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WeD - V1C20 - Ulysses is Uneasy about Uncle’s Sugar Cube Intake
🕑 Added 2022-07-20 12:04:46 +0000 UTCSir Raymond Alexander of Ruskia was my uncle.
That said, Uncle Raymond is the youngest of many brothers. He was still in his 20s when my father and the rest of his other brothers were already in their late 30s.
He is quite a capable person but once in a while, [1] he did things I don’t quite understand.
“Come here, Your Highness Prince Ulysses!!”
“...Hello, uncle”
This uncle of mine is standing in front of me with a smile. I am smiling too but am no match for his refreshing and friendly grin. [2] He has always been the upbeat type.
“Your Highness, you like sweets and desserts, don’t you? I happened to stop by Margilia and Beigrates served me some really delicious lemon desserts. Apparently, they came from Delia Fields. Since you like sweets too, I want to share some with you!!”
“Woah, I’m really happy to hear that.”
[3] Looks like he is on good terms with the Feudal Lord of Margilia. The Duke of Beigrates must be one of his supporters.
While keeping up my childlike act, I continue to observe my uncle.
He has maroon hair similar to father’s but he has a tougher, more masculine look about him.
Although quite young, his heroic appearance probably came from his experience [1] managing the Imperial Army. However, he has a great weakness for sweet things and a rather refreshing personality. It is kind of terrifying to see him try to act cute sometimes.
Well, not that I have room to comment about others but I do believe that a person’s first impression is important. [2] Speaking of which, he’s still single.
It must have been a funny sight to see a young prince having a tea party with his fierce-looking uncle on the terrace of his house. This is not a sight we could simply show anyone.
Behind me, is Isaac. Similarly, my uncle has a black-robed mage standing behind him. Both mages are there to keep a lookout while the two of us have our little tea party.
“Still, is it really alright for my uncle, the military leader to have tea with me? Could the army spare you?”
“Hahaha, there no one is freer than soldiers of a country that experience no wars [4].”
Well, that is a fair point. It might be true, but still…
“But, uncle, you once stayed at the Eastern Continent, right? Was the war very fierce? I’m kind of interested in it…”
“.... Ahaha, you have an interest in wars now? Your Highness has certainly changed.”
Uncle’s wide shoulders stiffens as he laughed awkwardly. [2] I stare up at him with the eyes of a child who knows nothing.
Here is the thing, the Southern Continent has some slight connection with the Eastern Continent. [2] Though restrictions are strong, Ruskia still accepts immigrants into the country.
Uncle had stayed on the Eastern Continent and experienced what being in the war was like. Therefore, it could be said that he was one of the [1] prominent people of importance in the country who had experienced war.
“Fufu… the Eastern Continent is very different from the south. It was as though the war had greyed out the people in that place, sucking the very life out of everything. Moreover, things kept getting worse when Hermedes started invading from the north.”
“... Why does the Federation of Hermedes invade the Eastern Country?”
“Well, the north prioritizes land ownership. It was originally a very snowy country, and since it doesn’t have much fertile land, it needs as much land as possible to build farms and raise livestock. That country was destined to invade others sooner or later.”
“...”
Since the reply from my uncle was quite bland, I could not get any proper information out of it…
With nothing better to say, I take a bit of the lemon cake.
The sweet and citrusy lemon syrup on the cake spreads a refreshing sensation in my mouth.
Hmm, this is actually quite good.
Just then, I recalled something. A trading system from 2000 years ago.
“If only the Western Continent still exists… it used to be such rich land with lots of crops. I was able to trade food for all kinds of things from the north where dairy farming, jewellery making and all sorts of crafts could be had… The East has cotton, tea and spices so all kinds of goods would be traded in all three continents.”
“... eh? What was that?”
Ah. Oh no.
I accidentally blurted out something related to my previous life.
My uncle is now staring straight at me.
“I- it’s nothing… I was just thinking out loud about something I… read in a book.”
