Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

53. Chaos 1

The time had long since passed midnight.

From the streets of the village, illuminated by moonlight, all traces of human presence had vanished.

The tourists and merchants who had livened the streets earlier were now staying with relatives or friends, or lodging in temporary inns that opened only during the festival season.

They were all sound asleep, preparing for tomorrow’s main event of the Spirit Festival.

Yet in the square of Alba Village, a few villagers remained.

In the center of the square was the Spirit Fire—a large ceremonial bonfire said to be a guidepost for the spirits—crackling and popping as the wood burned, its sounds echoing through the air.

The Spirit Fire was never to be extinguished until the festival ended, and the villagers took turns watching over it throughout the night.

Decades ago, during a festival one year, the Spirit Fire had accidentally been extinguished.

The following year, Alba Village suffered a devastating famine.

Families sold their daughters into servitude to survive, and even then, many starved to death.

Since then, letting the Spirit Fire go out had become a near-forbidden act in Alba Village.

“Good work. It’s about time for the shift change.”

“Is it that time already? Who’s next?”

“M-me! I’ll take care of it!”

“Oh, it’s Gunther’s boy! So, you’re starting as a firekeeper this year, huh?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The role of watching over the Spirit Fire was carried out by the men.

To prevent falling asleep and letting the fire go out, four or five men always stood watch.

The men chosen as firekeepers were all adults, and completing this duty marked a rite of passage into adulthood in Alba Village.

“Don’t be so tense. You’ve got everyone here, so just relax a bit.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

“Still, you’re lucky,” one of the men said to the young man.

“Lucky? How so?”

“There’s no rain tonight. Back when I did it, it rained pretty hard, and keeping the fire going was a real struggle.”

“Yeah, I remember that!”

“My shift was on a cloudy night; I was on edge the whole time.”

“Recently, it’s been nothing but clear skies, hasn’t it?”

The men reminisced about their experiences while watching the young man, newly tasked with firekeeping.

One of them glanced up at the night sky.

“Well, with almost no clouds, there shouldn’t be any surprise showers tonight.”

“True. Right now, the moon is perfectly round and bright—hm?”

“What’s wrong?”

The man, who had abruptly stopped speaking, was questioned by the one beside him.

“When I looked at the moon just now, I thought I saw something…”

“Something? There’s nothing up there.”

“That’s strange. I was sure I saw—”

He squinted at the sky, but all he could see was the countless twinkling stars and the full moon.

Convincing himself it must have been an owl or something flying by, the man returned his gaze to the ground and quickly forgot the matter.

In the square, the Spirit Fire continued to burn fiercely.

§

Bang, bang, bang!

Suddenly, the midnight silence was shattered by a loud noise echoing through the lord’s manor in Alba Village.

“What’s going on? At this hour?”

Johann d’Aubrière von Alba, master of the Aubrière household, awoke to the noise and rose from his bed.

Whoever the visitor was, the butler was likely handling it by now.

Perhaps something had happened in the village.

With that thought, he reached for his dressing gown to put over his nightwear.

“Kyui! Kyuui!!”

At that moment, Johann heard a high-pitched cry.

It wasn’t a bird or watchdog but a shrill sound he recognized, blending with the commotion outside.

“Has Nord returned?”

It was the cry of a wyvern named Newt, named by Johann’s younger sister, Iris.

“What’s the matter?”

“Looks like it’s my brother. You stay in bed.”

“Yawn… At this hour…?”

His wife, Katia, stirred sleepily in bed, apparently woken by the noise.

“He was investigating the forest. He’s probably just gotten back.”

The village hunter, Roge, had reported that after finishing his hunt, Nord had headed deeper into the forest.

Roge had also mentioned something unusual about the forest at the time.

(Did something happen? No, if it did, it’s too soon for him to be back.)

Nord had headed into the forest in the late afternoon.

It was now the middle of the night, meaning he’d returned in less than a day.

Though Nord was a skilled adventurer, it seemed unlikely he could complete a forest investigation so quickly.

Perhaps he’d simply found traces of monsters nearby.

(Sigh… This’ll be another expense.)

Johann calculated the potential costs in his mind, already dreading the burden.

Even though Nord charged much less than market rates due to being his brother, the payment was still significant.

The Aubrière household, which governed Alba Village, had been struggling financially for years due to poor harvests.

Johann had also been sending financial support to his family, the Ferris household, further straining his resources.

Unexpected expenses like monster extermination often came out of the lord’s pocket, making it difficult to manage the limited funds left after covering governance and essential taxes.

(Guess I’ll have to ask Nord for a discount again. I’ll send him off with some wheat or wine as a token of thanks.)

Bartering goods was often cheaper than paying in silver coins.

While even those goods were precious in Alba Village, the effort of trading with merchants for cash was far more burdensome.

(If only the Ferris family would repay even a part of their debt…)

As he reached for the door to his bedroom, Johann sighed inwardly.

While the Ferris household’s finances had reportedly improved thanks to Nord’s efforts, their debt repayment to the Aubrière family remained low priority.

Johann had celebrated when he first heard about the prospect of marrying into the Aubrière family.

As the second son, he had limited prospects, and joining a noble house, even one governing only a small village, was an incredible opportunity.

He had assumed his financial worries would be over, but reality proved otherwise.

(Still, it’s better than staying with the Ferris family.)

Thinking of his elder brother, who had inherited the Ferris household, Johann stepped through the door and headed toward the manor’s entrance.