Heh, Heh, Heh. This Is the Best Send-Off Ever.
“Tiffa~ If you bring that much stuff, the poor horses carrying the wagon are gonna get tired.”
“But Zeke barely packed anything, so I’ll bring extra for him too!”
“Ehh~? That’s weird though.”
Maybe my little brother and sister were treating this like a trip or something. They looked like they were genuinely having fun packing.
After His Majesty ordered us to head for the frontier territory, we immediately returned to the barony.
It wasn’t just packing, either. We had to explain the situation to the townspeople, handle transfer matters, and deal with all sorts of other things.
As for our barony… painfully enough, it had already been decided that my bastard uncle would become the next lord.
But not immediately.
“During Baron Spanberg’s absence, the barony shall be administered as a state-controlled territory. You may depart without concern.”
“Y-Your Majesty, please wait!? T-The barony is territory belonging to House Spanberg! Naturally, should it not be returned to me!?”
And of course, my bastard uncle immediately started making a fuss.
I mean, the king just said the state would manage it, and this idiot still had the nerve to argue with the king directly.
But apparently His Majesty had anticipated this, because without changing expression in the slightest, he continued.
“Very well, very well. Then follow the proper procedures. First, submit a land-rights transfer request to the state, and fill out all the necessary documents. Naturally, the person signing them will be your father, the former count.”
“Hah? W-Why my father?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’? The barony’s lands originally belonged to your father, do they not?”
“Y-Yes. T-They belonged to my father. Therefore I should…”
“The only territory transferred from the former Count to you was the land you currently govern. If the barony’s lands are to be returned to their original owner, then naturally they become the former Count’s property once more.”
“Eh...? N-No, wait...”
“What the former Count chooses to do afterward is none of my concern. If you desire that land, then beg your father for the documents. Once that is done, it will officially become your territory. Surely that is not difficult.”
The moment he heard that all he needed were the documents to make it his territory, my previously panicking bastard uncle immediately brightened up, while my step-grandmother beside him looked thoroughly satisfied.
“Ozwald-chama. Leave your Otousama to me. I shall properly persuade him myself. Do not worry, and begin with the document application first.”
… Said my step-grandmother, before the entire family promptly left the audience chamber.
---
Anyway, flashback over.
So yeah, it had already been decided that this territory would eventually become my bastard uncle’s domain.
According to Commander Orsfes, who was accompanying us as an official observer, it would take at least half a year before that happened.
“However, the Count will likely arrive here within a few days. Claiming to act on behalf of his father, no doubt intending to settle himself in comfortably.”
“Haaah... that does sound like something my brother… no, my stepmother, would come up with.”
Which meant if we didn’t leave within a few days, we’d end up seeing my bastard uncle’s face again.
And seriously, planning to come here as Grandfather’s representative before the land transfer was even finalized? This guy’s nerves were made of tungsten.
Ah, tungsten’s the hardest mineral there is. Well, on Earth at least.
Still, I felt bad for Grandfather, but there was no way I wanted to let my bastard uncle have the profits from the gold and silver ore deposits.
“Commander Orsfes. I have a favor to ask of you, if you would permit it?”
“A favor from Dermont-dono? What might that be?”
“Yes. Actually…”
The Baron household’s assets hadn’t been confiscated.
But at this rate they’d eventually become my bastard uncle’s property, and even if we wanted to, moving our entire fortune to our new home would be impossible. We’d take some cash with us, but the rest would have to stay behind. The same went for our non-cash assets.
And I absolutely refused to hand all that over to him.
The commander gladly agreed to my request and immediately took action.
Alright. Next up was the mine.
That mine was my bastard uncle’s real target, so the thought of him getting his hands on it pissed me off.
“So anyway, Boss, mind helping me out?”
“Oho, leave it to me, boy. What’re we doin’?”
“Right. About Tunnel Number Twelve…”
I whispered the details to the Boss in secret. As I explained the plan, his eyes started sparkling more and more.
“Hohh, so we’re usin’ that thing.”
