Roast goat, boiled lamprey, a small serving of applesauce and sliced snow pears, hoppy ale, and white bread made from fine wheat flour.
This was Liszt's dinner.
The Western-style food wasn't quite to his taste, but he couldn't cook at all, let alone make the home-style dishes he liked. Besides, in this world, it was strictly forbidden for nobles to enter places like kitchens and storerooms, where servants were supposed to go. Doing so violated noble etiquette and would make people laugh at them.
The palace was an exception, of course.
The palace cooks and servants were all nobles from various minor fiefdoms. Liszt's father, the Earl of Coral Island, had served as a stable hand to the new generation of Grand Duke Sapphire, responsible for feeding the Grand Duke's beloved mount, a fine horse with dragon blood in its veins.
Even now, the Earl of Coral Island still went to the palace from time to time to serve as a stable hand.
He was more than happy to do so, afraid that another noble might take his place and come between him and the Grand Duke.
Likewise, Grand Duke Sapphire had once served the king of his suzerain nation, the Iron Ridge Kingdom, as a personal valet, attending to his every need.
Basically, commoners were servants to nobles, while minor nobles were servants to greater nobles.
Only a king could truly be called a master.
"Thank goodness I'm the only master here in Flower Town. I don't have to serve anyone." Levis ate his mediocre dinner, feeling quite content.
The earl was his father, and he didn't like Liszt. He basically never came around to bother him.
After dinner, the old butler, Carter, directed the maids as they cleared away the dishes. Then a personal valet brought in water for Liszt to rinse his mouth.
Once the routine was over, Carter led the servants out. "I'll be right outside. If you need anything, my lord or either of you gentlemen, just let me know."
"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Carter." Liszt gave him a thoroughly gentlemanly smile. Thanks to his predecessor's influence, he didn't need to study noble etiquette; it came naturally to him.
Even lowly servants had to be treated with courtesy and respect. What happened in private—whether one beat them, killed them, or indulged in some other depravity—didn't matter. In public, one had to maintain the bearing of a noble.
"It's my honor to serve you." Carter closed the door behind him.
"Liszt." Gortai took a sip of tea with honey and said, "We should put the Elf Bug to use as soon as possible, but the town's finances are in terrible shape. The previous administrator was an idiot. He did nothing but oppress the serfs, and left us with a complete mess!"
"I know. Please investigate as soon as possible and see where would be a suitable place to settle the Elf Bug."
"Of course. It's my duty."
Liszt then turned to Marcus. "Would it be difficult to survey the part of Thorn Ridge near Flower Town? As the lord, I have to take the frequent attacks on farmers by magical beasts seriously."
Marcus replied, "Thorn Ridge is vast, and the magical beasts don't stay in one place. You only have four Retainer Knights. Even if I tracked down every beast, we still wouldn't be able to defend against them. The patrol squad is useless. They're a bunch of thugs and hooligans who'd wet themselves at the sight of a magical beast."
Flower Town lay at the northeastern tip of Coral Island, surrounded by Thorn Ridge. Magical beasts were plentiful, so few merchant caravans were willing to trade there.
The town had to produce everything it needed itself. Without the help of elves, the farmers could barely feed themselves, yet they still had to pay taxes to the rulers of Coral Island, the Tulip Family.
The nobles only cared about how much tax they could collect. They couldn't care less whether the farmers lived or died.
The Tulip Family was no exception.
But Liszt couldn't stand by and do nothing. He was, after all, a young man who had basked in the radiance of the communist banner. Now that he was the lord of a region, saving its people from misery was his duty—and only if Flower Town prospered could he, as its lord, enjoy a better life.
Whether for the public good or his own benefit, he had to develop Flower Town.
"There's always a way to deal with it. Teacher Marcus, after tomorrow's knight lessons, come walk through Thorn Ridge with me. As the lord, I haven't had a proper look at what Flower Town is like."
"Liszt, that's not a good idea. Just walk around town. You shouldn't go into Thorn Ridge. Don't forget, you nearly died there." Gortai immediately tried to stop him.
Liszt shook his head. "Last time, I accidentally ate a poisonous fruit. I'll be careful this time."
Marcus, meanwhile, replied without hesitation, "I'll notify your four Retainer Knights tonight and arrange a patrol route through Thorn Ridge. I'll make sure you're safe."
"Sorry for the trouble."
"You should be more cautious," Gortai said helplessly.
Liszt said no more. His two teachers didn't know what he was really planning. He hadn't fully recovered yet, and given his temperament, he would have preferred to wait until he was completely well before going out. But nobles traveled either by carriage or on horseback, and unfortunately, he had no carriage.
As for riding, from what he remembered, it wasn't easy. There were no saddles or stirrups here. Knights with battle aura could ride horses and any other mount without the help of riding gear.
"On the contrary, a saddle would restrict the bond between a knight's battle aura and his horse... but without a saddle, it's always a bit hard on the backside..."
Liszt thought this as he saw his two teachers out.
"My lord, when do you plan to retire?" his personal valet came in to ask.
"After ten. Thomas, bring another candle to my study. I want to read." Liszt sent his personal valet away.
A trace of disappointment crossed Thomas's face. For several days in a row, he hadn't gotten the chance to prove himself. Liszt always sent him away instead of having him attend to him.
As a personal valet, he felt he hadn't earned the Baron's affection and worried about his job.
That was indeed the case. Liszt disliked having a personal valet. Every time Thomas helped him get dressed, it gave Liszt goosebumps. Damn this aristocratic system!
Why couldn't male nobles have personal maids?
Once Thomas had brought in a candle and left, the study was brightly lit. Liszt got up and drew open the curtains. Through the castle window, he could see a few scattered lights in the nearby town.
They were dim.
The town was so poor that people couldn't even afford enough to eat. There was no such thing as nightlife, only endless silence.
"So this is my domain. Poor and backward, but completely mine. The whole town is my own little kingdom... I'll turn it into a paradise!"
In a daze,
a faint mist appeared before Liszt. It twisted and formed a string of abstract characters, each made up of what looked like countless little snakes coiling together. This was the Iron Ridge Kingdom's common script, the Snake Script. Its origins were lost to time; people here had no habit of recording history.
As someone who had crossed over into another body and inherited all of his predecessor's memories, Liszt could read the Snake Script.
It was the message that had puzzled him for a week.
"Quest: As a lord, you need to learn everything about your domain. Take a tour of Flower Town and learn about the dangers facing your lands so you can prepare for future development. Reward: Sublimation of Battle Aura."
The message was brief and straightforward.
What Liszt didn't understand was why he could see the Smoke Serpent Script. When he searched his predecessor's memories, he found that it had appeared since childhood. Back then, the mist had been so faint and blurry that he could never make out what the Snake Script said. He had always thought he was hallucinating.
It was only after crossing over that Liszt could finally read the words.
After staring at it for a moment, he reached out to touch the mist, but it vanished at once, seeming to confirm that it was a hallucination.
But Liszt no longer thought it was one. Perhaps it was a benefit of crossing over, some kind of system? He couldn't say for sure, so he decided to test it.
If he toured his domain, he could complete the quest. Whether he received the reward would prove it.
If he didn't, it was just a hallucination.
If he did, it was a benefit.
A cheat for someone who'd crossed over—had the cheat arrived before the traveler even made a move?