I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Gasp!”

My eyes flew open.

W-where am I?

All I could see was an unfamiliar ceiling.

I definitely made it all the way to the northern checkpoint with Mister Paul!

I did……

But what happened after that?

Think…… think……

“Waaaaah!”

I lost Mister Paul!

“Hani! Haniel! That crazy bird bastard is kidnapping our kid!”

“Hnnnnng?”

Right.

Making it all the way north while building camaraderie with Mister Paul had gone perfectly well, but……

A giant bird suddenly appeared in front of the northern gate, pecked me right out of the carriage window, and flew off with me.

“Save me! Somebody save me!”

I struggled for a long time before remembering:

Monster = demonic energy = weak against divine power.

So I immediately pulled out one of my divine-power stickers.

The moment the bird landed on a tree, I slapped the sticker onto myself—

“SKREEEEEEE!”

—and the nasty bird spat me out like I was a seed.

At least I’m glad I didn’t get badly hurt……

Branches had snapped one after another beneath me, apparently cushioning my fall.

Hmph. What a waste of precious divine power. More importantly…… where am I?

I looked around.

I had woken up inside a small house.

Had someone rescued me?

That was when—

“My, you certainly wake up noisily.”

A voice came from somewhere nearby.

I shot upright.

“Oh dear. You shouldn’t sit up so suddenly. How are you feeling?”

An old woman with completely white hair hurried over.

“W-who……?”

“Let’s see. Hmm, you still have a slight fever, but…… it doesn’t look like you were seriously injured anywhere. But honestly, child, why did you go into the Fog Zone all by yourself? Did you get lost?”

“G-Grandma, did you save me?”

The old woman looked at me as though I had just said something ridiculous.

“No? His Grace the Grand—”

“Old woman. Salt.”

Gasp! You scared me!

A man’s voice suddenly cut in!

Only then did I realize there was someone else in the room besides me and the old woman.

I cautiously stuck my head out.

Farther away, near the window, a man was sitting.

He was leaning back in his chair and eating stew.

Is he Grandma’s son?

But why was he wearing a black robe pulled low over his head in broad daylight?

Ah, could it be……

I immediately figured out what kind of person he was.

Apparently, there were young adults in the world who shut themselves away at home, voluntarily cut themselves off from society, and continued relying on their parents for one hundred percent of their finances even after becoming fully grown.

Well, I’m sure everyone has their own circumstances. It’s just a little different from the kind of life I’m aiming for.

I, after all, was a brave independent child.

Our situations were completely different.

Without complaint, the old woman pulled out some salt from somewhere and placed it on her son’s table.

The young man sprinkled some over his food and went back to eating his stew.

But couldn’t he at least get the salt himself?

Had he outsourced not only his finances, but his basic survival skills too?

Just as I decided I should avoid having any deep conversations with him if possible, the old woman returned to me.

“So, where were we? You asked if I rescued you?”

“Yeees……”

“No. The one who brought you here was His Grace the Grand Duke. He went into the Fog Zone and came back saying he’d caught some kind of starfish……”

“Whaaaaaaat?”

I knew it!

My eyes widened.

So that blurry figure I had faintly seen at the very end must have been the Grand Duke!

“Then, then!”

I whipped my head around.

“Does that mean this is near the Grand Duke’s castle—”

“Hey. Pass me that cup of water.”

My sentence was cut off again.

“There’s sand mixed into the salt. Hah, those southern bastards……”

I glared at the shut-in young man again.

He was kind of……

pathetic!

He looked perfectly healthy too!

This might have a bad influence on my developing values, so I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must avoid deep conversations with him!

After bringing the young man his water, the old woman answered me.

“You asked if this was near the Grand Duke’s castle? Well, yes. This is Bethel Village.”

My eyes widened.

Thank goodness! This is the village where the Grand Duke’s castle is!

I had safely made it all the way to the center of the North!

“What’s this? Little one, did you actually come here on purpose?”

“Yes!”

I sprang upright, clenched my fists, and spoke with as much force as I could.

“I-I actually came here to meet His Grace the Grand Duke!”

“Hm? Really?”

“Yes! So, um…… could you please take me to the Grand Duke’s castle? Or just tell me how to get there! I’ll polish your shoes in return! Super shiny!”

“No, child……”

Then—

Clack!

The hopeless son set down his spoon.

“Hah, why does this soup still taste like this? It’s not getting any better. Camil—”

“M-Mister!”

“……Mister?”

I couldn’t take it anymore!

“J-just ask me instead!! Why do you keep making Grandma do everything for you?!”

He might kick my butt for being a rude little brat, but I still had to say it.

Because every time that man said something, the old woman immediately served him as though it had been ingrained into her body.

How much had he bullied her?!

“Grandma isn’t even your subordinate!”

At that moment, the man turned toward me.

Only then did I realize how enormous he was.

And even though all he had done was turn around, an overwhelming pressure washed over me.

