WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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◈ The Pushover Young Lord in a Romance Fantasy Won't Take It Anymore ◈

Chapter 25: We Don't Lower Our Standards

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"We've arrived, Young Lord."

The carriage passed through the gates of the grand ducal residence and came to a stop.

I jumped down first, followed by Celine and Julian.

Cardenos knights and servants stood lined up before the gate.

Hendrickson stood off in a corner with his arms folded, leaning on one leg.

'Looks like he got himself together already.'

He'd shaved his scruffy beard and dressed properly, making himself fairly presentable. He should have kept himself clean from the start instead of being so stubborn.

I looked around carefully, but Father was nowhere to be seen.

No matter how busy he was, he was the sort of person who would come to greet me when I returned from the imperial capital.

He must have been forced to leave.

Probably to deal with Rosenthal's trade cutoff.

"Young Lord, you've returned safel..."

The knight's greeting suddenly stopped.

One after another, the knights' sharp gazes turned toward Julian behind me.

"That bastard!"

"Isn't that Julian?! What the hell is he doing here?!"

A few of them put their hands on their sword hilts, ready to cut off his head right then and there. Their hostility still carried the grudge from the duel.

I lightly waved a hand.

"Everyone, calm down. Take your hands off your swords."

"That man insulted you, Young Lord!"

"Not anymore. From now on, he'll be your comrade, breathing in dust with you at the training ground."

I gave Julian's shoulder a light pat.

"He came to apologize in person at the Founding Festival. He said he wanted to start over from the bottom, so I brought him here."

Even after I said that, the knights' expressions didn't ease.

They continued glaring at Julian with distrust and hostility.

I had expected it. It wasn't as if insulting me was all Julian had done.

He'd stolen my fiancée, then had the nerve to challenge me to a duel.

The Black Lion Knights' anger was justified.

Amid the tense atmosphere, Julian bent deeply at the waist.

"I have no right to greet you, but I am Julian."

The knights clicked their tongues, and some even spat on the training ground.

If I stepped in again, it would only make them resent him more.

"Don't fight, get along!" was something you'd only hear at school.

Julian glanced at me and forced a faint smile. It told me not to worry.

Apparently, he found this reaction more realistic and easier to accept.

Thud. Thud.

Hendrickson strode over from the corner.

With indifferent eyes, he looked Julian over from head to toe.

"Your Heart Path is completely wrecked. How'd you end up like this?"

As expected of a Swordmaster.

He could see right through Julian's condition with a single glance.

"I heard he destroyed it himself. So he could forge Rings."

"Oh..."

Hendrickson stroked his beard with interest.

Hendrickson was a Ring fanatic. Praise the Sun Ring in front of him, and his attitude would change in an instant.

"You're young, but your resolve is quite admirable. Good!"

"I-It's an honor, Sir Hendrickson."

Julian's eyes gleamed with admiration.

The man was old enough to know better, yet he still had the heart of a child.

Grab!

A palm as big as a pot lid clamped down on Julian's shoulder.

"You came prepared, didn't you?"

"Yes!"

"Not some half-baked resolve. I'm talking about being ready to offer up your life. The moment you came here, your life stopped belonging to you."

"Yes, sir!!"

"What's with that voice? Is that all you've got?!"

"Argh!!!"

"Now that's spirit! But a knight's foundation isn't spirit, it's stamina. Run around the training ground! Now!"

"Argh!! How many laps should I run?"

"Tch... You're about to disappoint me."

"Argh!!!!"

Julian immediately started running around the training ground.

With his stamina, he'd probably have to run alone until sunset.

At least he would not be alone.

Tap tap tap!

Countless footsteps followed behind Julian.

The Black Lion Knights, who had been snarling at him moments ago, had begun running in formation.

Julian turned around, his eyes going wide.

"Eyes forward!"

"One hundred laps! Fall behind, and you're dead!"

The men ran, kicking up clouds of dust as they shouted their orders.

Men quickly became one when they shared sweat.

By my standards, comradeship was stronger than love.

Marine Corps meme fiction, with its homoerotic obsession with brotherhood, was better than romance fantasy stories going on about love.

...If you took that sentence literally, anyway.

* * *

"The head of the house left for the south early this morning."

The head butler looked visibly worn as he gave his report.

"Rosenthal?"

"Yes. The southern trade routes have been closing one after another."

"Just as I thought."

He could have left it to the officials. Father was the sort who had to go himself and see everything with his own eyes before he was satisfied.

That was just like Father, but it also meant the current situation wasn't one where he could afford to relax.

