57. Childhood Friend – Memories

Lena and Leo left Torito early.

Lena wanted to explore the big town she’d never seen before, but after hearing Leo say, “There will be more to see at the Lord’s Castle. And we need to walk for half a day to get there, so we should leave early,” she packed her things without complaint.

As they walked, Lena seemed excited and chattered away.

“The road here is so well paved!” “Wow! Look at that carriage! Are those mercenaries next to it?” She couldn’t contain her amazement.

These were reactions Leo had already heard before, but he smiled happily. How frustrating it must have been for her to suppress her lively curiosity while living in such a remote village!

The only ways she could satisfy her curiosity were hearing stories from the monks or reading books.

‘Should we take the trip a bit more leisurely?’

They needed to get to the Holy Kingdom quickly to meet the prince… but seeing Lena so happy made him feel sorry for her.

If she became a princess, she wouldn’t be able to roam around like this.

A princess would receive care beyond what commoners could even imagine, but she wouldn’t be able to live freely like this.

Leo mentally recalculated the dates.

It would take about five months just to get to Lutetia, and then if it took a few more months to find the prince and create a connection between him and Lena…

At least they’d have a year to spare.

If only they could travel freely for that time, Lena would be so happy.

But immediately, a counter-argument followed.

‘No, no. We don’t have that kind of money, and honestly, the sooner the marriage with the prince, the better. Who knows what will happen once we get to Lutetia?’

Time constraints were always a major issue in every scenario.

To match Lena’s marriageable age so they could marry at any moment, three years was the absolute maximum, even if they were delayed.

Considering the time spent traveling across this vast continent, even those three years weren’t ample. They would be lucky to relocate twice and try something wherever they ended up.

Just then, Lena looked out at the wide-open plains and asked, “Is that what they call the horizon?”

In the distance, where the plains met the sky, there were mountains and ranges in between, making him unsure if that could actually be called a ‘line.’ However, Leo replied that it likely was.

“It’s amazing!”

Lena didn’t seem to want a perfect answer either, as she smiled brightly.

Seeing her like that made Leo feel sour.

‘Lena is so happy about this…’

But it couldn’t be helped. He thought, ‘It will take at least five months to get there; that should be enough time. Let’s help her see as much as she can before then.’—and pushed aside any lingering regrets.

As twilight settled over the irregular horizon that looked like teeth stuck together, the two of them finally arrived at the Lord’s Castle.

Since the small, isolated village of Demos wasn’t familiar with outside matters, they referred to this place simply as ‘the Lord’s Castle,’ but actually arriving revealed it to be a significant-sized city.

In the city named ‘Bosspo,’ Lena and Leo found a place to stay.

The two of them chatted happily while massaging their weary feet after a day of walking.

*

The next day, they headed toward the Lord’s Castle.

“Leo, there are so many people here! Do you think it’s our turn will come?”

“It will come. We should have come a little earlier. We’ll have to wait a while.”

Lena and Leo stood in the long line, waiting for their turn. They hadn’t imagined there would be this many people.

The Lord’s Castle opened its main gate and the service window for public complaints early in the morning. Given that the Lord’s Castle handled both justice and administration, there was a mountain of work to be done, and it was Leo’s mistake to think back to the scenario at Abrival Castle regarding engagement.

When Leo Dexter went to Abrival Castle to submit his application to volunteer for {war}, there hadn’t been anyone waiting in line.

Of course, most of the people living at Abrival Castle were from the Ainar Tribe, so they typically handled small complaints themselves or reported them to the Chief for resolution.

Moreover, since Abrival Castle had a strong military purpose, it didn’t have many merchants like this ‘Bosspo.’

In contrast, Bosspo was a trade city responsible for commerce between the Orun Kingdom and the Conrad Kingdom alongside the port city to the south.

Merchants passing through the gate would first stop here, unload their goods, and either head back or scatter from here.

So, merchants had flocked to the Lord’s Castle early in the morning, pouring out complaints such as, “I’m here to get my border crossing permit,” “I bought items that came from over there, but they’re spoiled, so I want to report them,” and so forth.

Fortunately, the Lord’s Castle had assigned more than thirty officials to the windows, allowing the queue to reduce quickly.

Lena and Leo approached the window as their turn came. The official at the desk busily shuffled through a mountain of paperwork.

Without even looking up, he asked, “What is your purpose here?”

“I’m looking to go to the Monastery Church to become a priest. I’m here to get permission to leave the territory.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Here it is. The priest from Demos village said he sealed this letter. This should be sufficient…”

“Demos village? Let’s see…”

The official pulled out another document and studied it for a while before confirming the name ‘Demos village’ at the end of the document.

‘There’s a church in such a small village?’

He compared the seal on the letter with the documents stamped with various seals and looked up.

“Okay, I’ll give you the permit. By the way, are you two traveling together? The one looking to become a priest is the male, right? The letter says the name is Lena.”

Leo shook his head at the official’s question.

“No, no. It’s this friend who’s leaving. I’m accompanying her.”

The official seemed a bit surprised, glancing up and down at Lena. A female priest?

He then continued speaking.

“Hmm— I can issue a travel permit, but… actually there’s a mobilization order currently in effect. It’s awkward to say this, but beautiful young ladies must work at the Lord’s Castle for several months.”

“Excuse me?”

“It seems the order hasn’t reached Demos village, so it’s not a forced suggestion, but…”

The official explained the situation. To summarize, it went like this:

A guest from the Conrad Kingdom is arriving soon, and that guest is supposed to meet with the daughter of Duke Gaidan. They wanted to gather charming young ladies to use as handmaidens.

