Chapter 120: Joyful Day (2)

Cocka-doodle-doo!

Lloyd’s eyes flew open at the sound that announced the coming of the morning.

“Woah.”

Lloyd rubbed his eyes at once and tried to shake off every trace of the dream from the night before. He washed up his face like usual, had breakfast, and woke Javier up. Javier woke up to stare at Lloyd at length.

“Did you cry last night by any chance?” blurted Javier.

“What?”

“Your eyes are swollen and somewhat bloodshot.”

“Oh, that?” said Lloyd as he put on a smile in a hurry. “I had trouble sleeping last night. Seriously, my heart was just pounding like an earthquake last night.”

“Your heart? Why?” asked Javier.

“Yeah, my heart. My heart raced when I thought about all the comforts I’ll be enjoying from now on,” said Lloyd.

It was true. A day of melancholy was enough. He had more days ahead of him for enjoyment. Days without any financial debt. A financially secure life was about to begin.

“Think about it. I paid off the debt. And the fiefdom is running very well. And the viscounty is paying us for the water every month,” enumerated Lloyd.

That was true as well. As he enumerated, he confirmed once again that the future for the barony was bright and clear. It was practically surrounded by stable sources of income.

“Even though there is a bit of damage from the locust swarm in the Maritz Land, it’s no problem. Do you remember that the locust carcasses got turned into soot by Bangul? We ground them to fine dust and sprinkled them on the ground, and jackpot.”

“Do you mean that you used it as fertilizer?”

“Yeah, I heard that pepper, corn, and all the other crops are growing well these days,” Lloyd said.

“Hmm, that is good news,” Javier replied.

“And it looks like the orc tribe has settled down already.”

“Right, I had heard the news as well. I heard that they are very content as their new home near Lake Kapua is littered with game animals.”

“You’re right, and Bibeong is doing a good job too.”

The 328-foot fantastical creature was splashing around in Lake Kapua, dutifully letting out a ferocious roar twice every day, day and night each. Lloyd’s request was being faithfully granted. The credit was due to Bangul, Bibeong’s first love.

“Anyway, so I’m absolutely free from worry. I’ll be living in luxury for the rest of my life. So I was thinking of throwing a festival.”

“A festival?” asked Javier.

“Well, to celebrate paying off the debt and defending the monster invasion. Don’t we celebrate Thanksgiving around this time anyway? So the timing is good as well.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” seconded Javier.

“Good idea? You’re complimenting me…? Why?”

“No reason. Everyone has off days,” Javier said.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Javier faintly grinned at Lloyd’s side. He had grown softer in the past days. Lloyd figured that it was because his likeability surpassed zero and became positive.

“Anyway, I’m planning on suggesting the idea to the baron.”

Lloyd headed to the baron’s office and suggested holding a festival. The baron, as always, gave him a yes.

“The idea is indeed splendid in my ears. On top of that, why don’t we take a family trip after the festival is over?” the baron suggested.

“Excuse me? A trip?” asked Lloyd, not sure whether he heard it right.

“Yes, a trip,” the baron said and let out a chuckle. “We used to enjoy a family trip once every year or two, but that stopped when that happened. Do you not remember?”

“Oh…”

Lloyd figured that the baron was referring to the crippling debt. His thought was confirmed when he heard the baron next.

“So this is our chance. We never dared to travel when we were in debt, and we overcame a huge disaster recently.”

The baron’s face beamed in joy as he spoke. He continued to speak at length, but most of them were about the trip, and how certain places are perfect in weather like this. He paraded his plans for the family trip as though it was already confirmed and decided.

“Yes. I agree with it as well,” said Lloyd.

“Is that so?” asked the baron.

“Yes, but all planning–”

“Don’t you worry about it, and leave it to me. If there is anyone who can plan a trip, it’s me.”

“Hahaha, is that so?”

“Yes, yes, of course, I am.”

The baron tapped his chest in bravado, and the sight brought a smile to Lloyd’s face.

A family trip?

Lloyd wondered when was the last time he had gone on a family trip. He couldn’t remember it properly.

College? Orientation? Wait, that wasn’t a family trip.

When he searched his memory, the only time he had gone on a happy family trip was when he was a child. He tried to think of the time when he had traveled after he grew up. But nothing came to his mind.

And for the last few years, I had never had the time to travel.

It was true. Ever since he was brought into this world, he worked his head off day in and day out. Always on the move, Lloyd was slammed with work to pay off his debt.

I traveled to Cremo and to the royal capital, but that can’t be considered a trip.

They were there for official business, so it couldn’t be considered a trip. The same went for when he was in the other world.

It was worse there. I just rotted away in my rental room.

