Resurrection of Duke Werstein ~ I Didn’t Hear Anything About Being A Middle-aged Man ~ 40

It was a place that could have been called the place.

The light from the stained glass windows that filled the ceiling silently illuminated the area.

Centered on the full moon made of glass, a circle was drawn around it, showing the legend of the gods, the legend of the hero and the saint, and their famous scene.

A boy who looked like a brave man took up a sword to fight a dragon, and a girl who looked like a saint was healing a fallen man, all shining in various colors in the sunlight.

In such an atmosphere with a strangely soothing air, there was a large pipe organ sitting proudly, but more than that, the statue of a beautiful woman in front of it caught my attention.

It was the goddess of the moon, Lunamilia, the national deity of the Kingdom of Lunamilia.

She is said to have descended from the moon and guided the first king, Roiz Lunamilia, who founded the kingdom.

With her benevolent and kind-hearted spirit and her golden eyes that saw everything.

She is the mother of the nation, the goddess of the nation, and the symbol of the Lunamilia religion.

The interior of the building is strangely similar to the chapels of the Renaissance churches that exist on Earth.

If I had to say, I would say that it differs from churches on Earth in that there is a lot of silver and blue in the decorations, probably because of the moon motif.

Through the colored glass, the various colors illuminate the floor, walls, statues, furniture, and the large pipe organ, giving the illusion of being in another world.

The scene is beautiful, but also somewhat fragile because of the glass.

The room was cleaned well, but inevitably there was dust from the wind that came in from somewhere else, reflecting the light like diamond dust.

"Father, is there a priest here?"

The call that I suddenly heard seemed to come from behind the large door that was the entrance to this chapel.

The figure that I could faintly see through the large, slightly open doors looked like a young boy.

He was probably just a year or two into his teens.

His voice echoed well in the chapel, which was built to reverberate and amplify sound.

The boy cowered a little, perhaps surprised by the louder-than-expected echo of his own voice.

Just then, a figure appeared from a door at the back of the chapel.

"Yes, yes, what is it? Oh, if it isn’t Richard-kun, what's the matter?"

The older man, with a somewhat surprised look on his face, walked slowly to the door and responded the boy.

He was an ordinary man of medium height, with grayish blond hair stroked back to the back of his head with hair conditioner, and wearing the unique white vestments of the Lunamilia church.

"Ah! Father! Oh, thank God! I'm glad you're here!"

The boy called Richard broke out in relief at the sight of the man, and ran over to him like a puppy.

For him, the presence of a priest was like a parent and the only salvation in his bleak life.

“Wawawa, what would do if the priest is not in the church?"

"Oh, come on, Father, you go to the tavern sometimes!"

"How do you know that?"

“Uncle Dan, the neighbor, has been talking about it."

“Uwah, really? Dan-san is terrible."

The priest laughed in annoyance, and the boy's innocent young face twisted into a smile.

But now he remembered that he had something more to report to the priest, so he hurriedly tugged on the priest's clothes.

"More importantly, listen to me, Father! The lord has come to this city!"

"What? Are the people of the city safe?"

The boy, but the priest changed his color.

He bent his knees so that he was at the same level as the boy and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, his eyebrows lowered in impatience.

He was so surprised that anyone could tell that he was worried about them. The boy didn't think that the priest was being deliberate at all, but rather he was happy that he cared so much about the people of the city and about them.

That's why the boy proudly and proudly put up his chest.

"It's okay, we all threw rocks at him to drive him away!"

But apparently, that was not a good response for the priest.

The moment he understood the boy's words, his expression turned impatient, and an unfamiliar sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Oh, my God, that's dangerous! How could you do such a thing!?"

The boy stared at the priest curiously as he asked the question in a voice that sounded upset, as if he was lamenting.

"Because the nobleman is a bad guy, right? Then you have to do that much!"

The uneducated boy didn't know what was wrong with it.

He just had a simple idea that bad guys should be killed.

The boy tilted his head, as if to say he was sincerely curious, or even frustrated as to why he was not praised.

The priest let out a sigh with worry on his face.

"…… Richard-kun, you may not understand it yet, but the nobles are dangerous."

"But they went away without doing anything, didn’t they?"

For the boy, all he could think of was that the lords hadn't stood up to him and had just turned tail and run away.

The fact that there were two dragons and the fire at that time were all fake, just for show by the lords.

But the priest, with the same worried expression on his face, spoke up as if to rebuke him.

"... The nobility you see, Richard-kun.

They think of us commoners as nothing more than trash."

"I know! Isn't that what the priest often says?"

The boy, who smiled without seeming to be offended, asked the question back as if it were obvious and stared at the priest with sparkling eyes.

It was a matter of course for him, common sense.

It was inevitable, since he had no knowledge of the nobility other than that.

But it was the priest who became impatient.

"Richard-kun, you don't know how dangerous nobles are!

The fact that you think we're nothing but trash means that they think they can get rid of us so easily!"

The boy's shoulders shivered as the priest suddenly raised his voice.

