39 – Obtained Territory by Chance (3)
The Count’s residence used to be a plain and unadorned place, but now it had become almost dilapidated with the addition of the marks of time.
Even the cobwebs in the corners were lifeless, and a hazy layer of dust accumulated on the floor, softly rising with each step we took.
Even the sunlight that entered through the windows in the corridor felt gloomy, so we followed the old Count silently, unable to make a sound.
Humans can only live for a maximum of a hundred years, at best.
I may not know much about human aging, but I can still tell that the Viscount I met for the first time had aged quite a bit.
Well, maybe not five hundred years, but at least more than ten years have passed.
If anything, that’s a relief.
A few decades is not an overwhelmingly long time that would completely turn the world upside down, and there are still lords who rule over territories.
Well, what if there were no lords?
I am a Black Dragon, and it’s embarrassing for me to say it myself, but I am the strongest species on Earth.
If there were no lords, I would find something else to do.
I have a soft, money-savvy girl who can do anything for me, so there’s nothing I can’t accomplish.
“Come in.”
Riana, who saw the parlor, let out a sigh.
“Ugh…”
Although it was nothing special when we first came here, now there was literally nothing.
At most, there were just a few old tables and chairs in the middle of an empty room.
“Have a seat. I’ll bring you some tea.”
Normally, a servant would prepare refreshments, but now… what can I say…
Seeing the old man struggling alone made Riana approach him.
“I’ll do it, Viscount. Please have a seat.”
“…Thank you.”
The Viscount weakly turned his body and sat down on the chair.
Kaita hesitated, but when I nodded, she sat on a chair as well, and I… damn it… sat on a chair too.
The chair that couldn’t bear my weight broke.
“I’m sorry, Lord Viscount.”
“hehehe… It’s alright. I knew it would break someday.”
Even though my meager existence was already shattered, Lord Viscount simply laughed.
As I sat on another chair, Liana soon brought tea.
No, not tea… just water.
“Drink. We’re having tea with mugwort for the spring. I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”
“Yes…?”
No matter how I look at it, the cup is just filled with clear water…
When I looked at Liana, she also tilted her head as if she didn’t know.
What’s going on…?
We drank one sip of plain water each.
Lord Viscount, who put down his cup, opened his mouth.
“Let’s introduce ourselves properly. I am Lord Viscount Gorda. This is our guest.”
Lord Viscount Gorda gestured to us as he introduced Kaita.
Kaita, who didn’t understand English, blinked her head left and right.
“You came after seeing the notice from Cape Tower?”
“Yes?”
What on earth is going on…?
At that moment, Liana let out a low sigh.
“Ah… this is…”
“Liana… what’s going on right now…?”
“Lord Erga… the Count is currently…”
The Count, who was laughing, shouted in anger.
“What on earth happened to all of you…! To appear after forty years of being inside the tower!”
“It’s been forty years?”
Thank goodness. It’s only been forty years.
However, the expressions on Liana and Kaita’s faces were too miserable to face directly.
Ah, forty years is almost half a lifetime for humans.
Especially for someone like Kaita, who has spent almost five hundred and forty years since entering the tower.
I kept thinking about time from a dragon’s perspective, so I didn’t think it was a big deal.
“There was a magic inside the tower that distorted space and time. That’s why it happened.”
“Is that so? It’s hard to call it a lie. I’ve become an old man like this, but you two are still young.”
The Count’s voice was full of regret.
“Lord Count, what on earth happened? What happened in these forty years?”
“Are there other people inside the tower?! Our soldiers?!”
Instead of answering my question, the Count said something completely unrelated.
“There was a trap magic on the path leading into the tower. It was a dimensional portal laid on the floor, and if you pass by without knowing it, you’ll fall into another dimension.”
“A trap…? Does that mean everyone who went in there died?”
“They might have died, or they might have ended up on the opposite side of the continent or in a different world. Or maybe they went to the future or the past, where hundreds or thousands of years have passed.”
Count Gorda half-opened his mouth and looked at me intently.
The self-assured glint from our first encounter had vanished, and the old man’s eyes were clouded with a dull gray.
“Count…?”
“Hmm…? What do you want?”
A perplexing question…
“We’re from the K-Tower…”
“You came after seeing the K-Tower announcement?”
“Yes… that’s right…”
“Properly introduce yourselves. I am Count Gorda. These are the ones who have passed away.”
Count Gorda gestured towards us as he introduced Kaita.
Kaita stopped nodding her head and looked at the Count with a pitiful expression, as if she understood everything.
Seems like I’m the only one who doesn’t understand the situation.
