WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 169: Gunther's Return Home

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"...It really hasn't changed much."

Late July. The Muret region of the Kingdom of Arelia, on its frontier.

Beyond a rough road descending the slope of a small hill, a pastoral farming village came into view. The one who said that while looking at it was Gunther, a knight of the Edelstein Royal Army.

More than a year had passed since peace was made between the Kingdom of Arelia and the Kingdom of Edelstein, and the confusion in the border region had mostly settled. At this time, Gunther took his first proper leave since becoming a knight and came to the village where he was born.

He had set foot in the homeland he had never intended to return to because, in the previous decisive battle, he had fought and killed his father, who had been on the Arelian side as a volunteer soldier. With many feelings in his heart, he decided to meet his family one more time.

Together with the large beloved horse that had run with him across countless battlefields, he descended the hill and headed toward the village. The villagers working in the fields around the village looked surprised when a huge man in fine clothes and carrying a sword appeared, but once they saw his face and realized it was Gunther, they welcomed him more warmly than he had expected.

It seemed someone ran ahead to tell his family of Gunther's return, and by the time he reached the house where he had spent his childhood, his family was waiting in front of it.

His mother, now quite old. His eldest brother and sister-in-law, whose faces had aged noticeably from what he remembered. His nephews and nieces, who had been very young when Gunther left home but were now thoroughly grown.

The familiar faces were there, bearing appearances that clearly showed the passage of time.

"...You really came back, Gunther."

The first to speak to Gunther after he dismounted and approached was his eldest brother, Lars.

"Yeah. Been a long time, Lars... Was it bad for me to come back?"

When Gunther asked with a subtle expression, Lars smiled wryly and shook his head.

"No, not at all. I'm just surprised because I thought you would never come back... You're dressed well. And that behind you is a warhorse, isn't it? Did you become important somewhere?"

"Well, in my own way. I'm a knight in the Edelstein Royal Army now."

"Oh my, you became a knight? You've grown so fine..."

Beside Lars, their old mother said this with deep feeling. Her tone simply rejoiced in her child's growth, and Gunther could not help letting his expression soften.

"For now, come inside. Take your time and rest."

"Yeah... By the way, where's Niklas?"

"He married into the next village. Two years after you ran away from home. If we send word, he'll probably come show his face in two or three days."

When Gunther asked about his absent second brother, Lars answered that way.

"I see... A lot changed."

"Of course it did. It's been more than ten years since then."

While talking like that with his eldest brother and surrounded by his family, Gunther entered what had once been his home.

......

After speaking about the days since he had left home, and in return hearing about his family, including the details of his second brother marrying into the neighboring village and the fact that his father had not returned from the war, he spent a calm time with them. Then, late at night after the rest of the family had gone to sleep, Gunther spoke quietly with his eldest brother Lars.

"...I met Father on the battlefield. An Arelian soldier came at me, and when I stabbed him with my dagger, it was Father. My appearance had changed a lot, and Father had aged a lot too, so neither of us realized until then."

After reuniting with his family, Gunther had thought for a while that perhaps he should keep silent so as not to ruin the memory of this peaceful time. But in the end, he confessed like this. He thought he should at least tell his eldest brother, who had become head of the family in their father's place.

"...I see. Well, in a war, things like that happen. You were just doing your job, and Father went knowing he might die."

Lars spoke calmly, neither shocked nor enraged by the fact that his younger brother had killed their father. Gunther felt relieved inside at that reaction.

"But you'd better keep it from Mother. And from the children too... Meaning, don't tell anyone except me."

"Yeah, I won't."

Gunther agreed, so he nodded honestly, and the two tilted their cups of liquor.

"...Still, it's strange. I heard the decisive battle between Arelia and Edelstein was a massive war with tens of thousands colliding. For you and Father to run into each other by chance on a battlefield that absurdly huge..."

"Yeah, it was a strange twist of fate. We'd just tried to kill each other, but both of us had these weird looks on our faces... Then Father and I, me with my dagger thrust in and him with it stuck in him, told each other how we were doing. Talking with Father was part of why I thought I should come back like this."

At Gunther's story, Lars let out a small wry smile.

"Then maybe it was a good way for Father to die. He met the son who had left long ago, reconnected the bonds between his sons, then passed on. A decent amount of money came to our house from Father's payment too."

Their father had already passed fifty, which was long enough for a rural commoner who was not especially wealthy. That was why Lars did not grieve his death too deeply.

......

For the next several days, Gunther spent peaceful time in his homeland. He helped with work around the house, ate meals with his family, and reunited with his second brother, who came from the neighboring village. The three brothers even went hunting in the forest together.

Then came the day he would set out on his return journey. As an apology for having run away from home on his own and caused trouble, he gave some money to the households of his eldest and second brothers, said that next time he would return with his own family, and left the village as his family saw him off.

