{OP}
{eyecatch}
{ED}
Hey, mister! Alna!
Are you all right?!
I wish the chieftain hadn't asked us to go check on him
just because he's late getting back.
I am worried about Alna, though.
Wha?
Th-That's a...
Let's get married!
I'll marry you!
Let's marry... Let's marry...
Let's marry!
Uh, Alna, settle down...
I want to get married!
THE FRONTIER LORD BEGINS WITH ZERO SUBJECTS
Hey! Dias here slew himself an earth dragon!
Moving the giant turtle was a hell of a chore,
and by the time we reached the village,
it was already well into the morning.
Is it really that exciting?
It's hard to believe you defeated that on your own.
Moll.
I'd like to have a well and privy built in exchange for this thing's resources.
Will it be enough?
Are you kidding me?
Just one leg would be enough to have a whole slew of them built.
This monster's that valuable?
More valuable than we can even accommodate.
We'll be returning most of the materials to you.
What we can offer in return is butchering the beast,
plus your well and privy, yurt materials,
provisions, and medicinal herbs, I'd say.
We'll even build you a yurt to use as a storehouse.
I'd appreciate all that!
Also, set something aside for Alna's wedding gift.
I think her parents would be overjoyed to receive a single claw or fang.
W-Wait just a minute! What's all this about a wedding gift?
You're getting married whether you like it or not.
We'll do whatever we have to
in order to establish close ties with our dragon-slaying neighbor.
Besides, you're manly enough to take down a dragon.
If you don't marry Alna, every single woman in the village will come calling.
That would be a problem.
Wouldn't it?
But don't you worry. Alna has already gone to discuss marriage with her parents.
Is that why I haven't seen her in a while?
Would it be possible to say we're engaged?
We onikin don't do that whole engagement custom.
You simply get married, but you decide when it happens.
I guess that part's about as similar as it gets.
Closer ties will make it easier to help you become a superb lord.
I'm glad you're concerned about me, but why this concerned?
If you wash out, who's to know what kind of lord will come next?
That last guy was a good-for-nothing fool, after all.
I hear he recently died of illness.
Well, you do your duty, Lordship.
Alna's done well for herself.
And at such a young age to boot.
Say, how old is Alna?
She just turned fifteen!
That's barely old enough to marry, and she's snagged a big catch like you!
Talk about impressive!
F-Fifteen...
I'm 35, old enough to be her father.
In the kingdom, you have to be eighteen to marry.
We'll be engaged for three years,
and in that time, I'll become a full-fledged lord.
I'll have to find my resolve by then.
As a lord. As a man.
Dias!
Everything's been arranged!
By the way...
what would you like for breakfast tomorrow?
Anything you make.
Okay!
See you later, then!
Alna, you're so beautiful!
Congratulations!
I envy him, getting to marry Alna.
Yeah, but a guy that manly? It makes sense.
Alna must be tickled to marry someone so unbelievably manly!
No, we're just getting engaged! Engaged, I tell you!
Don't be shy, Mister Dragon Slayer!
Some time after that banquet, the well and privy were completed,
and we settled into our daily lives.
Okay, not bad for my first try making one.
I've got to get better at building these
so my new subjects don't have to sleep outdoors once they arrive.
But what do I have to do to get new subjects to come?
Dias!
Is it lunchtime already?
No. I sense a monster to the north.
Huh?
I have a Life Detection spell cast over the grasslands.
It's tripped that.
Is it just the one?
It's alone, yes.
It's not especially large, but it seems to be headed this way.
I don't want it wrecking the well or the privy we had built,
any more than I want the baars getting traumatized.
I'll go take it down.
I'm going too, of course.
It may be small, but against a monster, we should fight together.
But what about the baars?
They're asleep in their pen, but if nobody's here when they wake,
they'll get lonely and cry out.
Aren't baars who live with people stricken by terrible anxiety when no one's around?
We'll get those guys look after them!
That's an ogre.
Yeah.
Its materials stink so bad that there's no practical use for them,
so there's nothing to be gained from hunting one.
Still, we can't let it get any closer.
You're light on your feet.
Dias!
I'll slow it down! You rush it head-on!
All right!
Now, Dias!
You did it.
Thanks to you.
I told you, didn't I? It's better to fight together.
We're husband and wife, you know.
No, we're still engaged. We're not—
The ogre blood... stinks!
Go wash up! I'm not letting you in the yurt until you get that off of you!
Y-Yes, ma'am.
It's evening already?
Oh, man...
I can't believe how hard it is to remove this stench.
THE FRONTIER LORD AND HIS FIRST VISITOR
Yesterday was pretty horrible.
We get unwanted monsters but no subjects.
What am I going to do?
Dias!
We're pregnant at last!
R-Really?
Yes! We're going to have little ones!
Hooray!
Good girl, good girl!
Nice going, Francoise!
I didn't think you'd get pregnant so soon.
Are you jealous, Francis?
You did great, too!
Good boy, good boy!
Actually... it isn't all good news.
Remember when I taught you about how smart baars are?
Yeah. You said they fully understand human language,
and they were willingly domesticated to live safer lives.
That's right.
That cleverness makes them susceptible to fear and mental strain,
all the more so while pregnant.
Sometimes the fear becomes so strong, it winds up killing them.
That's why the strongest member of the herd, namely you,
needs to stay nearby and reassure them until the birth.
So we'll have to let Francis and Francoise inside the yurt,
but it's going to get messy and smelly.
There are some men who absolutely can't stand it.
Couples tend to quarrel while baars are pregnant.
What, is that all?
That doesn't bother me one bit.
Francis and Francoise are an important part of our family.
If it's all to see their young born safely,
putting up with that much is nothing.
