WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ Prince of Rage ◈

Chapter 28

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The rain had stopped. The ground was muddy, making it unsuitable for riding at speed.

Still, there was a paved high road beyond the north gate, so it seemed it would be fine.

Valerie loaded Snow with food, fodder, a waterskin, things to start a fire with, spare clothes, a cloak, and the like.

For equipment, he wore chainmail over the gambeson Lady Sybild had made for him, with a surcoat over that. He wore leather gloves and boots for combat, while his helmet was tied to the saddle. He was fully armed.

He fastened the cloak clasp marking him as a territorial patrol officer near his right shoulder and wore his sword at his left hip. His right arm was exposed, while the cloak concealed his sword.

Besides the sword, he packed his ever-useful dagger and a hand axe, then paused to wonder whether he had forgotten anything.

But in war, in travel, and in life itself, no matter how perfectly one prepared, there would always be something left wanting.

What one needed when something was lacking was the mindset that one could overcome any difficult situation. He packed that last.

“I’ll be back.”

“May fortune follow you.”

After reporting to Tancred and bidding him farewell one last time, Valerie left Torvik Fortress.

Because the ground was muddy, he did not ride Snow until he was out of the city. He walked, holding the reins.

His feet sank to his ankles with every step. Perhaps because of that, the city gate felt far away.

Near the gate, he finally reached dry ground. Both man and horse could breathe easier.

Valerie and the gate guards recognized one another by sight, so they merely exchanged casual gestures as he passed.

Beyond the city gate, an ancient paved high road, still solid after all these years, stretched westward.

Unlike the damp, muddy city, the sunlight after the rain and the dew on the blades of grass felt fresh and lively.

Only then did Valerie mount Snow. To ease some of Snow’s pent-up restlessness, he set off at a brisk run.

Clop-clop-clop-clop.

Most people traveling to and from Torvik used boats along the north-south river, so few traveled the eastern land route.

Thus, Valerie left Torvik that morning and saw no one for almost the entire day. Only when he reached the outpost village of Belfort late in the afternoon did he finally see people.

Green barley spread wide beside the paved road. The ears had formed, and it seemed all that remained was for them to ripen yellow. They would likely be ready to harvest in a month or two.

Red-gold sunlight, just before sunset, rested softly over the barley fields.

And a scent one could never experience in the city delighted Valerie’s nose. The wind was full of the savory yet fresh grassy smell unique to green barley.

Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop...

Valerie let Snow slow to a walk, enjoying the fragrance. Then he saw an uphill road ahead, and a wooden palisade and gate blocking it. It was Belfort.

The gate was still open, since the sun had not yet set, but there were no guards in sight. As Valerie approached, someone hurried out from within.

“Who...!”

The man had begun to ask who he was, but saw Valerie’s cloak clasp and closed his mouth. He recognized the symbol of a territorial patrol officer. Patrol officers always passed through Belfort first.

“Can you let my horse rest and provide me with a place to sleep and food?”

Valerie asked. They appeared to be of different ages, but given their difference in rank, Valerie naturally spoke down to him.

“...C-come in.”

Though flustered, the man also looked somehow displeased. Perhaps Valerie looked too young. There was no way to know.

“Hey! A patrol officer has arrived!”

The man shouted as he entered through the gate ahead of him.

Beyond the gate was something too small to call a village and too large to call an outpost, like a small fortress.

There were houses, a smithy, stables, and other buildings. It was small, but seemed to have everything it needed.

The road continued straight through to the gate on the other side, while a sheer cliff rose beside it.

A winding uphill path led to the top of the cliff, where the ground became level again and another wooden outpost building stood.

It was structured for defense on two levels, a well-built fortress that even an ordinary band of thieves would not dare challenge.

It was called an outpost “village” because soldiers raised families here and settled down permanently. Their sons then inherited their fathers’ work and lived as soldiers themselves.

When Valerie entered the village, people who had just finished their work for the day all stared at him. Looking around from horseback, he saw plenty of bows, crossbows, and spears.

“Wow! A horse! A horse!”

“Hey! It’s dangerous!”

“Wow, look at his face. He’s a prince, a prince.”

“They say he’s a patrol officer? Isn’t he too young?”

He could not tell whether they meant for him to hear or whether they were simply talking among themselves loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Valerie dismounted. Someone naturally approached and took the reins.

“Feed him the fodder I brought first, then replenish it. Mostly dried bean stalks. Give him carrots first and brush him well. He’ll behave better that way.”

