Chapter 4 – The Day Before the Presentation

“Anyway… I get why my brothers died, but was it really that convenient for them to take each other out in a mutual kill?”

“Lord Cardon was a master of physical enhancement and heavy swordsmanship, while Lord Edward was a highly skilled mage. Apparently, after Edward lost an arm, he lost control of his magic and let it run wild…”

And that’s how the entire mansion got blown to smithereens. Terrifying…

(Yeah, that’s the thing… This world has mana, so there are legitimately people who can take on a thousand men single-handedly…)

Numbers matter in war, sure, but here there are real monsters who can wipe out whole legions by themselves.

My brothers Cardon and Edward weren’t quite on that level, but they were still strong enough to handle multiple average soldiers on their own.

I’m a noble by blood too, so I have higher mana than a commoner. Though since half my blood is common, it’s not as potent as my brothers’.

Even so, with physical enhancement I wouldn’t lose to some random bandits or low-tier magical beasts. I’ve actually led soldiers and taken down a few of those over the years.

(Is this… really something only I can do? Do I seriously have to become the territorial lord…?)

Can I even handle it…!?

Seeing me fall silent, Zeph gently shook his head.

“Many of us retainers, myself included, have served Lord Jost for a long time.”

“Yeah… I know that…”

“Lord Jost loved this land, and we served him because we loved it too. If things continue as they are, one of the two great powers might end up occupying the Grafald Autonomous Territory.”

I can’t exactly say that won’t happen.

This is a sword-and-sorcery fantasy world, but the mindset is still medieval. Land grabs are common, and it’s not rare for the losing royal family to be completely exterminated.

Zeph and the other retainers just want to keep working for the Grafald Autonomous Territory that my father, Jost, loved. There’s a quiet pride in that.

From their perspective, having one of the great powers poke their nose in and exploit this succession crisis would be unbearable. That’s why they want to install me before the big countries make any serious moves.

“Lord Deil. We will assist you with the actual governance. Please, stand as the new territorial lord.”

“…All right.”

“Oh…! Then let us immediately announce to both great powers that Lord Deil has become the new territorial lord!”

The moment I agreed, Zeph sprang into action.

Five days later, the heads of the four noble houses in the Grafald Autonomous Territory would be summoned for the official debut ceremony.

(I’m nervous…)

Zeph prepared a mountain of documents summarizing the bare minimum I needed to know before the ceremony. From that day on, I holed up in my room and crammed everything I could about the territory and its neighboring countries.

I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to fuck Anis…! Damn it…!

(But going through the materials again, I’m actually learning a lot…)

First off, the Grafald Autonomous Territory has five major noble houses. The territorial lord’s house is the Grafald family itself, and then there are four houses governing the north, south, east, and west.

Those are the Eckelun family in the north, the Shadima family in the south, the Raizon family in the west, and the Turmakas family in the east.

The origins of those four houses are similar to the Grafald family’s.

In other words, they were founded by noble men and women who immigrated from the Holy Noucrates and the Auranz Union respectively. They became territorial nobles to support the Grafald house.

(There are only four noble houses in the entire autonomous territory. If any of them leaned too heavily toward one of the great powers, it would’ve been hard for them to properly support the first territorial lord couple…)

Both great powers probably wanted to avoid the territory tilting toward either side—especially right after a war that cost them dearly.

That’s likely why they were so careful in choosing which nobles to send as vassals to the first lord.

…Though I bet it was pretty awkward at first, suddenly forcing nobles from two warring countries to live together.

(But according to the records, all four houses have served the Grafald family faithfully to this day…)

There were a few things that bothered me, though.

Anyway, I also needed to broaden my knowledge of the neighboring countries. My first job as territorial lord being nothing but studying… figures.

Four days flew by in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow was the debut ceremony. After finishing lunch, I headed to the courtyard.

“Lord Deil! I’ll accompany you!”

The one tagging along was my guard knight, Galdon.

He’s younger than me, but he can enhance his physical abilities decently with mana, which is why he was chosen as my bodyguard.

