Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 5

A New Family Name 

Satou here. In modern Japan, it’s standard for normal families to have a family name, but ordinary people often don’t have one in games and such, thanks to game planners like Mr. Tubs who think it’s annoying to come up with them. 

With the demon disposed of, I lowered the hood of my red coat, exposing my long blond wig and silver mask to the public as I soared through the central street toward the main gate. 

The wig and mask were designed to stay in place even when I was running, so it wasn’t a problem. 

There were still hundreds of goblins at the main gate fighting to invade the city. 

However, now they were trying to escape the rampaging forest giants outside the town. 

“… ? Balloon Kyuubouchou!” 

Mia’s Water Magic hurled the goblins back over the gate. 

Arisa and Nana were at Mia’s side, and the beastfolk girls and Miss Karina were near the gate. Hauto was in the tower on top of the gate with many of the civilian soldiers, while Lulu was assigning duties in the inn. 

The goblins were throwing stones over the gate, but Nana blocked them with her shield, and Arisa’s Psychic Magic spell Mind Blow knocked out the little imps. 

The beastfolk girls and Miss Karina beat down any enemies that tumbled into the city from Mia’s spell. 

The other soldiers were providing cover for these four from the rear. 

I passed behind Mia as she chugged a magic recovery potion, stopping in front of the castle gate. 

“Lady Karina!!” 

“Who is that?!” 

“A hero.” 

I answered loudly, courtesy of my “Ventriloquism” skill. That was my best imitation of the voice actor Nakaji Jouta. 

I moved past the surprised Miss Karina and used Short Stun to knock back the goblins encroaching on the gate, placing my hand on the warped steel. 

With a little force, I bent the steel like putty. 

In less than a second, the opening in the gate was gone. It wasn’t the most professional repair job, but a craftsman could probably fine-tune it later. 

I went back to stand before Miss Karina and the others and asked her to deliver a message to the baron and Miss Nina. 

“Young lady. Let it be known to the baron that all the demons in the territory have been destroyed.” 

I was careful to speak differently from Satou. 

Then, I leaped to the top of the tower. It would’ve looked cool to get there in a single bound, but I ended up doing three little jumps off a few footholds on the outer wall and the adjacent tower. 

“You protected the city well. Leave the rest to me.” 

I landed next to Hauto, thanking him for his service. 

Raising an open hand toward the goblins, I laid waste to them with a rain of Short Stuns. 

Since goblins were so fragile, this spell was the most efficient method to deal with them. 

A rumble of surprise rose from the militia, but I ignored them and mopped up the rest of the goblins outside the city with Short Stun and Magic Arrow. 

With the map, I identified remaining enemies besides the ones near the forest giants, sniping them with Magic Arrows. 

In the process, I learned that the range of this spell was over a mile and a half. 

Once I’d disposed of the fourteen hundred goblins and two hundred zombies outside the main gate, I left the tower. There was no trace of the wraiths that the demon had made. 

I told Hauto the same thing I’d said to Miss Karina, to take the report to the castle. The information was redundant, but my main goal was to get Miss Karina and Hauto to go back to the castle without stopping to check on Satou first. 

Then I bounded out of the city, disappearing from the people’s sight. 

After that, just as I’d intended, Miss Karina and Hauto returned to the castle without stopping by to see me. 

After I left the city, I visited the thieves’ hideout hidden in the mountains four miles away from Muno City to collect the chaos jar the demon had described. 

The attacking thieves had not only murdered the bureaucrats and their guards but stolen all their valuables. 

The thieves responsible for the crime had given in to curiosity and opened the lid of the chaos jar. They all lay dead with expressions of fear frozen on their faces. 

I had a feeling they’d turn into undead if I left them like that, so I made a deep hole with Pitfall and cremated them in it with Fire Shot. 

Finally, I stowed away the chaos jar and left the place behind. 

I’d recovered the treasures that the bandits stole, too, of course. I thought they could come in handy for rebuilding Muno City. 

I returned to the battlefield in the light of the setting sun. 

Illuminated by the sunset, the corpses of monsters and the now-motionless bodies that were once zombies made for a sobering reminder of the impermanence of life. 

