Incoming Visit

It was now mid-September. Soon, summer would be giving way to autumn.

"You ready to go?"

"Yes, father."

Today, Rodin and Allen were heading out first thing in the morning.

Yesterday, Deboji had sent a messenger. To Rodin's surprise, the Village Chief wanted to see both him and Allen this time. The reason for the summons was not provided.

As always, Theresia, Mash, and Myulla were staying home. They saw Rodin and Allen off at the front door.

"Yo, Rodin. I knew it—you got called too."

Along the way, the father and son bumped into Gerda, who fell into step with them.

'Well, it's not surprising. Father and Gerda are the two who usually get summoned by the Village Chief—in fact, I'm the odd one out here.'

It was not uncommon for the Village Chief to call for Rodin and Gerda, as they were the de facto leaders of the serfs in the village. The great boar hunts were not the only reason Deboji would summon them—he would also ask them to take care of a large variety of minor miscellaneous affairs, such as mediating disputes between serfs. That said, it was mostly Rodin who took care of such intervention requests, as Gerda would resort to using his fists too quickly.

"Did you hear what he wants us for this time, Gerd?"

"Nah, I was only told to come."

'I mean, if it's all three of us, then it's very likely going to be about the great boar hunts. Does Deboji have something to say now, with the hunts starting up next month? He already told us to hunt fifteen last year and twenty this year. Has something changed?'

During the past three months, Allen had done everything he could to gather magic stones. He called out to the other serfs while drawing water, got on his hands and knees in Krena's garden to poke between the weeds, reached out to Dogora and Pelomas, and even hit up every store in the commercial area to ask if they had magic stones they did not need. Thanks to his backbreaking efforts, he ultimately managed to obtain more than two hundred stones.

Now there were quite a lot of Grass E cards in his storage. The reason he chose to go with Grass E was for the MP boost it provided. The more MP he had, the faster he could reach Summoning Lvl. 5, which would require a total of 3,000,000 Skill XP.

He was currently debating internally whether to join the great boar hunts next month. If he was to focus on accruing XP, then he should go. However, if he was to focus on earning money to free his family from serfdom, then staying home to hunt albaherons was the smarter choice by far.

In short, he was now torn on what he should be prioritizing: XP or Money. Because of this, he had yet to challenge Rodin again in arm wrestling. And in fact, he expected the outcome of today's talk to be a factor in helping him make a decision.

***

Allen remained absorbed in his thoughts the entire way as the group of three made their way to the Village Chief's house. When they stepped inside, they found themselves immediately escorted to Deboji's room, where he welcomed them with outstretched arms.

"There you guys are. I've been waiting."

"So, why'd you summon us? And why'd you want Allen too?"

'Oh wow, father's starting with the big question. I like it. Seriously, do I even need to be here? Is it that the equipment I requested is complete and he wants me to explain how they're meant to be used?'

"Now, now, there's no hurry," Deboji replied before gesturing for his servants to lay tea and snacks on the table.

'What?! These are actual confectionaries! It's my first time seeing any in this world. And they're... Oh my god, they're so gooood!'

The cookies, made from wheat and sugar, disappeared into Allen's mouth at an alarming rate. He had a huge sweet tooth.

In contrast, Rodin and Gerda simply frowned, showing no intention of reaching toward the plate. Deboji had never served them tea before when they visited, much less snacks.

"So? What'd you call us for?" Rodin asked again, his voice even more colored with wariness than before.

After taking another sip of tea and sighing softly, Deboji said, "The feudal lord is coming to Krena Village next month." Ignoring the confounded "What?!" from all three members of his audience, he then continued, "And he wants to see a great boar hunting session in person. Even I learned of this only yesterday. A messenger just arrived."

"You mean, we have to bring down a great boar while His Lordship is watching?" Gerda asked in a tone of disbelief.

Without missing a beat, Deboji replied, "That's exactly right."

Both Rodin and Gerda looked completely taken back. Allen would be turning eight next month, but not once had he ever heard talk of the feudal lord coming to their village. In fact, this might be the very first time since the village's founding thirteen years ago.

'What's this? Talk about a sudden development,' Allen thought before asking out loud, "Around when in October would he be coming?"

"I was told the middle of the month," Deboji answered before murmuring softly, "I knew it."

