Volume 1 Chapter 34 Balsheni Village
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
There was a massive pond tucked away in the heart of the Al-Miraj¹ forest, its waters fed through a sluice gate that dictated the flow of the stream.
A path hugged the water’s edge, winding down toward a spot where two girls were busy scrubbing laundry against the rocks.
As I struggled to strike up a conversation, things went south. One of the girls bolted and returned with three armed men in tow.
They sprinted across a bridge just downstream from the washing area, leveling their spears at us as they closed the distance.
”You lot… [Guttural, unintelligible snarl]…” One man glared at us, his face twisted into a terrifying mask.
He barked out a string of words so fast and thick with a mountain drawl that I couldn’t make out a single syllable.
If I played this wrong and they realized we were Schweilitz Militia, we were as good as dead.
I knew I couldn’t afford to look weak, even if I was just bluffing my way through.
”Best be gettin’ to the village then,” one of the men barked.
He reached out, trying to snatch the Al-Miraj pelt draped over my back.
I twisted my shoulder, knocking his hand away to stop him.
”Poachers,” he spat, his voice heavy with a murderous edge.
He adjusted his grip, aiming the tip of his spear directly at my throat.
”Us. Al-Miraj. Attacked. Fought back. Killed. This pelt,” I said, trying to force communication through a string of blunt nouns.
It didn’t seem to convince him.
”Silver! Four of ’em!” Rudy suddenly yelled.
He folded his thumb and held up four fingers, shouting the number again and again.
To my surprise, the men actually lowered their spears.
Rudy explained it to me later.
In his neck of the woods, hunters pay a fee to enter the forest, but if a common farmer bags an Al-Miraj, they’re required to pay four silver coins to the village.
Since we couldn’t speak their tongue, Rudy’s “offer” to pay acted as a signal that we weren’t just common thieves.
Their attitude didn’t exactly turn friendly, but the immediate threat of a spear through the neck softened into a cold suspicion.
”Follow. C’mon now,” the man grunted.
They started leading us toward the village.
As we approached the bridge, Rudy tugged hard on my sleeve.
”Hey, what the hell is that?” He was pointing at a massive waterwheel².
It was likely fed by the pond’s sluice; water cascaded from above, spinning a wooden wheel nearly two meters wide.
It emitted a high-pitched wooden screech-skreeee-interspersed with a low, rhythmic thrum-thrum-thrum.
The term “waterwheel” clicked in my mind-another bit of data from the Parasite Host³.
Lately, it felt like his memories were integrating with my own far more smoothly than before.
It was just like the Major said; the personality merge was accelerating.
I was becoming him.
The data told me that the wheel used water power to grind flour or thresh grain, replacing the labor of dozens of people.
I relayed this to Rudy.
”You know ’bout the wheel, boy?” the man walking beside us asked.
He’d overheard me and actually cracked a smile.
I told him we didn’t have them in my village but I’d seen them before.
He beamed with pride, bragging that their village was one of the few that could build them and that they even took orders from neighboring towns.
He started giving me a sales pitch right then and there. Even when I tried to tell him we were just kids, he wouldn’t let it go.
He boasted that once a wheel was built, it would grind grain twenty-four hours a day, doing the work of twenty women.
When I asked about the upkeep, his face went stone-cold serious.
”Gotta patch ‘er up every two years. Even then, five years is the limit ‘fore the wood rots. Then ya gotta build ‘er again.”
For such a primitive era, they were surprisingly organized.
As we entered the village, which wasn’t particularly large, I saw a warehouse for drying mountain timber.
Next to it, men were busy carving out massive wooden gears.
They led us to the center square where an old man-the Village Head-stepped out to meet us.
He had eyes like a hawk, sharp and unnerving.
”Where you boys from?” the Village Head asked.
”Plzenid,” I replied, using the name the laundry girl had guessed for us earlier.
”You know ’bout it?” he asked.
I couldn’t parse the specific meaning of his follow-up.
The Village Head’s expression darkened, his brow furrowing.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Had I said something wrong? Every word was a gamble with my life, and I was playing far too fast and loose.
”Kanaray has fallen to Schweilitz,” the Village Head said grimly. “The road is cut. What are you going to do now?”
”Wait, what…?”
Even our guide looked stunned.
According to the Village Head, after Vod Fortress was taken, the King of Schweilitz arrived leading ten thousand troops.
