The next day, Claude went to school and was warmly welcomed once more.
Welikro gave him a punch. "You're finally willing to come back."
Claude noticed that his classmates seemed to be envious of him. That was rather odd. Could it be that taking half a month off from school was something that people would be envious of?
"You might not know this, Claude, but everyone knows that you were chosen by the madam to guard their wood. Even the instructors in school say that you're quite lucky to have found a path to greatness.
No matter where you go in the future, you'll be well taken care of, "said Borkal.
Claude was rather surprised. "How did you know?"
"Actually, many people have long known about the madam's arrival in Whitestag. It's just that they weren't able to get in touch with her.
She's always kept a low profile and doesn't like to get involved in such matters.
It's said that Mayor Robert really wants to meet her, but he was rejected twice. The reason was that he was busy researching medicinal herbs and didn't have the time. She didn't want to see him at all.
By the way, Claude, how did you get to know her? "
Borkal knew quite a bit about the inside story. His father probably told him about it.
As he neared graduation, his father began grooming him to be the heir of the family.
Be it the happenings in town or the problems in his business, he would analyze them in great detail.
Claude shrugged. "Actually, when I went hunting that day, I heard from Wero that there were wild boars in the forest, so I went there to try my luck.
When I saw the horse pulling the carriage was startled, I stopped the carriage and chased away a herd of boars that entered the wood, killing three of them.
To express her gratitude, the madam asked me to guard her wood to prevent the boars from entering again and causing her trouble. "
"You're really lucky to be favored by the madam," said Borkal.
Borkal clearly knew about Maria's background. "It's said that the esteemed lady is here to research a certain medicinal ingredient. Is that true?"
Claude nodded, then shook his head. "I'm not too sure either. But the madam has indeed been processing some medicinal herbs during her stay in the wood. Sometimes, she even asked me to dry some for her and taught me a lot about herbalism."
"I heard she went back to the royal capital yesterday?" Eriksson asked.
Whitestag was simply too small. Maria's return to the royal capital was already news enough to spread like wildfire and everyone knew about it.
However, it was the truth. Many people saw the traveling carriage with the rose emblem of Normanley leaving Whitestag, so Claude had no choice but to admit it.
"Then you don't have to go to the wood anymore. I haven't been able to find you to hang out with," Eriksson grumbled.
He shook his head again. "I've already moved to the wood.
Before she left, she asked me to look after the lumberyard because the Siori couple, the caretakers, were getting on in years and they couldn't handle the wild boars that broke into the lumberyard.
In order to prevent any accidents from happening, Madam asked me to live in the wood so that she could take care of me … "
Welikro, Borkal, and Eriksson were disappointed. "Does that mean you can't play with us anymore?"
"You can come to the forest to play with me."
Claude said, "Tomorrow is Sunday. I drove the carriage here from the wood and was planning to bring you there after school. You can still play there for the rest of the day."
"Hehe, really?"
Borkal smiled awkwardly. "We wanted to go to the wood to play with you a few days ago, but my father wouldn't let us. He was afraid that we would disturb Madam. We didn't want to cause trouble for you, so we didn't go."
"It's fine. Madam is quite easy to talk to. She'll welcome you if you come over.
Now that she's gone back, you don't have to worry about anything when you go to the wood. Just let the Siori couple know. They'll know where I'll be. "
So, they decided to spend the night at the wood and spend the rest of the day hunting there. However, Claude had to send them home with the carriage after school and bring their hunting gear back to the wood.
Borkal, Welikro, and Eriksson went to the wood out of curiosity. After all, the wood in the southwestern outskirts of town was a forbidden area to their parents. If it wasn't for Claude, they might never have set foot there in their entire lives.
By the time the carriage returned to the wood, the sky had already darkened. The Siori couple had already started cooking.
When they saw Claude bring his three friends over, they even asked if they needed them to prepare dinner for them.
It was only then that they found out that Claude was already the foreman of the wood.
Claude politely declined the couple's offer. There was a stove in the wooden hut and plenty of ingredients and condiments in the carriage. Claude planned to cook a good meal for his friends.
Borkal, Welikro, and Eriksson couldn't help but admire the luxurious and beautiful white main house. They didn't expect such a beautiful manor to exist in such a remote place.
It was a pity that Claude had sealed the main house up the night before and there was even a date written on the door. They were too embarrassed to ask to enter the house to admire the decorations and decorations.
While Claude was busy cooking, the three of them walked around the area before returning to the wooden hut. Claude gave two plates of food to Welikro for the Siori couple to taste.
Eriksson asked Claude why there was such a small wooden hut there. Actually, the hut could've been torn down and replaced with a row of two-storey tube-shaped buildings. That way, it would've looked more harmonious with the white main house and would've been able to seal off the huge courtyard in the middle.
It wouldn't have been as empty as the wooden hut and they could climb up the hill from there.
