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“These days, external armies have been frequently staying in our territory.”

On the second day since the Southern Alliance troops stationed near Harriet’s Territory replaced Jeongjae, Village Chief Harker cautiously conveyed his worries to Jeongjae. Jeongjae nodded in agreement with the Village Chief’s concerns.

“It should be a noisy world in normal times. I apologize. Such incidents likely didn’t occur before I was assigned here. I hope the villagers don’t resent me…”

The Village Chief hesitated at Jeongjae’s words, to which Jeongjae chuckled and patted Harker’s shoulder.

“Feel free to speak honestly. What do people think?”

Encouraged by Jeongjae, Harker nodded and opened his mouth.

“Honestly, there are some who think that since the Baron arrived, the once quiet territory has become noisy. Especially among the younger ladies, many believe that.”

“That’s not entirely wrong, is it?”

“However, most of the older ladies have sent their husbands or children off to war. Some have families who avoided conscription thanks to the Baron, while others feel guilty just sitting idly at home while their children fight on the battlefield.”

Jeongjae could understand that sentiment. In a way, he felt similarly. As the hero and his companions fought up north almost daily, from their perspective, the minor scuffles Jeongjae engaged in might seem like nothing more than child’s play.

“Moreover, having an officially armed force in the South indicates that the global situation is changing, not just our territory. Even simple folk like us can catch on to that much. They all think that the Baron came here because of a change in circumstances, not that the circumstances changed because the Baron came.”

“If everyone thinks that way, I’m relieved, but I still can’t tell if you’re speaking well as the Village Chief or if that’s true people’s hearts…”

At Jeongjae’s worried tone, Harker burst into laughter.

“Well, not everyone can speak as well as Philip and I do. The Guard Captain and I are somewhat knowledgeable, having read a few books to govern a territory without its lord.”

Jeongjae thought that they were probably both local aristocrats or perhaps fallen nobility. In this world, it’s not uncommon for children of noble families to fail or forgo their titles and live as commoners.

Well, since he came from the modern Earth, where bloodline superiority was less emphasized, it didn’t particularly matter to him.

“Now, this is my personal opinion, Baron. I think people calling you a hero isn’t mere flattery.”

“Didn’t you see the bombardment by the beach? Even I thought it was incredible magic! I’m glad to use this power to protect people.”

“That’s certainly true, but my point is somewhat different. I believe Count Harker, the hero, and even the Koesernis of the Southern Barony are all exceptional heroes as well. I may not know much about other figures due to being out of touch with world news, but there’s no doubt in my mind that you possess the qualities of a hero, even without such great power.”

“Too kind. Even if you praise me like that, I have nothing to give in return.”

As Jeongjae jokingly walked along the beach, Harker chuckled heartily, tilting his head up.

“You wouldn’t give even if you had something! Bestowing rewards merely for a few flattering words isn’t the mark of a true hero. If the lord had genuinely put in an effort, wouldn’t the shattered street and the cluttered coastline have been restored faster than now? Repairing fishing boats, and even dramatically increasing catch yields wouldn’t have been too difficult either. I admit, I’m ignorant of magic, but I’ve heard the potential is boundless.”

“Magic depends on the wielder’s strength. I couldn’t single-handedly restore the devastated coastline, not in one go anyway. But had I summoned my full strength, perhaps we could be catching fish by now.”

“May I ask why you didn’t proceed that way?”

At the Village Chief’s question, Jeongjae paused for a moment, pondering how to respond.

“A person truly becomes themselves when they achieve something.”

After a brief contemplation, that was Jeongjae’s reply.

“A powerful wizard can solve many problems. When I first jumped into this world, I believed that was the wisest and most efficient way. But I’ve come to think that my role may not be to reach out only in crises they cannot overcome.”

“I believe that such delicate consideration is what makes a hero.”

The Village Chief nodded.

“Thank you for those kind words. However, I am merely pondering what the best course of action for everyone might be.”

“Can one call oneself a hero without such considerations?”

Jeongjae shyly waved his hand, shaking his head.

“Hero, hero, please stop it! It’s embarrassing just to hear it!”

“No hero can save the world without humility and reflection!”

Village Chief Harker laughed heartily as he teased Jeongjae. Jeongjae, now feeling a bit more upbeat, continued walking cheerfully.

“But Baron, while I appreciate your words, sometimes I feel that you act contrary to your thoughts.”

“Could you explain?”

“There are ready people who can protect themselves.”

Harker raised his hand, pointing towards the houses in the territory. Jeongjae briefly looked at where the Village Chief’s finger was directed before nodding.

“Strong people, indeed.”

“Yet I feel the Baron is unwilling to understand whether that is the parents’ feelings.”