I paused to give a moment of silence for them and started to leave, then had a sudden realization. 

If I left them here like this, they might poison the earth or water supply. 

If I remembered correctly, there was a part in a Warring States time-travel novel I’d read where some villagers died of disease while clearing away bodies. 

I guess I can cheat a bit with my map and Storage here. 

I marked the corpses on my map and set them to appear on my radar as yellow dots. 

Then, I ran around the battlefield with the yellow dots on my radar as my guide, collecting each body as soon as it was in range of Storage. 

I lost track of how many rounds I made. Finally, as dusk was settling over the battleground, I finished recovering all of them. 

…That was pretty tiring. 

The monster corpses were fine in Storage, but the human bodies would have to be returned to the bereaved families in the city. 

I sorted the corpses in Storage according to their former station in life, laying them down in four-foot-deep pits dug with magic. 

Their relatives could decide whether to cremate or bury them. After another moment of silent prayer, I left the graveyard. 

My work finally done, I sneaked into the city under cover of darkness, returning to the room in the inn where everyone was waiting. This was after I removed my Hero disguise and title, of course. 

“I’ve returned.” 

“Welcome back, master,” said Liza, and everyone else followed suit. 

“Welcome baaack!” 

“We were worried, sir!” 

Pochi and Tama had been worried about me this whole time; they climbed all over me, nuzzling their faces against my head. 

Their relief soon gave way to fatigue, and they started nodding off as they clung to me. I stroked their heads and laid them down on the bed. 

“Master, here.” 

Lulu handed the Garage Bag and Holy Stone back to me. She’d been in this room activating it again and again so that the invading monsters wouldn’t spread into the city. 

“Great work, Lulu.” 

I patted her head gently in thanks for her hard work behind the scenes. 

Lulu smiled a little proudly. 

“Hero?” Mia mumbled something and tilted her head. 

Maybe she meant to ask if I was really a hero and not a peddler? 

“Mia figured out that it was you before we even said anything! She said a spirit told her,” Arisa explained quietly in my ear. That was all well and good, but I’d have appreciated it more if she hadn’t tried to lick my ear in the process. 

Was the dryad the “spirit” she was talking about? 

Since I’d still had the Hero title when the dryad helped me escape from the Cradle, she’d probably figured it out then. I’d have to ask her not to spread that information around too much next time we met. 

“Master acquired the title of Hero and a Holy Sword when he fought my former master to save Mia, I report.” Nana explained the situation to Mia for me. 

That wasn’t quite accurate, but the elf seemed satisfied with this account, so I left it at that. 

I was a bit too tired to go to the trouble of clarifying things anyway. 

“Master, I need more magic supply, I request.” 

“Sorry, but can you use a magic potion for now? I’ll do it in the morning.” 

Normally, I’d be more than happy to help, but I wasn’t really up for it right now. 

Somehow, despite her expressionless face, Nana adopted the dejected air of an abandoned puppy. 

I told everyone to keep the fact that I was a hero a secret, and we decided to spend the night right there in the inn. 

Pochi and Tama still didn’t know that I was the hero. 

I wasn’t sure whether to tell them myself or not, but Liza and Arisa suggested that I keep it from them until they were older, so I decided not to say anything unless it was necessary. 

We shouldn’t get caught up in any major strife in the future, so I doubted it would be a problem. 

The forest giants had returned to the forest while I was dealing with the thieves, so I wasn’t able to see them off. 

The next morning, Miss Karina came and brought us to the audience room of Muno Castle. 

“Satou, as a father, I am deeply appreciative to you for saving Karina’s life. And as a lord, I thank you for your tremendous contributions toward defeating the demon.” 

These were the baron’s very first words to me as we entered the castle. 

Still, shouldn’t those things have been in the reverse order? Goodness, what a doting baron. 

After that, Miss Nina joined the nobleman in thanking us repeatedly for rescuing the barony from its grave crisis. Finally, she took over to discuss my reward for saving the territory. 

“Now, we will certainly confer a medal of honor upon you later, but our debt to you is quite large. A medal alone isn’t nearly enough. As far as prizes that the baron has the authority to give…” 

As Miss Nina spoke, Miss Karina’s face blushed red. Miss Nina glanced at her, then at the girls behind me. 