“Liana.”
“Lord Erga. Count Gorda has dementia.”
“Dementia? What’s that?”
“A disease where you walk backwards while looking forward.”
Combining Liana’s metaphor and the Count’s condition…
“So, he gradually loses his memory and deteriorates.”
“That’s right. It’s a common disease that affects older people. They lose their memory, can’t make rational decisions, experience personality changes, and exhibit abnormal behavior…”
“I wonder what connection this has to the state of the territory.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s because of dementia that the estate has fallen apart, or if the estate has fallen apart and he developed dementia as a shock.”
The count laughed as he looked at us.
“What stories are you talking about, my son?”
“My son? Do you have a son?”
“I do. He’s a remarkable lad. He’s the only one who survived, while all his siblings died.”
So he has a son… But where is he?
“Where is your son?”
“Huh? Isn’t he right in front of my eyes?”
“No. I am not the count’s son.”
“Oh? Then who are you?”
The count furrowed his brow as if trying to remember something.
But just like Liana explained, the count couldn’t recall anything and let out a sigh.
“Ah… so… um… I mean…”
Liana rubbed her forehead and shook her head as if it was hard to see anymore.
There didn’t seem to be much to gain from continuing the conversation with the count here.
It would be better to talk to the people gathered in front of the manor earlier.
* * * * *
Liana and Kaita asked me to look after the count and went outside the manor on their own.
Those people earlier were chewing on something, and smoke was coming out from over there.
It must be the herb that most humans are fond of.
As I approached, they glanced at me with smoke in their eyes, showing no particular interest.
“Hello.”
As I greeted them, the man who had brought up the matter of money to the viscount earlier nodded.
“Hello. Are you an acquaintance of the viscount?”
“Acquaintance… you could say that. I came here forty years ago on a commission.”
“Forty years…?”
The man looked me up and down with suspicion in his eyes.
“Seems a bit young for that…”
“There were circumstances. Anyway… what has happened in the meantime?”
“There have been many events…”
They are said to be the remaining servants and soldiers of the viscount.
The rest of the humans ran away when their wages were cut off, and only those who remained loyal to the viscount have survived until now.
“But that’s only until today. It’s become too difficult to endure. We also have families to support, and we can’t work for free forever.”
“That’s true. But how did the territory end up like this?”
“You’ll see when you look… the viscount has dementia. The territory started to decline from that time. No, it was already falling apart even before that.”
Forty years ago, when we first arrived at this territory, it was already engaged in fierce battles with other territories, they say.
As the Tartha Kingdom, where the lords are the main power, is a place where territorial wars and pillaging constantly occur.
“This viscount’s territory is not particularly good in itself. Maybe if there were mines or something. So, from the beginning, we made great efforts to move to other territories.”
“But the lords here are fundamentally different from those fake nobles in Veravche.”
Another human intervened.
“If it’s a battle, these savage humans and the mercenaries are no less than any regular army of a country. The Barony has been unable to make any progress and has been stuck in a monotonous stalemate.”
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“Hmm… But the problem is that there’s nothing satisfying about the territory.”
“That’s right. So, the Baron had no choice but to explore new territories, even if it meant pushing himself too hard. But that all came to an end ten years ago when his only son, who was the only one to have achieved that, fell in battle.”
The Baron had many children, but it was said that his youngest son, the latecomer, was the only one who survived until adulthood.
After that son died in a large-scale battle with a neighboring territory ten years ago, he was struck with dementia due to the shock.
“And that’s when everything fell apart. Here, the Barony of Gorda is a harsh place that other lords don’t pay much attention to.”
“The previous owner lost his mind and sank without finding a new owner.”
“That’s correct… We have now been told that we will receive part of the overdue wages and be allowed to leave.”
The faces of the humans who said this were gloomy.
“But… Although you said there is some money left… Honestly, we don’t have much hope… As a last courtesy to our Lord, we might just leave quietly…”
At that moment, a loud noise came from inside the Lord’s residence.
“My son! Where are you? We were just here together!”
“Baron! Where are you going?”
“Ugh! Riana! Ugh! Why is this young lady so strong?”
Then came the sound of Riana and Keita rushing around… Oh dear…
The man shook his head and exhaled smoke from his pipe.
“Sigh… He’s looking for his son again. It seems like he’s mistaking you for his son. How old are you this year?”
“Um… Thirty… Sir.”
He guessed that he looked about that age.
The man nodded.
“Hmm. So you were about the same age as the youngest son when you left. Of course, your appearance is different, but your physique is similar… Since you’re not in your right mind, it’s understandable that you might be confused.”