Published: January 13, 2026
When I returned to Seato Village, there were signs of some skirmishes, but nothing serious.
“Welcome back.”
Espada, along with the maids and soldiers, bowed their heads to greet me. Dee smiled happily and nodded several times.
"I'm back! I took back Scudetto, so I came home a bit earlier!"
At that, Espada’s eyes widened slightly.
“Already? As expected of Lord Van. When I heard that the ironclad fortress was captured, I thought a siege would take months... No, that was a foolish question.”
Saying that, Espada glanced at the armored carriage behind me and seemed satisfied on their own. Dee laughed, then suddenly noticed that our group was small.
“What happened to Captain Bola and the others?”
“Oh, Bola and his team joined Viscount Panamera’s knight order for a while. They’ll probably return much later.”
“Hmm. That sounds like a good experience. Our knight order is unusually lax in discipline and atmosphere compared to others. It would be good for them to learn from other knight orders while they’re there.”
Dee said this with a hearty laugh, and the knights exchanged wry smiles.
Well, even if the discipline and atmosphere are loose, the training is brutal. If the atmosphere were strict too, everyone might cry.
With that, laughing as we returned to my domain village, we headed back to the lord’s manor.
“What? Unimog brother is captured? Then, could this place really be a remote village in the Fertio Marquisate...?”
Once at the manor, I unloaded the Freitliner from the carriage to gather more information and gave a brief summary of the situation, but she looked puzzled as she surveyed the village scenery.
“Yes, this is Seato Village, now part of my domain.”
“H-Huh. This is that extremely poor village Unimog brother supposedly took control of... No, no, no! That can’t be true! I only saw a bit, but there were walls even more elaborate than Scudetto’s! Also, all the buildings have unfamiliar architectural styles, and there’s an impressive tower too!”
Freitliner’s eyes widened as she shouted. Soldiers on either side drew their swords, but she was completely oblivious.
“Well, isn’t that good? We built tall towers on both sides to monitor the surroundings carefully. The walls are probably sturdier than those in the capital city, and the defenses have a record of defeating dragons. This village is proud of its facilities.”
“Amazing!? No, no! That’s too incredible, but how can this be called a village!? The information we had was so far from this I’m dizzy!”
Freitliner held her head with both hands, making a fuss.
Hmm. Quite a good reaction. Just my type, Van-kun’s preference. I wonder if there’s anything else surprising.
Thinking this, I entered the lord’s manor, responding to everyone’s greetings as I headed to the study.
No sooner had I entered the study than Freitliner was tied to a chair. Arb and Row stood on either side, Dee stood menacingly behind, while Arte and I sat on the sofa opposite. Til and Kamushin stood flanking us.
Completely surrounded, Freitliner trembled with a pale face.
“...Now then, Freitliner-kun. You know it’s best for your own sake to reveal everything you know. If you don’t, you’ll regret ever being born…”
“Y-Yes! I’ll say anything! Please don’t kill me!”
She answered immediately, but I shook my head from side to side.
“...I see. Quite stubborn. Admirable guts for royalty, but here it’s just foolish. Let’s start with a small test — the fingernails. Then teeth, ears... I’ll save the eyes for last.”
“W-Wait, wait, wait!? Please hold on! I’ll talk! I don’t care about royalty anymore, I swear loyalty to Lord Van!”
“Heh heh heh... I wonder how long that bravado will last. Should be fun to see.”
“Listen! I’m not bluffing! I’m fully submitting!”
Hmm, interesting. Quite the talent.
While I was enjoying this promising rookie’s reaction, Til and Arte looked at me with furrowed brows.
Perhaps I was being a bit too harsh.
“Alright, alright. Fine. Unfortunately, torture will have to wait for another time.”