#694 The Farm Graduates’ Activities – The Humans’ POV (1/7)

My name is Ritheseus.

Until now, I’ve been studying on Lord Saint’s farm, reaching a certain level of proficiency and finally being recognized as a full-fledged individual.

The learning period is over, and now I’ve graduated and come home to put into practice what I’ve learned!

I’ve returned to my homeland, the Human Kingdom!!!

“Well done for returning after a tough training, next generation of the human race.”

The first to greet us is the demon Malvastos, the governor-general.

The Human Kingdom was once mired in a long war with the demons—a war we lost.

So now, we are under the occupation of the Demon King’s Army, and the governor-general, who has been given full authority, is effectively running the former Human Kingdom.

“I have gathered information from the Demon King himself. It seems the plan to cultivate talented young individuals from the human race, once our adversaries, to bear the next generation and serve as a bridge for human-demon peace has come to fruition.”

“O-Oh...!”

Unexpected praise from the usually fierce and intimidating Governor-General Malvastos made me inadvertently relax my face.

It’s not just me. The same is true for my fellow classmates who have returned from the farm and are receiving a welcome at the occupation office.

I remember when we set out for the farm, we first gathered at the office like this.

It feels like just yesterday.

“I implore you, who have amassed power through diligent training, to use that power prodigiously. You may choose to serve within the Demon King’s Army, laboring under my directives, or you might opt to return to your respective homelands and serve your nation according to your judgments. Devote yourselves to your discernment.”

Hearing this, both I and my fellow classmates are somewhat shocked.

We had assumed that once we finished our training and returned, we would be forced to work in the Demon King’s Army.

After all, it was they who gathered us and sent us to the farm.

If they’ve been investing in nurturing talent for their own gain, wouldn’t they need to recoup their profits?

“As the governor-general of the occupying force, my duty is to manage and prosper the colonized former Human Kingdom. I will do everything I can to ensure that the people living there do not starve or suffer unjustly,” he says with a dignified voice. “You, who have trained in a place where His Majesty places his full trust, will benefit the Human Kingdom in whatever way you see fit. It’d assuredly be swifter and more certain for you, who have grown and attained a plethora of knowledge, to deliberate personally on how you might be of service.”

Does he really trust us that much?

That’s kind of scary.

“Should you find yourself in a bind, uncertain of how to utilize your own abilities, you are free to join the Demon King’s Army. His Majesty and I shall bear the responsibility of providing you with guidance. What do you say?”

And he’s asking for a response right here, right now?!

So generous, yet strict!

“I would like to return to my home domain for now,” one of the former farm students who had returned with me says. “I was originally a servant to the lord. That’s still my intention. I plan to discuss and decide my future with my original master.”

“Please let me join the Demon King’s Army,” says another. “I may be the son of a feudal lord, but as the third son, I won’t be inheriting the family estate. If I don’t decide for myself, I’ll simply be unemployed. I thought I might work for the army and serve as a bridge between my home and your office, sir.”

“I may not be the first son either, but I plan to seize the position of head of the family using the strength I developed on the farm!”

Wow.

Everyone seems to have an answer ready.

“I want to become a wife.”

“I might aim to be an adventurer.”

“Aiming to conquer the EX-course of Orkubo’s Castle!”

“I’ll become the Ninja King!”

As everyone reveals their future plans...

“What about you, Ritheseus?”

“Huh? Me?”

I was asked by the friend sitting next to me. The question was so abrupt, I was taken aback.

“You were the top graduate from the farm’s training program, after all. Everyone’s curious about what you’re going to do next.”

Hmm, I see.

“I guess I’ll go back to my hometown for a while... I want to meet the lord once again.”

Originally, I was from a commoner’s family and was a close aide to a feudal lord.

That was what led me to be chosen for the farm’s training program, but...

“Remember when we first thought we were just sacrifices for the demons?”

