The gentle breeze swept silently through the fields of gold, bringing a much needed break from the constant blazing heat of the summer sun.
For a certain infant living within the village of Buena, the days and months had passed by with painful regularity. The infant was seated on the floor of the veranda, attentively watching the mesmerizing sight of golden fields of wheat swaying ever so faithfully to the nudging of the wind. He cast his gaze upon the picturesque wonder, as the clear blue sky hang vigorously over the fields and gentle rolling hills, and the breeze waxed and waned like the waves in the sea.
A feeling of nostalgia was welling up in the child's heart, the scenery reminding him that he had lived here once upon a time. Though, that nostalgia was also shadowed by a pervading undercurrent of boredom born from the infant's inherent physical limitations.
"Sigh...I wish something exciting happens soon, this boredom is starting to annoy me," the infant pondered.
More than 11 months had passed since the infant, Rudeus, was reincarnated once more into this world, and less than 6 months since he was permanently taken off his swaddle.
Since then, he had thrown himself into taking the baby steps of learning how to crawl and sit, keen to quickly gain the freedom to explore his own house. This was the first time he had reached the veranda. Although he could very well conduct his house exploration more easily by flying using a combination of Gravity and Wind Magics, Rudeus had no wish to give his parents or maidservant a heart attack. The perception of normalcy was crucial if he was to ensure that certain early events, such as the anticipated meeting with his teacher and Master, were to happen without a hitch.
This has meant discretion not only in behavior but also in the practice of magic.
In line with that, Rudeus had so far confined himself to utilizing only a single type of spell, [Water Ball] to fulfill his daily quota of Mana depletion. Needless to say, given his rapidly growing Mana capacity, he has had to shrink the size of each individual [Water Ball] to microscopic levels. Since the increase in Mana requirement for any spell is equivalent for inversely proportional sizes, that is to say doubling the size of a [Water Ball] over the standard requires the same amount of Mana as halving it, exponentially decreasing the size while increasing the number of [Water Ball] has been an effective way for Rudeus exhaust his supply of Mana each day without leaving a footprint bigger than a wet diaper.
That said, he was starting to worry of what would happen when he would have finally shrunk the [Water Ball] down to the level of a single molecule. He could only hope that by that time, he would have been able to walk into the bathroom himself.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
The ringing sounds of a bell reverberated through the house as the hands on the mechanical clock struck 12. It was now midday, and neither Paul nor Zenith was at home.
"Seeing as how the farmers are still in the middle of harvesting the winter wheat and given this searing heat, this must be somewhere around the early to late part of the 8th Month. I guess Mom must be busy accounting for the harvest. Or maybe she's helping out the other village women with preparing for the coming Harvest Festival. Dad is probably out patrolling as usual...or perhaps helping out the Reeve with security,"
Rudeus was starting to grow restless waiting for Zenith's return. A baby needed constant feeding, and he was fast growing hungry.
Zenith had actually taken an indefinite leave from her job at the village clinic following Rudeus' birth in order to properly raise him, effectively moving her healing practice to their home from the clinic near the village market. Needless to say, given the fact that her talent as a user of healing magic was one of a kind in the village, the ill and injured still sought her treatment even though the Greyrat family home was located more than half an hour walk away from the village clinic.
That Zenith went outside even when her son was still dependent on her milk must then be due to something very important, Rudeus reasoned. Something like monitoring and accounting for the harvest on the Greyrat's fief; or perhaps helping out with annual village events such as the Harvest Festival, a festival meant to celebrate the harvest and most importantly to give thanks to the blessings of the Goddess Ailisha.
Although Zenith herself was a monotheist and a member of the Church of Milis, it was also true that most of Asura was not. Subjects of the Kingdom of Asura worshiped a multitude of deities, although only several were prominent across the entire kingdom. Within a typical agricultural village like Buena, the most popular patron deity was Ailisha, the Goddess of Life, Bounty and Harvest. As such, for a foreigner like Zenith who hailed from a foreign land and worshiped a foreign god, respecting the local beliefs and participating in the celebration of its customs was not a matter of faith but simply part of being accepted into the community.