“…A beautiful woman or a title. Which would you desire?” 

The reason money wasn’t presented among the options was probably because the city’s finances were in such dire straits. 

At this rate, I had a sneaking suspicion I was about to end up on the road to marriage with Miss Karina. 

She was certainly gorgeous, but if she became my wife, I’d doubtless end up having to spend my life in the service of the Muno Barony and probably wind up being buried here, too. 

Personally, I’d like to continue to be free to travel the world. 

“My apologies, but I have no need for either. A medal is more than enough.” 

“How noble, to be so free of desire.” Miss Nina raised her eyebrows at me doubtfully. 

Miss Karina’s expression clouded, but I had to harden my heart and ignore her. I couldn’t make everyone happy all the time. 

“It’s not as though I have no desires at all. My greatest wish is to travel and see as much of the world as possible with my own eyes, you see. A noble who cannot stay and serve his territory is hardly worth having, right? Besides, I’m far too young to take a bride.” 

“There’s nothing unusual about marrying an adult, is there? Those girls behind you aren’t your wives?” 

The moment Miss Nina asked that question, I felt an incredible sense of pressure from the kids behind me. 

Okay, time to follow the example of harem protagonists throughout history and act totally oblivious. 

“Well, they’re all like family to me, but none of them is my wife.” 

I felt a chorus of disappointed sighs behind me, along with a relieved one from Miss Karina. 

“How about Lady Karina, then? She may be slightly past her prime, but she’s beautiful and has childbearing hips. Surely you wish to have strong, healthy children?” 

Miss Karina pouted unhappily at Miss Nina’s rude comments, though the compliment toward her beauty made her blush. It was kind of cute, but if I let that show, Miss Nina would take that as encouragement, so I rode it out with the help of my “Poker Face” skill. 

Miss Soluna stood calmly next to Hauto. 

“But for a mere commoner to aspire to marry a baron’s daughter—,” I began, but then Miss Soluna turned toward me with a smile, and I quickly corrected myself. 

That was close. I’d forgotten that Hauto, who was clearly her sweetheart, was a commoner, too. 

“—would be wonderful, of course. But as long as I am traveling the world, I have no intention of taking a bride.” 

“I see…” 

Miss Nina put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. 

Then she whispered something in the baron’s ear, and he gave his consent. 

“Very well, Satou. We shall make you an honorary hereditary knight.” 

“Lady Nina—” 

I started to protest, but she raised a hand to silence me. 

“We will not ask you to do any work for the barony. Your duty would be to travel the lands as a vassal of the territory.” 

Say what? Do they want me to gather intelligence about other territories? 

“We would not ask you to play at being a spy, of course.” 

Wait, they wouldn’t? What does she want me to do, then? 

Miss Nina cut me off as I opened my mouth again. “However, it is important that you visit many different lands as our vassal.” 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand. What is it you wish to ask of me, Miss Nina?” I still didn’t get it, so I decided to just cut to the chase. 

“Are you aware that the Muno Barony is rumored to be a ‘cursed territory’?” 

“Yes, though I do not know the reason.” I nodded slowly. 

“They say any noble who visits this place will be doomed to misfortune. There were many other nobles who claimed to be the lords of this area before our baron Muno, but almost all of them met with accidental or mysterious deaths. To make matters worse, most of the nobles who’ve visited after Baron Muno’s inauguration have since suffered illnesses or become bedridden. Because of all that, an absurd rumor spread that our territory is cursed.” 

The former was probably thanks to Zen or his subordinates, and the latter had most likely been the result of trying to enter the City Core room and falling victim to Zen’s curse. 

“My role would be to spread the word to other territories that the Muno Barony is safe, then?” 

“That’s right. We haven’t been able to dispose of the rumors ourselves because we’ve been unable to solicit the help of any capable nobles.” Miss Nina nodded and continued, “Besides, it really is necessary for you to receive a rank. On top of everything else, we can’t have people thinking that we are so stingy that we’d reward such great services with a mere medal. It’s not that we think you would spread any such rumor, of course. But there is always gossip wherever one goes.” 

