Night, 3rd day, 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar � Royal Capital Parnam.

The moon shone brightly in the mostly-clear sky.

It was a night so quiet that it was hard to believe that only a few days ago, this country, the Elfrieden Kingdom, had fought a major battle with the neighboring Principality of Amidonia.

As the victors in the recent series of engagements, there had been a raucous celebration when news of their triumph had reached Parnam, but now that some days had passed, things had settled down considerably.

The young King of Elfrieden (though he was as yet uncrowned, so he was only king provisionally), Souma Kazuya, had declared the war over with the occupation of the capital of the principality, Van, and the area surrounding it. Now they were waiting for negotiations to begin.

The people were waiting with bated breath to see how the negotiations would play out.

5th day, 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar � Princely Capital Van.

�Okay� on to the next document,� I said.

Whether I was in the royal capital, Parnam, or the princely capital, Van, my work as king was always the same. I stayed in the governmental affairs office, poring over the documents Hakuya had prepared for me and signing off on them. Especially now, with the occupation of Van having begun so recently, my workload had increased.

Letting several days worth of work accumulate so that I could produce that music program hadn�t helped. Even as I worked day and night, using my Living Poltergeists to their fullest, the number of stacks of paper in front of me refused to decrease. In the end, I had ended up installing a bed in the governmental affairs office of Van, too, so that I could get back to work as soon as I woke up.

So, today, like every day, I had sat myself down at the desk the moment I got out of bed, and I was staring down a pile of papers as the morning sunlight streamed into the office.

�Isn�t it about time you got your own room?� Liscia asked from her position beside me, sounding a little exasperated. She had been helping me. �This castle has a lot of rooms.�

�I�m buried in work from dawn to dusk,� I said. �There�s not much point in having a room if I only go back there to sleep. Honestly� just when things had finally settled down in the kingdom, I ended up creating more work for myself by occupying Van. It�s like, to hell with the Labor Standards Act.�

�What kind of nonsense are you even talking about?� Liscia asked. �Come on, here�s the next document.�

�Yeah� Wait, this again?�

When I looked over the document she passed me, I slumped my shoulders.

It said, �The people of Van want to hold an outdoor music concert in the plaza. Is it okay for us to permit that?� I had already processed several similar petitions just today.

They were for concerts, plays, art exhibitions, calligraphy exhibitions, and circuses, among other things. It seemed that, after seeing that broadcast, the people of Van had awakened to the idea of expressing themselves through the arts. Yes, it was truly�

�A renaissaaaance,� I said, stretching out the word.

��What�s up? That came out of nowhere,� Liscia said.

��Nothing.�

Liscia looked at me kind of funny.

Yeah, if I was going to make her laugh by saying the word funny, I was probably going to have to introduce it to the local language first, I thought.

While the original Renaissance had come as a revival of Greek and Roman humanism as the influence of the Christian church had declined, this one would be a cultural revival that came from people celebrating the arts after being freed from militarism.

�But, still� I know fall is the season for art, but this awakening is way too sudden,� I commented.

To be honest, I�d have preferred not being swamped with an endless stream of requests for art and culture events. This city was technically under occupation, after all. If the events drew large crowds, it was possible that conspirators could gather there or they could be targeted by terrorists. I wished they�d put themselves in my shoes, as the guy who had to check thoroughly to make sure that wasn�t happening.

When she saw me holding my head in my hands, Liscia gave a wry smile. �You can�t blame them, really. It just means your broadcast had that much impact, right? It seems like this sort of stuff has been being suppressed pretty heavily up until now.�

��I�ll bet,� I said. �I doubt a militarist state would let them express themselves.�

Burning books for being slightly critical of the ruling regime, jailing people for singing songs that called for peace, publicly executing the head of a theater troupe for putting on a play that satirized the government� I thought. They�d probably have done all of that without a second thought. This excitement I�m seeing is probably the recoil from that.

�Though, thanks to that, my workload increases,� I said glumly.

�No grumbling,� said Liscia. �It�s better than them opposing us.�

�Well, yes, but� Maybe I�ll set up a bureau to handle events,� I said, inspiration striking. �If I put Margarita in charge of it, I could have her handle everything to do with entertainment.�

�That�s fine with me, but� you do the paperwork for it.�

�Oof��

It looked like, struggle as I might, my workload wasn�t going to decrease.

Well, I�m the king, so I guess there�s no helping that, huh.

I worked into the afternoon, and just as I was feeling hungry and was saying to Liscia that we should break for lunch, the Minister for the Food Crisis, Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta, entered the room.

Poncho walked over to stand before me, his round belly shaking as he did, then gave a tense salute. �U-Um, Your Majesty, I was hoping I could have a moment of your time, yes.�

He was clearly anxious. He might not have looked impressive at the moment, but Poncho here had been instrumental in solving the food crisis, and he was a man I had hand-picked to work at my side, so he was a respected figure in the country.

That�s why I wish he�d get used to standing in front of me already� I thought.

�Is something the matter?� I asked.

�Y-Yes! There is something I wanted to show you, sire, yes,� Poncho said, pulling something out of the bag he was carrying and placing it on the office desk.

�You wanted to show us� a flower?� Liscia, who was watching us, said in confusion.

Poncho had pulled out a single flower. It looked similar to a lily. However, it had a toxic-looking combination of pink, yellow, and brown petals.

If this were a mushroom, that�d be a clear warning not to eat it, I thought.

�What is it?� I asked.

�Y-Yes! This is a flower called a �beguiling lily,� yes.�

�Oh, okay, I know what a lily is,� I said. �But what�s so beguiling about it?�

�This flower�s pollen has a powerful hallucinogenic effect,� he explained. �It induces anyone who inhales it into a state similar to sleepwalking. It primarily grows in the mountains. Long ago, there was an incident where an army division inhaled it while marching. They fell off a cliff fleeing from enemies that didn�t even exist and were wiped out as a result.�

�Scary!� I exclaimed. Is it like a non-controlled drug, or something like that? �Wait, don�t bring that stuff in here!�

�I�It�s fine,� said Poncho. �I�ve already removed the pollen, yes.�

��Really? Well, as long as you�re sure it�s safe,� I said.

�Yes,� he agreed. �Besides, the pollen from one or two won�t have any effect. If you try to approach a field where hundreds of them are growing, though, even covering your nose and mouth with a cloth won�t help� Yes.�

Well, yeah, short of wearing an air filtration mask, I doubt you can block out all of the pollen, I thought. I�ve never had to deal with it myself, but the people with pollen allergies look like they have a hard time even with a mask on.

