Reincarnated as the Final Boss of an Eroge, but I Just Want a Peaceful Life After the Game Ends - Chapter 08: Bahamul Territory

Chapter 08: Bahamul Territory

For the first few days after being appointed as Acting Lord of Bahamul,

I spent most of my time sorting through paperwork with Karen.

It was exhausting.

I hate working.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even turned twelve yet.

Shouldn’t I be way too young to be working?

“Acting Lord, how about we go take a look around the territory? There are plenty of places I’d like to introduce you to.”

“Yeah, sounds good. I don’t know anything about Bahamul yet, so it’d really help if you could show me around.”

“Then let’s head out right away!”

Just like that, I was dragged out of the manor—literally.

Karen grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

Once we stepped outside, I saw what they called the “main street”…

It was just a hardened dirt path, barely holding itself together.

And lining both sides were poorly built shacks, thrown together without much care.

From a quick glance, it looked like most of the villagers were gathered around the estate area.

“Let’s start by greeting the village representative, shall we?”

Still holding my hand, Karen marched straight through the village.

Along the way, she was greeted by all sorts of locals.

“Oh my, Karen—bringing your husband along today?”

“That’s a fine boy you’ve got there!”

Most of the comments were just teasing, but Karen smiled through it all.

“This is the acting lord. He came all the way from the capital, and I’m just showing him around right now. I’ll introduce him properly later!”

She answered cheerfully as we continued walking.

Eventually, we reached a large well at the center of the village.

Karen let go of my hand and went straight to a nearby house, knocking on the door with a loud bang.

“Mr. Jorg, Mr. Jorg! The acting lord has arrived—please come greet him!”

Soon after, the village representative, Jorg, stepped out into the plaza near the well.

Karen and I stood beside him, and a crowd of villagers began to gather around.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sidol Meltrix. As of today, I’ll be serving as the acting lord here for a while. I hope we’ll get along.”

I placed my hand over my chest and gave a polite bow.

The middle-aged man, Jorg, returned the greeting with proper form.

“An honor to meet you. I’m Jorg, currently serving as the village representative. You seem quite young for your position, Acting Lord. Still, we’re happy to have you. Please take good care of us.”

He knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“Everyone, please remember—Lord Sidol is a noble from House Meltrix!”

Karen called out loud enough for the rest of the villagers to hear.

“And I’ve had the chance to work with him for the past few days—he’s truly someone worthy of being from a ducal house and the capital. Don’t treat him lightly just because he looks young!”

After that, thanks to Karen’s help, I gave a proper greeting to the gathered villagers.

We spent some time chatting, and I learned a bit about daily life in the village.

Karen also showed me a few more places around the plaza near the well.

At the outskirts of the village, there were several small settlements.

That’s where livestock and farming were done.

They grew wheat, vegetables, and other crops.

By the time we returned to the estate, the sun was already beginning to set.

“So, what did you think of the village?”

As I sat down on the old, worn-out sofa in the parlor,

Karen took a seat on a single armchair a little distance away.

“I was actually surprised by how many people live here. Since it’s called a remote area, I expected way fewer.”

I just shared what I honestly thought.

“The land here is fertile, so crops grow really well. Taxes are low too. And we raise cattle, goats, and sheep, so while it’s far from the capital and pretty inconvenient—being on the edge of the Eternia—we never have to worry about food. That’s why the population is slowly starting to grow.”

That was pretty much exactly how I felt after seeing the place myself.

There were definitely areas that could use improvement, but the reason taxes were low wasn’t just generosity.

The mountain pass that separates the Margrave territory from the Bahamul Barony was so rough that it was practically impossible for carts or horses to get through easily.

Which made regular tax collection difficult.

Taxes here were still being delivered to the Margrave’s domain, but even if they sent a cart from here, it could only carry a small amount.

So instead of paying in coins or crops, they mostly offered livestock products.

“It’s a good thing the people here can live comfortably.”

“Was there anything else that stood out to you?”

“Hmm… yeah. Sanitation could definitely be improved. They should use the lake and river water too, not just the well. And I want to set up proper toilets. Also… I’d like to explore the forest. I’m pretty sure there’s a dungeon hidden somewhere in there.”

“That’s quite a list… but a dungeon, you say?”

When I nodded, Karen tilted her head and replied.

“Then, how about I organize a team of our strongest villagers to scout the forest? As for the sanitation stuff and the rest… that’s a bit outside my expertise, so could I leave that to you, Lord Sidol?”

“Sure. I’ll handle the improvements around the village. You focus on finding the dungeon.”

“Understood! We’ve got plenty of idle hands around here lately, so feel free to work them hard!”

Since Karen agreed to the plan, I decided to get started the very next day.

The next morning.

After breakfast, I gathered some of the idle villagers in the main plaza.

By the way—breakfast had been cooked by Karen, and it was surprisingly good.

Just bread, eggs, and something like bacon, but well-prepared and satisfying.

From what I’d seen, the village seemed to follow a consistent food routine:

A decent breakfast, a hearty lunch, and either a light dinner… or nothing at all.

With that out of the way, I explained my plans to the villagers.

