Published: January 12, 2026
The carnival was in full swing.
It became so lively that the villagers, who were taking turns keeping watch outside, pleaded for it to continue into the night.
Nearly one hundred and fifty people enjoyed the meat, yet it didn’t seem to decrease at all.
“So delicious, so delicious!”
“Ugh... I can’t eat anymore...!”
“I wonder if we’ll get some tomorrow too...”
Even after the carnival ended, many villagers couldn’t resist snatching pieces of meat while cleaning up.
It seemed the villagers had completely been spoiled. When I went around in the morning, one after another, villagers called out to me.
“Lord Van! Good morning! The meat was amazing!”
“My lord, thank you for your patrol!”
“My lord! Please marry Til!”
“Huh!?”
Every time I walked, warm greetings and thanks were thrown my way, which made me very happy. But as for the one who said he wanted to marry Til—I’ll tell him that after I defeat Dee.
Not wanting to lose her, I took Til’s hand as we walked.
“Oh, Lord Van holding my hand after so long... hehehe, did you want to be spoiled?”
Til asked happily, her eyes full of affection. Well, she’s just eight after all. That’s the privilege of a child. However, walking down the main street with everyone watching with fond smiles made me feel a little embarrassed.
“Oh, you’re letting go?”
She said disappointedly, but Van is the lord. Being cute is important, but dignity is too.
“Til? I’ll find the kindest person to marry you, okay?”
When I said that, Til laughed joyfully.
“My job is to take care of Lord Van. Marriage is still far from my mind, you know?”
With eyes full of gentle reproach, as if looking at a sulking little brother, Til said that, making me purse my lips.
“But if you take it too easy, you might end up a spinster…”
“P-Please don’t worry about that…”
Til’s smile twisted awkwardly.
That said, Til is eighteen now. Normally, she would already be married by this age.
Well, in this world, maybe there’s a grace period until around twenty-five, but most people decide on their marriage between fifteen and twenty.
It can’t be helped. If she’s not married by twenty-five, maybe I’ll take her myself.
Thinking this, I reached the village entrance.
After checking both sides, I headed to the watchtower where the lazy patrol was stationed.
Climbing the stairs to the rooftop, I stood next to a villager leaning his elbows on the thick handrail at the edge and looked down the highway together.
“Anything unusual?”
“Nah, nothing. It’s boring. But the farmers and water fetchers have it tough, so we can’t complain, huh.”
The man said with a bitter smile, then turned to notice Til, who was close in height, then me and Kamushin, and froze.
We stared at each other for a beat before the man immediately stepped back.
“L-Lord Van!? I-I’m so sorry! I wasn’t slacking off or anything…!”
The villager started sweating nervously and making excuses. I smiled wryly and looked outside the village.
“Watching is about keeping an eye on the outside, so I don’t think you’re slacking. But try to watch beyond just the highway, okay?”
Saying that with a smile, the man straightened up and resumed his vigilance.
“Th-That’s…”
Suddenly, the man pointed down the highway and shouted, making me squint in surprise.
I peered intently but could only make out a faint black dot-like shadow.
As I stared so hard it felt like my eyes might pop out, a voice came from the watchtower on the other side.
“It’s the peddlers! Bell and Rango!”
They could even recognize faces!?
I was astonished and looked at Til and Kamushin, and both were staring down the highway with similar expressions.
Good. It seemed my eyesight wasn’t exceptionally bad after all.
Relieved, I noticed there were quite a few people. They had gotten close enough for me to see that the peddlers came with two carriages and five or six people around them.
Of course, even that close, I couldn’t recognize faces.
“Let’s pull up the bridge and prepare the ballista for now.”