Badlands Saga: Reincarnation in a Different World with Extreme Charisma - Chapter 2

Chapter 2   The Wanderer

I was born in the Badlands.

One moment, I thought I was dead, and the next… I was suddenly reborn.

It was like something straight out of a novel I used to read—a typical “reincarnation into another world” scenario.

“It’s as dry as ever…”

The Tanukan territory, home of the Tanukan Margrave family, where I was born in this life. The castle here is called Tanukan Castle, the name unchanged.

From the top of the castle tower, all I could see was barren land stretching out to the horizon. The only thing moving was the occasional tumbleweed blown by the dusty wind.

Forget about buildings or railways; there wasn’t even a trace of civilization—a truly hopeless, undeveloped land.

But I didn’t particularly dislike this place.

Sure, it was cold, but not so cold that the sea would freeze in winter. And while the land was barren, it wasn’t littered with industrial waste or sludge.

This desolate land, left untouched by human hands, had a sort of raw beauty, almost as if it were actively rejecting human presence.

“Lord Fusha, do you see anything interesting today?”

“Not a thing.”

I replied over my shoulder, and Isara, the lady knight my parents had assigned to me, twirled the split ends of her golden curls between her fingers and muttered, “I see,” in a bored tone.

Just then, a small light appeared near her fingers, and as if a child were giggling, the split end snapped and burned away.

“Don’t waste the power of your contracted fairy on something like that.”

“Doesn’t matter if I use a knife or a fairy to cut it.”

Gul, the old steward who was watching our exchange, chuckled in his raspy voice as he wrote something down in his notebook.

“Still, it’s impressive how you can keep looking out there without getting bored, especially since you’ll be heading out yourself tomorrow, Lord Fusha.”

“There’s nothing else to look at. I’ve already read all the books in the library.”

Ten years ago, I was born into this world as the third son of the Tanukan Margrave family, named Fushanklan.

Although my hair and eyes were the same black as in my previous life, my facial features were entirely of this world.

As a third son, with an elder brother to inherit the family estate and a second son as his backup, I should have been raised rather indifferently, even as a noble.

Yet, for some reason, I was pampered and doted on by everyone in the castle, treated like a precious jewel. They fussed over me and wouldn’t even let me set foot outside, raising me with excessive overprotection.

Because of the mere fact that we were relatively close in age, I was assigned Isara, a promising talent who had won the swordsmanship tournament in the royal capital, as my attendant. If I expressed a desire to read, they handed me the key to the library without hesitation.

The final indulgence was when I mentioned, just in passing, that I felt like I could… perhaps try alchemy after reading some books. They went so far as to give me a corner of the castle tower as a laboratory to try it out.

I’ve never lived in a feudal society before, but even as the son of the ruling class, I have a sense that this level of favor is far from normal.

Surely, the reason I’ve been treated with such peculiar care is due in no small part to the virtuous rule of my father, who keeps the castle united, and his high expectations for me.

In fact, as a result of this upbringing, my eldest brother—whom I’ve yet to meet—has apparently become heavily involved in politics, having secured a significant faction in the royal capital.

“Gul, do you think it will be clear tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that—all will be clear skies unless the clouds pass through the Karakan Mountains.”

Gul pointed with his gnarled finger toward the high and rugged mountain range to the south of the castle.

Like a curtain dropped from the heavens, it blocked the warm, moist air coming from the south, drying up the land on this side. The wind blowing from the deep black sea to the west of the castle was salty, corroding buildings and hindering the growth of crops.

Due to this one-two punch of dryness and salt damage, the only things beyond the mountains and sea were barren wilderness stretching to the horizon and crumbling, eroded canyons.

The water and soil were poor, and more than anything, the land was constantly threatened by the surrounding foreign tribes and the monsters that occasionally flew in from who knows where. This land protruded like a bump at the northernmost edge of the Folk Kingdom.

That was the territory of the Tanukan Margrave family, where I was born.

And tomorrow, for the first time in my life, I would walk that land with my own two feet.

“Lord Fusha, don’t expose yourself to the wind too much; it might affect your health.”

“I know, I’m going outside tomorrow.”

“There’s a step there.”

