“Alright, let’s stop for now.”
“Yes.”
As Yuri lowered his wooden sword and gave the instruction, Mathilda also lowered her foot, which she had raised while wearing combat boots.
They were in the garden of Noein’s mansion. About two weeks ago, Mathilda had asked Yuri for help, saying, “I want to learn more practical combat skills to protect Lord Noein.” Since then, Yuri had been training her almost daily.
This training was possible now only because the lapis lazuli mining operations were on hold due to winter, and there wasn’t much other work to be done.
“How was my fighting just now?”
“It was the best so far. However, you’re still too focused on attacking the opponent. As I said in the beginning, what you want to learn is the art of guarding Lord Noein, right? In that case, the most important thing is not to let the enemy get past you. If they break through, their sword will be directed straight at Lord Noein.”
“Understood.”
Mathilda listened intently to Yuri’s advice.
“So, don’t go out of your way to take down your opponent. Your role, when it matters, is to keep the enemy from approaching Lord Noein until the other guards come to assist. It’s great if you can defeat the enemy, but that’s not something you should do by leaving Lord Noein’s side.”
“Got it. I’ll try it without thinking about attacking at all.”
“Yeah, with your case, that extreme approach might be better.”
Mathilda’s fighting style, which relied on her innate talent and instincts as a beastman, tended to focus on attacking. Her skills and physical abilities were more than sufficient, so Yuri’s job was merely to adjust her combat style to be more suited for guarding.
Fortunately, she was a quick learner. At this pace, by the time winter ended, she’d reach a level where she could serve as Noein’s personal guard without any issue.
“Let’s have another mock battle after a short break.”
“Yes, please.”
…
“Don’t be so tense, relax more. Otherwise, your tension will be felt by the horse.”
“Y-yeah…”
After training Mathilda in combat, Yuri was now teaching Noein how to ride a horse. This had recently become part of Yuri’s routine as well.
The Earlkvist Barony had only ever owned workhorses for pulling carts, but just before winter, they finally managed to purchase warhorses. It had been a serious issue for a noble estate to not have even a single horse suited for mounted combat, but now that problem was resolved.
However, a new issue soon arose—the “Noein can’t ride a horse” problem.
Since Noein had been confined to a separate building from his family during his childhood, it wasn’t surprising, but it was still bad for a lord to not be able to ride a horse.
Being a lord also meant being a soldier, and on the battlefield, a lord acted as a commander. Although Noein could use golems to fight, making mounted combat unnecessary, he would still need a horse for travel and formal appearances, especially in front of outsiders.
Thus, Yuri, who had experience with mounted combat as a mercenary commander, was now teaching Noein how to ride.
While both Mathilda and Noein were under Yuri’s instruction, unlike the talented Mathilda, Noein wasn’t learning as quickly. He was smart, but his basic athletic ability was lacking.
Still, thanks to his knack for picking things up, he had improved significantly compared to when he first started. Yuri believed that at this rate, Noein would at least be able to handle basic marches and look presentable during formal events.
“Sigh, with me being this bad, I feel bad for the horse.”
“Don’t worry about it. Normally, me or the other retainers will be the ones using the horse. We’ll make sure to ride it properly.”
It would be a waste to keep the warhorse idle in the stables, so Yuri, along with Pence, Radley, Bart, and other retainers who could ride, planned to make use of it for work.
There was no need to feel sorry for the horse, but Noein couldn’t help looking conflicted, knowing his retainers were much better at riding than he was.
…
Pence didn’t have Yuri’s charisma for leading large groups of soldiers, nor did he have Radley’s strong, combat-suited physique. He wasn’t as well-liked for his appearance like Bart, nor did he have Mai’s nurturing personality.
At the same time, though, he had no particular weaknesses. He could handle combat, give orders to subordinates, interact with others, and even manage administrative work. He was capable in a wide range of tasks.
Because of this versatility, Pence was responsible for various duties, including maintaining order in the domain and overseeing the labor of the townspeople. Before winter, he had been handling matters like responding to refugees seeking to settle in the town of Noeina.
His adaptability had earned him a position just below Yuri as vice-captain among the retainers.
“Pence, there’s a dispute over the order of using the well, could you come help?”
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
Whenever he was called by the townspeople, he would go to the scene to mediate, resolving conflicts before they escalated to the point where Noein, as lord, would need to intervene.
“Pence, should we continue building the fence in this direction?”
“Ah, it’s better if you angle it a bit more this way.”
“Got it, we’ll do that.”
On labor days, he would supervise the townspeople’s work.
“Hey, Rick, you should hold the spear more like this.”
“Yes, thank you, Pence.”
During the regular training sessions held to prepare the townsmen for emergencies like bandit attacks, Pence served as an instructor.
He didn’t have any standout skills or talents, but Pence had become an indispensable middle manager in the smooth operation of the Earlkvist domain.
…
“So, we still won’t quite be self-sufficient with this spring’s wheat harvest?”
“That’s right. But once the next batch of potatoes is harvested in the spring, we should have enough for food, so combined with that, we’ll likely achieve full self-sufficiency next year.”
In Noein’s mansion, Edgar was discussing the agricultural situation with Anna at the end of a table in the living room.
Edgar, who had originally been trained to manage a rural village as the heir to the village head’s family, was now in charge of agriculture in the Earlkvist domain. From time to time, he would consult with Anna, who was in charge of finances.
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure Lord Noein will be pleased.”
“Yeah, to think we could produce enough food by the second year of development—it’s impressive. We owe it all to the potatoes.”
“It’s also thanks to your hard work as the agriculture manager, Edgar.”
“Oh, not at all… but it’s encouraging to hear that.”
“Hehe, I’m glad.”
Edgar found it easy to talk with Anna.
Originally from the family of a village head and now a retainer, most of the farmers under him were more like subordinates. Their education was different from his, and he couldn’t be too familiar with them, nor could he easily form friendships.
While he got along well enough with the former mercenary retainers like Yuri, their backgrounds were so different that they didn’t have many common topics to discuss.
On the other hand, it was easy to talk to Anna. They both came from peaceful worlds, were retainers, and had similar levels of education.
Naturally, these discussions had become something Edgar looked forward to, and it seemed like Anna enjoyed them too.
That day, Edgar enjoyed another discussion and, feeling a bit reluctant to leave, departed from the mansion.
