262-Episode 174 Born as the next lord...

'It might be a bit of a long story, so let's have a meal together.

Ma'ru said happily to us just after we had eaten the baked goods.

He told us that Mahrul rarely invited people to his mansion, and that aside from the merchants who frequented the mansion, Theron and his friends were the only ones who did.

His relatives did not stop by often, and he had no one close to him in the same ward.

However, he is not a misanthrope and would like to invite guests and talk with them every day if he could.

...... I know a shy and lonely pharmacist like that.

You're like him.

The only difference is that Mahr is a very active person.

He'll come to the 42nd district in search of bricks, and he'll search for flowers in the garden until he finds one he likes.

And he loves new things, and unusual things even more.

'It's a beautiful garden.

'Oh, really?Thank you.

There were countless flowers planted in the garden of the mansion, but there was an even larger garden behind the mansion.

The garden was so huge that you could make a fortune if you built a giant maze, spreading out as far as the eye could see.

I thought it was a small hill overlooking the river.

Before entering the mansion, Estella had been excited about the view of the river from the garden, but that was just a bonus.

But that was a bonus. The river made a big curve and extended to the garden in the backyard.

More to the point, it led to the cliffs beyond.

In other words, the garden behind Mahrul's mansion stretched out over the cliffs that bordered the Forty-Two District.

'All the land you can see from here is our land. When we left our house, we asked for it.

Originally, it seemed that the lord controlled all the rivers and waterfalls that could create a right, and the watermills along the river were all his property.

There was a proposal to build a waterwheel at the waterfall, but if it were to be installed there, it would overhang the forty-two districts somewhat, and there was a possibility that a territorial dispute would break out.

Moreover, the population of the 29th district, with its small territory, was naturally small, and it was judged that a waterwheel for milling wheat and other products was not so necessary, so nothing was installed at the waterfall.

Therefore, even though the land was left idle, the previous lord gave it to him on the condition that he would build a house on the troublesome land, which was an important place that could not be encroached upon by others, and that Mauru would manage it.

However, it seems that there is a good chance that the land will be confiscated immediately if the lord asks for it.

Mahrul was resigned to the fact that if he could find a way to use the waterfall, it would be taken from him with or without his permission.

--And...

The only reason Estella is so focused on the beautiful scenery and I'm so focused on the money and interests is because I want to escape reality by looking away from the food on the ...... table.

'You. You've got to face reality. ...... No, I don't.'

Lucia calls out to our backs as we gaze out the large opening in the window into the backyard.

She is knocking on the table, trying to get us to turn our attention to it.

I can't help it, so I turn around and see ......

'You're going to have to deal with a lot of beans.

The large amount of beans on the table, about 60 percent of the food, was burned into my retina. ...... I'm going to dream about this scene for a while.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but there's a rule that says when you're serving a meal to invited guests, at least 60 percent of the food must be beans.

'...... Who decided that, anyway?

'The lords of the districts, of course. 'Of course, it's the lords of the districts, or BU, if you prefer.

Rules set by the BU.

Rules to push beans on others. Review .......

'You can keep this one. There's no way I can eat this much anyway.

It seemed that Mahrul wanted to give us a proper welcome in accordance with the rules, and the amount of food served was much larger than usual.

In short, he said, "Sixty percent of the food is beans, but ignore the beans and enjoy the other dishes.

The 40% of the dish, excluding the beans, is enough for a normal serving.

In order to make a single serving with only regular rice, extra beans must be placed on the table, which means that beans are wasted unnecessarily.

One and a half times as many beans as normal rice are 'piled up' on the table - that's how I would like to describe it.

Some of them seem to be boiled, but ...... most of them are raw lentils.

'I see. So if you don't cook them, you can use them next time.

They put the raw beans on the table as a 'salad' and leave them untouched as 'leftovers'.

Of course, since they are untouched, they are just beans and not leftovers.

You can eat them later or sell them somewhere else.

'Well, even if I do that, there's no one who'll take this large inventory.

