Kays Translations

Chapter 29: Getting Used to Life in Clausel

Before long, Weiss returned.

He carried a burlap sack that appeared to contain tools, and Lessard was walking beside him.

Like Weiss, Lessard gazed up at the roof and casually murmured, “Hmm.”

“Father, may I climb onto the roof with Ren?”

“Needless to say, no.”

“Honestly! You sound just like Ren, Father!”

“I was not especially worried, but it appears Ren made the proper decision.”

“I am honored by your praise.”

“Both of you! Don’t suddenly start agreeing with each other!”

“Ha ha. Still… if you promise to keep a safe distance, you may watch from below the old manor.”

It was only a compromise, but Licia was delighted nonetheless.

Ren could not deny thinking that there was little worth going out of her way to watch in the bitter winter cold, but he kept that tactless observation to himself.

If Licia wanted to watch and Lessard had given his permission, there was no reason for Ren to object.

“Lord Weiss, will this be enough?”

“We brought everything!”

Soon, several knights arrived in front of the old manor.

Each of them carried lumber or metal fittings. Weiss had apparently instructed them to bring materials for the emergency repairs to the roof.

“We will enter through the inspection hatch inside the old manor and proceed to the roof. I was about to tell the boy not to overexert himself, but then I remembered that he is stronger than these men.”

Knowing there was no need to worry, Weiss readily assigned Ren work as well.

One knight measured the hole so they could cut the materials to the required dimensions, while another began clearing snow from the roof so it would not obstruct the carpentry.

Ren devoted himself to carrying the materials and soon forgot the cold.

While he rested on the roof beneath the freezing wind, Licia called to him from below.

“Ren!”

She waved.

She said nothing else and simply waited for him to respond.

When he waved back, her cheeks softened with satisfaction. The sight made him smile.

“…Back to work.”

Seeing the knights carry the cut materials onto the roof, Ren followed their example and picked up a tool.

Of the materials they had brought, he focused on the wooden pieces. The places where the metal fittings were to be hammered in had already been marked.

“Do knights often have opportunities to do this kind of work?”

Impressed by their practiced movements, Ren asked Weiss, who had only just climbed onto the roof.

“Not as often as carpenters, but we use timber when establishing camps. We generally procure it locally, so most of us learn how to handle it to some extent.”

“Oh… I’m learning a lot.”

“Since we have the opportunity, ask me about anything that interests you. The camping knowledge I taught you before may prove useful again someday.”

“Like when Lady Licia and I were on the run?”

“Yes. Though that incident was partly my fault, so I can hardly boast about teaching you how to survive it.”

As Weiss spoke, he laid timber across the opening in the roof.

He carefully explained each step of the work, and whenever Ren asked a question, he continued until Ren was satisfied.

Before long, new rafters spanned the opening and planks were laid over them.

The time passed quickly. Several hours after they began, the hole had been completely covered.

It was a simple repair—boards laid over a newly constructed wooden frame—but the difference between having that protection and having none at all was enormous.

The work, however, was not yet finished.

“This is the final layer.”

Weiss brought something through the proper inspection hatch leading onto the roof.

It was pale blue and translucent.

“We’ll fasten this over the boards.”

According to Weiss, it was monster material: specially processed scales from a sea-dwelling monster, used as a finishing layer because they repelled water.

“Melted snow won’t seep through it, and it will improve the insulation.”

“So monster materials are also used as construction materials.”

“Indeed. It is crude and unattractive, but remarkably effective.”

After explaining, Weiss covered the wooden planks with the enormous scales he had brought.

That completed the repairs.

Ren’s stomach growled, and Weiss laughed.

“I’m hungry too.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

After washing away the sweat and changing his clothes, Ren received a visit from a servant who worked in the main residence.

Lessard had invited him to join them for lunch.

Ren had no reason to refuse; in fact, he thought refusing would be rude. He quickly straightened his appearance and headed to the main residence.

When he reached the prepared dining table, Lessard and Licia were waiting for him.

“I’m sorry, Ren. I put you through a great deal of trouble.”

