The new lord of Kasdeks Domain...
He's said to have many female slaves attend him.
I'm not letting a guy like that anywhere near Iluk Village.
That man with the belly like a barrel is a strong blue.
What?
Not as intense at yours, but it's still pretty strong.
No one accompanying him is red.
My sincerest apologies! Do forgive me!
I just had to meet the man I so admire for myself, Lord Dias!
My name is Eldan Kasdeks.
You can simply call me Eldan!
Ever since I was a child, I've had the utmost respect
for the kingdom's heroic savior, Lord Dias!
And I got it in my head that we should be on good terms.
I promise not to do wrong by you, so I hope you aren't upset.
It's not that I'm upset, Lord Eldan...
And I apologize as well for my rude treatment of Mr. Kamalotz.
No need to fret over rudeness!
You're more than welcome to dispense with formalities with us!
By the way, Lord Dias, who might the young woman next to you be?
I must say, she's very good at hiding.
But my ears and nose are keen, so I know she's there.
She has a nice, kind scent, just as you do.
Concealment doesn't work with him?!
Who are your people, miss?
What is your relationship with Lord Dias?!
Her name is Alna, and she's my fian—
Wife!
WIFE
I'm his wife.
Yeah.
That horn...
Are you a demihuman, Miss Alna?
I'm an onikin, and I was born with this horn.
I've never heard the word "demihuman," so I do not know how to answer.
Demihuman is a general term for peoples that aren't human but are similar to them,
such as beastkin and fishkin.
Then I guess you could say I'm a demihuman.
Lord Dias!
Have you had a child with Miss Alna?!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why are you crying?!
Get a hold of yourself! We don't have any children!
I plan to have ten of them.
Alna?!
We don't have any children of our own yet,
but Dias is raising two orphans who appear to be demihumans.
Lord Dias has a demihuman wife and demihuman children?!
Mother! I've found a comrade!
And it's none other than Lord Dias!
Dias!
Don't tell me... You're a demihuman, too?
What's wrong?!
Are you okay?!
What in the world is going on with him?
I don't mind if you tell him.
Yes, milord.
Lord Eldan is a half-demihuman, born to a demihuman and a human.
He can assume either form, but the shift between is quite taxing.
Half-demihumans are rare, and being one is an advantage for Lord Eldan.
However, not having a single stable form does pose its difficulties.
This is why he cannot do without the devoted care of his wives.
I was so delighted earlier,
in my excitement, I changed form in spite of myself.
My apologies.
Don't worry about it.
Now then, I understand there's been a rebellion...
That was to protect those dear to me.
It all began when Lord Eldan was born.
The previous lord, Lord Enkars, already had a wife and son,
but his eldest son's personality was just as hideous as his.
Enkars alienated this son, who was so similar to himself,
while he was highly fond of his bright, handsome son born to an elephantkin slave.
The lord declared him his true son, awarding the boy position and authority.
That son was Lord Eldan.
Until I was five years old, I thought I was a regular human.
But a chance occurrence revealed the real me,
and I learned that my true mother was kept as a slave.
Starting then, Lord Eldan secretly got to know his mother better,
and he worked behind the scenes to safeguard demihumans,
all while keeping this from Enkars, who would sooner have them in chains.
I want to make a world where everyone can live in happiness, whoever their people.
That is what I wish for!
His wives were all slaves, but Lord Eldan saved them.
Inspired by his ideals, they've chosen to become his caretakers.
Then what of all the talk about the lord's second son
being attended by a bevy of enslaved women?
That was a rumor we spread intentionally, but in fact,
Lord Eldan and his wives love each other with all their hearts.
However, the deception was not easy to maintain.
Enkars was enraged when he learned of Lord Eldan's true goal.
He declared he would put every last demihuman in the domain to death,
including Lord Eldan and his mother.
Lord Eldan raised an army to protect the demihumans.
After a hard-fought conflict, he defeated Enkars's forces.
I see now.
That's what he meant about protecting those dear to him.
I apologize for forgetting myself in my excitement earlier.
When I heard the hero I admire has a demihuman family,
I thought you must be a kindred spirit with the same dream.
So... there's just one thing I'd like to confirm.
When you say "the hero you admire," do you mean me?
Who else would I mean?
Tales of Sir Dias, heroic savior of the kingdom, have made their way to Kasdeks.
He upholds his parents' dying wishes, rescues the weak,
cuts down thousands of foes,
and uses his fists to persuade tyrannical nobles to reform.
I hear the heroic saga of Lord Dias
has even been performed as a stage play in the capital
to lift morale and recruit volunteer soldiers.
Apparently, public performances were suspended
as soon as the aristocracy intervened.
But the tales spread by word of mouth, and now everyone knows your story.
This is the first I've heard of it.
I bet the bulk of it is entirely made up.
I don't believe every single thing I've heard,
but returning soldiers talk, and your reputation proceeds you.
And now that I've met you, I'd say you exceed the tales.
Of course he does. He's my husband.
And so I ask you again, Lord Dias...
I hope we can be on good terms.
That we can work toward a world where
demihumans and humans live together in harmony.
It's my dream!
Eldan.
I support that dream.
In my village, humans and demihumans already coexist in peace.
I, too, think it would be good to see that in more places.
So I ask you in turn...
I'd very much like you and your people to be our friends.
Eldan, your ideals are truly commendable.
I think you can afford to take more pride in them. Don't be ashamed.
Good. Now we each have a grasp on the state of the other's domain.
About finding more subjects...
I asked a traveling merchant the other day to spread the word,
but do you have any other suggestions?
I will make a proclamation in Kasdeks as well.
But there's something you should do first.
I think you'll be in trouble if you don't amass larger food stores.
You must begin producing within your domain,
especially if you plan to have more subjects.
