Steel and Mana

Chapter 3 – Coming of Age

“Not bad!” I said to myself, standing nakedly before a mirror. Although it was not a perfect mirror, it was more like… a big bronze plate reflecting my appearance. I was happy with what I was seeing. My body was improving daily; I was athletic and attractive with my slick, red hair and green eyes, a perfect mix if I say so myself. I was only 15, but damn, I looked charming! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving me some great genes!

When I turned 12, I was officially recognized as an adult, and in the past three years, I have been helping out my Mother. She was the one governing the villages, and I was traveling alongside her to act as a judge when disputes arose amongst the people. We were listening to complaints and problems, trying to negotiate solutions with other regions’ envoys, or acting as witnesses to deals and trials. It was pure politics, and I was surprised to see how fluently my Mother navigated through it. I… I don’t think I have the same patience that she does.

Also, I never wondered why my father trusted her with it… He was much more explosive in temper and quick in making decisions. Well, it did suit him on the battlefield. Despite his size, he was fast and agile, and his reflexes were such that I suspected he was also a transmigrated soul with an enhanced body… But that did not come clutch when it was about dealing with people. For that, my Mother perfectly balanced him out!

Only a few days ago, when I turned 15, I was given full reign of my life. I completed my studies of our land and its functions under my Mother’s watchful eyes. Now, I was to act on my own and gain experience in the world.

They made me sit down with them yesterday and told me that in the next three years, I will be left to my own devices. They won’t step in and only help out if I come up with a sensible request... Taking it like making a deal with another region's ruler. They wanted to see how I fared before I was marked as the inheritor of the line of Kalash. Good! Exactly what I wanted, and I think they understood my happiness from the light that danced in my green eyes. 

“First things first!” I started to dress up, turning away from my reflection. While I murmured, reciting the points from my notebook that I had used in the past years. 

• We need roads.
• Running water, plumbing, and a sewer system! We are in the mountains; we have multiple rivers and places where the snow never melts! We have ample sources for it, and I bet we have big underground reservoirs that we don’t know about!
• Need to get into animal farming. Our place is unsuitable for growing big swaths of wheat or whatever else… so we have to focus on what we can. We need better support besides importing food from my Mother’s home region.
• Resources. We need more resources. I saw how we are being ripped off by others who provide the raw metals and weapons for our armies, soldiers who are defending their greedy asses! We need to start to open up mines and survey the mountains! The pitiful surface-level operations we have is laughable.
• Modernization… But… those things can wait. First things first, I need to survey the towns and villages under our rule to determine which points are the most important.

Thinking about it, I just couldn’t wait to leave the castle! I already informed my parents that I plan to travel a little; I may be away for a month or so, visiting all the major cities and outposts, even if there is not much in our territory. Besides the town at the foot of the mountain, which housed around 5,000 souls, the rest of the settlements had a maximum of 1,000 people in them. Our whole region was as backwater as it gets, at the size of around 40,000 square kilometers and no more. In contrast, my Mother’s home region was double that, while the central region, where the capital city was built, was around 150,000 square kilometers. 

My goal with this trip was to familiarise myself with the terrain and the people and, most importantly, to search for things others missed. Resources that could be useful! I had to be back before winter settled in, as traveling in the heavy snow would be more dangerous than anything. Father does keep a firm grip over the territory, so the threat of bandits should be low. They are not nonexistent, as evil is always present where people live, but I should be fine with the training I received. 

“I should also try and invent something more… deadly. Or would it be… too much?” I thought out loudly while fastening my longsword on my waist. It was a simple, undecorated piece of metal made for killing and not for showing off. I was pretty proficient with it, learning my father’s methods by watching him and making him proud. He said that if I kept bulking, I would be able to match his raw strength… but no thanks. I like myself defined and lean, and he… well, damn, he is big. Would he think of me weirdly if I brought some firearms into a world of swords and shields? Or would he think of it as an improved archery? Something that my Mother was proficient with? He didn’t look down on that… but guns… eh, I will put it on the end of the list! “I am not here to start killing people anyway!” I grinned, slapping my face before leaving my room.