“I know.”

Held by the overprotective Isara as I stepped down from my personal stool, I began to walk towards the rooftop entrance of the tower, flanked on either side by her and Gul.

The next day, Isara, fully armored and with a sword at her waist, led me by the hand. In front and behind us, a large number of guards accompanied us, to the point where it was almost inconvenient to pass through the castle’s main gate.

“Isn’t this a bit excessive? I’m just going to look around the castle grounds; we don’t need dozens of guards.”

“What if we’re attacked by hostile tribes?”

“We’re not going anywhere that we couldn’t escape from even if we were attacked.”

Isara, who was stunningly beautiful, talented, and known as the strongest swordswoman in the borderlands with her fierce personality and formidable sword skills, had one major flaw: she was overly protective of me.

Even though I had finally received permission from my father to go outside on my tenth birthday, this was just like being in the castle.

“There’s a step there.”

Isara pointed out a small indentation in the cobblestone road, no bigger than the tip of my pinky.

I stepped over the step with a small sigh.

“I’m not a five-year-old; you don’t need to hold my hand.”

“You might get lost.”

“I won’t.”

Even though I had finally made it out of the castle and into the town, I couldn’t see anything due to the crowded guards around me.

If I were just an ordinary child, I might have mistakenly thought that the outside world consisted only of the backs of middle-aged men.

I had to at least catch a glimpse of the town’s scenery, or there would be no point in coming outside.

I tapped the tall knight walking in front of me on the back.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Could you carry me on your back? I can’t see anything.”

“Certainly.”

As the charming knight with the curled mustache crouched down, I jumped onto his broad back.

As my view gradually rose, I could see a bit of the town beyond the heads of the guards.

This was a territory governed by parents of great virtue, who had raised me with such care.

Although the view from the tower where the laboratory was located was only barren land, sea, and mountains, I had assumed that the town was a reasonably populated port town.

So, I initially thought I must be mistaken when I saw it.

“Can you carry me on your shoulders?”

“Certainly.”

Even from this higher vantage point, the view remained unchanged.

The stone-built town, covered in dust, was so desolate that it almost made me want to laugh.

Despite being the main street right in front of the castle, there were very few people. Only a few scruffy men were sitting here and there.

Even though there were quite a few buildings, there was no sound of laughter, and there were no food stalls or even cooking smoke in sight.

The people living in this town were all uniformly thin, with bored expressions, and hunched backs.

It seemed there were no bookstores or theaters in this town.

“Are they running out of bread?”

“I’d say they’re probably not getting enough. Land that can grow crops around here is quite precious.”

“What about the bread we eat?”

“The castle’s wheat is bought from other towns.”

Well, it’s not surprising that proper agriculture is impossible in such a wasteland.

Still, the level of desolation was beyond anything I had imagined.

“What do the common people usually eat?”

“Fish and vegetables that grow anywhere, I suppose.”

As we walked down the not-very-wide main street, I continued to ask questions.

Aside from the buildings along the main street, which were apparently planned and constructed when the castle was built, most of the buildings seemed to be made from stones picked up and put together with mud.

It seemed that wood was a valuable resource here, and the entire town was built from stone.

“Don’t they cut down trees from the mountains?”

“They probably do, but it’s a bit far from the town. I’d say most of it is used for ships. They need to focus on fishing to survive.”

As Isara said this, she suddenly drew her sword.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ah, just a little something…”

When I turned around to see what was going on, I noticed that the townspeople were trailing behind the knights who were guarding us.

I thought they might be drawing their swords to intimidate and disperse the crowd, but that wasn’t the case.

“Please cover your ears.”

“Okay.”

As I covered my ears, Isara whispered something. A fairy that had been hidden in her hair flew out and began to circle around the sword.

The sword emitted a light similar to phosphorescence and a gust of wind, vibrating slightly.

“Do not come any closer. Anyone who touches the knight will be cut down.”

It seemed that drawing the sword was meant to amplify the sound.

The townspeople, not wanting to get too close to the knights, kept their distance after Isara’s warning and watched from a bit further away.

“Were they just curious?”

“Well, it’s rare for this many knights to come into town.”