Of course, whether Zenith was indeed helping out with a village event or working on the household accounts was not something Rudeus knew for sure. He could only guess based on his estimate of the the date given the weather and the routine of the farmers working the fields around the Greyrat family home. The only calendar in the house was located in Paul's study and it's placed quite high up on the wall that the crawling Rudeus wouldn't be able to simply reach out and look, at least not without potentially compromising himself.
"Sigh...Wherever she is, there's also probably no clock to tell her that it's time to return home,"
Rudeus lamented the low level of civilization in his old new world.
Although the mechanical clock had been invented by the Dwarves nearly a century ago, it's expense and lack of necessity for the majority of people in the world had kept it largely as objects of curiosity among the nobles and the wealthy few. Of course, large cities and boroughs like Roa, which was the capital of the county to which the village of Buena belonged to, had taken to building massive clock towers in their city centers to provide the knowledge of time to their residents. But for the vast majority of the population who lived in rural areas and depended largely on agriculture for their livelihoods, there was simply no need. Their lives were measured in months, seasons and years, not seconds, minutes or hours.
As Rudeus was contending with his ever-growing hunger, help finally arrived.
In the distance, he could see his father riding for home along the unpaved road. Behind Paul was Zenith who was holding tight to his waist as the horse canter ever closer. Having finally arrived in front of the doorway, Paul and Zenith descended from the horse. Seeing the infant Rudeus sitting down on the veranda floor, staring at her while extending his arms, Zenith promptly approached her son while Paul was guiding the family horse, Kalajav, to its stable.
"Rudi, I'm so sorry. Have you waited long for Mommy?"
"Abu-bu! Baba-Aaa-aa!"
Rudeus tried his hardest to convey his hunger to Zenith while at the same time presenting his best impersonation of a baby. There was no way he could just go up to her and blabber a fluent Western Human Language to tell her how he felt. After all. he wasn't supposed to be able to talk just yet.
Aside from possibly creeping out his own mother, he couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of trouble he'd be inviting by pulling out a stunt like that. So Rudeus could only hope that Zenith's maternal instincts would help her in figuring out his needs. When Zenith picked the little Rudeus up and was carrying him in her arms, Rudeus felt a sense of relief.
"Finally! I was starting to think I'd sooner chew on grass than wait another minute,"
But just as Zenith was about to bring Rudeus into the house to feed him, a visitor arrived just outside the fence of their home.
"Excuse me, My Lady, may I have a minute of your time?"
A voice called out to Zenith, prompting her to stop in her tracks. In the village of Buena, "My Lady", would pretty much only refer to her.
Rudeus, however, wasn't happy at the sudden interruption.
"Now what?! Who's the slimy little maggot who dared interrupt my long awaited meal time?!" the boy wondered.
Turning to look for the source of the voice, Zenith found 2 men standing right in front of the gate of the Greyrat family home. She recognized one of them, Anthony Bach, one of the serfs toiling the family's fields. However, Zenith couldn't recognize the other man. She approached the waiting men, wanting to quickly dispense with the business.
"Anthony, is there something you need? Also, I don't believe I recognize the gentlemen standing beside you," Zenith asked.
"Ah yes, My Lady. This is Mr. Ackerman, he was recently appointed by the Lord Count to replace the Old Man Hubert," the serf responded.
The last part of Anthony's statement had Zenith's curiosity piqued. Like her husband, she knew the old Mr. Hubert Hernatus quite well as the man had served as a local officer of the Count of Roa since long before Paul & Zenith even settled down in the village.
"I am Faust Ackerman, at your service, My Lady," the stranger introduced himself with a bow while removing his hat.
"Zenith Greyrat, pleased to meet you. Now to what do I owe this pleasure?" Zenith asked.
"Ah yes, I've recently been appointed by the Lord Count to replace Mr. Hubert as a Reeve to oversee the serfs and freemen who work the Lord Count's land in this village. I was wondering if Sir Paul is at home as I need to discuss with him the issue of security during the harvest as well as for the transportation of the Lord Count's dues to Roa in the coming weeks," Faust explained.
"My husband is currently in the stable, he should be here in a minute," Zenith explained. "Would you like to wait in the house? We've recently received a new stock of tea leaves from Shirone, I'm sure you'd find them quite soothing," she continued.
