21-Episode 19: Sage Leaves the Territory




 I also cleared the exam for Varral and convinced Remsen to take it.
 Thus, I was allowed to take the test for the Adventurer's School.

 The instructor, Vernal, told me that I had enough power to enter the school.
 But Remsen was very opposed to the idea.
 He said there is a difference between a personal exam and the entrance exam of the Adventurer's School.
 After all, he is still not convinced.
 It can't be helped just because of the method, but they might try to mess with me again after this.

 Well--. The time will come.
 I'll embarrass you again.

 In the end, my preparations are also ready, and I will be traveling to the royal capital in the adventurer's school today.

 I'll be traveling to the capital in a peddler's carriage that travels to and from the estate.
 Already knowing the day of my departure, all of the residents of the territory had come to see me off, surrounding the carriage.
 One by one, they shook hands with me and some of them wept.
 Among them were those who had bullied Lacelle as a child.
 But now - there was no one who made fun of me as a [villager].

 I wasn't just looking for strength and training for six years for anything.

 I was also fulfilling the job of a [villager] as a proper profession.
 I gave magic to the hoe and plow, improved the efficiency of farming, used [synthetic] and developed crops that were resistant to drought and cold damage.
 They made fertilizers that allowed cattle, horses, or plants to ripen prematurely and gave their power back to the humans in their territory.

 Partly as a result, the Stark territory, which had been in deficit and surplus for some time, had developed to the surprise of even the surrounding lords.

 But the biggest thing is that even if they were [villagers], they've succeeded in creating efficiencies that are no different from those of the six major magical professions.
 Just like me, the faces of the [villagers] who didn't rise in the territory were also somewhat lively.

 Everyone was begrudgingly saying goodbye to me.
 The [Villager]'s village chief, the daughter I rescued, Alisa and her mother, and Mernare came to see me off.
 Alisa and the children sent me many garlands.
 I almost cried a little when Alisa, now grown up, said to me through her tears, "Come back to us, big brother Lacelle," she said.

 And my father, Luxor, was one of them.

''I wanted to send you off with a good feeling, but when it's time to say goodbye, it's a shame that you have to leave.

'It's not like we're saying goodbye to this life, Father. I heard that you can take a long leave of absence for the Divine and National Ancestral Festivals, so I'll be back. I'm sure.

Hmm......... Do you already feel like you've been accepted?

No?

 I grinned.
 Luxor cowered his shoulders.

'You'll be fine. Take care of yourself. Even you won't know if you can't give it your all.

I'll be careful, sir.

Also, and I've been saying this for a while now, but...

'Yes. You mean my sister.

 So--.
 Lacel Singh Stark has a sister who is a year older than me.
 But the reason she hasn't shown up in my life all these years is simply because she wasn't in the mansion.

 My sister, Sheila Singh Stark, is in the royal capital that I'm heading to now.

 Unlike me, who is a [villager], my sister's occupation is a [Mage (Wizard)].
 It's a profession that is said to be the strongest among the six major magical professions.
 I was once a 【Mage(Wizard)】 too.
 I'm not going to be the only one.
 It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get the right skill points, there's also magic that can eradicate a designated area from a far away place.

 It could be said that that one horseman alone is a single weapon.
 It was an exceptional existence among the six major magic professions.

 The birth rate was less than 1% for 【Mage (Wizard)】 compared to 50% for 【Village】.
 Needless to say, it's rare.
 It was a valuable occupation, both as an adventurer and as a force for the country.

 Especially Sheila's high level of qualities seemed to be beyond the level of a child.
 Therefore, when she was three years old, she was scouted by the country and sent to the elementary school of the military school in the royal capital.

 He still had to offer three children to the state.
 Luxor said he felt awkward.
 The Stark family is an aristocracy.
 Sheila is not a good-looking woman, but she has no choice but to obey the government's request.

'Sheila will have a grudge against her father.

 Luxor looks forlorn.
 I had heard my sister talk about it several times, but she decidedly muttered the same lines.

 Even though the military school was a boarding school, it was still able to take a long break during the Holy and Ancestral Festivals.

 However, Sheila hadn't returned to Stark territory even once.

''It's fine, Father.''

Hmm?

'Sheila is not such a weak person. I'm sure there's something about her.

'To be encouraged by my child.... You seem to have completely outdone me.

I'm not done yet.

Don't be modest. ...Lasell, take care of Sheila for me.

'Yes. But first, though, I have to take the test.

'If you know what you're doing, that's good. You need to get yourself together first.

 Twice, my father taps me on the shoulder.
 I felt like my hands were shaking.
 He seemed to be gulping down tears.

 He smelled of earth and iron.
 This is what a father smells like.
 I gently grabbed my father's hand and inhaled as hard as I could.

I'm going, father.

'Mmm! Go! And go prove yourself to the world!

 I waved my hand and climbed into the carriage.
 I climbed into the empty back of the carriage, which had no top.
 The peddler whipped the old horse.
 Slowly, the wooden wheels began to turn.

 I waved widely.
 All the lords, including Luxor, waved and responded.

 I wiped away the tears that had been smeared on my face.
 I was confused by the emotions swirling around me.
 My heart was hot.
 Is this what people call warmth...?

 In my previous incarnations, I've always been alone.
 I had always been alone in my strength.
 I thought socializing with other people was unnecessary for my strength, so I avoided it as much as possible.
 He had taken apprentices, but they were only human resources because they also made him stronger.

 However, what I experienced in Stark territory was different.
 It was certainly a discovery to become stronger.
 But I feel like I gained something more than that.

 Perhaps one of them was the unidentified "heat".

 I can't see the territory anymore, and I want to look forward.
 I see someone standing behind a tree.
 I think he's trying to hide.
 A large belly, somewhat wide to the side, protruded from the trunk of the tree.

 I gave the order to stop, and the peddler obeyed.

'Borunga, take care of the estate while I'm gone.

 I just said that and told him to start the carriage again.

 My big belly twitched.
 Just as the carriage passed by, a voice rang out, as if by surprise.

'Yuck! I'm definitely going to get into an adventurer's school too! Until then, you'll just have to scrub your head and wait! That a**h*le in Lacelle!

 A loud voice spread across the street.

 What an idiot.........
 That's a refreshingly loser's line.
 But..........

 It's not bad.

 Well, I'm not holding my breath....
 I guess I'll just have to scrub his head off until he gets here.