Allen noticed the strange reaction, but before he could say anything, Rodin asked, "And? What do you want us to do?"

"Just make sure the hunt goes off without a hitch. His Lordship will be watching, after all."

"We always do our best to make the hunts go off without a hitch. Okay, so the feudal lord is coming. How does that involve my boy?" Rodin finally asked the question he was most concerned about.

"The messenger also said that someone would be needed to accompany His Lordship and serve as his guide."

"What?!" both Rodin and Gerda exclaimed in unison when they saw Deboji turn to face Allen.

Allen pointed at himself. "Uh...me?"

"Mr. Deboji, if it has to be a kid, you've got one of your own too!" It was Gerda who exclaimed on Rodin's behalf.

"My son is a bit of a late bloomer, I guess you could say. Or more like, he's not very suited for this kind of thing. Allen would have to serve His Lordship at the dinner feast the night before the hunt as well. Do you think he'd be up to it?"

'Ah, so it's not just explaining what's happening during the hunt. Wait, is that why Deboji laid out snacks? Hmph, I'm not cheap enough to be bought off with something like this!' In spite of his thoughts, Allen threw another piece of cookie into his mouth.

Rodin groaned loudly as he thought hard about it. Of course, the right to answer did not lie with Allen, but with his father. After all, this was the feudal lord they were talking about. If Allen messed anything up in the presence of the feudal lord, it was Rodin who would have to take responsibility.

"I heard that it was Allen who devised both the new equipment and your current hunting method," Deboji pointed out, pressing his point. "He speaks clearly and has a sharp mind. He's perfect for the role."

Allen stared at Rodin as his own thoughts rattled around inside his head. He had no interest whatsoever in status—beyond that of his family living free and comfortably, that was. Back when he was selecting his character for this world, he had seen that the Summoner class was restricted to being born as a serf, but this had not made him to hesitate in the slightest.

Even now, he felt no desire at all to climb his way up into nobility after obtaining commoner citizenship. Rather, he would do everything in his power to avoid any situation that could potentially saddle him with a noble status, as he could only imagine it being a shackle that would prevent him from dedicating himself to leveling up. Serving the country was absolutely out of the question. That said, being a serf came with rather severe limitations.

'As long as I'm a serf, I wouldn't be able to go outside the village. That means I can't level up freely.'

The only time in the year when Allen could earn levels was during the brief window in autumn when he could hunt both great boars and albaherons.

His Rank E Summons remained largely unanalyzed, and there was much about even his Rank F Summons that he had not been able to explore yet. He very desperately wanted to do something to improve his current situation. At the same time, he also felt driven to raise his family's living conditions.

'If I remember right, there are two ways of escaping being a serf, right?'

According to what Gerda said, the first is to buy your way out, with the price being ten gold coins per person, and the second is for the feudal lord to grant you commoner status as a reward for some contribution or achievement.

Last autumn, Allen had done everything he could to earn money, and yet he had only gathered a little over three gold coins. At this rate, it would take him over ten years to free his entire family. There was no telling what could happen to them within such a long period of time, especially with how little freedom of movement they had and how low their social status was.

'I'd been trying to decide between joining the boar hunts and staying home to hunt albaherons, but now the answer is as clear as day.' Allen determined as he faced his father and said, "Father."

"Hm? What's the matter, Allen?"

"Please let me be the feudal lord's guide."

"What?!" Rodin exclaimed at his son's sudden request.

"I've got to tell him how hard you and everyone else in the hunting party are working!" Allen beamed brightly. 'If I can convince the feudal lord of the enormity of what father's done so far, he might just make him a commoner.'

Deboji's face lit up. "Ohhh! You're interested, boy?!"

Rodin looked surprised but did not express his opposition. Neither did Gerda. By now, they both had faith that Allen actually could accomplish what he said he could do.

"So, what're we gonna do now?" Gerda asked, moving the conversation along.

"Mr. Deboji, is the equipment I asked for done yet?"

"Mm-hm, they're in my warehouse. You want to see them now?"

"Yes, please. I want to go over how they're meant to be used and how it would affect the way the hunts go."

Allen decided to dedicate himself to the great boar hunts. With the Feudal Lord coming soon next month, it was time to kick things up a notch.