There’s no brother better than the one who’s older.

The story goes back a little in time.

The place is Old Goldendoon, now known as Zaid Village.

The protagonist, of course...

◆

My name is Zaid Gandar Bairoroad.

The second son of Lord Bairoroad, the Marquis of the Frontier, who rules the largest territory in the Kingdom of Maugaria.

My mother was Bela, the second wife at the time.

Illumina, the former wife, passed away. Now my mother, Bella, is the current wife. And yet... Father seems to favor Illumina’s child.

But!

Who else but me, the one with the greatest ability, is fit to be the next Marquis of the Frontier!?

If I’ve inherited my father’s blood, favoritism isn’t allowed!

I’ve got the proven track record of ruling part of the Marquis’s frontier territory, and thanks to Bela’s advice, I’m now in control of the land my brother Kyle abandoned—(……)—!

Of course, it’s me who should be getting the credit here—but all I hear is praise for Kyle!

What kind of trickery is he pulling now?!

A younger brother surpassing his elder? That’s not allowed!

But Kyle’s achievements—yeah, they look good on paper.

Sure, they’re flashy, but empty. No need to dig deeper to know that.

So I’ve gotta pull off some impressive results too.

Lost in that circle of thought, I finally hear a knock at the door.

“Summons for you, Zaid-sama?”

“Late again! Jitarou!”

The one who steps in is my alchemist—well, not exactly serving me, but close enough. Jitarou.

Jabir used to be a proper looker—plenty of curves, just my type—back in the day. But then some experiment went sideways, and now he’s stuck with a kid’s body. First time I saw him like that, I was shocked. But honestly? More tragic than anything.

Still, despite that tiny frame, his mind’s as sharp as ever. Except for being stubborn and spoiled, of course.

“I’m swamped with writing papers, you know.”

Jabir muttered, “It’s that idiot sending me new methods one after another.”

“Huh? Did you say something? Your voice was quiet.”

“Just talking to myself.”

I huff through my nose.

“Fine, I’ll take it if you’re writing papers that don’t do anything useful. But have you finished the Healing Potion I asked for?”

"Of course I have. But what do you plan to do with such a massive amount of Healing Potions? I already told you—I won’t have them sold."

"I remember the contract. Don’t worry. These are for soldiers."

"Still, that’s an enormous quantity."

"Hmph. I’ll let you know—very soon, I’ll purge the monsters from the marshlands!"

"What?!"

Zaid snorts through his nose. He looks pleased at Javir’s shocked face.

Of course, the gap between what Zaid thought of Javir and why Javir was shocked was wide.

"Lord Zaid. That’s a bit reckless, isn’t it? That place is vast—Goldendawn itself gave up on clearing the monsters..."

I slammed my hand down hard right there.

What Javir had just said—that was the key.

"That’s right! The fact that Kyle said it was impossible—that’s what matters!"

I cut Javir off mid-sentence and spread my hands wide, grinning.

Javir choked on whatever he was about to say.

“Apologies—gotta rephrase. It’s not that we gave up on clearing the marshes. More like, Zaid’s village is closer, so Kyle-sama’s been holding back on developing it. That’s the real story.”

I snorted again.

“Hmph. Claiming land’s about who gets there first. Yeah, sure, the marshes are a ways off from Kyle’s village. But they’re not exactly light-years away from this one either. So if he stepped back, that means he gave up! That’s it!”

I laid out the truth, the one and only correct answer.

I was sure I’d just outsmarted Javir for once, but then—she sighed, hand sliding to her hip.

"Clearing out the swamp creatures, that’s the task. From what I’ve heard from my pupil, though, the current strength of Goldendown is more than enough for it. So why aren’t we doing it now? Either we’re just not interested, or we’re preparing… "

"Hmph! It’s just cowardice, plain and simple! If we clear the swamps, we can grow tons of rice—no more food shortages!"

"Because there’s already a massive farm run by that idiot apprentice there. That’s why we’re not short on food…"

"Silence, Javir! I don’t know what tricks you’ve pulled before, but Kyle—the one who always delivered flashy results—gave up on it! Think about it logically. Clearing swamps should be easier than hunting dragons, shouldn’t it!?"

That’s right!

No matter how you slice it, clearing swamps is easier than hunting dragons. That’s why Kyle’s gotta have used some trick or cheat on the dragon hunt!