Taking a trip was a luxury for Lloyd. All he could afford was a ride on a suburban bus to a random destination, but that alone burdened him. One time, Lloyd yearned to see the east sea and just gaze at the sea. Just a simple day trip. Life was too stifling for him, and his heart was going to burst soon. But he decided to give up on it. Why? Simple. he had no money for the round fare. To be precise, spending money on the bus ride meant he would have no money for his rent.

I was miserable.

He felt wretched on the way home due to only a few dollars. But now, it was different. The barony was loaded now, and as long as no one lived in extravagance and splurged the money all away, the wealth promised a lifetime of stable merriment and abundance.

“Then, I shall look forward to it.”

Lloyd’s steps felt light as he walked out of the office. The feeling went on even when he was enjoying the festival.

This is what it feels like to live.

Delicious food. A life free from labor. Kind and smiling people. Lloyd wondered if this was what it was like to live in heaven. Such a festival lasted for three days.

So comfortable.

Having grown bored with the festive mood, Lloyd spent his whole day goofing around in his bedroom. He read several books he had picked out from the library and spent a lazy and relaxed day.

I want to play a video game.

Lloyd recalled the free games he had enjoyed back in South Korea. There was nothing better than video games to kill boredom and time.

Should I learn to hunt?

This time, the hunting would be real, not virtual. He feared that he would get fat unless he did so. When he was having such thoughts on a sofa, there came a knock on his door.

Knock knock.

“Master Lloyd. Are you inside?”

Javier’s voice was heard along with the face, and Lloyd replied aloud, still lying down on the sofa.

“Yes, I’m in here. Come in–”

“You need to see this.”

“You’re already inside…”

Lloyd removed the book covering his face, and then he saw the grim expression on Javier’s face. It wasn’t the kind he always had on his face every day. Something was off, and Lloyd noticed it right away as he had spent considerable time with Javier.

“What is it…?”

A mischievous joke? No. Whatever it was, something happened. And indeed, Javier’s following response was suggestive.

“I do not know how to put it into words.”

“Then?”

“I think you need to see this for yourself.”

“…”

Lloyd followed Javier as the latter stepped out of the manor and went down to the center of the fiefdom. It was still festive there as the festival was on the third day. But now…

Something’s unsettled here.

The melodious lute and singing were not there anymore, and it was replaced by a group of people murmuring. And their gaze was all darted to one side.

Who are those people?

Everyone’s gaze was fixated on a group of 70 to 80 people. But they were all dressed in a similar fashion, but not because they were soldiers in uniform or robbers from a troupe. They were instead all ragged. The clothes were dirty and threadbare. Their knees were patchy, and the sleeves were torn. And their flesh revealed in between their tattered clothes were skins and bones. And their feet, they were more wretched. Only a handful of people wore what looked like a pair of shoes. Most of them seemed to have walked a great distance with nothing but a piece of cloth tied around their feet, which were caked with pus, soil, and dust. Their shirts and coats would have been decent if they were new, but they were not.

What the…

In short, they were haggard-looking with their sunken eyes and cheeks. And their hair was caked together in sweat and dust. And their worn-out faces. Lloyd passed his residents and walked over to the ragged people.

“Excuse me, do you, by any chance, live in this fiefdom?”

Lloyd didn’t recognize anybody. But he asked just to be safe. The answer he received wasn’t surprising.

“N-no, young master. Are you the owner of this fiefdom?”

“I am not the owner,” Lloyd replied.

“Then, you are-”

“The owner’s son.”

“Oh.”

The guy, who appeared to be the representative and just over 30 years old, spoke as he gazed at Lloyd with yearning.

“I am truly sorry to ask you this, but… young master, please help us.”

“Hmm.”

“These children are dying of hunger,” the man went on. “I do not ask for much. No, even animal feed will do. Please you don’t have to feed the adults, just the children. Please, I ask for your favor, young master,” the man whimpered as he bowed. Then the entire group bowed in the same fashion. Lloyd let out a sigh.

“Woah.”

Lloyd wondered who these men and women were and where they came from. For a split second, he considered them to be beggars. But the number was too many to be so, not to mention the varying age groups.

“We have enough to feed you all, so pull yourself together first. Okay? But first, I think you and I need to talk,” Lloyd suggested.

“Talk…?” The man muttered in hesitation.

“I don’t bite. I’ll get you some things to bite into instead.”

“Ah… I understand.”

The man rose and strode toward Lloyd, who requested his people to bring out some water, soup, and a light snack, and clothe them up. Afterward, he took the leader to one side and spoke.

“I’ll be straightforward with you. Who are you people?” demanded Lloyd.

