RGDNF 06

Chapter 6

“Gasp!”

I opened my eyes wide.

‘W-where am I?’

All I could see was an unfamiliar ceiling.

‘I definitely made it all the way to the northern gate with Uncle Paul!’

I made it there… but?

What happened after that?

Think… think…

“Waaaaah!”

I lost Uncle Paul!

“Oh my God! Hani! Haniel!! That crazy bird bastard is kidnapping our baby!”

“Uuuuuuuuuugh?”

That’s right.

It had been great coming all the way to the North while strengthening the bonds of comradeship with Uncle Paul…

But then, right in front of the northern gate, a gigantic bird suddenly appeared.

When I leaned out of the carriage window, it pecked me, grabbed me, and flew away!

“Save me! Somebody save me!”

I struggled for quite a while before realizing:

Monster = demonic energy = weak against divine power.

I immediately pulled out a divine-power sticker.

I waited for the bird to land on a tree, then quickly slapped the sticker onto myself…

“KIEEEEEK!”

The nasty bird spat me out like a piece of gum.

‘At least I didn’t get hurt too badly…’

The branches broke one after another with loud cracks, and apparently they had acted as cushioning.

‘Tsk, I wasted precious divine power. More importantly… where am I?’

I looked around.

The place where I’d awakened was a small house.

Had someone rescued me?

Just then—

“Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance when you wake up.”

A voice came from somewhere.

I immediately sat up.

“Oh dear. You shouldn’t get up so suddenly. Are you feeling all right?”

An elderly woman with completely white hair came bustling over.

“W-who are you…?”

“Let’s see. Hmm, you still have a bit of a fever… but it doesn’t seem like you’re seriously injured. But, goodness, child. Why on earth did you enter the Foglands all by yourself? Did you get lost?”

“D-did you rescue me, Grandma?”

The grandmother made a face as if she’d just heard something ridiculous.

“No? The Grand Duke—”

“Old lady, I need salt.”

‘Gasp! That startled me!’

A man’s voice suddenly rang out!

Only then did I realize that besides the old woman and me, there was another person in the room.

I cautiously peeked my head out.

Far away, near the window, a man was sitting.

He was leaning diagonally against the back of a chair while eating stew.

‘Is he Grandma’s son?’

But why was he wearing a black robe pulled completely over his head in broad daylight?

‘Ah. Could it be…’

I immediately figured out what kind of person he was.

Apparently, there were young men in this world who shut themselves away in their rooms, voluntarily cut themselves off from society, and even as adults relied on their parents for one hundred percent of their financial support.

‘Aww… I suppose everyone has their own circumstances? It’s a little different from the kind of life I want, though.’

I was a strong, independent child.

My circumstances were different from his.

Without a word, the grandmother took some salt from somewhere and placed it on her son’s table.

The young man sprinkled it over his food and went back to eating his soup.

‘But couldn’t he at least get the salt himself?’

Had he outsourced not only his finances but his basic life skills as well?

Just as I was deciding that it would be best to avoid any deep conversations with him, the grandmother came back toward me.

“So, where were we? You asked whether I rescued you?”

“Yes…”

“No? It was His Grace the Grand Duke who brought you here. He went into the Foglands and apparently caught a starfish…”

“Whaaaaaaaaaat?”

I knew it!

My eyes widened.

I’d wondered who that blurry figure I’d seen at the end was.

It must have been the Grand Duke!

“Then, then!”

I rapidly turned my head from side to side.

“Don’t tell me this is near the Grand Duke’s Castle…!”

“There. Hand me that cup.”

My sentence was cut off again.

“There’s sand mixed in with the salt. Hah. Those southern bastards…”

I glared at the reclusive young man once more.

Just a little…

Pathetic!

He looked pretty sturdy, too!

‘I feel like being around him could have a bad influence on my values, so I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely need to avoid having any deep conversations with him!’

After bringing him the cup of water, the grandmother answered my question.

“You asked if this is near the Grand Duke’s Castle? Well, yes. This is Bedel Village.”

My eyes widened.

‘Thank goodness! This is a village with the Grand Duke’s Castle!’

I’d safely made it to the heart of the North!

“What? Child, don’t tell me you came all this way here on purpose?”

“Yes!”

I sprang to my feet, clenched my little fists, and spoke as forcefully as I could.

“I actually came here to meet His Grace the Grand Duke!”

“Hm? Really?”

“Yes! So, could you please take me to the Grand Duke’s Castle? Or at least tell me how to get there! In exchange, I’ll polish your shoes! I’ll make them sparkle!”

“No, child…”

Clack!

The hopeless son put down his spoon.

“Hah. Why does this soup taste like this? It’s not getting any better. Camil—”

“Ugh, mister!”

“…Mister?”

I couldn’t take it anymore!

“J-just let me do it instead!! Why do you keep bothering Grandma?!”

He might kick me in the butt for being a cheeky brat…

But I had to say something.

Because every time the man said something, the grandmother immediately sprang into action as though serving him had been engraved into her very body!

How much had he been ordering her around?!

“Grandma isn’t your servant!”

At that moment, the man turned toward me.