“Not at all. Maintaining the old manor is my responsibility, and Lord Weiss and the others helped me.”

Even so, it had been a long time since Ren had done that sort of work.

The previous time had been shortly before Yelquq attacked the village. Before that, he had still been a small child helping his father, Roy, with carpentry.

When Lessard asked him about those memories, both he and Licia listened with great interest.

They enjoyed the meal and filled their stomachs while talking pleasantly.

Eventually, Licia spoke with some hesitation.

“…Do you still want to return to the village?”

The question had slipped out because Ren had looked so happy while recounting his memories of the village. He was now staying in Clausel of his own free will, but Licia still felt burdened by the fact that she had set everything in motion.

Ren smiled, hoping to ease that weight.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go back. But unless I become stronger and more capable, I might bring trouble to the village again.”

“But—”

“Besides, part of me thinks this arrangement has been for the best. I’m not sure whether to call it working away from home, but the money I earn through the Adventurers’ Guild here lets me buy magic tools for the village.”

If that money helped the village prosper, then this way of life was not a mistake.

As the son of the knight who would someday inherit responsibility for the village, Ren was genuinely helping his home.

“I regularly receive reports from your village as well,” Lessard said.

According to those reports, the winter had been less harsh for the villagers thanks to Ren.

The benefits of the magic tools had been considerable, and the villagers repeatedly expressed their gratitude to him.

More recently, Ren had also spent most of the reward from the Steel-Eating Gargoyles on improving the village’s facilities.

“The roads have been properly maintained, and even the villagers’ homes are said to be almost unrecognizable. They now have a clear plan for constructing a wall around the village.”

“F-Father! But Ren—”

“Please don’t worry, Lady Licia. I made those decisions myself after discussing them with Lord Lessard.”

He had no regrets and did not believe he had chosen wrongly.

Nothing could have pleased him more than knowing his parents and the other villagers could live safely and comfortably.

“However,” Lessard continued, “I also think you should return to the village at least once.”

The unexpected statement startled Ren.

“Do not misunderstand me. I know what you are thinking, and I respect your decision. Separately from that, however, I have been considering whether it might be good for you to visit the village once.”

“…Has something happened there?”

Anxiety seized Ren as he thought of the severe winter.

As expected, the region around the Baldor Mountains had experienced unprecedented snowfall. Ren immediately wondered whether something had happened to the place where he had been born.

But there was no urgency in Lessard’s expression.

“I mentioned the wall that will surround the village. One stage of its construction is scheduled for spring, but they lack manpower, so I intend to dispatch knights for roughly two weeks.”

Lessard suggested that Ren accompany the knights he sent.

Still, as he had already said, he understood Ren’s concerns.

There was always a possibility that someone might take notice if Ren openly returned to the village. If Ren was worried about that, it would be better to conceal his presence for as long as the possibility remained.

He could not reveal his identity to the villagers, but Lessard hoped he could at least meet his parents.

“I’m afraid you would have to travel as a knight, even if only in name.”

“Is it really all right for you to go that far for me?”

“Of course. I owe you for more than the incident involving Viscount Given. Between the Steel-Eating Gargoyles and your achievements through the Adventurers’ Guild, this town has become livelier as well.”

With Lessard willing to arrange so much, Ren honestly wanted to return home, even if only briefly.

After finishing his meal, Lessard rose before the others.

“Think it over,” he said before leaving.

(If I visit the village and then come back to Clausel, I’ll be away from the old manor for about a month.)

If he decided to make the trip, he should finish his work in Clausel first.

It was not too early to begin planning his schedule.

…Even so, he looked forward to seeing his birthplace again after so long. He wondered how everyone in the village was doing.

As his thoughts lingered on the village, Ren noticed a faint oddness in his own choice of words.

It was not an unpleasant feeling.

His cheeks relaxed at how different his thinking was from only a few months earlier.

(Coming back to Clausel, huh?)

He found it amusing that, despite calling his stay “working away from home,” he had thought of returning to Clausel afterward.

Apparently, he had grown more fond of living there than he had realized.

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