Vol. 1 - Ch. 285 - Claubia Forest

"Viscount Rovenne, this is Weiber."

Arriving at their destination, the Viscount Rovenne Estate, state official Shiza introduced Weiber to the members of the Rovenne family.

Shiza was originally used to be a member of the National Intelligence Department when he was tasked with a mission by Mujikka, the Vice-Director of Royal Academy. He was to ascertain the character of Schord Bainfause, the private tutor in rumours, and scout him should he stand up to perameters. He had been the first one to arrive at Rovenne territory, and immediately began gathering information.

It was the time when Rovenne territory was still a hillbilly land with no importance in other's eyes. Since then, he had come and gone for various follow-up investigations, building connections with the locals and, unexpectedly, becoming the kingdom’s foremost expert on all things Rovenne territory.

His superiors saw his achievement, and subsequently, he was transferred from Intelligence to serve as administrative officer for the newly designated sanctuary. 

As a fact, his reports didn't simply confine Schord, but also the general lifestyle of the viscounty. He had faithfully conveyed to the capital the region’s steady governance and the simple, honest nature of its people, subtly adding a tailwind for Rovennes.

“By royal command, I have come at once. I am Weiber Gasdoll. I hope we may grow well acquainted.”

At the drawing room of the Rovenne estate, Viscount Bellwood Rovenne and his successor Grim, alongside Cecilia, gathered to receive Wieber's visit. 

"It's our pleasure to have your assistance, Weiber-dono. I, too, hope we can be of help to each other."

They exchanged formal pleasantries, and held out hands to shake. Naturally, Wieber took the chance to subtly observe the man-of-the-topic—Bellwood. 

"Speaking of, I heard from Shiza-dono that you're fond of local cuisines? Coincidentally, I also often try to check out local bakeries for their bread during trips. I was wondering if any bread has left a lasting expression on you?"

“…Hmm, I do. My duties take me all over the places, but from my recent experience, the blue bread I ate at the city of Yettkam, in the marquisate of Valkandor, was—”

Weiber gave a suitable response, however he was thrown off slightly internally. 

In general, nobles and knights were neck-to-neck in their standing as they ultimately served their ruler directly. 

But in practice, a knight—chosen from among the most talented in the kingdom, entrusted to command noble's private armies in wartime, and even holding the authority to arrest them—wields far more real power than some rural viscount.

Whether he likes it or not, Weiber was usually treated with deference. Yet he sensed none of that distance from Bellwood.

If he wasn't of that behaviour, then maybe Bellwood could be the type of rural noble who scoffs at Knight Order? In his experience, such scenarios were rare, but not unimaginable. Albeit, Weiber didn't notice such intention either.

Bellwood's handshake was devoid of any such teaser. Often, when someone tries to assert their superiority, they would, even subconsciously, put a bit of strength into their grip.

Or, if they’re confident in their own skill, they may suppress their aura—just as Weiber himself had done moments ago to the gatekeeper Johnny—to keep their power unreadable.

But Bellwood’s handshake was nothing like that. If anything, it was as guileless as that of a child who hasn’t even awakened their mana organs yet—an utterly innocent, open-hearted shake.

It was as though Bellwood wasn’t looking at him at all, but at something entirely different, something far beyond the man standing before him.

Regardless, as the head of a noble house, Bellwood's lack of political gesture only served to undermine his status. So, was he truly just a goofer that many had evaluated him as, or was he a giant of unimaginable caliber? 

So was he truly the fool the rumors made him out to be, or was he one of those “giants in the making” who only reveal their size far down the road?

“Ah, boule bread, you say! It seems we’re kindred spirits after all. I, too, have a terrible weakness for good boule—”

Bellwood latched onto Weiber’s polite reply, his eyes lighting up as he launched into a passionate lecture on bread.

But the latter's attention had shifted to the figure standing quietly behind him, the lady of House Rovenne.

He didn't feel any hostility from her. She was just standing there, with a mild smile on her face. Yet, even when he was supposed to be hardened from his Knight Order's experience, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was standing before the mouth of a tiger's den. 