Miss Nina shrugged and sighed. 

“At any rate, there’s no need to be so cautious about it. An honorary hereditary knight’s title is hardly a huge affair. It’s the lowest class of nobility. Older noble families might even treat you as a fake. Still, it should prove useful to you!” 

I couldn’t think of any reason why it would, but Miss Nina grinned. 

“Our barony and our neighbors in the Ougoch Duchy aside, discrimination against demi-humans is quite strong in northern territories, is it not? If you become an honorary hereditary knight, commoners will treat you as a nobleman. In other words, your slaves will be treated with respect as the property of an aristocrat. That should make for better service than you’d get as a lowly commoner.” 

I had to admit, that sounded appealing. It’d be worth it just to not be refused accommodation at inns anymore. 

In the end, Miss Nina’s trump card won out, and Baron Muno granted me the position of honorary hereditary knight. 

After that, we were given rooms in Muno Castle where we would stay until the knighting ceremony, but these days ended up being very busy. 

For instance, I consulted Miss Nina about the fortress where the escaped and abandoned serfs were staying, and for some reason, she decided they should be my servants with the fortress as my villa. 

I helped apprehend soldiers who’d committed felonies and find the hidden assets of embezzling officials. 

I secretly gifted the gold I’d found in Marquis Muno’s hidden treasury to the barony in the name of the “Silver-Masked Hero.” 

I wrote a letter to Zena about the wraith we battled in the ruined fortress and sent it to Seiryuu City. 

I paid in full to have the maids create Victorian-era outfits and adopt them as their uniform. 

Lulu and I got the head chef of the castle to teach us some cooking basics in exchange for slipping him recipes for things like fried chicken and mayonnaise. 

I watched Liza and the others taking on some bandits as training. One chivalrous thief disavowed his group and joined the army, just like a protagonist from historical fiction. 

I helped make a real gabo-fruit field inside Muno City by hiring people from the slums to work in exchange for monster meat and residence in the barracks. 

I had the opportunity to listen to Baron Muno excitedly discuss his research on heroes at a tea party with Miss Soluna, Pochi, Tama, and others. 

I wasn’t able to get any new scrolls at the magic shop, but it turned out that the baron had a viscount cousin who ran the only scrollmaking studio in the kingdom, so he wrote a letter of introduction for me. 

I also borrowed a studio that no one was using to work on various projects, like making a new carriage. 

I used hydra materials to make a hang glider and rode it to the giants’ village, where I thanked them with a whole roast of rocket wolf and a barrel of Shigan sake from Muno City. 

I disposed of the monster the weaselfolk fisherman had mentioned previously and received the boat in return. 

On the way back, I stopped by the mountain hut I’d made to find a letter of thanks and the bluesilver sword from the kobold girl, so I knew she’d been able to mine the blue crystals successfully. 

Finally, I exterminated the monsters that had dammed the river near Muno City, restoring the flow to normal. 

Now the farmland in front of Muno City should be easier to cultivate, too. 

There was a ton of gabo fruits left from the demon magistrate’s goblin-breeding efforts in the nearby towns, so Miss Nina said they should have enough food for a while. 

In addition, Miss Nina taught me various things about my new rank. 

Just as I’d thought before, a viscount really was higher than a baron. 

The honorary nobility of one generation was technically treated along the same lines as permanent nobility, so I could think of the order as viscount, honorary viscount, then baron. 

When I asked why the honorary viscount Nina would be the magistrate of Baron Muno, then, she said it was because he was the lord of a territory. 

She went on to explain that in the Shiga Kingdom, the custom was to treat any lord with just as much respect as a count, regardless of the lord’s original position. This was probably due to the City Cores. 

On top of that, since Baron Muno had taken control of the City Core—or “become the true lord,” as Miss Nina put it—he would be officially promoted to the position of count at the next kingdom meeting. 

In that case, this confusing rank-reversal situation would be solved as well. 

“Do you have any preferences about your family name?” 

“My family name?” 

Ten days after the decision to grant me the title of honorary hereditary knight, I was called into Miss Nina’s office and instructed to decide on my name as a noble. 