“Yeah. It’s kind of a waste, but it’s still better than letting him have it... though if we do this, you guys might have trouble too... hm, what should we do…”
“What’re ya sayin’? We’re headin’ south to Zenas, right? We dwarves’re all comin’ with ya.”
“Eh, you are coming together with us!?”
That made me happy. Really happy.
But was that actually okay?
“We dwarves can live anywhere long as there’s ground beneath our feet. Besides, it’s undeveloped land, ain’t it? Sounds excitin’.”
“Ahaha. Humans can’t live without ground either, though.”
“Hahahaha. Fair point.”
If they were willing to say that, then there couldn’t be anyone more dependable.
I definitely wanted them to come with us.
After that, the dwarves headed for the mine carrying the ore I’d refined through alchemy, while the Boss and I looked over the ore stockpile at the sorting yard, along with the extracted gold, silver, and quartz.
“Sure don’t wanna hand this stuff over either.”
“Yeah. But it’s too heavy to take with us. So instead, we do this.”
“Do what?”
I channeled mana into my fingertips and touched the already extracted gold.
The magic circle that unfolded was the largest one I could currently produce. Roughly five meters in diameter.
Even the central material area alone was over three meters across.
Inside it were gold, silver, quartz, wooden boxes filled with ore waste, ingot molds, hammers, charcoal, gloves... all sorts of stuff.
“I’m gonna refine aaaall of this together!”
“Refine… wait, you little… Aaaahhh... hahhah, ya mixed it all together! No way anyone’s separat’n the gold and silver with ordinary alchemy now! Buhwahahahaha!”
Fufufufu. I did it.
At this rate, I might as well mix all the finished ingots together with random junk too.
Three days later, the time finally came for us to leave the barony where I’d been born and raised.
And at the exact same time, my bastard uncle showed up too.
Aaaah. I really didn’t wanna see his face.
Well, whatever. This lets me finish the final touch.
“Kukukuku, my dear younger brother. You may atone for your sins in the next world.”
“Aniue, we are merely going to the frontier territory, not the afterlife.”
“That smart mouth of yours ends today. Hyahhahhahha!”
The hell are you talking about? You’re the one with the smart mouth.
“Dermont. You really ended up pathetic.”
“Landfas…”
“Go rot to death in some useless wasteland!”
… Landfas. Do you mean barren wasteland?
The idiot’s out here proudly advertising his own stupidity.
“Ojiue. Since this is our final farewell, allow me to give you some advice.”
“What? Advice for me? Fine then, I’ll hear your last words.”
Feels like he misunderstood the meaning of “last,” but whatever.
“Ojiue. Mines are dangerous places. Never enter one with only ignorant people.”
“W-What?”
“Always bring along someone knowledgeable about mining. Understood?”
“Y-You brat... are you calling me ignorant!?”
Sounds like you already know the answer.
“And about Tunnel Number Twelve, there’s nothing there. Nothing at all! So please don’t go deeper inside. It’s dangerous. Absolutely do not go in.”
The veins in my bastard uncle’s temples twitched violently.
Just as he looked ready to throw a punch, Commander Orsfes stepped between us.
“It is nearly time. Please make your departure.”
“Yes. Thank you very much, Commander-dono.”
When I said that, he flashed a grin full of white teeth.
We left the mansion and boarded the carriage.
Eight years… I spent eight years here.
In my previous life, raised by toxic parents, I’d reached the point of considering suicide... then I saved someone’s life and died instead… and after that, I was reincarnated into another world.
I hated the thought of becoming someone else’s child.
But now, I truly felt glad I’d been reincarnated.
I’d been blessed with a kind family, and for the first time, it felt like my life had finally begun.
No matter where we lived, as long as my family was together, we could survive anywhere.
And if my magic could help make that happen, nothing would make me happier.
Goodbye, familiar old mansion.
And then, just before the carriage departed…
“WHAAAT THE HEEEELL IS THIIIIIIISSSSS!?”
… I heard my bastard uncle scream.
Kukuku. This is the best send-off ever.
What do you think about this chapter?