“Nah, you can’t just send a big force out there—too far. You’ve gotta wipe out all those strong Hydras scattered across the vast marshes. That’s way more trouble than dragon slaying. Honestly, with Goldendown’s current size, we’re barely holding the line, let alone cleaning up the outskirts. Hmph. You weren’t listening, were you?”

Who the hell listens to your nonsense?!

Always making excuses—can’t you see the truth for once?

I’ll show everyone just how inflated Kyle’s past achievements were—and prove once and for all that I’m the superior one! What’s there to hesitate about?!"

Jabir fell silent again.

Seemed like he finally grasped what I’d said. I nodded, satisfied.

"I’m throwing all three hundred of my personal troops into it—first, thin them out a bit, then methodically eliminate every last one. I’d have preferred to wipe them out all at once, but the commander advised against it. Hmph. Too cautious, maybe. But we’ve got to succeed, no matter what."

"Hold on—wait a minute! You’re not hiring adventurers for this purge, are you!?"

"Uh? Of course not. Most of the adventurers who come through this village are registered with Kyle’s village—annoying, really."

That’s right.

Most of the adventurers coming through my village are either hired as caravan guards or out to hunt hydras in that swampy region.

They just stay here for the night, that’s all.

There aren’t any adventurers operating out of this village.

Probably the captain’s advice was just a roundabout way of saying “impossible.”

Jabir could only feel sorry for the soldiers.

“Zaid-sama. Is that really settled? Could it be the captain’s advice was just a polite way of saying ‘impossible’?”

“My soldiers aren’t weaklings!”

Jabir exhaled softly.

“Fine. Then I’ll send over a stamina potion made by my idiot apprentice later. Take it with you.”

Jabir’s idiot apprentice… that’s Craft, isn’t it?

His stamina potion’s a precious thing, you know!?

“What? That’s worth a pretty penny? You giving it to soldiers?”

“If you’re selling it, I’m not supplying it. It’s my personal stuff.”

“Hmm… you couldn’t make one of that quality. A shame, but I’ll arrange it that way.”

“Indeed. Got it from my idiot apprentice as a gift and sample… the soldier’s safety’s more important, so he’ll forgive me, won’t he?”

Jabir exhaled deeply, deeply.

“Meh, I’ll be fine as long as I drink my daily dose. The paper’s already submitted, so it doesn’t matter if there’s no sample left. What matters more is lowering the odds of people dying.”

“Don’t care about the details. I’m taking it anyway… Can’t you tell Craft to send over some stamina potions for sale?”

“If you’re telling me to do that, then I’m not staying under Zaid’s command anymore.”

“…I understand. Forget it.”

Hmph. Always worrying about his students, huh.

Pain in the ass.

Oh well. From now on, it’s my time!

And so, with all due fanfare, my elite troops marched boldly into the marshlands.

Well, they set out, anyway…

◆

“What in the world is this!? What’s going on!?”

The returning soldiers were battered to hell. It was miraculous they weren’t dead.

The captain, wrapped in bandages, knelt on one knee.

“Zaid-sama! Forgive us! We gave it everything, but the marshland is vast—endless. The hydra horde never stops, never rests. We had no choice but to retreat!”

“W-what!? That can’t be right! Those adventurers from Kyle’s village should’ve been hunting by instinct, shouldn’t they!?”

“I saw their battle on site. They’re off— I mean, they’re strong. I’m talking nearly on par with a B-rank adventurer like Gandar…!”

“Adventurers, for heaven’s sake!? You’ve trained, you’ve been paid— how can you be worse than some street-level scavenger adventurers!?”

The captain clenches his teeth.

"...The adventurer party had mages, clerics with holy sigils, balanced well. And their goal— the hydra’s gemstone and materials— meant they didn’t push hard. They’d take a few targets, then move on. No full wipe. That’s why their fighting style’s so different from ours..."

The marquis hums, arms crossed.

Easy to call your own troops useless. But thinking adventurers are beneath you? That cuts deep.

Besides… he’s not wrong, is he.

This was our first real assault. A good commander should cut some slack, don’t you think?

“Then rethink your strategy! You’re my soldiers, aren’t you!? Defeat by adventurers? That’s unacceptable!”

“Hai! Haiii!”

All at once, heads bowing low.

