MYHLF Vol. 1 Mission 2 Part 5

In the end, it did not even take an hour to defeat all the Ogres and magic beasts.

“It’s nice to have you guys around. We don’t even need to use magic stones.”

“Not having to worry about our stock of magic stones really is convenient. Also, that’s a pretty decent amount of firepower too.”

“When you have to burn something as big as an Ogre, you end up using one or two magic stones from the Ogres you just went through all the trouble to defeat, so it feels like a waste.”

“Hey, why don’t you just quit being a knight and become an adventurer like us?”

Since many knights came from noble houses, quite a few of them possessed large amounts of mana. Thus, they could activate magic devices that lit fires using only their own mana, without using consumable magic stones.

The adventurers were having conversations like that while surrounding the knights. The younger knights were especially surrounded and looked genuinely troubled. The veteran knights, however, only watched with smiles, not helping at all.

“This takes me back. When I was first assigned to this domain, they surrounded me the same way.”

“Ah, that. It really shakes your resolve, doesn’t it?”

“Back when I was in the royal capital or other places, I thought, ‘Adventurers? Please.’ But then you look at them and think they’re free, and that seems nice.”

“Exactly. You start thinking, ‘Couldn’t I live on my own, too?’”

“I’m embarrassed by how I used to think I couldn’t survive unless I became a knight. I couldn’t see anything around me back then.”

“We didn’t know any other way to live.”

Sons who couldn’t inherit their houses and illegitimate children had a strong sense that they had been protected by their families until then. When the time came for them to be cast out of their homes, they were made to believe that they could not survive unless they became knights. They had been convinced that, outside of that, they could do nothing by their own strength.

Then, once they joined a knight order, they were indoctrinated to exist for the sake of the country and used as pawns on a chess board. It was unlikely that there are people more pitiable and devoid of freedom than they were. Perhaps not knowing any other way to live was a kind of happiness, but it was difficult to call it a genuine good life.

After coming to this ducal domain and learning those things, the knights found themselves with more worries. However, their expressions rarely darkened. That was because in this ducal capital, there was a Head Priest with a strong divine protection from God.

He was as elusive as a phantom. Before anyone realized it, he would be drinking tea inside the knights’ station, and then, at some point, he would appear beside a knight who was troubled and hanging his head, listening to his worries. Those who had grown used to how suddenly he appeared would simply laugh and say, “Ah, the Head Priest got in again.” There was no wariness of the situation.

When Philz first heard about that, he made an incredibly complicated face. He wanted to say, “Is that really all right, knight order?” However, anyone living in the ducal capital would respond with a baffling sort of acceptance, saying, “Well, that’s just what the Head Priest is like, isn’t it?” That was simply how it was.

“Oh my. Those children are trying to recruit poor, innocent new knights again. How troublesome.”

“Ah, Head Priest! Thank you for your work!”

“““““Thank you for your work!”””””

“Yes, you all seem lively today too. No injuries. Ah, you twisted your ankle, didn’t you? Make sure to cool it properly over there. As for the rest of you, tomorrow will be difficult. The fatigue will catch up with you. No sudden intense training. Please keep it moderate.”

“““““Yes, sir!”””””

The Head Priest, who had arrived by carriage, casually joined the conversation while diagnosing them.

“Um… Head Priest… Will they be all right?”

The knights were worried about the Third Prince and the knights under him. They had been carried into the medical aid tent as soon as the priests arrived.

“There is no need to worry about their wounds. None were fatal. However… their mental states are not in good condition. It seems they have grown accustomed to enduring all sorts of things as though that were normal, so it will likely take some time before they can properly talk about what they have been bottling up.”

Hearing that, the knights furrowed their brows. Then Villans, the knight commander, came over.

“Don’t make those faces. If we leave them to the Head Priest, there’s no problem. Even the King cannot lay a hand on this Head Priest.”

“Hehehe. Well, that is true. I immediately submitted an application to headquarters to have them designated as people under the church’s protection. We will take care of them for a while.”

“That helps a ton, thank you.”

“Not a problem at all. Now then, the sun will be setting soon. Is it all right if we camp here as we are?”

“Yeah, supplies should arrive soon.”