Winter seems far away, but it sneaks up on you.
If you don't prepare now, you will come to regret it later.
Understood. Thank you for the sage advice.
I plan to be as helpful as possible.
See you next time, Eldan!
I look forward to it!
We're home.
You said you'd be right back!
We waited for you!
Dias, you liar!
You tricked us!
I-I'm sorry.
They finally fell asleep.
And they look happy enough now.
After that huge tantrum, too.
That's how kids are.
But Dias, are you sure that you shouldn't have scolded them?
They hit, they kicked,
and they even insisted on staying up late because "you lied!"
Isn't that bad behavior?
I don't suppose it's good, but I'm the one who broke a promise,
and I wanted to start by apologizing.
It's common for children who just joined a family
to speak willfully and be wild in order to test the adults.
I'll allow it for now.
But if it continues, they're not growing up right.
I intend to set them straight if they keep it up tomorrow.
By the way, about food production as Eldan pointed out...
Yes.
I think I'll start by cultivating a field.
I did lots of farmwork before the war, so I like to think I'm used to it.
Say, Dias, around here, fields...
Intruders. Quite a few of them.
Are you sure it's not Eldan's people?
They're coming from a different direction than the way Eldan left.
Besides, would anyone respectable be wandering around at this hour?
In that case, it must be bandits.
That's not good news.
It's late. I'll go take a look.
You stay here—
I'm going, too.
Tonight is the new moon.
How could you possibly find them without any help?
Meaning you're going to need my magic.
Let Klaus hold the fort.
I could swear someone just said my name.
Take me with you, Dias.
All right.
Lend me a hand, Alna.
THE FRONTIER LORD AND THE NEIGHBORING LORD
Are there really any humans out here?
I ain't even seen a single tree around.
We're going the right way.
I spent a fortune hiring you guys.
If you're only good for running your mouth, return my money.
Oh, no, we'll do the job right.
But why now, on a night with no moon?
Have you not heard of Dias, the kingdom's heroic savior?
You'd never beat him head-on in broad daylight.
Fail to take him by surprise and you won't stand a chance.
Tall tales like that are just a buncha talk.
Besides, there's no possible way we'd lose with this many fighters.
Don't talk back to me!
And if you find that Eldan guy, kill him, too!
He's a young fellow with a potbelly.
For a little extra, you mean?
A hundred silver coins for Eldan,
and if you kill Dias, you'll get a bonus of ten gold coins.
Oho!
Okay, boys, get ready! It's our first big score in a while!
Yeah!
Let's get this over with and head back to town!
Boss! Lyle's been hit!
Ow!
Ditch the torches!
Fire back at that red light!
It went out?
What was that light?
That's way too accurate for so few shots fired.
How can they tell where we are?
Keep firing bolts and arrows!
We can win with numbers if they've made us!
Fire away and smoke 'em out!
You okay?!
I heard voices! Thataway! Surround 'em!
Payback time, asshole.
We're gonna kill you!
What?!
It's not just an archer!
Get into formation!
Yessir!
Four guys in the blink of an eye?
N-Now there's a green light? Could it be a demihuman?!
Damn it!
Where are you?! Get out here, you monsters!
Blue eyes, steel armor, a big two-handed axe...
He must be...
Son of a...
Even a hundred gold coins ain't enough for a monster like him!
Shit! Shit, shit!
Useless, the lot of them!
I told them we were doomed if were made!
Ow! My old wound's acting up.
This is all your fault, Dias!
It was my due right as a noble!
And yet he dared to...
A commoner who started out as an orphan had the gall to get angry at me!
What's more, he even...
He even...
I swear I won't relent until I have my revenge!
You're a dead man, Dias!
I'm glad it wasn't anything serious.
Sorry I couldn't keep quiet when that arrow grazed my cheek.
If you were listening to what I was saying before,
I think you know full well now what a foolish thing banditry is!
Except we're mercenaries, not bandits.
Did you say something?!
No, sir, n-not a thing.
Okay.
Then as the lord of this land, I will now pronounce your punishment!
Your punishment is...
Wasn't kicking them out too light a sentence?
No harm done on our side, so it felt appropriate.
Although I did lose my cool when that arrow grazed you.
Fortunately, we had no casualties, and if they learn their lesson, all the better.
If they get up to no good in my domain again,
I have no intention of holding back.
All right.
Still, it's a shame one of them got away.
There were so many, that's hard to prevent.
Well, I guess we should be pleased with such a big haul.
Will these beat-up weapons fetch much money?
Steel is precious out on the prairie.
We can melt them down to make all sorts of tools.
That's why bandit-hunting can turn such a tidy profit.
The chieftain will pay a bounty, too.
My family wasn't exactly what you'd call well-off.
I would dream of hunting scores of bandits like this.
But it's rare that they come out to the grasslands.
When I sensed the carriage you arrived in,
I was so excited that maybe some bandits had finally turned up.
But then it departed immediately, leaving just one person.
I figured you'd been abandoned for dead.
The next morning, I came to check while I was on patrol,
and I was shocked to find a man sleeping there without a care in the world.
I used Soul Appraisal to be safe, and your strong blue
really threw me for a loop.
For a moment, I nearly convinced myself you were a bandit anyway
so I could kill you and take your axe and armor.
I wonder why, though...
I wonder why it occurred to me to talk to you instead.
I could've decided killing you was extreme and just left you there.
In truth, I can't explain it.
Before I knew it, I was talking to you.
But it got me the life I have now, so it wasn't a bad choice.
Still, sometimes, I do wonder...
Why did I choose to speak to you, anyway?
Hey, Alna? What happened?
Uh, Alna...
Wait up!
Alna, don't leave me behind!
I'll chase after her...
because I can only move forward with her light parting the darkness for me.