This other world closely resembled medieval Europe on Earth, but there was a difference in scale.
By comparison, this world was overwhelmingly bigger.
Just looking at where I belonged made that plain.
At present, I was a serf belonging to the Sixteenth Manor of the Barony of Gias.
Our manor alone had a population of over a thousand, and our territory had a whopping twenty-four manors of this size.
And that was for a mere barony.
What's more, that was only counting the manors. There were also plenty of villages where freemen made up the bulk of the population.
Was that why?
The place I was in right now was the ‘audience chamber’ of the lord's castle.
It's already funny enough that a mere baron has an audience chamber.
On top of that, it was decorated all over with luxury goods and works of art.
He was flat-out playing king.
“Oh, how can this be. At last, even I have a Spirit Knight…!”
A plump, middle-aged man looked at me with a deeply moved expression.
It was my lord, Baron Gias.
He was draped in luxury goods from head to toe….
He was the very picture of a pearl necklace on a pig's neck.
As I was admiring the lord's physique, the corrupt official beside me dropped to one knee and said,
“That this lowly vassal could be of even the slightest help to my lord is the honor of a lifetime.”
Wow, this guy's really something.
His skill at sticking his spoon onto someone else's table was a work of art.
“Yes, yes. Your merit is great as well! I hereby commend you, so you may now take your leave.”
“Pardon? Ah… yes, my lord.”
An unmistakable dismissal.
The corrupt official left the audience chamber with a stiff face.
He looked disappointed that he hadn't gotten to eat any of the bean powder.
“You.”
The lord called to me and waddled closer.
Then he grabbed my hand and,
“You. Tell me your name once more.”
His hand didn't have a single callus.
I wondered if this was really acceptable for the lord of a so-called knightly house.
He looked like he'd never once held a sword in his life.
I peeked at his talents.
[Swordsmanship S]
[Agility A]
[Command A]
What the.
With talents like these, he has a body like that?
Even his talents were a pearl necklace on a pig's neck.
A man who proved, with his entire body, that no talent shines without effort.
Personally, that was the type I found most pathetic.
Of course, I hid those inner thoughts thoroughly and bowed my head sharply.
“My name is ‘Lark,’ my lord.”
“Oho. Lark! The more I hear it, the finer it rings.”
Didn't they say spirit summoners were rarer than mages?
The lord looked at me with eyes dripping with honey.
It was very uncomfortable.
Drawing on my experience with office social life in my past life, I managed my expression, and then,
“It is a great honor for my lord to call my name.”
“Hohoho! You are mature beyond your years and know your manners beyond your station. As expected of a gamekeeper family. A distinguished house among farming families.”
“I do not know where to put myself, my lord.”
When I bowed my head even deeper, the lord stopped me and raised me back up.
“Very well. But this white thing, what sort of spirit is it?”
The lord pointed at Saltia as he asked.
He seemed to be asking about Saltia's attribute.
Hmm, it'd be better not to answer honestly.
This was a world where it was common sense to have earth spirits find mineral veins and water spirits find water veins.
In that case, having a salt spirit find salt veins wouldn't be a very hard idea to come up with.
What if this greedy lord learned Saltia's attribute?
I might end up having to find salt veins and offer them up to him.
Of course, if I did that, I could earn plenty of the lord's trust.
But.
Would this greedy, extravagant lord share the profits with me properly?
- I do not think he ever would.
Right, Saltia.
We really are on the same wavelength.
Saltia and I doing the tricks while only the lord's belly gets fat? No thanks.
To use Saltia's ability entirely for myself, I said this.
“That is…. I am not sure, my lord.”
“Ehh? You do not know?”
“I have lived as a lowly serf, so I know nothing about spirits.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
The lord nodded a few times, then turned around with a grave expression.
A woman with a mysterious air was standing there.
Her hair was as white as snow, but judging by her youthful face, it didn't seem to be white from age.
“I say, Dame Dahlia.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What do you make of it, as a mage? Do you sense nothing from this spirit?”
So that was Dahlia.
The territory's only mage.
She narrowed her tawny eyes and said to me,
“That's strange, though. Didn't the spirit tell you? You'd think it would at least tell you its own attribute.”
Hm. A question like this?
I saw it coming.
Saltia. Act.
“I keep trying to talk to it, but it just keeps making this sulky face and won't open its mouth.”
Dahlia approached to check Saltia's expression.
Her white hair swayed with every step.
“Hmmm….”
Dahlia drew close.
