CH 20

“You can see that Fayne is one of the best in the village. How did you fight him like that? Where did you learn your skills, Henry-dono?”

After the fight with Fayne, we were all invited to Sirius’s house. I’ve already done a brief introduction since I wanted to move onto the business meeting as soon as possible.

“It’s difficult to say where, but I’ve trained myself in actual combat, so it’s my own style.”

“I see, that makes sense.”

Sirius puts his hand on his cheek.

“I was actually able to watch your fight with Fayne from the shadows. Henry-dono’s strength was as if a powerful spirit was forcibly sealed in the body of a Human. So that’s where the discomfort was.”

“….Thank you”

It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been praised by someone. The days I spent dying in that dungeon were not in vain.

And the conversation is flowing nicely.

My power is recognized, and we’re able to discuss business on an equal footing. The bartering for healing potions might go well.

“Henry, you should try this plum fruit water. Can we make this at home?

“It’s difficult, onee-chan. But…. I really miss fruits.”

I take a sip of the plum fruit water offered to me. The sweetness that I hadn’t felt in a long time permeates my entire body.

“First we need fruit trees. I don’t know how long it will take.”

“These are wild plums too. However, if they are in the wild, you might run into a demon while gathering them, so I wouldn’t recommend it.”

I nod at Sirius’s words. I see, there is a way to gather wild fruits. It would be a good idea to look for them when the fields we’re currently growing are finished.

Sirius sips the plum wine before me. He seems to enjoy it, and his fluffy tail wags a little. I’d like to touch it, but I’m sure he’d be angry.

“No, Sirius-san. I can learn a lot just by listening to you. I’m a lord too, although I’m only a lord of a few people.”

“We don’t keep count of the people we protect. Whether there are a few or tens of thousands, I think the weight is the same. What’s truly important cannot be compared by numbers or logic, can it?”

“Ah…….”

What a great chief. I want to be one of the clansmen here. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get a chance to touch their tails though if I do.

“And you have someone to protect, don’t you, Henry? Fayne was shouting that the two elves over there are your wives… well, that’s impressive for such a young man.”

“Hmm?”

“I also have a younger sister – well, she’s an odd one, I don’t know what she’s thinking. Even one sister is too much for me, but I’m not sure I can handle two wives. It must be difficult for you.”

It’s Fayne’s fault that he’s getting the wrong idea. It’s the fault of the biggest idiot on the continent to blow it out loud.

“Geez! No, no, no. We’re not…… like that. No, it’s different!”

Thor seems to have choked on her fruit wine and was in pain. Her heart hurts a little to be denied so much.

“No, Sirius-san. Absolutely not. They’re my people, but they’re not my wives. In the first place, they’re still children, after all.”

“You don’t have to be so in denial about it. There’s nothing…… wrong with it. It’s a little bit too much…… isn’t it Henry?”

You’re the one who denied it first. It’s unreasonable.

“Fufu……. Well, well, onee-chan. Calm down.”

“I’m calm! Muuuu, you’re treating Sheila like a child!”

What a mess. I’ll just sip on some fruit water until things settle down. It’ll get better eventually.

◇◇◇

I feel really tired. Sirius’s misunderstanding has been cleared up since then, but the business meeting hasn’t progressed at all because of it. It’s time to cut the cord.

“Sirius-san, I’d like to talk to you about the healing potions. If you need it, I can give it to you in a box. What do you think?”

“We have some concerns these days, and we would very much like to have Henry-dono’s healing potions. We can’t make them ourselves, and we don’t know when those Human merchants will arrive.”

“The thing that you’re worried about ……. Are they undeads?　We’ve come across ones near the village. We’ve already taken care of it though.”

The orc undeads that were near the village were clearly controlled by a necromancer. Is that what’s targeting the village?

“That’s… I’m sorry for the trouble.”

Sirius puts both fists on the ground and lightly bows his head.

“No, no, no! It’s fine, please raise your head!”

He’s probably older than me, and he’s also a respected and honorable chief. I don’t want such a person to suddenly bow down to me.

“I’d like to thank you again and again. There have been frequent attacks by the undead, and it seems that two men who look like Humans are involved. One of them was a man in jet-black robes. The other was a boy, but he had a chain attached to his …… neck.”

I feel as if a knife is being held to my neck. I can’t breathe. What did Sirius say?

— A jet-black robe. A necromancer.

“Oh, yes, and the man in the robe had a magnificent staff.”

— I know that wand. I know the wand and its owner.

“The wand was engraved with the royal coat of arms of the Eastern Kingdom, the place where Henry-dono’s domain is located. It had the emblem of the royal family engraved on it. He may be a servant of the royal family.”

— I had suspected this even before I entered the village. But I was going to believe it out of convenience. It was the work of an unrelated necromancer.

“I’m sure he’ll attack again. So I’d really like to get some healing potions. …… Are you listening, Henry-dono?”

— That’s right, that’s him.

“That’s my brother Ace…….”

The words leak out without being able to hold back.

“Henry-dono! What did you say!?”

Sirius is saying something, but I couldn’t hear anything.

I thought back to the gray days I spent in the royal palace, and there was the eighth prince, Brother Ace. That wicked man. That evil man, the one who inherits the blood of the horrible Boesheit. He’s coming.

With the undeads.