They had poured into Kiridal, capturing towns in a lightning-fast blitz and were already marching on the Royal Capital.
The road I’d seen coming down from the pond apparently connected to Count Plzenid’s lands.
But with Kanaray occupied, there was no way home.
He added that refugees were already flooding in from that direction, causing a massive bottleneck at the entrance to the town of Opcheri.
”Elder, what’s the plan?” the guide asked.
”Ain’t much of a plan to have. Besides, the Lord of Opcheri just sent word. He wants us to cough up food for the refugee kitchens,” the Village Head replied.
”But-“
”I’ve already got Marie and the girls getting it ready.” It seemed they were drowning in their own problems.
I was reeling-I thought this war was just a border skirmish over a fort, but the King himself was leading the charge? It had only been a day and a night since we left Garao Village, and the world had gone to hell.
I wondered if that psycho Major and her crew were in the thick of it.
For a split second, I actually felt a pang of nostalgia for them-the very women I’d likely never see again if I was lucky.
”Honestly, I reckon it might be better if Schweilitz just took over this whole scrap of land,” the Village Head mused.
”Are you crazy?! They slaughtered everyone in Owens and Haraens! They’ll do the same to us!” the guide shouted.
”Hmph. We do the same to their villages when we get the chance. Hell, your own wife is a girl you snatched from across the border, ain’t she?”
The guide went quiet, looking at his feet.
So that was the reality here.
This village raided Schweilitz, and this man’s wife was a trophy of war.
The Village Head went on, mentioning how Schweilitz guaranteed freedom of worship and banned the Church from owning manors.
It sounded exactly like what the late Marx-san had told me.
”So… we could just ditch the Universal Church⁴?” the man asked, looking bewildered.
”Most of the Lords have already bent the knee to Schweilitz anyway,” the Village Head continued.
”Just ’cause they’re stronger?”
The Village Head talked about the history of the Kingdom of Schuberitz-how it started as a tiny duchy north of the Horn Mountains and grew by absorbing its neighbors.
People accepted their rule because their policies worked, though he noted that any Lord who failed to follow the new laws had their land seized immediately.
”Word is the common folk were happy ’bout it. Taxes got lighter.”
”Well… I guess that ain’t so bad then,” the man muttered.
He seemed remarkably okay with a change in leadership if it saved him a few coins.
”Which brings me to you lot. You’re Schweilitz Militia, aren’t ya?”
The Village Head’s voice was suddenly quiet, his eyes locked on mine.
”When I was a lad, I used to sell Al-Miraj hides in Obernbach. Your accent isn’t from Plzenid. You’re speaking Schweilitz.”
The guide immediately snatched up his spear and pointed it at me, shouting for the rest of the village to gather.
We were trapped in the middle of the square with a crowd closing in.
(Sister-in-law… I don’t think I’m making it home.)
”How’d you get here through the mountains?!” The Village Head’s voice was sharp now.
I tried to play dumb, but he was relentless.
Finally, I told him the truth-that we’d been separated from our unit near Owens Village and got lost in the woods.
”You know a woman named Isabella?” the Village Head asked.
It was a common enough name, but I had a hunch.
I asked if she was… well, a “large” woman.
He nodded vigorously.
”Of the Weasels of Bohemia⁵?” I asked.
”That’s the one.”
”I’ve… seen her face a few times.”
That wasn’t a lie, though we were trying to kill each other at the time.
The crowd was thick now, and the guide didn’t move an inch, the spear tip hovering inches from my chest.
”You the one who burned her? Gave her those scars?”
My heart sank.
The news that I’d hit the Ogress with a Fireball had already made it this far? The man with the spear actually took a cautious step back, and the other villagers started reaching for tools or clubs.
”Hey, Larry, what’s happening?” Rudy whispered, cowering in my shadow.
I didn’t have an answer. It was out of our hands now.
We were either going to be lynched or sold.
”He laid a hand on Isabella! Let’s end ’em!” The crowd roared in agreement.
But the Village Head just sat down on a nearby stool and started talking about her.
Apparently, Isabella was a local legend from Opcheri.
She’d gathered up all the local punks to form the “Weasels of Bohemia,” and they’d spent their time clearing out the actual bandits in the region.
”She was doin’ exactly what your country claims to do. Everyone ’round here loves her.”
(So what?! She attacked us first! She tried to murder us!)
I wanted to scream it, but I kept my mouth shut.
”Let’s just finish them!” the guide shouted.