Actually, although it was called the Lord’s Castle, it wasn’t where Duke Gaidan or his family lived, so there were no maids to work here.

‘Another headache just cropped up.’ — Leo thought, scratching his head. Could this be considered an {event}?

“The pay will be sufficient. Duke Gaidan is putting in a lot of effort for this…”

“I’m sorry, but we have a long way to go…”

“I want to do it! Leo! I want to do this.”

Leo was about to refuse, but Lena suddenly interjected.

“How much will we get?”

“Fifteen coins a day. And of course, food and lodging are covered by the Lord’s Castle.”

Fifteen coins a day in the capital would barely allow for three meals, but in this rural area, it seemed like a generous salary.

“Wow… that’s a lot, right? Leo, I want to do this. Okay?”

“Lena! You have to hurry if you’re going to become a priest!”

“But…”

Lena said, pulling out a thin bundle of coins from her pocket.

“My mom and dad gave me all their money. They’ll have a hard time making it through winter… Can’t I earn some money here and send it to them before I leave? Please? Leo.”

Leo was speechless. He hadn’t expected Lena to be thinking like this.

She hadn’t said anything like that when they headed to Nevis. Back then, it seemed she had no chance to earn money close to home and had to endure.

But they needed to get to the Holy Kingdom quickly…

While he hesitated, a merchant behind them urged, “Hey, hurry up and move along!”

Lena also kept pestering, “The monk said it doesn’t matter if we’re late—just that we arrive. So a few months is…” and he reluctantly accepted.

With Lena clasping her hands and pleading, “Please? Please?” it was impossible to refuse.

Moreover, she wasn’t planning to keep the money for herself; she was going to send it to her parents…

‘Making a princess is tough.’

As he grumbled silently, Leo began asking the official detailed questions.

Where would Lena sleep, what work would she need to do, and would it be difficult, etc…

The merchant who had been pushing them from behind would have to wait even longer.

*

That day, Lena and Leo became handmaidens/servants at the Lord’s Castle.

While Leo contemplated what he could do while Lena worked, he knew he’d be leaving for the Holy Kingdom in a few months anyway.

With no real tasks to do in that short time, he requested a servant position from the official.

It seemed gathering charming young ladies was harder than expected, as the official easily granted Leo’s request and even issued him a travel permit to the Holy Kingdom in advance.

Led inside the Lord’s Castle, Lena and Leo stood before a bright-eyed Head Handmaiden.

“You come here, and you go over to the servant quarters.”

With that sharp and high-pitched tone, Lena vanished with the Head Handmaiden.

Naturally, the maids and servants had separate accommodations.

Lena was assigned to quarters tucked away in a corner of the Lord’s Castle, while Leo was assigned to the quarters next to the stables.

The life of commoners…

The servants’ quarters were an absolute mess.

The floor was dirt, and clothes and bedding were strewn about haphazardly. Beds? Those were not given to the servants.

As Leo looked around the quarters, he frowned.

The dank and musty smell of a room filled with only men—how could he expect anything else?

‘Guess I’ll be suffering here for a while longer.’

He was slowly getting used to a life filled with hard labor.

In the Beggar Siblings scenario, the economic situation was the toughest, and he had to take care of his younger sister, so he couldn’t avoid labor. In Demos village, where hard work was the norm, he had to labor every single day in this Childhood Friend scenario as well.

At least the Engagement scenario provided a bit of leisure, but even that was spent sweating through daily sword training.

Muttering to himself, Leo began to tidy up the allotted space.

Just then,

“Hey, a newbie? If you’ve come, you should at least greet us.”

Having just finished their work, the dirt-covered servants approached Leo.

‘…Aren’t they tired?’

Leo stood from his place and introduced himself to them. There was a bit of posturing, scanning him up and down, and inquiries about delays.

They didn’t harbor any malice towards him.

When meeting new people, male groups often engage in a hierarchy, and to put it positively, it meant they wanted to foster a good relationship going forward.

‘How bothersome.’

He felt annoyed at the thought of having to start another complicated social connection only to leave after a few months, but he bit his tongue.

These noisy servants before him were no match for him, though he wasn’t the kind of person who would lash out at them.

Even with his swordsmanship skill at the knight level {Swordsmanship.2v}, he had chosen to blend in as a servant to bide time while waiting for Lena.

If he became a knight or mercenary, he would inevitably be bound more tightly…

The servants surrounding Leo had no idea they were posturing before a person on the level of a tiger, and they were intrigued by his docile demeanor.

But as the saying goes, “The sharp blade remains hidden,” Leo couldn’t help but stand out compared to the other servants even if he tried to hide it.

He was a young man with sturdy legs from climbing mountains, and when fights occasionally broke out during drinking sessions among the servants, he would effortlessly subdue those causing trouble.

Thanks to that, within just a week, Leo started subtly taking on a leadership role among the servants. The butler, acknowledging diligent Leo, assigned him various tasks.

Then Lena began to look at Leo with suspicion again. The Leo she knew was not someone who would lead others.

He resembled his father in that he always kept a certain distance from others—except for Lena.

He worked alongside village youths, but he was diligent only in his tasks and never ran with a group.

If anything, Leo was like a solitary wolf rather than a leader of a pack.

The way Leo had changed—his speech, habits, and relationships—only increased Lena’s suspicions, and eventually, she couldn’t help but ask.

“Leo, do you remember what we caught back in the spring of the year before last?”

What she was asking was a shared memory that the real Leo would surely know.