That’s right! I am not here to conquer the world, no! I am here to build up my region! I am bound to inherit it, especially because after my birth, my mom failed to get pregnant again. Was it my fault? I hope not… Even if it was, then it is my duty to provide her with some grandchild! I caught them speaking about it once, thinking of getting me wives so they have more heirs… and yes, they talked about it in the plural sense. Thanks, Mom, you are the best!

It also made me realize that the living standards are low, child mortality is high, and people don’t live that long. No wonder they don’t name the kids out of superstition until they turn two! My father was only 33 now, and my mom was 30… which meant when I came into this world, my dad was only 18 and my mom 15! And they were trying to make me for three years already… damn. Medieval ages, you are wild! They still looked young now, but that is because they were nobles. Regular people may live 40 or 50 years if they are lucky… This had to be changed! Better, longer life, more kids, more time to grow, more time to gain experience, and more time to enjoy life! 

Yes… Enjoying life, that is going to be my goal! I am okay being stuck in here, enjoying the peace, the clean air, and the beautiful scenery! Ahhh… precisely what my world already forgot about! I will also need to be careful not to mess it up; I don’t want to bring in technology from my memories that would start polluting the world… But, exactly, that is what magic is for, no? I have so many ideas, but first and foremost, I need to get some of those magic crystal things. And more refined knowledge about magic! I need to find a mage for that! How will I do it? I don’t know. But everything will come to a place! If nothing else, I will just wing it! It will be fine, I’m sure!

…

….

……

“Ahhh… the fresh air!” I took a deep breath, walking down the stone road, snaking down from the castle to the valley, watching the emerald fields and its lush grass fields, sparkling with the morning dew still sticking to it. I wasn’t going alone as Father made it so that Oleg, a warrior from his personal unit, was following me. 

I was wearing a simple leather outfit, best for traveling long distances and easily withstanding the wear and tear of the wilderness. With my height already at 180 centimeters and still growing, I was destined to reach my father’s size of almost 200 centimeters. At least, vertically… Then my eyes traveled to Oleg, who was even taller, with long, braided black hair and piercing blue eyes. His height was, if I had to guess, probably around 220 or 230 centimeters, and his body was just like my father’s. I was wondering how he managed to get in and out of the barracks at the castle…. Maybe only sideways, as he was built like a rhino. Was it because of my father? Did he make every personal soldier of his pump iron daily? Probably…

“Young Lord,” He noticed my gaze as he walked beside me. “You need not worry; I will protect you with my life if it comes to that!”

“I am not worried about that, Oleg! If I would face life-threatening attacks in my father’s territory… I would be disappointed!”

“True!” He laughed, slapping my shoulders, making me feel like I was hit by a truck once again, “It would be our shame as soldiers of Kalash!”

“Soldiers? Aren’t you guys being called the Pride of Kalash or something like that?”

“Bwahahaha! Yes, yes, but we are not to repeat it too much! Out of humility! It is what the common folk call us, but we are just soldiers!” 

“Common folk, eh?” I murmured, looking towards the most significant town we had here, the so-called capital of the region, Lionheart. Our castle was overlooking it from a bit farther away, up on the side of the mountains, and it was the picturesque image of what most medieval towns were in the history books. That was where we were heading right now. 

It won’t be my first time coming here. I visited many of the settlements, but I did it with my Mother. I entered the carriage in the castle, exited it at the local noble's courtyard... I never walked their streets. I was mainly in the background, dressed in the attire of a clerk or an insignificant helper. I wasn’t really introduced, so people would ignore me, and I could survey them more easily from the back. Mother’s mind did work in weird ways sometimes. I did wonder now how people would react to me. Would they recognize me? Would they see my parents’ features in me? Probably yes. That is why I was wearing a hat, hiding my crimson hair.

I was hoping I could pass on as an adventurer while Oleg was my companion or master. He couldn’t pass on as anything else but a warrior; it simply was ingrained into his body since birth. I was so excited… adventuring in a completely different world! I have been waiting for this since my rebirth!

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