2. What was the Content of the Novel?

The story of the light novel is a typical rise-to-power harem story. The protagonist, the eldest son of a duke’s family, was expelled by his father’s mistress and her son when he was 18 years old. He was banished to the frontier area, where he joined the frontier Knights and used his rare skill “earth manipulation” to improve the harsh environment of the frontier and live a slow life. During this time, he deepened his relationships with the heroines, and the story ended with him marrying the main heroine.

“Hmm, the events up until now are quite different,” he said, putting down his pen and staring at what he had written. 

In this life, Gil came to this frontier territory six years ago. At that time, Gil’s father, Duke Febril, conspired with his mistress to embezzle the income from his territory. Gil, who was 12 years old at the time, obtained evidence of the wrongdoing and accused the Febril family. The scandal of the historic Duke’s family caused a big stir in the capital. 

Gil, who temporarily inherited the Duke’s family, relinquished his title and territory to the royal family due to his young age and the lack of suitable candidates among his relatives to succeed in the title. He chose to be adopted by his distant relative, the Mason Count family, and came to the frontier region with me.

“At that time, I was happy without thinking about anything,” he continued, reminiscing. 

Due to my weak constitution, it had been decided for a long time that I would go to the frontier territory for medical treatment when I turned 12. I was lonely without Gil, who was my only childhood friend, and cried to him every day back then. As a result of the incident, he was able to come with me to the frontier territory, and I was foolishly happy about it. Although Gil smiled with me, I now realize that I should have stopped him…

Looking back, I think that with Gil’s abilities, he could have managed the territory well. Gil, as the Frontier count’s adopted son, is not in a position to inherit the title. If he had stayed in the capital as a duke, he wouldn’t have had to join dangerous knights’ orders as he does now. Even as the second prince, if I had ordered him to do something as a member of the royal family, he and those around him would not have been able to object.

According to the novel, it was fitting for Gil to come to the frontier territory, but I felt a heavy weight on my chest as I thought about whether I had ruined Gil’s happiness.

“But if I follow the novel from now on, Gil will be able to be happy. I’ll do my best.”

“I can’t change the past, but I can cooperate with what’s going to happen from now on. I want Gil, whom I love so much, to be happy no matter what. So, I will do everything I can to make that happen.”

“Let’s summarize the main characters first.”

First, the protagonist Gilbert Febril. In the novel, the story progresses with him remaining under the Duke’s estate, but now that he’s been adopted, his family name is Mason.

He’s 18 years old, the same age as me. In the novel, he was supposed to come to the frontier after graduating from the capital’s academy, but in reality, he attended the frontier school with me and graduated at the top of the knight class this spring.

His skill “Earth manipulation” may have a lame name, but it has the power of fertility and is a rare skill blessed by the gods that can enrich the land where it’s used.

In the six years since he came to the frontier, Gilbert has fully demonstrated the power of this skill. When we arrived, the frontier was an infertile land covered in miasma, overrun by monsters.

Gilbert used the power of his skill and his charisma to inspire those around him, pushing the monsters back into dungeons, clearing the miasma, and developing the town.

Now, the area is known as a city of adventurers and pharmacists, with high-level dungeons and fertile lands that produce high-quality medicinal herbs. These reforms were supposed to be carried out after the main story in the novel began, but in reality, most of them have already been implemented, demonstrating how powerful Gilbert’s abilities are.

“The truth is stranger than fiction, isn’t it?”

In reality, Gilbert is much more amazing than the protagonist I imagined. He’s kind to everyone, notices even the smallest details, and is intelligent…

Well, let’s leave it at that for Gil. I tend to overthink things because of my strong attachment, but let’s move on. The main heroine is my half-sister, the first princess of the kingdom, Lily Beldujour. She is my childhood friend, and when we were in the capital, Gil, Lily, and I used to play together often. She is 16 years old, two years younger than us.

As her brother, I may be biased, but Lily is undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in the kingdom, no, even more, the royal green eyes passed down from the king, and the softly waving golden hair from the queen makes her a true treasure of the Beldujour kingdom.

Her personality is tsundere, but she is a kind-hearted girl. Moreover, she is a top-notch magician and has a special skill called ‘space transfer.’

The second heroine is Mia Mason, the daughter of the frontier count, and she became a knight a year before the protagonist, at 21 years old. In the story, the protagonist eventually becomes the Mason family’s adopted son, so she is also his sister-in-name. She is a slim and lively beauty with a straightforward personality.

The third heroine is a female adventurer, Natalie. She is the same age as the protagonist, which is rare in the frontier area. She has a cheerful personality, and despite her cute appearance like a small animal, she is already a B-rank adventurer and looks very cool wielding a big axe.

“These three are the same in reality.”

All three are attractive girls, and of course, they are popular among those around them. I never thought about how the three of them felt about Gil, but there’s no way anyone could hate him.

By the way, in the novel, I am Gil’s childhood friend, but unlike in the story where we were separated for six years, Gil and I are close friends in reality.

“But this is a good thing, isn’t it?”

In the novel, the girls never get into any dangerous situations, and instead, the story revolves around the male protagonist’s friend (me) getting involved in various troubles and helping to deepen his bonds with the heroines. Gil is kind-hearted, so he would have helped me even if I were just a childhood friend, but in reality, as his “best friend,” he would never abandon me.

“The bond with the heroines will deepen more.”

The reason why I get involved in trouble is simple: it’s better to have some trouble to get closer to the heroines. However, it’s pitiful for the girls to get into dangerous situations. So in my past life, I came up with the idea of a male mob character who wouldn’t feel pain even if he caused trouble. That’s the character of me, the protagonist’s friend, in this life. Even if it’s true, but try being in the position of getting into dangerous situations, my past self. Even if you don’t die, it’s scary.

“Well, it’s better than my cute Lily getting scared, isn’t it…?”

As an older brother, it’s unthinkable to let my beloved younger sister get into scary situations. So I can’t say it’s okay because it’s another girl.

“And if I can cause trouble properly, it will lead to Gil’s happiness!”

On the other hand, if I think about it the other way around, this is something that only I can do. Thinking that way, I suddenly feel motivated.