“Are you already leaving?”
Seeing such a sad expression tugs at my heartstrings…
“I’ll come visit again.”
“Promise me. You absolutely have to come, okay?”
“I promise.”
After saying goodbye to Grandma, my mother hugged me tightly from behind.
“Toma, don’t overdo it.”
“Mom, that’s embarrassing.”
“There’s nothing embarrassing about hugging my child.”
Well, maybe not for her, but for me, it’s pretty embarrassing.
Next up was Grandpa, but I skillfully avoided his hug. Please don’t look at me with such reproachful eyes.
“Ziegwald, big brother is going home, but stay here with Mom and wait, okay? I’ll come pick you up properly.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Good boy, Ziegwald.”
Today, I’ll return to the Ashud territory with Father.
Mother and Ziegwald will stay behind. Mother wanted to help take care of Grandma for a while. Though Father looked a bit lonely, he had already been away from the estate for a month, so it was time to go back.
We left the Axel territory and entered the Jadoth territory. Baron Rittenheim, the lord of this region, was an old friend of my father, so we went to pay our respects.
“Toma!”
Talia came running, her platinum blonde hair fluttering in the breeze.
“Hello, Talia. You look cute as always.”
“Really?!”
My older half-sister, one year my senior, was as adorable as ever. It seemed Baron Rittenheim was taking good care of her, which was a relief.
“Hey, Talia, don’t be so unrefined.”
“Yessir.”
This dashing man must be Baron Rittenheim.
Lately, I’ve noticed that the people in this world are exceptionally good-looking. Father, Baron Rittenheim, Grandpa, and even Alexander are all strikingly handsome.
“Toma, it’s been a while.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Luis.”
“So, you’re Toma, huh? I’m Wilhelm Jadoth Rittenheim, the baron. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Baron Rittenheim. My name is Toma of the Roxfall knighthood. I’m honored to make your acquaintance.”
“That’s an excellent introduction. Quite different from Talia.”
“I can do that much too!”
“Then go ahead and greet Lord Roxfall properly.”
“Lord Roxfall, greetings. I am Talia Rittenheim.”
“Rob Ashud Roxfall. It’s a pleasure to meet such a charming lady.”
“Thank you!”
“I have matters to discuss with Lord Roxfall, so Talia, why don’t you show Toma around?”
“Sure! Come on, Toma.”
Talia took my hand and led me out to the garden. The weather was pleasant, and the breeze felt refreshing.
After catching up with Talia, we left the Jadoth territory the next day and returned to Ashud territory.
Upon arriving, Lord Dardale from the temple came to visit. His timing made me wonder if he was a stalker, though I kept that thought to myself.
“I’m overjoyed to see your safe return.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard Lady Brynhilde has recovered. Congratulations.”
“Yes, we’re very happy about it.”
“Surely her recovery was by the will of the gods.”
“Not everything can be attributed to divine will.”
“If it involves you, Lord Toma, it must be seen as such.”
Wait, it’s my fault now?!
“If my involvement aided Grandma’s recovery, then it’s by the will of Deuro, specifically. Assigning it to some vague concept of ‘the gods’ is disrespectful.”
“You’re absolutely right. I must apologize to Lord Deuro.”
Kneeling on both knees, Lord Dardale began to pray. Good, keep praying to Lord Deuro!
“I’ve heard that Duke Bayerlein is installing statues of Lord Deuro throughout his domain.”
Lord Dardale, now seated on the sofa, began talking about Grandpa. It was clear the temple’s information network was formidable.
Grandpa always seemed indifferent to religion, but maybe Lord Dardale was curious about his apparent change of heart.
“Yes, since Lord Deuro has granted me his blessings, Grandpa created an altar in our mansion and is placing statues of Deuro throughout the estate.”
This time, we brought ten Deuro statues to install in Ashud territory.
“Duke Bayerlein truly has changed, hasn’t he? Haha.”
Grandpa doesn’t deny the existence of gods. What he opposes is the way the temple operates. They attribute all blessings to divine grace and all misfortunes to divine trials, which he finds insincere.
While I was in the Axel territory, the warehouse became filled with slime gel.
“I can’t believe there’s this much…”
After announcing to the children that I’d buy slime gel, I left for Axel territory and completely forgot about it. Every day, they brought enough to fill large wooden crates.
Though slime gel isn’t worth much, the children must have worked hard to collect it.
And as for the horse king brew…
“It’s amazing!”
“We worked tirelessly to ensure Toma’s brew wouldn’t go to waste!”
“We’ve never worked this hard in our lives!”
Thanks to Jin and Ram, the horse king brew I prepared turned into a premium liquor.
Their dedication left them with dark circles under their eyes, sunken cheeks, and utter exhaustion. I felt a little guilty, but they clearly took the task very seriously. I was deeply grateful for their efforts.
The brews they worked on also turned out to be premium.
Perhaps my presence had made them less diligent. Since I was away for a month, they must have felt the pressure. Moving forward, I’ll step back and let them take charge more often.
“From now on, I’ll leave the horse king brew to you two.”
“Please, no!”
“No way.”
“No complaints! You’ve shown you can handle it. Trust yourselves—you’ll do great!”
Even as I entrust the horse king brew to them, I’ll keep experimenting with new liquors in the brewery.