”Now, now. Settle down,” the Village Head said, waving a hand.
”Why?! Why let ’em live?”
The Village Head looked at the man. “Think, boy. If Schweilitz marches in here tomorrow, it’ll look real good if we’ve been ‘protecting’ two of their own. And if our own Lord asks questions, we’ll just tell him we were too busy with the refugees to deal with ’em. It’s a win-win.”
”Fine. Throw ’em in the hole for now.”
Rudy and I were tossed into a cramped, semi-basement cell beneath the Village Head’s house.
It was a stone room with heavy iron bars.
They knew I could use magic, so they’d posted a guard right outside.
”Now what?” Rudy asked, slumped against the wall.
”Hey, at least we’ve got a roof and a blanket,” I said.
The floor was cold stone, but they’d given us some wooden planks and thin blankets.
I acted tough for Rudy, but I was terrified. I was the one who’d had the spear at my throat.
I was so scared I’d nearly wet myself.
Eventually, exhaustion won out, and I drifted off.
”Larry! Someone’s here!” Rudy shook me awake.
I heard heavy boots thumping down the stairs.
One was the Village Head. The other was the Ogress herself.
(This is it. They’re gonna sell us. I’m gonna be a slave.)
The thoughts were cold and suffocating.
”You. Name,” Isabella barked.
Her voice was like grinding gravel.
”R-Rudy. Rudy Brandt. From Heberlich. I’m fourteen.”
”And you?” She turned her gaze on me.
The left side of her face was covered in a thick patch of oil paper. My Fireball had left its mark.
”Larry Fee.”
”Can you use Heal?” she asked.
”Only Simple-type,” I muttered.
”Tch. Useless,” Isabella spat, turning her back on me.
This woman… just by my mentioning I was a “Simple-type⁶,” she already understood the score.
She knew I was categorized as someone unable to use medical-grade magic, which fell under the “Complex-type⁷” umbrella.
”So then,” the Village Head spoke up, “you’re tellin’ me you can spot a young’un who’s got the knack for Mana?”
”If I touch them,” I replied. “Actually, if we do some Kumite⁸-a sort of Mana-flow sparring-I should be able to tell for certain.”
”Sparring, ya say?”
”Yes. We join hands and let our Mana circulate through one another. Think of it as a magical warm-up exercise.”
As I answered, the Village Head and the Gorilla Woman exchanged a long look.
”Well, I got a couple kids I’d like to test soon as tomorrow,” the Village Head said. “You reckon you could do that for us?”
”I can,” I said, “but am I just being used here? What’s in it for me?”
”The hell did you just say?!” the Gorilla Woman barked.
She snapped at my words for some reason, but the Village Head was quick to hold her back.
”I’ll give it some thought,” he said.
I looked at Rudy, and we both shared a small, silent nod.
”Fine then,” the Gorilla Woman spat. “You lot are our hostages now. We’re gonna negotiate with the Schweilitz Army and squeeze every last bit of gold out of ’em for your hides.”
”Ha… give me a break,” I sighed. “We’re just Militia. There isn’t a chance in hell the government is gonna cough up money for us.”
”Hmph. We’ll see about that,” she replied. “I find it hard to believe they’d be so quick to let go of a Mage who can actually move a Golem.”
The Village Head was the one who said he’d “think about it,” not the Gorilla Woman.
Regardless, the fact that there was even a prospect of going home alive felt like a massive stroke of luck.
From that day on, they started feeding us twice a day, morning and evening.
Of course, the “cost” of those meals was heavy labor.
We were sent into the forest to fell trees and help out at the lumber mill.
At night, they’d toss us back into a cold, semi-basement cell to sleep.
On the third night of our labor, the subjects for the Mana check finally arrived.
There was Marie, the Village Head’s granddaughter, and a girl named Darina, whom I’d spoken to once before while she was doing laundry.
As for why these two were the chosen ones? It all came down to the Man-Eating Spider⁹ that lived around the pond.
In this village, they farm those spiders, harvesting the silk they produce to sell.
Apparently, when these two girls gathered the fibers, they could get a much higher yield than the other children-the only problem was that the spiders would die shortly after.
The Village Head had heard a story that a medical Mage currently running a clinic in the city of Opcheri had been the exact same way as a child.
He’d been looking for a way to confirm his suspicions for years.
”And if they aren’t medical Mages?” I asked. “What if they’re just Simple-types like me? What happens then?”
