The Heins Territory was considered a very large piece of land, so only a small region was enclosed by a palace wall. Everything else was left as a plain. Not all of the land could be surrounded, after all.

“What an astounding place.”

-It was maintained disastrously.

Perhaps it was due to how old and outdated the territory was, but parts of the surrounding palace wall were so decrepit that the original structure was difficult to make out. There were also crevices with long weeds growing out. Also, a flimsy-looking wooden gate blocked the entrance instead of a firmly shut palace gate.

-It’s a relief that someone was protecting this place, at least.

“This region is near the Great Forest, where monsters appear. They wouldn’t have been able to survive without the militia.

“Stop! You are now entering the Heins Territory! Please show identification!”

Before anyone could say anything, the old gentleman leading the party with his horse sternly shouted, “This is Prince Davey, who’s newly appointed to the Heins Territory! Open the gates!”

Since they weren’t blind, they seemed to quickly understand that this party wasn’t just any party. “W… Wait here. I will go to the Leader…”

“Ahem! Are you going to make His Highness the Prince wait?”

“Enough. We have to follow procedures. I haven’t formally received the authority over this estate.”

The authority of the estate was indeed delegated to a member of royalty following the king’s command, but if they were absent, a temporary manager was entrusted with the estate. Then, the royalty, who had become the seigneur, would take over the manager role and fully become the seigneur.

“Your Highness.”

“Let’s not be stubborn about it. After all, we’re all family now.”

The old gentleman silently nodded as Davey stepped off the carriage. He said, “For… Forgive my impertinence, Your Highness.”

Perhaps Davey clearly looked like royalty. Although they didn’t recognize his face, the guards realized that Davey was the seigneur and the prince of this kingdom that the old gentleman was talking about. They bowed onto the ground. “I… I am in the presence of the little Sun of the kingdom.”

“Get up. What are the guards supposed to do when on the ground?”

The two guards looked dumbfounded at Davey’s comment. “Pardon?”

“I applaud your alertness, but what happened to the palace?”

After Davey asked aloofly, the guards began looking worried. That was when a middle-aged man dressed in light armor hurriedly ran out from inside the palace wall. “Le… Leader!”

“Wel… Welcome, Your Highness! I did receive word of your arrival, but I am late to greet you! Please have mercy!”

Davey squinted at the trembling Leader, who was bowing on the ground. He could now see the strange traces of a monster attack. It showed that there was a monster attack recently. ‘No wonder this place is in disorder.’

“When did the person who sent word arrive here?”

“Tw… Two days ago, Your Highness.”

“And when was the monster attack?”

“H…Hup! Your Highness, how did you…” The Leader stared at Davey in surprise.

Davey grinned. “I could tell that there was an attack from the traces of blood. If it was an emergency, you judged the situation well.”

“You… Your Highness…”

“What use are these tedious procedures? Let’s go in first. I’ll hear the details inside.” Surprised by Davey’s response, the Leader looked up at him in surprise. Davey continued, “And tell the manager, who takes care of the internal affairs, to come as well.”

The Leader, who was in fear, let out a sigh of relief and bowed.

* * *

Hercules taught Davey about the skills of survival, and the first of them all was none other than observation skills.

Davey couldn’t see them from afar, but he could now see the blood stains near the palace wall and the broken pieces of equipment that weren't retrieved. There were no bodies, but the blood stains were dark. He could even smell the faint scent of blood and battle that no one else could have. Davey managed to do that because, although he hadn’t gone through ‘Metamorph’, his body was of ‘Master’ level after casting ‘Saint Sanctuary’; a little sense of intensification was nothing.

People looked at Davey in surprise, since he actually noticed the traces of battle.

‘What’s wrong with everyone? Everyone can do this if they’re at the level.’

-I think, sometimes, you forget how ridiculously talented you are. Tastelessly put, you’re full of yourself. It’s usually a clue that those who lack talent will foolishly miss, even at that level…

‘Well, did I say anything?’

-I don’t have to hear it; I can feel it. I’m wondering if it’s okay if I thump you on the head?

“My name is Monmider, who was in charge of this territory’s military power as the leader of the militia group in the absence of the seigneur.”

“And the manager?”

“Th..at is…” The hesitant Monmider lowered his head once again. “Some… Someone else was originally responsible, but after a recent attack… After that, this lowly being has been in charge.” He was responsible for both the internal affairs and the militia group. He didn’t seem like a man of ambition, but he was quite talented.

-It will definitely help if you hire someone like that.

‘If he has the talent to sustain this dying land for five years, I can rely on him.’

As Davey was sitting without saying a word, Monmider looked anxious; he was scared. He was worried that Davey would act violently because the estate wasn’t in good condition, or because the old and run-down seigneur’s palace wasn’t properly maintained. However, Monmider still had an abject, yet confident, gaze.