Instructions had been given for heavy baggage such as tents and food to be delivered later. Adventurers should also be mixed in among the escorts for that, so there was no need to worry about the supplies not arriving.

The adventurers who would arrive after this were personnel for cleaning up the village. A request had been issued separately from the subjugation. If it were left to the country or the domain, there would be talks of expenses and personnel arrangements, and the work would never begin no matter how much time passed. Villages that had fallen into ruin were often left abandoned, only to become Goblin nests next.

Thus, in this ducal domain, where Adventurers’ Guildmaster Luiri handled matters, requests to clean up villages were now issued as a set together with the subjugation.

“In that case, we need a soup kitchen. Ah, that’s right! Let’s ask Fil. Fil’s homemade food is delicious.”

“…Fil’s…?”

With a delighted look, the Head Priest headed toward Philz, who was taking care of Biz. Many adventurers were watching the scene from a distance.

“Hey, Fil. Aren’t you spoiling Biz too much, no matter how you look at it? Well, I guess it makes it easy to tell someone’s already claimed it, but still…”

“Actually, how did you even tame something this ferocious?”

“With something this huge, how did you even get on?”

Half-ignoring those voices, Philz continued wiping down Biz’s body. However, Biz gradually began to grow irritated. With no other choice, Philz warned the adventurers.

“You lot… This is why women don’t like you. You’re being rude.”

“Huh?”

“No, why are we talking about whether women like us or not…?”

Then the Head Priest came over with light steps.

“That is certainly true. It is also rude to call a lady ‘that guy,’ you know?”

“““““Eh?”””””

Philz let out a sigh. The Head Priest was all smiles. He probably found the adventurers’ reaction amusing. The adventurers looked at Biz, thinking, surely not.

“Haa… Biz is female.”

《Neighhh!》

“““““Eeehhh!?”””””

They started saying all sorts of things, like “But she has such a vicious face,” or “But she’s huge.” Then Biz’s horns glowed, and thin bolts of lightning raced toward the adventurers. It seemed she held back.

“Ow!”

“That stung!”

“We’re sorry!”

“Big Sis, we’re sorry!”

““““Big Sis, we’re sorry!””””

《Brrr.》

As the adventurers bowed their heads, Biz snorted as if implying she would forgive them. Philz stroked Biz’s neck to soothe her. Watching that with a slightly envious look, the Head Priest asked,

“Lady, do you know where there is water?”

“Biz, do you know?”

《Brrr.》

“She says she does.”

“In that case… We also need water drawn, so could you show these adventurers?”

《Brr.》

Biz gave a nod, then began walking. However, after taking a few steps, she looked back at the adventurers who had not followed.

《Neigh!》

“Come now. She is waiting for you.”

“Ah, y-yes!”

“Sorry, Big Sis!”

“We’re coming right away!”

《Brrr…》

Biz’s demeanor seemed to say, “Honestly, what a handful,” and Philz could not help laughing.

“Pfft…”

“They have completely fallen beneath her now.”

“Biz is good at looking after others, so they’ll be fine.”

“She truly is a ‘Big Sis,’ isn’t she?”

With a gentle expression, Philz watched Biz lead the adventurers away. Magic beasts with divine protection from God were solitary. Being intelligent, they instinctively desired a way of life in which they could stay close to people who understood them. And if they formed a deep bond with humans, the power of their divine protection increased further, and they became guardians of that region.

People called beings like Biz by such names.

“『Guardian of the Earth』, 『Guardian Beast』… Could it be that the reason you hurried to become an adventurer was…”

The Head Priest was someone who had always told Philz that there was no need to rush so much to become an adult. No matter how much ability Philz had, the Head Priest had worried about him becoming an adventurer and plunging into dangerous requests without hesitation.

However, Philz was neither reckless nor thoughtless. Thus, the Head Priest assumed there was a reason and half of that reason had been for Biz.

Nobles and royals wanted rare things. If something like a 『Guardian Beast』 was at their side, they would assume they could also receive the benefits of God’s divine protection. If it became attached to them, it would be the finest possible military asset.

In the past, there had been someone among the royal family who made a covenant with a 『Guardian Beast』, and it was said that, because of that, the peace of the country was protected for decades. Certainly, if it had made a covenant with the royal family, that would be the result as these beasts were loyal by nature.