“... haaahh, Your Highness is quite diligent aren’t you? Speaking of which, hmm, I can’t imagine what the world was like 2000 years ago, but I do know that the west was mostly destroyed by the Crimson Witch. Survivors were forced to relocate due to the miasma particles left in the air [1] of her last battle. Thereafter, the great migration began with people rushing to the North and East. That was how the war began.”
While stroking his chin, uncle lined up four sugar cubes in the [2] four cardinal directions like the petals of a four-leaf clover.
“Of the three continents, the biggest food producer is the West. With the West gone and the world could not sustain the current growing population. In the end, cultural differences and discrimination led to the present situation today… in fact, I think it’s a crime for us to be the only ones not affected by the war.”
The beautifully made teacups with their exquisitely painted designs pretty much represent the condition of this country.
Uncle stares at the teacups for a long moment. I have no idea what is going on in his mind but then he suddenly scoops up all four sugar cubes and put them in this teacup and drank everything down in one gulp.
“Uncle… do you believe that the peace won’t last in the South?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, you’ve been collecting information from the East, haven’t you? As well as information on the Federation of Hermedes. Do you believe that war would come to this continent too?”
“....”
Uncle took his hand off his teacup with a downhearted expression. [2] I am surprised to see him look so defeated.
“W-What’s wrong, uncle?
“... I also wish that war would not come,”
Uncle adds more sugar cubes into his teacup and poured new tea over it.
I had to wonder how just sweet is that cup of tea?
“So long as we have the ‘Green Blessing’ this continent will never go to war… At least, that’s what the top people in Ruskia believe.”
Plop!
After the sixth sugar cube ripples the surface of the teacup, my uncle turns his gaze towards me.
The Green Blessing is the sacred power of the Church of Vabilophos. Something that the people of the Southern Continent has trusted and believed since ancient times.
What I know about this ‘Green Blessing’ is that it is basically a dome-shaped magical defence. [2] The religion that protects their sacred grounds is the one with the ability to manage and manipulate this dome. This is why religion has such great powers within the continent.
However, I don’t know how this magical defence works.
“We have no idea whether this protection would continue to hold up. It scares me that people would blindly believe that this ‘Green Blessing’ would protect us forever.”
“...”
I end up wanting to hear more from him.
This is the real reason why I am always a little reluctant whenever I am called to have tea with Uncle. [2] I will become too interested in what he has to say and be caught up with the flow.
Looks like Uncle isn’t one of those ‘peace will last forever in the South’ type of people, which is very refreshing to me.
Believing in a never-ending peace.
Occupying the land and believing that the sanctuary will protect them unconditionally without them ever having to do anything.
The people here just seem to take this peace for granted. [1] To the point where they developed their own problems such as poisoning and assassinating each other just to experience a sense of danger.
I knew that uncle should not be underestimated.
The only people who can question the peace of this country are those who have seen the outside world.
[Gumihou: This uncle…]
[1] Filling in the ‘Unspoken’. Often, when it comes to Japanese novels, the translation might be a bit lacking since the author deliberately chooses to use fewer words and let the reader fill in the blanks through a preset cultural understanding.
If the missing info looks too sparse, Gumi will fill in some of the blanks. This is not to imply that the writer’s craft is lacking, but we do have a cultural gap. Gumi will try to fill in these gaps unobtrusively.
[2] Adjust paragraphs, for aesthetic purposes. Also, connect short paragraphs into longer paragraphs.
[3] Reworded it so that it doesn't look like it's been cut and pasted from previous chapters.
[4] ‘No one is freer than soldiers in a country with no wars’
Interesting take on what soldiers do with most of their time. In fact, a lot of soldiers rarely see war, especially those in peaceful times but they are still busy. In the absence of war, soldiers can be drafted to do civil works and charity. During Roman times, Roman soldiers build roads and were experts at building forts too.
For the Marines, if you’re too free, you can take up educational courses, be drafted to paint rocks and all kinds of other non-war or training stuff.
