Volume 6 Chapter 5 The Work Of A Servant
The next morning, feeling the strong sunlight that hinted it would be quite hot today, Al visited Lord Radyard at the back entrance of the lord's mansion.
"Good morning."
Al explained to the guard that he was there to see Lord Radyard and asked him to let him in. It seemed the message had gotten through, as the guard checked the seal on the introduction letter Al had and then led him to what appeared to be a dining hall for the servants, telling him to wait there for a while.
As he waited, feeling the judging gazes of what he assumed were the mansion's staff, a sturdy man in his fifties with short, graying hair arrived, accompanied by a younger man in his late twenties who was also quite large.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Radyard. This is my son, Sigmund. You're Alfred, the one Guildmaster Levy mentioned, right?"
Al quickly stood up from the chair and bowed. When Sigmund's eyes met Al's, he grinned with a fierce look.
"Yes, but in the Adventurers' Guild, I'm commonly called Al. Please feel free to call me Al, Lord Radyard."
"Ah, I see. When I asked around the Adventurers' Guild, everyone seemed to only know you as Al and looked puzzled when I mentioned Alfred."
Recently, Al thought with a wry smile that he only went by Al now.
"Your reputation is quite good. Guildmaster Levy said to raise the reward because you can be counted as a valuable asset. But the plan was already set. This time, you'll be hired as a servant."
"Um, what's the plan? I heard there's a Barbarian subjugation in a week..."
So this is what Barbara was talking about. Al didn't have any objections, but he wanted to hear more details, so he decided to ask.
"Ah, yes. It's better to know these things. Do you know that every summer, there's a large-scale Barbarian subjugation?"
In the border city of Lester, a knight order works for Viscount Lester and carries out the Barbarian subjugation every year to help develop the frontier. This year, Naresh will join the subjugation for the first time. Al's main job is to protect Naresh during this event happening in a week.
"Wow, so it's his first battle. Impressive."
When Al showed his admiration, Lord Radyard nodded with pride. Barbara mentioned that he was meant to be Naresh's bodyguard, which meant he must have trained hard for it. In Al's family, the oldest brother would inherit the title of knight, but as a poor noble family in the countryside, they could only afford a simple celebration for his coming of age and first battle. However, in the Viscount family, even as the second son, he was expected to achieve something great.
"This operation's target is a settlement in the marshlands. It seems there are about 100 Lizardmen and around 300 Goblins there. We have 20 knights from the Viscount family and about 100 retainers. Plus, there are around 50 adventurers for carrying supplies and providing protection."
To Al, there seemed to be a lot of Barbarians, but Lord Radyard explained that most of them didn't have ranged weapons, making them no match for the retainers' crossbows. The real threat came from stronger creatures that sometimes joined the Lizardmen and Goblins. These stronger foes couldn't be taken down by crossbows, so it was up to the knights to handle them.
If they could conquer this settlement, it would allow humans to expand their living area. There was even a chance to create one or two new villages. To Al, this felt like a story or something that happened far away. He learned that Guildmaster Levy had suggested him as part of the fighting force, but he was glad he wouldn't be directly involved in the battles.
"If Sir Naresh can defeat a higher-ranked Kilolizardman or Hobgoblin, that would be quite an achievement. First, we need to see if we can encounter one..."
As the number of Lizardmen and Goblins grew, stronger types like Kilolizardmen and Hobgoblins started to appear. These higher-ranked species were bigger and tougher than regular ones. The Kilolizardman, in particular, had strong, scaly skin that made it very hard to hurt unless you were a skilled fighter.
"Is Sir Naresh going to lead us?"
When Al asked, Lord Radyard shook his head lightly.
"This time, the commander is His Excellency Baron Oliver, the leader of the Viscount Lester's knight order. Sir Naresh, myself, and my son Sigmund will participate as knights. You should stay with Sir Naresh as his attendant. The setup of the camp and meals will be handled by the porters and the adventurers we hired for protection."
According to Lord Radyard, Al was to stay by Naresh's side for the week and assist him. It seemed he was expected to get to know the other knights and important attendants before the battle began. While he was being told various details that caught his interest, the dining hall door suddenly swung open.
Entering was Viscountess Tara, followed by 2 women who seemed to be her maids. Upon seeing her, Lord Radyard's previously dignified expression changed to one of confusion. Sigmund, standing behind him, looked the same way.
"Sir Radyard, didn't I tell you to inform me when Al arrives?"
"But, I wanted to explain about this request first..."
"That's just a formality; what he needs is..."
"Madam...?!"
Does my job have a front and a back? Al casually looked around. One woman who was carrying away the finished dishes suddenly hurried out of the room, leaving only Al, Lord Radyard, and Sigmund in the dining hall.
Radyard and Viscountess Tara started talking quietly. As Al listened, it seemed like their discussion mixed Patricia's feelings of loneliness and Naresh's first battle, and they didn't agree on which was more important.
Of course, Radyard thought Naresh's first battle was the main topic, while Tara believed Patricia's feelings were more important. Al felt uneasy, wondering if something suspicious was going on, but he sighed in relief.
"Isn't it important for Sir Naresh to gain achievements and aim for knighthood first?"
"Of course, that's important, but... Patricia has lost her whole family and feels very lonely. As her aunt, I can't just leave her like that."
Al didn't really understand how things got to this point, but it seemed like their conversation was going nowhere. He thought it would be easy to just split their time, but neither of them suggested that. Al looked at Sigmund, who was next to Radyard, but he didn't seem to care about their discussion and was doing some leg exercises.
"Um... should I meet Lady Patricia at least once?"
Al asked hesitantly.
"Yes! That would be great. I'm glad you want to meet her, Al!"
Viscountess Tara replied with a big smile. Al wanted to say something was off, but correcting her was hard. However, he knew he couldn't just keep meeting her all the time. Al continued speaking.
"Lady Patricia is a very high-ranking person from my point of view, so I don't think I can stay by her side all the time. After a brief meeting, I'll help Sir Naresh..."
"Very important... that's true, but..."
"Hmm, that's right. Also, during the expedition, we need him to join us."
Seeing Viscountess Tara deep in thought, Lord Radyard interrupted. Al quickly lowered his gaze, trying not to look at Viscountess Tara's face. He felt it was rude to stare at someone of her high status. He had said what he needed to, but what would be the decision? Had he said something disrespectful?
"An expedition, huh? Let's compromise on that. It can't be helped. You can join them. But Al, make sure to cooperate with Naresh."
What does that mean... Al thought secretly, but he couldn't say it out loud. He felt like he was missing out on something. He had a feeling he understood why neither of them had suggested a compromise.
"We'll think about the details later, but Lady Patricia is waiting. Al, come with me."
* * *
The room Al was led to by Viscountess Tara was quite deep inside the building. It was probably a part of the lord's residence where the Viscount and her family lived.
"I've brought the person you've been waiting for!"
With a cheerful voice, Viscountess Tara knocked on the heavy brown door, which opened right away. Joanna stepped out, her short hair styled neatly. She wore a bright blue knight's outfit, looking dignified──very different from her usual look. When she saw Al, she smiled warmly and welcomed him inside.
"Good morning!"
Patricia must have reached her aunt's place and felt relieved. Al called out cheerfully as he entered the room. Inside, Patricia, with her beautiful platinum blonde hair styled elegantly and her cheeks flushed, lightly held the hem of her sparkling pink dress and bowed politely to Al.
"Good morning, Sir Al."
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