"Very well, allow me to take you up on the offer, My Lady," Faust agreed.
"Well then My Lady, it's time I should get back to the fields," the serf then said.
"Certainly, Anthony. And thank you for bringing Mr. Ackerman here," Zenith noted.
As the serf, Anthony Bach, left to continue his work in the field, Zenith welcomed the new Reeve, Faust Ackerman, into the living room and had Lilia prepare some tea and snacks for them while they waited for Paul.
In Asura, Reeves like Faust were appointed by the lords to oversee the serfs and freemen working their agricultural estates.
During harvests in particular, they and their team of assistants also functioned as tax collectors to ensure that the serfs and freemen paid the proper portions of their harvest as rent.
Land ownership itself wasn't widespread throughout the known world, particularly in human kingdoms and principalities. Aside from the boroughs where burghers of sufficient wealth and upright standing were granted the privilege of purchasing their own property, as was the case for Rudeus himself back when he was living in the City of Sharia during his previous life, nearly all land outside of that were owned by either the king or his nobles who were enfeoffed land in vassalage, or held by knights under feudal tenure.
The latter case was true for Rudeus' father, Paul Greyrat. Serving the Count of Roa as a low-ranking knight, he was paid his knight's fee, or fief, amounting to 3 gentis of farmland, aside from the large 2-story wooden house on a 2,500 sq meter plot of land that was provided as a bonus. A genti is a measurement of land area used in Asura, created initially to measure a knight's fee, with each genti amounting to 60 hectares. Up to around 200 years ago, a low-ranking knight's fee amounted to just 1 genti with senior knights paid between 3-5 gentis. Since then, due to the development of arms and armor, and their increasing expense, a low-ranking knight was generally provided with 2 gentis and a senior knight with between 5-10 gentis as his knight's fee.
Aside from a fief amounting to 3 gentis, equivalent to a total of 180 hectares of agricultural fields, Paul was also provided with 9 households of serfs to work his land.
These serfs were neither free men nor slaves. They were bound by feudal obligation to toil the land of their lord in return for his protection. Serfs, unlike freemen, were not allowed to leave the land of their lord without his consent and were even required to seek his permission to marry. But unlike freemen, they may not be kicked out of the lord's land except by the lawful judgement of the court on charges of serious crimes, such as rebellion.
Freemen, on the other hand, were free to live in the borough or the country and partake in any trade they so desire but their land tenure were less secure than serfs and they may be kicked out of the land at the whims of the lord after the end of their short contract periods.
Unlike the short contract periods of freemen though, knights like Paul held their land in perpetuity, and the tenure could also be hereditary should the knight be able to provide a male heir to serve the lord and his legitimate heir as a knight.
As for the workload of the serfs, they were hard but not unmanageable. While 180 hectares may seemed a lot for 9 families of between 4-6 members to work, they were greatly aided by the fact that Paul also owned 4 oxen and 2 iron plows as well as other farming implements. Most importantly, only two-thirds of the land had to be worked on any given year and they also have different schedules.
Like most human kingdoms, Asura practiced the 3-field system of agriculture where every genti was divided up into 3 fields. In any given year, one field would be sown with a grain crop such as wheat, one with legumes such as lentil, peas and beans, with the third field being left to lie fallow. This would be rotated in succeeding years. A field that grew grain in year one would grow legumes the next, and be left fallow the year after. This practice was meant to safeguard the fertility of the land and has been in use in Asura for over 300 years. It was one of the reasons why Asura had the most productive farms, and by extension, the most prosperous society in the known world.
The other reason would be Asura's geography.
The question as to why Asura encompasses the most fertile lands in all of the known world was something Rudeus had once contemplated.
He eventually reasoned that it was due to the existence of the Red Dragon Mountain Range and the direction of the planetary wind, which he found that across the known world, blew from West to East. These Westerlies carried clouds of evaporated water from across the ocean west of Asura eastwards. As they approached the tall and imposing Red Dragon Mountain Range, the Orographic lift rapidly condensed the water vapor, forcing it to fall as rain on the western side of the mountain range, feeding vast quantities of water into the dozens of major rivers and their tributaries that crisscross across the surface of the kingdom.