Ma'ru muttered sadly.

This may be a way to avoid wasting as much food as possible, but it won't reduce the inventory.

If the warehouse is overflowing with beans, they will eventually get damaged and have to be discarded.

Mahrul, who has few friends, probably has no way to deal with such a large amount of beans.

It is inevitable that food will be wasted.

He looks as if he is heartbroken by this.

...... It was a little like the helpless look Ginette had once shown me.

You can take it back for free if you don't want it.

The next thing you know, you're talking about something outrageous.

...... d*mn.

Even when he's not there, he still manages to stimulate the little sycophant inside me.

Maybe the cliffs are close enough to let a little of the 42nd district air in.

'But you know, unlike other places, we only have lentils.

I've heard that sorghum is the specialty of the 29th district.

The coffee shop and other stores were serving peanuts and edamame, but I guess they were bound to serve the local specialty, sorghum, because of their position as blood relatives of the lord.

Come to think of it, the only person who sent us soramame in this district was the lord.

'The only way to eat sycamores is to boil them, so it's a problem for both the recipient and the cook.

'In a coffee shop, you don't want your customers to leave anything behind, so they probably prefer something they can eat up.

'I've heard that the rule at BU is to serve beans to the customers. I guess beans that can be handled well are more popular.

Listening to Mahr, Estella and Lucia guessed the situation in this district.

Perhaps I'm not so far off.

'The percentage of beans served in the store, the percentage of beans served to invited guests by the lord and his blood relatives, and the percentage of beans served to other guests varies depending on various circumstances. In the meantime, we are trying to keep it reasonable. ...... It's strange when you say 'serve beans to the customers', isn't it?

Mahrul self-deprecatingly complains about the distorted situation they are in.

It's not so much a complaint about the strange rules that bind the residents as it is a ......

So, you know. You don't have to be so hard on yourself, Yashippi.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

...... at all. You think I'm saying that out of the kindness of my heart?

Even if Jeannette's sycophantic aura has had some negative effects, I do not have the idea of helping or reaching out to those in need with goodness in my heart.

If I appear to be kind, it's when there's a hidden profit in it.

'I'll tell you two things.

So I'll tell Mahr to mind his own business.

'I don't like to spoil my food. Then ...... give me this and I'll be good to go.'

Of course, I'm not talking about eating lentils and saying, 'Delicious! That's not what I meant.

Lentils are an ingredient that is being steadily prepared to become bean sauce.

It's more efficient to stock up on what you can get in advance and have it ready for use, rather than scrounging up what you need once the plan is in motion. That's all.

'As long as we can manage the tax measures, we'll make a lot of money.

'Oh, in that case. You might want to take this with you.'

Mael instructed Cindy to bring a piece of paper.

It was a kind of certificate with the words, 'This is a gift from the lord to exempt you from taxes.

With this certificate, there is no tax when you take the beans out of the house.

It is natural, if you think about it.

Not only beans, but also lords would give gifts to those they are close to.

Sometimes, they even pay tribute to their superiors.

If such gifts are taxed, the gift will become a vengeance, and the relationship with the recipient will be damaged.

Tax exemption is a system that should be in place.

The tax revenue will go into the lord's pocket anyway, and if he just 'doesn't take it', it won't hurt or hurt him.

'Hmm. You've become quite gentle, haven't you, Yashiro?

Estella strokes my forelock in a teasing manner.

That's disgusting. Don't touch my bangs. You're making me nervous.

'Assunto said he's getting serious. The bean sauce production is as good as decided. Then let's just gather the materials so we can start production right away. If we can get it for free, we'll be all set.

'Huh. I didn't know you trusted Assunto that much.

...... I'll tell you what.

'When it comes to money, there's no one you can trust more than him. Like it or not.'

'Hmm, yeah. Mm-hmm.

If you don't quit that know-it-all face right now, you'll be screaming like a climber from a cliff into the 42nd district. I'll scream like a mountain climber.

Would you like to be 'flattened' or 'flattened' by Yamabiko?