“If I don’t prevent overprotection, people die. It shouldn’t become my fault.”

“The price of failure being death is a matter of the times, not your fault, Baron.”

“That’s too heavy of a price. It’s unthinkable to push people into such stakes.”

“Then is it human to take on all those risks in their place?”

Harker said softly. Jeongjae took a brief deep breath and nodded.

“I’m strong, and everyone else is weak. Doesn’t that alone suffice as a reason?”

“If my foolish thoughts are wrong, please tell me. But to me, it seems that the Baron wishes to take on too much even among those as strong as himself.”

At those words, Jeongjae’s expression darkened. Harker momentarily thought he might get angry due to the darkening expression. However, instead of exploding with rage, Jeongjae merely looked downcast, glancing around before moving towards the castle.

“Thank you for your words today. Just please, don’t go spreading around that I’m some great hero. I wouldn’t want to be a lord who engages in malicious opinion manipulation through the common folk.”

With a wry smile, Jeongjae bowed to the Village Chief and turned away. Harker simply nodded and saluted but did not grab him or add any further comments.

After finishing the walk, Jeongjae entered the office to check if there were any new tasks added that day.

There were minor tasks to address for the territory’s normal maintenance, but since they were mostly routine and insignificant affairs, the Village Chief would manage them all quite competently while he was away.

While lightly tidying up the desk, Jeongjae’s eyes fell on a letter he hadn’t noticed before.

“What’s this?”

Jeongjae lifted the thick envelope, tilting his head in curiosity. It occurred to him that Violet, who frequently transports goods outside the territory, was also acting as the mail carrier for this region.

Having grown accustomed to high wages and comfortable conditions, she had settled down as a professional transporter, frequently traversing between Harriet’s Territory and the Southern Harker Count’s territories.

Jeongjae recalled how Violet had also come this morning, pulling a cart laden with supplies from beyond the territory. It seemed that somewhere along the way, a letter had arrived for him as well.

“Let’s see… a cross symbol…”

Noticing the cross-shaped emblem stamped on the envelope, Jeongjae guessed it was likely a letter from the Harker Count’s territory. But a moment later, he had to reconsider after realizing the contents of the envelope were magically sealed shut, making it impossible to open with force. This was a skill of Jenis Harker. As soon as he sensed the magic circuit attached to the envelope, he arrived at that conclusion.

Jeongjae quickly created a reconnaissance magic circle to peer inside the envelope. True to Jenis’s nature, several spells were densely woven, as if to protect something.

“Damage prevention, sight prevention, damage notification… What on earth did you send that required this much overkill for a single letter…”

Observing through the magic, it was confirmed that there had been no attempts to intercept or damage the envelope. Jeongjae lightly deactivated Jenis’s protective spells and, filled with curiosity, checked the contents inside.

To his surprise, there was neither a greeting letter nor a handwritten message. When he noticed the sheet of paper that simply dropped onto his desk with no letter attached, Jeongjae furrowed his brows and unfolded it, placing it on top of the desk.

What Jeongjae saw was a grand design filled with notions of creating a bizarre warship—a concept that had no proper framework in this world.

“Uh…”

Baron Harriet stared blankly, trying to comprehend the meaning of the ambiguous plans. The first thought that likely crossed his mind was ‘What in the world is this?’ Of course, there was no questioning that Jenis had a peculiar knack for getting fixated on strange things and inventing bizarre weapons…

But didn’t this venture cross the line? How could Jenis expect to persuade the stakeholders with these incomprehensible blueprints? How could they even be constructed and, for what purpose, was entirely beyond his understanding.

Equally baffling was the fact that Jenis had left a blank space where the project name should have been inscribed on the design.

Near the empty spot, there was handwriting from Jenis indicating:

“Surprised, right? Amazingly, I’ve already received budget approval! But I haven’t decided on a project name yet, so I couldn’t officially announce it. I’m stuck for ship names. Isn’t it your field to bring names from your hometown to attach to these? Would you like to give it a shot? I’d be happy with any name you come up with!”

For Jeongjae, who still hadn’t fully processed the identity of this design, the proposal came way too abruptly. With a dazed expression, he looked up, his eyes landing on his blue combat robe hanging on the coat rack.

“Victoria… Regina…”

Muttering as he glanced at the ‘VR’ emblem embroidered on the back of his robe, Jeongjae, in a trance, scrawled the name of a very famous ship in the corner of the design.

In an instant, guided more by instinct than thought, he wrote down that name, even as Jenis’s ambitions started to reveal themselves through the plans.

Regardless, the name was now inscribed on the paper.

‘HMS Victory’

Just a moment ago, that blank space now had that name written in it.

 

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