Border Guardian Hal Akircius

Just as he climbed down from the climb, in a slightly open place, the young man dressed in his traveling costume wiped the sweat off his forehead and was accidentally stopped walking and looked at in the green sea plains as far as he could see.

Forests are cut open in various places, forming fields and pastures, near which villages and coarsely roofed buildings line up.

However, the smoke cooking and the smoke rose thinly. Otherwise, the woods were still spreading untouched, and today, the weather was beautiful, and even the Dadong Mountains, far beyond that, could be seen.

"This is amazing... I've never seen a view like this before.

A backpack filled with something on the back of a puffy, twinkly young man, no matter who he tells.

In spite of the heat, a horse is following him at the foot of a thick garment, arranged with leather boots, and at the end of the reins pulling to his left hand.

Even on the back of the horse, who honestly stopped walking following the youth, a considerable amount of luggage is attached, divided left and right.

"Come on, another breath.

That's right, a young man gently urging his horse to walk out.

Not so long back, but a disappointing physique, short pruned hair is a matte black color, and eyes a cool single-eyed lid.

Although the outfit is also sewn in imperial style, the colours and materials of the fabric belong to the group island region of the southern part of the empire, and, combined with its characteristic landscape, the youth's origins can be seen only at a glance as the people of Yamato in the south if they live in the empire.

However, for a traveling merchant, the youth atmosphere is stiff and does not feel like business is suitable for customers.

In addition, luggage is not a commodity such as jewellery, liquor, or cereal, which is rare on such a periphery, and many household items can be seen in one way or another.

"You'll be in the settlement of Sheikh Almar in a little while.

A slight female voice emanated from behind it towards the young man's back.

"... what time are you going to follow me, shrine?... what if you went back to being a jerk?

"We cannot hinder the guidance of the Sun God.

A woman in her early twenties wearing a distinctive, brightly colored piercing coat appears in the eyes of a young man who turned back as fed up.

It has the same back length as a young man, thin and its long hair is golden and its eyes green.

With the characteristics of a typical Northern people Cliffonam, the woman smiles cool, yet gently denies the youth's words.

"No, that's not it, I just got rid of the bandits as a function, and that's where you just happened to be tied up and rolled.

"No, it must be, if the Sun God hadn't led you to that place, I would have been made good to all the kedamonos who looked like people.

You are combining your hands in front of your chest, remembering the fear and relief then, close your eyes and the female cleric says.

"... you said earlier that you can forget about that already! In the first place you say earth patrol or something, on your training journey!?

"Returning that grace to a grateful person is another training, in the first place, weren't you in trouble for geographic guidance?

When a young man's words are snatched away and a female cleric cuts them back, the young man becomes the expression of confusion.

"... it's..."

"So let me show you the way..."

"It will be because I will even try to show you the path you don't need!

He was a young man with a bewildered look on his face once again, but he yells with blue muscles on his forehead.

"The priest who serves the Sun God has not been denied marriage, I am ok at any time, right?

"... I'm not a whore.

I told the young man who replied to the female clergyman, who looked cool and returned the words, looking tired, to lean his neck all the way and poke and crush.

"... Isn't it good if you can't light it up?

"Oh no!

"Please don't give me that, because it's more fun to take you on a journey, to have fun and chat.

"Even if I look like this, I've been traveling around here for almost ten years, and I know a lot of people in these northern border villages, and I can show you the way, and I'm sure it'll help you, too, right?

"In the service of the night, sir.

"... don't look at me like that, I'm feeling a little weird.

"... okay, put it down for the night, thank you..."

"... even though it's the most important part.

"Put me down.

"... okay, but whenever you want, right?

"... ha..."

Unable to reach the Almar villages, which ended up being destinations during the day, the young men and female clerics who became wings of the camp had an irresistible conversation surrounding the flames and abrasive fires.

The pot that the young man had was lit with water drawn in the creek, making a noise.

The young man prepares the wild grass picked on the roads, then the clumps of grain he had and the dried pork.

"... it's time for you to let me know your name?

"Oh, I say Hal Akircius, the guardian of the Imperial Border Territory.

In response to the inquiry of the female cleric, the youth, Hal, answers lightly, including her qualities as she prepares the ingredients.

I guess I honestly didn't expect you to give me an answer, the female cleric showed a slight hint of emptiness, a colour of confusion for a moment, but quickly regained her mind and introduced herself.

"... Really, my name is Erlacia, and I am a cleric serving the Sun God of Cliffonam, thank you very much Hal, and for your help.

"No, it's your job... then call me Achillus.

To Hal, with a slightly cloudy mouth, Ellesia returned the words in a tone that she would teach.

"Hal, this is not an imperial state. I don't know how much power you have in the empire, in the ambiguous periphery of the imperial realm, in what you call your duties, but I think it's better to remember everything you've done, what you've done.

"... okay, let's follow your advice, but please call me Achillus.

It was Hal who persisted in trying to correct the way he called it, but Ellesia doesn't go through with it willingly.

"Hal is out of the picture. You're honest, when it comes to the imperial guardian, I heard it was like a spider working to incorporate the border into the imperial prints..."

When Ellesia felt uncomfortable or accidentally said it, Hal laughed bitterly for both the root and the content of Ellesia's words, and began to put weed and dried meat in a boiled pan.

Looking out at the pan, which began to boil well together, Hal turns back to El Laicia.

"I don't deny that I have a role to play, but, as you can see, I'm not so keen on that kind of work because I'm not a biological imperial, I just perform the ordained superficial role.

"... well... if all the imperials think the same as you, they will be able to do well with the people of Cliffonam...

Hull looked harsh and nodded as Ellesia sighed as she said so.