A group of ragged-looking individuals appeared out of nowhere to break the festive mood in the fiefdom. There was something awkward and off about that. Lloyd even considered the possibility of some being foreign espionage. But what the man said caught Lloyd by surprise.

“We are from Sortino barony. And my name is Nicholas, and I come from a village named Sorti in the fiefdom. My father used to be the chief, but because of the recent disaster-”

“Hold on. People from Sortino barony? You all are?” asked Lloyd.

“Yes. That is right.”

“What are you doing here then? And in this state? And what do you mean by disaster?” asked Lloyd, feeling confused at the odd situation.

The Sortino barony sits quite south of ours.

Lloyd couldn’t wrap his head around how these people ended up here in his fiefdom in such a sordid state. But the answer was in the man’s response.

“Monsters attacked our village,” said Nicholas.

“What…?”

“It was a great number of monsters. What was the name…? Herakleto? It looked similar to a beetle that went over 60 feet in size… They swarmed on us like bees, nibbling all the trees and grass in sight.”

“What are you saying…”

“We lost our land as a result. But we never gave up. Encouraged by our lord, we tried to put up shacks and work on our fields again. But the heavens abandoned us,” Nicholas said grimly.

“It couldn’t be,” replied Lloyd.

“Yes, young master. That is right. Five days after we were swept by Herakleto, another monster herd invaded my village.”

“…”

Lloyd was speechless. He knew what had happened there.

“Monster domino…” Lloyd muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“No, never mind. So what happened to your lord?”

“He went missing while he fought against the monster herds that came after. We presume that…”

“He was eaten up,” Lloyd finished on Nicholas’s behalf.

“Yes…” Nicholas answered with a grim expression on his face.

“The lord and his family went missing. There was nothing we could do in that situation. Everyone fled for their lives, and more than half of them perished. And finally, we managed to come here…”

“It must have been a hard journey coming here.”

“Yes…” The man said, and he finally broke into tears.

At last, Lloyd was enlightened about what had happened.

Yes. The Sartino Barony. It sits far south of us. But what stands in its east? The eastern mountain range. Just like ours.

The strip of mountain range extended a long way. The north and south were a couple thousand of miles apart. And so, the Frontera barony wasn’t the only one that sat in the vicinity of the eastern range. Dozens of fiefdoms were there, and…

Most of the fiefdoms close to the eastern range would have fallen within the influence of the monster domino.

Lloyd was aware of such a fact, but he didn’t have the time and confidence to help out others. He had figured that the other lords, who do a pretty good job at managing their fiefdoms, would handle the situation well. But now, he learned that it wasn’t the case.

They don’t have fantastical creatures, me, a sword master, an engineering corp, or lancers dispatched by the queen.

Without these capabilities, would there be any fiefdom that could well fend itself from the invasion? The answer was no.

“Eat first. And make yourselves warm,” Lloyd said.

“Oh, thank you so much, young master. I shall never forget your favor-”

“Don’t bring up the favor to me now. It makes me uncomfortable. Stay here a few days, and move to another fiefdom once you get better.”

Lloyd left the table without waiting for a response, but did he do so because he feared Nicholas would bug him? Or because he had completely forgotten his harsh days when he was penniless and poor? No. That was all wrong.

This may mean that more refugees may come here with no end in sight.

Lloyd strode toward the baron’s office after he removed himself from the disrupted festival. His steps were quick now. The same thing was happening in his head. Lloyd awakened every single neuron that rested for the past few days, meticulously going over the days ahead of his barony.

At least 20 fiefdoms would have been ruined to dust. Where would those refugees rush to? To the west? No. Another mountain range is there, so they can’t cross it. To the south? It’s a foreign country. And they won’t go to the east since monsters flooded from there.

As such, the only direction left for them was the north, and the only functional fiefdom in the northern route would be here, the Frontera barony. Moreover, the days were turning cold as winter was approaching.

Traveling to Cremo would be too much without food and proper clothes. So that means…

In the northern route the refugees would take, there was only one fiefdom that survived. And it was close enough for them to dare travel by foot.

Us. Who else? Just us. There’s nowhere else.

Lloyd gritted his teeth as he concluded that a huge number of refugees would rush here. But turning a blind eye to them and kicking them out would bring about serious punishments from the queen.

My goodness, I guess I’m not destined to take a vacation. Dammit.

Lloyd bitterly wondered when he would ever have the luxury of comfort to rest and live the life of Riley. Feeling the bitter taste of his destiny, Lloyd hurried toward the baron’s office. And throughout his walk there, in his head, there formed an urgent city planning that could accommodate an inundating number of refugees.