A month has passed since we arrived in the Ashud Territory. Father treats Mother with such care; nothing makes me happier.
“Take that!”
“Good, keep it up.”
Right now, Father is training me in swordsmanship. As expected, I don’t feel like I have any chance of winning against him.
“Hah!”
“Your footing is sloppy.”
“Whoa!”
He swept my legs out from under me, and I fell on my backside. Father grinned and extended his hand to help me up. He’s so cool…
“Lunch is ready, you two!”
“Got it.”
“Okay!”
I fetched some water from the well and used a towel to wipe my sweat.
“So cold!”
It’s autumn now. Harvest season is over, and winter is right around the corner. Well water feels refreshing even in the summer, but at this time of year, it’s downright chilly.
“Just focus, Toma! You won’t feel the cold! Haha!”
No way!? I splashed some well water on Father as he was wiping down.
“Gah!?”
“Pfft. See? You think it’s cold too.”
“You little brat!”
Father, blushing furiously, splashed water back at me.
“Ah! Stop it!”
I splashed him back, and things quickly escalated.
“Take this!”
“Come on, that’s not very mature!”
“I’m a firm believer in giving my all, no matter the task!”
Father went all out, like a kid, throwing water back at me. We were both soaked.
“Hey! What are you two doing?!”
Mother was glaring at us…
“Sorry!”
“Sorry!”
“Hurry up and change, or you’ll catch a cold!”
“Okay!”
We changed clothes and sat down for lunch. The Rocksfell family meals are generally modest.
For breakfast, we have salad, soup, pickles, and cheese on bread.
Lunch is cheese on bread with dried meat.
Dinner includes soup, salad, meat or fish, and cheese on bread.
The Ashud Territory is known for its cheese, so we always have an abundance. It’s a delight to eat this cheese-on-bread dish three times a day. The gooey cheese is great, but the slightly toasted edges are especially delicious.
Today, I’m studying about Ashud Territory. Starting with its geography: Ashud lies in the southern part of the Kingdom of Kuldia, even further south than the Baldo Territory governed by the Marquis of Lightstar. It’s probably about 300 kilometers from Baldo in a straight line.
The horses here are much larger than those I know. I think they weigh about a ton. They’re muscular, with thick, sturdy legs, and have great power and stamina. Even the farm horses are huge, but warhorses are even bigger. Thanks to these horses, it takes only three days by carriage to get from Baldo to Ashud, though it’s tiring for the passengers, so the trip usually takes four to five days.
Ashud is about 300 meters above sea level, with around a thousand people living in a small plain surrounded by mountains and forests.
As I mentioned, Ashud raises dairy cows and goats on the mountains, producing cheese from their milk.
However, monsters sometimes come to hunt our livestock. Part of the Rocksfell family’s role here is to deal with these creatures, and apparently, some very strong ones show up.
These monsters come from the Ixstan Great Forest to the south. Ixstan is known as a perilous “demonic forest,” and during the winter, monsters appear more often, preying on livestock. This means the real hunting season is just about to start.
I now understand why Father and his soldiers are so skilled—they face monsters regularly.
The village’s main industries are cheese production and monster materials. But it isn’t exactly a wealthy village. They have to import wheat and salt, which probably explains it. Ashud barely grows any grain. Although there’s flat land and a river, the ground is mostly bedrock, unsuitable for grain production. Plus, the sea is far away, so the nearest salt production area is quite distant.
Additionally, there’s no resident merchant here, so peddlers come from nearby towns. The goods brought by peddlers are costly, and on the other hand, local cheese and monster materials are bought at very low prices. Since Ashud has many monsters, peddlers hire guards for protection, which raises their costs and, in turn, makes the goods they sell more expensive. This creates a vicious cycle where local goods are undervalued.
“Things just don’t seem to go well…”
Winter has come to Ashud Territory. It rarely snows here, but it’s not impossible for it to happen.
Father went into the mountains with some soldiers yesterday.
I stepped outside into the garden. It wasn’t cold enough for my breath to be visible. I washed my face with the icy well water to shake off my sleepiness, then swung my wooden sword with focused intensity.
“Hah… phew…”
“Master Toma, here’s a towel.”
“Thanks, Lala.”
I took the towel from Lala, the young maid, and wiped off my sweat. She might be young, but she’s still older than me. She’s a cute girl.
“Ow…”
I felt a stinging pain in my palm and looked to see that the skin had peeled off.
“I’ll apply some ointment.”
“It’s fine, really.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Lala applied ointment and wrapped a bandage around my hand. This isn’t the first time my skin’s peeled.
Father said that when he was young, he lost the skin on his hands many times too. He patted my head, saying it’s a path every swordsman must go through.
“Your hands are peeling again, I see.”
When I entered the dining hall, Mother looked at my hands with a concerned expression.
“A badge of honor.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Since it’s for sword training, Mother isn’t too worried. Her real concern is Father, who’s out fighting monsters.
In this world, there’s magic, and minor injuries can be healed with a single spell. But Father says that injuries from training shouldn’t be healed with magic.
Magic restores the body to its original state. But training serves to break down the body so that it can naturally repair itself, which also builds up muscle and toughens the skin.
Now that I think about it, Jaize would always get bored and quit during training, and even with a minor scrape, he’d make a fuss until someone healed him with magic.
No one said anything, though it’s obvious that this wouldn’t make him stronger. But, if anyone did say something, he’d probably throw a tantrum, and that’d be a hassle.
Jaize might rely on strong bodyguards to avoid danger as the future marquis, but is that really okay?
