Volume 1 - CH 4

Not even on Earth

Translated by Raizu

The name of this land I was in is the Okiden Continent.

The Kingdom of Amoros is a kingdom that governs the northwestern part of the continent, surrounded by the sea to the north and west and mountains to the east and south.

The northwestern part of this continent was unified by the Amoros Kingdom about 50 years ago, and since then it has been called the “Amoros region”.

『No way, this is』

It’s been a few weeks since I began learning to read, write, and study from Reverend Rinel at the church.

Today I asked a question about the Kingdom of Amoros, but… the map that Reverend Rinel laid out was nothing like the world map I knew of.

…..Maybe this isn’t a time slip, but another world? No, maybe the map is just rough…

The map I saw before my eyes looks like it was drawn by a child, and it’s hard to tell if it’s on Earth.

[Is something wrong?]

[No, I was a little surprised… Are there foreign countries outside of Amoros Kingdom?]

Apparently Reverend Rinel was a little worried about my silence.

So I asked him a series of questions which he gently answered.

[There is…for example…]

According to him, the Amoros Kingdom has few ties with foreign countries due to its topography, but there are countries across the ocean and mountains, and there seems to be a small amount of trade going on.

[I see. The Amoros Kingdom is protected by the terrain.]

When I muttered so, the reverend replied briefly with a “Yes”.

[The Amoros Kingdom has a King, right?]

This is only natural. There’s no way a ‘Kingdom’ doesn’t have a ‘King’.

However, while there are constitutional monarchies with a mere King, there are also absolute monarchies with absolute sovereignty.

Varian’s family is a noble family… I would really like to hear more information about that.

[Yes, the current King should be the eleventh generation. The Kingdom of Amoros was established 200 years ago.]

According to my teacher, the Kingdom of Amoros is a feudal state, but the Royal authority is not very strong, and it seems that the King loosely reigns over the nobles who govern each region.

It seems that the King is not an absolute ruler, but rather the largest lord of the Amoros region.

Therefore, there are still rebelling lords from time to time.

[I see, even the King can’t give orders to other lords’ lands.]

[Indeed. It’s going to be a big deal if the King does that… However, the lord must listen to the King’s orders, so it can be said that he can indirectly give orders.]

I nodded with a [hum].

[Each feudal lord should be plagued by rebellions. There were many different races in the Amoros region, but they were conquered and unified.]

The Lioncoeur family was originally a knight family that served the King, but it seems that they were a noble family that was established 70 years ago as the Earl of Lioncoeur by single-handedly conquering the Lioncoeur Basin in the Eastern Mountains, which was ruled by a different race.

The Lioncoeur Basin was an intractable country with more foreign races than the Amoros who ruled it, and rebellions occurred one after another, but assimilation between the ethnic groups progressed and it finally settled down in the era of the current head of the family, Rudolf.

[The Lioncoeur family that lives in the Lioncoeur Basin… it’s somewhat confusing.]

[Haha, Varian-sama says something interesting. Your family called themselves Lioncoeur because they rule the Lioncoeur.]

I see, that seems to be the case.

…..This is the outline of the Amoros region that I learned at church.

『Simply put, this place might not even be on earth』

My situation wouldn’t change much even if I wasn’t on Earth…but how should I put it? It was still a shock.

There are 360 ​​days in a year, 7 days in a week, and so on… Since the calendar is similar, I was completely convinced that it was time travel… Well, it doesn’t change that I don’t know anything about time travel or other worlds.

The first thing is for me to get used to this situation.

[Varian-sama seems to be interested in politics.]

[Yes, I’m interested in politics, everything in this world, actually. It’s worrying not being able to remember a thing]

Reverend Rinel nodded with a [Hmm]

[Varian-sama, no need to be hasty. I tend to forget when I talk to you, but you are only seven years old.]

With these words, Reverend Rinel closed the session, and today’s class came to an end.

==========

I greeted my teacher and left the church.

It was evening, but the summer sun was still bright.

I saw a man standing up at the edge of the garden.

His name is Honore Giroude. A young man around 20 years old.

He has the same black hair and black eyes as mine… As a side note, there seems to be a lot of black hair in the Lioncoeur Basin.

He’s a little short, but his sturdy physique and square chin give him a stern impression.

[Young master, I came to pick you up.]

[Thank you, Giroude.]

He’s my bodyguard.

He is a retainer assigned to me, the son of an earl family.

He’s a guard.

The Capital is crowded, unclean and unsafe, and it feels uneasy for a child to walk alone.

So, I appreciate having Giroude to escort me.

What’s more, the way his name is pronounced is similar to ‘Jiro’, which gives it some familiarity to me.

We head to the Lioncoeur mansion while chatting.

[Jiro should learn to write too.]

