Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 19

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Episode 19
That gap confused Basilii greatly.
‘Especially when sitting or indoors—it shows through even more.’
Habits he didn’t even notice himself possessed.
‘……How did he end up drifting all the way to the Slums?’
Basilii found himself curious about Haniel’s history.
So he had Camilla investigate the boy’s past. It felt underhanded, but there was no help for it. There was a chance the boy wouldn’t remember, and somehow Basilii doubted he’d volunteer the information willingly.
‘How else will I know whether to protect him or not?’
Of course, even Camilla was too busy digging now to get anything done……
Once this situation settled, he’d have to send her out of the Territory.
‘Though I think I already know.’
Basilii exhaled long.
“……I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“Of what……exactly……?”
A chill ran down his spine.
“When did you get here?”
Pink eyes had appeared before him without warning.
“Your shovel stopped moving, so……?”
“Ah, you little pest!”
Basilii couldn’t restrain himself and barked sternly.
“When do we get a break?!”
“Oh, take a break! Fresh as a daisy, I’ll take over now!”
Damn it.
“No! Fresh as a daisy, you’re going to eat some bread instead. Keep working!”
“You got it!”
Regardless, right now……
Thrust-thrust-thrust!
‘I need more hands……!’
Basilii maintained a pace of two shovels per second while muttering to himself.
“Come on, hurry……”
Those damned Brad’s Squad!
He cried out the name of his returning knights.
Get here and make some new promotional flyers for settling in the north. Hype it up outrageously, exaggerate it to hell, and reel some people in.
Basilii desperately needed a sacrificial lamb to suffer through this endless labor with him.
Desperately.
* * *
“What is this?”
At the Bertus Knights headquarters.
Brad Smith, commander of Brad’s Squad, read the letter a second time.
That elegant handwriting—it was definitely Camilla’s.
‘Is this really the content?’
Commander Smith, I apologize for the sudden request.
Should you have any funds to spare, please purchase what you can from the item list below.
Five sacks of fertilizer, assorted additional farm tools, children’s clothing (girls, age six).
This was full-fledged farming preparation supplies.
And then.
‘Children’s……clothing?’
The next page was even more serious.
Children’s shoes, children’s gloves, children’s hat, children’s hair clip, children’s bag, children’s moisturizer, children’s tableware, children’s chair, children’s stuffed animal, children’s educational materials……
“Commander Smith, are you preparing for a pregnancy?”
“……”
What kind of question was that?
Brad shot a sharp look at the knight Aisha, who’d been sneaking peeks at the letter beside him.
“Something serious seems to be happening in the Territory……”
“Hmm. Did Camilla become pregnant?”
“……”
What kind of question was that?
Camilla’s 60th birthday was coming up in a few days.
“Battle’s over~!”
Just then, a young man with brown hair came running from a distance.
Tall and drenched in blood from head to toe, his expression remained unnervingly cheerful.
“And with my signature Quadruple Acupuncture Technique, I’ve just pinpointed the direction~ See? We can escape the Illusion Magic mist now. Look~ Hack! Ptui!”
Felix, a knight, spat on the ground with force. Then he stared at it intently.
“From the direction of the spit, it’s this way……!”
“Ugh, disgusting! Didn’t I tell you not to do that!”
Before anyone could react, Aisha was there, bringing the full force of her palm down on the back of Felix’s head.
“Just spouting the technique name doesn’t make it clean! And I told you to leave my monster alone, didn’t I! My blood! My flesh!”
“Aaaah! This brute just hit me!”
Felix and Aisha squabbled.
“Enough! Stop fighting!”
Brad stammered an attempt to break it up.
.
A boy wizard in a billowing black robe approached from behind. Barely twelve years old.
A Magic Scroll that had been drifting in mid-air unfurled with a crisp sound, and letters floated up gently.
“……Noah, you’re the most pathetic of all—a mage who lost his voice on a bet. How am I supposed to report this to the Grand Duke!”

Noah shook an Artificial Eye inside a glass jar.
He was a corrupted mage who enjoyed all manner of underground wagers.