This wasn't their usual WWE routine. Rosenthal had retaliated in earnest, and Cardenos had answered in kind.

In the end, they were dragging each other down.

The central government would watch until both sides suffered enough losses, then step in at a convenient time.

"All right. You may go."

"Yes, Young Lord."

There was no reason to get particularly worked up.

I hadn't liked Rosenthal even before my regression. They were pathetic bastards who measured human worth in money alone.

When humanity stood on the brink of extinction, they abandoned their responsibilities and gave up fighting.

The head of House Rosenthal, who styled themself the leader of the south, gave up the fight and took their own life by hanging.

I wanted to kill the bastards who became the Outer God's lackeys.

But those who abandoned the greater cause and ran away were no better.

What I needed to do right now was cut off their economic retaliation and strengthen my house's position.

Naturally, that would require a tremendous amount of money.

"For a regressor, that's easy."

Information turned into money, and money turned into more money.

The knowledge from romance fantasy novels that I'd only read in print. The vivid memories I'd earned by risking my life and fighting before my regression.

This time, I wouldn't repeat the same mistakes.

* * *

By the time the sun had set and night had deepened, I called Hendrickson and Julian to my room.

"I called you two because of those fucking Rosenthal bastards. There's something we need to discuss."

Hendrickson pulled over a chair and sat down, looking interested.

"Planning to pick up a sword?"

"Of course not. War is something you spend money on, not something you make money from. I'm going to make money."

Julian's expression darkened noticeably. He always looked like this whenever Rosenthal came up.

"Julian."

"Yes."

"That's right. It's your fault."

"...!"

There was no need to comfort him.

I hoped a cold dose of reality would serve as a catalyst for Julian.

"If you hadn't let Azelin play you, this wouldn't have happened."

"...I know."

"Don't shut yourself away and blame yourself. Try taking responsibility instead. Of course, you can't do it alone. That's why you came here."

"What... should I do?"

That was a good look in his eyes. I liked that he was simple and straightforward, without any twisted thoughts.

I looked between the two of them before speaking.

"We're going to conquer the Ashen Forest."

Their reactions were immediate and intense.

Julian's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and even furrows like plowed fields creased Hendrickson's indifferent face.

"Did you just say the Ashen Forest?"

"You heard me correctly."

"Look at this madman. Do you even know where that is?"

"I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't."

The Ashen Forest.

An uncharted region at the far western edge of the Empire.

It was an inhuman demon realm where mutated monsters lurked without end.

Even the imperial family hadn't dared to conquer it, so they had built a massive wall to seal it off.

In a way, it was similar to the north.

The difference was that the north had to periodically fend off monster waves that came crashing against its wall.

The Ashen Forest in the west, on the other hand, was practically left sealed and abandoned.

So long as no one provoked them, the monsters wouldn't cross the wall.

"Have you lost your mind, Young Lord?"

"That's insane."

I had just said I wanted to stir up that hornet's nest, so their reactions were only natural.

They might not know, but I did.

The Ashen Forest held an enormous network of mana-stone veins and rare resources needed to prepare for the apocalypse.

Where monsters lived, mana stones were highly likely to be buried nearby.

Even so, the common belief was that the Ashen Forest carried too much risk. That was only because no one knew the truth.

The mana stones buried there amounted to nearly thirty times the estimate.

If we succeeded, we could gain the greatest wealth and honor in the Empire.

According to the original story, an expedition led by Lucia would discover it.

I just had to get there much earlier.

"Conquering the Ashen Forest will require an enormous army. Do you think the imperial family will sit quietly after seeing that?"

"I'll negotiate with them directly. If I package the conquest of the Ashen Forest as a cause for humanity, they'll turn a blind eye. The Ashen Forest's monsters will eventually cross the wall. When that happens, they'll pose a serious threat to the Empire. If we call it a preemptive campaign in preparation for that day, who can stop us?"

I could appeal to them by saying we were seeking a self-help measure because of Rosenthal's trade cutoff.

They would gladly approve if I said we'd donate the conquered territory to the Empire.

Of course, the territory and its buried resources were clearly separate matters.

All we had to do was swallow the valuable mana stones.

"Putting everything else aside, even getting started would be impossible. It might be different if we had two or three more Swordmasters."

Hendrickson spoke coldly. Even he, a Swordmaster, considered it reckless enough to shake his head at.

"They don't have to be Swordmasters."

"Do you think that bastard would hand over a knightly order to you because they've lost their mind?"