”Just bein’ able to handle Mana at all is plenty,” the Village Head replied.
”I’ll see to it they get sent to school.”
He explained that in Kiridal, children from farming villages usually never get an education.
However, if a child shows aptitude as a Mage, they can go to school, eventually find work under a Lord, and secure special treatment for their home village.
I had a nagging feeling there was more to the story than that, though.
”But in Schweilitz,” I pointed out, “even if you can use Mana, the magic schools won’t take you unless you’re at least Level 2.”
”I’m well aware of that,” the Village Head said. “Heard as much back when I spent time in Obernbach.”
”Is it different here?”
”Nah, it’s the same. That’s why you’re gonna be the one to raise ’em from Level 1 to Level 2.”
It seemed he knew a decent amount about the world of magic, but just to be safe, I made sure to remind him that I had no idea if I actually could level them up.
Eventually, a time was found when both girls were free, and they came to the jail cell that night.
They had torches lit for the occasion, making the room as warm and bright as if it were high noon.
I got the feeling their parents had conspired together, deciding that as long as there were bars between us, it would be safe.
It’s not like I was going to try anything…
The two girls approached, looking embarrassed.
There was Marie, who had an aura remarkably similar to Nico, and Darina, whose hair was tied back but still managed to poke out in every direction.
”Go on then, you go first,” Marie said, giving Darina a little shove.
I couldn’t tell if Darina was younger or if she was just submissive because Marie was the granddaughter, but either way, she stumbled toward me.
”First, we’ll do a Mana-flow Kumite,” I instructed. “Hold out both your hands like I’m doing. Right hand up, left hand down.”
She extended her arms as told.
”We’ll do this the Dwarf way. I’m going to grip your hands now, alright?”
Darina shot a look at Marie, silently begging for help, but Marie just stood there smirking.
(Careful now…) I thought. (This girl’s personality might be closer to the Major than Nico’s.)
”Is it okay?” I asked again.
She nodded, her face turning a deep, vivid crimson.
Honestly, we could have just pressed our palms together the “Elf way,” but since the opportunity was there, I figured gripping her hands was better.
I gently took hold of her small, cold hands.
”Um… uh…” Darina suddenly yanked her hands back. “I can’t! Marie-nee, you do it first!”
Darina clung to Marie-nee, trembling.
But in that brief second our skin had touched, I was floored by the sheer volume of her Mana.
If I wasn’t careful, she might actually have more than I did.
The other thing I’d learned? She was a thirteen-year-old virgin.
With no other choice, Marie stepped up.
I had her extend her hands just like the other girl, and the moment I made contact-
”Eek! Noooo!” Marie let out a shrill scream and scrambled backward.
(Hey, I didn’t even do anything! I told you I was going to grab your hands!)
But the damage was done.
From that split-second touch, I’d seen it: she had less Mana than Darina, she was fifteen, and she already had experience with men.
It was just a flash, so I didn’t see much more than that.
Regardless, Marie was now glaring daggers at me.
”You total creep! That’s it, we’re leaving! Come on, Darina, let’s git!”
And just like that, the two of them turned tail and ran.
Wait, what? Why?!
(This situation…) I realized, (…is looking really, really bad.)
—
Summary:
Larry and Rudy arrive at Balsheni Village and are immediately cornered by suspicious villagers.
After barely avoiding execution by paying a local ‘poaching fee,’ they are interrogated by the Village Head.
In here, they meat Isabella (the Ogress), who Larry previously burned, in their prison cell.
The protagonist and Rudy are being held as hostages in a village.
The Village Head suspects two local girls, Marie and Darina, have magical potential due to their effect on silk-producing spiders.
The protagonist attempts a mana-exchange test, but his ability to perceive the girls’ private details leads to a misunderstanding.
—
Trivia:
- The villagers of Balsheni possess kidnapped wives from the Schweilitz side, showing the cyclical nature of their border conflict.
- The Schweilitz King is personally leading a massive army of 10,000, signaling a full-scale invasion rather than a skirmish.
- Isabella’s group, the ‘Weasels of Bohemia’, are local vigilante heroes to the villagers.
- Larry’s personality is noticeably merging with the memories of the ‘Parasite Host’, making him more detached and analytical.
- The protagonist is a ‘Simple-type’ mage, which usually excludes medical magic.
- Man-Eating Spiders are a source of income for the village through silk harvesting.