“No, don’t aim for ‘big’ in the first place…… Never mind.”
Every member of the squad was a complete mess.
Brad buried his face in his large hands.
‘There’s no dignity in this. Not a shred.’
How had a timid soul like him become the leader of such a squad?
Surrounded by eccentric misfits, his spirit withered.
His name was as ordinary as they came—Brad.
‘Maybe becoming a mercenary was a mistake to begin with.’
Me, meek and plain, a mercenary?
All I have is a somewhat oversized frame and the ability to crack a monster’s skull with a Steel Hammer…….
“In any case, we’ve dealt with the monsters and the Illusion Magic has lifted…… Let’s stop by the nearest village on the way. We can’t ignore Camilla’s letter.”
“Yeees~!”
“Yes, sir!”
So they decided to stop at the closest village before reaching the Northern Gate to purchase supplies.
After buying food, they still had a decent amount of compensation left, so the accounting seemed roughly to work out.
Norston, to the north.
Before the Bertus Territory opened, it had been the northernmost town of the Empire.
Located right near the Northern Crystal Transfer Portal, the town was a small waystation where wandering travelers passed through briefly.
“But why do we really have to buy baby things? Wait…… don’t tell me…… our Grand Duke……!”
Brad cut off Aisha’s speculation.
“He couldn’t possibly be pregnant. He wouldn’t have asked for it. Not him. Never.”
Basilii and a baby?
It was as nonsensical a pairing as a Holy Knight and childcare.
“How are we supposed to deal with how clueless she is, really…….”
“Want to die? Don’t call me by nicknames.”
“……Is calling you clueless okay then? Anyway, I’m a bit hungry! Captain~ let’s go get food~!”
At Felix’s words, the three headed for the tavern.
Norston was unusually crowded today.
The moment the door opened, the savory aroma of food mingled with familiar words that struck like a thunderbolt.
“Really, we’re allowed to go into Bertus Territory?”
Huh? Our territory?
“What if monsters come out!”
“That’s true. There were no soldiers guarding the gate…….”
“But they say the path leading to the villages inside has been mostly purified, haven’t they?”
“Still, there’s always that ‘what if.’ Work up the courage and drop dead—then who takes responsibility for my life!”
“That’s fair, but…… if we could really farm and live in Bertus, that changes things, doesn’t it?”
“But it’s scary…….”
Huh? What’s all this talk?
The knights exchanged glances with each other.
Bang!
A man suddenly shoved himself up from his seat, standing with fierce determination. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and his complexion was ashen, as though death itself awaited him.
“So you’re not going?!!!!”
“No, it’s not that…… ”
“I told you! I got a letter!!”
He snatched up a piece of paper.
“Just go, alright?! You get a house! You get land!! It all works out, doesn’t it? For wanderers like us with nothing but our bodies, it’s practically paradise!”
Brad’s eyes widened.
Wait, that looks familiar somehow.
It was quite a neat flyer.
……Written in shaky script across a sketchbook.
But more than that — what?
Farming possible
……Really?
“Listen, Paul. Can you actually farm in the north?”
“Yes!! My— no, wait. My traveling companion went to scout it out beforehand, and he sent me this letter just days ago!!”
“Hmm. The more I look at it, the more it seems like a kid wrote it…….”
“Nonsense! There’s a seal pressed right here!”
A mark affixed to the very bottom of the page.
The mouths of roughly ten people fell silent.
Felix and Aisha exchanged glances.
‘That really is our seal.’
‘Not His Highness’s though? It feels more like the kind of seal Camilla or Lord Luden use for dealings…… But why does Lord Luden’s handwriting look like that?’
Aisha scratched the back of her head.
“Oh, did Lord Luden accidentally drink the same de-aging potion as Noah…….”
<He did not>
“So! Are we going or not!”
Paul pressed on.
Ever since Haniel was abducted by the bird in front of the Northern Gate, Paul had spent every night weeping into his pillow.
Searching for a way inside while remaining here to at least give the child a proper burial, when——
This carrier pigeon had arrived.
To Paul.
Uncle Paul, it’s Haniel!
You’re in Norston now, right?
Could you show the promotional flyer I’m sending along to the people there?
You could even show it to the people you traveled with in the carriage! There were so many without homes!
I’m planning to live here, but it turns out there
aren’t enough people
to work……
If I had more neighbors who could
labor, it would be
just perfect!