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At first, I thought of digging a tunnel and storing it there, but it consumed more magical power than I expected, so I had a brick warehouse built instead. These funds are the proceeds from the sale of the soap manufacturing method, but we invested them aggressively because we believe we can return them in the future.
The brick warehouse looks much nicer than the wooden mansion on top of the hill, so it is normal that first-time visitors are heading that way.
As for myself, I am almost eight years old. I have grown taller and my body shape has changed from that of a toddler to that of a young boy. My magic level has risen to 18 for Earth Attribute, and Liddy tells me that I am already a full-fledged magician.
As for my Sword Arts, since I turned six years old, there has been a difference between my Occupation Level, the Swordsman Level, and my Skill Level, the Sword Arts level.
Currently, my Swordsman Level is 12, but my Sword Arts skill level is 15. It is almost as good as that of a common soldier. I now have my Evasion level at 20, the area in which I am most gifted, and so I am rarely attacked in mock battles with Mel and Dan.
I have also trained myself in Throwing and Unarmed Combat, both of which are at skill level 5. Because I have no instructor, and because I focused on my main skills in swordsmanship training, both skills are slow to improve.
As for my family, my younger brother Theo and younger sister Sera are mischievous and the house has become very lively. They are beginning to learn to speak, albeit slowly, and it is hard to keep up with their inquisitive minds.
Grandfather and the rest of my family are all doing well, and I am expecting a baby brother or sister this fall.
The squires are no different, and Enos and Jean had their second child last year.
Walt and Molly’s daughter, Tricia, married two years ago to Will Keegan, a young man from the village of the same age as her. Will was said to be a promising young man in the Village Patrol and my grandfather had his eye on him, and he was taken on as a squire after his marriage to Tricia.
When Tricia married, Walt and Molly moved into the mansion, and Walt and his family’s house became Will and Tricia’s new home.
In just three years or so, Castle Hill has grown quite a bit more crowded.
But tomorrow, April 2, there is one person who will be leaving Castle Hill.
It is my older brother, Rodrick.
He turned twelve the other day. For this reason, he will be joining the Knight Order of Count Roswell, which he has been talking about for a while.
Since my birthday three years ago, my brother has been working hard and has reached the level of 16 as a Swordsman and 22 in his Sword Arts. My grandfather told me that it is rare for even a 15-year-old squire, someone who just come of age, to have reached the Occupation Level of 15. He was supposed to be by far the strongest among the apprentices of the knight order, and my grandfather had assured him that, physically speaking, he was stronger than an 18-year-old novice knight in terms of skill alone.
Even so, my brother never lost his humble attitude.
From my point of view, he is a very honest and nice boy who never rebelled, probably because he was brought up in a strict environment, however, I am worried about whether he will be able to make it in the Order where he does not know anyone.
He is a very handsome boy, like our father, and I am afraid that his peers will envy him because of his swordsmanship and appearance.
When I tell Grandfather about this, Grandfather just smiles and says, “Don’t worry about it.”
“Rod has a goal to aim for. A man like that is strong. And just like in a knighthood when people get together, there is bound to be friction. It will be a good experience for Rod.” (Govan)
(Twelve years old is probably in the sixth grade or the first year of junior high school. If there was bullying in the dormitory, it would be bad. I’m sure Grandpa knows that…) (Zack)
I guess I couldn’t hide my uneasiness, so my grandfather continued to talk.
“No matter what, anyone that can go down like that is not fit to be the heir of the Lockhart family. I told Rod that if he gets hit, he should hit back. Don’t mind it if he uses his status as a weapon.” (Govan)
(Isn’t that a bad thing? Even if Grandpa has a relationship with the Count of the Frontier, there must be another nobleman’s son with a title… I’m getting seriously worried.) (Zack)
I left my grandfather and headed for my brother’s.
My brother was in his room preparing to leave.
When I called out to him, he immediately stopped and asked, “What’s wrong?” While I was left wondering what should I say,
“Well, good luck in the knighthood. Also, you shouldn’t take what your grandfather says seriously…” (Zack)
My brother smiled broadly and said, “You mean, if I get hit, I should hit back?”
“Yes. The Knights are a complicated group of people, and you may be told a lot of things at first, but you need to make friends and…” (Zack)
I didn’t know what to say, so I just kept rambling incomprehensibly.
“It’s okay. At the very least I’m not going to let anyone beat me. I have to be able to protect you and the child the gods will send. To do that, I have to be strong. I can’t be defeated by an apprentice in the Order of the Knights. I can’t afford to lose.” (Rod)
My brother spoke to me with a wry expression on his face.