"I have no intention of using a knightly order. I don't plan to ask Father to lend me his strength in the first place."

"Requesting support from the central government won't work either. Those bastards will keep their hands in their pockets and toss you a handful of soldiers. The Ashen Forest is a hornet's nest best left alone. You'll lose far more than you'll gain."

"That remains to be seen."

His last statement was wrong. We had more to gain than lose.

Everything else he said was right.

I couldn't ask for support from the central government, nor could I hold out my hand to my own house.

"I'll form an expedition. I'll recruit elite mercenaries, mages, and knights from the private sector to enter the Ashen Forest."

Julian's mouth fell open as though he couldn't believe his ears.

"Recruiting for an expedition? Who in their right mind would volunteer to go there? No matter how much money you offer, no one will set foot in the Ashen Forest."

Everyone knew what kind of place the Ashen Forest was.

Mercenaries weren't idiots. They wouldn't crawl into a death trap for a little money.

Seeing was believing.

I took a sheet of paper from my pocket and placed it on the table.

"I came up with a slogan for the recruitment notice we'll put in the Imperial Capital Gazette. This should be enough to move people's hearts."

Julian and Hendrickson turned their eyes to the paper. Their gazes moved quickly over the words.

[Ashen Forest Expedition Recruitment]

[Bitter cold, monsters, dense demonic energy, endless darkness, constant danger, safe return uncertain]

[Wages undecided]

[Infinite honor and glory upon success]

"..."

"..."

A brief silence followed.

"Young Lord."

"What?"

"Have you truly lost your mind?"

"Watch how you speak to your superior."

Julian picked up the paper, veins bulging in his neck.

"What is this?! You're advertising how dangerous it is! And the wages are undecided? Who the hell would come after seeing this?"

It was an utterly sensible response.

Which meant Julian was normal.

"Hmm."

The old man beside him, stroking his beard and murmuring thoughtfully, was insane.

His eyes were fixed on the final sentence written on the paper. Honor and glory.

A faint curve formed at the corner of his lips.

"If it were me, I'd volunteer immediately."

"What?!"

I knew Hendrickson would change his mind.

Julian turned toward him in horror.

"For a brat, you understand people well. You don't know a damn thing about a woman's heart, but you know how to move a man's."

"You're too kind."

This slogan was my own twist on the recruitment notice of Shackleton, the leader of history's greatest Antarctic expedition on modern Earth.

A journey where death was plainly visible. Low wages. A grueling expedition. Yet thousands of men flocked to that notice.

Of course, there was a strong theory that the notice itself was apocryphal.

No matter how romantic that era was, reality and romance were different.

But it was possible in this world.

Honor and glory. Things a man destined for greatness valued more dearly than his own life.

This was an era steeped in chivalry and romanticism.

Hendrickson was proof of that.

Julian, on the other hand, still couldn't accept the situation. He looked as though another madman had just joined the group.

"People would volunteer after seeing a crazy notice like this...?"

"Sensible people won't even give it a second look. They'll spit on it because it brings bad luck."

"Then why?"

"That's the standard, Julian."

I tapped the recruitment notice on the table with my finger.

"We don't lower our standards. We wait until someone who meets them appears."

Those were the only people I needed for an Ashen Forest expedition.

Madmen more desperate for recognition than survival.

Monsters in human skin, who craved the impossible.

"I don't need riffraff who move for a few gold coins. I need madmen who can laugh in the face of death."

No one wished for a futile death.

Countless people wished for an honorable one.

The Ashen Forest was an unexplored inhuman demon realm. Expanding humanity's frontier there was a noble mission.

Dying on that expedition would be honorable enough.

"Those people have enough determination to make even gods sick of them. That means there's nothing they can't do."

That was how Hendrickson had died.

I had seen many comrades meet the same end.

A person's worth is decided by that person in their final moments.

The sacrifices of those who clamored to die in the face of the apocalypse were noble.

Those who only ran because they wanted to live ended up dying deaths worth less than an insect's life.

"I won't use those people for the expedition and then let them go. Even after it ends, they'll gather beneath the banner of Cardenos."

Even as the words left my mouth, they sounded vague.

After a brief pause, I added one essential condition.

"If they survive."

Author's Note

I'll release extra chapters during the week. Please leave lots of comments. Reading them is what keeps me going these days. +There are really so many comments, wow. I'll release an extra chapter tomorrow.

Footnotes:

Marine Corps meme fiction is a Korean online genre that satirizes exaggerated military masculinity and homoerotic camaraderie.

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