My domain is nothing but grass.
It's been a month
since I was half-forced into a carriage leaving the royal capital.
Ah, we've arrived.
Out you go.
What a fitting domain for an upstart orphan.
A map demarcating the territory,
and an inventory provided by His Majesty.
The name of this grassland is Nezrose.
Of as today, your name is Dias Nezrose.
So this is my domain...
As a reward for my exploits during the war, the king granted me a domain.
I don't know much about it,
but apparently a lord's duty is to live in his domain,
protect his subjects, and collect money from them to give to the king.
I'm glad there's clean water here.
All I got during the war was muddy stuff.
I've walked a long way, but encountered no one.
I haven't even seen a single tree.
Yep, it's plain to see.
My domain is really nothing but grass.
Yep, tastes terrible.
I'll give it my best shot, and if it looks hopeless after two more days,
I'll put this place behind me before I wind up dying here.
I'll find some nearby village
and try to make a living by being useful to people.
That way, I can at least honor my parents' dying wishes.
Hey!
Who're you?!
Wake up!
Who are you?
What're you doing here?
My name's Dias.
As you can see, I was sleeping right here.
Why were you sleeping in a place like this?!
Because I had nowhere else to do it.
Are you an idiot?
I can't deny that.
I've gotten this far in life without an education.
So, who're you?
Why'd you set foot on this prairie?
What's your purpose?
I was told to live here.
And my immediate purpose...
is to live, because I don't want to die.
Whoa, hold on! Wait just a minute!
I want serious answers.
I'm as serious as can be.
How's this?
I want to uphold my parents' dying wishes and be useful to people.
I want to protect the weak. That's my purpose.
Why aren't you telling lies?
I guess because I don't have a reason to.
Which are you, my ally or my enemy?!
That's a tricky question from someone I just met.
Do I have to be one or the other?
Yes! Now give me a straight answer!
Why is she so angry?
Hold on.
This is my domain, which means she's my subject.
I'm her lord,
and she's unhappy I won't just say that I'm on my subject's side.
I am your ally!
No matter what foe I may face, I will protect you!
It's so strong... But why?!
What was that light?
Wait! What's wrong?!
Shut up and come with me!
A village?
With all the walking around I did yesterday, how'd I miss it?
You're going to see the chieftain.
How unusual for you to bring an outsider here.
Was there any red, Alna?
No, it was all blue.
When I asked if he's an ally, the blue was intense when he said yes.
Interesting indeed.
What is your name, man of blue?
O-Oh, it's Dias.
Dias.
I hear that you are Alna's ally. Will you be mine as well?
Of course.
All the people here are my subjects,
and I was sent to be the lord.
By the king.
Alna. Don't be hasty.
We haven't finished talking.
Could you start from the beginning
and tell me all about how the king came to give you this order?
All of it? From the beginning?
In my earliest memories, my parents were still alive.
My mother liked to say that I should do work other people find useful.
My father would tell me to become a man who protects the weak.
Those were also their dying wishes.
When I was ten, my parents died in an epidemic.
I rounded up other orphans who'd likewise lost their parents.
We earned money by keeping the town clean
and from the bounties for hunting weak monsters.
Anyway, I abided by my parents' dying wishes
and tried hard to live in a way that'd make them proud.
When I was fifteen, war broke out,
and it didn't take long for enemy troops to reach a neighboring town.
To protect my friends, I volunteered to be a soldier.
Little did I know, I turned out to have a knack for warfare,
and I continued to distinguish myself in battle.
Twenty years later, the war came to an end,
and the king awarded me this domain for my service.
I am quite convinced that you are a lord serious about protecting his subjects.
So let me ask you this. What would you do if we were not your subjects?
Would you be our ally, then?
We'd still be neighbors living on the same prairie,
and I'd help out if you had a problem.
Yeah, I think I'd still be your ally.
But why ask a question like that?
If you're living in my domain, of course you're...
Wait, what?
Have you figured it out?
We are not your subjects.
In fact, we are enemies of your king.
For many years now, we have been fighting your kingdom.