That was precisely why Philz himself, who had made a covenant, needed to establish a secure position that would keep him from being exploited by the nobles.

“Even with the covenant, if I don’t at least reach Fourth Rank, the nobles will try to interfere…”

Adventurers had ranks. Those aged ten and under were apprentices of Eleventh Rank. At eleven, they received a license for the starting point, Tenth Rank.

The higher one climbed, the smaller the number became, and at the very top was the Special Rank. At present, it was said there were only three in the world. Once someone reached the Special Rank, even a king of a nation lowered his head. That was because they needed that person’s strength to cooperate in times of national crisis.

“What are you now?”

“Sixth Rank. But with this incident, I can probably rise to Fifth. The Guildmaster told me that if I took part in the next major subjugation request, he’d raise me unconditionally.”

Only one more rank until Fourth. Once he reached that point, he would join the ranks of the upper class. Nobles and royals would acknowledge his ability and stop making unreasonable demands. Even if someone did say something absurd, the Adventurers’ Guild would start repelling it on his behalf.

Most importantly, adventurers of Fourth Rank and above could place themselves under the church’s patronage. Once that happened, even the King could not touch them. Laying hands on the temple was the same as picking a fight with God.

Incidentally, ranks rose based on strength and contributions such as number of completed requests, but there were not many people who could reach Fifth Rank within about two years of registration. At twelve years old, he would unquestionably be the youngest.

Among those who knew the adventurer Fil, no one questioned it. Everyone knew his strength rivaled that of an upper-class adventurer. This incident in particular would have driven that fact home.

“I see. Then you are only one step away from Fourth Rank. Congratulations. Ah, is that why you thought receiving your Blessing could wait until then?”

“…That’s right…”

When someone received the church’s patronage, they also received a Blessing again so that their character could be guaranteed. Of course, if God judged that there was a problem, they would not receive one.

But even for nobles, receiving a Blessing was normally a one-time event. To receive it again was, by itself, proof of strength to the outside world. Because it was bothersome, Philz had thought he would receive both servings at once when that Blessing came.

In fact, it was not unheard of for children born on battlefields or in impoverished places, who had never received a Blessing, to receive two servings of Blessings once they achieved great success as adventurers.

Until then, they had managed without the power of divine protection. On top of that, adventurers were likely to receive the Blessing of the God of War, so from there, they gained strength all at once and climbed the ranks. Because they had experienced hardship, they were humble and did not grow arrogant. They simply ascended to greater heights, then quietly reached the end of their lives.

Thus, among adventurers, it was whispered with envy that those who received two servings of Blessings were able to live out their lives in peace.

“…Fil… I know this may be rude to say, but even if you had received two servings of Blessings, a peaceful life is already… likely impossible for you…”

“Don’t say it… It makes me feel like I’ve lost somehow…”

More than anything, that belief was half superstition. He did not seriously expect it. Even so, he wished they would at least let him dream about it.

“My apologies. Then… to change the mood, would you help with cooking for the soup kitchen?”

The Head Priest wore a cheerful expression. Others probably would not notice anything in particular, but Philz could tell there was a meaning behind it.

“…You… You just want me to cook for you, don’t you?”

“Oh? You noticed? In that case, I will say it plainly! I would very much like to use this opportunity to eat your homemade cooking, Fil!”

“Don’t just shamelessly admit it!”

Even as he complained, there was something about this honesty that he simply could not hate. Philz’s shoulders slumped. Once it came to this, the Head Priest would never change his mind.

“Haa… What do you want to eat…?”

“A soup full of vegetables, soft rounded meat, and bread is absolutely essential!”

“Which God was it… Who tattled…?”

“No, they complained to me. They said they wanted to eat it. Apparently, because you do not make extra beyond the bread, they were restraining themselves.”

“…”

For every meal, Philz only prepared his own portion and the minimum amount for his mother, Clarus. He baked extra bread because his mother wanted it, but since he basically reheated or remade the food prepared by the ducal family, the quantity did not become large.

Even when he offered his mother a single bite, at present, she stubbornly refused to touch it. Her wariness toward poisoned food and her aversion to anything prepared by the ducal house were likely still strong.