“Yes, my lord.”

As Valerie stood there, people continued to stare openly. They looked at him as though he were some other species. Was this their first time seeing a patrol officer? Why were they like this?

“Where is the outpost captain?”

Valerie wanted to go inside somewhere quickly. He was accustomed to receiving attention, but being openly stared at from such close range was uncomfortable.

“The captain is out some distance away. I’ll call him back shortly. For now, I will attend to you. Please follow me.”

The man he had first met said this.

Valerie followed him up the slope, accompanied by several other men.

As they walked, the men gave various instructions to the people around them.

“Honey, make sure you check that water container. The wood was rotting.”

“Girls, kill a few old hens and bring them with the liquor. Hunt, take the boys and clean up around here. Don’t forget to loosen the bowstrings. Make sure you maintain them properly.”

Listening to them, the whole village seemed like one large family. A family with a hierarchy centered on the outpost captain.

From small children to the elderly, everyone had work to do. Even those without work helped one another, without dividing things into yours and mine.

At the top of the slope, above the cliff, Valerie saw a watchtower and buildings that looked like houses and storehouses. The watchtower stood directly beside a large house, as if imitating a castle.

Valerie was led into the large house.

There were no separate rooms inside. The spaces were merely divided by cloth screens. There was a fireplace and a dining table, along with household tools and weapons.

A woman who appeared to be the outpost captain’s wife was hurriedly clearing the dining table.

When she saw Valerie, she wiped her hands on her apron and spoke.

“Um, um, shall I bring you some porridge first?”

“No, ma’am. Let us eat together when the outpost captain returns.”

“Ah... yes. All right.”

The men who had come inside with him were not standing around awkwardly, but none spoke. They seemed to be conversing with their eyes, though Valerie sensed no ill will.

“I would like to go up to the watchtower.”

Valerie said this because, having come as a patrol officer, he ought to inspect what needed inspecting.

The men showed no reluctance.

“This way, please.”

One of them led him. When he drew back a cloth screen, a bed came into view. A few little children sat there with round eyes, looking somewhat frightened.

But when they saw Valerie’s handsome face, their eyes grew even wider.

“Wow!”

There was a side door in the space with the bed. Ignoring the children, Valerie went through it and found himself directly at the watchtower.

He climbed the ladder. A sentry stood at the top of the tower. Since they had first spotted Valerie approaching on horseback and raised the alarm, they were not surprised to see him.

The view from the watchtower was truly spectacular. He could see very far, and the scale of the barley fields came roughly into view.

A vast forest stretched north of the barley fields, with no end in sight. Along the northern edge of the fields, a group was heading this way.

“Is that the outpost captain?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“How many shifts do you work?”

“Three shifts during the day and four at night, my lord.”

“Is there anything inconvenient while on duty?”

“No, my lord.”

“Are you eating properly? Is there any shortage?”

“We eat well, and there are no shortages, my lord.”

“What about normally? Are there no dangers or anything like that?”

“...I do not know, my lord.”

I do not know. That was a thoroughly unsatisfying answer. The sentry seemed reluctant to say something. Valerie did not press the matter.

He asked a few more ordinary questions, then descended from the watchtower when the outpost captain seemed close.

Back inside the large house, he sat at the dining table and waited. Some of the men remained while others went outside. Soon, the outpost captain entered.

He appeared to be middle-aged. As he entered the house and removed his helmet, his short hair, damp with sweat from wearing it for so long, was plastered down.

“Are you the patrol officer?”

The outpost captain asked as he examined Valerie with a slightly bewildered expression.

“I am. I am the territorial patrol officer. My name is Wid.”

“I am Edric. It is an honor to meet you.”

Even as he answered, Edric continued studying Valerie.

By appearance and dress, he was clearly a nobleman, yet Edric seemed somewhat disappointed, as though Valerie was different from what he had expected.

And his name was Wid? It did not sound like a noble name, whether Norseman or Astrian.

“I apologize for making you wait. The barley is ripening these days, so I was paying close attention to the watch.”

“No, I understand.”

“What are you all doing? Is the meal not ready yet?”

“I told them to kill a few chickens, Captain.”

“Tell them to hurry. Why are the children so slow these days? They saw him coming from far away, didn’t they? They should have started preparing then.”

“My apologies.”

The outpost captain scolded the men who had led Valerie in. Valerie could not tell whether he was scolding them for Valerie’s benefit or genuinely reprimanding them.