Hal himself knows best why.

"The bandits earlier were also imperials.

The Empire is the most prosperous and strengthened nation on the continent in the last hundred years.

The empire, which took its edge in the central part of the continent, became the current regime, which bears the emperor at its apex after a royal, republican system.

The east borders the Eastern Light Empire and the great power that exists south of it, the Kingdom of Siluha, while the west borders the Western group of nations across the ocean.

To the south is the semi-inland sea known as the archipelagic region, further beyond which there is a tribal state of the southern continent, where transactions and traffic by ship flourish, while to the north is an undeveloped area with woods and meadows known as the Great Plains of the North.

Various states and cities once existed on the continent, but with the expansion of empires those neighboring small states and former hegemonic states were absorbed into them after losing wars, politics and, at the end of the day, economic wars.

However, there are also areas on the continent where the power of the empire is not yet fully extended.

The empire, which originally culturally draws Southern genealogy, is less progressing in its control of the northern border for cold and also distance reasons.

Together with the group island regions of the South, the North was the two main frontiers of the Empire, but about five years ago the Union of Group Island Countries was completely annexed after losing the fierce war with the Empire, making the North now the only frontier of the Empire.

The Empire sets up a state in a controlled area and sends the Governor General from the Empire to take control.

However, the land on the northern border is still an area inhabited by those whom the main imperials call barbarians, which, although there is an imperial territorial declaration, does not set up a state because it is only external and, in fact, difficult to say that it is well controlled.

As a result, an official named Border Guardian Officer was dispatched, and a system was created to make the tribal people of the area hit with propaganda, sculpture, and crusade.

Since it is nominally the territory of the Empire, the status of a civil guardian officer corresponds to that of an internal affairs official, whose powers are not limited to taxation and civil affairs, but are also very powerful officials with police and judicial powers, as well as the right to request the dispatch of the Imperial Army and its temporary command when things happen, as well as the right to convene provisional soldiers.

The civility of the seconded lands increases, the tax revenues and fiscal bases as much as they can be incorporated into the empire can be made, and the powers are naturally extinguished at the stage when the state is set up by order of the emperor.

Later, it was customary for him to be recruited as a newly installed state official, many as state governor, if he so wished, but few ended up as a new state governor, mostly flourishing in the center, as he was once a dragon gate for brilliant officials looking to hold high-ranking positions.

But that's also an old story now.

Even though the powers conferred were limited to those of the peripheral regions alone, and although they were accorded a rank commensurate with the size of the powers, they could never now be described as a prosperous or honourable official position.

The reason for this is obvious, since most states have been set up in the rough areas in recent years, border guard officers have become, so to speak, unpretentious honorary positions, official positions in old age and during discharge from service, as well as official positions to move to the left where it is inappropriate to cause problems and place them in their original workplace.

Naturally, there were no such people as those going to the site at all, and most of them were either spending time with their families as paid leave prior to retirement at home or being treated with half caution because they would retire or be reinstated at the end of their tenure of three years, which was once set.

Such an idle and formed Border Guardian Officer, but where no sword is originally allowed on the Interior Officer of the Empire, only Border Guardian Officers are allowed to carry swords and armed due to the particularities of their position and duties, in fact, Hull is also wearing thick cots, weapons have knives, knives and bows and arrows, and some of the luggage also contains ancestral armor.

However, the sword permit has also been morphed due to the fact that there is no one going to the site right now.

"So where is Hull's mandate and assigned area?

"... is the area where the people of Cliffonam live..."

"... what!? Are you insane?

Ellesia reveals her surprise in Hal's words.

It is also natural that the northern border with the people of Cliffonam is foolish, a people of the north with a place of residence to the far north.

There are dozens more tribes among the people, and each chief lives among them.

It is about the size of an empire if it is a population, and the inhabited areas are almost half the size of the empire, even if seen in the northern regions alone, and if it is included to the Far North, it will be four to five times as large an area as the empire's superiority.

Moreover, the area was not equipped with roads or ports, as the Empire did, and even though there were roads attached by the tribesmen, it was more of a flair than none, and the rest was a rounded undisclosed area.

Because of the implications of the empire's mere military restraint on the countries of the East, it is an area that has only made a declaration of possession, in nominal terms anyway, and although it has never been substantially held back by the empire, and although it has not defied the empire, it has also not embraced domination.

Rather, only those who knew that it was the realm of the Empire were as much lords as tribal chiefs and chiefs, and the rest of their people did not even know that they were under the control of the Empire, even though in no way nominal terms, and lived every day regardless of political matters.

There is no way we can even try to make such people compliment the Empire.

Not to mention we can't let the official wind blow and govern.

It's over with laughter, or if I'm in a bad mood, they'll kill me.

In addition, although the Cliffonams are proud of their barbarian specific nature of weighing up martial arts, they are not barbarians of truth because they are a people who know the letters, who know agriculture, and who do not want useless grudges or confusion.

Physically, they are characteristic and are often treated in a discriminatory manner because they are significantly different from those living in other imperial domains, but their cultural standards are quite high.

While many of the people within the Empire have black or brown hair colors, and the colors of their eyes are black or brown, the people of Cliffonam have many long, white, gold or silver hair, and the colors of their eyes are many blue, gray, and green.

As a similar race, there are Orans living in the southern and western parts of the northern realm, but there are considerable cultural differences, not to mention both years of territorial strife, hating each other, and constant resentment.

However, because the language is not so different, and the Cliffonams and Orans can understand it if it is the official language of the Empire, the official language of the Empire is used as a common language on the continent, and when it comes to salvation, it is said that the language is not indiscriminate.

He was Hal Akircius, sent alone in the midst of such a periphery.