�So, you wanted to show me this flower?� I prompted.

�No, the flower is merely a something of a bonus, sire. What I wanted you to see was this.� With those words, Poncho pulled out a small roundish object. This one was� a vegetable, perhaps? It was white, round, and lumpy, like scallion bulbs or cloves of garlic densely clumped together into something like a pine cone.

�What is it?� I asked.

�Th-This is a beguiling lily rootstalk, yes.�

�The rootstalk�� I murmured. �Oh, lily root, huh!�

�Eek!�What was that for, so suddenly?� My sudden outburst had surprised Liscia.

I�d been excited by the sudden and unexpected appearance of a luxury ingredient.

Hmm, so this is lily root, I thought. I�ve seen a single piece as an ingredient in a bowl of chawanmushi before, but this is my first time seeing a whole bulb. It�s supposed to taste like potato, if I remember correctly.

��Well then, Poncho Ishizuka Paramedic,� I began.

�I�It�s Panacotta, yes.�

�Can you eat it?� I asked.

�Yes, of course you can. This root has no hallucinogenic effect, yes.�

�And, how does it taste?� I asked.

�If you steam them, they�re soft, flaky, and delicious. I might add, these beguiling lilies grow all over the mountains of Amidonia.�

That�s good to hear, I thought. Lily root is rich in carbohydrates. It can be used as a staple food, like potatoes. If we could harvest these, it might lead to a breakthrough in solving the principality�s food crisis.

�But with the pollen, you can�t go anywhere near where they grow, right?� I asked.

�Yes,� he agreed. �And if they aren�t harvested while they�re releasing pollen, toxicity builds up in their rootstalks. That�s why they aren�t customarily eaten in Amidonia, yes.�

�Well, that�s no good, then,� I said. �Even if they�re edible, if you can�t harvest them, then� Wait, huh? Then how�d you get this one here?�

When I asked that, Poncho pulled out a map and pointed to an area in the northeast of the Gran Chaos Empire.

�There is a people in the mountains of the Gran Chaos Empire who harvest the beguiling lily and use it as their staple food. They�ve developed a peculiar method of harvesting them, yes.�

�What is that method?� I asked.

�They use the shoujou for it, you see, yes.�

�The shoujou� They�re a type of orangutan, right?� I wondered aloud, to which Poncho nodded.

�Among the varieties of orangutan that live in the mountains, one species has a resistance to the effects of beguiling lily pollen. It seems these orangutans regularly dig up the rootstalks and eat them. The mountain people of the Empire have trained these orangutans to do the harvesting for them.�

I see, so like the cormorants used in cormorant fishing, huh, I thought. Taming them would normally be the hard part, but� we have an expert in that field in our country.

�Are those orangutans here in Amidonia, too?� I asked.

�Yes,� he said. �It seems they live in the mountains near Van, too. I already have Tomoe negotiating with them for us. The shoujou are famous for their love of alcohol, so I suspect they�ll happily work for us if we give them a barrel once in a while in lieu of money, yes.�

��It�s good to see that you work so quickly,� I said.

Not only do we have the Rhinosaurus Preserve, now we�re making the Van Ape Army, too, huh, I thought. At this rate, I could turn Elfrieden into a literal animal kingdom. Ha ha ha�

��Hey, Liscia,� I said.

�What?� she asked.

�If you think this policy is too crazy, you�re welcome to stop it, okay?�

��Don�t look to me to make that decision.�

Liscia turned away, refusing to have anything to do with this.

One week (eight days) later, the food distributed in Van included a dumpling made with the root of the beguiling lily (lily root for short).

�We are distributing lily root dumplings here, yes,� said Poncho.

Poncho, the Minister for the Food Crisis himself, stood at the distribution site, personally handing out lily root dumpling soup to the people of Van. The food crisis had affected Amidonia deeply, so the people of Van lined up with pots in hand to take their soup ration home with them. In addition to the soup being distributed, there was also some on hand for tasting, and he was serving it to the people who had lined up for it.

�It really warms you up,� said one woman. �This is better than I expected.�

�The soup itself has a nice flavor to it,� another agreed. �I think it was called miso, right?�

�These dumplings, I bet they�d taste good fried, too, huh?� a third commented. �I�d love to try cooking them myself.�

As housewives of Van were talking, Poncho called out to them. �W-We have lily root dumplings that you can take home here, too. I would very much like for you to bring them back with you and let your family try them, yes.�

When Poncho held up a bag filled with lily root dumplings, a gleam flashed through housewives� eyes. Then, before he knew it, Poncho was surrounded by the ladies.

�My, how considerate,� said one. �It�s a big help, young man.�

�You, you�re one of that king�s personal retainers, right?� another asked. �Do you already have someone special to you?�

�Ah. No, I haven�t even considered marriage�� The moment Poncho said that, clearly flustered, there was a gleam in the housewives� eyes.

�Why, splendid! My daughter is a sweet girl, you know,� said one woman. �Maybe you�d like to take her off my hands?�

�Hey, no fair!� another protested. �If you take a wife, it should be my daughter! She has good birthing hips, like me, so I can promise she�ll give you a healthy baby!�

�If she went to live with a portly fellow like yourself, I wouldn�t have to worry about her going hungry,� another added.

�And, before he knew it, they were already trying to set Poncho up with a wife.

When they heard all the noise, some of the young ladies even volunteered themselves for the position.

�He�s one of the king�s favorites, isn�t he?� a young woman asked. �Sounds like a keeper to me.�

�It�s a chance to marry into money,� another agreed. �Yes, yes! Sign me up for that.�

The next thing he knew, Poncho was being swarmed by women young and old alike. Souma had just recently shown them that it was okay to express themselves, so the women were very forthright with their emotions. For Poncho, who was not used to this sort of attention, he had no idea what to do and was standing there nervously, when�

�What are you doing, Sir Poncho?�

�someone called out to him with a voice that wasn�t loud, but which carried well.

When the many women looked towards the voice, they saw a beautiful woman in a maid outfit with a ladle in her hand. Seeing the maid�s stunning beauty, the women gulped despite themselves.

Then, of all things, that maid walked over to Poncho, wrapping herself around his thick arm. �I�ve come here at His Majesty�s request to assist you with your work because you�re so shy, you know? Do you mean to slack off while I�m working for you?�

The moment after she said that, Serina cast a glance at the crowd of women. Serina wasn�t glaring at them, precisely, but they felt intimidated by her beautiful face.

What�s a beauty like her doing next to a tubby guy like him?! they thought.

They were even arm-in-arm. Could it be they were in a scandalous relationship?