[No, I will refrain… It’s scary to go to church every day.]

I casually call him Jiro now, and this is also the result of the past few weeks.

At first, I used to speak to him in honorifics only to get yelled at.

Giroude isn’t stupid by any means, but he doesn’t try to learn how to write, and often waits outside when I meet Reverend Rinel.

By the way, the language of the Amoros region is phonetic, so it’s not difficult if you can speak it.

All you have to do is remember a certain rule.

When I returned to the mansion, I heard a nursery rhyme.

The child of the mansion’s servant…a brown-haired girl of about 10 years old.

She seemed to be working on something, but as soon as she saw my face, she ran away.

I let out a small sigh when I saw that.

[Isn’t that Rona?]

Giroude looked at me with a faint smile.

[Rona… it will be difficult.]

[Is something wrong?]

When I started talking, Giroude just smiled disgustingly

Oh, I forgot to mention that Giroude likes gossip.

[There’s a scar on Rona’s forehead, right? That was from the stone Varian-sama threw at her, and her brother Rolo should have been pretty badly injured too.]

When I heard that explanation, I couldn’t help but let out a big sigh.

[That’s horrible…to put a scar on a girl’s face…so unreasonable]

I felt gloomy whenever I heard anything about what Varian did before I entered his body.

[Jiro, I want to apologize to her.]

When Giroude heard my request, he went [Hmmm]

[That will be difficult too… Rona is a slave’s child. For Young Master to bow his head to her is…]

GIroude muttered while scratching his head.

Yes, there is slavery in this country.

Rona’s mother is a slave owned by the Lioncoeur family. Naturally, the children Rona and Rolo are also slaves.

I was surprised when I learned that the people I thought were the maids of the mansion are actually slaves.

When I say slaves, it’s not like the image that Japanese people imagine, such as [I don’t get fed, I’m whipped and forced to work]. The difference seems to be large.

[Then, Jiro, you tell her that I apologize for what I did before…injuring a girl’s face is something unforgivable…]

When Giroude heard my words, he gave me a small smirk.

[You fell for her, didn’t you?]

[No, I’m only seven, you forget?]

Actually, I have no libido right now.

It’s not like I’m not interested in women, it’s just that my body still doesn’t react to it.

Giroude, then replied, [I understand] and left with a light wink…what’s that for? ……so annoying.

After seeing Giroude off, I returned to the mansion.

It’s about time for dinner.

==============

After a while, I sat down at the dining table with my parents and brother.

In the middle of the table was a wild piece of chicken…it wasn’t even on the plate.

My father cut it up and put it in front of us…as expected, he didn’t use a plate.

It seems that carving the meat is the head of the family’s duty and honor.

Nobody other than the head of the household is allowed to hold a knife while eating.

How do you eat meat if you can’t use a knife? ……The answer is easy.

Just use your hands.

My mother Rushieno, also grabbed the chicken and bit it down with a [Aaahh].

…..it’s exciting no matter how you look at it…

It’s always the case that I’m overwhelmed by the robust dining scene.

[Varian.]

My father, Rudolph, spoke to me.

[Yes, father.]

[Varian, uh…how are you?]

Rudolph hesitantly asked me about my physical condition… Perhaps he was feeling responsible for causing Varian’s amnesia.

Rushieno glared at Rudolph.

From her point of view, she was the husband who almost killed her child. There must be something to think about.

[Yes, I’m fine now. My memories aren’t returning, but I have Jiro and Reverend Rinel to teach me about various things, so I won’t be inconvenienced.]

[Is that so.]

Rudolf returned to his meal with a confused look on his face.

He has a scary look on his face, but I’ve gotten used to it lately.

If you think about it, he’s 32 years old… I was older.

[Reverend Rinel also praised him, saying that Varian is really smart…he can read, write, and do math.]

[That’s amazing! I can’t afford to lose either.]

Rushieno and my older brother Robel were having a happy conversation, but I got the feeling that Rudolph was subtly confused… Well, let’s just say it’s my imagination.

Rushieno and Robel share many resemblances.

If anything, I think I take more from my father Rudolph’s side if it’s just from the color of my hair.

When we finish eating the meat with our hands, we rub it on the wooden table and wipe off the fat on our hands.

There are no useful things like napkins.

After that, bread and soup came out, so I ate the hard bread while dipping it in the soup.

The donkey meat soup had a strong peculiarity despite its bland flavor.

…Haa, I wish I could slurp at the bonito broth udon again… I silently whispered to myself.

Even though I’m not satisfied with the taste of the food in my heart, I still ate it greedily.

My parents looked at me with a smile on their face.

…Varian was such a lucky child…..

Yes, I think Varian might have been a problematic kid, but his parents definitely loved him.

Having stolen the position of the child from such a happy family, I ate with mixed feelings.