Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 27. I Have Grown Stronger (4)

The most important thing for people is, after all, securing food, clothing, and shelter.

Food, in particular, was one of the chronic problems that plagued the Schneider fiefdom.

The fief itself was adjacent to the Great Forest, a monster paradise, so the amount of farmland was extremely limited.

It was a place where it was impossible to feed all the fief residents with the food produced in the fief.

So, the residents would risk danger to enter the forest to hunt small animals or gather tree nuts.

They also collected medicinal herbs and mushrooms whenever they saw them and stored them up.

But even with that, the food situation did not improve.

Every year, when winter began, people would freeze or starve to death in the Schneider fiefdom.

It was something that happened inevitably, even though Baron Schneider collected drastically less tax compared to other fiefs.

But this winter, the situation seemed to be different.

The food Patrick had bought with the money he earned in Parmas was distributed evenly.

The Schneider fiefdom was a small fief with a total population of no more than 5,000, but there was no lord anywhere who distributed food to all their residents.

“Truly. This is all thanks to the lord and the Young Master.”

“We all knew the lord was a kind and benevolent person, but the Young Master is also outstanding in his abilities.”

“I know, right? He wipes out all the monsters around the fief, doesn't he? And he goes to Parmas and earns a ton of money too. He's an amazing person.”

“Who would look at him and say he's only ten years old?”

“My son is twenty now, and I'd be happy if he could be half as good as the Young Master.”

“Ayy, that's being greedy. Is our Young Master any ordinary person?”

“Hahaha. You're right, aren't you?”

Thus, Patrick's popularity among the fief residents soared sky-high.

He had gained great popularity before when he wiped out the monsters around the fief and made the residents safe, but this time, by solving the food situation, he was elevated to an object of worship.

If Patrick were to declare to the Schneider fief residents today that they were an independent nation, it seemed they would willingly follow.

That's how much everyone respected and followed Patrick.

Well, of course, there were some exceptions.

* * *

“Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooood job. A good job indeed.”

Patrick's sarcasm was exceptionally long.

And in front of the long-winded, sarcastic Patrick, 200 soldiers of the fief were all in a headstand.

“You dare to slack off on your training? You dare? Your training? Slack off?”

With each word Patrick spoke, the soldiers' bodies trembled.

Then….

“I'm sure I told you to practice the footwork while I was gone. You ignored my command? Do you think I'm a pushover? Huh? A pushover?”

The reason for Patrick's fury was precisely this.

He had gathered the soldiers in the training ground and checked their progress with the Five Elements Steps, and the results were far below his expectations.

Seeing Sanson use it against the troll, he had thought, ‘So they did practice to some extent.’

For Patrick, who had been contemplating whether to praise them, even if just a little, it was an infuriating situation.

“You're all insane! If you're going to slack off on your training, then just quit, you bastards! No, just die! Die! If you don't die, I'll beat you to death right now!”

Watching the rampaging Patrick, the soldiers momentarily thought, ‘That demon might actually do it.’

At that moment, one soldier bravely decided to resolve the situation.

He stood up, raised his hand high, and spoke to Patrick.

“Young Master.”

“What is it? Soldier A.”

“It's Oliver.”

“So what? What do you want?”

Oliver cautiously spoke to the irritably questioning Patrick.

“Young Master, you are misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“Yes. It's not that we didn't practice the steps. We practiced the set amount for the set time every day.”

“Hoo? You did?”

“Yes. It's just that the results didn't meet your satisfaction, Young Master.”

“Oh? Is that so? So you guys worked hard, but the results of the training just didn't show?”

“That's right.”

“So, although the results may be poor, you want me to acknowledge the value of your effort. Is that what you're saying?”

“That is exactly right, Young Ma... Kwuek!”

Oliver's excuse, in a desperate attempt to clear up Patrick's misunderstanding, was nullified by a single kick from Patrick that exploded on his face.

In fact, it had the opposite effect.

Patrick's eyes flashed with killing intent as he looked at the other soldiers.

“You're all playing around as a group. You call that an excuse? You rotten things!”

Seeing Patrick, who was like fuel poured on a fire, the other soldiers all thought in unison.

‘That bastard Oliver had to make an excuse.’

‘If I die today, it's because of that bastard.’

‘If I don't die, I'm going to sew that bastard Oliver's mouth shut first.’

And Patrick, literally going wild, said.

“You bastards. Is that training if it doesn't produce results? It's just killing time, isn't it?”

The soldiers flinched.

“I bet while I was gone, you guys slacked off on the footwork training and just swung your swords, right?”

More soldiers flinched.

“And you still say you trained hard? That I'm misunderstanding? The value of effooooort!?”

The soldiers were now almost shrinking.

Every word Patrick spoke whipped their consciences with a lash called guilt.

“Kukuku…. Kukukukuku…. Right. I was foolish. I was foolish to think that you would follow my words well.”

Before they knew it, there were two wooden swords in Patrick's hands.

Then….

“Everyone, on your feet!”

The soldiers sprang up.

And Patrick said….

“From now on, it's the practical training session you all love so much.”

‘When did we ever?’

‘When did we ever?’

The soldiers' excuses did not leave their mouths.

Instead, a terrifying sentence began to flow from Patrick's lips.

