Volume 1 Chapter 40 The King
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Thank you, Larry-kun. You should head back and get some proper rest today,” the King said, his voice softening with genuine warmth. Following the royal lead, I retreated back to my spot beside Rudy.
”Hey… did they just completely ignore how you went total beast mode with that Golem?” Rudy muttered, his lip curling in frustration. I ignored him, still dying inside from the sheer, masochistic embarrassment of my own performance. (I can’t believe I actually did that… the King of all people…)
”Do you honestly think Larry’s contributions went unnoticed?” Captain Louise asked, turning toward Rudy with a knowing look.
”Well, yeah! Larry’s the one who held them off and bought everyone time, right?” Rudy replied.
”It’s fine, really,” Louise assured him, her voice dropping to a confidential whisper. “Our Major will submit a formal report. Besides, that whole incident is sensitive. We can’t exactly broadcast it to the public, so you’ll just have to be patient for now.”
I looked away. It made sense.
A mere militia member commandeering a Golem¹—a piece of high-level military hardware—was bound to be a bureaucratic nightmare.
Beyond that, the fact that the Commander and Vice-Commander of the Golem Battalion, the kingdom’s literal crown jewels, were stuck with the 303rd Unit was bizarre in itself.
(There are definitely shadows behind these decisions. A lot is being kept off the books.)
That night, I found myself in the quarters of Captain Louise. As expected of a mid-ranking officer, the room wasn’t just a bunk; it featured a desk for paperwork and even a chaise longue for relaxing. After showing me in, the master of the room vanished, telling me she’d be back shortly.
I peered out the window, but the glass was a fixed pane of cheap, wavy stuff. Since it was pitch black outside and the surface was so distorted, I couldn’t see a thing.
Giving up, I flopped onto the bed. A random thought drifted through my mind: (What kind of face am I supposed to make when I’m actually having s*x with Captain Louise? Do I start with a greeting? ‘Nice to meet you, looking forward to it’…?)
The exhaustion finally caught up with me. Escaping the enemy, the interrogation, talking to the King—too much had happened in twenty-four hours. My eyelids felt like lead. Before I could process anything else, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
”Huh…? Morning?” I woke up still wearing my clothes from the day before. Louise was nowhere to be seen, though sunlight was already streaming through the window. I pushed the door open tentatively and stepped out into a dead-silent corridor. Given the angle of the sun, it had to be late.
I headed down to the first floor and hit the corridor leading to the mess hall. I was just about to follow my stomach when a hand clamped onto my shoulder.
”Larry Fee. You’re late. Interrogation starts now,” said Marie.
”Um, do you know where the Golem Battalion people went?” I asked.
”I don’t know the specifics, but the King set out for the front before dawn. I assume they went with him,” Marie replied.
”To where?”
”Like I said, I’m not in the loop on those details.”
The questioning dragged on until evening, but I finally managed to clear it. As I was eating with Rudy, a handsome clerk showed up with orders. We were to leave the fortress by carriage the next morning and head for the territorial capital, Besanburg.
Even though her feelings were completely one-sided, I felt a pang of hesitation about leaving without saying goodbye to Louise. She had shown me genuine kindness, after all. But in the end, the sheer relief of finally going home won out. We stayed one night in the capital, had a formal audience with Viscount Bizan to collect our reward, and then boarded a boat to head down the Danube River.
”Hey, why don’t we stop at the river town and find some trouble before we head back?” Rudy suggested. I was actually considering it, but when we reached Obernbach, the sight stopped us cold. The new district on the east bank, the river town, and the military barracks were nothing but a scorched wasteland.
We asked around and found out that while the Old Town inside the walls was fine, everything else had been put to the torch by those Kiridal bastards. Because everyone had evacuated behind the walls early on, there were almost no civilian casualties, but most people had lost their homes. They were already busy trying to rebuild.
The mood for celebration had vanished. Rudy and I started the long walk toward Mauer Village.
”So, Rudy… what are you gonna do once you’re back home?” I asked.
”I dunno. I had all these plans, but now I’ve gotta rethink everything. You?”
”Who knows. I don’t really have a clue either. For now, I just want to get home and think,” I said. I figured they both felt the same way. They’d just been through too much.
They walked along the Rock Salt Road parallel to the Mauer River until their village finally came into view. Several houses were charred skeletons, and a crowd of people was busy clearing the wreckage.
”Larry!” a familiar voice called out. “Rudy! You’re alive? I thought for sure you were dead!” It was Martin, running toward them like he was about to tackle them.
