NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30.2
30.2. Long Vacation 3
After that, Nord took a letter addressed to Johan from his family as a courier, reported to the professor at the research institute, prepared everything, and then departed the royal capital to fulfill the request.
Naturally, his means of transport was a carriage borrowed from the knights’ order, with Newt riding on the cargo bed.
Regarding Newt, although he remained quietly inside the carriage for a while after leaving the royal capital, he quickly grew bored and began flying outside.
During the long summer vacation, Newt’s body had grown visibly larger. This growth extended to his wings as well, with the bases thickening and developing muscles to support flapping, and the wings themselves increasing in both height and width.
As a result, though Newt still could not carry a person in flight since his body wasn’t fully developed, he was now capable of flying solo for quite extended periods.
The journey toward fulfilling their task was mostly dull, so Newt often passed the time by flying around in the sky above.
──Flap, flap.
Due to the potential threat of being attacked by flying monsters or being mistaken as an enemy and attacked by adventurers, Nord imposed some conditions on Newt’s flying.
One rule was to notify Nord if there were enemies nearby and then descend to low altitude, while another rule required Newt to enter the carriage if he detected humans in the vicinity.
Flapping his wings audibly, Newt landed on the cargo bed.
The cargo bed of the covered carriage was concealed by a curtain hanging from the roof, ensuring the interior could not be seen from outside.
Newt entered through the curtain, which signaled that people would soon be approaching.
As predicted, a carriage approached.
It came toward Nord from the direction they had come.
On the driver’s seat sat a middle-aged man wearing fur clothing, and the cargo bed was fully loaded with what appeared to be goods.
Because of the heavy load, the carriage moved slowly, and adventurers walked alongside it, serving as escorts.
Armed with spears, swords, and other weapons, these adventurers maintained a relaxed but vigilant air.
Judging by their attire, most seemed to be stone-rank adventurers, with a few of the crystal rank mixed in.
The road Nord’s carriage traveled was less traveled compared to the main highways but was known to be relatively safe. Encounters with powerful monsters were rare.
Though it was narrower and of lower quality than major highways, it was still paved with cobblestones as proof of its relative safety.
The approaching carriage, burdened with heavy cargo, would have difficulty adjusting its course, so Nord pulled his carriage to the edge of the road.
Noticing Nord’s consideration, the man on the driver’s seat removed his hat, placed it over his chest, and bowed deeply.
Nord returned the merchant’s respectful gesture by nodding in response.
The adventurers escorting the merchant’s carriage seemed mildly curious about Nord’s unusually sturdy carriage (which was, of course, military-grade), but, being on duty, they did not take further action.
Once the carriages had fully passed each other, and as the sound of the merchant’s carriage receded into the distance, Newt poked his head from the cargo bed toward the driver’s seat where Nord was sitting.
“Can I play now?” he seemed to ask.
“Kyui?”
“Sorry, no can do. There’s still an archer behind us on alert.”
“Kyuuun.”
Newt made a downcast face as if expressing, “Oh, come on,” letting out a dejected sound.
Because the driver’s seat was raised, it was difficult to see into the carriage floor from the outside. Thus, until they had passed the other carriage, Newt had followed Nord’s instructions by lying flat on the floor without making a sound.
It must have been extremely boring for him to remain perfectly silent and motionless.
“Well, I guess I have no choice. Here.”
“! Kyuu~♪”
Nord reached over and stroked Newt’s neck, stretched out beside him.
Delighted by Nord’s touch, Newt’s earlier boredom melted away, and his face lit up with joy as he relished the sensation of Nord’s palm.
The carriage, once again centered on the road, continued forward smoothly without Nord needing to manage the reins. The rural cobblestone-paved road stretched straight ahead.
The canopy rustled.
Under the clear blue sky, a late summer breeze blew through, carrying the scent of wild grasses as it passed through the carriage’s interior.
§
The one who called for Nord was his second brother, Johan.
While he was still with the Ferris family, his name was “Johan de Ferris,” but after marrying into the Aubrier household, his current name became “Johan de Aubrier von Alba.”
In the Kingdom of Hamill, names are given in the order of “given name, surname.”
Since commoners do not have surnames, they instead use their place of origin.
Nobles use their family name as their surname, but there is an additional title that can be attached to it.
For example, knights are given the title “de.”
Thus, a knight’s name format would be “given name, de surname (family name).”
To give a concrete example, Nord, still an apprentice, is currently called “Nord Ferris,” meaning “Nord of the Ferris family.” When he becomes a full-fledged knight and is ennobled, his name will become “Nord de Ferris,” which means “Nord, the knight of the Ferris family.”
Regarding family names, by kingdom law, nobles who establish a new house upon being granted nobility may freely choose their house name, but most choose to retain their original family name.
This practice is simple and serves to clarify connections and relationships. Using a completely different house name would lead to confusion like, “Who are you again?” but retaining the original name makes it obvious: “Oh, you’re a member of the Ferris family.”
For this reason, it is forbidden for unrelated individuals to use another noble’s house name.
When adopting a new name, nobles must register it with the heraldic office, a government institution that verifies and approves it. If the proposed name overlaps with an existing house name, it is automatically rejected.
Thus, in the Kingdom of Hamill, it has become customary to create new family names only when granted land and ennoblement for significant achievements.
As for “Johan de Aubrier von Alba,” the “von” signifies that he is the head of a noble family with land, and “Alba” refers to the name of that land.
This means he is “Johan of the Aubrier family, lord of the Alba domain.”
In other words, Nord’s second brother Johan married into the noble house of Aubrier, whose land was called Alba.
Alba was a geographical name, and the Aubrier family governed the entire region, naming the village after their domain.
Alba village was located in the northeastern part of the kingdom.
It lay on the northern side of the eastern mountain range Nord once visited, and if one traveled further north from the Alba village, they would encounter a vast mountain range. This range extended westward beyond the kingdom’s western edge and separated the northern snowfields from the Kingdom of Hamill, serving as its northern natural barrier.
Positioned among the mountain foothills, Alba village was not a particularly prosperous place.
It was not blessed with the warm climate of the southern lands; rather, the land of Alba in the north primarily produced wheat and vegetables and yielded few resources aside from what was gathered from the expansive northeastern forests.
These resources consisted mainly of lumber and medicinal herbs, nothing particularly noteworthy.
Put bluntly, it was an ordinary, impoverished village.