'Ha ha ha, I can collect all the magic stones I want!'

　Fi and I are gradually collecting the magic stones from the Wolves who have been defeated.

　Then, there was a man standing dumbfounded by the side.

"..... who is it?"

　The reason I hadn't noticed him at all until now was probably because he was injured and his magic power was quite small.

'Um, ......, take me as your disciple!'

　The man suddenly starts bowing.

　But the man is already covered in wounds and full of flesh and blood.

"Fi, I believe we have some restorative medicine?"

Of course we do. I've got it all ready."

"Give it to him."

"Are you sure?"

　The man is surprised.

　No wonder, then, that the healing potion that could heal wounds just by drinking it was very expensive.

　Fritz, an apprentice mercenary, was not able to get his hands on it.

　For me, however, it is something that can be made with medicinal herbs that grow around the area, some water, and just the right amount of magic power.

　I only do it because HP recovers better this way. ......

　In truth, it would have been best if I had an aptitude for recovery magic, but that is why I am one of the masterminds behind this. Despite having an aptitude for almost all types of magic, I could not use any recovery magic at all.

　If there was a mastermind who could recover all of his HP, it would be impossible to defeat him.

'I don't care, just drink it quickly. It's not good for the conversation!"

　Forcibly shoving a recovery medicine into the man's mouth.

　At first, the man resisted, but when he took the recovery medicine, the fresh wounds on his body were healed.

'Hey, I'm healed!"

'But that's not the point. Who are you?"

　Could it be a pursuer sent by my father?

　But if so, I don't understand why a monster the size of Wolf is attacking him.

　The man's face was a mixture of red and blue, with a hint of red in his eyes.

"I'm Fritz. I'm a mercenary in this area. So, about the apprentice -"

'Mercenary, ....... You've been here to kill monsters?　I'm sorry about that."

　Although I apologise with my mouth, I won't stop collecting the magic stone.

'Oh, no. I came here to receive a request for an escort, but I saw a large number of demons there, ....... So the disciple's--"

"An escort?　They do not appear to be in the vicinity?"

　There is a broken carriage ...... nearby, but it was my carriage.

　There are no other carriages or people.

'The people I'm dealing with are from Alf Village. Apparently they were going to immigrate and I was assigned to escort them, but when they saw the number of monsters, they thought I wouldn't be able to escape, so they tried to let me escape alone. If only I had more power ....... That's why the apprentice--"

　The man bit his mouth in frustration.

　In the first place, this is a dangerous frontier. I don't think it's possible to serve as an escort if one doesn't have the appropriate strength. ......

　With that in mind, I appraise this man.

Name: Fritz

Gender: male Age: 18 years Human race

Occupation: apprentice mercenary (E)

Level: 5

HP: 44/51 (B)

MP: 0/0 (E)

Attack: 18 (B+)

Defence: 2 (D)

Agility: 2 (E)

Magic: 1 (F)

[Skill].

Monster: 3 (B)

[Magic]

　He has somewhat more sharply pointed abilities than Fee.

　The power in particular is remarkable, but for better or worse, it's a sharp ability with a single point of attack, so it's difficult to use.

　If this was a game, it would be a coup de grace if it hit well, but it would be a mere wall player unable to hit properly. The best you can do with it is to use it as a mere wall.

　However, they are the perfect people for the future development of the area.

　In any case, there will be a lot of heavy lifting to be done.

　I intend to solve most of them with my magic, but I don't know how far I can go with that.

　In the original story, I didn't use it in this way.

'I see. In the meantime, can you show me the way to the village of Alf?　I want to know what's going on.'

'The village of Alf ......?　What do you want in there?　Oh, you're asking for an escort, ?
"I'm the lord of this place".

"...... what?"

　Fritz looks stunned.

　How could he have known what he was getting himself into?

'Apprentice, that means you're joining my liege, is that correct?'

　Fritz did not immediately respond to this question.

　His manner indicated that the Louths were not thought of very favourably by the people here.

　　　　　　　　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

　A heavy silence fell over us as we made our way to Alf's village.