- In Kiridal, magic potential is a ticket out of poverty for farming children.
- Level 2 is the requirement for magic school enrollment in the neighboring Schweilitz.
- The protagonist’s ‘Dwarf way’ mana exchange involves direct physical gripping of hands
—
Character Insight:
Larry experiences intense fear but maintains a cold, analytical façade thanks to the ‘Parasite Host’ integration. His ‘nostalgia’ for the brutal Major suggests a shift in his moral compass or a Stockholm-like attachment to military structure.
The protagonist demonstrates high-level perception skills that allow him to see age and sexual history, though he lacks the social tact to prevent being labeled a ‘creep’ when he uses them.
—
Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The author uses the ‘waterwheel’ scene to demonstrate the gap in technological application and the pragmatic, almost capitalistic nature of the villagers compared to the ideological war.
The author used Nagoya dialect to establish the rural setting, which was localized here as Southern/Appalachian English.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Al – Alberto, a massive red‑haired man recently married to Mary, just finished his village wedding. He is a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and gather elders as a villager and leader working alongside him.
• Rudy – Fourteen-year-old black-haired militia member from Heberlich Village, formerly of Garao, fled with the protagonist and now shares wood-hauling duty with Larry as his devoted companion and self-proclaimed brother-in-arms; grandson of a hunter, he possesses deep knowledge of forest creatures, excels at math, and battles severe war anxiety despite mocking Larry’s condition—visiting him daily. Capable of code-switching between heavy dialect and standard speech to negotiate with locals, he struggles with armor upkeep and horse handling, holds elitist views toward Strock Village, and maintains a sharp, protective bond with Larry amid captivity.
• Village Head – The elderly leader of Balsheni Village who previously sold furs in Obernbach. The elderly leader of the village and grandfather to Marie. The leader of the village who orchestrates Larry’s integration into the family.
• Marie – Granddaughter of the Village Head; age 15. The Village Head’s granddaughter who initiates a night-visit to Larry. The Village Head’s granddaughter. Feigned being harassed to cover up a secret relationship with a man named Iva.
• Marx – Fifty‑something laundry owner from Obernbach, a Laland refugee, militia member serving in the Obernbach second unit. He is Larry’s squad mate, the squad’s eldest, often sparks conversation, and now battles a painful leg injury after being nearly attacked by a regular infantry soldier.
• Isabella – Leader of the ‘Weasels of Bohemia’ mercenary group, originally from Opcheri. Known for her immense strength and a burn scar from Larry’s fireball. A towering, muscular mercenary of the Weasels of Bohemia, this aggressive woman dominates the village with her sheer presence and sharp insight into the value of mages.
• Larry – 14‑year‑old third son of the Strock headman, reddish‑white skin, bronze eyes, curly bronze hair, hosts a Parasite Host with a 40‑yr‑old Sage’s memories. Militia member of Unit 303, simple‑type mage with fire magic, can read hearts/mana by touch, syncs golems, battles PTSD and mana inflammation, admires his sister‑in‑law, trains to be Village Head, knows the Sky Heroes legend, and bears the guilt of a killing.
• Gorilla Woman – A towering, muscular mercenary of the Weasels of Bohemia, this aggressive woman dominates the village with her sheer presence and sharp insight into the value of mages.
• Darina – A 13-year-old village girl identified by Larry as a potential ‘Complex-type’ medical Mage. A village girl who collects spider silk; age 13.
• Nico – Silver‑haired, stern yet protective lady’s maid, once head servant under a faded‑livery mentor, now lives with Larry’s family as a sister‑in‑law figure. She scolds Larry bluntly but quietly supports neighbors, avoids chores by cleaning gear, was a childhood acquaintance of high social grace, once met Camilla, was called “the hole” in gambling, and after recent events carries a subdued air while playing violin gallantly on stage. She, a village girl close to Larry, recently completed a coming‑of‑age ceremony (she/her)
• Ed – A lanky village youth in simple farmer’s garb, Larry’s close friend and soon‑to‑be conscript, fiercely protective of Larry’s interests, now serving as a militia member assisting in spear‑wall training.
• Soi – An old professor from Ajire seminary, the first to raise a question. Looks like wizardly.
• Tim – A 14‑year‑old village youth, the eldest son of the Dvorak family, has just ‘graduated’ into adulthood. With short dark hair, a lean build and thoughtful eyes, he recently traveled to the riverside town of Obernbach accompanied by his father.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply