwards finding a job in royal family as a petty officials or soldiers aiming to be adopted into one’s wife’s family to succeed the t.i.tle.
Second son of n.o.ble house onwards living for some time as n.o.ble house member but they’re not treated as n.o.ble unless succeed the t.i.tle and must pay their own food cost.
Own territory but without role, there also pension for inherit t.i.tle even without territory but they must earn their own living cost.
This is the same like the samurai and n.o.ble long time ago in my previous life.
I originally have no regret like n.o.ble but it’s a good story for me who plan to live as adventurer in the future.
“I need to pa.s.s one more year.”
I will be twelve years old at another year.
I’m still not treated as an adult but I had found a way to speed up my independence.
It’s to enter adventurer prep school that adventurer guild of this town manages.
Adventurer prep school is a place to become an adventurer from fifteen ages, it was a school made with the purpose to teach a must techniques before that.
Admission conditions is at least from twelve ages.
Anyone below twenty years old can enter, with at least one year to learn the necessary techniques as adventurer.
The training basically is not performed to live in monster territory.
But once in a few months after entering the school for more than one year.
Only for outstanding students with a professional adventurer as escort can partic.i.p.ate in training in monster habitat with lower difficulty.
“That sound nice. I’m gonna partic.i.p.ate in this.”
And in this prep school, one’s will be exempt from all tuition when deemed perform excellent in entrance exam.
I can pay the money needed but since I keeps silent about magic bag contents so I’m going to persuade them by saying “I’ll strive for the tuition to be exempted so I can manage to cover the tuition and living expenses by hunting”.
After all, my family does not want to exposed me into territory people as possible, so they will not object if I’ll cover school expenses and living cost in some way by myself.
In fact, father didn’t object to this after I return home and talk to him.
Though the conditions were I need to manage the tuition and living expenses by myself, I can manages that so I want for one year to pa.s.s quickly.
But there is nothing I can do before prep school enrollment.
I’m going to keep training in martial arts and magic instead like usual.
So with my future career path has been settled without problems, I go into forest like usual and tries to teleport from there.
But today is the first time I end up interrupted.
I had put detection magic for caution so my teleport magic would not to be seen but today is the first time there is a reaction to it.
“Six people in southwest direction?”
I never felt this humans response before.
It is highly unlikely that other humans enter this forest which Baumeister house exclusive rights.
And there many other forest like other villagers that can be used for hunting and gathering.
It can be said as undeveloped land with just that, other than this forest, Baumeister house has issued a permission to freely into the forest as long taxes is paid.
So territory people did not even once complain in this matter.
‘So for what they’re here for?’
They already come into my sight.
I had no reason to run away by magic since they have come closer, I decided to intimidate my opponents ahead.
I did not like their att.i.tude for sneaking around.
“Who are you guys!”
When I raised my voice at the direction I felt people, six people show up from the shadows of large tree.
I knew them when I look at them.
My father mistress Leila, her father Klaus who is the village headman of the near village.
Followed with her children, my half older brothers and older sisters, sixth son Walther eighteen years old, seven son Curl 17 ages, eldest daughter Agnes fifteen years old and second daughter Corona fourteen years old.
They’re pretty much my acquaintance.
But to actually exchanged conversation for the first time is at the eldest son Kurt and second son Helman wedding or only seating in the party afterwards.
They are my siblings even if half blooded but as my mother is a n.o.ble-born, they are commoner’s child even if they’re from village headman, that treatment change significantly in this world.
First, child have no inheritance rights if not from legal wife, even the girl won’t become a tool for political marriage unless recognized by the father.
The majority of illegitimate children entered the house of va.s.sal lineage as an adopted son or as son-in-law, it’s a custom to take over village headman or village head house.
With such circ.u.mstances, other than my father which they are his children, even eldest son Kurt and second son Helman hardy speak with them.
It was obvious that they keep their distance from legal wife who also my mother.
In fact my mother also didn’t speak with them maybe because of difference in social status.
I on the other hand does not have that much conversation even with my real family.
I live as usual, naturally I hardly talk with these people who I only meet for two times.
And yet, they’re clearly have business with me now thus I had appeared in front of them like this.
“I’m sorry for our sudden rudeness. Wendelin-sama.”
Klaus as the village headman greets me on behalf of six people.
His age is near 60 ages which in this world treated as elderly people, but he look ten years younger.
For generations, born into village headman house that manages the near village, even the farmers, his predecessor’s grandfather and father is a trusted man with their reputation all around.
And despite the knight’s cannot read kanji, unlike people in Baumeister house that barely can calculate the tax, he can do reading and writing, and do maths normally, collecting tax from territory people, bookkeeping and accounting, everything including financial side.
Though he is retired now, as Baumeister house retainer in his younger day, proceed the reinforcements in response to Brihedar margrave request with inevitable future several years ago, he also have partic.i.p.ated in a skirmish over the territory boundary between Brihedar margrave and Ainsbach viscount.
I can see why he’s now also have countenance of alertness.
I am just the eighth son boy of eleven years old and he didn’t have any chance to talk to me who is the legal wife son.
To this idiot and uneducated me with only lineage and have no power to speak so impolite.
It does not matter to me but there is a big distinctions in status between commoner and n.o.ble in this world.
I am still a n.o.ble so this tone in front of Klaus is the correct one.
Actually, Leila in the back as well the other brother and sisters have been quiet.
Apart from not being born from Leila, the other four people who are my older brother and sisters didn’t talk to me so familiarly, that alone is the proof of this world big distinctions in status.
Specially the central part near Imperial city, there a case that commoner was cut down by n.o.ble for just talking impolitely.
This does not mean all n.o.ble is arrogant.
This cla.s.s system not just Helmut kingdom, it’s also serve as stability for the nearby Urquhart holy large country.
But there only a few commoner killed by that, mostly only end up whiplash instead.
“That does not matter, what do you want? I wanna go hunting now.”
“I’m sorry for appearing in this place so suddenly. I come here with request to Wendelin-sama.”
“Request to me?”
“Let me put it bluntly. I’d like for Wendelin-sama to succeed Baumeister house.”
“Huh?”
My eyes bulging out from the sudden request.