Chapter 45: Don’t Blame Everything on the Gods

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“You’re leaving already?”

When Grandmother looked at me so sadly, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of reluctance.

“I’ll come to visit again.”

“Promise me you will, really.”

“Yes, I promise.”

After bidding farewell to Grandmother, Mother suddenly hugged me from behind.

“Toma, don’t do anything reckless.”

“Mother, you’re embarrassing me.”

“Hugging my own child is nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Maybe not for her, but it’s embarrassing for me.

Next up was Grandfather, but I deftly avoided his attempt to hug me. Please don’t look at me with such a disappointed expression.

“Siegvalt, I’m going home for a bit, but you stay here with Mother, okay? I’ll come back to get you soon.”

“Okay, okay!”

“Good boy, Siegvalt.”

Today, Father and I would be returning to Ashud Territory.

Mother and Siegvalt were staying behind because Mother wanted to look after Grandmother for a while longer. Father seemed a bit lonely, but he’d been away from the territory for a month, so it was time to return.

After leaving Axel Territory, we entered Jadose Territory. Since Baron Rittenheim, the lord here, was on friendly terms with Father, we went to greet him.

“Toma!”

Talia came running toward me, her platinum-blonde hair swaying.

“Hey, Talia. You look cute today too.”

“Really?!”

My half-sister, a year older than me, was as adorable as ever. It was good to see that Baron Rittenheim was taking good care of her.

“Talia, mind your manners.”

“Yes, sir.”

This distinguished-looking man must be Baron Rittenheim.

I’ve been noticing lately that people in this world tend to be rather good-looking. Father, Baron Rittenheim, Grandfather, and Lord Alexander—they’re all handsome.

“Toma, it’s been a while.”

“Good to see you again, Lady Louis.”

“Oh, so you’re Toma. I am Wilhelm Jadose Rittenheim, Baron of Jadose. Pleased to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Baron Rittenheim. I am Toma of the Roxfall family. I look forward to your acquaintance.”

“Quite a refined greeting. Unlike Talia here.”

“I can be just as polite!”

“Then go ahead and greet Lord Roxfall properly.”

“Greetings, Lord Roxfall. I am Talia Rittenheim.”

“Rob Ashud Roxfall. It’s a pleasure to meet a lovely young lady.”

“Yes!”

“I need to speak with Lord Roxfall, so Talia, why don’t you show Toma around?”

“Okay. Come on, Toma.”

Talia took my hand, leading me out into the garden. The weather was pleasant, and the breeze felt nice.

The next day, after catching up with Talia, we left Jadose Territory and returned to Ashud.

As soon as we arrived, Lord Dardell from the temple showed up. I couldn’t help but feel she was a bit of a stalker, though I kept that thought to myself.

“Welcome back, Lord Toma. I am delighted to see you returned safely.”

“Thank you.”

“I heard that Lady Brunhilde has recovered her health. That is truly a blessing.”

“Yes, it is indeed a happy development.”

“Her recovery must surely be the will of the gods.”

“Not everything can be attributed to the gods’ will.”

“If Lord Toma is involved, it’s easy to see it as divine will.”

Wait, she’s saying this is my fault?

“If my involvement contributed to Grandmother’s recovery, then it’s due to the will of Lord Deuro. It would be disrespectful to lump it into a broad concept of ‘the gods.’”

“Ah, you are quite right. I apologize to Lord Deuro.”

Lord Dardell knelt on both knees and began to pray. Yes, yes, keep praying to Lord Deuro!

“I hear that Duke Bayerlein has been installing statues of Lord Deuro throughout his domain.”

Settling back on the sofa, Lord Dardell began discussing Grandfather. She certainly knows everything. The temple’s information network is not to be underestimated.

It seemed she wanted to know why Grandfather, who’d previously appeared indifferent to gods, was suddenly expressing reverence.

“Yes, thanks to the blessing Lord Deuro bestowed upon me, Grandfather created an altar in the mansion and installed statues of Lord Deuro throughout his territory.”

I’d even brought ten statues of Lord Deuro to install in Ashud Territory.

“To think the Duke Bayerlein would change so significantly. Fascinating.”

Grandfather doesn’t deny gods; what he disapproves of is the temple’s way of operating. The temple claims that any good event is a divine blessing, while anything bad is a trial from the gods. Grandfather resents this tendency to attribute everything to the gods.

During my stay in Axel Territory, a large stockpile of slime gel had built up in the warehouse.

“I didn’t expect this much…”

After I told the kids I’d buy slime gel, I ended up going to Axel Territory and completely forgot about it. Apparently, they’d been bringing in enough to fill meter-wide crates every day. Slime gel isn’t particularly expensive, but the kids must have worked hard to collect it.

As for the Horse King sake…

“Everything is going well!”

“We were determined not to let Lord Toma’s sake go to waste, so we took meticulous care of it!”

“I’ve never worked so hard in my life!”

Thanks to Jin and Ram’s efforts, the Horse King sake I’d started fermenting had turned into premium-quality sake.

The two looked exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes and hollow cheeks. It seemed they’d worked extremely hard, even more than necessary, but to them, it was a serious matter. I couldn’t be more grateful for how well they’d nurtured the Horse King sake.

Many of the batches Jin and Ram had started had also turned into premium sake.

Maybe having me around had made them feel less urgency, so they weren’t as diligent before. I’d checked in once during the month I was away, but being gone for that long must have made them feel a stronger sense of responsibility… Alright, from now on, I’ll leave most of it in their hands!

“From now on, I’m entrusting the Horse King sake to you two.”

“Please, spare us!”

I’m not sparing you.

“You both have done an excellent job with the sake. Have confidence in yourselves. I know you can do it!”

Even though I’m entrusting them with it, I’ll still visit the brewery to work on creating new types of sake.