It was the first time I had ever seen a priest with such a strong sense of urgency, the boy's lips trembled as he realized that the priest was not the same as usual.

"Even if it's okay for now, there's no telling when the punishment will be handed down…!"

"Oh no, what am I supposed to do now!?"

With the priest's words, the boy finally seemed to realize the gravity of the situation.

However, as an uneducated person, he had no idea what the right or best thing to do would be.

Frightened out of his bloody mind, he squeezed the gorgeous vestments in front of him, not understanding that the priest's clothes were wrinkled.

As the boy trembled and shook, the priest stared back into his eyes and opened his mouth with a serious expression.

"Anyway, gather the stone-throwers here, because the church is inviolable territory, and we need everyone to evacuate."

"Okay, I'll go get the others…!"

"Be careful!"

He looked scared but determined. The boy ran out with a cheerful shout of yes!

The priest looked after the boy until he was out of sight, and then slowly closed the large doors of the chapel.

He then exhaled a small breath as he brushed the boy's touch away with a look of disgust on his face in the empty chapel.

"…… Tch, being too stupid is also a problem… what a pain in the ass it turned into…"

An abject murmur fell in a whimper.

As for what happened after that, tea was prepared and we were treated to a bit of hospitality because after all, it was going to be a long story.

It seems that tea was made in this territory as well, and with such a simple explanation, the little brother placed a cup of tea in front of me along with some delicious-looking cookies.

I heard that this land, which is close to the sea and can easily import various things thanks to the port, has been experimentally producing various things, but Augusto-san's memory of such information stopped 12 years ago, so I felt slightly uncomfortable when I actually saw something I had only seen in writing in front of me.

I can't say that I remember it, it wasn't even a prototype yet, it was like such a thing jumped through time and was right in front of me.

I knew it, but I didn't know it.

I don't know, but I knew.

The current me, made up of Augusto-san's memories, the information I've recently acquired, and myself, who knows nothing, is, how should I say, unbalanced.

As I was staring at the steamy surface of the tea, I suddenly heard a voice.

"So, Young Master, what are you going to do?"

When I turned my gaze from the tea to the voice, I saw Augusto-san's childhood friend smiling wryly.

Yes??

I was in a hurry because my consciousness had been elsewhere and I was suddenly pulled back to reality.

Wait, what do you mean, do what?

The territory? Are you talking about the territory? Or are you talking about the people who live there? Or are you talking about the periodical exchange you just had? Which one?

I had a series of questions running through my head, but I couldn't just say them out loud, so I decided to just say it.

"You're missing the subject, start over."

A smug face.

However, a complete smug face is not suited for Augusto-san, so I made a calm, unconcerned, and dignified smug face based on no expression.

Of course Augusto-san is cool, but I'd rather see him from afar if I can.

I can think of any number of reasons, but I don't know why this is me. I don't understand.

Let me say it again, I don't get it.

“Tch, you know what I'm talking about, but you still have a bad personality, Young Master."

He let out a sigh as he reacted with the exaggerated cowering of his shoulders that I've seen so often in American dramas, but let me tell you, I don't understand any of it.

What is this, harassment?

There is a context to dialogue, and you have to be able to guess from the conversation before and after!

It's common in mystery plays, but this is real life!

Who wrote the script? I mean, it's real, but come on!

I know I'm thinking something incomprehensible, but I'd like to leave it at that. As if.

I mean, there's something that's bothering me. Can I say one thing?

"Can't you do something about the way you call me Young Master?"

"No matter what you say, to me, Young Master will always be Young Master."

What do you mean?

“…Brother."

"Oh, man! You're so inflexible, all of you!"

“Ernesto, you're being very rude. Come on, let's get on with it. Master's waiting."

"Hey, hey, seriously, can’t be helped…"

In response to the rebuking remarks by the younger brother and the butler-san, the old man again overreacted and let out a sigh of relief, thinking that this is probably the kind of person he is.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

I wonder what this is.

"So, Young Master, you've seen the city, haven't you? What did you think?"

The sudden but serious question echoed in the quiet room.

His greenish gray eyes, the same color as his hair, were staring at me.

No, no, please don't look at me like that, I'm scared.

I want to praise myself for not saying such a rude thing.

Because there's an old man who looks like a mafia boss staring at me, it's scary.

However, I didn't have time to think about that, so I decided to think back on the city to answer the question.

It's hard to tell from the carriage, but I'd say it's prosperous.

The cobblestones were clean and there was no trash to be seen.

I have an image that poor cities have a lot of garbage.

But I could tell that he was very frustrated.

Well, I don't think that's it.

"...... The number of people who are dumb as a rock has increased."

I don't know why, but they did throw a rocks. They also threw desks and chairs.

The street was a mess.

I think it burned a little.

I don't think they would have done that if they weren't so stupid.

Speaking of which, what did you do to clean up the mess?

"Yeah, I heard about it. I heard that you just walked right past all those people throwing rocks at you."