Claude could only say that he wasn't sure himself. Maria did tell him that the wooden hut was one of the earliest structures in the wood. Due to its dilapidated state, it was torn down and rebuilt as a memento.
As for why it was built as a memento, he really didn't know.
"I know," Borkal said gleefully. "My father told me that Astros Normanley, who was made a hereditary baron by Stellin IX, used to be a shoemaker in town. However, no one knew that his father was actually the caretaker of this wood.
When he was young, he wanted to be a hunter and caretaker, but his father sent him to the shoemaker's shop in town to learn the trade in hopes that he could become a shoemaker.
Although Baron Alfie had learned the craft for six or seven years and finally became an official shoemaker, he didn't like his profession.
That was why he decided to join the army when Stellin IX was recruiting soldiers in Whitestag, which infuriated his father.
When he returned to Whitestag after his success, he found out that his father had died of illness in the caretaker's hut two years after he left.
So, Baron Alfis bought the wood and preserved his father's hut as a memento.
I suspect that this wooden hut is Baron Alfis's father's hut. Didn't Claude say that the lady said that it's the oldest structure in the wood? However, it's already been torn down and rebuilt. "
Perhaps that was the truth behind the hut. However, since Baron Alfis was already dead, Maria didn't have any special feelings for the hut and didn't care whether it was her grandfather's hut or not.
She had once complained to Claude that if it wasn't for the fact that she couldn't be bothered, she might've done as Eriksson suggested and torn down the hut and rebuilt it with a two-storey tube-shaped building. That way, the entire courtyard would be sealed up and it would look more harmonious with the white hut.
Welikro returned with two empty plates and two loaves of rye bread the size of a man's arm as thanks from the Sioris.
Claude's cooking was almost done and he placed it on the table for everyone to dig in.
Borkal didn't complain about drinking fruit wine or white wine anymore. Eight sunars per barrel of rye suited everyone's tastes the most.
It was cheap and had a good amount. It was slightly bitter and refreshing. The more they drank, the more they liked it.
After dinner, they cleaned up the cutlery and went to the rooftop to watch the stars and chat. They hadn't seen each other for half a month and everyone seemed to have a lot to say to Claude.
The October night was a little cold and Borkal soon got a little tipsy. When he felt the cold, he went downstairs to sleep.
Welikro, on the other hand, was fine and continued gulping down the rye wine. It seemed that he had to finish the remaining half of the barrel no matter what.
Eriksson, on the other hand, seemed to be preoccupied. He said that for some reason, he kept having nightmares at night. He dreamt that he was alone on the boundless sea, hugging a broken wooden barrel and floating on the water. The sky was dark, and there were flashes of lightning. The waves were turbulent, and it seemed like a huge storm was coming.
He had such nightmares a few times and woke up in the middle of the night quite a few times. All he dreamt of was being shipwrecked at sea and he didn't even know if he was the one being shipwrecked.
It was just a dream, after all. He forgot most of it after waking up and only remembered a vague impression.
That made him worry a lot about his father, Captain Altroni, who had been out at sea for a month. He didn't know if his father's voyage was smooth and uneventful.
Eriksson said his father, Captain Altroni, had promised to be back in time for his graduation.
Claude, Borkal and Welikro were also about to graduate from middle school. In the blink of an eye, they would be eighteen years old.
According to the kingdom's laws, eighteen years old was considered an adult and they would have to pay the poll tax to the kingdom.
"Your father will be fine. He should be back before your graduation ceremony. He brought a huge fleet with him this time, so he won't run into any trouble.
I remember hearing people say that dreams are the opposite of reality.
If you dream that your father struck it rich, you might have something to worry about. But if it's a shipwreck, it means that he's fine in reality, "Claude could only console Eriksson in such a manner.
Counting the days, the merchant fleet led by Captain Altroni and the others should have already reached Tyrrsim in Nubissia. According to the plan, they would stay there for a month and sell off all the goods they brought with them before buying up all the specialties there. After filling up the hold of the ship, the fleet would set sail at the end of October and the beginning of November and return to Whitestag in the middle or late of November.
The middle school's graduation ceremony would be held on the 26th of November. Captain Altroni didn't lie to Eriksson. If everything went according to plan, he would be able to return before the graduation ceremony.
It was only the beginning of October and there was still a long month to go. Almost everyone in town who had invested in the merchant fleet was looking forward to the fleet's smooth return.
The merchant fleet's voyage would probably multiply the wealth of every single investor several times over. Mister Morssen and the other civil servants who hoped to advance in their careers would also be able to relax a little. After the new year, they would be able to send news of the successful opening of the sea route from Whitestag to Tyrrsim to the royal capital and wait for their respective rewards.
With Claude's consolation, Eriksson was less perplexed. He and Welikro finished their rye ale and went to rest.