Only then did I notice just how enormous he was.

And even though he’d merely turned his body, an incredible sense of intimidation washed over me.

He had an unbelievable physique for a shut-in!

“She is.”

His deep voice flowed out casually.

“…Huh?”

“If she’s the butler of my house…”

He tilted his head.

“Doesn’t that make her my subordinate?”

Butler…?

“What do you think, Camilla?”

“Please don’t spill crumbs everywhere. It’ll be annoying to clean later.”

The grandmother answered matter-of-factly.

‘Huh?’

The man slowly pulled down his robe’s hood.

Revealing jet-black hair.

Sharp, strong features with striking facial lines.

My eyes blinked slowly.

It was a face I’d seen a few times through a window in my previous life.

Although…

He looked much younger now.

The man stood up.

“I’ll be returning all the salt brought in from the South.”

He then approached me.

He was so tall that even though I was standing upright on the bed, I had to crane my neck way back just to look at him.

“Hey, starfish.”

“I-I’m not a starfish…”

His presence was terrifying!

No, it wasn’t!

“I-I’m Haniel…”

“Looks like you came here because you had nowhere else to go.”

How did he know?

“A little brat like you will be dead in…”

He thought for a moment.

“Two days? The day after tomorrow, maybe.”

The Grand Duke poked me between the eyebrows with one finger.

“So go back. Sorry, but there’s no one here who can look after a little brat like you. Camilla, later, take her to one of the nearby territories—”

“Residents wanted! Location! Northern Vertus Grand Duchy!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.

“Basic benefits! House provided, land provided, and a 100% tax exemption for one year after relocation! Eligibility requirements! Anyone!”

“…?”

“AN-Y-ONE!”

“…?”

“Hello, I am Anyone!”

I raised both hands high.

In them, I was proudly holding the northern immigration brochure that I’d practically worn out from reading it so much.

The Grand Duke stared at me with an utterly bewildered expression.

Then he asked the butler grandmother, Camilla:

“Didn’t you throw away all those brochures?”

“Apparently there was one left somewhere. If Sir Brad finds out, he’ll be horrified. It feels like only yesterday he spent time in prison instead of paying a fine after being reported for violating the advertising standards law…”

Whatever they were talking about, I took another deep breath.

Then fired away.

“My name is Haniel! I’m six years old! My hobby is eating bread, and my special skill is eating bread! My dream is to own a bakery! The reason I’m applying to become a resident of this territory is because I want a house and land! For reference, my goal is to eat about three loaves of bread a day!”

“Is this a bread introduction or a self-introduction?”

“Anyway, I want to live here! It’s my dream!”

Vasily stared at me for a moment.

Then he turned around, picked up the sword that had been resting nearby, and casually waved his hand.

“Yeah. Dreams are called dreams because they don’t come true.”

“……”

“Anyway, eat a bowl of stew before you leave.”

His back grew farther away.

No!

I couldn’t fail here!

“Master!”

I grabbed onto his pants.

“What are you talking about? Let go.”

“Maaasteeer!”

“At least call me Lord! Old lady, why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t tell her to do this!”

“My lord! Please!”

No!

Didn’t the brochure say they’d provide a house and land?!

“I can live by myself! I came here because I can take care of myself and live very, very well all on my own!”

“That’s not something you should be saying right now…”

I wrapped both arms around his thigh in earnest.

It was incredibly hard, but I sat down on top of his foot, turning myself into a thirteen-kilogram ankle weight.

“How does such a little brat have this much strength? Hah, ha…”

He frowned.

“What was your name again? I only remember the bread. Was it Hippo? Bread-eating Hippo? Hey, Hippo. Aren’t you going to move?”

“I’m not a hippooooo! I’m Haniel… Please!”

“We don’t accept six-year-olds as residents.”

“Don’t discriminate against children…! It says ‘Anyone’ under eligibility!”

“No, it doesn’t. I’m going to add an age restriction from now on.”

“But I have the version that says there is no age restriction! You have to take responsibility for this announcement! If you keep doing this, I’m going to be in trouble!”

“Old lady, get this kid off me! I’ve been bitten by a hippo!”

“Why? She’s doing a wonderful job cleaning the floor. Good girl. Both of you are doing well.”

The grandmotherly butler chuckled as she tidied up the surroundings.

Encouraged by her praise, I sat on the Grand Duke’s foot and diligently swept the floor with my bottom.

‘Come to think of it, is it really okay for me to cling to the Grand Duke of the North like this?’

Wasn’t I supposed to…

Not stand out…

Blend in as though I were barely there…?

This was turning out very differently from my plan.

Whatever!

Clingggggggggg!

“Please accept me!”

“No! I’ll pass you over to the territory down there!”

But the Grand Duke was just as stubborn as I was.

So, in the end, I had no choice but to bring out the real reason I’d come.

“I’ll teach you how to farm in the North!”

The Grand Duke stopped moving.

His red eyes instantly darkened.

Seeing that, I finally realized.

All this time, the Grand Duke had been deliberately restraining his power around me.

My body trembled, and I was scared.

But I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.

“Farming!!”

“……”

“You need it, don’t you?”