Letting out a low hum, she observed Saltia.
Then she suddenly nodded.
“I'd heard there are spirits with strong egos…. But looking at that face, it's definitely a knucklehead.”
A way of talking that didn't match her mysterious appearance.
At those words, Saltia went berserk.
Twin wicks of fury lit in his eyes.
- What?! Knucklehead? How dare you!
Saltia flew at Dahlia.
In response, she hurriedly raised her staff.
In an instant, a veil of wind formed.
- Hah! A veil like that! I shall purify it!
Saltia slammed his body into the veil.
Then the wind veil scattered without a trace, and Saltia flew full force at Dahlia's forehead.
THWACK—!
Saltia's full-body headbutt.
“Ow!”
Dahlia reacted as if she'd been flicked on the forehead and clutched her head.
I hurriedly ran over and stopped Saltia from launching a follow-up.
Calm down. Calm down.
You won.
Saltia.
- Hmph! Lark. For your sake, I shall leave it at this.
With that, Saltia went into my pants pocket.
I hurriedly bowed my head and apologized.
“I'm sorry. I didn't know either, but this little guy is a bit hot-blooded….”
“Hoho. Think nothing of it. Hohoho!”
The lord intercepted my apology midway.
So I tried to apologize to Dahlia again, but it didn't seem like the right moment.
“My wind veil….”
Thoroughly crestfallen, Dahlia was muttering to herself.
It seemed the breaking of her magic had come as a shock.
I looked at her with pity.
[Wind Attribute Affinity E]
[Magic F]
Geez, crap. No wonder it broke.
What's there to be so shocked about?
With talents like those.
That aside, a person like this is the territory's only mage?
Mages really must be rare.
“Um, Dame Dahlia. Are you all right?”
At my question, Dahlia shook her head, and then, as if nothing had happened,
“That's only because that thing caught me off guard. You know that, right? If I'd been properly prepared, it wouldn't have broken! You know that, right?”
she snapped in a vicious tone.
What Dahlia said was probably true.
Even to me, it looked like Saltia had barged in before the magic was fully cast.
No, but still.
Then cast it faster.
Isn't that part of skill too?
“Um… right?”
“What? What's with that grudging answer?”
Oops!
My real thoughts had slipped out without my realizing.
As I was thinking of what excuse to make, the lord cut into the conversation.
“Dame Dahlia. So, what is that spirit's attribute?”
The reason the lord was obsessed with the attribute was obvious.
He had to find out the attribute to plan how to work me to the bone.
Dahlia pondered for a moment, then offered an answer.
“Hmm…. If I had to classify it, it seems closest to the ‘earth’ attribute…. But I cannot be certain.”
“Cannot be certain? What do you mean by that?”
“The spirit's power is still weak, and the summoner's level is low as well, so I cannot sense anything. Perhaps you might inquire with the spirit summoner of the County of Daon….”
Then the lord jumped up.
His eyes, buried in fat, flew wide open.
“Are you mad?! You would have me let that greedy Count Daon hear of a new spirit summoner's birth?”
Seeing the lord's reaction, the [Spirit Arts] talent seemed to be even rarer than I'd thought.
“…My apologies, my lord. I misspoke.”
“Never mind the apology. Is there a way to discover that spirit's attribute as discreetly as possible?”
Then Dahlia's stiff face relaxed.
She knew a very simple answer.
“If discovering it discreetly is the goal, time will solve it.”
“Time?”
“Yes. From the look of it, the contract was formed not long ago, so the bond with the spirit does not seem to be deep yet. That is likely why the spirit will not even reveal its own attribute.”
At Dahlia's words, the lord raised the corners of his mouth and spoke.
This man's mood swings between joy and grief at the drop of a hat.
“Oho. Then as you say, it is a problem that will resolve itself naturally with time?”
“That is so, my lord. Moreover, that spirit summoner is still young, so there is more than enough room for growth. Please wait and see.”
Dahlia was saying good things, unexpectedly.
I'd thought she'd hold a grudge after getting flicked on the forehead by Saltia, but it seemed she knew how to separate public matters from private ones.
“Very well, then. Bring a sword! I shall hold the ‘knighting ceremony’ right this moment!”
Huh?
What's this now?
He's holding a knighting ceremony right here?
Just like that, on the spot?
That question was resolved by the lord's next words.
“Once His Majesty certifies your title, I shall hold a formal ceremony for you, so do not feel slighted.”
Ah, this guy.