“From now on, I will beat you. If you step the footwork correctly, you can dodge. But if you can't, you get hit. Simple, right?”

“Yes? Yes?”

“We'll do it until you get it right. Now then…”

“Just a moment, Young Master.”

“It's our patrol time… It's patrol time.”

“It's time for a joyous beating! You bastards!”

That day, all day long, the training ground of the Baron Schneider family's estate echoed with the sorrowful screams of the soldiers and their curses against Patrick.

This was the only place in Baron Schneider's fiefdom where Patrick was resented.

* * *

Patrick's daily life passed by busily.

Having been granted several official rights by Baron Schneider, Patrick moved energetically on various fronts.

First, he dealt with commerce.

“From now on, all purchases of goods for the fief will be made through the Red Merchant Guild.”

The Red Merchant Guild was one of the legitimate businesses operated by the Thieves' Guild.

They promised to supply goods from the outside at a low price and to sell the materials produced in the fief.

And by them visiting the Schneider fiefdom periodically, Patrick was able to obtain external information.

“Understood, Young Master. But are they trustworthy?”

“Trustworthy?”

Patrick smirked.

How could he trust a bunch of thieves?

However….

“It'll be fine. If they don't want to die, they won't pull any scummy stunts.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Lawrence didn't know the details, but since it was Patrick's word, he decided to trust and follow it unconditionally.

Then Patrick said.

“Lawrence, don't do everything by yourself; delegate the work. It would be good to entrust it to Chandler.”

“That friend is still young and inexperienced. Will that be alright?”

“It's fine. He's smart, so he does well.”

“Hahaha, it seems you've taken a liking to him.”

“Well, a little…”

Patrick said with a dry cough.

“In any case, you should not overwork yourself, eat well, sleep well, and take thorough care of your health. Don't work more than six hours a day, got it?”

“Hahaha. Understood. Since you're looking out for me like this, Young Master, I suppose I will live a very long life.”

“Please do. The thought of running this fief without you makes my vision go dark.”

At Patrick's words, Lawrence just smiled warmly and laughed it off.

The old butler who had dedicated his life to the fief was smiling with a ‘I know everything’ expression, making Patrick feel awkward, so he changed the subject.

“How are the children we're protecting?”

“I've hired a few of the ladies of the fief to look after them. The children in good health are adapting quickly.”

“That's a relief. When the doctors come, have them check on the kids and the other fief residents too.”

It cost more money than he thought to call the doctors.

So, Patrick's calculation was to get his money's worth when they came.

At this, Lawrence smirked and said.

“Yes. Understood. Ah! And there are some fief residents who wish to adopt some of the children. Shall we proceed immediately?”

“No. The matter of becoming a family cannot be handled so carelessly.”

Patrick firmly denied it.

Even if an adult adores children, taking responsibility and becoming a parent is another matter entirely.

If things go wrong, they could take the child home and then change their mind, leading to abuse or labor exploitation.

Since the Schneider fief was a good-hearted country fief, the possibility was low, but one never knew.

“Take your time and let the child and the parents get to know each other. Have them repeat the experience of sleeping over for a few days and then returning to the protection facility several times.”

“A sort of trial period, I see.”

“Right. If, after that, both the child's and the parents' hearts remain unchanged and it seems fine, then proceed. Take at least a month and proceed slowly.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Hearing Patrick's instructions, Lawrence smiled with satisfaction and thought.

‘No matter what, the Young Master is still the Baron's son, after all.’

There was no way that caring for children, which brought in no money, would cost little.

But seeing him handle the matter with caution, even at a loss, one couldn't deny that the blood of a good person, like Baron Schneider, flowed in Patrick's veins…

“Then, it's my patrol time, so I'll be going. Hehehe. You monster bastards are all dead!”

“……”

No. The possibility of him being a mutation was also there.

* * *

After finishing his work with Lawrence, Patrick conducted a patrol around the fief.

When he had left for his trading trip this time, it was quiet for a while, but not long after, a troll eventually went on a rampage.

That meant that if the area around the fief was not cleaned out periodically, the safety of the fief residents could not be guaranteed.

So, patrols had to be done periodically.

However, what had changed from before was….

“Let's go, guys.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

A few soldiers, including Sanson, were following behind Patrick.

Previously, Patrick had roamed the area around the fief with just Brian, but now, about ten soldiers were following him.

‘From tomorrow, you will patrol the outskirts of the fief with me.’

The ones Patrick had selected were those among the soldiers whose proficiency with the Five Elements Steps was at least decent.

He had decided to take them with him under the judgment that they could at least take care of themselves.

Of course….

‘That youngest brat was so slow having to skin the hides and carry the luggage all by himself. This is great.’

For now, their role was more that of a porter than a combatant.

But one day, they too must become proper combatants and knights who protect the fief.

For that to happen, they needed to gain some degree of practical combat experience starting from now.

However….

“Y-… Young Master. It's a werewolf.”

“Yeah. I know. Fighting!”

“Uwaaaak! Young Master.”

“You should look ahead. Ahead. It'll hurt if you get bitten.”

“You son of a biiiiitch!”

That standard of ‘some degree of practical combat’ was thoroughly centered around Patrick.