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Feast
It’s the middle of October, and Allen has finally turned eight years old.
Today is the day the Lord is coming. The mayor of the village was told the date of his arrival by a messenger a few days ago. The next day, the mayor’s messenger came and told Rodan and Gerda about it.
Allen was said to be the guide. He had to explain to the Lord about Boar hunting and its methods. He was also said to serve at the feast at the mayor’s house. He was told that he would have to answer any questions about the hunt there.
I got ready early in the morning and headed for the village mayor’s house before noon. Rodan and Gerda are not going. It’s not that easy for a serf to meet his Lord.
I arrived before 9:00 a.m. and waited (took a nap) at the village mayor’s house.
I was woken up before noon by a commoner who works at the mayor’s house. He told me to take a bath and get ready for the day.
(Oh? I’ve never had a proper bath before. I’ve just had water baths before).
On a hot day in mid-summer, I might get to bath in a large tub with water and take a naked bath. As a serf, I usually just wipe my body with a wet linen cloth without soap.
The workers in the mayor’s house filled a wooden tub with warm water. The water was very warm, and they even gave me soap to take a bath. They also gave me clothes to wear. The clothes they gave me were quite expensive, something that not even commoners wear very often.
Then I was made to wait for about three hours. I was told to stay up and wait.
(Seriously, they made me wait too long.)
The 3o’clock bell rang, and after another hour of waiting, the Lord seemed to have arrived. There was quite a buzz in the town on his arrival.
Not long after that, the Lord entered the mayor’s house. The Lord was going to have dinner in the hall. The village mayor was the only representative of the village who could share the meal with the Lord and his men. I couldn’t eat with him because I’m a serf and I’m just serving food today.
The village mayor told us about the Lord beforehand.
The city where the Lord lives is called Grandver, the territorial capital. It’s about five days away from here. It must have taken him five days to get to the village, and he must be very tired.
As I was thinking about this, my turn to serve came. The rather large kitchen of the village mayor’s house was in a flurry of activity. There were five or six women preparing food. Neatly arranged dishes were lined up in a row.
The village mayor was at the entrance door of the hall. The Lord was already in the hall, but Allen seemed to be going inside with the village mayor. He could sense that the village mayor was quite nervous.
The village mayor goes in first. As soon as he entered the door, he said, “Welcome.” He also said that the meal is ready.
“Please bring the food.”
Through the door, the village mayor instructed me to bring the meal.
Allen brought the food, starting with the appetizers. There was one table in the center.
(The one at the far end of the table is the Lord, I guess.)
The Lord is sitting at the far end of the table. He is a man with light purple hair and hawk-like eyes. He has a serious look in his eyes. He looked like he was in his mid-forties.
Trying not to stare at his face, Allen silently brought the plates of food to the Lord sitting at the far end.
More and more food was brought in. It is prepared on a trolly and placed at the entrance of the hall. There is no need to return to the kitchen. I walked back and forth between the entrance and the table. I wish I could carry the food for everyone, but Allen is the only one in charge of serving.
(There are six of them, including the mayor, carrying the food from the Lord. Hmm? There’s even a child? Is it the Lord’s daughter?)
I carried them in order. The man who seems to be the Lord, the man with white hair and beard who looks like a butler next to him, the Knight Captain and the deputy Knight Captain who came to see Kurena were also there.
And next to the Lord sits a girl with light purple hair, just like the Lord. She looks to be about the same age as Allen.
“I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the food.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
The Lord of the village thanked the village mayor.
“It’s been fifteen years since the order to cultivate the reclaimed territory was issued. You’ve done a great job, Deboz. You have brought the villagers together and developed them to this point.” The Lord praised the mayor.
(What’s that?)
While the Lord praised the village mayor, Allen listened in on the conversation, for he might get some information he needed to impress the Lord before tomorrow’s boar hunt.
“We have all been working hard for you, my Lord.”
The village mayor bowed. He had barely touched the appetizer. He didn’t seem to have much time to eat.
“I’m really sorry about the Boar meat. This is the King’s order.” The Lord said.
(Hmm? The King wants us to hunt Boars? It looks serious.)
“So this was by order of His Majesty the King?”
“Well, technically speaking, it was Lord Charnel’s fault. Lord Charnel took the trouble to mention the Boar hunting in the audience room, thanks to
”
As he remembered another lord, the Lord became angry. His eyes became even tighter. Seeing this the mayor’s forehead and cheeks were covered in sweat.
“Sir, the mayor is frightened. Besides, if we reach our goal of twenty, your reputation will be raised again.”
