Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Volume 10 (eBook)

Fuurou (Autor)

Fuurou (Künstler)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-3150-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Construction in Baarbadal is going smoothly. The new road from east to west is almost done, the western border station is coming together, and a pub and a temple are just around the corner. Love is in the air, too, as Baarbadal and the onikin tribe look to strengthen their bonds by way of a few arranged marriages. And with Baarbadal on the rise, Hubert decides that it's time Dias got some serious lessons in etiquette, and he calls on an expert to teach Dias the ropes. Dias's newfound diplomatic skills will quickly be put to the test, however, when a scheming count and viscount visit with their eyes set on knocking Dias down a few pegs!

Textauszug

On the Way to the Kitchen Range—Dias

Once I was done talking with Uncle Ben I decided to wander Iluk Village. I didn’t really have any other pressing work to do, and I found myself heading to the kitchen range, where the grandmas and the Iluk Wives’ Club were busy getting dinner ready.

I spotted Alna among them, and with her were Sulio, Leode, and Cleve. It was unusual to see the four of them together, but I had a feeling they were together for a reason; it looked to me like they wanted to learn about food from Alna.

Sulio and his friends had come to Iluk at Neha’s request. She’d sent them to help improve relations and learn our ways. The lionkin weren’t just learning from me though—they were also studying under Mont, Hubert, and Aymer. Alna, too, had taken it upon herself to teach them about hunting and chores.

I didn’t know if it was all that necessary for the lionkin to study hunting, let alone chores, but I figured if that was what they wanted to learn then they should have at it.

Leode and Cleve had learned a lot from me, and even more from Mont, and it seemed to light a fire in the two of them. They were nothing like when they’d first arrived in Iluk; they held themselves more confidently, threw themselves into their studies, and were always filled with curiosity. This must have rubbed off on Sulio too, because he was just as enthusiastic to soak up whatever anybody thought to teach him.

I could tell that Alna was very passionate about what she was teaching, so I watched things from a distance. I wanted to hear what she was telling them, but I didn’t want to interfere.

“Those of us with the ability to speak...humans and demi-humans, are nonetheless a part of the natural world. We are not special. We are born into the natural world and protected by it, and are able to live our lives happily as a part of the cycle of life. But if we forget this fact, then we will be made to remember it, through some painful lesson or another.”

Alna let her words sink in before going on.

“Some in the kingdom are known for saying that looting and plundering are bad. And yet these same people often turn a blind eye to the looting and plundering of the forests and plains, and the massacring of animals. They act like they don’t see what is happening right in front of their eyes. We often kill animals without so much as a second thought, but it’s wrong to think that we ourselves are beyond a similar fate just because we consider ourselves ‘special.’ That is arrogance, and the fact of the matter is, when people or animals cannot defend themselves, they will find themselves attacked and their lives taken. We are no exception.”

Well, I had to admit... I had thought Alna was talking about chores, but this was something else entirely. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but it seemed like it was less a lesson on Alna’s personal views, and more a look at onikin values and culture—that kind of thing.

“When one grows so arrogant they kill animals more than necessary, and when they destroy the very forests and plains in which these animals live, they will find that in time there are fewer animals to provide meat, and fewer plants to offer fruits, herbs, and seeds. This is the price one pays for their arrogance.”

Alna once again paused. The lionkin listened intently.

“To be weak is not a sin. None would be foolish enough to call a newborn baby a criminal just because they cannot defend themselves. Though one must be strong enough to defend what is theirs, if one lets their strength cloud their eyes with arrogance they will see themselves punished.”

The lionkin waited for Alna to continue.

“To desire to achieve great feats in battle is good, but what matters most is manliness. Nothing is more precious than the person who fights to defend their home and who hunts to see their family fed. But should you ever wonder if it is right to plunder to feed a starving family, or if the inability to defend your family is itself a sin, then look within and ask yourself. Ask yourself from the moment you wake until the moment you sleep, over and over. The answer may not come immediately, but an answer will come, and once you have your answer, you will know how to act when it matters most.”

Alna then reached for the woven basket at her feet, and took from it the birds that had been shot down on their hunting trip. Then with quick swipes of her dagger she sliced off their heads. She took the birds to a hole that had been prepared earlier and began to drain their blood into it.