Paying no mind to the women�s feelings, Serina shot Poncho a meaningful glance. �Do be sure that you make this up to me later. I won�t be satisfied with doing it just once tonight.�

Whaa?! The ladies gasped at Serina�s suggestive words.

By the way, the thing that Serina wasn�t going to be satisfied only doing once that night was taste-testing Poncho�s experimental dishes. Serina had become enraptured with the dishes Poncho made based on the B-grade cuisine from the world Souma came from. In other words, she was saying she wouldn�t be satisfied taste-testing only one dish.

Poncho correctly understood what she meant, and he said, �Y-Yes! I will get right back to work, yes!� and returned to his job distributing food.

Serina gave an indifferent shrug, then turned and gave the women an elegant bow before following after Poncho.

The women could only watch as the two of them left, feeling like they had been tricked somehow.

�Well, while there were some troubles, the lily root dumplings were delicious both fried and boiled, which did a lot to calm and soothe the hearts of the occupied people.

The culture of eating lily roots spread to Van, and Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta, who had distributed the dumplings to them personally, became respected almost in a godlike way by the housewives of Van, who came to call him �Lord Ishizuka.�

Perhaps, someday, he would have shrines built to worship him, like the Billiken.

Late in the 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar � Princely Capital Van.

A little more than three weeks had passed since the army of the Elfrieden Kingdom had come to occupy Van, the capital of the Principality of Amidonia.

The people of Van had looked harshly on their conquerors when they�d first arrived. However, with Souma keeping a tight rein on his soldiers, public order had improved, and with the lily root dumplings being distributed, the people were no longer at risk of starvation. Their distrust of the soldiers was gradually fading as a result. The fact that the nobles and knights who would normally have worked to foment a rebellion had all fled the city likely helped, too.

An air of calm was beginning to take hold in the city.

Though, that said� while it would have been nice if it had been purely calm, it seemed that the music program Souma was broadcasting had the people of Van burning with a passion for the arts. On every street corner there were minstrels, street musicians, and street performers of all kinds plying their trades.

On top of that, there were those who wanted to repaint their homes to be more colorful, and even those who wanted to produce wall murals displaying the beautiful countenances of Juna and the loreleis, Chris the newscaster, and Aisha, who was known for her part in hosting the program. Things were beginning to get out of hand.

Who would have believed this had been the capital of a militaristic state merely one month ago?

Souma called this period of Van the Amidonian Renaissance.

Sudden changes were always fraught with confusion, and in Van there were daily conflicts over the best places to hold street performances. The Forbidden Army troops who had been left to occupy the city were sent out to mediate, and the soldiers of the Army and Air Force who were camped outside the city looked on them with pity. Still, such disagreements never led to a major riot, and Van was more or less peaceful.

However, this day began with Aisha shouting noisily. �P-Princess!�

�Eek!� Liscia shrieked.

It was morning. Liscia had been getting dressed in the room she was using as her own when Aisha had barged in without so much as a knock at the door. It was so sudden that Liscia froze in surprise, but when she remembered she was in the middle of getting dressed, she continued putting on her uniform and asked, �Wh-What is it, Aisha? Why are you so flustered?�

�Th-That�s� His Majesty� His Majesty is�� Aisha sputtered. Perhaps because she was out of breath, she was having a hard time getting the words out.

�Calm down,� Liscia said. �Take a deep breath.�

�R-Right.� Aisha took a deep breath, as instructed. She swung her arms up and down in time with each heaving breath.

Once she was sure Aisha had calmed down, Liscia tried asking again. �So, what�s going on with Souma?�

�Right,� Aisha said. �I went to the governmental affairs office to greet His Majesty like usual this morning, but he wasn�t there. Instead, I found this note he left.� Aisha passed the piece of paper to Liscia.

Liscia took the piece of paper and read it over. It said, �I am going on a journey. Please, don�t look for me. - Souma Kazuya.�

Liscia pressed a hand to her temple and sighed, while Aisha returned to freaking out.

�Wh-Whatever shall we do? We must search for him at once!�

�I�m telling you, just calm down,� Liscia said. �Souma�s taking the day off.�

�Huh? A day off?� Aisha stared at her blankly.

�Right,� Liscia said, with a nod. �He�s with Tomoe. It looked like he�d been getting pretty close to the breaking point with his workload lately, so I suggested he take some time off. I even cleared it with Hakuya. When I did that, Souma said, �Well, maybe I�ll just laze around in some room making dolls, then.� It didn�t sound healthy, so I asked Tomoe to drag him outside for me.�

�I heard nothing of this!� Aisha exclaimed. �I am His Majesty�s bodyguard, you realize?! Why didn�t he take me with him?!�

When she saw Aisha with tears forming in her eyes, Liscia gave a shrug. �You stand out too much. This was a primarily human country, so dark elves stand out to begin with, and with your recent fame from the broadcast, you�re not exactly going to be able to keep a low profile.�

�This was enemy territory not that long ago, you know?!� Aisha complained. �If anything were to happen to His Majesty and Tomoe��

�Have no fears,� Liscia assured her. �They�re in disguise, and Juna and a number of elite marines will be watching over them from the shadows this time.�

�Madam Juna is accompanying them, too? Well, in that case, he should be safe�� Aisha got that far before Juna�s mature smile flashed through her mind.

To Aisha, Juna was the ideal woman. Gorgeous, graceful, gentle� She would have given anything to be like her. However� setting that aside, when she imagined Juna�s smile, every instinct Aisha had as a woman began setting off alarm bells.

If we let our guards down, she�s going to run off with all the best parts, she thought.

�He will be safe� won�t he?� she asked.

���

In truth, Liscia had been thinking the same thing, so she had nothing to say in response.

�The weather sure is nice today, huh, big brother?� Tomoe asked.

�It sure is, Tomoe,� I agreed.

I was on Van�s shopping street walking hand-in-hand with my honorary little sister, the mystic wolf girl Tomoe. There had been a nigh lethal amount of administrative work to do lately, so Liscia, unable to watch me torment myself any longer, had suggested that I take my first day off since that time I�d patrolled the royal capital.

I figured if I had time off, I�d rather use it to laze around, like a father on vacation, but Liscia had said that was unhealthy and ordered little Tomoe to drag me into the castle town.

It was a place that had been enemy territory until just recently, so we were lightly disguised today. My facial features were supposedly similar to those of humans from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, so I was dressed like a traveler from there. I wore a traveling cape and conical straw hat, making me look like Kitakaze Kozou. Tomoe, meanwhile, wore a white robe with a hood, like a white mage from some game. Honestly, I�d wondered if it was worth the trouble of disguising ourselves to go out, but�

�Wowwie, there are so many different shops, big brother!�

�when I saw Tomoe so excited, nothing else mattered anymore.

