#191
Settlers (2)
The Resk Kingdom was the southernmost country among the four united kingdoms located in the western Ion Continent.
One unique feature is that it has a vast agricultural region, often referred to as the largest food-producing area in the west.
Thanks to its warm climate, ideal for cultivating crops, they focused on expanding agricultural land over many years, achieving great success.
“Also, the existence of the Piccaol Temple is quite special.”
Built on the site where the second Undead King was defeated 300 years ago.
It was also a significant place both historically and religiously, as Heinrich had visited it to obtain the Holy Sword.
Naturally, as the only temple in the western continent, it played a role overseeing the surrounding parishes.
And among the hero party, the knight Geos Kalkan—
He was a nobleman holding a countship in this kingdom.
“Welcome, Lord. I have heard news about you for a while, but seeing you unharmed brings me great relief.”
“…Right. Oliver, you’ve had a tough time too.”
“Hahaha, this old man just manages the house; there’s nothing tough about that. It’s nothing compared to what you do, my lord.”
The Heinrich party, who had come from the Glatan Barony, arrived next in this small barony village located in a rather remote area of the kingdom.
They had no choice but to use Isea’s space movement to arrive here since they couldn’t use the temple’s gate.
This was Geos’s hometown.
“Oh dear, I’m late to greet the guests. I’m Oliver, the steward of this mansion. I will do my best to ensure you all can relax. If you have any inconveniences, please feel free to let me know.”
An elderly gentleman in a butler’s outfit bowed politely to the party.
Even though the Resk Kingdom wasn’t very large, a count rank could still be considered a high noble.
Naturally, it wasn’t strange that he had built a villa in his hometown, accompanied by a steward.
“By the way, Geos, you mentioned you are a count. Do you perhaps have a territory?”
After Oliver left to prepare the meal, Isea turned to him with a curious expression.
She had also obtained her title through merit, but at the time, she hadn’t done anything particularly noteworthy to earn a territory.
At that time, Princess Riley was entangled in a power struggle with the crown prince, which made it difficult to assist her separately.
“I’m scheduled to return to Earth in a few years anyway, so receiving a territory now would only complicate matters.”
Still, she couldn’t help but be interested in what it was like for someone in a similar situation.
After all, the foundation of a noble’s power could be seen as their territory, right?
“I… recently organized all my assets and stepped down from my lordship. I don’t have the capacity to take responsibility for others at this time.”
“Ah.”
“But I can’t bring myself to manage this mansion. This is both my hometown and the place where I met my wife. So, unless something special comes up, we’ve always stayed here instead of managing the territory.”
The lord of a territory had many obligations to match their authority.
They had to lead thousands, even tens of thousands, of people and be responsible for their survival.
Moreover, the territory he received was merely a count’s title, but the environment was mostly wasteland.
Even during peaceful times, there were plenty of things to worry about, so it was tough enough to manage, let alone the effort required to protect the territory’s inhabitants in these troubled times…
Having lost his family, which was everything to him, he had no luxury left.
“Hmm.”
Isea lightly cleared her throat and cautiously glanced at him.
She felt like she’d made a mistake touching on a painful wound, but contrary to her concern, he showed no change in expression, remaining expressionless.
It was as if he had been worn down to the point of having no more energy to express feelings.
“Of course, it’s only good now anyway. We didn’t come all the way here for nothing, did we?”
However, that expressionless facade didn’t mean he had cast aside all emotions.
His heart, already worn thin, was filled with only emptiness.
Yet, even amidst that void, a strong emotion pushed him onward—
The clear flame of ‘anger’ that ignited within him was what drove him to act.
“Yawn! Of course! We didn’t come this far just to hang out!”
“If only you were from Earth… I wish you were from the same country I am. Where are you from?”
“Hmm, then shall we just eat and set off right away? Since we’ve come this far, I hope we can acquire something.”
At that, the other members of the party quickly chimed in.
Right, the reason they had journeyed to this far place was to catch the Undead King, who showed vulnerabilities to the ‘special abilities exclusive to people from other worlds,’ off guard.
They were here to find someone who would know a lot about it and somehow gather information.
*
Geos appeared much younger due to his high level of skill, but he was actually the oldest in the party, approaching his 40s.
“Well, when you think about it, it makes sense.”
In fact, it was the awakened ones’ rapid growth, aided by various perks and skills that were the unusual cases.
For people in this world, gaining experience to raise their levels required painstaking training, so it wasn’t odd for them at all.
“That’s why people revere Isea as a genius wizard.”
She had reached the level of a great wizard at the tender age of her 20s and was still growing!
Except for Heinrich, who was a hero chosen by the gods, Hoo was an unfamiliar and older-looking member of the beast race, so he was less jarring.
Isea, being purely human yet looking like a girl in her mid-teens, would naturally leave a larger shock.
“It’s already been over 20 years since I first met him. Back then, I never imagined I would end up like this.”
Having walked along the path leading to the village from the mansion atop the hill for about ten minutes, Geos murmured lowly, seemingly lost in thought.
How many twists and turns did a commoner like him, an orphaned boy, face to rise to his current position?
Surely, the events he had gone through were as extraordinary as ‘Hoo’s grand adventure.’
“No, but still, it probably wasn’t that dramatic.”
Feeling a sense of pride over his own story, Hoo stroked his chin and pondered, nodding heavily.
He thought that soon, he’d need to inject a more dramatic scenario.
