Frontier Lord Starts Out With a Population of 0 - Chapter 5

「First of all, my name is Mohr」, said the old lady. 「Chief of the monsterfolk. We the monsterfolk have quarreled with the Kingdom… your kingdom… over the right to rule the grassland. It is a dispute that has endured for year after year — an endless cycle of war, negotiation and war again.」

Her smile faded into a frown as she continued talking.

「But we suffered a devastating loss fifty years ago, losing many of our allies. We were then driven out of the grassland, after which the Kingdom assumed total control of it.」

I wondered how old Mohr had been fifty years ago. At any rate, these memories certainly weren’t pleasant ones for her. I sat up straight, and asked the question that had immediately come to mind after digesting her words.

「If your people fled from the grassland fifty years ago… then how are you still here?」

「Nothing exciting」, replied Mohr. 「We simply snuck back here two or three months after our departure.」

「…And the Kingdom has yet to realise this?」

She pointed to the horn on her forehead.

「This is your answer.」

What do you even call that thing, I thought.

「The horn you see here stores magicka」, continued Mohr. 「The reserve of magicka allows us to perform all sorts of magic, one of which is concealment magic. For the past half century, we have remained here by enveloping our village in said magic. In fact, it is why you did not find us here yesterday.」

「I belong to the Kingdom…」, I said uneasily. 「Is it really okay to tell me such an important secret?」

「You are blue. I would not have told you this otherwise.」

She paused.

「That face of yours… do you still not understand what we mean by ‘blue’? Why, you must not have the sharpest of wits. There is a spell unknown to anyone but us known as ‘Soul Appraisal’. We can peer into people’s souls and discern whether they are a threat to our existence, whether they are hostile, et cetera. The colour and brightness of our horns tell us how dangerous a person is.」

「Ah… I see. Does ‘blue’ indicate that a person means no harm? I still think it’s rash to tell someone all your secrets just because of that…」

Mohr grinned.

「Nay」, she replied. 「White indicates a lack of hostile intentions. On the other hand, the more prosperity and fortune one can bring us, the brighter the blue in response. If an iota of hostility had manifested in your mind during our conversation, or you had told the slightest lie, the blue would have dimmed and given way to red. But nothing like that happened with you, and I can see why, given your backstory. To have no plan other than to honour your parents’ dying wishes — the naivete that has accompanied you all these years isn’t something you see everyday.」

「Is that… praise?」, I asked.

「Have we not said good things about you from the start? I may have lived a long time, but I’ve never met a blockhead like you.」

She cackled. I felt like I was being ridiculed more than I was being praised, though…

「And the arrival of you, the blockhead, as our lord appears to be the greatest blessing to us — I trust what our horns tell us. If things go well, we might be able to do away with the concealment magic in the future. Perhaps our village can also be expanded.」

Mohr paused wistfully.

「…You see, our concealment magic has its limits. Our village has stayed the same size for the past fifty years.」

「But why are you so attached to this grassland? There must be a place far from the Kingdom’s reach, where you can enjoy a large village, right?」

「It isn’t that easy to abandon our homeland…」, said Mohr. 「In addition, the livestock we call the Meia eats a lot of grass and is an integral part of our lifestyle. This grassland, which offers soft and nutritious grass, is thus very difficult to leave.」

「I understand. I don’t know of a good place for you, but if you want to expand your village, then by all means… I guess? All I was told to do is protect my people and collect money from them… but I have none at all…」

「Huh. You really are a blockhead!」, she exclaimed. 「At least you’re making an effort to talk to us. How about striking an agreement, then? Okay, look! You have no home or sustenance, do you? We’ll provide that for you, as well as some of our livestock. In return, we want you to pretend not to know of our existence. Tell no one — this includes your king. After that, you can gather some serfs and become a proper frontier lord. If you mess up, you lose everything. And if a new fellow comes along, Heaven forbid that he’s another ne’er-do-well like the one who came before you was.」

「It goes without saying that I want to be a good frontier lord… and I intended to keep your existence a secret from the very beginning. So that’s not a problem either. You mentioned that someone came before me, though…?」

「Ah, I did. Well, I believe he was residing in another fiefdom of his. That fodder-for-brains would come here every now and then… and do some terrible things. If I’m not wrong, he was reaped by a malady shortly before your arrival.」

Mohr’s face clouded over as she elaborated. Aruna, who was standing next to Mohr, had also adopted a pained expression. My predecessor must have done some really bad things, I thought. I decided not to ask about the specifics.

「Eh, enough of that」, said Mohr. 「Let’s talk about what is to come. We’ll get you a house, but it’ll be smaller than the one you see here… ah. We can build it at the place where you and Aruna met. We’ll also give you a change of clothes and some daily necessities. For food, you can have a week’s worth of cured meat for starters. And the Meias… I’ll lend you Aruna for the time being. You can live under the same roof, where she’ll show you the ropes.」

I was taken aback by her offer, but Aruna, staring at her elder wide-eyed, was even more surprised.

「You don’t know how to handle the livestock, do you? You’ll have to learn once your house is ready. From dealing with the beasts you find around here to staying clear of disease, there’s a lot to learn. But Aruna will teach you.」

She peered at Aruna, who was rolling her eyes.

「That’s alright with you, eh, Aruna? You brought this outsider here, so you have to see this to the end.」

Though she looked like she had something to say, Aruna simply gave Mohr a grave nod.

「And that’s all I have to say. We look forward to working with you, your Lordship.」

With that, my audience with Mohr ended, and so did my quest to secure food and shelter. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to be staying together with Aruna. But I had heard that important people had lackeys — stewards, maids and the like — following them around all the time. The royal palace had been full of maids too, so I assumed that this was similar. Unlike those maids, though, Aruna seemed… I don’t know, kind of rustic?

That isn’t a bad thing either, I thought.