While the relation between the Westerlies and the Red Dragon Mountain Range was probably unknown to anyone other than Rudeus, it was also true that the Kingdom of Asura had often been called by many as the Kingdom of Rivers, or a Kingdom in the Cradle of the Red Dragon Mountain. Indeed, the insurmountable Red Dragon Mountain Range had protected and nurtured the Kingdom of Asura, providing it with over 400 years of nearly uninterrupted peace and prosperity.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the hundreds of petty kingdoms, minor principalities and tribes that lie east of the Red Dragon Mountain Range, in an area known as the Strife Zone. As the eastern side of the Red Dragon Mountain Range lay within the rain shadow region, the Strife Zone receive far less in the way of precipitation than Asura. This was not to say that the landscape was at the level of being desertified but it was most definitely an arid region, not too dissimilar from the Mediterranean region on Earth. The relative lack of water, particularly in the central parts of the Strife Zone, created an infertile land which lead to scarcities that encouraged wars and conflicts as a means of survival.
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"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, sweetheart. I heard from Lilia that you called for me,"
Paul finally arrived at the living room, giving his usual goofy smile while scratching the back of his head. Zenith, having become increasingly impatient by the long wait, had eventually sent Lilia to call for him.
"Finally, took your damn sweet time didn't you? Just what were you doing with Kalajav in the stable, father?!"
Rudeus wasn't happy at all at the long delay. It was longer than the "minute" Zenith mentioned.
"Ah yes, darling, this is Mr. Faust Ackerman, the new Reeve appointed by Lord Philip."
"Faust Ackerman, a pleasure to meet you, Sir Paul,"
"Oh, Philip sent you? But what happened to Old Man Hubert? I heard he went to Roa last week. It can't be that he's in trouble, is he?"
"...About that, Sir...Mr. Hernatus was recently wounded as his carriage was attacked and robbed by bandits when he was en route to Roa. Thankfully, as he was found by locals not long after the incident, his life was not in any immediate danger. He is currently in Roa undergoing treatment at the Count's mansion. Unfortunately, as Mr. Hernatus was crippled by the incident, having lost his right leg and left arm, he was deemed as no longer capable of carrying out his duties as Reeve. Thus, the Count saw it fit to appoint my humble self as his replacement,"
Paul's and Zenith's eyes looked downcast as they listened to the tragedy that had befallen the elder.
For Paul, the old man was someone he often had to work with. Given that both were officers appointed directly by the Count of Roa, they eventually developed a sense of camaraderie. And as Old Man Hubert was also not a stickler for stuffy rules and etiquette, Paul had found in the old guy a kindred spirit with whom he can share his troubles, along with plenty of drinks.
For Zenith, Mr. Hubert was the man who welcomed them into the village. As the village chief was typically appointed by the villagers themselves, they were unlikely to be in a position to know of Zenith's and Paul's arrival to the village. It was a man like Mr. Hubert, who had correspondence with the Count, who knew of their arrival to the village in advance, and thus had prepared to welcome them. Mr. Hubert not only showed them around the village, he even prepared a welcoming party to help Paul and Zenith to settle in and get to know their new neighbors. As a woman a long distance away from home trying to settle down in a foreign land with alien customs, to be made to feel so welcomed soon after her arrival was something Zenith was immeasurably grateful for.
"...I see, so something like that happened...Still, knowing the Old Man Hubert, I find it difficult to believe that he could be taken down by a few bandits," Paul voiced his disbelief.
"It seems that it was not a mere few bandits. Eyewitnesses who found Mr. Hubert had reported finding the bodies of 8 others, presumably members of the bandit group, between the road and where they found the wounded Mr. Hubert, who was apparently lying a few hundred meters from where his carriage must have been attacked,"
"I presume his carriage is also gone?" Paul asked the new Reeve, to which the man nodded.
"Sigh...the road between here and Roa have long been thought of as safe, so no one's really paid heed to moving in armed caravans anymore unless they're coming from or going through to faraway places. To think that bandits would now appear to prey on unsuspecting travelers. It seems security for transporting the harvest to Roa this time needs to be tightened," Paul griped.
"Indeed, Sir. That is exactly what I had come to discuss," Faust confirmed.