�If you see one that catches your fancy, why don�t we go inside?� I asked.

�Okay! ♪� she sang.

When Tomoe gave that energetic reply, I patted her on the head. The hair between her two wolf ears was fluffy and soft to the touch. It felt amazing. Ahh� So soothing.

I tried talking to the person who was on the opposite side of me from Tomoe, too. �Juna, are you okay with that?�

�Yes,� Juna said, giving me a soft smile. �If it pleases you, Master Kazuya.�

For this undercover vacation, instead of Aisha, I was supposed to have Juna and around ten of her marines watching over me from the shadows.

�Yes, from the shadows.

�Um, Juna? Why are you wrapping yourself around my arm?� I asked.

Juna had wrapped herself around the arm I wasn�t using to pat Tomoe�s head. She was incredibly close. Right now, Juna was wearing a longsword on her back, with breastplate armor over top of her clothes. With her dressed up like a typical female adventurer, I didn�t feel those voluptuous things pressed up against me. Still, I could feel Juna�s warmth directly on my arm.

Juna seemed to see how flustered I was, and she flashed me a mischievous smile. �Oh, is it wrong for me to do this?�

�It�s not a matter of right or wrong� Weren�t you supposed to be protecting me from the shadows?� I asked.

�We�re protecting you like we�re supposed to,� Juna said. �Right now, my elite marines are protecting you in the shadows. They�re circling ahead of us to watch for any potential blind spots, too.�

�No, but� isn�t your face out there, too?� I protested.

The people of Amidonia should know Juna�s face from the music program. Even if she wasn�t as recognizable as the dark elf Aisha, Juna wasn�t hiding her face at all right now. Wasn�t someone going to notice her?

When I asked her that, Juna giggled. �It should be fine. I was wearing makeup then. I should have given off a very different impression.�

Now that she mentioned it� Juna was only wearing the bare essentials of makeup today. Whenever she stood on stage or before the jewel as a lorelei, she must use charming makeup that would be recognizable from a distance. The Juna I saw now had a natural beauty, but just taking off her makeup made her look younger than usual. Right now, she actually looked her age.

�That�s right,� Juna said, as if reading my mind. ��The reason I look like a mature adult is because of that makeup, got it?�

�No, I�m pretty sure the way you act is part of it, too�� I said. �So it did bother you?�

�I am a girl, after all,� she said. �Does it bother you linking arms with me, sire?�

Juna wore an expression that seemed somewhat uncertain. That face� She just wasn�t playing fair.

�It�s not that it bothers me,� I said. �Bring it on.�

�Hee hee,� she giggled. �Thank you.�

�Whew� You sure are amazing, Juna,� Tomoe said. �I wish I could be like you.�

��Don�t you think you�re fine just the way you are, Tomoe?� Juna said pointedly to the girl who was looking up at her with great respect. Tomoe was cute, and she might develop into a beauty like Juna as she grew up. Once she grew up and learned how to play games with men, it could be the birth of an incredible little tease.

While I was thinking about that, I ended up walking with Tomoe�s hand in mine, and Juna wrapped around my other arm. Nobody realized our true identities, but the jealous looks from passing men and the whispering of housewives trying to guess at the relationship between the three of us started to make my stomach hurt.

In order to distract myself from it, I tried talking to Juna. �Well� Where to? Unlike in Parnam, Van doesn�t have much in it, so there aren�t many places I want to go patrol.�

�When you�re out on the town on your day off, I don�t know that you should be thinking of it as patrolling.� Juna laughed wryly at my workaholic thought process.

Sorry for being so work-obsessed, I thought.

Then, Juna took a peek over at Tomoe before whispering in my ear, �How about giving Tomoe some new clothes as a present? Since she�s your honorary little sister, you can call it a gift between family.�

�Ohh, there�s an idea.�

Now that she mentioned it, ever since I�d accepted Tomoe as my little sister (though, technically, she was Liscia�s adopted little sister and my future sister-in-law), I had been busy with administrative work and hadn�t been able to act like a proper big brother. Tomoe had been working hard on negotiating with the rhinosauruses and shoujou, so it might be nice to spoil her rotten today.

�Juna, do you know a good place for that?� I asked.

�I�ve done my research,� she said. �Leave it to me.� She placed her hand on her chest, bowing slightly.

Juna recommended a clothing store on a street corner.

The little sign out front had words meaning �The Silver Deer� written on it in a stylish font. From what was on display in the show window, it looked like it dealt not just in clothing, but in shoes and apparel, too. It was hard to judge with my untrained eyes, but the products on display all appeared to be of high quality. It was very much a high-class shop. The sort of place a guy like me, who had always bought his clothes on sale from the major retailers, would never come to.

Incidentally, ever since coming to this country, I had worn whatever I could provide myself or we already had on hand. Lately, the work I�d done creating and maintaining the Little Musashibo dolls had improved my sewing skills, so I was making everything but my underwear myself. I technically had what would be considered a highly-paid position, so I could afford to make custom orders, but I had no interest in indulging myself with luxuries now. The shirt and pants I had on under this traveling cape, as well as the hooded robe that Tomoe was wearing � both of them had been made by me.

�You can even make stuff like this. You�re amazing, big brother,� Tomoe said.

When Tomoe showered me with that look of respect, I could feel my head swelling with pride. �I can�t buy the clothes I was used to wearing in my own world here, after all. Though I�m doing it half as a hobby,� I said to hide my embarrassment, then looked to The Silver Deer. �Still, this is a surprise. A stylish store like this in Amidonia, of all places.�

�I hear it originally dealt in men�s clothing and apparel,� said Juna. �After that broadcast, when women started dressing up, they began stocking clothing and accessories for women as well.�

It seemed their selection changed in response to customer demand.

�Still, it�s quite a selection, don�t you think?� I asked. �Where do you suppose they order it all from?�

�There are trade guilds,� said Juna. �While they may not be able to do much about food, which is in short supply, the guild can arrange for them to buy any other kind of goods. For the merchants, Elfrieden and Amidonia are both sources of goods and also valued customers.�

�How crafty��

Of course, it was those crafty merchants who maintained the balance of supply and demand� but that was neither here nor there, and I figured we shouldn�t loiter out front forever.

�Well, how about we head inside?� I asked.