“I’ll wash up and return shortly, Patrol Officer. Honey, at least serve him some porridge first. He must be hungry after traveling so far.”

“Huh? Ah, ah.”

He had said he did not want porridge. Valerie gave the woman a nod to show that it was fine.

In any case, Belfort’s outpost village seemed to be in an uproar merely because of Valerie’s presence. Valerie decided to stay as quiet as possible.

After some time, Outpost Captain Edric returned, washed and dressed in fresh clothes. Several of the men who had led Valerie here came with him, apparently his close associates.

Girls who looked thirteen or fourteen brought in chicken dishes. That was the main course, along with roasted vegetables, other food, and liquor. There was even expensive honey. It was quite a feast.

“This is ale made from Belfort barley. It is famous for its fine taste.”

Edric filled a wooden cup with ale and offered it to him. Valerie drank without refusing, but it truly tasted awful.

He did not usually drink much, and when he did, it had mostly been wine. It seemed ale and beer did not suit his palate.

Moreover, Belfort ale was lukewarm and had a strong sour smell, almost like urine.

Still, Valerie was not so rude as to grimace at something his host had served him.

“It is exquisite.”

“Is that so? There is plenty, so please drink as much as you like.”

Edric said this as he filled his cup to the brim again. Damn it.

“This is hardly my place to worry about, but how has His Excellency been lately?”

Edric asked once they had eaten some and the alcohol had begun to take effect.

“His mood has been rather good since the Groin-Ripper was dealt with. But one cannot know what lies ahead, so I do not think we should simply adjust ourselves to suit his mood.”

“I heard about it. They call him the Salt Prince, do they not? Though he is young, they say his swordsmanship is remarkable. To face the Groin-Ripper, who was practically a giant, in a duel and cut off his head. I suppose those born exceptional are simply different.”

“...Well, I suppose so.”

Valerie could hardly boast about himself, so he gave a vague reply and let it pass.

Yet seeing that they could not infer anything even with the subject of the rumor before their eyes, they did not seem particularly bright. Or perhaps the thought had simply never occurred to them.

“Still, it seems patrol officers come less and less often. I know the river flowing northeast is important, but around the time the barley ripens, those Black Teeth bastards start prowling around here. In the old days, they would not even dare come near. But they know it too. That patrol officers no longer come as often as they used to.”

With some drink in him, Edric began voicing the grievances he had accumulated.

For Torvik, trade through the waterways was practically its lifeline. Torvik stood where a river flowing from the south split into two branches. The northwestern branch led toward Gringen, while the northeastern branch continued all the way to the sea.

Naturally, they had no choice but to focus their management on the river flowing northeast. It was far more important, and more dangerous as well. The relatively safe east was easily neglected.

That did not mean the east was unimportant, either.

“What are these Black Teeth?”

“They are wild people who tattoo not only their faces and bodies, but even their teeth. And those bastards breed well. Their numbers keep growing, so I have to go out and guard the barley every day myself. Recently, they even kidnapped several of our children. So, perhaps...”

“Go on.”

“Would you be willing to deal with them?”

These people seemed desperate for someone who could fight on horseback. As infantry, all they could do was grapple with the enemy. If there were casualties, it would be a disaster.

Defending the outpost itself was not a problem. The problem was that protecting the barley required going out and doing something.

That was likely why Edric had implied that they should send patrol officers more often. The sentry’s evasive answer earlier also seemed to have been because of the wild people.

Edric and the others eating with him looked at Valerie. They seemed unsure of him because he was young, yet secretly hopeful as well.

Valerie recalled what Tancred had said.

“If frontier knights or villagers complain to you about their hardships, just let it go in one ear and out the other. There is nothing you can do for them.”

In truth, patrol officers did not handle such matters. They almost never did. Unless an outpost actually burned down or the barley was utterly destroyed, they did not intervene.

Even if they did, it was treated as no more than doing what they ought to have done, and was not recognized as an achievement. So they did not want to take needless risks.

If unlucky, they could lose their lives. Even if they survived, injury to themselves or harm to their horse would be no small irritation.

Valerie could not help but consider it, but this was the sort of matter that had to be judged on the spot.

“I cannot remain here long. I will stay for three days. If they appear during that time, I will try to deal with them.”

At that, Edric and the others seemed half relieved and half still uncertain of him.

And whether it was good fortune or bad, the wild people appeared the very next day.

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