'What's that, Toobanjan?

'Oh, ...... it's hard to explain, but it's a kind of seasoning. ...... I'll treat you to it when I get a chance.

'Oh, that would be fun.

You're giving me such a large amount of lentils. I'd be happy to do that for you. If you'll also take care of the tax exemption for bringing them to .......

Otherwise, come eat at the Sunshine Pavilion.

'Come on, we're ready.

Cindy, who had been preparing the food with Natalia and Gilberta in tow, called out to us.

She grabbed Theron and Wendy, who were happily gazing at the garden, completely ignoring us, immersing themselves in their own private world, and flirting and giggling, by the scruff of the neck and made them sit down, and we sat down too.

'Oh, um, Hero-sama...... we're not flirting with each other......'

'What?

'Any newlywed would do that!

'You've been doing that!I wish you would have denied it, you know!

I was expecting you to say, 'I didn't do that!

I swore to myself that I would never bring him back next time, and started to eat the food that was served.

The taste was quite good, and even though I had just eaten some baked goods, my chopsticks kept moving. ...... Well, I was using a fork and a knife, though.

It was not the pretentious cuisine of the aristocracy, but an exotic, home-cooked meal with an unusual yet nostalgic flavor that I liked a lot.

'I wonder what I should start with to make it easier to understand.

Meanwhile, Mael let out a sigh as he tore into the bread.

The BU is bound by strange rules, and the 29th district is unable to defy them. It may be that he was also thinking about the people who were accepting such a situation, but his sigh was heavy, as if he was worried about them.

Then, after thinking for a while, he glanced at me and nodded as if he was satisfied.

'Right. I think we should answer Yashippi's question first.

As we ate, Mahrul spoke quietly.

She was born the daughter of a lord,......, and came to live in this house.

'I was born as the daughter of a lord, and I was taught and taught and taught everything I could to rule this ward,......, and at the same time, everything else was taken from me.

I've never been accused of anything, but I've just taken for granted the facts that were there and turned them into words in a simple tone.

'My mother wasn't a very strong person, so she couldn't have any other children. They said it was a miracle that I was even born safely.

Estella once told me that in this city, even among the nobility, there are few people who approve of bigamy.

The same is true in the 29th district, where the lord remains in love with one person for life.

Theron and Wendy were listening to the story with blank stares. ...... Blast off later.

'From the time I was six years old, my prospective son-in-law visited the house constantly and gave me many gifts. But none of them ever reached me. If I accept them, they will be conveyed to the other party as a false reply.

'So there were a lot of people who wanted to be the son-in-law of a lord, even if they had to make up the facts .......'

'Yes. They must have been desperate. But that desperation was frightening to me when I was still young. I was beginning to think men were scary.

Everyone listened quietly to Ma'ru's words, trying not to interrupt him.

Occasionally, he would ask a question in return, but basically, he was a listener.

'By the time I reached adulthood, I had made up my mind to be single for the rest of my life. I would protect this land with my whole life - that's all I was thinking about. ...... You were young. I didn't think about what came after. I didn't even know what to do.

If Ma'ru remains single for the rest of his life, the blood of the Erin family, the lords of the 29th district, will be cut off.

If you've been in an environment that makes you phobic of men since you were six years old, you can't help but have a distorted view of love, and there's no way you can have the right knowledge.

Without some kind of positive interest, people do not want to learn about the unknown.

It is highly likely that Mahrul did not even know how to make a child, let alone the meaning and importance of procreation.

It's not like he was in a box. She's an iron-fisted young lady who locked herself in an iron prison.

That was the impression of Mahrul given by Bojek, Theron's father.

"A young woman of deepest learning who has decided to remain single for the rest of her life.

Ma'ru must have been well known both inside and outside the palace.

'Father was in a hurry, wasn't he? The family is in danger of being cut off. ...... But I had no intention of taking a son-in-law. If things continue like this, the Erin family will die out. Everyone thought so, and when the nobles around me started to make noise, the situation suddenly changed.