According to her, she’d finally gotten her case for urgency approved and was making preparations for my knighting ceremony. 

“An honorary noble title is limited to one generation, isn’t it? Is a family name really necessary?” 

“It is indeed only one generation, but a surprising number of houses continue to receive honorary titles for many generations.” 

I nodded thoughtfully at her explanation. 

“Right! Even if a single-generation noble is viewed as an upstart, they still have more money than a poor or fallen noble. There are some territories where you can buy a title with money, and you can get an excellent education for your children, after all.” 

Arisa, who was helping Miss Nina with paperwork, piped up from behind a stack of documents. 

Because Miss Nina had eliminated so many corrupt officials when she came back into power, the government was short on manpower. 

At first, Arisa had only been delivering lost items to officials, but she sympathized when she saw how busy they were and offered to help by sorting office documents. 

Then, she naturally moved from sorting to assisting with processing the paperwork, and eventually wound up with the position of being Miss Nina’s assistant. Apparently, Arisa had a knack for accounting. 

“Is Arisa being helpful?” 

“Yeah, enough that I wish you’d leave her here to work as my aide.” 

“Oh my, that wouldn’t do. I’m fully dedicated to my master in mind and body alike!” Arisa shot me an exaggerated wink, so I rolled my eyes and patted her on the head. 

“Well, I’m sure you can’t come up with one on the spot, right? I’ll give you a couple of days to decide.” 

“How about, say, Tachibana?” 

As I recall, that was Arisa’s last name in her previous life. 

“I’ll pass, thanks.” 

“Yes, I believe there’s already a hereditary knight named Tachibana. You can check with the civil official Yuyurina about whether a certain family name’s available or not. She studied heraldry at the royal academy, so she’d know better than I would.” 

“All right. I’ll try and come up with a few possibilities to ask about.” 

Her business with me finished, Miss Nina returned to her paperwork. 

If I remembered right, Yuyurina was the quiet civil official with brown hair in a refined braid. 

After a few words with Arisa, I left the office. 

I racked my brain for a good family name as I strode through the corridor, but nothing came to mind. 

Of course there was my real surname, Suzuki, but then my name in this world would sound so Japanese that I might forget my real one, so I decided against it. 

As you might’ve guessed from my character name, I’d always been pretty arbitrary in naming things, so I decided to poll everyone else for ideas. 

“Familyyy?” 

“Family’s great, sir!” 

The nearest members of my group were Tama and Pochi in one of the Muno family’s private rooms, but they didn’t know what a “family name” was. 

The two of them were sitting next to Miss Soluna and munching on something that looked like fried fish with bones sticking out. Kinda dull for a teatime snack, if you ask me. 

These three were the only people in the room. The baron was in the office next door and would be battling paperwork until the next day. Hauto was patrolling the city with Liza and Nana. 

“A family name? Well, if you marry our darling Karina, I’m sure you could take over the Donano family name.” 

Miss Soluna smiled mischievously. Donano had been the baron’s family’s surname until they took over the Muno name. 

Baron Muno also had the title of Baronet Donano, so whoever married Miss Soluna or Miss Karina in the future would take that family name and rank. 

“That seems quite intimidating, so I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” 

“Oh well. Karina has a tough road ahead of her.” 

Miss Soluna giggled after me as I left the room. 

“Sorry, but could you let me through?” 

“Ah, Sir Knight!” 

“Please, go right ahead!” 

The cluster of maids in front of the kitchen entrance moved aside to let me in. 

“Oh-ho, good to see you, Sir Knight.” 

“Welcome back, master.” 

Lulu, who was deep-frying something with the head chef, Miss Gert, turned toward me. 

“That’s a nice color,” I said. “I think the fire’s a little too strong, though. You should probably tone it down some before the outside gets burned to a crisp.” 

“Ah, I’m sorry!” 

I took over for Lulu to adjust the fire. 

Before Miss Nina had sent for me, the three of us had been frying wild-boar cutlets. 

“It’s remarkable that you can tell the temperature just by looking.” 

