Chapter 13 – Heir’s marriage

This chapter is the edited version of another translation

Please notice that this chapter has NOT been re-translated but only edited in order to improve the readability

This chapter was merely moved to this blog as the original blog has been inactive for quite a while.

By no rights do I claims ownership of the translation.

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The Baumeister Knight Territory lies on the frontier of the Helmut Kingdom in the southern part of the Lingaia continent. The current head of the Baumeister house is Arthur von Benno Baumeister. It has been three months since I took over the body of his eighth son, Wendelin von Benno Baumeister.

A lot has happened in that time. It was as if I had been tossed into fast moving floodwaters. Personally, I've enjoyed the ride.

I'm just the useless eighth son that plays no part in the family's social standing or the governing of our territory. As such, I am a noble in name only. Still, my status leaves my movements unrestricted, meaning that I'm allowed to explore the forest and practice magic. I am gifted in magic, which is something rare in this world.

Honestly, my freedom is mostly a function of my family being too busy to bother dealing with a kid.

Recently, I've succeeded in significantly expanding my mana pool by employing a special training method known as capacity matching, which was taught to me by my master, the famous magician, Alfred Reinford.

The truth is, I wanted him to teach me a lot more, but he was already dead by the time I met him. Because he so profoundly regretted dying without passing on his magic to a disciple, he had become a talking corpse and was fated to become a zombie.

In the end, he taught me how to use holy magic in order to cleanse him, which allowed him to pass on peacefully. I inherited his legacy and the contents of his magic bag as proof of our time together.

My inheritance consisted of various rare items and resources as well a sizable sum of money. It was probably enough that I could go through life without ever having to work.

I'm still a six year old kid, so I'm officially under the protection of my parents. Of course, I am 25 on the inside, so it feels a bit unfair that I can't have my independence now. When I first arrived in this world I decided that I want to work hard to gain the skills necessary to be fully independent so that I can leave this house as soon as possible. With that goal in mind, I have been investing all my time into studying, practicing martial arts, and training my magic.

I turned seven years old a few days ago.

In the higher social strata, such as the royal family and wealthy nobles, there is a custom of celebrating a child's birthday, but low ranking nobles like us only celebrate the eldest son's birthday.

Because I have the soul of an adult, I don't particularly care about having a birthday party. Among the members of my noble family, only Erich made an effort to congratulate me on turning seven.

It feels weird saying "my noble family", but it's the only way I can think of to differentiate between my full brothers who have noble status and my half brothers (born to my father's mistress) who are commoners.

Mother told me that, because they are commoners, I am not allowed to acknowledge them as my siblings.

Nobles tend to be strict when it comes to differences in social status.

Erich will turn 17 this year. He has a slender build and lacks physical strength, but he's a handsome man and a gentle brother. He's always the first to speak with me or care for me.

He's popular among the women of the territory, be they cute younger girls or lovely older ladies.

Usually, Baumeister men aren't overly handsome. They're not ugly by any means, but rather they tend to be exceedingly average.

Nor are the Baumeister men known for their exceptional talent. The founder of this territory, who migrated here with a group of impoverished people from the capital, is said to have been a quick-witted man, and it can be said that no truly incompetent or foolish family head has followed after him, but it is equally true that our family has failed to produce an outstanding talent in monster subjugation, war, or domestic affairs.

For example, Arthur and his sons personally help to clear land for cultivation day after day. They do so in order to help make up for the many men lost when our house sent troops to the Demon Forest five years ago.

Still, the reality is that the people of this territory can't use magic and their knights are lacking skill with a sword.

Instead, thanks to the group hunting expeditions held a few times a year, the bow has become both the strength and the preferred weapon of those who live in this territory. All of the Baumeister children inherited this affinity for the bow.

The people of the territory don't have to worry about monster attacks, so instead of focusing on the sword as a means of self-defence, they are able to focus on archery as a means of securing a stable supply of meat. If monsters ever strayed from their territory this would almost certainly be impossible. But thankfully that is not a concern worth losing sleep over.

Besides, even if it were, the Demon Forest is hundreds of kilometers away across the Savage Lands.

That's why me and Erich don't spend too much time on sword practice. Because even if we dedicated ourselves to it we would have no opportunity to use it. There's really not much incentive.

Still, I do train every day with Erich, which serves as a daily reminder that I am no good with the sword.

Erich is the most skillful archer in this territory. He's also just like me when it comes to reading.

"When I leave home I plan to take the test to become a petty officer in the capital." (Erich)

I see, since he doesn't have any talent in magic, he's decided to embark on the path of a bureaucrat.

Although the status quo in our family has been static for some time, the winds of change are about to blow in our direction. Father has informed us that our eldest brother will soon be married.

"Kurt's bride-to-be is the second daughter of the Meibach family, Amalie. The wedding is scheduled for next week, as soon as she arrives in our territory." (Arthur)

Our dinner today is somewhat luxurious thanks to yours truly. It consists of brown bread (as usual), soup with vegetables and meat, as well as roasted guinea fowl.

"So, the time has finally come…" (Erich)

After dinner, me and my three younger brothers went back to the room we share. Upon arrival, all three of them started packing. Paul and Helmut didn't own much, so they finished their packing in no time at all.

"Erich, why are you all packing?" (Wendelin)

"Because Kurt is getting married. When the wedding ceremony for the heir ends, the younger brothers that are unable to inherit generally have to leave." (Erich)

I asked Erich to explain, and he obliges by providing a detailed explanation. At times like this, I am always grateful to Erich, who willingly explains things in detail without looking down on me for being a kid.

In this world, people are considered adults at about 16 years old. As the decision is ultimately up to the parents, there ends up being some variance from family to family, but 16 is considered about average. Paul and Helmut are well past 16, so you could say that they're overdue to leave.

The truth is, they were supposed to have left long ago, but because our territory is wanting for working age men, my brothers delayed their departure in order to help the family. After all, even if they won't inherit we 'are' still a family.

In order to allow my brothers to stay in the territory, our oldest brother, Kurt, was forced to postpone his wedding. This also allowed my brothers to save some money in advance of their departure. Apparently Kurt wasn't very happy about the whole situation.

"Honestly, due to the issue of dowry, people have no interest in marrying us." (Erich)

True, I suppose there aren't many nobles that are willing to marry their daughters into a poor family in an isolated frontier territory, separated from the neighboring territories by a mountain range.

Even if the bride's family wanted to provide support, because such support is generally structured as a loan and because our territory is so hard to reach, any such attempt would only land us deeper in debt.

"Still, I wonder if it would've been better to marry like Kurt." (Hermann)

I feel sorry for Hermann, my second oldest brother. He's simply being kept around in case something ever happens to Kurt. I guess it will be a relief when Kurt and his bride have a child, but I can't help but feel bitter over the fact that I'll have to stay at home until I come of age.

Honestly, I envy my brothers for gaining their freedom.

"After the ceremony, I'll be heading to the capital like our other brothers. I know you'll be lonely here without me, Wend, but live your life proactively." (Erich)

"I will. Thank you." (Wendelin)

"I'll send you a letter when I get settled." (Erich)

"I'll be sure to reply." (Wendelin)

"Yes, I'm glad that you can write properly, unlike most of the people in this house." (Erich)

Two weeks later, I lost the person who understood me most, and was left with only the bitter taste of loneliness. I was only seven at the time.