When I went inside, gesturing for the two of them to follow, a man with ash gray hair who was dressed like a bartender was arranging products on the shelves. He seemed like the sort of middle-aged gentleman that the aroma of black tea would suit well. When he noticed us, he stood with his feet together, brought a hand to his breast, and then bowed. �Welcome. Are you travelers, perhaps?�

�Ah� Erm�� I stuttered a bit. While revealing my true identity was out of the question, how was I to explain the combination of a man in a conical straw hat, a beautiful female adventurer, and a wolf girl in a white hood? While I was wracking my brains to come up with something, Juna stepped forward.

�Yes. These two personages come from a kingdom in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. They are Kazuya, the heir to a cr�pe fabric merchant in the Echigo Kingdom, and his younger sister Tomoe. I am their humble servant, Silvia. Master Kazuya will one day inherit the family business, and so we are traveling across many countries to broaden his horizons.�

She was very eloquent.

Nice work, Juna, I thought. And, wait, I�m impressed you actually remembered my nonsense backstory about being the heir to a cr�pe fabric merchant in the Echigo Kingdom. Even I had completely forgotten that backstory. Also, who is Silvia supposed to be?

The middle-aged man didn�t show any particular interest. �I see,� he said with a gentle nod. �I apologize for taking so long to introduce myself. I am Sebastian, the proprietor of this establishment.�

With that name, are you sure you aren�t the butler, rather than the proprietor? I thought for a moment, but I reminded myself that not all Sebastians have to be butlers.

Smiling, Sebastian asked, �And what may I help you with today?�

�Well� do you have anything that would look good on my little sister here?� I asked,

�Whuh?!� Tomoe reacted with surprise.

I put my hand on top of her head, patting her from over top of her hood. �Well, that�s how it is, so if you see anything you like, let me know, okay?�

�Um� But��

�It�s fine. Let me act like a proper big brother every once in a while.�

With those words, I pushed Tomoe off towards Juna.

Juna nodded to me, taking Tomoe by the hand and going to look at the wares on display. Tomoe was stiff at first, but she was a girl. As she looked at the different items with Juna, I could feel her gradually getting into shopping.

Now, this left me as a man with little to do. I enjoyed watching the beautiful woman and little girl enjoying themselves shopping for a while, but I got tired of just waiting, and wandered around the store myself.

They had clothing, shoes, accessories, and even makeup. There was a really wide selection of items here. Truly, it was the 109 of Amidonia� Well, not that I�d ever been to 109, or even to Shibuya, for that matter. Perhaps because the women of Van had begun awakening to fashion, more than eighty percent of the sales floor was devoted to women�s products. This shop had supposedly catered only to men before, but now it had coats for them, and that was about it.

As I was looking around, I found a number of products that interested me.

The first was lipstick. It was a color lighter than light pink.

The second was a hair accessory. It was made with gold and little stones, making it seem like a quality piece, but it had a ladybug motif, making it seem incongruously childish.

The third was a choker. It was made of blue leather with silver foil scattered around like stars. The clasp was made of gold, with a design like a bird spreading its wings.

They all looked good.

Then, finally� the last thing that caught my eye was a pair of tiny loafers meant for a young girl. They had clips with a ribbon motif on them, and were absolutely adorable.

These loafers� I think they might look perfect on Tomoe, I thought.

�Hey, Tomo��

�Master Kazuya.�

Just as I was about to call out to them, Sebastian stopped me. I turned around, thinking it suspicious, and Sebastian said, �Pardon me for the sudden interruption,� with a bow. �There was something I�ve been wanting to ask you, Master Kazuya. Would that be acceptable?�

��What is it?� I asked.

�Let us suppose that, on the battlefield, the generals had gathered for a war council.�

�What? Battlefield? War council? Why�s he bringing this up all of a sudden? I thought.

�Let us also suppose that the first idea brought up at that war council was a good one. If you were the supreme commander of that army, would you immediately adopt that idea?�

��I wouldn�t,� I said. �I�d think there might be better ideas.�

�Precisely,� he said. �That is why, if you were one of the generals, and you wished to have your idea adopted, rather than submit it at once, you should wait until the council comes to an impasse.�

�I see� I see��

�What I mean to say is, the games played between men and women are also a battle.�

��Ah,� I said. �I get you.�

I finally understood what Sebastian was trying to say. He was saying I should wait a little longer before pushing the loafers I thought would look good on Tomoe.

That was fair enough, because Juna and Tomoe were enjoying looking through the other products. If I brought them something good now, it would be like pouring a bucket of cold water on them when they were having a good time. If they chose to go with it, their fun time would end, and if they choose not to, it�d be awkward for me. Neither of those was what they wanted.

I was deeply grateful for Sebastian�s consideration. �You, sir, are a wonderful tactician.�

�I am honored by your praise.� Sebastian placed his right hand on his belly, respectfully bowing to me. It was a theatrical gesture, but it was smoothly delivered, so it didn�t offend me.

Then, something occurred to me.

�By the way, you just used a war council analogy�� Could he be aware of our true identities? I brought it up because I thought he might be, but Sebastian hurriedly shook his head.

�Oh, my� Pardon me for that. Until just the other day, I had only dealt with the nobility, you see. I can�t seem to break the habit. If I offended you somehow, I apologize. I have a regular customer who is fond of such banter.�

��No, it�s no big deal,� I said. �Is that regular of yours a soldier?�

�No, no, more like an adorable little tanuki,� Sebastian said.

A little tanuki, huh. Between the proprietor I couldn�t get a read on, and this person he called a little tanuki� I was intrigued. But, setting that aside for now, I bought a few things quietly so that the other two wouldn�t notice. After that, I waited for the two of them to finish looking things over, then recommended those cute loafers to Tomoe. Tomoe was hesitant to accept, as I expected she might be, but she seemed like she liked them, so I half-forced them on her as a present.

Tomoe held the box with the loafers in it tight to her chest. �Th-Thank you� big brother� I�ll treasure them��

As she said that, tears formed in her eyes, so I patted her head gently. Maybe now we�d been able to act a little like brother and sister. If I thought about it, the only ones I�d been able to call family before were my grandparents. But now there was Liscia, there was Tomoe, and there were Aisha and Juna.

�Yeah, it�s nice being able to feel connected to people. As I patted my little sister�s head, that thought really began to sink in for me.

Juna was standing next to us, watching with a smile.

20th day, 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar � Van Castle

�Now then� Here I come, sire!� Aisha cried.

�Bring it on, Aisha!� I called back.