I smiled at the astonished Miss Gert, then moved the boar cutlets to the net that served as a draining rack. 

Cutting one in half with a kitchen knife, I made sure that it had cooked all the way through. The coating had turned black, but it should still be edible, at least. 

“What should we do? Pawn them off on the maids who didn’t get lunch?” 

“Yes, please do! It’s all right if it’s not perfect!” 

“We’ll eat anything you cook, Sir Knight!” 

I presented to one of the maids a plate complete with sauce and mayonnaise. 

Personally, I didn’t think mayonnaise and pork cutlets went together very well, but I held my tongue. The maids loved mayo. 

“Hooray! Two per person, all right?” 

“Delicious!” 

“No fair, Erina! Don’t put so much mayo on one piece!” 

“Girls, if you’re going to be this noisy, I won’t give you any more samples!” 

“We’re sorry, Miss Gert!” 

After roaring at the bickering maids, Miss Gert went back to preparing the next pork cutlets with Lulu. 

As I helped them out, I decided to get Lulu’s opinion on a family name. 

“A family name? How about Kuvork, then?” 

Kuvork was the kingdom that Arisa and Lulu had come from. It had also been Arisa’s family name when she was a princess. 

“I don’t think that would be wise. It’d be like picking a fight with the regions that invaded the Kuvork Kingdom.” 

“I suppose so… Ah, then maybe…? Oh, never mind.” 

Lulu seemed to have an idea, but she wouldn’t spit it out. When I pressed the subject, she offered the surname “Watari.” 

Lulu’s great-grandfather had been Japanese, so this must have been his last name. 

“It’s the family name of my great-grandfather, from his faraway country. But in the Kuvork Kingdom where I was born, only nobles were permitted to have a family name, so nobody used it.” 

Satou Watari. 

It sounded a bit old-fashioned, but it wasn’t bad. 

“I’m not sure whether I’ll use it, but I’ll certainly write it down as one of the candidates, if that’s all right.” 

“Yes!” Lulu smiled brightly at my response. 

Yes, she was beautiful as ever today. 

After I’d shown Lulu and Miss Gert a few tricks for frying delicious pork cutlets, I visited the garden where Mia was playing music. 

I passed through the rear lawn, where countless sheets were billowing in the wind, and toward the shade of Mia’s favorite tree in the baron’s private space. 

Maybe it was because the baron could use the City Core now, but this place always seemed to be pleasantly warm. 

“Satou.” 

“Hi, Mia.” 

Small animals had gathered around Mia as she played the lute in the sunshine. 

When she noticed me and turned, her movement startled the little birds and squirrels, and they darted away in a panic. 

“Mm.” 

Mia didn’t seem to mind this particularly and simply patted the ground next to her for me to sit. 

I asked Mia for her opinion on the family name. 

“Bolenan.” 

…That would be Mia’s family name—or more precisely, the name of her clan. 

“I don’t think I can take a different clan’s name as my own, Mia. The leaders of the elf village would get mad at me.” 

“Mrrr…” 

Mia puffed out her cheeks, but I restored her good spirits by handing her a prototype crepe. 

I’d discovered how to make whipped cream in the process of churning butter, so I’d immediately tried frying up some crepes. 

I’d acquired baking powder, too, so I’d attempted to make various pastries while I had access to Muno Castle’s oven. 

As I munched on the dessert with Mia, I got her to teach me the names of various plants and animals as potential surnames. None of them seemed quite right, so I promised to add a few to the list of candidates and headed out. 

“Master, I have returned, I report.” 

“We’ve received the processed feathers, master.” 

Nana and Liza dismounted from their horses as they debriefed me. 

I’d commissioned a craftsman in the city to prepare some feathers for making a down quilt. 

We didn’t have enough, so the advance-guard team and I had gone bird hunting near the main road while taking out thieves along the way. 

“Great, thanks.” 

“They are remarkably soft and fluffy, I report.” 

Nana was enjoying the texture of the feather-filled bag. 

I asked them if they had any family name ideas. 

“Nagasaki, I recommend. It was my former master’s surname.” 

“How about Kishreshigarza? It is the name of my clan, but nobody should be claiming it as a family name.” 