　The carriage had broken down and most of our luggage was still right next to the wolves, but we were only carrying as much as we could carry at least.

　Who the hell thought of dropping the wagon in the air?　It's made it so much harder to carry the luggage!

　I enter the village, hating my previous behaviour.

　I could imagine that the land my father had given me would be in a terrible state, but it was even worse than I had expected.

　First of all, the fields have been devastated by monsters, the weeds are overgrown, and it is clear that the land has not been properly cared for.

　Despite being in a remote area with many foreign invaders, there was nothing to protect the village, not even a fence to keep vermin out.

　The village roads are of course bare earth, not paved, and the few houses that stand in a row are very old, some with holes or rotting, and could collapse at any time.

　Is this really a village?

　It was as if a witch who disliked human habitation was living alone in an unexplored region.

"Yuri-sama, are you sure this is the right place?"

　Fi asks anxiously.

　It doesn't look like a place where people live, anyway.

It looks like it. This is indeed an unexpected .......

　While we were exploring the village, an old man came out of his house.

'It's not safe here. At any moment, monsters will attack. You must run away quickly."

'Then it's all right. We have already defeated those monsters. By the way, I want to see the chief. Where is he now?

I'm the village chief, but who are you?　And you said you killed the monsters. ......

I don't know if this is proof, but this is their magic stone.

　I drop the magic stone I just recovered on the ground.

　The village chief saw this and his eyes widened.

''Oh, surely, this is a magic stone. Then, did you really kill the monster--'

'I told you we defeated it, right?

'Thank you. You really helped us. ...... Did you come to see the request we made, by any chance?"

'You ask the same thing as this guy. I'm quite different. I'm here because I've been entrusted with the responsibility of being lord around here."

　I look to the chief for a directive.

'Oh, I thought they had already abandoned you. So you are now going to destroy this village and move elsewhere?'

No, I'm going to rebuild this place. I need your help.

Huh?　Excuse me, may you repeat that?"

　The chief thought he was going deaf and asked again.

"I'll rebuild this place."

'No, it's impossible. This is a really empty place!　And if anyone even slightly discovers that there are things here, the monsters will attack us...'

　The village chief is in a great hurry to tell me, but I ignore him as if it were a matter of course, and for the time being, I make a big hole in the surrounding area to protect the village.

　I had prioritised training in earth magic, thinking that I would definitely use it for cultivating the land.

　Thanks to this, drilling holes is the only thing I am good at.

　Perhaps because Yuri is a mastermind, he is better at destroying things than building them.

　However, thanks to this, in no time at all, a moat was created around the village.

'Now, even if demons attack, they won't be able to get to it from anywhere but the entrance. The entrance will be equipped with a drawbridge in due course."

'I didn't think it could be done so quickly ....... Now we can sleep in peace."

　But this is only a temporary measure.

　The first thing to do is to prepare the living environment.

"Now, where do we start ......?"
While I'm worrying about it, Fi's stomach rumbles.

 

'Yuri-sama, are we going to eat??

'Yes, that's right. There is no point in worrying about it. I'll have a meal first. Let's make a temporary home and then think about what to do afterwards."

"Does that ......, by any chance, have food as well?"

"Of course.　We are here to help with the rebuilding, right?　I have already made arrangements with peddlers and will provide you with what you need."

　When I said that, I took out some food from the bag I was carrying.

　I looked at it as if I was looking at a jewel.

'Are you sure it's all right if I take some of this?"

'You're being a nuisance. How can you live without food?　As a lord, it's only natural that I should make sure everyone else can live"

"But the original lord, Louth, never did anything for the village except tax us so heavily that we couldn't live, let alone help us."

'Now that I've taken over as lord, I won't let that happen. Besides, with things the way they are now, there's no taxes or anything, is there?"

　I'll have to talk about it sooner or later, but it wasn't the right time to do it.

More importantly, you're going to run out of food, aren't you?"

"Yes?"

　Half of the food had already gone into Fee and Fritz's stomachs.

"Wait a minute. I'm going to call everyone in now!"

　The chief then rushed to call the residents of the village.