Perhaps the previous lord - Mahr's father - was in a great hurry.

Considering his age and the state of the world, he acted quite recklessly.

'I've got a baby brother.

That must have been quite a shock and despair to the nobles in this area.

If you can get Ma'ru - for lack of a better word - down, you can become a blood relative of the lord.

Even if not, if Mahrul succeeded to the throne, the House of Erin would eventually cease to exist and another noble would take over the throne.

The nobles must have spent a great deal of time and money preparing for either of these events.

And then, unexpectedly, a son was born.

The Erins had gotten an heir on their own.

'It was when I was 20. My parents were reasonably old,...... and my selfishness must have pushed them too far. ...... My mother passed away shortly after my brother was born.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I have. She gave birth again twenty years after Ma'ru's birth. The burden on her body was immeasurable.

'Since the birth of my heir, my world has changed completely. All the people who had been suffocating me disappeared at once, the expectations, the responsibilities, the pressure, everything disappeared in an instant. My place in the world, even the mission that I had believed I should devote my life to, was gone.

At the age of twenty, Ma'ru was 'used up' the moment the heir was born.

Perhaps his mother's death had something to do with it,......, but Ma'ru was kicked out of the house.

'It was so easy. Everything that had been mine, or at least what I thought was mine, was gone. All that's left is this body. There was no one I could trust, no one I could ...... trust.

But the education he had received to become a lord and the courage he possessed remained as weapons in Mahrul's hands.

'This land had been untouched for a long time because of the heir problem, and I made a place for myself on the condition that I would manage it. This is my castle.

The daughter negotiates with her father.

As a nobleman, that might be considered cheeky or rude.

But the previous lords accepted it.

He may have decided that it was better than letting things get out of hand and ending up with a strange man.

If he cornered Mahrul and she married a lord of a neighboring district, and territorial disputes or succession problems arose, he would be out of his depth.

It was probably the most convenient decision for the lord to let her do as she pleased to some extent and keep her there.

'When I was a child, thinking only of becoming a lord, there was one thing I liked and envied.

'Is that the garden?

'Yes.

The lord's manor had a well-kept garden.

That garden was probably the only thing that comforted Mahr, who couldn't do anything girlish.

'I was very determined to make a garden more beautiful than that one. It was then that I met Cindy.

Cindy frowned in embarrassment at the mention of her story.

'It was a lot of fun building the garden with Cindy, and from that day on, building the garden became my reason for living. I didn't need anything else.

The garden he created was incomparable in size, incomparable in beauty, and incomparable in splendor to the one in his lord's mansion.

'Maybe it's because my family was like that. I was very attracted to the bricks of Mr. Theron, who believed in his own skills and went his own way without hesitation.

'Hi,......, I'm sorry.'

Theron shrugged his shoulders and bowed his head impatiently.

You can feel the distance between them,......, so you should be more grandiose in your response.

In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at ....... I can't even imagine Theron playing with girls.

'Excuse me, Mr. Marle.'

Estella leans forward and opens her mouth reservedly.

'When you say that your parents' house was like that, do you mean that they didn't have ...... freedom?

Mahrul had no right to decide, no right to veto, everything was decided by the previous lord and those around him.

They took away his freedom, toyed with him, and then simply abandoned him.

It is no wonder that such a family is spat upon as being "just like that. ......

The meaning of the word "like that" in Ma'ru's words refers to such cold-hearted self-righteousness. That's what most people would think.

However, Estella's expression was clouded because if she was talking about cold-heartedness, the words "original line" would be floating in the air, or rather, unnatural.

It seems that he was right, and Mahrul shifted the conversation to the other issue.

'It's not that,......, it's not that, it's the lack of humanity, those people,......, no, all the people in this city.

I'm sure that Mael spent his childhood believing that he would eventually become a lord, and he has continued to look at this district with his young eyes.

'In this city, majority rule is everything.

I want to destroy that system. Maybe that's what he was thinking.

Mael's story then shifts to the reality of the BU that created this abnormal rule.