What incredible physical presence for a shut-in!

“She is my subordinate.”

His deep voice flowed lazily.

“……What?”

“If she’s the butler of my house…… doesn’t that make her my subordinate?”

Butler……?

“What do you think, Camilla?”

“Please stop dropping crumbs everywhere. It’s annoying to clean up later.”

The old woman answered casually.

Huh?

The man slowly pulled back his hood.

Pitch-black hair was revealed.

Sharp, powerful features.

My eyes blinked slowly.

I had seen that face a few times through a window in my previous life.

Of course……

he looked much younger now.

The man stood up.

“All the salt imported from the South is getting returned.”

Then he walked toward me.

He was so tall that even standing upright on the bed, I had to crane my neck way back to look at him.

“Hey, starfish.”

“I-I’m not a starfish……”

Scary!

No, I’m not scared!

“My name is Haniel……”

“Judging by the look of you, you came here because you’ve got nowhere else to go.”

How did he know?

“A brat like you would last about……”

The Grand Duke poked me in the forehead with one finger.

“Two days? Maybe three?”

Then he said,

“So go back. Sorry, but there’s no one here who can take care of a brat like you. Camilla, later, take her to one of the nearby territories—”

“Residents wanted! Location: Northern Territory of Grand Duke Vertus!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.

“Basic benefits! Housing provided! Land provided! One hundred percent tax exemption for one year after relocation! Eligibility! Anyone!”

“……?”

“Any-one!”

“……?”

“Hello! I’m Anyone!”

I threw both hands into the air.

In my hands was the northern relocation flyer I had practically worn out from reading it so much.

The Grand Duke stared at me in disbelief for a moment.

Then he turned to the old woman butler named Camilla.

“Didn’t we dispose of all those flyers?”

“Apparently one survived somewhere. Sir Brad would have a fit if he knew. Feels like only yesterday he was imprisoned instead of paying the fine after getting reported for violating advertising standards……”

Ignoring all that, I sucked in one more giant breath and fired off my prepared introduction.

“My name is Haniel! I’m six years old! My hobby is eating bread, and my special skill is eating bread! My future dream is to own a bakery! The reason I’m applying to become a resident here is because I want a house and land! Also, my goal is to eat about three pieces of bread a day!”

“Is that a bread introduction or a self-introduction?”

“Anyway, I want to live here! It’s my dweam!!”

Basil stared at me for a while, then turned away.

He picked up the sword he had left nearby and casually waved one hand.

“Yeah. Dreams are called dreams because they don’t come true.”

“……”

“Have a bowl of stew, then be on your way.”

His back moved farther away.

No!

I couldn’t fail here!

“My lord!”

I grabbed onto his pants and clung to him.

“What are you saying? Get off.”

“My loooord!”

“At least call me ‘Lord of the Territory’! Old woman, why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t tell her to do this!”

“Lord! Please!”

Come on!

You said you’d give me a house and land!

“I can live by myself! I came here because I’m going to eat well and live really, really well all on my own!”

“You call that an argument……”

I wrapped myself around his thigh in earnest.

It was so hard that clinging to it was difficult, but I planted myself on top of his foot and turned myself into a thirteen-kilogram ankle weight.

“What kind of brat is this strong? Hah, seriously…… what was your name again? All I remember is bread. Hippo? Bread-eating hippo? Hey, Hippo. Get off.”

“I’m not a hippoooo. I’m Haniel…… Please!”

“We don’t accept six-year-olds as residents.”

“No discrimination against children……! The eligibility section says ‘anyone’!”

“No, it doesn’t. I’m adding an age restriction starting now.”

“Nope! The version I have doesn’t have any age restriction! You have to take responsibility for this notice! If you keep changing things, you’re putting me in a difficult position!”

“Old woman, get her off me! I’ve been bitten by a hippo!”

“Why? The floor is getting cleaned quite nicely. That’s it, both of you are doing very well.”

The elderly butler chuckled as she tidied up around us.

Encouraged by her support, I sat firmly on top of the Grand Duke’s foot and polished the floor with my butt.

Wait. Is clinging to the Grand Duke of the North like this really okay?

Wasn’t my plan to avoid drawing attention……

to blend in quietly……

to act like I barely existed……?

Things seemed to have gone very far off-plan.

Whatever!

I don’t care anymore!

I squeezed even tighter.

“Please accept me!”

“No! I’m passing you off to the territory down the road!”

But the Grand Duke of the North was just as stubborn as I was.

So in the end, I had no choice but to reveal the real reason I had been holding back.

“I’ll teach you how to farm in the North!”

He stopped.

Completely.

His red eyes instantly sank into a sharp, heavy stillness.

Only then did I realize that until now, the Grand Duke had actually been restraining his presence for my sake.

My body trembled.

I was scared.

But I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted anyway.

“Farming!!”

“……”

“You need it, don’t you?”