For the time being, his cooking was currently in a phase of trial and error, serving as practice. Therefore, he had not intended to feed it to anyone else. Apparently, the Gods had been watching that and feeling envious. Since the bread was delicious, they seemed to have expectations for his other dishes as well.

“Fine… I wanted to know whether other people would like it too anyway… For curing Mom’s bread mania…”

“Please leave the tasting to me!”

“No, I’ll feed you properly.”

“…Of course! I understand! I will eat plenty!”

“…Please keep it to one person’s portion…”

Talking like that, Philz walked side by side with the Head Priest toward the campsite, where tents were beginning to be set up.

—

Philz showed off every dish he could possibly make on the spot. He did not know what he was like in the previous life but he knew that he did not dislike cooking. In fact, he felt it had already become a hobby. It was not difficult at all.

What he finished making was a vegetable soup accented with slightly spicy herbs, as well as bread stuffed with small, rounded patties made by mincing sinewy meat and grilling it. In other words, they were mock hamburgers.

For camp cooking, it was an excellent meal. Normally, it would be little more than a soup of potatoes boiled in water with a bit of salt dissolved into it, plus either dried meat or the grilled meat of whatever prey had been hunted. Even bread was ill-suited to carrying around, so it would run out after only a few nights camping near town. Because of that, bread baked in a pot was apparently shocking.

“Delicious! The bread is insanely good!”

“It’s soft. And warm too! Seriously delicious!”

“So bread tastes this good when it’s warm… I’d eat this every meal!”

Bread maniacs were mass-produced here as well. And there was soft meat tucked inside it. They ate absurd amounts of those in particular.

“What meat is this!? I can eat as much of it as you give me!”

“Good, it’s so good! More! Is there still more!? Give me another one, no, three more, please!”

The priests kept baking bread and grilling meat nonstop according to Philz’s recipe. And because they could not keep up, they practically forced bowls of soup into people’s hands.

“Please eat this while you wait!”

“Drink it slowly, slowly!”

“It’s hot, so don’t rush. Actually, fill up on that!”

However, a chorus of “delicious!” rang out here too.

“This soup is delicious too!”

“Isn’t this just salt? What is this feeling where I can’t stop…?”

“This is what they call addictive! It’s way too good!”

“It warms my body up like crazy…”

Philz looked exasperated, thinking, 『Are they that starved…?』 Seeing not only the adventurers but the knights acting the same way made him feel a little frightened. He became curious about what kind of meals they usually ate. His bad premonition at the start had been correct, and it was a good thing he had taught everything to the priests and pushed the rest of the work onto them. He had quickly escaped to the edge of the camp, claiming his role was over.

Philz sat on a fallen tree as a chair and watched the scene while eating a mock hamburger with a bowl of soup in one hand. All the while, he keenly wished he had some vegetables he could sandwich inside with it.

It helped that, with Biz beside him, the adventurers and knights kept their distance out of restraint. Then Luiri, the Guildmaster, who preferred quiet, came over as though fleeing and sat beside him. He was usually a quiet, handsome older man with an old scar on his cheek. Philz liked his atmosphere as well.

“You helped us this time, but… I’m sorry… The knights must know everything now…”

The knights now knew completely that the adventurer Fil was Philz of the ducal family. If it had been a case of magic beast damage like this under normal circumstances, the adventurers alone would have handled it. The knights and the domain could simply have been informed afterward.

This time, however, official knights of the kingdom had been involved. To avoid trouble later, the participation of the ducal domain’s knights had been necessary.

“It’s not your fault, Guildmaster. That’s just how things turned out… Besides, I think those knights understand what they ought to keep silent about.”

His gaze turned toward the ducal domain’s knights, who were laughing together with the adventurers and shouting alongside them that they wanted alcohol. It did make his confidence waver slightly, but they should be fine.

“…Well, if they can fit in that well with adventurers… I suppose they can be trusted…”

“They’re Villans’s subordinates, so trust them on that much.”

“That makes me more anxious.”

Perhaps he heard that, because Villans arrived at the perfect timing.

“Hey, now. You’d better not be badmouthing me.”

““Half of it was.””

“Hey!”

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Villans sat on the opposite side of Philz from Luiri.

“Speaking of which, Fil, kid. You were holding back during training after all, weren’t you?”