“Cough! By the way, hyung, do you think that gentleman is still there? If he has moved elsewhere…”
“…No. The last time I saw him was two months ago, so he should still be there. He even attended my family’s funeral… and he has been supportive of me since then.”
“Cough!”
Once again, it felt like stepping on a landmine.
Considering that the current environment was a total minefield, it seemed better to stay quiet.
“And he wouldn’t be able to leave this place now.”
“Hmm?”
With that last remark, he followed Geos’s reminiscence as they continued along the path.
They arrived at a relatively sizable village at the base of the hill, attracting the attention of everyone around as they crossed the street.
“Oh! Is that…?”
“It’s Count Geos! I thought we hadn’t seen him for a while; has he returned?”
“Who are the people with him?”
Clearly, he was a well-known figure, as the villagers immediately recognized him and began to murmur among themselves.
“After all, it’s unusual for someone from the same village to suddenly return as a noble and settle down here.”
Moreover, his rank was even higher than that of the local baron who owned the land.
Thanks to that, it was natural for him to receive many unspoken benefits, so it was no wonder the residents knew him.
“…This is it.”
And with everyone’s attention on them, they arrived at the largest and cleanest building in the village, which seemed to have been built not long ago.
However, its purpose was somewhat unexpected…
“Oh? It’s Uncle Geos!”
“Wow! Really? Is that really you, Uncle Geos?”
“Daddy~! Uncle Geos is here!”
“But who are those people… Eek?”
“Wahh! A monster! Sister! Sister!”
Out from the wide courtyard surrounded by low walls, the excited voices of children echoed in a whirlwind.
There were far too many for them to be siblings born from a single family.
“Where is this?”
“…An orphanage?”
At that moment, a bewildered voice caught the party’s attention.
“What? Geos? A monster too? Who dares to scare our kids… Huh?”
A man with neatly arranged, short hair and a white beard emerged hastily from the building amidst the children’s clamoring and then froze upon spotting the party.
A well-groomed black man with a white beard.
His gaze swept over the unexpected outsiders, landing on Geos, who was at the front.
“It’s been a while, Chehai.”
“…Geos.”
And thus, the hero party finally encountered the self-proclaimed otherworlder.
A man with the unexpected occupation of running an orphanage.
*
“Tch, calling me a monster just because they saw the manly Hoo. I guess the kids are too young to know better? A real man must have muscles like mine!”
Hoo entered the reception room with a large bundle on his back, grumbling as he tossed it aside.
The children’s loud reactions to him had made it utterly unavoidable.
It was likely impossible for him to come in without being chased off if it weren’t for Geos, who had come along.
“Uh, Hoo? It’s not just the muscles that are the problem…”
“Huh? What do you mean, young lady?”
Isea stared at him, who seemed entirely oblivious, blinking quietly.
With a giant muscular build towering over 2.3 meters, covered in tattoos, and dressed in the garb of a barbarian, along with the overwhelming aura of a predator exuding machismo, it was easy to understand why the kids were screaming and crying.
“…No.”
Yet instead of explaining it in detail, she merely shook her head and looked away.
In truth, she wanted to pretend it was nothing, well aware that he would figure it out by himself anyway.
“Ugh.”
Hoo scowled and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.
That added to his already terrifying appearance, but fortunately, there were no children in the room, so it didn’t escalate into chaos.
“First of all, I apologize for showing up so suddenly, Chehai.”
“No, I’m grateful for your visit. I’ve been worried for quite some time. However… I should apologize for the shock my friend caused the kids.”
As Geos opened the conversation, the black man, Chehai, glanced at Hoo, clicking his tongue.
If it weren’t for the long-awaited visit from Geos, he would have liked nothing more than to chase him off.
…Of course, he also had an inkling of who they were.
“So, what’s the matter, Geos? You didn’t come alone, but brought all these others with you.”
“Ah! Before I get to the point, let me introduce my companions. First, this is….”
“Greetings. I am Heinrich Saint Landgard, the first sword following the will of the Holy God. I apologize for the sudden visit and any inconvenience caused.”
“Oh, no. That’s alright now. Ahem— I’m Chehai. I’m just a simple villager living with kids at the orphanage.”
Though he lived in a rural area, he wasn’t completely disconnected from the world, as he showed slight discomfort receiving Heinrich’s greeting.
Then came the introductions with the other companions.
He offered Isea a smile, but when it came to Hoo, his expression automatically soured, though he didn’t say anything further.
“Hello, Chehai! You can call me Hesperon! Although that’s not my real name.”
“Hmm?”
After Hesperon’s introduction, Chehai again shifted his gaze to Geos.
Now that introductions were concluded, he likely thought Geos would get to the point.
“Chehai. You know who these people are… and you know what I’m currently involved in, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“I have one important question for you. It’s a very serious matter, so I hope you answer honestly.”
With that statement, a heavy air began to swirl in the reception room.
Geos, of course, and his companions gazed intently at Chehai with serious expressions.
“Haha, this is a bit intense. Just to clarify, I’m neither a black magician nor related to the Undead King, okay? I mean, I did do some potato harvesting with the kids recently, but is that what this is about?”
As the tension filled the room, Chehai broke into laughter and made a joke, but Geos remained expressionless, silently staring at him.
Feeling a bit awkward, Chehai frowned and nodded sharply.
“Alright, I’ll get it, just hurry and ask your question. What’s so critical that it needs all this theatrics…”
“Chehai, did you come from a dimension called Earth?”
In contrast to the buildup, the question was straight to the point.
And at that moment—
Chehai’s body stiffened.