In that case, it might have been better to come with a smaller group…

As I considered this and looked around, my gaze was drawn to an alley.

“Stop.”

“Oh, yes.”

I noticed something squirming in a dimly lit part of the alley.

When I looked closer, I saw that it was a group of children, about my age or even younger.

They were huddled together, wrapped in makeshift mats woven from weeds, and trembling.

“Is something wrong, Fusha-sama?”

“What about them?”

“Ah, they’re probably orphans.”

“Where are their parents?”

“They’re either dead or abandoned them.”

“Doesn’t anyone take care of the orphans?”

When I asked this, Isara, who was carrying me on her shoulders, brought her face closer and answered firmly, “No, they don’t.”

“Fusha-sama, you read a lot of books, but do you understand what a penal colony is?”

“Oh.”

“This frontier territory is such a place. It’s a land where those who can’t survive elsewhere end up, suffering and dying. There’s no room for anyone to care for children here.”

Isara looked at me with her droopy eyes, as if assessing me, and spoke as if it were a trivial matter.

“I see, but it’s a problem if there are no adults to take care of the children.”

A society that doesn’t care for its children is bleak, but I understand that in a situation where everyone is struggling to survive, it’s hard to extend a helping hand to others.

In my previous life, I might have accepted this and moved on, but in this life, I’m on the side of governance and have the power of alchemy.

Now that I’m ten and my range of activities has expanded… for the sake of my family, myself, and those children, it might be worth trying to do something within my means.

As I thought about this while looking at the children, Isara, who had a mysterious smile, leaned in closer and said something astonishing.

“Well, even though the situation is like this now… with Fusha-sama’s rule, who knows? You might end up managing things like that after all.”

“What do you mean, my rule? If we’re talking about rule, it’s my older brother’s rule.”

I laughed and tapped Isara’s nose with the back of my small hand, as she said something dangerous.

A fairy, who had popped out from Isara’s hair in response to the perceived danger, laughed and said “Kahaha!” as it watched Isara rubbing her nose.

Since she was directly under my command, allowing such dangerous remarks could risk casting doubt on me as well.

Even though I was still a child, it was important to consistently make my stance clear in situations like this.

“But if it’s my older brother, he might change these issues from the root.”

I had yet to meet my elder brother, who was the heir to this territory.

However, I had heard many times that he was highly competent and effective.

According to the stories, my eldest brother, who had formed a strong bond with the second prince during his student days in the royal capital, was still very active as either his right-hand or left-hand man.

Thanks to my eldest brother’s efforts in the royal capital, the number of merchant ships coming to this territory had increased, according to Grandpa Gul.

If it’s someone like my eldest brother, he would surely govern this land better in the future and undoubtedly help the orphans as well.

But that’s a different matter… Currently, it’s a problem that no one is protecting the orphans.

It’s honestly hard to watch the children suffering from hunger and thirst, and even with my current level of power, I should be able to at least address their food problems by working hard to create a field.

“I’ve just finished reading all the books in the library.”

Above all, I was bored.

I could come up with many plausible reasons, but that might have been the biggest reason.

It’s much better to work than to continue living while staring at the wasteland from the tower.

I might even be able to earn money from farming to buy books from elsewhere or bring in bards.

I had lived simply since my previous life.

Whenever there was a problem and something I could do, I did it immediately.

Gains and losses always followed after taking action.

*

“Dad, can I start a field around the castle?”

After returning from my first outing, I directly asked my father, who was in his office.

My father, Dentra, who was working at a small desk with his muscular body crammed into the chair, briefly turned his stern face towards me and replied, “It won’t grow.”

Indeed, farming requires good soil and water, and the soil and water around here are terrible, so crops probably won’t grow properly.

However, this is an area where I can manage things with alchemy.

“I’ll use alchemy to create water and fertilizer. I won’t need extra labor because I’ll use the orphans.”

“I see, but you’ll need security.”

Without any doubt about my alchemical skills, my father immediately took a step forward and said that.

“Huh? Why?”

“If there’s food, living creatures will come. That’s true whether they’re from a different tribe, poor, or even beasts.”

Hearing that, it indeed seemed that with the way the townspeople were starving, any field I created would probably be stripped clean the moment a few sprouts appeared.

“Fusha, how many thieves do you think target this castle for food every year?”

“Huh? Every year? …Maybe about two?”

After hearing my answer, my father sighed, set down his pen, and stood up from his creaky chair.

Then, towering over me, he came over, making the floorboards creak.

“Last year, there were fifty.”

“Fifty!?”

He crouched down in front of me and continued to look me in the eye as he spoke.

“Fusha, did you see the town?”

“Yes, it was desolate.”

“This land is a fortress that extends beyond the borders of the Folk Kingdom, merely a name for the borderland territory.”

“A fortress?”

“Yes, it’s a fortress placed outside the mountain range walls solely to hold back foreign tribes. From the beginning, it was never intended to sustain its people. The town is full of drifters who couldn’t find a place elsewhere.”

My father wasn’t one to say that there’s no need to save them.

In other words, he’s asking if I’m prepared to disrupt the balance that has been maintained despite its poor condition.

“If you dangle tempting bait in front of such people, the number of thieves this year might exceed a hundred. Will you still go through with it?”

With his large hand on my shoulder, my father asked.

I nodded slowly and responded.

“I will. If necessary, I’ll turn it into a field that can feed another hundred people along with the orphans.”

“Then do it.”

My father said with a smile. He then lifted me up by my waist, walked to the window of his office, and pointed to a spot near the castle gate.

“Set the field there. I’ll assign a few soldiers to guard it at night, and during the day, Isara should be sufficient.”

“Thank you, Dad!”

“Fusha, you’re ten now. It’s fine to try various things, but make sure you understand that you have a great power and use it cautiously.”

He said this while patting my head with his large hand before setting me down and returning to his work.

What he likely meant was that I should avoid overusing alchemy. Though it resembles science, alchemy is actually an artistic discipline that requires a certain sense.

When I was making ointments for the knights, I had Isara and other knights help, but…

No matter how detailed my explanations and demonstrations were, and despite following the same steps, they couldn’t manage it well at all.

In other words, what my father was trying to convey was that if I rely too much on alchemy to solve everything, it could result in a plan that can’t function without me.

I thought it would be something like that… but the reality was even simpler.

That night, Gul came to my bedroom with the report, saying, “I have something to report.”

As I listened to the report while my maid, Riza, brushed my hair, I was stunned by what I heard.

“What? The knights adopted all the town’s orphans?”

“Yes, that’s correct. They felt ashamed as men for not protecting the vulnerable children and only caring for themselves. They said they would handle the field from the castle, so no accommodations are needed.”

Gul, looking quite satisfied, delivered the news, and I listened with my shoulders slumped.

In other words, this was a case of…

Having so many knights serving our family, and having said, “It’s a problem” in such a showy manner… I had unintentionally influenced their actions.

I had thought that as the third son of a noble family, my words were like feathers, light and inconsequential.

But now, it was clear that my selfish remarks had altered their life plans.

This was turning me into quite the power-harassing guy.

What my father meant by “great power” was exactly this.

It was a lesson in being aware of my position as the third son of the border lord.

“I need to get that field made quickly…”

Regret comes too late; all I can do now is to at least ease their burden.

Starting the next day, I began working the laboratory in the tower at full capacity to produce fertilizers and water.

◆◆◆

An angel was sent to the wasteland.

Stepping out of the castle, they rode on a knight and arrived in town.

Their face was so delicate that it was immediately clear they were no ordinary person.

Enticed by their bell-like, beautiful voice, people emerged from their homes.

Everyone in town followed the knights, forming a large procession.

If the angel had entered the sea, surely everyone would have followed without hesitation.

Along the way, the angel noticed us and radiated a soft glow, performing a miracle that amplified the voices of their attendants.

Even if they were told, “If you come near, you will be cut down,” no one turned back.

The angel surveyed the town, the sky, the sea, and the land before returning to the castle.

There were elderly people who bowed in reverence, youths who were deeply moved, and wrongdoers who reformed.

The next morning, the sea was unusually calm, and fishing improved—an evident sign of the divine messenger’s presence.

—From the diary of the net merchant