Without looking at the Lord, a man nearing sixty who looked like a butler interrupted.
“Hmm? You’re right. I’m sorry about that, mayor Deboz. The King heard about the boar hunt and asked us to increase the number of boars being hunted.”
(So that’s what happened.)
The Lord talked about the reason for the increase in the number of Boar to be hunted.
There, I bring the meat for the main dish. I put the plates down in order, starting with the Lord.
They took a bite.
“Mmm! What is this delicious meat?”
“It’s really delicious!”
The Lord and his daughter were amazed by the deliciousness of the meat.
“What is this village mayor?” Lord asked the mayor.
The Lord and his daughter were amazed.
“What? Well, this is
”
The village mayor was at a loss for words when he was suddenly asked.
“This is the meat of the Albaheron. I happened to catch it yesterday, so I offered it to you my Lord. The parts are breast, thigh and liver, and we have flavored it with herbs.” Allen replied.
“Hmm? Oh, I see
”
Allen replied on behalf of the village mayor who was at a loss of words.
At once, everyone’s attention was drawn to Allen. The Lord had been curious about the boy with the pitch-black hair and eyes who was serving them.
Allen, noticing the mayor’s gaze, bows lightly and cleans up the plates. There were only six of them seated in the hall, but he was busy serving the guests by himself, hurrying back and forth between the hall and the entrance.
“Deboz, you have a well-behaved son. He is a nice kid.”
“What? Well, he’s not my son. He is the son of a man named Rodan. “
”
The mayor denies that Allen is his child.
“Rodan?”
“Oh, I remember now. My Lord, the child belongs to Rodan, the man who organizes the Boar hunt.”
The Knight Commander seemed to recall that he and Rodan had sat together at a feast two years ago.
“You are the son of Rodan the Boar hunter?”
“Yes, my name is Allen, Rodan’s son. I will be guiding you on the Boar hunt tomorrow.”
The Lord approached me and I greeted him.
“Was Rodan a fallen Knight or something? He’s got a very fine son.” Lord asks the mayor.
“No, no, he must have been a serf from his parents’ generation.”
Because of the child’s good manners, his father was praised. The village mayor, who also knew Rodan’s father, said that was not the case. That’s when it happened.
“What? There’s a serf in this hall!”
The girl, who seemed to be the daughter of the Lord, showed her disgust when she found out that there were serfs in the hall. She distorted her beautiful face and looked at Allen.
“What? Cecile, the serfs are also respectable citizens of my territory! Don’t you dare say such a thing!”
The Lord raised his voice involuntarily.
“I’m sorry Father.”
Cecile, the daughter of the Lord, apologized with tears in her eyes. But she continued to stare at me.
(I don’t know why I’m being stared at so hard.)
She glared at Allen as if to say, “My father was angry with me because of you.” She glared at me with the same kind of hanged, bullish eyes that her father had. Her crimson eyes seem to express her current emotions. Allen removes his gaze so as not to make too much eye contact.
“So, Allen.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The Lord speaks to Allen again.
“You will be guiding me in the hunt tomorrow?”
“Yes Lord I will.”
“And make sure you explain to me the strategy?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Zenov, listen to me carefully as well.”
“Yes!”
The Knight Commander replies. His name is Zenov.
(Hmm? The Knight Commander should also listen?)
A question mark appeared on Allen’s face.
“Allen, son of Rodan, you have to hunt 20 boars this time. It is the order of the King.”
The Knight Commander answered Allen’s question
“Okay.”
“If, after observing, you find it difficult to accomplish, the Knights will help you.”
(What? But didn’t you say you were here just to observe?)
I finally understood why the Lord had come. We need to kill 20 Boars this year. Last year we killed eighteen of them. However, there was no guarantee that we would be able to kill 20 this year.
The Lord is worried about whether we will be able to achieve the target or not.
In order to fulfill the Royal Order, he led his Knight s to hunt Boars.
“That’s how it is, isn’t it?”
The village mayor understood the situation. He nodded in agreement.
“My Lord.”
Allen spoke up.
“It’s okay. As long as you give me a good explanation, the Order will take care of the rest. There’s nothing to worry about.”
This Lord only wants to learn the strategy.
“No, my Lord. It’s only twenty.”
“What?”
The village mayor interrupts at Allen’s words. The Lord and the Knight Captain both widen their eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that the entire village of Kurena unites for tomorrow’s Boar hunt. We can certainly achieve our goal of 20.”
He lowered the mayor’s nervousness and assured the six of them as they all looked at him. There was no fear or hesitation there.
He said it so clearly that no one could reply without taking a breath.