He had been worried about what kind of faces they would show him, but in the end, nothing much happened, and his return home had been nothing but pleasant. Feeling satisfied, he thought all that remained was to return to Sankt Waltrude. The next day, before leaving the city where he had stayed for the night, Gunther was taking a short walk through the commercial district when some men called out to him.

"Hey, you. Yeah, you, the big guy over there."

Thinking they meant him, Gunther turned around. Two men were approaching him. They were armed, but they were not dressed like members of the Arelian Royal Army. Were they troops belonging to some noble?

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You've got quite the build."

"You look strong. Are you from around here?"

While answering, Gunther casually adjusted his stance so he could draw his sword at any time. However, the men did not seem hostile. At least not for now.

"I was born around here..."

"Oh, is that so! Then we've got a good offer for you."

"It'll make you money, and it'll help your homeland too. We serve a noble as private soldiers. How about being hired as one of us?"

Perhaps misunderstanding Gunther's words, the men leaned forward eagerly with the proposal.

As Gunther listened to them, he understood.

Compared to wartime, various parts of the Kingdom of Arelia had calmed down considerably, but in the Muret region, signs suggested a rebellion or something similar might break out before too long. It was probably not a situation where anything would happen immediately, but if he went there, he should be careful enough. Before his departure, Oliver and Gregor had warned Gunther in that manner.

Because of that, he could imagine the men's intent. Whether they intended to join a rebellion or merely defend themselves, they were probably recruiting companions as agents of a noble who wanted military power at hand as the situation grew unstable. But he had not expected private soldiers of a noble to be gathering forces so openly, even in a provincial city where there were few Arelian Royal Army soldiers. He could see plainly that the Arelia royal family's control had visibly fallen.

"No, I'm... I'm only from Muret. Right now, I'm a knight in the Edelstein Royal Army. So, sorry, but..."

"Huh? An Edelstein knight?"

When Gunther answered, the men's attitude changed at once.

"Why is an Edelstein soldier in a place like this?"

"Don't tell me you're some kind of spy?"

"Hey, stop that. I don't want trouble. I'm on my way back to my country after finishing personal business."

Facing the men as they put their hands on their weapons, Gunther admonished them while also touching the hilt of his own sword for self-defense.

From the look of them, neither seemed especially skilled, so he did not think he would lose. But if he cut down a noble's men in a neighboring country, it would become a serious nuisance. Just as he had said, he wanted to avoid trouble.

Perhaps sensing the dangerous atmosphere, the passersby around them moved away. A hair-trigger tension filled the air.

"You there, what are you making such a fuss about!"

The one who came over then was a middle-aged man wearing equipment of reasonably good quality. The men who had been bothering Gunther hurriedly bowed their heads before him.

Judging from that, the middle-aged man was their superior or something similar.

"What happened?"

"W-well, this guy says he's a knight of the Edelstein Royal Army..."

"It's suspicious for him to be in a place like this, so we were wondering what to do with him..."

"No, I was born in this country, so I came home for a visit. Now I'm on my way back to the Kingdom of Edelstein. I'm not acting as a soldier. Give me a break."

After listening to the two men's explanation and Gunther's rebuttal, the middle-aged man let out a sigh.

"I told you not to cause disturbances... Enough. I will not entrust recruiting to you anymore. Return to the territory and do nothing but training and odd jobs."

"But Captain, is it fine to let this guy go just like that? He might be an Edelstein spy."

"Fool. A spy would not call himself a knight of another country. Besides, if private soldiers of a Muret noble killed a knight of the Edelstein Royal Army, it could become a diplomatic problem... Sir Knight. I apologize for the trouble my subordinates caused. Please forgive them."

After scolding his subordinates, the middle-aged man turned to Gunther and spoke with a completely different, polite attitude.

"Well, that's fine, but... can I go now?"

"Of course. The knights of Muret have not fallen so low that they would recklessly attack soldiers of another country. However, recently this country... pardon me, this region has become unstable. I believe you know that as well, sir. So please be careful on the road until you return to the Kingdom of Edelstein. It would be better not to state your status too openly."

"...I see. Thank you for the warning. Then I will be going."

Gunther bowed once and left.

In broad daylight on a main street, the troops of a noble were recruiting, calling Muret a "country" as they gathered soldiers. And the Arelian Royal Army garrison was apparently unable to properly control such a situation. Most likely, it lacked the strength to do so. The situation had grown more suspicious than what he had heard.

If territorial forces were still at the stage of gathering soldiers bit by bit, there was a high chance that this year would still be all right. But who knew what the situation would become next year. Thinking that, Gunther felt that as a soldier of the Edelstein Royal Army, he would have to report what he had seen to his superiors.

After that, Gunther did not stroll through the city again. He kept himself from attracting attention as much as possible and hurried along the road home. Thanks to that, he encountered no further trouble and returned safely to the Kingdom of Edelstein.

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