"Very well, let's discuss the details. My wife apparently said that this year's harvest looks to be more bountiful than usual, so I hope we have enough carriages to keep it down to 3 round trips to and from Roa. Also — "
"Ahem, in that case, darling, I shall take my leave. I've been keeping Rudi from his meal for long enough. So, if you'll excuse, darling, Mr. Ackerman,"
Zenith bid the two men farewell as she entered the baby room on the first floor to finally feed the now-famished Rudeus.
As the infant Rudeus began hungrily sucking on his mother's bountiful teat, he was finally able to regain his calm mood.
"At last! Whew, that took a while, didn't it? Dad and mom sure took their time, but the biggest offender was definitely that slimy maggot Fa-whatchunameit...What was his name again? Fa..Fa..Faus, Faust Ackerman, was it? What's with his slimy gestures and deliberately non-offensive words and body language? He reminds me of a certain self-proclaimed pacifist from my previous life, what's him name again? Hmmm...well, whatever. Still, that Faust is Buena's new Reeve, huh? New Reeve...huh?! New Reeve?!"
After finally calming down, Rudeus finally realized that he had ignored a huge error. While a stranger whom Rudeus never knew coming to see Paul or Zenith shouldn't be unexpected given that during his previous life, Rudeus had confined himself indoor for his first 3 years, Faust Ackerman was definitely different. He didn't remember knowing the Reeve of Buena who goes by the name of Faust Ackerman. As a matter of fact, the Reeve of Buena whom Rudeus met for the first time when he was 5 years old was none other than...
"...Hubert Hernatus, Old Man Hubert. Damn it, what does this mean? Does it mean that Faust Ackerman was also a Reeve of Buena but was replaced when the previous holder of the post, Old Man Hubert, finally recovered from his injuries? Does that mean Faust Ackerman was a temporary Reeve whom I've never met previously?"
Rudeus realized that his assumptions were unlikely to be true.
In general, Reeves were appointed practically for life. That was to say, so long as they were able, competent and trustworthy, Lords would generally keep them. And retiring someone from their position to be replaced by someone whom they've already replaced was unheard of. Also, if Faust Ackerman had indeed been a Reeve of Buena during his previous childhood, even if only temporarily, his parents should have at least mentioned him once, but that was never the case.
As a matter of fact, from the moment he started to understand the language spoken by his parents when he was 6 months old, the only names he has ever heard being mentioned next to "Reeve" was "Mr. Hubert Hernatus" or "Old Man Hubert". More importantly, something about Faust's body language had been ticking Rudeus off since he first saw him, but Rudeus just couldn't pinpoint what it was. Nevertheless, it was becoming clear that this was something that never happened in his previous reincarnation.
The implication of Faust Ackerman's existence as a Reeve of Buena was alarming, regardless of whether the man's intentions were benign or unkind.
"Eh? Huh? What does this mean? I'm sure I haven't done anything different. Well, nothing that should have such a large impact. I've been doubly sure to check my behavior at all times and ensure they conform to what I remember doing before...for the most part...I'm sure. Are things really changing from what happened before? Already? What? How? Why?"
Panicked, Rudeus was choking on his milk as cold sweat began to form on his forehead and back. He didn't want to believe that he had already passed a fork in the road and taken a different path from the one he traveled before. If he couldn't rely on his greatest advantage, foreknowledge, for at least the first several years of his life, planning the road ahead was going to become extremely difficult. And there would be doubts if he could actually successfully meet and gather the companions he needed at this rate. It was clear that he would need the help of a lot of people if he were to take on a task as arduous and insurmountable as killing a god. Being able to meet these potential companions at a place and time where he knew they would be was crucial to this plan.
"There, there, Rudi. I'm sorry, I know that you're hungry but you shouldn't be drinking too fast,"
Zenith began rubbing Rudeus' back as she started singing a lullaby to calm her son.
"That's not it, Mom. You don't understand. My plans are potentially ruined now! I don't even know what's what anymore. How much commonality would there even be 5, 10 years down the road? How would I meet Orsted if I can't approximate his location? Would I be able to find Ruijerd? Cliff? Zanoba? Nanahoshi? Will I even meet Roxy, Sylphy and Eris? Will Aisha and Norn even be born? Damnit all! Why? Why? Why? WHY?! How?! I haven't changed anything! Is this what they mean when they talk about the "Butterfly Effect"? Ahhhh!"
