It seems that the young man's supposedly grave mistake served as a warning shot to the townsfolk. Parents ushered their children inside their house; briskly interrupting their play.
The kids didn't utter a word of disapproval— a look at their parents' grave expressions gave them all the information they needed.
The slightly older kids that couldn't have been older than Eldric pushed out their younger siblings with just as equally terrified expressions.
All that remained were a few adults and the elderly. Even those that remained were looking at little Eldric as if he were an overlord walking through the lower world— ready to harvest the souls of the livings.
Expressions of utter obedience and acceptance decorated their faces.
The people would nervously bow down or even kneel whenever Eldric approached them. They would dare not even mutter a single word in his presence besides the nervous" G-greetings lord."
It was his first time interacting with others outside his social circle, albeit commoners in this case. Such reactions were deeply hurtful to little Eldric.
But he somehow understood it at the same time. The concept of nobility in this world was infinitely more iron-clad than from back home.
If the nobles and bourgeois from the medieval times in Eldric's old world were just masquerading fools; only money and oppression saved their hides.
— this world's nobles could truly be called as such. They not only left the common people in the dust financially, but they also proved to be better in a tantamount amount of areas as well.
They were stronger, smarter, and even more charming. Never mind their legitimate bloodline this time around; unlike the sham from before where they would commit incest to keep the supposedly 'pure' bloodline going.
The best the peasants could hope for was a specialist blessing… The most they could land was something akin to increased proficiency with swords, axes, or spears….
They would never even dream of using magic… A commoner capable of using magic is a once in a blue moon occurrence.
That was something reserved for the nobles. Dating right back to Robert Alabax's sacrifice — no new blessings were found ever since.
One of the reasons why his magic instructor, Aldora, was greatly surprised and worried about him was just that. Such a case wasn't just exceedingly rare… it never happened.
Sadly, Eldric was still not fully aware of the intricacies of this world. There were no books that would go into detail about this.
There was no concept of free speech. As such, there would be no vivid descriptions of how the common folk are treated or the inner workings of the kingdom.
There was not a single published book that wasn't first inspected by nobles to verify its contents. Not like commoners could even afford to purchase books... But the nobles loved to keep up their appearances, as usual.
"How do these villagers continue to even live on," murmured Eldric. There might have been some hidden caches of supplies or whatnot, but he doubted it.
He had no idea how they could survive in this cold, unforgiving weather with only what seemed like a couple of large goats.
Epine shook her head at her young master's evident concern, but still answered either way to his inquiry. "People in the north are known for magic stone trading."
She gestured to the large forest on the horizon, prompting Eldric to take a full look at it at once.
He couldn't make out the full details, but it appeared creepy enough to him. Large trees, the likes that he had never seen before, were what set it apart from the most forests he had seen. Almost as if it were a barrier, blood-red colour mist surrounded the edges of the forest— it looked ready to swallow any intruder.
It truly deserved the name of the Forbidden Forest.
Eldric took a while to connect the dots on what meant to say, and the outcome couldn't help but surprise him greatly.
'They go hunt the magic beasts?' he paused, 'But that would be incredibly stupid… Weren't magic beasts supposed to be some sort of crazy tough opponent?' he stressed.
He looked once again at the snowy, empty village and shook his head. 'I guess they don't have a choice.'
— Hard times make strong men.
"Is that why there isn't a great number of villagers?" he inquired. "They are all out hunting to make a living?"
He asked again." Is that how we get the magic stones in our estate?"
Epine was surprised by how much Eldric could comprehend from just a single sentence. His thinking was unlike any seven-year-old child she had ever met.
"Yes, young master. They trade the magic stones they harvest from the beasts with supplies," she confirmed his doubts.
However, she soon added another piece of information. "The magic stones that aren't to be used at the Armsworth would get traded to other nobles for a higher price."
Eldric grimaced. 'Of course, they would.'
"Since father is yet to return… It must mean he is still fighting the supposed magic beasts," he muttered, gazing at the faraway forest.
"That is correct, young master."
Eldric hummed and had a pensive face. However, since Epine could only see the little back of her young master; she thought it was quite cute. Especially with his little index finger repeatedly tapping his chin.
The opposite would prove to be true if you looked at Eldric's expression. The grimace he had on completely ruined his otherwise cute face.
'I need to get stronger….'
The fact that the supposed weak commoners could risk their lives fighting terrifying magic beasts ignited his spirit yet again.
"My lord. How can I help you?" slowly said an aged voice from behind Eldric, capturing his attention.
He slowly turned his head around; the previous expression was no longer present.
'Finally... Someone that can talk without melting into a nervous wreck.' he complimented the caned old man.
"And who might you be?" Eldric asked.
The caned old man, with a white that reached his chest, bowed and informed. "I'm the village chief, my lord. This lowly one goes by Brode."
"Is that so?"
Eldric looked at Epine for confirmation. Such a person should be at least known to her if he were legitimate.
Epine nodded at his silent inquiry.
"Great." Eldric clapped his two hands together.
"You'll be giving me a tour around town." he non-ceremonially ordered.
Eldric didn't like to order those people like that, but it seemed as if they themselves were way more comfortable being ordered instead of asked. So he just went along with it.
A strange glance made its way towards Eldric going by the request, but he just shrugged it off.
"Of course, my lord." he naturally answered.
— — —
The trip around the little town went along pretty smoothly, perhaps too smoothly. There was nothing much that the village chief could show that captured Eldric's attention.
— that was a lie.
Eldric was actually left much more surprised by its state than before. Especially when they entered the chief's humble adobe; much to Epine's chagrin. Her young master shouldn't need to enter such a shabby place.
Eldric even wanted to try out having lunch with him… That was when Epine vehemently stepped in and made sure that he didn't. She couldn't risk him getting sick from whatever questionable ingredients the peasants had.
"How was the day, young master?" asked Epine looking at the pensive Eldric.
"It was interesting…. I think it was the best choice to come here," he answered offhandedly.
True. Eldric almost escaped back to the comfy estate when the first accident happened.
He still hated to be treated like that— some sort of deity.
Anyone from the 21st century would be subconsciously hurt if none dared to meet their eyes. Even more so if they looked at you as if you were some evil monster ready to devour their children if they even go as far as raising their voices.
Epine looked yet again at the apprehensive face of her young master.
'Just what are you thinking about, young master?' thought Epine.