We were in the training grounds inside Van Castle. In this space, which was open to the sky like an archery range in Japan, I stood facing a fully armed Aisha. In her usual light armor, Aisha took up a stance with her greatsword pointed towards me. I had medium-sized Little Musashibo dolls (the ones that were toy-sized were small, while the ones large enough to fit a person were large), five of those medium-sized dolls (hereafter referred to as A-E) protecting me.

In the corner of my vision, I saw the referee, Liscia, raise her right hand.

The next moment, Aisha made a big downwards swing with her greatsword. A visible shockwave flew towards me and the Little Musashibos.

I put Little Musashibo A (equipped with shields in both hands) up front, having it ready its shields. The moment the shockwave hit, there was an incredible clang, but somehow Little Musashibo A managed to hold its ground.

�It�s not done yet!� Aisha called.

There was no time for relief. Aisha turned to the side, keeping the blade of her greatsword pointed in my direction, and then thrust with all her might. Little Musashibo A tried to overlap its shield to defend, but Aisha�s blow hit with the force of a battering ram, punching through both of the shields and Little Musashibo A.

Uwah� She can punch through two thick shields�? I was nearly struck dumb by the absurd amount of power she had, but then Aisha stopped moving momentarily.

Thinking this was my chance, I sent Little Musashibo B (equipped with two swords) and Little Musashibo C (equipped with a spear) around to attack her from both sides.

Aisha stabbed her greatsword, which was still impaling Little Musashibo A, into the ground, using it to fling herself into the air, like she was doing a cartwheel.

Aisha was standing on her hands atop the hilt of her greatsword.

�There!� I cried.

With the remaining two Little Musashibos, D and E (both equipped with crossbows), I took a shot at Aisha, who presumably couldn�t maneuver with her feet off the ground. The two bolts fired straight towards Aisha.

�Not good enough!� Aisha called.

On top of the greatsword thrust into the ground, Aisha did something similar to one of those capoeira kicks where you stand on your hands (I don�t know the proper name for them), spinning her feet and kicking the incoming bolts out of the air.

�Ow!� I called.

With a splat sound, a light impact on my forehead that knocked my head backwards.

In the middle of my forehead there was a smushed ball of clay about the size of a 10 yen coin. If it had instead been a throwing knife, or a stone, I�d have died instantly.

Well, this being a practice match, the bolts didn�t have arrowheads, and we were using clay instead of stones, so neither of us could possibly have died, but still, losing this badly was depressing�

I sat down dejectedly.

�Aw, geez� I�m not even a match for you, huh,� I said.

�Th-That�s not true�� Aisha stuttered, hastily trying to reassure me.

�Aisha, an accurate analysis of his fighting strength is important, so you should be honest with him,� said Liscia.

She was right. I was searching for a fighting style that suited me. As king, I was in a position to be protected, but it wouldn�t hurt to be able to protect myself, if it ever came to it. I�d had a narrow miss with Gaius in the battle a little while ago, after all.

�Liscia�s right,� I said. �Give it to me straight.�

�W-Well, then� it may seem harsh to say this, but even though you set up your dolls like an adventuring party, they didn�t feel all that strong,� Aisha said. �I feel as though giving them each two swords and having them rush me would have been more difficult to deal with.�

I considered that. �Pi*min tactics, huh� but you still blew them all away when I did that, didn�t you?�

�Which means what you did was even worse than that, I suppose?� said Liscia.

�Urgh��

When Liscia pointed that out, I slumped my shoulders. Since Pik*in tactics wouldn�t work, I�d tried using a composition based on an adventuring party, like Juno�s, the one I�d gone adventuring with using Little Musashibo, but� the result had been a miserable defeat.

�In an adventuring party, they�d have a mage, after all,� Aisha said without seeming to care too much. �If those shields had been reinforced with magic, I would�ve had difficulty punching through them, and if I�d had spells flung at me instead of arrows, it would have been more difficult to respond to.�

That she said it would have been �difficult� for her, rather than that she �couldn�t� do either of those things, only served to show how ridiculously powerful Aisha was.

�We can talk about mages all you want, but I can�t use elemental magic or reinforcement magic�� I said. I couldn�t use any magic whatsoever, so there was no way I could use it to give the weapons carried by the dolls I controlled with Living Poltergeists an elemental alignment and make them shoot fire or ice.

�If I went to a magic school, or some place like that, to train, could I learn how, maybe?� I said.

�No, not possible.� Liscia quickly shot down the idea. �I mean, I�ve never heard of someone with dark-type magic being able to use another element.�

She proceeded to explain.

�The four major elements, fire, water, earth, and wind, manipulate magicium found in the atmosphere to produce various phenomena, and the light element interferes with magicium inside the body to do things like speed up the natural healing process, or strengthen the body. The dark element doesn�t have any sort of ability like that. So� just give up.�

It looked like I could train all I wanted, but I�d never become a mage.

This, after I had the good luck to be summoned to a world with magic, too� somehow, I�m disappointed. I slumped my shoulders dejectedly.

�What�re you moping about?� Liscia asked, with an exasperated look. �The dark alignment isn�t that common, you know? I�ve only ever seen three people with it.�

�Three?� I asked. �Assuming two of the three are Tomoe and me� who�s the third?�

�Mother, or so I hear. She�s been never willing to tell me what her power is, though.�

Hmm� Lady Elisha can use dark magic, huh, I thought. Lady Elisha is Liscia�s mother. If I recall, Lady Elisha was the one who actually inherited the throne, but she left managing the country to her husband, Sir Albert, right? We haven�t had much occasion to talk, but she�s always smiling and seems like an amiable sort.

�But with the abilities I have, I can�t see any way to defend myself�� I said.

�Rest at ease, sire! I will always be there to defend you!� declared Aisha, thumping her chest with pride. While she seemed reliable, I was starting to feel pathetic myself.

�It�s pretty lame for a hero to need girls defending him�� I said.

�What are you saying after all this time?� Liscia said bluntly. �You were never much of a hero to begin with.�

I mean, she was right� but couldn�t she have sugar-coated it just a wee bit more? I was thinking she could have, but then she said, �Besides, isn�t delegating the tasks that you can�t handle yourself one of your strengths, Souma? You�re protecting all of us in ways that only you can.� She smiled tenderly.

Aisha nodded in agreement. �The princess is right! You protect the country we all live in, sire, so let us protect you in turn!�

When they said it like that, I still felt pathetic, but I was a little happy. I might be an unreliable king, and a hero in name only, but I just need to protect them in my own way� no, I want to protect them. I felt that way from the bottom of my heart.

�Your Majesty!� a voice called out, and I turned to see Juna in her marine uniform bowing to me with one hand at her chest.