Rudeus closed his eyes as he tried to organize his thoughts. After finally calming down a little, Rudeus began to think that his initial worry might have been a tad bit exaggerated. He shouldn't simply assumed that everything would be different based on a single instance of change. In the first place, things like the fact that Sylphy was born in the village of Buena, or that Eris was the granddaughter of Rudeus' Great-uncle were likely things that won't change. The locations of some of them wouldn't change easily either while others would still require his interactions to bring them to a place and time he could predict. Of course, the longer he stayed in this world, the less similar it would become to his previous one as his own interactions changed the events around him.
"Interactions, huh? Interactions, interactions...interactions...interactions...Eh?"
Rudeus' eyes began to open wide as he was thinking of the potential results of this "Butterfly effect", what changes could be considered reasonable and what couldn't. In all of this, his own role was clearly paramount. For in the sea of constants, he was the only factor that could effect change. It was reasonable to assume that he was the only person who remembered the previous world, the only person who was reliving life in this world, him and no one else. Especially in this early stage, just 11 months since he was reborn, the differences that occurred – from that of his memory – likely had a direct cause & effect correlation with his own actions. That the current Reeve of Buena, Faust Ackerman, replaced Old Man Hubert because the old man was critically wounded by bandits was something Rudeus found difficult to link to his own actions.
"In the first place, bandits wouldn't just attack caravans in an area as soon as they arrived. They would have scouted the highway, its security and its travelers long before conducting any attacks. So this was likely months in planning. Additionally, Old Man Hubert was a retired veteran who served as an officer in Philip's army. Even alone, taking him down was definitely not an easy task. The fact that 8 of those bandits were dead, yet they still managed to take him down suggest that those bandits might number at least a dozen and up to 2 dozen. It's unlikely that I could have done anything to move 2 dozen bandits over to prey on the highway between this village and the City of Roa, especially not a few months ago.
Additionally, there's a question regarding the identity of this Faust Ackerman. Since he was chosen as a replacement for Old Man Hubert, who oversaw one of the villages in a barony closest to the City of Roa, he was likely someone trusted by the Count of Roa. So it was unlikely that this man had only been at my Uncle's side since only yesterday. Even for an exceptional commoner, earning the trust of a noble worth his salt takes time. That might have taken at least several months if not years. It's doubtful that I could have done anything to push for Faust Ackerman to serve the Count of Roa when I was still an immobile baby, even now that shouldn't be possible. So, his actions must be independent of mine, in which case he might also have been a constant that existed in the previous world as well. And if he were such a trusted individual to the Count, then I should have at least heard of him during the lectures I was given by Philip regarding his demesne. Yet that wasn't the case.
And the conduct of this bandit attack most definitely stinks. In the first place, would any group of bandits who had successfully robbed a carriage leave any survivors that they do not kidnap? Especially a man who was already crippled and bleeding, someone who had already killed 8 of their comrades, why would they let him live? Even among thieves and outlaws, there should have at least been a small sense of camaraderie, Tris and her crew were certainly that way. And why would these bandits risk Old Man Hubert surviving and thus reporting them to the authorities, potentially bringing armed retaliation against them? Unless...unless...the bandits had something to gain from the report being made?
Despite losing an arm and a leg, Old Man Hubert didn't die of blood loss, implying that he was saved almost immediately after the attack. And the timing...the fact that he was crippled right as the harvest started must have forced the Count to appoint a replacement right away rather than await for a more reasoned deliberation, as he had to prioritize safeguarding his revenue. So Philip must have been forced to choose someone who was available nearby whom he can send to replace the Old Man Hubert immediately. What are the chances that a group of bandits that didn't exist in my previous life, attacked a carriage belonging to the Reeve of Buena, leaving the man alive so that he can get to the City of Roa for treatment as soon as possible and report of the incident to his lord, who would then be forced to appoint a replacement from among those close by, conveniently someone whom I didn't know ever actually served the Count of Roa in any important capacity? What are the chances that that's a coincidence?"
