The dreams I've had after entering this new world have all been quite vivid and exciting which further energizes me to the coming day. We had departed from Granbell after eating breakfast at the inn and had made good time on the path to Ludisveil. The further we got away from the busy city, the more picturesque the landscape became. There were rolling hills and trees everywhere, a clear difference to the concrete landscapes back on Earth. The smell of the earth and the unpolluted air added to this clean atmosphere which actually made me appreciate the lack of cars.

While enjoying the scenery, my mind naturally wandered to our new vice-captain, Reiia. I personally didn't know much about her, and the only ones with information would be my father and captain Lloyd. There may be others such as the head butler Sebastian and those in high positions in the family, but the lower ranked knights and myself only knew what we had seen. I had heard that on the first day of her arrival, she allowed anyone to challenge her. This caused a stir with the knights who excitedly sparred with her until everyone was beaten into submission. I couldn't personally witness it due to my classes, but I had been told that her strength was more than enough for the position. I just wondered why she decided to come to the Glouse Duchy instead of the Hartford's who excel in swordsmanship. I was dying to ask Reiia, but I wanted to do so after spending more time with her and in a private setting.

We took a couple a break at the halfway point to Ludisveil so that we could stretch our legs and eat some of the snacks we brought. The knights of course took turns staying on watch around the carriage as we split up the snacks between us. Since I only had a little bit of knowledge about Ludisveil, I decided to ask my usual go-to Ana about it.

"Well, Ludisveil has always been a farming community for as long as the Glouse Duchy has existed. It's fertile soil and close proximity to a couple of lakes made it an ideal spot for families to gather and work the earth. The community has grown quite a bit throughout the years and it has steadily increased its importance to the duchy with the amount of wheat and other crops they use during rotations. They are highly protective of their land, however, and do all they can to ensure that no harm comes to the soil or lakes that provide them with such benefits."

I nodded my head at the explanation. The information given by Ana lined up with what I had read and learned about the Glouse Duchy. If one were to compare the duchy to a country, it would be similar to the Netherlands, but without all the worries of going underwater.

We quickly finished up with our break and finished our journey to Ludisveil. What surprised me the most were the amount of villagers who had lined up in front of the carriage with a man at the front. He was an older man, and one could easily tell that he had been a farmer all his life by the calluses on his hands along with his well built frame. Once I had exited the carriage with Ana, all the villagers immediately bowed in my direction as the man in front began to speak.

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"We humbly welcome the member of Glouse to Ludisveil. If there is anything that you need please let any of us know and we will gladly accommodate you."

My eyes grew wide at this reception, but I quickly regained my composure and said,

"Thank you for the warm welcome, I am Ray Glouse and I am only here to check up on the people within the duchy. I had heard good things about Ludisveil and wanted to see for myself the village that is held in high regards by the duke. You may continue with what you were all doing as we will only be here for the day before we head back to Granbell."

I gave them a warm smile as I motioned for everyone to stand back up. Seeing the villagers bowing had given me goosebumps, but I guess it's something I should get used to considering my position in the empire.

We were assigned a guide by the village chief to help us learn more about the village and the area surrounding it. Due to the rural nature of the village, they relied mostly on trade from Granbell to acquire magical instruments or objects that couldn't be crafted by their craftsmen. The villagers were quite adept at using their hands and relying on their own skills to survive in this area, and were proud of the fact that they did not need external aid to live.

While walking around the lakes, a refreshing breeze could be felt as we listened to our guide.

"This lake is called Blue Mother, and is considered the holiest one out of the group. It is said that when our ancestors first settled here, the lake provided the necessary sustenance for them to survive as they got their lives started. They would catch fish in the lake and later use the leftovers has fertilizer for their crops. The lake gave them life just as a mother would."

We continued the tour passing by the golden fields of grains. The more I learned about Ludisveil, the more importance I placed upon it in my mind. I would need to build up infrastructure and defense here in the future for the upcoming war that would hit the continent. Along with that thought, I wanted to generally improve the roads across the Glouse Duchy. Transportation was the lifeblood of a territory, and improving it would improve the overall economy by incentivizing merchants to use the newly established routes.

I gave the guide a small tip before dismissing him as a token of my appreciation. They stood in disbelief as they counted the coins I had given and tearfully thanked me while bowing. I gave my farewells to the chief and boarded the carriage since the sun had begun to set. I wanted to sleep in my own bed tonight and be rested for the upcoming week. My missions would be available Monday and I could take a look at progressing my swordsmanship now that I had acquired TCUG.

Ana's head was drooping down a bit as the carriage went along the path back towards Granbell and I couldn't help but smile. Everyone around me had been respectful and fun to be with, and I hoped that I could continue forming relations with those in the duchy. By the time we arrived back at our mansion, the moon had replaced the sun and the stars were twinkling across the night sky. I don't think I could ever tire of the natural beauty that this world contained.