Villans glared at Philz a little while eating his bread. Philz answered with a displeased look.

“If I went all out, I’d cut through the training sword, and then we wouldn’t even be able to spar.”

“Huh? It’s a wooden sword.”

“I can cut through wooden swords too. Also, something comes out.”

“Something… Wait. You can use 『First Principle of the Sword』? At your age!?”

That was said to be the first of the seven principles of the sword. By cloaking the blade in mana, one drastically increased its sharpness.

“Hold on, seriously!?”

Common sense said a child should not be capable of it. It was called a principle precisely because it was something one became able to do after mastering the sword.

Philz furrowed his brows as if to say Villans was being noisy, then tossed the last piece of his mock hamburger into his mouth. He picked up the small wooden spoon he had been using to drink his soup and took a stance as though it were a joke.

“This, right?”

He swung it down toward the ground in front of him as if simply making a casual stroke.

Shhp!

A crack about ten centimeters long appeared in the hard ground, which had been packed down so firmly that not even grass grew there.

“…It came out…”

“…Seriously… It came out…”

Luiri and Villans stared at the crack, mouths open in a daze. However, Villans rebooted almost immediately.

“No, no, no! That’s already 『Second Principle』! Before that, nobody does it with a spoon! Also, listen, 『First Principle』 just means mana passes through the sword a bit! Like, ‘Oh, it even cuts through hard things smoothly.’ Sending out a slash is 『Second』! Why can you already use 『Second』!? Hey! Twelve-year-old!”

“…I can do it, so what am I supposed to do…?”

Villans broke. Luiri, on the other hand, remained calm.

“If you can’t adjust it… then you’re not at 『Third』 yet. Still… 『Second Principle』, huh… Fil, lad. Right now, if you keep mana cloaked around it, a slash comes out, right? Also, you can’t adjust the sharpness.”

“Yeah. Ogres are tough, so this time I cut them by releasing a slash at the same time I swung my sword.”

The other adventurers did not notice at all, but a slash had been released at the same time he cut. After firing the slash, he had then pushed in further with the sword, whose sharpness had been increased by being cloaked in mana.

That was why it had looked as though he had sliced through them so easily. It was excessive force. Because he could not adjust the power of the slash, it was normally dangerous to use when other people were around.

“Judging by the fact that you can do it even with a spoon like that, you’re close… Being able to adjust the power of the slash while keeping mana cloaked around the blade is 『Third Principle』. Once you can do that, I can raise you to Fourth Rank unconditionally.”

“…Without an exam?”

To rise to Fourth Rank or higher, one had to take an exam to confirm one’s ability. On top of that, it had to be taken in the royal capital of a country. It took several days, and included actual request completion, matches against higher-ranked people, and the like.

Luiri explained that part.

“Fourth Rank can be approved if there is a recommendation from your mentor and recommendations from two or more Guildmasters. As for your mentor, well… Villans will do. I’ll recommend you too, and as for the other Guildmaster, that old hag Selvy from the neighboring Count’s domain will probably agree.”

Philz had occasionally gone to the neighboring Count’s domain for delivery requests. A distance that took about two days by carriage but was only a few hours for Biz. Requests with deadlines paid well. For Philz, they were enticing requests.

The old woman named Selavie, who oversaw the domain’s Guild in the Count’s domain capital, was an eccentric person, but for some reason, she had taken a liking to Philz. Philz was, through and through, connected to difficult people.

“For that young lady’s sake too, you’d better rise quickly, right?”

The “young lady” he referred to was Biz. She had a fine physique and plenty of presence, but she was actually still young. She was a ten-year-old female, younger than Philz.

“Yeah…”

“But well… I know I’m the one recommending it, but… Fil, lad…”

“Hm?”

Luiri’s eyes softened, and he stroked Philz’s head.

“Don’t rush too much to become an adult… It’d be a problem if we couldn’t protect you anymore.”

“…Mm…”

Philz nodded obediently, thinking that he really could not win against this man. Seeing that, Villans hurriedly ruffled Philz’s hair a little roughly as well.

“Ah, me too, me too. Make sure you rely on your mentor, all right?”

“…When I feel like it…”

“Why!?”

He could not quite be honest with this man. Even so, he knew that when the time truly came, Villans would be someone he could completely rely on.