”What happened here? The houses…” I pointed toward the village.
”We got word the Kiridal army was coming, so we all evacuated to Strock Village,” Martin explained. “We came back to find… well, this.”
Apparently, the villages near Obernbach had been warned to flee, so everyone had packed up their lives and headed to Strock.
A detachment of the enemy had reached Strock, but Bours and the others had fought like hell to drive them back. Mauer Village hadn’t been so lucky—nearly half of it had been torched.
”Roberto and Clemens—the guys from drilling²? They’re out in the woods cutting timber for the rebuild. You’ll probably run into them if you stay on the road,” Martin said. He then turned to Rudy. “Don’t sweat it, man. They didn’t hit Heberich Village. Everyone there is okay.”
”Yeah…? Thank God,” Rudy muttered. He looked like he was about to cry.
”Well,” I said, trying to break the tension. “I guess it’s officially settled which village is the real ‘sticks’ now.”
”Shut up, dumbass,” Rudy snapped back. “The only reason they didn’t hit us is because those Kiridal hicks couldn’t even find us on a map.”
”Dumbass.”
”Stupid.”
The boys traded insults and finally let out a laugh.
”Alright, I’m heading out,” I said.
”Later. Try not to get eaten by an Al-miraj³.”
”If one tries me,” I grinned, “I’ll show ’em what I learned out there!”
I lightly tapped the precious sword hanging at my hip-the one the Viscount had given me back in Besanburg, the territorial capital.
”See ya,” I said.
I stood there for a long time, watching Rudy until he finally vanished into the depths of the forest.
”Come visit once you’ve had a second to breathe!” I yelled out just before the path curved and the trees swallowed him whole. Without even turning around, Rudy simply raised a hand and vanished into the woods.
”I’ve got a mountain of things I want to talk about, but I’ve gotta get home first,” I told Mar.
”Fair enough,” Mar replied. “Go home and let your sister-in-law pamper you.”
I parted ways with Mar and headed into the grove. Along the way, I ran into Roberto and Clemens. We grabbed each other, celebrating the fact that we were all still breathing. I was caught off guard when the normally silent Clemens burst into tears; I guess he’d been more worried about us than he let on.
After leaving them behind, I pressed on. I’m not sure how much time passed, but eventually, the Dish Basin began to peek through the gaps in the leafless trees. Something surged in my chest, and before I knew it, I was running.
Soon, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel of trees. Once I reached that spot, I’d have a full view of the entire village. My legs moved on their own, my pace quickening until I was in a dead sprint. At that exact moment, Larry’s “Autism mode”⁴ began to gradually disengage.
(That Larry… always swooping in to take the best parts for himself.)
I wanted to see the village too, so I conjured a Fireball⁵ while running.
By tapping into the mana⁶, I could stay synced with Larry’s senses in real-time for just a little longer.
The exit of the tunnel was right there. Larry took full control of his body again.
I couldn’t move him anymore, but as he cleared the trees, Larry came to a dead stop. Through his eyes, I took in the sprawling view of Strock Village. We were home.
* * *
Immediately upon returning to Vod Fortress, the King organized his forces. He left the negotiations with Kiridal to his uncle, the Duke, and launched an invasion into the lands of Count Straba, who had been laying siege to Obernbach.
The Count’s territory, stripped of its military might, fell almost instantly. The King’s forces occupied the city of Opcheri and the estates of the Universal Church along the way.
As a result, Schweilitz annexed the territory of Count Straba and the region of South Bohemia on the western border of Kiridal. The Kingdom of Kiridal lost approximately one-sixth of its total landmass.
Count Straba’s forces at Obernbach were decimated by a combined strike from the Royal Army and a Golem⁷ company from Vod Fortress. Upon hearing that his own lands had been seized, Straba took his own life, causing his army to collapse.
The Second Prince, who had been used as a political puppet, was captured in Linto and sent to the capital of Schweilitz as a hostage. Count Straba’s lands were rich with coal and graphite mines in addition to gold and silver.
Many of the captured soldiers were condemned to those very mines as slave labor-a grim homecoming. The refugees who had escaped alongside Larry were conscripted into the operation to retake Linto.
Though they suffered twenty percent casualties, their contribution was massive. As a reward, many were reunited with the wives and children who had been torn from them in Opcheri.
The newly annexed South Bohemia was reorganized as a province of Schweilitz, with Opcheri serving as the provincial capital.
