RNFB 6

Chapter 6

“Gasp!”

I opened my eyes wide.

‘W-where am I?’

All I could see was an unfamiliar ceiling.

‘I was definitely with Mister Paul, right in front of the northern gate!’

I was… but? What happened after that?

Think… think…

“Waaah!”

I lost Mister Paul!

“Oh, goodness! Hani! Haniel!! That crazy bird just kidnapped our baby!”

“Uuuuuuuugh?”

That was right.

It was great that I’d made it all the way to the north while bonding with Mister Paul like war buddies, but…

A giant bird suddenly appeared in front of the northern gate, pecked me when I leaned out the carriage window, and flew away with me.

“Save me! Please save me!”

After struggling for a long while, I realized ‘monster = demonic energy = weak against divine power,’ so I immediately took out a divine power sticker.

When the bird landed on a tree, I quickly slapped the sticker onto myself…

“SKREEEE!”

The nasty bird spat me out like a seed.

‘At least I didn’t get hurt too badly…’

The branches broke one after another with loud cracks, and they seemed to have cushioned my fall.

‘Aww, what a waste of divine power. More importantly… where am I?’

I looked around. The place where I’d woken up was a small house.

Who had saved me?

Just then.

“My, you certainly know how to make an entrance.”

A voice came from somewhere. I jumped to my feet.

“Oh dear. You shouldn’t get up so suddenly. Are you feeling all right?”

An old woman with completely white hair came bustling over.

“W-who…”

“Let’s see. Hmm, you still have a bit of a fever… but it doesn’t look like you’ve suffered any major injuries. But goodness, child. Why on earth did you enter the mistlands alone? Did you get lost?”

“D-did you save me, Grandma?”

The old woman looked as though she’d just heard something ridiculous.

“No? The grand duke…”

“Grandma, I need salt.”

‘Gah! That startled me!’

A man’s voice had suddenly come from nowhere!

Only then did I realize there was another person in the room besides the old woman and me.

I peeked my head out and saw a man sitting by the window in the distance.

He was sitting sideways in a chair, eating stew.

‘Is he Grandma’s son?’

But why was he wearing a black robe pulled all the way over his head in broad daylight?

‘Oh, don’t tell me…’

I immediately realized what kind of person he was.

I’d heard that there were young men in this world who shut themselves away in their rooms, voluntarily cut themselves off from society, and continued relying on their parents for 100% of their financial needs even after growing up.

‘Aw, I’m sure everyone has their own circumstances. It’s just a little different from my ideal lifestyle.’

I’m an independent, spirited child.

My circumstances are completely different from his.

Without a word, Grandma took out some salt from somewhere and placed it on her son’s table.

The young man sprinkled the salt over his stew and went back to eating.

‘Can’t he at least get his own salt?’

Had he outsourced not only his finances but his basic life skills too?

Just as I decided it would be best to avoid any deep conversations with him, Grandma came back over to me.

“So, where were we? You asked if I saved you?”

“Yes…”

“No? His Grace the grand duke was the one who brought you here. He went into the mistlands and said he’d caught some kind of starfish…”

“Whaaaaaaaaaat?”

Just as I thought!

My eyes widened.

I’d wondered who that blurry figure I’d seen at the end was, but I guess it was the grand duke!

“Then, then!”

I frantically turned my head from side to side.

“Could this be near the grand duke’s castle…?!”

“Hey. Pass me that cup of water.”

My words were abruptly cut off again.

“There was sand mixed in with the salt. Hah, those southern bastards…”

I shot another glance at the shut-in young man.

He’s… kind of pathetic! He looks pretty sturdy, too!

‘This seems like a terrible influence on my developing values, so I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must avoid having any deep conversations with him!’

After Grandma brought the young man his cup of water, she answered me.

“You asked if this is near the grand duke’s castle? Well, yes. This is Bethel Village.”

My eyes widened.

‘Thank goodness! It’s a village with the grand duke’s castle nearby!’

I’d safely made it to the heart of the north!

“What? Child, did you come here on purpose?”

“Yes!”

I sprang to my feet, clenched my fists, and spoke with all my strength.

“I actually came here to meet His Grace the grand duke!”

“Hmm? Really?”

“Yes! So, could you take me to the grand duke’s castle? Or at least tell me how to get there! I’ll polish your shoes in exchange! I’ll make them sparkle!”

“No, child…”

Then, thump! The hopeless son’s spoon hit the table.

“Hah, why does this soup taste like this? It’s not getting any better. Camil…”

“Ugh, mister!”

“…Mister?”

I couldn’t take it anymore!

“Th-then let me do it!! Why do you keep making Grandma do everything?!”

He might kick me in the butt for being a cheeky brat, but… some things just had to be said.

It was getting harder and harder to watch that poor old woman wait on him as though it were second nature every time he said a word! Just how badly had he been mistreating her?!

“Grandma isn’t your servant!”

At that moment, the man turned toward us.

I’d only noticed it now, but the man was enormous. And simply turning his body toward me gave off an incredible sense of pressure. He had a physique that didn’t suit a shut-in at all!

“She is.”

His deep voice came casually.

“…Huh?”

“My housekeeper means… isn’t she my subordinate?”

Housekeeper…?

“What do you think, Camilla.”

“Please don’t spill crumbs everywhere. It’ll be a pain to clean up later.”

The old woman answered casually.

‘Huh?’

The man slowly removed his robe’s hood.

Revealing jet-black hair.

Sharp, rugged features with striking, well-defined lines.

My eyes slowly blinked.

It was a face I’d seen a few times through the window in my previous life. Of course… he looked much younger now.

The man stood up.

“I’m returning all the salt brought in from the south.”

Then he approached me. He was so tall that even standing straight on the bed, I had to crane my neck all the way back to look up at him.

“Hey, starfish.”

“I’m n-not a starfish…”

He’s scary! No, he’s not scary!

“I’m Haniel…”

“You look like you came here because you have nowhere else to go.”

How did he know?

“A kid like you will be dead in… a day or two?”

The grand duke poked me in the forehead with his finger.

“So go back. Sorry, but there’s no one here to take care of a kid like you. Camilla, later, take her to the nearest territory…”

“Looking for territory residents! Location! Grand Duke Vertus’s Territory!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.

“Basic benefits! House provided, land provided, 100% tax exemption for the next year upon relocation! Eligibility! Anyone!”

“…?”

“Any-one!”

“…?”

“Hello, I’m Anyone!”

I threw both hands into the air. In my hands was the northern relocation brochure I’d looked at until it was worn to pieces.

The grand duke looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then he asked Camilla, the old housekeeper.

“Didn’t you throw away all those brochures?”

“Looks like there was one left somewhere. Sir Brad would have a fit if he knew. It feels like only yesterday that he was reported for violating advertising regulations and spent time in prison instead of paying the fine…”

Whatever she said, I took another deep breath and launched into my introduction.

“My name is Haniel! I’m six years old! My hobby is eating bread, and my specialty is eating bread! My dream is to own a bakery! The reason I’m applying to become a territory resident here is because I want a house and land! For reference, my goal is to eat about three breads a day!”

“Is that a bread introduction or a self-introduction?”

“Anyway, I wanna live here! It’s my dream!!”

Vasily stared at me for a moment before turning away. He picked up the sword he’d left nearby and casually waved his hand.

“Yeah. It’s called a dream because it doesn’t come true.”

“…”

“Then eat a bowl of stew and go home.”

His back grew farther away.

No! I couldn’t fail here!

“Master!”

I grabbed onto his pants.

“What are you saying? Get lost.”

“Maaaster!”

“At least call me Lord of the Territory! Grandma, why are you looking at me like that? This wasn’t my idea!”

“My lord! Please!”

But he said they’d give me a house and land!

“I can live by myself! I came here because I want to live really, really well all on my own!”

“Do you actually hear yourself right now…”

I wrapped both arms around his thigh in earnest. It was so hard that it was difficult to hold on, but I sat down on his foot anyway and became a 13-kilogram ankle weight.

“Why is this kid so strong? Hah, ha… what was your name again? All I remember is bread. Was it Hippo? Bread-eating Hippo? Hey, Hippo. Aren’t you going to move?”

“I-I’m not Hippooooo. I’m Haniel… Please!”

“We don’t accept six-year-olds as territory residents.”

“No age discrimination…! It says ‘anyone’ under eligibility!”

“It doesn’t. I’m adding an age restriction from now on.”

“But I have the version without an age restriction! You’re responsible for this announcement! You’re making things difficult for me!”

“Grandma, get her off me! I’ve been bitten by a hippo!”

“Why? She’s doing a wonderful job cleaning the floor. That’s it, both of you are doing great.”

The old housekeeper laughed as she tidied up around us.

Encouraged by her support, I sat on the grand duke’s foot and diligently swept the floor with my butt.

‘Come to think of it, is clinging to the grand duke of the north like this really the right thing to do?’

Is this what it means to… not stand out… and quietly blend in…?

Things had gone completely differently from my plan.