Volume 1 - CH 6

Goal

Translated by Raizu

It’s already been a month since I became friends with Rona and Rolo.

In my spare time, I taught them how to write, and in turn Rona taught me how to sing.

Although they are children, they are still workers, and the difficulty is that they don’t have enough time to participate in training or study at church.

However, as I continued spending time with my friends, I noticed that the gazes around me had softened.

That’s right, it must have been eerie because one day I suddenly lost my memory and had a completely different personality.

I was lucky to get accustomed to the people around me before I was judged to be possessed by a demon.

The bed stinks and the food is bad.

But, it’s not like I have other options but to continue living here.

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

This morning as well, when I was washing my face in the well as usual, the appearance of the servants who came out to participate in the training was somewhat different from usual.

Several men were armed.

Their equipment includes swords, throwing spears, bows, etc., and carrying baskets.

My older brother Robel was also there, dressed up valiantly with bow and arrows, as well as shin guards.

[Elder brother, what are you going to do today?]

I thought it was a battle, so I was a little worried, but I tried my best to calmly ask Robel.

[Oh, it’s going to be cold soon. So, we’re going to gather firewood and hunt.]

[Gathering firewood?]

I was a little surprised.

The image of a noble’s son chopping wood and gathering twigs for firewood was something that never crossed my mind.

[Yeah, there’s a lush forest around a half a day’s walk. I’m planning to go back tomorrow.]

Robel smiled refreshingly when he said that.

He is a good-looking man who really resembles his beautiful mother.

[Are you ready?]

While Robel and I were talking, my father, Rudolph, approached us.

Rudolph was also wearing shin guards and carrying a bow and a javelin.

[Is Father going out too?]

[Umu. Varian, while Robel and I are away, you and Rushieno must protect everyone.]

After saying that, Rudolph departed with Robel and seven of his retainers.

…..honestly, they didn’t even tell me in advance about this plan at all, and I was left behind like this… but well, there’s no way they’d bring a 7 year old to hunt either way, so it can’t be helped.

I immediately looked at Giroude and he replied, [Not a chance].

[I haven’t said anything yet.]

[I couldn’t let you follow them. The ravenous bears and wolves in the forest will eat you.]

It’s obvious that Giroude was trying to scare me, but let’s ignore that.

I don’t want to be separated from my parents too much.

[No, I just wanted to go to the castle gate to see them off.]

That’s right, I’ve only walked between my home and church until now. I was hoping for some kind of excuse, but so far I haven’t had the chance.

I would like to take this opportunity to broaden my knowledge and get a feel for the atmosphere of this world.

[Haha, I don’t mind if it’s up to the castle gate. Would you like to invite Rona too?]

[Thank you, but Rona has work to do, so let’s not invite her.]

Jiro is acting strangely again. For some reason he thought that I’m in love with Rona, and no matter how many times I corrected him, he wouldn’t listen.

[Let’s go, father and the others are leaving.]

I told Giroude to hurry and ran after my father.

==========

…..that’s terrible, is this…a slum?

After seeing off the small group led by my father at the castle gate, I looked at the townscape again.

I felt the environment was bad when I went there, but I was desperate to follow my father, so I couldn’t see much.

After carefully observing the townscape like this, it was so filthy that it made me nauseous.

Rough wooden houses like shacks are densely packed with no space between them, emitting an indescribable stench like puke.

The public toilets in Japanese parks were much more hygienist than this.

The road was strewn with horse manure, and it was almost impossible to walk.

And for some reason, stray dogs and pigs are scavenging for garbage, and no one seems to care.

[Jiro, there’s a pig.]

[Yeah, it’s normal here. Pigs will eat anything, so if you leave them free-ranging for most of the year, they’ll be a good source of food for winter.]

From the way Giroude explained it, it seems to be normal here?

The ramparts are about 7-8 meters high, and the sun doesn’t hit the bottom of the ramparts at all.

Wouldn’t that be a problem?

Will it be good for sanitation if there is feces lying around the well?

I felt sick from both the shock and the stench.

Maggots are springing up in the horse manure in front of me, and flies are flying around annoyingly.

[Jiro, I’m sorry… I’m starting to feel sick.]

[That’s okay, I’ll carry you on my back.]

I clung to Giroude’s back and closed my eyes.

It’s disgusting and I couldn’t continue looking at the scene in front of me.

[Jiro, is this a slum?]

[No, it’s a poor man’s district, but it’s not like it’s a slum. It must be because it’s the first time for Young Master has left the noble town since he lost his memory.]

[Was it too stimulating?], Giroude laughed.

I couldn’t refute it because it’s the truth.

To think that I would feel unsanitary and unsafe in a noble town, which was supposed to be the best environment.

…I’ve come to an unbelievable place…

I was breathing through my mouth so as not to smell even the slightest bit.

When I returned to the mansion, Rolo was exchanging bed straw with several other slaves.