“When we take life, we want to make sure it is delicious to consume,” Alna added with a smile, “and so we take our time to dress our hunted prey with the respect it deserves. We are particular about our flavoring, how long we cook for, and what vegetables we cook. In doing so, we ensure that everything is eaten. The life we hunted becomes a part of our life. This is how we show our gratitude and respect to the lives we take in our hunts. But it is up to each of you to consider what questions you will ask yourself and how you will face the life in front of you.”

Alna’s pressure was so heavy that all of the lionkin suddenly stood at attention, their tails as straight as poles and their bodies tight with tension.

“Yes, ma’am!” they barked, their voices loud and full of strength.

The next day, everyone had breakfast wherever they liked. The village had gotten so big that it was no longer really feasible for all of us to eat together. Some ate at their workplaces, some in their yurts, and of course some still ate in the village square.

I was in the square too, and as I ate I thought a lot about what Alna had said the day before. When I finished, I looked around, wondering what I should do to start the day. Now that we had more residents, I didn’t need to worry about cleaning up and other odd jobs, which gave me a big chunk of free time.

The dogkin, the cavekin, and Joe and the domain guard all handled the odd jobs and any heavy labor, and though I’d helped out for a while, I just wasn’t necessary once Joe and the others were settled in and used to how things worked. I spent some time asking people at breakfast if they needed a hand with anything, but everyone told me I should worry more about my duties as a domain lord rather than village odd jobs.

But just what is a domain lord’s duty, anyway?

I could have just thrown myself into more training or done some guard duty, but that didn’t really feel like a domain lord’s duty either. Fortunately, that was when I remembered that we had too many black ghee around. Zorg had told me that they were overbreeding, so we’d been hunting them pretty actively and enjoying the meat they provided, but now that we had the white grass growing, I was pretty sure the black ghee would have their eyes on it just as much as the baars, the white ghee, and our other livestock.

Apparently the black ghee numbers were still too high, and I didn’t want to let them run rampant to the point they ate up all the grass the other animals loved so much, so I decided I’d check out the white grass areas and hunt any black ghee I came across on the way. Just as I was about to get ready, Narvant turned up, and he was holding some paper, which was unusual for him.

“Young’n,” he said. “Could you check this for me?”

I accepted the paper when he held it out for me and gave it a look. It was a schedule, and it detailed all the village’s current construction projects: the road, the western border station, the northern mines, the pub, and the temple. Narvant had listed who would be working where over the next ten days, complete with the number of people assigned to the project.

“So you’re not just finishing one and moving onto the next?” I asked. “Aren’t you just making things harder for yourself, splitting everything up?”

Narvant burst into laughter.

“When you’re in construction, sometimes waiting is part of the job. We’ve got a whole bunch of clay and trees that need to dry, bricks that need to be fired, and water that needs to be drained. There’s a lot of stopping and starting. No use having a bunch of workers just sitting around, you know? Better to have them move on to another job while they wait. And seeing as you might have requests and orders for us later down the line, you’d best get used to thinking about construction the way I’m showing you now.”

“Huh. I see,” I said. “So you keep most of the guys on the border station, but cut it down to a skeleton crew to handle the details while you wait for things that can’t be sped up. And when that reaches the same point, the same thing happens again. Well, I don’t know much about construction and I can’t whip up a schedule like this, so when the time comes I’ll be asking for your help, Narvant.”

“No problem. Just remember that this is how we plan our construction. That way, if anything happens you’ll be able to remember this conversation and come to me for whatever else you might need. You know I’ll be there for you.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

I gave Narvant his schedule back and he grinned at me.

“So what are you doing today, young Dias?” he asked, looking off at my yurt. “I saw you were heading to your yurt. Thinking about taking a nap?”

“Narvant, it’s way too early for a nap,” I replied. “I was just going to get...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.9.2025
• Reihe/Serie: The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects
• Übersetzer: Fuurou
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: found family trope • Light Novel • Monster girls • nation building fantasy • nice guy protagonist • older main character • slow life fantasy
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-3150-9 / 1718331509
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-3150-1 / 9781718331501