Alf Village

“Hah! It’s an all-you-can-gather buffet of Magic Stones!”

Fee and I moved through the fallen Wolves, systematically harvesting the stones from their remains. As we worked, I noticed a man standing nearby, looking utterly dazed.

“...Who are you?” I asked.

I hadn’t sensed him at all until that moment. His Magic Power must have bottomed out due to the severity of his injuries, making his presence faint.

“Please... make me your disciple!” the man shouted, suddenly dropping into a deep bow.

He was a mess—covered in filth and riddled with bleeding wounds. He looked like he was held together by sheer willpower.

“Fee, we have a Healing Potion left, right?”

“Of course. I made sure we were prepared for anything.”

“Give him a dose.”

The man’s eyes went wide. “Is that... are you sure?!”

I couldn’t blame his shock. A Healing Potion capable of closing wounds instantly was a luxury item, far beyond the reach of an apprentice Mercenary like Fritz. To me, however, it was just a mixture of common Medicinal Herbs and Water infused with a bit of Magic Power. I could mass-produce them whenever I felt like it.

I only bottle them because it’s more efficient for HP recovery than raw herbs, though...

Ideally, I would have preferred an aptitude for Healing Magic, but perhaps my lack of it was a testament to my role as a Mastermind. Despite having an affinity for almost every other element, Healing Magic remained entirely out of my reach.

I suppose a Mastermind who can fully restore their own HP would be impossible for any hero to defeat.

“Just drink it already,” I snapped, growing impatient. “We can’t move the conversation forward while you’re bleeding out.”

I practically forced the potion down his throat. He resisted for a second, but as soon as the liquid hit his stomach, the raw gashes covering his body began to knit back together.

“I’m... I’m healed?!”

“More importantly, let’s talk business. Who are you?”

Is he a pursuer sent by my father? I wondered. But that didn't make sense. If he were an assassin, he wouldn't have been nearly killed by a few Wolves. I considered the possibility that he was playing the victim to lower my guard, but the shattered weapons scattered around him and the sheer authenticity of his injuries suggested otherwise.

“I’m Fritz. I work as a Mercenary in this area. About the apprenticeship—”

“A Mercenary, huh? Did you come here for a Monster subjugation? Sorry for stealing your kills.” I continued harvesting Magic Stones even as I offered the hollow apology.

“Ah, no! I was hired as a guard, but then a massive swarm of Monsters appeared... please, about being your disciple—”

“A guard? I don’t see anyone else around here.”

There was a wrecked carriage nearby, but that was mine. There were no other signs of life.

“My clients were the people of Alf Village,” he said, his voice trembling as he gritted his teeth. “They were trying to migrate, and I was supposed to protect them. When the Monsters swarmed, they realized they couldn't all escape. They tried to force me to run so I could at least save myself. If only I were stronger... that’s why I need you to teach me!”

The man looked genuinely haunted by his own weakness. Honestly, taking a guarding job in a place as dangerous as this borderland without sufficient power was borderline suicidal.

Curious, I focused my vision on him to trigger an Appraisal.

---

Name: Fritz Gender: Male | Age: 18 | Race: Human Occupation: Apprentice Mercenary (Rank E) Level: 5 HP: 44/51 (B) MP: 0/0 (E) Attack: 18 (B+) Defense: 2 (D) Agility: 2 (E) Magic Power: 1 (F)

【Skill】 Superhuman Strength: 3 (B)

【Magic】 None

---

His stats were even more lopsided than Fee’s. His physical strength was remarkable, but his other attributes were abysmal. He was a textbook glass cannon—or rather, a heavy club that lacked the speed to actually hit anything. In a game, he’d be the type of character who occasionally lands a massive critical hit but otherwise serves as a stationary meat shield.

Still, for the manual labor required for land development, he was perfect.

There’s going to be plenty of heavy lifting. I plan to use my magic for the bulk of it, but I don’t know how long I can keep that up. The original Yuri Louthaus certainly never used his powers for construction work.

“I see,” I said. “For now, guide me to Alf Village. I need to see the state of things.”

“Alf Village? What business do you have there? Wait... were you also hired as a guard?”

“Hardly. I’m the Lord of this entire region.”

“...Huh?” Fritz’s face went blank.

What did he think I was? Some wandering hermit?

“If you want to be my disciple, it means joining my house as a vassal. You still interested?”

