Chapter 7 (1/2)
07.KARL
The south region of the kingdom of Arcadia, Raconia. It was a contested region, and originally, it belonged to one of the seven kingdoms, the kingdom of Ostoberg. Before that, it used to be Arcadia´s territory, and even before that, it also used to be from Ostoberg; that so on.
In a land like this, there wasn´t anyone at the fields working; it was a desolated place that had kept changing owners. There was anybody eccentric enough to want to settle in a place like this. There weren´t any benefits for conquering this land anymore; the kingdoms continued fighting for it only for keeping their faces.
Once again, another battle that seemed to be as if it had been arranged by both sides was taking place today.
“…I am tired of this.”
A bit to the front of the fort, at the field the battle was happening, there was a white haired man.
“Ah, yes yes. It is really nice you are full of energy, yes.”
“Uryaaaaaaaaaaaah Hyueeeeeeei!”(うえりゃあああああああひゅえええええええい！)
“….Get a hoe or something and go work on the field. In the next world, though.”(TL note: Literal translation… I guess this would be in the meaning that the guy there is so weak he wasn´t supposed to be in the war, but doing farm work instead.)
One more head was cut. The white haired man was dejected.
“This is only a little quarrel of small fries. Even if I fight here, I won´t get even a single copper coin.”
Nimbly parrying the attacks of the enemy soldiers, the man casually continued to cut off the heads of the enemy soldiers. However, even if you more or less stood out in the battle, it didn´t mean you would make a good impression to the upper bra.s.s. To begin with, you wouldn´t even get their attention. If Willian was to stood out, the most he would get would be he being used for whatever dirty work there was by his small fries officers that were only able to get to their position by slowly rising up.
“The superiors are also desperate about their own life anyway, so they aren´t even looking at me.”
The young man was spilling idle complaints. To him, there wasn´t anything to learn in this place, and there wasn´t any gain from it either. This was exactly how the land they were fight for could be described as.
““Let´s eat something and go to sleep after this war is over.””
The young man fought with lack of motivation while he was thinking that. Before he could notice, it was already becoming morning. The war was close to its end.
Today, another of the usual battle from everyday had finished. Just like always, it ended in a draw.
The fort of Raconia was replete with merchants. Even if there was no productivity in this land, the soldiers would still buy things, and besides, the money gained from that wasn´t bad. As the result of that, the place was unexpectedly very prosperous. Most of the shops were stalls, but there were some that would rent buildings for setting their shop.
“Rabbit stew! It´s filled with meat.”
In a shop that hadn´t prospered as much as the other of the many other shops, a white haired young man was having lunch.
“Here it is.”
The dish that was crudely served was a bunch of food piled up in the bowl in an unorganized manner, but the amount of food served was very much, the price was cheap, and the taste…
“Like always, it is disgusting.”
Although the youth bluntly said so, the owner of the eatery didn´t even bat a glance. As if the young man wasn´t feeling the horrible taste, he sipped the stew and ate the rabbit meat.
Ignoring the taste, the youth continued to eat. He noticed the presence of someone sitting next to him, but without caring about that, he continued to move his spoon.
“Uhh… Give me the same as that person there.”
An order that lacked individual opinion. Without either the white haired young man or the owner of the eatery caring about these details, they continued to do their own business. From the cooking pot, the owner took a healthy amount of stew and put it into a bowl that was of the appropriate size. Because of how much appropriate the amount was to the size of the bowl, the people that would order for the food would get surprised. There really weren´t many people that would ask for seconds in this eatery.
“Here it is.”
The person became lost for words after seeing the food that being was served to him. After trying it, he once again became lost for words. And then, after looking at the remaining amount, he felt like foam was about to come out of his mouth. This was the pattern the people that would come to this eatery for the first time would do.
“Yo-you are really incredible. For you to be able to eat this…”
It seems the person next to the young man was talking to him. The young man raised his head.
“Ah, uhh, I am n.o.body suspicious. I am from the same squad as you. My name is Karl Teirah.”
After looking at the youth that named himself Karl, in an instant, memories that there had been a new recruit at their squad went through the young man´s mind. It was possible to feel the quality of his bringing only by giving a glance at his curled golden hair.
“Willian Rivius. Nice to meet you.”
After saying that, Willian went back to eating his meal. Willian used to be the freed slave called Al, but right now, he was called Willian Rivius. He was a third cla.s.s citizen that came from Rus.h.i.+tania.
“I know it! Everyone has been talking about you. They said there was a strong guy with white hair. And also that… you weren´t much of talking…”
Karl nervously said the last part in fear the owner of the eatery would hear it. In a sluggish manner, Willian once again raised his face.
“Your business?”
“Uhm… Well, I was wondering if we could be friends.”
At that instant, Willian was a.s.saulted by a feeling of deja vu. Karl´s face was being overlapped with the face of the red haired boy. Even though the red and golden were different colors, their character were similar.
“…Sorry, but I will refuse. I don´t want to make any friends here.”
Because of that att.i.tude, Willian wasn´t a very likeable person. f