But then again, perhaps we aren't your enemy.
You are blue.
A blue rarely seen.
Which means we should be able to get along well.
Now, look me in the eye and listen to my tale.
My name is Moll.
I am chieftain of the Onikin Tribe.
For a long time,
we have opposed your kingdom over the sovereignty of these grasslands.
Fifty years ago, we onikin lost a great battle
and had to flee these lands.
If you fled, how is it that you're able to live here now?
By storing up magical energy in our horns,
we are able to cast a variety of spells.
One of them is...
Concealment.
With this power, we can hide our entire village,
along with any hint of our presence.
So that's why I couldn't see your village yesterday.
But should you be telling me this, when I'm on the kingdom's side?
Were you not blue, I wouldn't have told you.
We have a spell known as Soul Appraisal.
In the presence of danger or hostility, it produces red.
Harmlessness without hostility, white.
Blue means the person will bring joy or blessings upon us.
Had you lied even a little, it would have dulled toward red,
but that did not happen with you.
That convinced me.
Never have I laid eyes upon a fool so honest
that he's still living by his parents' dying wishes at your age.
Was that a compliment?
All I've given you are compliments.
And you know, I for one hope you become a superb lord.
We can't be your subjects, but we can provide you with shelter and food.
Even a bit of livestock.
In exchange, tell no one of this village.
Including the king, of course.
As far as I'm concerned, I have no problem with your people.
As long as you don't clash with the kingdom,
it's fine by me if you live on these plains.
I'll let you have Alna for a while, as a caretaker.
Live together and learn what it takes to thrive here.
What?!
You're the one who brought him here. He's your responsibility until the end.
Is that clear?
THE FRONTIER LORD AND THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE HORN
That was quick.
I feel like they just started, but it looks like they're nearly done.
When danger approaches that we can't avoid with Concealment,
we dismantle our dwellings and flee with them.
That's why we use yurts.
So this house is called a yurt, then.
Thank you!
We'll deliver the food and baars later.
Alna, what's a baar?
I'm talking about livestock.
I thought that much was obvious.
Oh, right...
If you breed your pair to make more, it will provide steady income.
Once they're here, I'll teach you how to care for them, so pay close attention.
I-I appreciate that.
Would you mind also teaching me how to get more subjects?
How would I know?
What would you do with more subjects the way things stand, anyway?
You only have a yurt and food enough for yourself.
If you had more people, they'd just starve to death.
True.
Loony lord.
This is for you.
What is it?
Matani dust.
Spread it around, and the scent will attract beasts.
If you hunt them and bring enough meat and hides to the village,
you can trade it for more yurts.
I like the sound of that! I'm a good hunter!
Don't have to use my head for that!
This is probably far enough away.
I didn't ask how much to use.
Might as well go with the whole thing.
Now I'll just wait for the beasts to come.
I wonder how many I'll need to trade for a yurt.
Oh! That looks like plenty!
I bet I could get several yurts if I kill all these.
Here goes!
The way I fight is...
all instinct and brute strength as I swing my battle-axe.
That's all there is to it!
About half got away, but this'll do for today.
How am I going to carry all these?
I'm bringing one back, at least,
but I went on that rampage without thinking ahead.
I bet Alna's going to insult me again.
That icy look in her eyes takes a real toll.
Good job!
You brought down a black ghee on your first hunt!
That's plenty manly!
Right... So you call these black ghees?
This isn't the only one.
I hunted about half a herd, but I couldn't carry them all back.
Could you tell me a good way—
How many is half a herd?
About thirty or forty, I think.
That's incredible!
I have a much better opinion of you now!
Not bad. You demonstrated your manliness right away.
He sure did! I've never seen anything so manly!
I'll go get some menfolk!
We've got to collect the black ghees that he...
that Dias hunted before the sun sets!
She actually said my name.
You really are strong.
Superbly manly.
What exactly do you mean by "manly"?
A man's value.
Is he a hard worker? Is he reliable?
All such things make up manliness.
Does that have anything to do with why Alna's in such a good mood?
Alna is a grown woman.