Cold sweat trickled down his back. For a moment, he even contemplated if he was subconsciously seeing her as his superior. After all, he heard even the captain of the Royal Guard, Randi Von Dosperior, exclaimed 'My sister's talent is something even I can't get to the bottom of.' 

“—and when you hollow out the inside and fill it with gratin, it becomes an absolute masterpiece—”

While Weiber was going through an introspection in his mind, Bellwood continued his speed over the bread with spit-spraying enthusiasm.

It immediately became clear Bellwood was the type of person to never stop speaking once he's prattling. Grim, who had been standing by Bellwood's side, chimed in, seemingly unable to take it anymore.

"*Ahem* Father, maybe you should refrain from speaking over bread while meeting someone on their first meeting. Nice to meet you, Sir Weiber. I am Grim Rovenne, the eldest son of Bellwood. It's truly our honour to have someone of esteemed presence like you, a knight order's member, to expressly come to a backwater place of this sort."

Grim offered a harmless greeting and extended his right hand with a pleasant smile. Weiber, his sense heightened after Bellwood, took it cautiously—only to find it an utterly ordinary handshake.

“…My, you're truly polite. I gratefully accept it. I may be a member of the Knight Order, but I am just the eternal ordinary worker inside. I have been dispatched to here on a duty, so please feel no obligation for formality. I would very much prefer working like colleagues."

Bellwood had truly knocked him out, but Weiber finally felt a relief realising the viscount’s heir was a sensible, well-mannered young man.

◆

The next day.

Weiber was taking an inspection walk in the Claubia Forest, guided by Bellwood and Cecilia. 

The Claubia Mountain-Forest Range might have gained a strong deterrence now that it was under royal family's patronage, but the area was just too large for Rovenne to protect by themselves. 

If they'd wanted to continue living off the mountain-forest's blessing while coexisting with the forest, they would have required new rules, and a sustainable system of protection with actual enforcement.

Weiber needed to know what they're protecting before setting any of that in motion.

"Amazing. This forest is truly a nature's wonder. It's like I have stepped into another world."

Weiber gave his honest evaluation, his rest curiously surveying the surroundings.

The first thing that caught his eye was the sheer diversity of plant life.

A lower forest of shrubs sprawled beneath an upper forest of towering trees, the layers stacked like a natural tapestry. Mosses and low grasses filled the ground in just the right balance.

Even across the whole kingdom, a primeval forest this vast was a rarity. Weiber himself was confident he had walked forests from one end of the kingdom to the other, yet there were many varieties even impossible for him to identify.

It felt almost as though he had walked into a forest of a far away nation, adding in to the mysterious vibe.

"There's something special about this forest, making it easier for the mana to fill it with. I dare say, it might be one of the factors for the composition of this unique ecosystem."

"Mana accumulation... you say? And this is, like, applying to this whole mountain-forest range...?"

Weiber questioned himself if he just heard Bellwood correctly.

He was aware of nature's placement—when factors like terrain and the types of flora and fauna abundant coincided—often worked in mysterious ways, and could lead to a high concentration of mana particles in the air. 

Naturally, while it provides quick mana recovery, the high density mana was also a lure for the monster. For someone set on the path of a martial artist, it was just a precise place for training; but in retrospect, it was a dangerous place for any ordinary person to roam around. 

Weiber's astonishment stemmed from the absurd scale of the effect. He had never heard of a mana rich place that could span around the whole region of mountains and forest. 

"......It might be a bit of over-exaggregation to say the entire forest had this effect. As far as I can tell, this forest definitely has seen much thicker concentration of mana than previous years.  As a fact, you should be feeling the effect in your body, easier to move?"

Hearing Cecilia's explanation, Weiber cautiously channeled his physical strengthening magic,  and focused on the feel of mana circulating within him.

“Now that you mention it… yes, it does feel like the sensation I get when I’m in peak condition…”

Cecilia nodded at his hesitant answer.