Hmm. Letting them off the hook this time—they’ll be grateful. More loyal than ever. Next mission? Guaranteed success.

Yep. I’m a damn fine commander.

“Zaid-sama…”

I turn. It’s Javil.

“What is it, Javil? You were supposed to be tending to the wounded.”

This little girl. She’s got healing skills beyond alchemy. If I don’t use her now, what’s the point of keeping her around?

“I’m tending to them, of course. But look at this mess—do you really plan to just repeat the same mistakes?”

"Isn't figuring out plans the soldiers' job? You're not satisfied just letting this pass without punishment!?"

"Ugh..."

Jabir crossed his arms and grunted for a moment, then lifted his face with sudden resolve.

"Zaid-sama. I've said it before—this marshland is vast. True, success would be a great feat, but with these forces, it's beyond reach, don't you think?"

"Hmph. That's precisely why it's a great feat. If I accomplish what Kyle gave up on, I'll surpass even my brother."

"But…"

"Enough, Jabir! This is settled!"

"...Understood."

Jabir sighed heavily and returned to his lab. On the way, his muttering drifted out.

"Well then... I suppose I'll have to put off research for now and make potions for the troops."

Hmph. Just make the damn medicine from the start, why not?

But yeah, he’s a pain when he gets stubborn. Honestly, that little girl’s impossible to deal with.

I headed toward my office, surrounded by subordinates who were anything but reliable, doing my duty as a noble.

And...

"Th-there's trouble, Zaid-sama!"

"What's all the noise about?"

It was a few days after the soldier returned.

I was going through paperwork when a bureaucrat burst into the office, face pale with panic.

S-so, look at this!

The civil servant carried a massive stack of wooden tablets. Judging by the lack of parchment, they didn’t look like anything particularly important.

I picked up a wooden slip, traced the characters—and blood rushed from my face.

It was a soldier’s resignation letter.

I grab bamboo slips one after another.

This… this… this… all of this… isn’t a resignation letter, is it?! What’s going on with these bureaucrats, huh?!

"Wh-what's going on here, this is just a regular resignation letter... all of this... all of it... refusing retirement pay and pension, wants to quit right now..."

Blood drained from my head, then exploded into fire.

"F-f-fuck me... fuck me, fuck me, FUCK ME!! Call the captain immediately!"

"Um... currently, the bamboo slip in Zaid's hand is the captain's resignation letter..."

The clerk's face turned white as a sheet, pointing at the slip in his hand.

I thought I heard something snap inside my skull.

"So... so... everyone, huh..."

I didn't mean to, but I started laughing. A dry, hollow laugh.

"Fine... I'll accept anyone who wants to quit. I'll pay them their retirement bonus properly."

"Eh... eh?!"

The clerk blinked twice, stunned.

"But! That’s only after we’ve cleared the swamps! I won’t allow any of you to quit until every last monster there is driven out! If you still insist on leaving, you’ll be executed on the spot for desertion in the face of the enemy!"

"S-So! I do admit, my personal troops are bound by contract—desertion in wartime is punishable by death—but the current situation is…!"

"Can you honestly say we’re not already at war with the creatures in that swamp!?"

"I… I mean… but surely that’s a bit extreme…!"

"Shut up! We’re already in combat! No exceptions for discharge! Inform everyone at once!"

"Y-Yes! Sir!"

"Also…"

I reached out and took the legendary sword hanging on the wall.

A slender, slightly curved saber with a single edge and a large guard.

The legendary sword given to me by my father on my coming of age—a magical blade forged with abundant mithril.

It can slice through stone like butter.

I drew the saber from its sheath after far too long. One swing.

A faint trace of magic lingered in the air.

"Tell them I’m coming."

I have to show them—politically, with the blade—I’m better than Kyle!

The next day, I donned my armor again after ages, mounted my horse.

I stepped forward before the ranks of soldiers, raised the saber high.

"Then let us go forth and annihilate the evil monsters nesting in our human domain!"

"OOOOOOOOO!!!"

The soldiers’ roar echoed, and the townsfolk answered with eager eyes, cheering us on.

Yes!

That’s exactly what I need. That’s exactly what fits me.

And so, with three hundred men behind me, I set out into the marshlands.

Of course.

Never saw that coming, not even a little.

Chapter three ends here!

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