�Sire Hakuya has been looking for you,� said Juna. �He wishes to discuss the districting of the city, he says.�

�Okay,� I said. �I�ll be right there.�

I stood up and brushed the dirt off of myself. Leaving the clean-up to the soldiers, I brought Liscia and Aisha with me to the governmental affairs office. It was time for me to do what I was able to do now.

When I reached the governmental affairs office, Hakuya and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Ludwin, were waiting for me.

I sat at my desk, while Liscia, who had been acting as my secretary for a while, and Juna, who had been doing the same because we had a shortage of people lately, stood behind me, on either side. Aisha stood by the door, acting as a guard. Lately, it had become the norm for us to work in this formation.

Once I confirmed everyone was ready, a somewhat sleepy-eyed Hakuya laid out a map of the divisions of Van that he had prepared. �I have completed my proposal for the redistricting of Van, so I will have you take a look.�

At Hakuya�s behest, I looked at the map. The square walls of city were vertical, while lines representing the main roads were running towards the princely palace in the center. Each of these main roads had side roads running off of them at a right angle in regular intervals, giving it a grid of squares, like a Go board. It was like a map of one of the ancient capitals of Japan, Heijo-kyo or Heian-kyo, that you might see in a history textbook.

The nobles� residences were clustered in the northeast, while the workshops were clustered in the southwest. Garrisons for the guards were distributed evenly throughout, and it looked super efficient.

I was silent. I leaned back in my chair, looking up to the ceiling, and sighed. ��Hakuya.�

�Yes, sire,� he said.

�This goes too far,� I said.

What�s with this efficiency-focused layout? I thought.

Ane san rokkaku tako nishiki� I felt like I needed to chant the Kyoto road song, or I was going to get lost.

Actually, if we�re going to change so much, it�d be faster burning the entire castle town to the ground and starting from scratch, I thought. Are you trying to turn me into Emperor Nero?

�I�m sorry,� Hakuya said. �When I saw what a chaotic mess the town layout was, I was impelled to make it more efficient��

Hakuya seemed to understand that what I�d meant. He smiled wryly and pointed to the main streets. �However, as a measure against fires, the city must be split into districts. Laying down these main roads is a necessity, I would think.�

�I agree, but� for everything else, I�d like the changes to reflect the will of the people who live here,� I said. �What sort of city they want to make this, how they want to make it more livable for them. I want the people who live here to think about that. I mean, if we just decide everything ourselves, they�ll probably resist it.�

�I have already reached out to some of the architects who live here, but� you want to make the locals think?� Hakuya asked skeptically. �With the atmosphere in the city now, they�re likely to turn it into a piece of avant-garde art��

�An artful city, huh� that could be interesting in its own way,� I said. It might be good to try building art galleries and museums, too.

�Wait, huh? The marketplace already looks like it�s going to turn into something like Ameyoko. If I build a bunch of galleries and museums on top of that, I feel like Van is going to end up more and more like Ueno. Maybe I ought to build a zoo and call it a day.

If I borrowed Tomoe�s power, it would be easy to accomplish. I could already recreate Monkey Mountain.

However, Hakuya shook his head. �Van will be the city on our front line with Amidonia. At this juncture, we cannot allow them to have too much fun with its design.�

��I suppose not,� I said. We can�t count on an artistically-designed city to be particularly defensible, after all. In that case, I guess we�ll have to maintain Van�s function as a military city, while making it easier to live in.

�I guess that�s how it has to be,� I said. �Take things in that direction, please.�

�Understood.� Hakuya bowed and left the room. Next, I turned to Ludwin.

�How is progress on rolling out the transportation network?�

�Sir,� he said. �The Army and your directly-controlled forces in the Forbidden Army are making every effort to realize that goal. A highway from Van into the kingdom�s territory has been completed, and we are beginning work laying road to the smaller nearby villages that are presently under our control. Also� we�ve built eight bridges over the rivers, but��

�But what?� I pressed. The man was sounding evasive.

Ludwin gave me a look like he didn�t understand what I meant. �Sir. Right now, is there any reason for rolling out a transportation network for Van? I understand the importance of setting up military supply routes, yes. However, if we build roads and bridges to the smaller cities around Van during a time when the Empire doesn�t acknowledge our sovereignty here, won�t it have been pointless when we�re pushed to hand it back?�

�That�s right� of course, I�m sure the Empire will request the return of Van,� said Liscia. �It�s a bit galling to think that Julius and his lot will use the roads and bridges that we build.� She furrowed her brow.

�That will not be the case.� Hakuya immediately rejected Liscia�s opinion. �Even if we return Van and Crown Prince Julius returns here, he will never use infrastructure built by the kingdom. If anything, he will work to eliminate all traces of the kingdom�s influence from Van. He can�t afford to keep them out of convenience, as they might ingrain a fondness for the kingdom into the people of Van.�

�Me, I�d use whatever I could, Amidonian or not,� I said.

�Hee hee, I�m sure you would, sire,� Juna piped in with a smile. �You used that female commander with the husky voice as a singer, didn�t you?�

�Oh, you mean Margarita Wonder,� I said. �She was a good find.�

I had hired Margarita as only a singer initially, but lately she�d been hosting the amateur singing competition, too. Making full use of the grit that had let her rise to become a commander in this patriarchal country despite being a woman, the way she spoke frankly, even to men, was making her popular with women all over.

Oh, I got off track there. Let�s forget Margarita and focus on Julius and his followers for now.

�I know�� I said. �If that�s what�s going to happen, let�s try messing with them a bit.�

�Messing with them?� Liscia asked.

�We�ll put our names on the bridges,� I said. �There were eight of them, yeah? Well, we�ll carve the names Souma Bridge, Liscia Bridge, Albert Bridge, Hakuya Bridge, Ludwin Bridge, Poncho Ishizuka Bridge, and Aisha Bridge into their railings. If the bridges themselves say �This bridge was built thanks to the Elfrieden Kingdom,� the anti-kingdom faction is sure to bust them up, don�t you think?�

��You can be a real piece of work, you know that, Souma?� Liscia said with a sigh, half impressed, half aghast.

However, because there were no objections, this idea was carried out as proposed. Also, so that it wouldn�t matter if they were destroyed, we confirmed that they should be built only to be sturdy, not fancy.

