For House Schrantz, this was a profound humiliation—a shame that cut deep and served as a trigger for outrage.
And Ian had only learned of this fact a few days prior.
‘When I called it Gins Village, Nea gave me such a strange look that I got suspicious and looked it up.’
“The inexplicable events in Meta Pangaea can be understood by delving into historical records!”
Remembering those words, he had checked the history books—and uncovered the truth.
No wonder Nea had been so bewildered when he casually referred to it as Gins Village without knowing the significance.
‘Whatever. Better late than never.’
Now that the major ordeal was over, Ian’s naturally optimistic personality resurfaced.
Incidentally, the same history books revealed that this wasn’t just the Earl of Erce’s villa—it was the original seat of House Schrantz.
Meaning, after conquering the village, the Earls of Erce had repurposed Schrantz’s ancestral home as their own villa.
‘No wonder they’ve been at each other’s throats.’
With grievances piled high on both sides, it was no surprise.
At this point, debating who wronged whom first was meaningless.
“I agree with Father’s words.”
Hubert nodded emphatically.
“It’s a matter that must be addressed immediately. However, since this is still officially Erce territory, we should formally request the name change alongside the letter of condolence.”
“I support Hubert’s suggestion. We could change it ourselves when they return it, but it would carry more weight if they do it voluntarily.”
“Speaking of which, since the Earl refused to sign the surrender document for ten days, additional costs were incurred during his stay at the lord’s castle. We should bill them for that as well.”
“Ah, I’d forgotten about that. Proceed with it at once.”
Just a month ago, such a scenario would have been unthinkable.
Hugo and Hubert were now determined to settle old scores.
It was time to repay the suffering House Erce had inflicted upon them.
Ian silently mourned the heir of House Erce, who now faced a path of hardship.
“Ian.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Did you know our family’s legacy texts had gone missing?”
“Yes. Sir Oswell mentioned it when I was learning the techniques.”
Which was why he hadn’t been able to master the full extent of their legacy.
But that was now a thing of the past.
Because Ian had found what they had been searching for all along.
He had sent word immediately upon discovering the texts.
“Thank you. I didn’t understand why you suddenly marched here, but to think it was to reclaim our ancestral home…”
“……”
Actually, I came for the loot.
“You occupied this place to guard and seek out any remnants of our legacy, didn’t you?”
“……”
Hugo had dragged his ill body here for a reason—
To commemorate the recovery of Schrantz’s ancestral home and to verify the legacy firsthand.
“Brother, you’re truly remarkable. And I apologize. I thought you had merely occupied this place recklessly, without deeper purpose. I misunderstood.”
“……”
Hubert’s misunderstanding piled on top of everything else.
Though, strictly speaking, he had come for the spoils, so Hubert wasn’t entirely wrong.
Finding the legacy had been pure luck—a happy accident.
The weight of their admiring gazes bore down on him uncomfortably.
Ian couldn’t bring himself to correct them and remained silent.
“Thank you.”
Hugo pulled Ian into a tight embrace.
Overcome with emotion, he couldn’t help but feel pride in the son who had restored their family’s honor and rebuilt its glory.
“My lord, all of Schrantz’s prestige and dignity have been restored. Now, we can surpass even our past greatness.”
Moved to tears, Jurdan and the other retainers wept as well.
They had witnessed Hugo’s suffering under House Erce—
The days of anxiety, of being dragged through the mud.
Having endured it all alongside him, they couldn’t hold back their emotions.
‘I feel… no, I feel extremely guilty.’
It was as if needles were pricking his conscience.
But admitting the truth now would be awkward, so he endured the discomfort.
‘Ah, whatever. I’ll just enjoy this!’
The outcome was good—wasn’t that what mattered?
Resigning himself, Ian decided to bask in the moment.
“Father, let’s go inside. I’ll guide you.”
The fourth chapter—something he had thought he’d never master.
But now, with the legacy found, the possibility filled him with exhilaration.
He had one more reason to recover quickly.
***
“You were right. Our family’s legacy was truly here.”
Hugo’s face flushed with excitement at the prospect of mastering what had been lost—the techniques he had been forced to abandon at the third chapter.
The texts, long thought lost, had been preserved here.
As Ian suspected, only those of Schrantz blood could pass through the wall to the hidden chamber.
And this led to another discovery—
Only one person could enter at a time.
If someone was already inside, the wall wouldn’t allow passage to another.
‘Tch. I wanted to peek at the fourth chapter from behind.’
He had hoped to catch a glimpse himself, but with only one person permitted entry, that option was off the table.
Hugo’s excitement showed no signs of fading.
“Father.”
Hubert called out to him then.
“Yes, what is it?”
“We’ve reclaimed our ancestral home. Does this mean we’ll reside here from now on?”
Hugo’s expression turned contemplative at the question.
This was a significant matter for House Schrantz—
The place where their lineage had begun.
After serious consideration, Hugo realized this wasn’t a decision to be made lightly.
Their lives had been rooted in Rosen for too long.
“We have more pressing matters to handle first. Let’s table this discussion until after we’ve addressed the urgent ones.”