Fritz didn't answer immediately. His hesitation told me everything I needed to know—the people of this region didn't exactly have a high opinion of the Louthaus family.

---

We traveled to Alf Village in a heavy, awkward silence.

Since my carriage was in pieces, most of our supplies were still sitting back with the wolf carcasses. We only carried what we could manage by hand.

Who was the idiot who thought dropping a carriage from the sky was a good tactical move? Oh, right. Me. I cursed my past self as I lugged the crates toward the village.

I knew my father had given me this territory because it was a dump, but the reality was worse than I had imagined. The fields were trampled and choked with weeds; they hadn't been tended to in months. Despite being a border territory plagued by Monsters, there wasn't a single defensive structure—not even a simple wooden fence to keep out predators.

The roads were nothing but rutted Earth, and the handful of houses were so rotten and dilapidated that a stiff breeze could have leveled them. It didn't look like a village; it looked like a graveyard for the living.

“Lord Yuri... is this really it?” Fee asked, her voice tinged with unease.

“Apparently. It’s... worse than I expected.”

As we poked around the ruins, an old man emerged from one of the hovels.

“It’s dangerous here,” he rasped. “The Monsters will be back any moment. You should flee while you can.”

“Don’t worry about them. We’ve already cleared out the ones nearby. I’m looking for the Village Head. Where is he?”

“I am the Village Head... but who are you? And what do you mean, cleared them out?”

“I don’t know if this qualifies as proof, but here.”

I reached into my bag and let a handful of Magic Stones spill onto the dirt. The old man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

“These... these really are Magic Stones. Then you truly defeated them?”

“I said I did, didn't I?”

“Thank you... truly, thank you. You’ve saved us. Did you... did you come because you saw our request for help?”

“You’re the second person to ask me that. No. I’m here because I’ve been appointed the Lord of this territory.”

I pulled out my Letter of Appointment and held it up for him to see.

“Oh... so we’ve finally been abandoned,” the Village Head sighed, his shoulders sagging. “I see. So you’re here to oversee the abandonment of the village and move us elsewhere?”

“Wrong. I’m here to rebuild this place. And I’m going to need your help.”

“...Eh? I’m sorry, my hearing isn't what it used to be. Could you repeat that?”

“I’m going to restore this village.”

“That’s—that’s impossible! This land has nothing! If we manage to gather even a few resources, the Monsters just swarm us and—”

I ignored his panicked rambling. I needed to secure the perimeter first. I began walking the boundary of the village, using Earth Magic to gouge massive trenches into the ground.

I had prioritized training Earth Magic specifically for land development. Because of my Mastermind nature, my magic was better suited for destruction than creation, but that worked in my favor here. I was very, very good at making holes.

In a matter of minutes, a deep moat encircled the village.

“There. Now Monsters can't get in except through the main path. I’ll install a drawbridge later.”

“To do this... in an instant...” the old man stammered. “We might actually be able to sleep tonight.”

It was a temporary fix, but it was a start. Now I had to figure out how to make this place livable.

“Now, where to begin...”

My thoughts were interrupted by the loud, rhythmic growl of Fee’s stomach.

“Lord Yuri, I’m hungry.”

I sighed. “Right. No use overthinking it on an empty stomach. We’ll eat first, set up a temporary shelter, and plan the rest tomorrow.”

“Um... do you actually have food?” the Village Head asked tentatively.

“Of course I do. I told you I’m here to restore the village. I’ve already arranged for merchants to come, and I brought enough supplies to get us started.”

I pulled some rations from my pack. The old man stared at the food as if it were a pile of gemstones.

“Is it... is it really alright for us to have some?”

“Don’t be tedious. How are you supposed to work if you’re starving? As the Lord, it’s my job to ensure my people can actually live.”

“But... the previous Lord, Lord Louthaus... he never helped us. He just bled us dry with taxes until we had nothing left. He never did a single thing for the village.”

“I’ve taken over now. I won't allow that. Besides, look at this place—there’s nothing left to tax anyway.”

We’d have to have a serious talk about the economy later, but that was a problem for another day.

“You better hurry up, or there won't be anything left,” I added, nodding toward the others.

“Huh?”

The Village Head looked over to see that Fee and Fritz had already inhaled half of the supplies I’d set out.

“W-wait! I’ll go call the others right now!”

The old man scrambled back toward the houses as fast as his legs could carry him, shouting for the remaining villagers to come out.