Large beads of sweat began to form on Rudeus' forehead. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't simply dismiss them as a coincidence. And if they were all part of the same conspiracy, the fact that they didn't exist in his previous life meant that he must have somehow been responsible for them happening, directly or indirectly.
Yet, he could not fathom how something that must have required months of preparation could have been sparked by him.
He was starting to worry whether this Faust Ackerman and the bandits were really driven by personal gain that had nothing to do with him. Perhaps they only intended to take over the position of Reeve of Buena through Faust Ackerman – who might be one of their numbers – so that they may skim off some of the revenue earned during the harvest seasons. Yet why would one take on such risks? Reeves were rather well-paid, there were checks in place on something as important as revenue-collection, and lords were known to be especially cruel in punishing those who dared deprive them of their revenue. Death would be the least of their concerns.
"Nah...must be a coincidence...And they're definitely not going for me...nope,"
It was slowly starting to dawn on the infant that he had probably triggered a death flag. His life this time might actually be running on Legendary difficulty.
A word that reminded him both of his past and denote the mortal targets of his vengeance surfaced for but a moment in his mind.
"Apostle...Faust Ackerman couldn't be Hitogami's apostle, could he?"
At that moment, in the garden of the Greyrat family home, a beautiful blue-winged butterfly took off from its perch.
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Author's Note: Howdy readers! Thankfully it seems that I'm be able to release this chapter a little earlier than planned. The major reason for this is that I've decided NOT to re-read the entire canon once more as I had planned before. I figured that this fic's readers, few as they are now, would more likely appreciate a faster release compared to a story that conforms 100% to canon. That is not to say I will be retconning canon facts left and right, it's just that I might not actually remember a few bits and pieces. Of course, I'll do what I can to minimize these errors. So, given the case, I may ask for some confirmation on this segment from time to time just to make sure my canon knowledge hasn't actually rusted too much.
So here's some of the questions: As far as I know, there was never any mention regarding how the calendar worked in the world of Mushoku Tensei, that is to say, how many months there are in a year and how many days there are in a month, is this true or false? If false, and the way the calendar worked has actually been mentioned, do tell me in which chapter(s) I can find those details. Second question, there were never any mention regarding the birth dates of Rudeus, or any of the other characters in canon, true or false? If false and those dates have been mentioned, again, please point me to the chapter(s). Third, there was never any mention regarding the visible celestial bodies, for example, the number and names of the moon(s), true or false? Fourth, while it has been mentioned in canon that the sentient beings inhabiting the world of Mushoku Tensei came from 7 worlds governed by 7 gods bla, bla, bla, aside from the Church of Milis, there was never any mention regarding the contemporary organized religions of the world, particularly the pantheon of deities presumably worshiped in Asura (if I'm not mistaken, it was implied that Asurans or rather outside of Milis, most inhabitants of the world of Mushoku Tensei were polytheists), true or false? If false, and canon had indeed written the names and qualities of the deities, do point me to the chapter(s) these were mentioned.
All right, these are the 4 questions I desperately need an answer to so that I can confidently release the next chapters without having to go back for editing after release. Since I've skimmed through the canon without finding any mention of a calendar system, dates of birth, celestial bodies, as well as deities and organized contemporary religions aside from the Church of Milis, I've been working on creating a calendar system, character birth dates, celestial bodies and a contemporary pantheon of deities worshiped in Asura. This would become crucial if a rich picture of the attitudes and customs of the peoples, particularly of the people of Asura (Asura being the focus of events through much of this fic), are to be presented.
And for those wondering, yes, Faust Ackerman is an original character. So is the Old Man Hubert mentioned in passing in this chapter. In fact, Old Man Hubert is a character from "canon", that is to say someone who was supposedly known to Rudeus but "offscreen" during the events of the "canon" storyline. Also, there will be another original character introduced next chapter.
As always, I give you thanks for reading this humble fic. Adios, till the next chapter!
P.S. As an aside, should I use My Lord/My Lady or Milord/Milady, either way is actually acceptable as far as I'm concerned but tell me what your preference is so I can make sure to keep to one style. Also, should I use Japanese terms and suffixes (for example calling Roxy "Sensei" instead of "Teacher" & "Master", or having Zanoba call Rudeus "Shishou" instead of "Master")?