While it was clearly an important issue, there were mountains of more urgent matters piled up.
They decided to tackle those first and revisit this decision once they had breathing room.
“We have plenty of time, after all.”
Though, given the sheer volume of tasks, whether they truly had “plenty” was debatable.
But no one dared object when Hugo put it that way.
“Ian.”
“Yes, Father.”
“The frontier village has grown considerably, and they’ve sent a request to formally name it. What do you think?”
Come to think of it, he had forgotten.
They had been calling it the “frontier village,” but it couldn’t remain that way forever.
‘The village has expanded, and someday, we’ll establish new settlements elsewhere—so it needs a proper name.’
Leaving it unnamed would only cause confusion when other frontier villages were founded.
“I think it’s a good idea.”
“They want you to name it. So I’m granting you that privilege.”
“…Me?”
For the record, Ian knew his naming sense wasn’t the best.
Back in the game, he had often resorted to lazy labels like “Frontier Village 1,” “Frontier Village 2,” or just numbering them outright.
‘Well, this isn’t a game anymore—I can’t just slap on a half-hearted name.’
“They’ve also suggested naming it ‘Ian Village.’ What do you think?”
“That’s a bit…”
On one hand, having a village named after him was flattering…
But on the other, it felt unbearably awkward and embarrassing.
‘Hmm…’
After a long pause, Ian finally spoke with great effort.
“How about ‘Ansen’?”
“That doesn’t sound bad. What do you think, Hubert?”
“I agree. It’s a good name.”
“Then the frontier village shall henceforth be called ‘Ansen,’ as Ian suggested. Now, let’s go take a look.”
[The frontier village has been given a new name.]
[The frontier village has been renamed ‘Ansen.’]
Now, the frontier village proudly bore its new name as an official settlement of Schrantz.
‘Whew, what a relief!’
The name “Ansen” wasn’t born from any profound reasoning or sudden inspiration.
He took the “sen” from “Rosen” and “Vilsen” for consistency, and since they wanted to honor his name, he borrowed a character from “Ian.”
The result was “Iansen” and “Ansen”—and the latter simply rolled off the tongue better.
‘Naming isn’t as hard as I thought.’
Pleased with his own creativity, Ian grinned—until Hubert’s next words gave him pause.
“Wait, you said ‘go take a look’?”
“The villagers trust you. Go listen to their concerns and help resolve them.”
Hugo casually assigned him the task, but Ian’s face lit up instantly.
“Take your time and rest before returning.”
Given all his recent hardships, this was essentially a vacation.
***
Ian boarded the carriage, expecting to stay in Ansen for about a month.
Twenty soldiers and one knight were mobilized as his escort.
In truth, fifteen of those soldiers were being rotated to the prisoner camp, and their escort duty was merely a convenient overlap with Ian’s journey to Ansen.
Only five soldiers and one knight would accompany him the entire way.
Neither Oswell nor Dwayne were assigned to guard him.
They were busy hunting down deserters from the territorial war.
Most of the enemy soldiers who had fled had returned to their homes, but some had turned to banditry, disrupting the peace.
The two knights were tasked with eliminating them.
Captured bandits would undergo a rehabilitation program in Ansen, as per the territory’s laws.
‘First, I should check how the prisoner investigations are going.’
Even after the war, there was no shortage of work.
But compared to the usual workload, Ansen’s tasks would be a breeze—a chance to finally relax.
‘They say Ansen has grown a lot. I wonder how much it’s changed.’
He was eager to see the progress made during his absence.
“Young Master, you look cheerful.”
Nea studied Ian with curiosity.
This was the first time she had seen him so visibly excited—like a child—since becoming his vassal.
‘I didn’t know the Young Master could make such an expression.’
“Young Master has quite a range of expressions.”
The idle chatter from Ian’s carriage.
Inside were not just Ian, but also Nea and Sera.
Nea, as his personal maid, naturally accompanied him, while Sera had requested to join them on their trip to Ansen.
Her reason? To procure alchemical ingredients—monster parts—for her potions.
Since they were heading the same way, and new materials would aid her research, Ian had readily agreed.
“Huh? When did you two get so close?”
Ian watched Nea and Sera converse effortlessly, intrigued.
“We’re neighbors,” Sera replied.
During her leave, Nea had spent time with her mother and naturally struck up conversations with Sera, who was also on vacation.
They lived across from each other.
At the lord’s castle, they rarely interacted, knowing each other only by sight.
Nea had gathered some information about Sera during her investigations around Ian, but nothing beyond that.
But during their break, Sera—learning they were neighbors—had approached her, and they quickly grew close.
Sharing a master in Ian and the kindness he had shown them, their bond deepened rapidly.
“Really?”
Unaware of this, Ian simply thought it was good for his vassals to get along.
‘If they’re friendly, there’ll be fewer headaches for me.’
If they clashed, he’d have to mediate—taking sides would inevitably lower someone’s loyalty.
A mess he’d rather avoid.
But if they cooperated willingly, his life would be much easier.
The carriage glided smoothly toward Ansen.