Not only are you manly, but you also bring kindness with you.
That's my husband!
Y-Yeah...
Are they happy, too?
What are you saying, Francoise?
Dias and I still haven't—
Francis! Watch your mouth!
We're bonding little by little.
And... never you mind that whole situation!
Green?
Is something else on the way?
Yes. From the east.
It feels like... humans, probably.
Horses, too. Ten of them...
I think.
The east? The royal capital's that way, but I'm not expecting any guests.
I'll go take a look.
You use Concealment to hide with the baars.
Don't worry. I'll be back soon.
I hardly think this could be more trouble than a dragon.
I'll hold down the fort.
There they are!
Three cavaliers, four infantryman.
Including the horses, that makes ten in all.
Are they friend or foe?
If foe, I'll be in trouble if they have bows.
I'd better get in close.
Sir Dias! It's been so long!
You're...
Is that you, Klaus?
Yes, sir!
You're a lord now, right?
I'm glad to see a comrade in arms moving up in the world!
And I'm glad to see a war buddy in good health.
But what brings you way out here?
I'm just on orders as a guide and an escort.
It's the lady there who has business with you.
She must be...
Who is that?
Could you take us to your manor?
We've been traveling for over half a month, and we're all exhausted.
My manor, you say...
It was a good call to practice hiding everything except the yurt I built.
I promised to keep the onikin a secret,
and explaining things would've been a pain otherwise.
A-A hole...
I must've damaged it during construction!
Heroic Sir Dias, it is an honor to meet you.
I am Diane, third princess of the kingdom.
She's a princess?
What's she doing all the way out here herself?
Now then...
Is your manor still under construction?
I haven't seen any servants.
Er... Lady Diane, was it?
How dare you! You will address her as Princess Diane!
Know your place!
Stand down.
Lady Diane, I have neither a manor nor any servants here.
All I own is this dwelling.
It might not look like much, but I worked hard to put it together.
You did it yourself?
What happened to your craftsman?
It was my understanding that my father...
Rather, His Majesty provided you with a large bonus and starting capital.
What are you talking about?
I haven't even received a single copper coin.
That can't be!
In fact, they dumped me here without any food or water.
At first, I thought I might die out here.
So, Lady Diane, what brings you here to see me?
War.
In the royal capital, the cries for new conflict grow by the day.
Thus have I come to request troops and assistance from you, Sir Dias,
our kingdom's heroic savior.
As a reward, I offer my hand in marriage,
or else that of either Prinessia or Miralda behind me.
War? She's got to be kidding.
There's no way I'm going to abandon Francoise right now.
And I wouldn't call marrying someone I just met a reward.
I'm sorry, Lady Diane, but I won't be taking part in war anymore.
Troops are out of the question, too.
As you can see, I don't have a single subject, much less soldiers.
Could I get you to reconsider?
We could offer additional rewards.
I can't help you.
If that's your only business here, would you mind leaving?
You lout!
I will not brook some upstart commoner repeatedly insulting Princess Diane!
H-Hey!
My hand's... numb...
He didn't exactly intend to kill me.
If he was trying to intimidate me, he did a piss-poor job.
I think we're done here. Go on, leave.
Come on, let's go.
It would be unwise to anger him further.
But...
Even if we ganged up on him, we'd never win.
Do you still want to try?
Challenging the kingdom's heroic savior?
I overdid it and damaged the matting.
Alna's gonna let me have it.
Dias, how dare you turn me away!
You'll regret this someday!
All of those women were red.
One solder was a strong blue, and the others were red and white.
Alna, how long have you been there?
As you'd expect, Francoise was crying because she couldn't be with you.
We were here watching, hidden by Concealment.
I'm sorry, Francoise.
For leaving your side like that.
You too, Francis.
Ahem.
Thank you, Alna.
By the way, if the women were red, does that mean they were hostile to you?
No.
My Soul Appraisal tells me if someone is hostile toward me and you.
Because... we're family now.
Yeah.
That's true.
The strong blue soldier was probably...
By the way, Dias,
who do you think is going to repair that?
I know... I'm sorry.
Morning, Dias.
We have a visitor.
Just one human. To the east.
They're wandering around aimlessly.
Maybe some traveler lost their way.
Are you accompanying me?
It shouldn't be a problem if it's just one person.
And I'll use Concealment.
I don't want to see Francoise sad again.
Okay.
Hey there, Klaus!
Sir Dias!
I was trying to find your place, but I got lost!
Didn't you return to the capital?
And what happened to your armor?
Oh, I was dismissed from military service.
They took both my sword and my armor.
Was it because of me?
Because I turned those girls away?
Of course not! If there's another war, they'd send me right to the front lines.
I don't want that, so I got myself dismissed on purpose.
So that's the deal, huh?
It was good timing. There's something I want to do.
Oh, yeah? What would that be?
Sir Dias, I want to work for you.
Could you hire me as your personal soldier?
Klaus never discriminated against me for being an orphan.
He's reliable, and I trusted him to watch my back during the war.
It'd be reassuring to have him on my side, but...
Dias, I don't mind.
He's been blue this whole time.
You wanted to get my opinion too, didn't you?
Thank you, Dias.
S-Sir Dias, where did that woman and the sheep-looking things come from?!
That's going to be a long story.
For now, Klaus, why don't you come with me?
Yes, sir! Thank you!
And that's how I managed to gain a new subject.
NEZROSE DOMAIN STATUS REPORT
SUBJECTS: ALNA THE ONIKIN, KLAUS THE FORMER ROYAL SOLDIER, TWO BAARS
INFRASTRUCTURE: TWO YURTS, TWO STOREHOUSES, BAAR PEN, PRIVY, WELL