Nana and Liza gave their respective suggestions. 

Satou Nagasaki. 

Satou Kishreshigarza. 

Neither of them really jumped out at me. 

Just then, a few soldiers arrived. 

“Miss Liza, Miss Nana, we’re about to start practice. Would you like to—? Oh, Sir Knight. Why not join us as well?” 

The one who’d called out to us was named Zotol. We’d met him when Liza and I went out patrolling for bandits and defeated him after a close fight. 

He was a skilled opponent who could beat Liza one-on-one and could hold his own against all four members of the vanguard team. 

Unable to stand the cruel orders of the demon magistrate and the corruption of their fellow soldiers, he and his band of followers had left the military. They had traveled around working as guards for merchants passing through the territory or getting rid of monsters at the request of villages. 

They were more like mercenaries than thieves, but corrupt bureaucrats who viewed them as a threat had tricked them and put them on the wanted list as thieves. 

Now he and his group had been reemployed as soldiers of the barony. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t return to being a knight right away, so he was ranked as a soldier for now. 

“Sorry, I have business to take care of, so I’ll pass on training for today.” 

“You’d better join us next time, then! Oh, and if you see Hauto, please tell him to come to the practice field.” 

I agreed to pass on the message and left Liza and Nana to train with the flexing soldier. 

“Family name? There were no nobles in my village, so I don’t know the first thing about that.” 

That was Hauto’s answer when I found him in the dining hall and asked him about it. 

Hauto was currently working as a junior knight-in-training for the baron. He had learned that he wasn’t really a hero after touching a Yamato stone a few days prior. 

An analysis had proven that his “Holy Sword” Gjallarhorn was actually a cursed demon blade, so it had been sealed away in a chamber in the basement of Muno Castle. The sword at his waist was just an ordinary iron blade. 

Though no longer a hero, Hauto still had a relationship with Miss Soluna, so he was undergoing intensive training to become a proper knight and marry her. 

Miss Soluna was teaching him culture and language, while he was training in fencing and strategy with Zotol every day. 

“I’ve found you at last! Today is the day you shall finally train with me!” 

“What good fortune that Sir Hauto is here, too.” 

Miss Karina appeared in the dining hall, clad in the same shirt and pants as the soldiers. 

“Are you trying to run away from your etiquette teacher to train again?” 

“B-but of course not. Today is devoted solely to combat training.” 

There was no such day in the schedule that Miss Nina had made for Miss Karina’s education. 

Incidentally, her etiquette teacher was Miss Soluna. 

“Why not ask Lady Karina for advice about it?” 

“Advice? Whatever about?” 

At Hauto’s prompting, I took a shot in the dark and asked Miss Karina for family name suggestions. 

“You’re having difficulty in choosing a family name, are you? I know just the one.” 

“What is it?” 

“How about Pendragon? It’s a hero’s name. Lord Orion Pendragon.” 

“Ahem…” A youthful civil official with a braid, who was eating nearby, timidly entered the conversation. This was Yuyurina, the one Miss Nina had mentioned before. She was usually very quiet, so this was unexpected. “Isn’t that the name of a fictional character?” 

“That’s right! It’s the hero of my very favorite story. He journeys around on a dragon, overcomes the seven trials given him by the gods, and in the end defeats the great demon lord in a brilliant epic saga.” 

This was like a weird mix of King Arthur’s legend and Greek mythology. 

“He rides a dragon?” 

“Yes, and no mere wyvern, either! He rides none other than a red dragon, named Welsh.” 

I did seem to remember King Arthur’s father’s name being Pendragon. Wasn’t he a dragon-slaying hero? 

That might actually work. I do have Excalibur, after all, so I could even change my first name to Arthur and go around as Arthur Pendragon. 

And so, after two full days of brainstorming, I finally decided on a family name. 

“… ? Confer Peerage Jojaku!” 

In a room of Muno Castle designated for peerage ceremonies, I received my noble rank from Baron Muno. 

The rank field in my status changed to Noble [Hereditary Knight], and my affiliation changed to Shiga Kingdom, Muno Barony. 