As for Barsheni Village-the place where Marie lived and where Larry’s group had been held-it was incorporated into Schweilitz territory.
The Village Chief was officially retitled “Village Head,” but otherwise, life continued without much change.
Isabella and her “Weasels of Bohemia” were integrated into the Provincial Guard. Despite grumbling that it didn’t suit her, she had her messy hair cut into a short bob and donned a proper uniform. She spent her days patrolling to keep the peace before eventually being scouted into the regular Royal Army.
And what of Strock Village?
Edmond passed his exams for the military academy. Celt used his reward money to buy land, taking his first steps toward becoming an independent farmer. Bours announced that his wife is pregnant; the local betting pool currently favors a boy. As for the Village Head’s family-Hans, Larry, Teressa, her daughters, and Nico (she/her)-along with the fate of the Village Head himself, those stories will be carried over to the next chapter.
My sincerest apologies for the wait.
—
Summary:
Following the King’s audience, Larry and Rudy are discharged from the fortress and return home.
They traverse through a war-scarred landscape where half of Mauer Village has been reduced to ash.
Their homecoming is met with the reality of reconstruction and the survival of their peers
Moving toward Strock Village, Larry experiences a mental shift as his specialized focus state ends.
The narrator maintains a sensory link through fire magic as the landscape transitions from forest to home.
The geopolitical map of the region is rewritten through the King’s swift conquest of Straba’s territory, leaving the local characters to settle into a new provincial reality while a central mystery remains regarding the Fee family
—
Trivia:
- Larry’s internal ‘Autism mode’ logic continues to influence his social distance
- The King departs for the front before dawn, bypassing further interaction with Larry
- Militia rewards were distributed by Viscount Bizan in Besanburg
- Kiridal forces specifically targeted unfortified river town areas
- The ‘Dish Basin’ is a specific geographic landmark near the village
- The transition of power from ‘Village Chief’ to ‘Village Head’ signifies a change in administrative tier under Schweilitz law
- Count Straba’s suicide highlights the total collapse of the rebellion’s leadership
- The use of coal mine slaves suggests a harsh economic turn for the losing side’s soldier
—
Character Insight:
Larry exhibits significant emotional fatigue, prioritizing the safety of his home over potential romantic or career advancements with Captain Louise.
Larry shows a deep emotional connection to his home, running instinctively when it comes into view, while Isabella demonstrates adaptability by transitioning from an irregular ‘Weasel’ to a disciplined soldier.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Larry – Fourteen-year-old third son of the Strock headman, with reddish-white skin, curly bronze hair, and bronze eyes, now a slave-soldier in Militia Unit 303 and Mage Level 3; he hosts the reincarnated consciousness of a 40-year-old Sage, granting him adult wisdom, fire magic (Fireball), heart/mana sensing by touch, and golem synchronization. Recently returned from enemy territory, he met the King in a high-stakes audience, battles PTSD and mana inflammation, feels guilt over a killing, admires his sister-in-law, trains to become Village Head, and is suspected to be the Fifth Sage.
• Rudy – Fourteen-year-old black-haired militia recruit from Heberich Village, formerly of Garao, now wood-hauls with Larry as his brother-in-arms; grandson of a hunter, he knows forest creatures, excels at math, and code-switches dialects to negotiate, yet struggles with armor, horses, and formal settings. Filthy and traumatized, he mocks Larry’s condition but fiercely protects him amid captivity, visits daily, and devised a hidden-trail escape. Holds elitist views of Strock Village, understands northern trade and Al-miraJ biology, and despite his immaturity and war anxiety, remains Larry’s most loyal, if flawed, guardian.
• Louise – A towering seven-foot-tall Captain and Vice-Commander of the 101st Golem Battalion, she boasts a massive, muscular build, broad shoulders, short-cropped red hair, a long face, deep-set eyes, a hooked nose, and a protruding jaw—features inherited from her father, surpassing her mother and eldest brother in height by age eight. Once a Corporal with immense mana reserves, she rose through diligent service as a silent, hardworking squad leader. Though now replaced as commander after an arrow wound, she retains deep, one-sided affection for Larry, offering him her quarters upon his return, her obsession with procreation rooted in genuine, if unreciprocated, devotion.
• Commander – A man leading the mercenary press-gang at the south gate.
• Marie – She is a 15‑year‑old granddaughter of the village chief, also a military clerk whose looks and cynical, suspicious, interrogative demeanor mirror the girl Larry once knew as Iva. She pretends to harass him to hide their secret affair, placing village rules above personal desire.
