Published: January 12, 2026
This is the adventurer’s perspective from the previous battle.
I was unsure whether to share this before or after the last chapter, but I hope you enjoy it.
Nobles are all pretty much the same.
There are nobles greedy for money, nobles lecherous towards women, nobles swollen with nothing but pride—all of them are pointless.
I’ve taken requests from several nobles before. But there hasn’t been a single decent noble. Well, maybe from the nobles’ standpoint, that’s normal, but from my point of view, it’s far from normal.
No matter how many flowery words they use, or how much they talk about noble pride, in the end, they only look out for themselves and prioritize the interests of kings and nobles.
The lives of the common people and public order come last.
All of this probably stems from the deeply rooted class discrimination between nobles and commoners. No matter which noble I meet, I always feel that discomfort. In other words, every noble looks down on commoners, especially rootless adventurers like us.
This is something most adventurers and merchants who interact with nobles feel.
“Hah. Guarding some noble brat, huh.”
So when we first took the job, none of us were eager. My companions felt the same. We planned to stay in the Fertio Marquisate for a while, so we reluctantly accepted the request from the marquis family.
Therefore, when I met him for the first time, I was surprised.
“You must be Ort. I’m Van. Van Nei Fertio. Thank you for agreeing to be my guard.”
He greeted me politely, and without thinking, I shook his hand normally.
“Ah, y-yeah, nice to meet you.”
When I answered, the boy named Van looked at us with interest.
“You all look strong. Even the armor with scars looks cool, and the weapons are so heavy. Don’t they weigh you down?”
He asked, and though I was a bit flustered, I answered.
“Ah, well, yeah. They’re heavy, but that just increases their power…”
Stammering, I said this, and Van nodded several times before shifting his gaze to the other members.
Van’s many questions made the others quite unsettled. Watching their reactions for a while in dumbfounded silence, I found myself laughing unconsciously.
I was dreading a noble’s request, but the person we were guarding was just a normal, likable kid. Though, I hoped he’d drop the formal speech so I wouldn’t be tempted to start ruffling his hair.
With that thought, I set off to discuss the route to our destination with the one we were protecting.
Two weeks later, my impression of nobles had completely changed. Or rather, I realized there are nobles like him.
Though our time together was brief, I had grown quite fond of Van. If Van ever found himself in trouble as a lord, I’d be willing to come and help.
But I still didn’t know much about Van.
Van was to become the lord of a tiny village—a place with a bad reputation that used to belong to another noble’s territory. Everyone else would probably consider it a hassle and decline the lordship.
Still, Van took on the responsibility of a noble and risked his life for that difficult position. To protect the land and its people, he made a choice that would surely lead to his death.
What’s frightening is that Van’s concern wasn’t limited to the land and its people. He cared deeply about his knights, the retired butler old man, and even the lives of the maids and the slave children.
On top of that, when we adventurers expressed reluctance to risk our lives, he proposed a plan where no one would die—he alone would make the sacrifice.
“…He’s a strange guy, really.”
I muttered that while taking our positions, and a comrade nearby quietly chuckled.
“If Ort had refused the boy’s request back then, I would’ve been ready to stake my life instead.”
“Yeah, that kid’s something special. We can’t just kill a noble like him. If it were up to me, I’d want that boy to become king someday.”
My comrades spoke with amused expressions. I smiled slightly in response and looked out at the village.