The idea was to reorganize the area around the estate.

That included setting up a basic water and sewage system—

And if possible, getting proper toilets and bath areas installed in every home.

Housing here followed a simple pattern:

Whenever a family outgrew their home, they just threw up a random shed nearby.

Some of those were still under construction.

Since I wanted the place to be actually livable, the first step was widening the main street.

Then I’d divide the space into residential and commercial zones.

The main road leading down from the southern mountain pass would serve as the central line.

From there, we’d mark out branching roads with wooden stakes—

Residential on one side, commercial on the other.

While I was busy drafting out the village improvement plan,

Karen had already gathered a team and headed into the forest.

She really had a talent for leadership—

And the way people responded to her, it was clear they trusted her deeply.

It made me wonder…

Why was a girl like her wasting away in a place like this?

Sure, her family’s status probably played a part.

But growing up in a remote region like Bahamul meant she’d never had a real shot at rising higher.

She was the daughter of a viscount—and this was a barony.

From what she told me, Karen was an only child. Her parents had passed away when she was young, and she ended up in the care of the Baron of Bahamul, a close friend of her father.

That was about four years ago.

Then, just three months ago, the baron passed away without an heir, leaving behind only the territory…

And Karen—who had been serving as his assistant—was left alone in the worn-down estate.

Apparently, the baron had never married.

Maybe, as a noble, he couldn’t bring himself to take a commoner wife.

Still… you’d think he could’ve figured something out.

Even so, I had to admit—what he accomplished here in such a remote place was impressive.

Especially when it came to livestock.

The quality here could easily rival what you’d find in the capital.

Most of the livestock products paid as tax to the Margrave’s domain probably stayed within their territory—

And I could already imagine them fetching outrageously high prices.

So even if the baron had been pushed to the far edge of the kingdom,

He still managed to run this land to match its strengths.

And Karen had been by his side, helping him the whole time.

Thanks to that experience, Karen had grown into a reliable leader—

Someone the villagers could naturally turn to without hesitation.

And honestly? That’s also why her [Class: Sword Saint★] made perfect sense.

Once I finish training her properly as a Sword Saint…

I can’t help but want to see how far she’ll go once she’s back in the capital.

That thought?

Yeah—definitely something the old Sidol would’ve said.

After eating the lunch prepared by the village ladies, I spent the afternoon assigning tasks to everyone.

Well… technically, I just used [Appraisal★] and distributed the work accordingly.

Anyone with even level 1 proficiency in earth-element magic was assigned to zoning and roadwork.

The rest were sent to chop down trees in the forest and bring back the lumber,

Or to gather sand from the lakeside,

Or quarry stone from the mountains.

We’d stockpile materials while we had the manpower.

As for on-site supervision?

I left that to Jorg.

He was the village head, after all—might as well act like it.

Some time had passed.

(The academy back in the capital must be right in the middle of summer break by now…)

That thought lingered in my mind as I woke up from a dream.

Ivelia was probably power-leveling like crazy right about now.

In the game, she was supposed to hole up in a dungeon the moment summer break started.

That’s how she shot up to level 60 so fast.

She must’ve been grinding like mad—slaying monster after monster nonstop.

Meanwhile, Ars was probably right in the middle of his “first time” event.

That’s when the H-scenes with NPCs unlocked, and the game suddenly shifted into full-on eroge mode.

After losing her virginity, Hanna’s power as a saintess dropped noticeably…

But before winter break, there was a major scene where she and Ivelia ended up in a fight.

It all started because Hanna wouldn’t stop provoking her—

Until Ivelia finally snapped and challenged her to a duel.

『I’ve lived for nothing but to kill you! I threw away my pride, my shame, devoured the flesh and blood of monsters, and clawed my way to power! Now it’s time to settle this! I challenge you to a duel!』

That was Ivelia’s line leading up to the duel scene.

The screen would flash: [Grand Witch Ivelia].

If it had stayed a one-on-one fight, she absolutely would’ve won.

But of course… that’s when Ars just had to butt in.

>>Help the Saintess

>>Watch the Saintess

Those were the two choices the game gave you.

Pick “Watch the Saintess,” and you get a bad end.

But choose “Help the Saintess,” and it kicks off the final boss battle of the original game.

…Well, that was still a long way off.

That said, this world didn’t feel anything like an eroge right now.

It was… strangely peaceful.

When I looked at the village ladies, I could still see their affection levels and preferences—but none of that usual grimy or shady atmosphere was there.

Being surrounded by this kind of calm…

It almost made me forget about all the messed-up things I knew were waiting down the line.

The dungeon hidden deep in the forest near the village was discovered about a week later.

Technically, you were supposed to report any dungeon finds to the royal family right away.

But this village didn’t even have an Adventurer’s Guild, so…

I decided to skip that part.

At least until we reached the deepest level and secured the loot, it would stay our little secret.

After that, Karen and I began diving into the advanced dungeon together—grinding for levels, growing stronger.

I had no intention of saving that so-called Saintess.

But I would save Ivelia—no matter what.

And so, we kept pushing forward, deeper into the dungeon.

All to prepare for that moment.