The old man smiled daintily with a low chuckle that sounded like he was making a noise deep in his throat, he really looked like a mobster.

"Did you have a problem with that?"

"No? If you punished them badly, you'd get into trouble."

I was right. Good for me!

"So, what's your point?"

"The only reason there are so many dumb people is because we haven't created a place for them to learn, and the Church has been blocking us."

“How?"

"They say it's the church's job to give to the people, to help them learn."

"I see."

So these people must have been doing something to get people to learn.

Lunamilia is the state religion, and maybe that's why they couldn't push back.

"What about the church?"

"They said that the people were too busy living and that it was too much to ask them to learn more."

"So they're not teaching them anything?"

"Yes, they do. To the Church, the nobility is evil."

"Oh, so they're just mass producing idiots."

"Haha, yeah.

But aren’t, you the one who caused it, Young Master?"

“...I guess."

The words he said with a serious gaze were so right on target that it hurt my ears.

At any rate, I am aware that I have done nothing.

Well it's not me, it's Augusto-san.

I don't want to say that, because it would sound like an excuse, and I'd rather say, what are you talking about?

So I'm really, really sorry about that. I think I'll just say that.

It's not my fault, and I think I'm free to think of it as something else, even if I can't help it.

"So, back to the topic at hand, what are you going to do about it, Young Master?"

Oh, I see, that's how it's connected.

No, I don't get it, you idiot.

I'm not that smart, what do you think I am?

I think about this inwardly as I whine about it.

There are so many problems in this territory.

The fact that there are so many stupid people means that they are gullible, and in other words, they are convenient money-grubbers, ducks, or something like that.

I guess it's too late to create a place to learn.

But we can't just leave it like this, and we can't just abolish the church.

I'm stuck here, I don't know what to do.

The quickest way would be to make people aware of it themselves, but....

Well, that's impossible! There's nothing we can do about it unless there's a serious incident.

Before that, the church is giving prejudiced education in the name of brainwashing, so even if we tell them something is wrong now, they won't believe it.

But if we take a hard stance, it will only make the trust they have in us disappear even more.

I wonder if the church could do something that would make everyone lose trust in them.

... It's a national religion, right?

Well, it would be a good thing if I could get some weaknesses, so I'll just ask him to look into it.

In the meantime, I decided to talk to the old man in front of me with a cool, smug face.

"You know what you have to do, don't you?"

Based on the idea that this old man probably overestimated me anyway, I decided to throw myself at him.

Then, sure enough, the old man in front of me opened his mouth, with a smile on his face that made him look like an evil person.

"Haha, of course. That's how it should be…!"

I don't know what the hell he's going to do, and I'm scared as hell, but I'm going to ignore him.

You can do whatever you want now! I don't know!

"If there's a problem, tell Alfred... Alfred, please."

“Wa, understood."

I put on a blank face and shoved a delicious cookie into my mouth.

Then we talked about the future, but the discussion started without me, so I left it alone and before I knew it, it was over.

The tea was delicious, yes.

Well, as it turned out, we seemed to have come to an agreement somehow, but I didn't listen to the discussion properly, so I don't really know what was decided.

No, I'm sure it's in Augusto-san's specs in my head, but I'd like to set it aside for now.

Well, if I were to summarize and explain it simply, it seems to be that unless something really bad happens, I should just watch from on high and do what I usually do.

I don't like it when people say things like that because I feel like something terrible might happen, but if it does, then so be it.

I'm going to be flexible and improvise as usual, but that's all I can do.

By the way, that exchange between the evil officer and the Echigoya¹-like, cause was Augusto-san after all.

Before I entered this body, Augusto-san had been making a name for himself, and his brothers and sisters under him looked like that, too, and they seemed to have caught a lot of people who seemed to have a lot on their mind.

But the amazing thing about them is that they didn't get angry and decided to take advantage of it.

In other words, that exchange was a way of using us as bait, a way of exposing the pus in the Werstein territory, or something like that.

Believing that Augusto-san would come back someday, they had been waiting for him for twelve years, covered with stigma and mud.

When I think of that feeling, I feel very complicated, but Augusto-sam is no longer here.

It's just too much, isn't it?

And they don't even realize that he's a different person inside.

It seems that the king and queen were the same, but they seem to think that the difference between me and the original Augusto-san is due to the fact that I became a wise man.

I'm grateful, but it's complicated, because no one is allowed to know who I am.

I'm grateful for the fact that I'll be able to assign the personnel that are really needed in this territory.

I'm going to scrutinize the list of rascals later.

No matter how much of a jerk they are, there might be a use for them other than being moved to the left or fired, so I have to work a little harder.

Can I say something?

What a pain in the asssssssssssss!!!!!

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A/n: Thank you so much for the comments and ratings.

It's very encouraging, I'll do my best.

I apologize for the slow and steady pace, but I hope you will continue to support me.

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[1] : 越後屋(Echigoya) - Echigo; old name for Niigata Prefecture​; yeah I can’t get anything more clear than this, sorry.