Speaking of straw beds, there was an anime in Japan in which a girl from the Alps sleeps on a fluffy straw bed. In reality, it’s actually not that good.

Straw is hard and has this particular smell.

If you don’t dry it out or replace it, the bed bugs will spring up in no time.

…..When I thought about it, I wondered how many slaves were needed to support Varian’s lifestyle… The life that I was complaining about was the highest standard in this world…..

I was ashamed and thanked him.

Then, I made a decision.

I’m going to use the knowledge I have to improve people’s living standards.

This is my goal with advanced knowledge.

But, I couldn’t rush things.

I, Varian, am still nothing but a 7 years old kid.

This grand “goal” is something important that you can bet your life on, and it’s not something that can be done in a hurry.

[Jiro, I’m feeling much better now…thank you.]

I slipped down Giroude’s sturdy, but sweaty back

[Are you alright? Your face is pale.]

Giroude was worried, but I pretended to curl my bicep to show off my energy. It’s a little embarrassing, but the people here are exaggerating their gestures.

I wash my face in the well and feel refreshed.

[I’m going to church after breakfast.]

I told Giroude that and headed to the dining room.

I had no appetite, but I still have to eat… In this kind of environment, if you don’t have the physical strength, you’ll get sick in no time.

I need to build a strong body.

I dipped the hard bread into the soup and stuffed my mouth with the strong cheese.

==========

A few hours later, I was in the church library.

Reverend Rinel is a high-ranking member of the church, and he can’t just be bothered only by me.

Once I became able to read letters, when Reverend Rinel was busy, I often went to the library for self-study.

Some of the literature are scrolls, but most are booklets.

Expensive parchment is used, and since everything is handwritten, the circulation itself is small, and the book seems to be extremely expensive.

The ingenuity that protects such expensive books from theft…is through [chaining].

A lectern is placed in front of the bookshelf and cannot be taken out, so the books must be read on the spot.

Most of the church’s books are religious-related, but there are also medical books, military books, other specialized books, and even cookbooks.

I decided to open a medical book, but the content wasn’t as good as I thought.

I don’t know much about internal medicine using medicinal herbs, so I’ll leave it aside, but the contents about bloodletting, enema, and cataract treatment are terrifying.

Bloodletting is the removal of blood for the treatment of illness. It seems that it actually causes bleeding and sucks blood using leeches… it seems that the purpose is to excrete bad blood, but to me it’s occult and creepy.

The content of the enema is also amazing. Dilute the body fluids of pigs and boars with vinegar and put them in through the butt…there’s no way I’d do that.

There’s also the cataract treatment. A sharp needle is stuck in the eyeball… I couldn’t help but shudder at the risk of blindness.

Everything is going like this… There are other things that don’t seem to have a placebo effect, such as dissolving the ashes of the whatchamacallit saint’s amulet in vinegar and drinking it.

At first, I thought that if we copied medical books and increased the number of doctors, we would be able to get closer to a hygienic life, but…the essential level of medicine itself isn’t going so well.

If penicillin could be made from blue mold, as in some manga, it would probably solve a lot of things, but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of knowledge.

=======

By the time I sighed and closed the book, it was already dusk.

[Varian-sama, what were you reading so intently?]

A young thin monk started talking to me. He probably came to lock the door.

In addition to Reverend Rinel, there are several monks in this church.

It seems that at the Sacred Heaven Church, clothes are used to identify one’s status, and only Reverend Rinel wears a long robe, while the other monks wear simple clothes dyed black.

[A little bit of medical books, but it’s difficult.]

When I answered, the young monk nodded repeatedly as if he was impressed.

[So, you studied medicine at the age of 7…what was I doing when I was 7? Haha, it’s embarrassing.]

The young monk closed the window while conversing with a smile.

The room suddenly became pitch dark.

[Excuse me, Varian-sama, the door has already been closed at a certain time.]

In order not to disturb the young monk, I greeted him lightly and left the library.

Outside the church, a bored Giroude was lying on the bench…apparently counting the nose hairs that he plucked.

[Sorry to have kept you waiting.]

When I trotted over to him, Giroude sat up and muttered, [Varian-sama really likes learning, aren’t you].

[Jiro should learn to write and read as well. You can study alongside Rona and Rolo.]

[Nah, spare me that crap]

Giroude and I headed home while talking nonchalantly.

========

A few months had passed since I became Varian.

I’ve somehow found a goal…but the road is endlessly long.

Don’t rush it. Now is the time to gather strength.

When I somehow looked up at the sky, the moon had already risen.

…..Come to think of it, if the arrangement of the stars is the same, it might be a time slip, and if it’s completely different, it might be a different world…

I stared at the twilight stars for a while, but I didn’t know anything about the celestial bodies in the first place… well, it’s okay.

I’ve decided on my goal, whether it’s a time slip, another planet, or a different world…But, what I want to do doesn’t change.

Right now, I’m just doing my best.

Slowly but surely, I move towards the big goal.