(My brother is becoming an adult, isn’t he? He is going to be okay, but I’m still worried.) (Zack)
“I’m going to defeat them in one fell swoop from now on. If I can’t beat my brother, who is four years younger than me, in a mock battle, I’ll be ashamed of myself as an older brother.” (Rod)
It is true that my evasion skill is now 20, so if I focus on evasion, I can fight to a pretty good extent. As expected, I am overwhelmingly disadvantaged in terms of physique, so I cannot win the fight, and his pride as an older brother may not allow it.
“I understand. I’ll do my best so that I won’t be separated from you. Please take care of yourself, brother.” (Zack)
As I was about to leave my brother’s room, he said,
“You can use this room. I don’t intend to come back until I reach the rank of platoon leader.” (Rod)
My brother’s extraordinary determination made me say, “Okay, I understand. I will do so.” I bowed my head and left the room.
The next day, my brother and my father departed for Welburn, the capital of the Roswell Frontier territory.
Welburn is located in the northern part of the Caelum Empire, about 250 km west of the academic city of Doctus. It is about 550 km from the village of Rathmore, so it would take more than half a month even by horse. It seems that my father decided to send my brother there as a greeting to the Count of Roswell. Will, who had newly become a squire, was also allowed to accompany him in order to broaden his knowledge.
When my brother and father departed, I felt as if the house had become larger at once.
Upon their departure, Theo and Sera began to cry when they heard that their brother would be gone, and Molly was caught up in the tears as well.
I felt a little bit of heat in my eyes as well, but I held it in, thinking that tears were unnecessary for my brother’s departure.
(It’s still lonely. A family member is leaving. Also, even if I know he’ll be back, I can’t stop this feeling… What does Mother think?) (Zack)
Mother’s condition remains blissfully unchanged, and all she says is that she’s sorry she couldn’t come along.
“Rod is growing up in to become an adult Welburn. I would have gone with them if I didn’t have a baby in my belly.” (Tanya)
“Don’t you feel lonely, Mother? I heard that in the Order you are not allowed to go home for at least two years.” (Zack)
My mother’s eyes were a little downcast, but she soon smiled.
I will miss him. But he is a boy and he will have to leave his mother’s arms someday. You will too. You will leave in a few more years… but you will come back someday. I know that, so I won’t feel lonely.” (Tanya)
To me, it looked like my mother was being pretty strong, but maybe she had been prepared for this ever since she came to marry into a knight’s house.
At dinner that day, I couldn’t help but notice the empty chair where my brother had been sitting. In my memory, my brother was always there. My father was sometimes away for work or other reasons, but never once had my brother been gone. It may seem strange that I, an old man, should feel lonely because of the disappearance of a boy only 12 years old. But I guess it is proof that I have become a part of this family.
My grandfather was more talkative than usual, perhaps because he felt the same way I did.
That night, I talked to Liddy.
She, too, has left her family and come here. And she has met and parted with many people in her life.
I wanted to hear her opinion.
“My brother has left.” (Zack)
“Yeah, but you’ll see each other. If you’re alive, you’ll see him again someday.” (Liddy)
I thought she was trying to cheer me up, but she was speaking in the same tone as usual.
“We can’t meet again if I die, but if I’m alive, we can meet wherever we are. Yes, as long as we’re alive…” (Zack)
I was remembering the past, or perhaps it had changed to something I was now saying to myself.
“That’s right. If it’s my brother, he’ll come back alive. And stronger, too.” (Zack)
“Yes, he will. This is the place where Rod will return.” (Liddy)
Liddy caught me and hugged me, saying, “Zack, where you come home is mine too.”
I said, “Yeah,” and thought about the future.
(I’ll be out of here in the near future, yes, within a few years. I’m so comfortable here that I could stay here forever, but that would be a disaster for this village. I don’t know when I’ll meet the Fated Child, but I’m certain I will. Then I need to build up my strength so I have more options.) (Zack)
May 15.
My father and the squire Will returned safely from Welburn, in the territory of Count Roswell.
My father’s seat at the dining table is now occupied.
However, I couldn’t help but look at my brother’s seat, which was vacant.
A//N: I just couldn’t come up with a way to recreate cement.
It seems unlikely that cement can be made with the knowledge that limestone and clay are thrown into a rotary kiln and baked together, or that volcanic ash and lime are mixed like in Roman concrete.
In a manner of speaking, the main character has knowledge about the strength of concrete used for the foundations of equipment to be installed in a factory and concrete used in a chemical plant, but with that level of knowledge, I thought he would have to repeat a lot of trial-and-error.
T/N: Support me by donating on Paypal and Ko-fi or become a Ko-fi Supporter. You can also rate and review the series on Novel Updates. Don’t forget to add it to your reading list! Thank you.
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