Three years have passed since then. I am nine years old.
　I'm getting much taller and my strength is slowly growing.

　The problem of possibly hunting all the forest Sioux was finally settled by talking to my father and getting him to make a rule to limit the amount of hunters.

　The hunters follow the rules properly, as there are stiff penalties waiting for them if they are broken.
　Roselle also developed traps for hunting animals other than the Sioux, so the hunters' catch did not drop off after the restrictions were imposed.

　A lot has changed in the past three years.

　My father has been sick a lot lately because of his recent illness.

　He's been coughing a lot, and he's been getting fevers more often. I don't know what kind of illness he was suffering from because I have no knowledge of medicine. In the first place, the diseases in my previous life's knowledge are not necessarily the same as the diseases in this world.

　Diseases are often caused by viruses and bacteria. It would not be surprising if there were viruses and bacteria in this world that are different from those on earth. No, on the contrary, it would be strange to say they are the same.

　Anyway, my father is suffering from a disease that I don't know about.
　I don't even know if it will be cured naturally or if he will die if not cured.

　But he got sick a few months ago, and he's been in bad shape since then, so it's not an easy thing to be sick, I'm sure.

　I told him to stay in the mansion and be quiet, but he insisted that he would definitely go into battle.
　I also told him that I would go into battle instead, but that was no good, as I couldn't send a nine-year-old child into battle.

　I wasn't going to be able to convince him to go, so I told him to at least take Reetz with him.
　The person I trust the most is Reetz.
　If he's with me, he'll be able to take care of it in case of an emergency.

　Instead, in the event of a war, Rietz will no longer be my educator.

　Since warfare is more likely to happen in the Meesian Province these days, Leets is mostly on the battlefield. We haven't had much time together lately.

　New recruits, but after three years of searching, I've found a few reasonably good ones, but none that jumped out at me.

　I've seen the town of Canale for the most part, and I'd like to look for another town soon.
　However, because of the distance, the risk of being attacked by bandits and the like is high. Therefore, the number of guards must be increased.

　At present, all of the high-powered people, including Rietz, are in battle, so it will be difficult for them to go far.

　I would like to see peace soon, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

　At any rate, the reason why warfare has become more prone to occur recently is because of the succession battle for the position of Governor Meessian, for example.


　○


　The dining room in the mansion.
　It is winter and there is a fireplace in the room. It doesn't get suddenly cold in this area, even in winter, but it was still cold enough to make me want to turn on the fireplace.

　I guess the cold makes me less inclined to fight, but lately I've been fighting slightly less and spending more time with Reetz and my father.

　Today, my father is home again, and we're taking a meal together.

''Feast!

　The brother and sister, Kreitz and Ren, who had been eating together, finished eating at the same time and got up from their chairs.
　Not long ago they were just babies, but they have grown up quickly and have become very active these days, talking and running around. Kids grow up so fast.

　They are quite different in appearance.
　Kreitz, like his father, has golden hair. Len's hair is black, like mine.
　Their faces are similar, but they are not exactly the same.
　I guess it's because we are identical twins.

Ni ni ni abo.
Play.

　I pulled on my clothes. I wanted to talk to my father for a bit now.

"Let the Leets play with you.

　I threw the care of the two of them over to Reetz.

'Yeah,'
Let's play niiiiiiii, too.
Play.
'Oh, all right, I'll play with you later. Now I'll talk to your father, so you'll have to wait until then.

　With that, he headed down to the leets.
　It was hard to suddenly have a brother and sister each able to do it.

'Father, how are you feeling these days?'

　I asked after they left.

'Totally, gosh gosh no problem.'
I'm coughing and you say...
It doesn't even matter.

　But then my father gurgled and coughed again.
　My father's condition seems to be gradually getting worse, perhaps because it's getting colder.

''Um, I still think it would be better if I couldn't go off to war anymore...''
'I have told you many times that I would not wish to go. How can I tell Master Lemayr that I can't go to war now in this situation?

　Master Lemayr is Lemayr Pyles, the Mayor of Canale County. He's the man my father serves.

　The situation in the province of Mythian at the moment is a flash in the pan.

　Just over a year ago, the Governor of Mythian fell ill. He didn't die, but he was bedridden and never seemed to regain consciousness.

　The Governor had written a letter stating that his brother would succeed him, but the authenticity of the letter was in doubt, and his brother insisted that it was his brother's plot.

　In fact, he is not even wrong in his claim. The elder brother, who had been said to be in poor health recently, had made a great contribution to the war, and the vassals thought that the elder brother would take over.

　As a result, the younger brother was the successor, so there were many doubters, and some nobles sided with the older brother.
　But some said that the letters were indeed written by the Governor, and those who did so sided with their brother.

　It just felt like the state was split in two, and it was the worst thing that could happen.

　The Governor is still alive, so a full-scale war has not yet begun, but if he dies, it will inevitably lead to a great war.

　Canale County Mayor Lemayle is at odds with his brother, and the neighboring Perena County Mayor is at odds with his brother, because he supports him.

　Because of this, skirmishes have begun to occur more frequently, and furthermore, the neighboring state of Saitu is not sitting idly by and is increasing the pace of messing with Canale County.

　The situation was becoming very precarious, and although their numbers were small, the quality of their troops was high, and the Rovent family, which had a lot of success in warfare in Canale County, couldn't afford not to go into battle.

''Therefore, I'm going to take my father's place in the battle...''
I've told you that's not going to happen either!　You haven't even started your first battle yet, how can you command an army!

　He blackmailed me and I had to shut up.

　Even though I had lived a long time in my previous life, I had never gained any experience that would be useful in battle.

　Here, I couldn't say proudly and proudly, "Leave it to me, I don't have any experience, but I'll definitely show you how to lead it well.

　If I could show my father that I had the capacity to go to war, even though I was nine years old, he wouldn't have to go to war, but I couldn't possibly do it now.

　I stood up silently and turned to leave the room.

'Wait, Ars, I've forgotten something.

　I stop leaving when my father stops me.

'Yes, sir?'
I heard there was a letter from your ex-wife. Let's read it.
'Oh, it's my ex-wife...'

　Hmm?
　A fiancee?
　Did you mishear me?
　You mean the woman who will be my future wife, right?

What do you mean by "my wife"?　Did I mishear you?
'Oh, I didn't tell you. You have a wife to marry.

　I was told the shocking truth simply.