It is only natural she delight in seeing such manliness.
Does manliness make one attractive?
Women must care about other things too,
like good looks and conversation.
Don't be ridiculous.
Will good looks or conversation fill your belly?
Marry an unmanly man, and even the children go hungry.
Anything other than manliness is of no value to a woman.
Your value system's a lot different than the kingdom's.
Alna's a beauty and a hard worker, so if you marry her,
the expectation for the wedding gift would be higher than usual.
Oh, no, no, no! That's not my intention!
No need to worry.
A horned and a hornless can have children just fine.
No, you don't understand!
That's not what I'm worried about at all!
Good morning, Dias.
I just finished making breakfast.
This is good, Alna!
I-Is it? It wasn't much trouble.
Ahem! So, Dias...
Hm?
What will you hunt today?
Was yesterday's haul not enough?
If you're going to gather people here, you'll need a well and a privy.
To get the village craftsmen to make those, you'll need more to trade.
Then maybe I'll hunt more black ghees.
No, the villagers would prefer you to bring back a variety of things.
How about going after a monster today?
A monster, huh?
Their meat is too full of miasma to eat,
but their claws, horns, and the magic stones in their hearts
do fetch a high price.
You used to hunt monsters, didn't you?
Yeah. But are there any around here?
Not many, but you can track them down.
I can use magic to find monsters.
Go with me, and you'll be done in no time!
No, going up against monsters is dangerous.
Just tell me where one is, and I'll—
I'm sure hunting in a pair is more fun than going alone!
That's true.
They say the value of baars is in their wool, not their meat,
so it's important to brush them.
Does that feel good, Francis?
It's your turn next, Francoise.
Hello!
Dias!
We brought dried meat and blankets!
Thank you!
There's a delay on the yurts.
The craftsmen have their hands full.
Could you tell them that's okay? I'm in no hurry.
Looks like the men appreciate me more for my manliness as well.
Dias!
I'm done getting ready.
Her makeup's different.
It's like... It's very...
Thanks a lot.
Sure thing.
I asked the menfolk to look after the baars.
So I'm free to go along with you all day today.
L-Let's get right to that hunt.
They show up around here a lot?
You can leave the monster tracking to me.
I'm good with magic too, not just housework.
I'm in your hands.
Yoojinshis, crosp, intohshez, intohrige, intoharey, gnuinton.
Shize, foh, intohjhe, shize, fahw.
Trey, dista, squlat, angey, atan!
I found one. It's a pretty big monster.
It's big, is it?
I'll go take a look myself first. You stay here, Alna.
Did you forget? I can use Concealment.
If it's too much for you to handle, I'll hide us and we'll escape.
All right.
If you won't be in any danger, let's go together.
That's...
A turtle?
It's an earth dragon. What's it doing here?
It's not a turtle?
Okay, I'll try giving it a whack.
D-Don't be a fool! We're talking about a dragon!
Alna, you keep out of sight!
It's tough!
Okay, then...
It can shield its weak spots?
Run while you can, Dias!
Taking on an earth dragon by yourself is too reckless!
I'd rather wait until I'm out of other options before I run.
If one blow doesn't work, my style is to go for seconds and thirds!
That's not looking good.
Mend.
There.
A nice surprise the first time you see it.
I got this battle-axe long ago from defeating a foreign soldier.
Called himself "Shogun" or something.
Its motif looks like a lion, and not only is it abnormally sturdy,
but it'll repair minor damage on its own given time.
And if you will it to mend, it's as good as new on the spot.
Now, back to work!
Man, I'm stumped.
After all that, it still hasn't split.
The earth dragon's miasma...
Even from over there, it's eating away at me.
Is she cold?
I think we'd better get home soon.
It sucks that I can't defeat this wannabe turtle...
but I might as well take one more swing!
It broke?!
You've got that kind of attack, huh?!
Alna!
It's aiming at Alna?
Not me, but her?
Oh, no, you don't!
I swore an oath.
No matter what foe I may face, I will protect her!
Alna!
A-Alna?
We're getting married!
I'm going to marry you!