Elder Rouen’s Story of the Past

I am Rouen Beluga . Once a knight of the Clifford family before I went to serve the Schwarzer family .

I’ve served for decades since the predecessor Roberto-sama . Now pledging my life under the current lord Edgar-sama, I was entrusted with protecting the land in the North .

The northern part of the Schwarzer territory directly clashes with the Wolfgard Empire . Thus, it was also an important stronghold for the Holy Arcadia Empire .

Feeling worthy of being given such a great responsibility, I spend most of my days there .

It was… about 10 years ago during a stormy evening .

At that time, the Wolfgard decided to launch a huge offensive . The north has always been in tensions . Fortunately, I was able to repel them owing to the success of our own army and reinforcements from the capital, but should they come again… . I doubted that we could repeat this victory .

And then I… . even though still working as the guardian of the North, was recalled back to Romaria all of a sudden .

Such a sudden order… . . has something happened in Romaria? Or is it because the Imperial capital issued a seemingly impossible task for the lord……either way there was no other for me to find out other than to return .

Hurriedly, I rushed back to Romaria and headed to Edgar-sama’s mansion . Entering the mansion, there were Edgar-sama and his wife and the already gray haired, old knight with well-trained body and well-kept beard . Alberto, a childhood friend of mine who works as the guardian of the Romaria, was also seen there .

[Ho, Alberto, you are also being summoned . What is this all about?]

I was uncomfortable with such a heavy atmosphere . So I tried to lighten the mood . However . Alberto, who would usually respond with an equally cheerful tone, merely stared at me while keeping a serious face this time . From that, I realized that this was something really urgent . He didn’t even have the will to think about anything else .

And true to my thoughts, what Edgar-sama told us afterward… . . was an important thing concerning the survival of the Schwarzer house .

On that day, Alberto and I received new orders .

The order that was entrusted to Alberto… . no, from what I understand, I shouldn’t talk about it . Cause even a slight mistake could make his head fly off from his body .

And the order I received… . . was to become a confidant to Ares-sama who was still an adolescent at that time .

And the order I received… . . was to become a confidant to Ares-sama who was still an adolescent at that time .

I was told by Edgar-sama that Ares-sama possessed the memories of three different spirits . Therefore Milord told me to provide Ares-sama as much practical experience as possible, as this was also what the young lord wanted .

Ares-sama was 8 years old at that time . I was told that he’ll go to the Imperial Academy at the age of 12 . I didn’t know the details about the memory of the spirits yet, but the young lord should be nothing but a little chick at this time .

I questioned Edgar-sama’s decision on why would Milord want his son to see real battle . I couldn’t understand no matter how I think about it . An 8 year old seeing a real battle…isn’t that too cruel? Edgar-sama is a thoughtful lord . But I couldn’t help but to doubt… . his judgment this time .

However, Milord’s order is absolute . Therefore, during the four years until young lord would leave for Imperial Academy, I thought of giving him various kind of experiences as much as I could . And yet, at that time, I only thought to give the young lord [experiences fitting for a normal child] .

But the first time I met the young lord was when he was doing a sword training… . . and I knew how wrong I was when I became his training partner .

(Whwhat the… . . ? This pressure… . is this really coming from a mere 8 year old… . ??)

I’ve been a knight for decades . At one point, I’ve led thousands of soldiers and I have been through a lot of obstacles . I’ve fought with many fierce opponents . But, those can’t even compare .

(My, my body won’t move…!)

(My, my body won’t move…!)

In the end, I was the one being played with . No, Ares-sama was an intelligent person . He trained at a place that people rarely visits so when I lost, I was spared from the shame of being witnessed by others . Such a thing didn’t even cross my mind . It was my complete defeat .

Well then, I decided change my approach . No, I had no choice but to change my approach . Rather than treating the young lord as an 8 year old child, as much as possible, I should treat him as one of the knights and give more emphasis on letting him experience actual warfare .

Even the soldiers… . . convinced by the young lord’s att.i.tude, surprisingly started to obey him . A charisma that naturally attracted people to him… . . it’s like I was witnessing the rising of a ruler .

Ares-sama was really outstanding…no, I could go as far as saying that he’s already fitting to become our future lord . Overwhelming vigilance, accurate instruction, and intelligence that could make any enemy looks like a joke… .

In order to do that, after actual warfare, the young lord will always go as far as asking others for opinion and advice . He said that there is no definite way to [Truly understand what others really feel] so doing so would be a great way to learn… . . of course, there were times when I also wanted to know .

Yes, I didn’t only show him the experience unique to this land only . I let Ares-sama experience what it’s like to be a soldier by letting him live among the soldiers and not just war strategy and political affairs . When a heavy snow peculiar to the northern area fell, we shoveled the snow together with the soldiers and local residents . We learned a lot .

To let him understand the life of a commoner, I made him stay at one of the knights’ or soldiers’ home .

I personally felt that it was exciting everyday . Ares-sama also seemed to enjoy it . Even though he’s born an aristocrat, he actually enjoyed the hard black bread that the commoners eat .

Now then, from what you hear so far, you’d thought that Ares-sama is a brilliant person… . but he’s still a human . And is still but a boy nonetheless .

I personally felt that it was exciting everyday . Ares-sama also seemed to enjoy it . Even though he’s born an aristocrat, he actually enjoyed the hard black bread that the commoners eat .

Now then, from what you hear so far, you’d thought that Ares-sama is a brilliant person… . but he’s still a human . And is still but a boy nonetheless .

On our free time, we would go catching some insects together or taking a walk around the town… . that’s right, Ares-sama loves the snacks sold by the street food stall . We used to eat some together . He often visited my house . And he seems to like my wife’s stew as he always ate it merrily . He also sometimes helped with taking care of my grandchildren .

Also, this can’t be said loudly . But when we went camping, Ares-sama asked me to sleep alongside him since he couldn’t sleep . Our young lord surprisingly has a cute side .

…

Ares-sama is no different from my own grandchildren . Beyond my duty……I want to keep watching over him as [Family] .

Guardian of the North, the Schwarzer clan . When talking about the generals they can boast about, then the names of Rouen and Alberto would come to mind .

Rouen was famous as a great swordsman while Alberto was a master of twin daggers . Both are warriors worth a thousand soldiers, bearing great talent as commanders and have a great deal of achievements under their belt .

The two were known as [Schwarzer’s Twin Generals] and were feared by many including the Wolfgard Empire at the North . But only few knew about their day to day appearance… . . and that they prefer to live on the countryside far from luxury .