He must really want a Spirit Knight.
He seemed to be in a big hurry, afraid other lords might snatch me away.
Well, nothing bad for me.
While a servant went to fetch the sword, the lord pointed to one of the walls.
A full map of the territory hung there.
“Is there a fief you desire?”
Here it is!
The chance to claim a super-premium salt vein!
Don't get nervous. Just move like we planned.
Got it, Saltia?
- Of course.
Saltia came out of my pants pocket and flew toward the map.
Pretending not to see, I answered the lord.
No, I only pretended to answer.
“The territory I desire is….”
“Wait! Your spirit is…!”
“Oh my. Look at that.”
The lord and Dahlia pointed at Saltia, their eyes wide.
I, too, put on a feigned look of surprise and,
“What?!”
let out a startled cry.
Where Saltia had flown was the left side of the map.
The part labeled Mount Morel.
That was the bald mountain where Saltia had sensed the large salt vein.
Earlier, on the walk here, I'd learned the name ‘Morel’ from the corrupt official, so I was easily able to pinpoint its location on the map.
“My lord. It seems…. I must receive that place as my fief.”
“So it seems. Your spirit is stuck fast to that spot.”
Just as the lord said, Saltia had his face pressed hard against the Mount Morel section.
Good.
You're doing great.
Saltia!
As I was cheering him on inwardly, the lord looked at Dahlia and asked,
“By the way, Dame Dahlia. Isn't that near your territory?”
Huh? What's this now?
That mage's territory is near Mount Morel?
Then what?
She's the big sister next door?
“That's right. It's a bald mountain on the outskirts of the territory called Mount Morel. It borders my territory, so I know it well.”
“Ahh. So that bald mountain was called Morel. But, Lark.”
The lord furrowed his brow as he called me.
For some reason, he looked worried.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Are you truly all right with that place? That mountain is utterly useless, you know?”
With a resolute expression, I looked the lord in the eye and said,
“My spirit desires that place. So I believe I, too, must desire it.”
“Why so?”
“If I keep aligning my heart with it like this, one step at a time, will that spirit not open its heart to me someday?”
Clap— Clap— Clap—
The lord suddenly began to clap.
Then he said with a deeply moved face,
“What remarkable loyalty!”
Pardon?
Loyalty?
What is this pig bastard going on about all of a sudden?
“Not coveting fertile land, but choosing diligent training to protect his liege! Truly commendable!”
Ah, did I say that?
No, I didn't?
I just…. wanted to hide the fact that there's a salt vein there, so I used training my spirit arts as an excuse and threw up a smokescreen…?
Well, I suppose.
It is a very feudal way of thinking.
The lord grants the knight a fief, and the knight bears the duty of protecting the lord.
Understood in that context, the lord's words did make some sense.
Then I'll play along.
“Yes, my lord! I will become a full-fledged spirit summoner as soon as possible, protect my lord, and contribute to the territory!”
“Hohoho! A loyal subject indeed! I shall bestow a reward, to set an example for all my retainers and vassals!”
Perhaps the lord was moved by my loyalty, because he decided to grant me the plains around it along with the bald mountain.
Kyaa, so this is the taste that makes people suck up?
As I was nodding to myself, the door of the audience chamber opened.
A servant came in carrying a sword and an oath scroll.
The sword to the lord.
The oath scroll to me.
“Want me to read it for you?”
The big sister next door, Dahlia, came over to my side and asked.
Most serfs were illiterate, so she was being considerate, but,
“It's fine. I can read.”
“…Really? That's unusual.”
A curt reply.
An unreadable expression.
What's with this woman?
“Now, Lark. Kneel.”
The lord wanted to hurry the ceremony.
To match his mood, I quickly knelt on one knee before him.
“I ask of you. Why do you seek to become a knight?”
With my head bowed, I read along from the oath scroll laid on the floor.
“To protect the weak and to save the wronged.”
“My will is the same as yours. Will you follow me?”
“I shall gladly join you in your noble will.”
SHING—!
The lord drew the sword he was holding and struck my shoulder with the flat of the blade.
“You. Can you stake your life on those words?”
“I swear it upon my life.”
“Very well.”
The lord returned the sword to its sheath.
Then he laid the sword on its side and handed it to me.
“I declare it! From this moment on! I, Lord of Gias, Baron Lilbicity von Gias, appoint you as my knight!”
The lord held out his hand to me as I knelt.
He helped me up and said,
“I look forward to your service, Sir Lark.”