“If we go a little deeper, you’ll feel it more clearly. Bell, Shouldn’t we take him there? It would be faster to understand.”

Cecilia glanced at Belwood. He crossed his arms in thought, then, surprisingly shook his head with a serious expression.

“Hm… Not today. The forest is unusually restless. Wieber-dono has yet to familiarise himself with the air of this place, and taking him to that place would only agitate the forest further. ...I can’t shake a bad feeling about it.”

“Very well.”

Cecilia immediately nodded after seeing his face.

“Um… that place?”

Just yesterday, the same man had been more eager to prattle non-stop about the bread like there was no tomorrow than laying a proper greeting. And even at the receiving party, he was as drunk as dead. The unusually solemn expression on Bellwood's face had Weiber feeling overwhelmed, but he still managed to ask.

“Deep in this forest is a small pond we call Grave Pond. Our ancestors’ graves line its shore, and visiting them once a year is a Rovenne family tradition. As per Cecilia, the place is a true mana reservoir—but not only monsters, even wild animals avoid it entirely. It's a slightly odd place.”

A mana-rich zone that monsters avoid?

There had been some precedent that he knew, but in that scenario the so-called Grave Pond had to be quite a strange place. 

Weiber turned to Cecilia with an expression caught somewhere between shock and confusion.

“I believe you will understand if you see it for yourself. Bell and Grimm don’t seem to feel it much, but the place has a kind of indescribable pressure to it. I suspect that’s what drives living creatures away. Rosa and Allen, especially Allen, have disliked it since they were small. He always said it gave him the creeps.”

“That boy’s dislike for grave visits was the real deal… The little brat even said the gravestones themselves felt creepy. Blasphemous child.”

Bellwood let out a troubled laugh, then straightened his posture.

“Anyway, let’s head to the Nene Mountain quarry. I don’t much like the idea, but with so many visitors, it’s become necessary to extend the walls and expand the town.”

As Bellwood turned on his heel, Weiber asked why he sounded so reluctant.

“My lands have suffered time and again from stampedes that threatened the people’s lives. Anytime, whenever something has been done that went against forest, we had been lambasted  with a deluge of monsters. Why I said to postpone earlier, the forest seems to have lost its calm and I would prefer not to provoke it. ...Alas, if that caused all those outdoor sleepers to invade the forest, then everything might as well be for naught. Well, this is the last measure."

"S-stampede like deluge... you can't possibly mean to say a Great Surge is imminent, are you?"

Weiber’s voice trembled as he asked, but Belwood only tilted his head.

The Great Surge, as the name implied, was a catastrophe in which monsters flooded forth like a sea-wave. To put it more rudimentary, it was the even more calamitious, older version of Stampede.

A catastrophe of this scale was thought to be rare in the modern times, however they're frequent occurrences in the past, their existence recorded through the horrific scars they left behind on their wake.

“H-how can you be so calm…? If that possibility exists, shouldn’t you, for example, bring in construction materials from other fiefs and prepare for the worst? That’s what royal protection and support are for.”

Bellwood shook his head.

“If we expand the walls using materials brought from other fiefs, we’ll almost certainly agitate the forest even more. It’s a dangerous gamble, but we must use what comes from this forest itself. The worst that could happen is it destroys our farms outside of the walls. But, so what? What's important is our people's lives. We can always rebuild our farms."

“B-but surely there’s more you can do, such as officially requesting an investigation by the Knights. Safeguarding your people’s property is the bare minimum expected of a lord—”

Bellwood listened patiently, nodding all the while as Weiber made his argument, then once Weaver finished, he shook his head again.

"No, forest takes the foremost priority. This is what it means to live in harmony with this forest. When people forget what's their true asset are, and goes against the forest, it's then—"

Bellwood silently turned his back to the Forest, and remarked in a solemn, yet determined voice.

"—The land is delivered a punishment. And then, we would be on a path of no-return toward a great calamity."

Gazing into the conviction filled eyes of Bellwood, Weiber gulped nervously, feeling the weight of the duty he must tackle on here onwards.

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