The three medals I’d received yesterday were listed in my Awards and Bounties column, too. Of course, I’d also received physical medals to convey my honors to others whenever I was formally dressed. 

The reason I hadn’t gained the “Confer Peerage” skill in the process was probably that it was a Ritual Magic spell that was a function of the City Core. 

“Satou, please touch the Yamato stone to confirm that the ritual was successful.” 

“All right.” 

This time, I changed a few values in my networking tab before touching the Yamato stone. 

Since I now had a powerful supporter, even if he wasn’t the most reliable, I disclosed a little more about my skills and level so that I could operate a bit more easily. I’d consulted with Arisa about this decision the day before. 

Once the ceremony was over, Miss Nina led the baron’s daughters and my kids into the room. 

The last to enter was the civil official Yuyurina. 

“All right, let us begin. ? Name Order Meimei! ‘Satou Pendragon.’” 

The young woman with the braids nervously invoked her “Name Order” skill. 

> Skill Acquired: “Name Order” 

The new name was granted to me as everyone looked on. It didn’t change automatically in my menu’s networking tab, so I changed it myself. 

Then, we used a Yamato stone to confirm the change and create new identification. Unlike the papers of ordinary commoners, my information was now engraved on a silver plate. 

“Heh-heh… Karina Pendragon, eh? Not bad, if I do say so myself.” 

I caught wind of some disturbing remarks but pretended not to hear. She’d murmured so quietly that aside from me with my “Keen Hearing” skill, most likely only Raka had heard it. 

“Arisa Pendragon… Sounds a bit too much like Arthur, but at least it’s got oomph.” Arisa grinned to herself, tapping her chin as she schemed away. 

“Hee-hee, it would be nice to be called Lulu Pendragon someday…” 

Et tu, Lulu? 

Of course, Lulu had whispered softly like Miss Karina. Nobody else could hear it but me. 

“Pochi Pendragon, sir!” 

“Tama Pendragooon?” 

Pochi and Tama ran circles around me as their way of saying congratulations. 

If they had wings, they probably would’ve rocketed off into the sky right there. 

“Very elegant, master.” 

Liza wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, overcome with emotion. 

“Mrrr. Bolenan…” Mia hadn’t given up yet. 

“Master. Master Pendragon. Which shall I call you, I inquire?” 

“Just ‘master’ is fine,” I told Nana. 

“Now then, Sir Satou Pendragon, hereditary knight. I look forward to working with you in the future.” 

“The pleasure is all mine, Viscount Nina Lottel.” 

Miss Nina extended her hand for a handshake. I didn’t know until now that was a practice in this world, too. 

One didn’t add the word honorary when stating someone else’s peerage aloud. However, I would have to introduce myself as “honorary hereditary knight Satou.” 

Still grasping my hand, Miss Nina gave me yet another assignment. 

“Be sure to decide on a coat of arms before you leave, as well.” 

I need to have a coat of arms, too…? 

We ended up deciding that I would receive lessons in high society and heraldry from the baron and Yuyurina respectively, starting the next day. 

It should go without saying that I gained the skills “Sociability” and “Heraldry” in the process. 

As for my crest, I ended up going with a design of a dragon holding a pen like a spear. 

I was a little concerned about the plot to resurrect the “golden sovereign” or whatever, but the chaos jar that was key for that ritual was safely in Storage, so I was hoping we’d be able to at least explore the old capital in peace. 

Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of him getting revived another way, so I’d have to make some preparations just in case. 

Looks like my life in this parallel world is going to keep being as hectic as ever. 

    Networking Profile Status    ? 

Name: Satou Pendragon 

Race: Human 

Level: 30 

Affiliation: Shiga Kingdom, Muno Barony 

Occupation: None 

Class: Noble [Hereditary Knight] 

Title: None 

Skills: 

Swordsmanship       Archery       Hand-to-Hand Combat       Throwing 

Evasion       Cooking       Calculation       Transmutation 

Magic-Tool Crafting       Estimation       Haggling       Sociability 

Heraldry 

Awards and Bounties: 

Muno Barony Radiant Cobalt Medal 

Muno Barony Army First-Class Medal 

Muno City Civic Honor Medal