Academy’s Barbarian

“You said you’d rest at the mansion, right? Let’s go. I’ll guide you.”

After a long, endless chatter, Freide finally stood up, draped a fur-lined coat over herself, and gestured toward the broken door with her chin.

A guide, huh…

She could’ve just sent a servant, but the fact that she personally took charge, coupled with her slyly grinning face… It seems she’s filled the entire mansion with decorations to her own taste.

Her expression was like that of a child eager to show off their masterpiece.

“Alright. Wait a sec, let’s wake Rana up.”

I gently shook Rana’s shoulder, who was sleeping with her face buried in my thigh.

“Huhu… Sis… My… hair… same… pink…”

Rana mumbled incomprehensible sleep-talk and tossed around. Was she dreaming that I dyed my hair pink like hers?

Well, considering how much Rana admires sisterly bonds, it’s possible she dreamed something like that. If our hair colors matched, we’d look even closer than we already do.

…Not that I plan to dye my hair pink, though.

Just imagine it. Pink-haired Ha-shal-leur. What could be more bizarre than that? I’d rather dye Rana’s hair black.

“Rana? Time to wake up. If you want to sleep, let’s go home.”

“Ugh… Sis… now… huh?”

Shaking her shoulder again to wake her, Rana finally seemed to stir, slowly opening her eyes and looking up at me with a dazed expression.

“Ah… It was just a dream.”

Her voice was soft, still heavy with sleep.

As Rana sat up, her face clearly showed a sense of disappointment.

“What kind of dream did you have?”

“Uh…”

Rana tilted her head slightly, pondering for a moment, then smiled brightly and answered.

“…I was dreaming of playing with you.”

…Even though we play together a lot when I’m free, I guess that wasn’t enough for her.

To dream of playing with me and then feel disappointed upon waking up…

It felt like a child neglected by their parents, imagining holding their loving parents’ hands and going to an amusement park, even if only in a dream.

I felt oddly guilty, as if I’d taken her in as a sister but left her alone too busy with work to properly care for her. And even now, I’ll have to leave her alone for a few more days.

Hmm… I should probably ask Freide for a favor. To tone down her hobbies and take care of Rana while I’m gone.

Since we’ve been somewhat close since our academy days, Rana should feel somewhat stable staying with Freide while I’m away.

—

After handing over the Dragonkin and fairies we brought to the knights of Pailoon, we loaded the now-empty carriage with various supplies provided by Pailoon Castle.

Sleeping bags, simple tents, cooking utensils, torches, and other camping gear.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ughhh!”

“Wooob!!”

The fairies and Dragonkin, tightly bound in metal chains, struggled fiercely as they were dragged away by interrogators, their eyes bloodshot and filled with rage. But their flailing limbs were useless against the restraints.

“Take care of yourselves without me, alright? Stay strong even in the underground prison.”

I waved at them with a bright smile, as if seeing them off.

Judging by the interrogators’ expressions, it seemed they had plenty of plans for them, so I wasn’t too worried about the outcome.

“Honestly, you’re so cruel. Being that mean is practically a disease.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Freide tried to laugh off her baseless slander, but having just seen the state of her room, I couldn’t help but find her hypocrisy utterly ridiculous.

—

My mansion was located in the outskirts, about two hours by carriage from Pailoon Castle. It seemed I deliberately chose a quiet place since I wasn’t fond of bustling areas.

It wasn’t exactly close to Pailoon Castle, but it wasn’t too far either.

Given that I wouldn’t have cared much even if I were given a proper territory, they simply carved out a part of the direct jurisdiction near Pailoon Castle and handed it to me under the guise of being my territory, with Pailoon handling the management.

In any case, as Freide said, it was indeed a quiet place.

On the dimly lit snowfield, all that could be seen were a few wooden houses, fences, a dense forest of fir trees, a frozen lake, and the mansion standing tall in the center of the territory.

It felt more like a vacation spot than a lord’s stronghold.

“Seems like you still manage to make a profit here.”

Though it was pocket change compared to Median’s tax revenue, it seemed a steady income for pocket money.

“It’s small, but there’s a forest.”

Freide pointed to the small forest as she explained.

Since crops wouldn’t grow well in such land, the locals made their living through logging, livestock, and hunting.

They cut down well-grown trees to supply Pailoon Castle, sold livestock and game to occasional visiting merchants, paid their taxes, and used the remaining money to buy grains for survival.

“In fact, they’re probably better off than commoners in other territories. I fully permitted the use of the forest.”

Originally, a lord’s forest was considered personal property, and commoners who dared to log or hunt without permission would face severe punishment.

In extreme cases, they could lose a hand or be fined exorbitantly, reducing them to slavery.

And to get permission, they had to pay a hefty fee to the lord, as was customary.

Like serfs who had to give up 80% of their crops to the lord since they didn’t own their land.

But here, that fee was waived. Not that I gave such an order—Freide did it on my behalf.

They still had to pay basic income tax, but that was only about 10% of their total income, with the rest being entirely theirs.

“You’re not interested in managing the territory anyway, and you’re not so strapped for cash that you need to squeeze taxes out of them. Might as well earn some goodwill and praise.”

Freide chuckled as she spoke.

Thanks to waiving the forest usage fee in my name, the locals praised their unseen lord as if I were a saint.

Well, in a way, I am somewhat saint-like.

After all, saints and saintesses are titles given to those who receive holy marks.

—

“We’re here. How is it? Impressive, right?”

Finally arriving at the wooden mansion, Freide spread her arms and turned to me with a proud smile.

“……”

“……”

“……”

And we fell silent.

Well, I expected something like this, but… I didn’t think it would be this bad.

From a distance, the exterior looked fine, so I was somewhat relieved, but up close, it was clear that this mansion was the epitome of Freide’s extreme tastes.

[Umm… Well, it certainly looks like a warrior’s residence.]

Even Hersela struggled to find the right words, offering a half-hearted compliment.

At least the exterior was somewhat decent.

A three-story wooden mansion. The structure narrowed as it went up, with a pointed roof to prevent snow buildup, and the windows were so small they were barely noticeable. A typical northern-style mansion, you could say.

The problem was the overwhelmingly strong decorations scattered throughout the mansion.

Wooden carvings resembling severed Beastmen heads protruded from the walls and corners, and at the entrance, stuffed bear and wolf Beastmen stood like guardian statues.

But the most striking decoration was—

“What is that…?”

I sighed and pointed at the statue standing tall beside the mansion’s entrance. A massive wooden sculpture, pieced together and painted.

“What do you mean? It’s obviously you.”

Freide grinned slyly as she answered.

Of course, I knew that. It was clearly a statue depicting me.

A long-haired female warrior stomping on a white wolf Beastman’s chest, driving a longsword into its heart. Clearly a depiction of my battle with Ryu-rik.

Except the warrior looked like a demon.

“Hard to tell who the monster is here.”

The oblivious Damien blurted out his honest opinion. I felt the same, so I didn’t glare at him.

The statue’s eyes were fiercely upturned, its mouth twisted into an evil grin, with protruding fangs and eight tentacles sprouting from its back. It looked more like a humanoid monster than a person.

“This is me…?”

“Exactly like you. It’s like looking in a mirror, isn’t it?”

Freide chuckled smugly as I pointed at the statue in disbelief.

To express my gratitude for this “masterpiece,” I picked her up and buried her in the snow at my feet.

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