• Mar – A comrade of Larry who teases him about being pampered by his sister-in-law upon his return.
• Mauer – A stout man from the Rosen family with thin, downy white hair. He wears a beige dalmatica.
• Martin – Mar, a boisterous young recruit from Mauer Village, wears Shinto-inspired armor and fights in a Shinto-linked style, loud and erotically obsessed, yet politely eager—he flirts with Ferris-san, proposed to Felice, pursues the elf Granny Ferris, and trains with Larry; he helped coordinate the evacuation to Strock Village during the enemy advance, often rescuing wounded near a broken carriage, and is known to calm regular soldiers despite his antics, including proposing to Ferris without knowing her age.
• Bours – Tall and scarred, clad in a faded Royal Army uniform, he is Sullen Bours, a former military academy master and senior to the royal family, now leader of the 303rd Militia and Elders’ Council member. Veteran of the Western Front, he commanded cavalry and infantry during the Kiridal attack, notably defending Strock Village; an expert marksman who mercilessly saved Larry and Rudy from ambush. Married to Sheeta-san, father to a son conscripted on the Imperial border, and originally from Larry’s village, his stern presence bears the weight of command and quiet grief.
• Clemens – Recruited from Mauer Village, he appears nervous, trembling before authority such as Bours. Quiet and taciturn, he rarely speaks but constantly worries about the Charlemagne Empire. A lone survivor, he unexpectedly bursts into tears when reuniting with his companions after the battle.
• Roberto – A weary recruit, his face scarred by last night’s turmoil, sits beside Larry, a fellow trainee and spearman; nervous and trembling, the village youth dreads war, his shaking hands betray fear as a militia member wary of snipers, yet he meets Larry in the grove to celebrate their shared survival.
• 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.
• 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.
• Isabella – Towering, muscular leader of the Weasels of Bohemia, from Opcheri, sports a short, disheveled bob and bears a burn scar from Larry’s fireball. Her massive frame, low sour‑voiced growl, and aggressive expression dominate the village, while her sharp insight into mages earns respect from allies and foes alike.
• Max – Uncle Klaus’s second son and Larry’s cousin.
• 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.
• Ed – A lanky youth in simple farmer’s garb, Larry’s close friend and soon‑to‑be conscript, fiercely protective of Larry’s interests, now a militia member training spear‑walls, remembered as a man who spoke of the will to survive on the battlefield.
• Teressa – Larry’s eldest sister‑in‑law, widow of former Village Head Iffens, now Village Head herself. Married at fifteen, mother of Lyrica and Maria. Blonde short hair, big‑chested, motherly aura, wool jacket over blouse with a button almost split. Sharp, mischievous, big‑sisterly manager of household and village reports; reacts with physical shock to Lyrica’s revelations. Air‑headed yet hides a sharp, terrifying edge; a quasi‑noble with an alluring, keen mind.
• Edmond – Tall, lanky, wiry‑framed second son of a farm, now militiaman from Mauer Village and Mary’s brother. Resident of Strock Village, he teases Martin and Larry, mocks manual labor, plots celebrations, and dreams of the Officer’s Academy. Experienced scout with grim enemy insight, rescued a wounded near a broken carriage, delivers military updates, and burns with untempered, fierce ambition.
• Celt – A modestly dressed independent farmer in simple work clothes, once a level-headed militia member who questioned war’s toll on civilians and sought tax relief to buy land; now a calm, kind leader of the Second Squad, skilled sandal-maker, observant translator of Bours’s jargon, and quiet admirer of Teressa-san’s competence, he remains a trusted village gossip source—his newfound land earned through reward money, symbolizing his quiet triumph over hardship.
• Hans – Larry, the rugged, wild‑eyed ‘Mad Dog’ of Strock Village, is the second son of the Fee family, a chronic alcoholic with assault and extortion convictions. As the older brother and heir to the Kessler estate he abandons his duties, returning to crash a ceremony. His brother is aggressive, decisive, pragmatic, known for strength and violence, and refuses the headship.
• Nico – Silver‑haired, stern yet protective lady’s maid, former 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 aids neighbors, avoids chores by cleaning gear, was a childhood acquaintance of high social grace, once met Camilla and was called “the hole” in gambling. After recent events she carries a subdued air, plays violin gallantly on stage, and, as a Village Head Fee family member, recently completed a coming‑of‑age ceremony (she/her).
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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