“You can come, but… don’t you ever take that armor off when you’re inside the mansion?”

“No, sir! You never know when an enemy might appear!”

“An enemy, huh…”

Galdon is always in full armor. It makes a constant clanking noise whenever he follows me—pretty annoying.

I wondered once if the weight bothered him, but apparently with physical enhancement it’s nothing. Mana really is convenient…

I came to the courtyard to get some light exercise after eating.

I still had studying to do later, and if I just sat at the desk I’d fall asleep. I needed to move my body a little.

(Maybe some calisthenics…)

I’d barely started warming up when a group approached.

The young man in the center narrowed his eyes as he looked at my face.

(Oh… that look. I know it well… He’s looking down on me…)

More precisely, it’s the look of someone absolutely convinced he’s in a superior position—superior even to me, the new territorial lord.

“Is it Lord Deil, if I’m not mistaken?”

“That’s right. …And you are?”

“Hmph…”

Just from me asking his name, the man and his entourage didn’t even try to hide their smirks.

“I’m Randolph. Ring any bells?”

“Ah… the head of the Turmakas family…”

“At least you got that far.”

The young head of the eastern Turmakas family.

He must have scheduled his arrival the day before the ceremony, since it’s tomorrow.

“I never thought a man with commoner blood would become territorial lord of Grafald.”

“Well, I’ve got decent mana, at least.”

What clearly separates commoners from nobles is, above all else, the strength of one’s mana—not just bloodline.

If my mana had been no different from a commoner’s, Father probably wouldn’t have let me carry the Grafald name.

There’s also a sex difference—women tend to have stronger mana—but bloodline has the biggest influence. That’s why powerful noble houses in the great powers strictly control their lineage.

Though in the uniquely founded Grafald Autonomous Territory, none of the houses are quite that obsessive about blood purity.

“Lord Randolph. Isn’t that rude to the new territorial lord, Lord Deil?”

Galdon stepped forward. He apparently didn’t like Randolph’s attitude toward me.

It bothered me too, but I figured there was no helping it.

My mother was a commoner, and I—who had nothing to do with the succession dispute—suddenly became lord. It’s only natural they’d have trouble accepting it right away.

Plus, as head of a noble house, Randolph must feel the weight of “status” himself.

The fact that I, of all people, now hold a status above his own must be hard for him to stomach.

“My apologies. Well then, Lord Territorial… I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

With that, he quickly turned and left with his entourage. Young as he is, he’s got the confidence of a seasoned house head.

“How rude to Lord Deil…”

“…”

If even one vassal acts like that, the others might start looking down on me too… This is weird. I’m supposed to have the position of territorial lord now.

I completely lost my motivation to exercise and headed straight back to my room. Galdon took up his post guarding the door in the hallway.

As I continued reading documents, the sky turned to sunset. Right on cue, someone knocked—Zeph.

“Lord Deil. Regarding that matter, I’ve looked into it.”

“That was fast. So… what did you find?”

While studying, something had been nagging at me—specifically about the man I’d just run into: Randolph Turmakas.

The Turmakas family controls the eastern region bordering the Holy Noucrates. Their city is decent-sized, but within the territory it ranks fifth.

It used to be second in size and population, but in recent years its economy has tanked and people have been leaving.

Apparently the previous head was a spendthrift who racked up debts and sold off several businesses.

Frankly, their finances must be a mess. Yet despite that, the Turmakas family maintains a large private army.

(Normally you’d need considerable surplus funds to keep that many soldiers…)

Each of the four noble houses has its own private force, but they’re all basically just large militia. Even that costs money to maintain.

The Turmakas family has no standout industry and poor finances, yet somehow they field an army comparable to the others.

How are they recruiting that many soldiers from a city with a shrinking population? Where are they getting weapons and armor? How are they paying and feeding the troops? That’s what bothered me.

So I asked Zeph to investigate something specific.

“Just as you suspected, Lord Deil. Merchants from the Holy Noucrates have been repeatedly making donations to Lord Randolph.”