“You’ve done well thus far.”

Davey had already seen the broken-down houses and commoners. To be honest, they didn’t really seem too enthused about a newly-appointed seigneur. In a way, it was natural; the current Rowane Kingdom had nobility exploiting commoners almost on a daily basis. Perhaps they were just afraid.

‘It’s going to be a problem if you’re already afraid.’ As Davey thought, he glanced at the middle-aged man called Monmider in front of him. He then asked, “Though, you have to know how to read to manage the estate?”

“Although I am a lowly being, I picked up some reading by observation.”

‘A discovery of talent.’ It popped up in Davey’s head.

“N… Now that you are here, Your Highness…”

“Please keep working.”

“Pa—Pardon?”

“Militia, you said? Promote them to the official royal guards of the estate and properly form a team. Sir Berman here, who used to be the Captain of the Royal Guards, will help with training.”

“Your wish is my command, Your Highness,” Berman replied.

“Are… Are you talking about me?!” Monmider stared up at Davey in shock.

“Then, who else? I’ll hire you as a knight and also give you a title as long as your skills improve. I have that much authority.” Davey just picked his ear.

“How… However, I am a commoner…”

“I hire whoever is most qualified. That’s my ideology.”

Monmider looked surprised at Davey’s remark.

* * *

There was a goblin attack, done by about 100 of them.

Goblins were only about the size of young children and were unintelligent due to their small brains. They also only had the strength of a child. Their only advantage was their nasty reproductivity; they reproduced regardless of species, and their population did not seem to decrease even after multiple killings. Perhaps that was why most territories with goblins struggled, since they were nocturnal monsters incapable of communication.

Normally, the goblins would hide in the mountains and occasionally show up to take livestock, children, or maidens. They were the first to group in large numbers. Still, it wouldn’t have been strange if they were conquered by the orcs, the self-proclaimed warrior tribe that lived in the same forest. Their attacks progressively became more frequent as the desertification of the land spread to the forest. The elders of the territory said that it was because this land was cursed, but Monmider had a hard time believing that.

Then, a palace official came to Monmider, who was in charge of the militia group and the affairs of the estate. He said in a very arrogant voice that the kingdom’s First Prince would be appointed as the seigneur of this place before leaving. He spoke as if no one wanted this remote countryside.

Monmider was a commoner with an extreme distrust of the nobility. He learned to read and write from his father and had somewhat of an education, albeit at the low level. Except for Baron Alishad, the estate’s former manager, he hated all nobility because they were arrogant and always wanted to be above the commoners.

‘But, a prince? He’s a prince from that damn kingdom; what more is there to say?’ Monmider thought. It would be a relief if the prince didn’t behead him out of rage after seeing the state of this estate. Monmider was afraid, but he didn’t want to be abject. The bigger problem was that he could not stand to see a guy like the prince do whatever he wanted with his hometown.

Monmider’s hometown was already barely keeping it together, but another goblin attack happened with about 150 of them. There was no way to know how they were multiplying this fast, but that number was if all the goblins near the Heins Territory had gathered. No matter how bravely the trained militia fought, they were bound to become tired from the ongoing battle. They even took some residents while running away.

It was a clear defeat, with the hometown completely looted. The disheartened inhabitants were disappointed at the fact that there was no assistance from the kingdom, which was supposed to protect them. It’s been ten years since the kingdom’s assistance had been cut off, and Baron Alishad and his lady had passed away a long time ago.

This was when Davey came to the territory. At first glance, the prince was a small boy who looked half his age. According to the laws of the kingdom, 16 was the age of adulthood, but those who actually carried out some adult responsibilities were over 20 years old. In conclusion, he was just a greenhorn with huge pride that was typical for young members of nobility.

In addition, if Davey was a prince who had grown up in the palace, it was clear that he would be inexperienced. Monmider already had a headache thinking about how much the prince would grill him about this incident. However, the prince nonchalantly noticed traces of their battle the day before and praised them for their hard work. Monmider thought the prince’s praise was fake, but he noticed the calm prince looking like that was just the obvious thing to do.

Monmider vacantly stared up at Davey, who even commended the actions of the militia member who stopped him. To him, the prince had a strange look and spoke as if he had already understood everything. Weirdly enough, Monmider’s instincts refused to lie to him.

Despite the difficult journey, the prince immediately called for the staff in charge to examine the reality of the estate. Monmider told the whole truth, and Davey heard everything before standing up and speaking indifferently, “Let’s clean up all the goblins before we break the curse that is making this place a wasteland.”

Even though he heard that there were hundreds of goblins in the territory, the prince spoke calmly. It was as if he was talking about cleaning up the dust in his house.