“Yeah, that’s why the feudal lord’s children couldn’t do it, and we servants like us had to substitute.”

Looking back, it feels nostalgic.

After being offered almost as a sacrifice, I trained on the farm, gained notable abilities, and even made connections with other races, like demons and merfolk. 

You really never know what’s going to happen in life...

“He must be thinking I’ve been sacrificed and am long dead. I have to tell him that’s not the case... He’ll be surprised.”

“You didn’t send him a letter that you’re coming home? We were studying for years, man.”

“Huh? You mean you did, Walkina?”

“Of course I did!” my friend sitting next to me yells out.

I didn’t know we could do that.

I thought we couldn’t exchange letters because Lord Saint’s farm was a secret, and I was so engrossed in my daily life there...!

How rude of me to the feudal lord who has taken care of me since I was a child!

“I definitely have to go back first! Governor-general, sir, can I put off deciding my future path until after I’ve returned home?”

“Sure.”

The governor-general responded immediately!

Thank goodness!

So, I decided to return to the domain where I was born and raised.

Everyone is going to show their faces to their relatives and go back to their hometowns, no matter what they decide to do.

We’re parting ways with the friends we’ve been with on the farm all this time.

We’ll probably meet again at some point, but until then, take care, everyone!!!

***

And so, I left the governor-general’s office and headed home.

It’s one of the territories in the old Human Kingdom.

I was born in a rural village in the corner of that territory and was brought up to serve in the feudal lord’s estate because we were poor.

My lord is a generous person who employs many children from the village who have nowhere to go, considering the poverty of his territory.

If the feudal lord wasn’t such a considerate ruler, I might have been treated like a slave or become a vagrant and died somewhere by now.

Before our defeat at the hands of the Demon King’s Army, the Human Kingdom, dominated by the royal family and the Order, was incredibly impoverished.

That’s why I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the feudal lord, and now, having trained and gained strength, it’s time to repay the favor...

...Oh, I can see the lord’s mansion up ahead.

As I thought, traveling by air using magic is fast.

It’s one of the abilities I acquired from training on the farm. Still, it was striking to see all the graduates floating midair and scattering in all directions, with the demons at the occupying office looking from the ground with dumbfounded expressions.

Hello, Mr. Goose, sorry but I’m gonna overtake you.

Thus, I softly landed and arrived at the lord’s mansion, which felt like home after several years!

And what I saw right in front of my eyes was...

“What happened here...?!”

It’s the tragic sight of the lord’s mansion.

It’s in a state of ruin.

Once a proud castle with no dirt, thanks to the diligent care of the servants under a competent lord...

...now has weeds growing wild in the garden?

The mansion itself is not well maintained, cracks are in the walls, the iron fence is bent...

It’s almost like a ruin...?

“No, it’s a ruin itself?”

Could it be that the lord moved to another estate while I was training?

Does this mean this place has been abandoned?

Damn it. I should have kept in touch regularly while studying on the farm.

But even if he moved, where did he move to?

Our feudal lord was competent enough to fulfill his obligations as a noble, but he wasn’t very wealthy.

He was always broke because he spent his own money to help the people suffering from the oppression of the royal family and the Order.

When I was serving as his chamberlain, I never saw the sire indulging in warm clothes and plenty of food due to lack of money.

“So he couldn’t afford to build a new mansion and move...?!”

Anyway, I stepped into the mansion where I spent my childhood to find any remnants of it.

“Stop right there, you insolent intruder!”

I was startled by the sudden angry voice.

“This is the estate of Sendekyrs’ feudal lord! Whether you’re a bandit who’s come in for the money or not, we’re not worn out enough to let the likes of you run wild! Be prepared!”

“Huh? Could it be... Grand Chamberlain Vilardo?!”

“Wait... Is that you, Ritheseus?!”

In the seemingly abandoned mansion wherein one would think no one was living there, I found a familiar face.

What on earth happened while I was studying at the farm?!