That was everything that needed to be sorted out for the time being. Once we had seen Ludwin and Hakuya leave the room with the plans and policies we had just decided on, Liscia asked me, �If the Empire demands we return Van, do you still think it would be difficult to refuse?�

I could only nod in response to that question. �Well, yeah� I have no intention of changing my overall plan, but I can�t see us being able to strong-arm Madam Jeanne. It would be a huge loss of face for the Empire. We don�t have the power to fight it out with them right now, So if the Empire sees us as hostile to them, that would be a diplomatic failure.�

�You were saying you met Jeanne Euphoria, right?� Liscia asked. �Is it true? That the hero summoning was their way of showing some consideration to our country?�

I said, �Yeah, kinda.�

�When did you realize that?� she asked.

�When I heard Empress Maria was called a saint,� I said. �I figured anyone being called a saint wouldn�t do anything too improper. That said, from what Madam Jeanne told me, Madam Maria isn�t overly fond having that title.�

�You trusted in the title?� Liscia asked.

�People adopt titles because they�re convenient,� I said. �And because they�re convenient, they�ll try to maintain them, too.�

In a nation like the Empire which covered a vast swathe of territory and incorporated many people of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, a title like �saint� must have been useful for accumulating power. Because it let her hoist the flag of a united human resistance in response to the threat from the Demon Lord�s Domain. That was why Maria had chosen to act like a saint, continuing to carry a title she didn�t care for.

�Interpreting the Empire�s request in a positive light, and taking all of that into account, it would probably be something like that� I figured,� I said.

Not that I could have been sure until I�d talked to Jeanne. But after talking to Jeanne, I was certain.

The Gran Chaos Empire wasn�t an evil empire, like the ones that show up in stories, or even a prideful superpower. They were just another powerful country, desperately trying to maintain themselves.

�That�s why we can�t let our guards down,� I said. �When facing an earnest opponent, there�s no room for carelessness or pride.�

�True,� said Liscia. �We need to face this with resolution.�

Liscia and I both nodded, grave looks on our faces.

I would be tomorrow that Jeanne Euphoria would come, accompanying Julius, Crown Prince of Amidonia, as an envoy to negotiate the return of their territory.

21st day, 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar � The Walls of Van

�Oh, what a view! What a view!� I cried.

Looking down from the castle walls, there were a little over 50,000 troops from the Elfrieden Army in formation around Van. Opposite them were, at a rough estimate, over 50,000 troops of the Imperial Army in formation, with roughly 5,000 more from the Amidonian army next to them, for a combined total of somewhere around 60,000. There were an even greater number of troops here than during the last engagement.

�Is this the time to be impressed? What if that army attacks us?� Liscia asked exasperatedly. She was standing beside me.

�There�s pretty much no question that we would lose,� I said, then looked over at Hakuya, who was also standing beside me. �Yeah?�

�Indeed, that is correct,� he said with a nod. �In number of troops, number of commanders, equipment, training, morale� no matter which of those you choose to look at, our country is behind the Empire in all of them. If it comes to war, our forces stand no chance of winning.�

The flow of war is said to be decided by the heavens, earth, and people. That is to say, the temporal advantage of heaven, the territorial advantage of the earth, and the harmonious unity between people.

The temporal advantage lay with the Empire, lead proponent of the Mankind Declaration, while the territorial advantage lay with the forces of the principality. If I were asked whether the kingdom had a harmonious unity that could stand against those two, I would have had to say no. It had not been long since the Army and Air Force had pledged allegiance to me, so while they might be motivated to fight the Amidonian invaders, it would be difficult to maintain their morale against the far superior Imperial forces.

In short, we were not superior to the combined forces of the Empire and Amidonia in any of those three categories.

�I wish we could have at least had the equipment advantage�� I said.

One type of troop the Imperial force had that I could see from here was rhinosauruses carrying cannons. I had heard of rhinosauruses being used as siege weapons, but it seemed the Empire was using them as mobile artillery platforms.

In fact, I�d had the same idea, but before we could load cannons onto the rhinosauruses, they needed to be trained not to startle when they heard the sound of them firing. Our rhinosauruses had been gathered with Tomoe�s negotiation skills, so with no timetable for when the training could be done, that plan had been shelved.

It was frustrating to see that a type of troop I�d come up with was already being used by the Empire, but, well, it was something a military amateur would be able to come up with a little thinking. If there was a demand for them, most ideas like that would have been put to practical use already.

Well, anyway, with things as they were, we couldn�t fight.

I�d never intended to fight to begin with, but if we�d been in a position where we could, it would have been one more card on the negotiating table. Put the other way around, the force spread out before my eyes which could easily defeat us was a card in the other side�s hand.

While I�d known this would happen, it was still a tough situation to be in.

�Sire, there is a type of troop I am unfamiliar with,� Aisha, who was surveying the enemy forces from a distance, said.

�A troop type you�re unfamiliar with?� I asked.

�There is a group clad all in black full-plate armor!� she declared.

�All in black?� I asked. ��Wait, wow, I�m amazed you can see that.� The people looked as small as grains of rice from this distance.

�Dark elves have good eyes!� Aisha puffed up her chest with pride. �That black armored group are carrying rather long weapons of some sort.�

�That is most likely the �Magic Armor Corps,� I believe,� Hakuya explained.

Now there was an unfamiliar word.

�Magic Armor Corps?� I asked.

�You could call them the anti-magic version of the heavy pikeman, I suppose,� said Hakuya. �That black armor endlessly produces a barrier that blocks any and every type of magic. When they form ranks and advance, it�s said that every step they take is another step that the Empire�s territory expands. They are the treasure of the Empire, which is fiercely proud of them.�

Hrm� if I recall, pikemen are a unit with long spears meant to be used against cavalry, right? I thought. My knowledge comes from playing war simulation games, but they�re a troop type that forms up a phalanx against charging cavalry, sticks out their spears, and counters the charge. If I recall, they can stop cavalry, whose mobility is their life. Depending on the situation, I think they can be a powerful type of troop, but because theirs is primarily a waiting tactic, they can be hard to use well.

�Even if they can negate magic, are they really a treasure?� I asked.

Hakuya looked at me with dismay, then in turn asked me, �Do you remember the reason why gunpowder weapons never developed on this continent?�

�Since magic is more powerful and has better range, they weren�t necessary, right?� I said. �That�s why the only cannons developed were for use at sea, where magic is weaker, or for during a siege, where they can still do good work.�

�Yes,� said Hakuya. �There is also the fact that the skins of creatures living on this continent are hard and tough, so an ordinary gunpowder weapon couldn�t even hurt them.�

In other words, the fact that they couldn�t use them for hunting was another reason gunpowder weapons had never developed.

If people here had developed the rifle, which increased the penetrating power of the bullet by spinning it, things might have been different. However, that was an invention that had come about because the musket (Japan�s hinawaju matchlock was equivalent to the early musket), which simply fired a bullet, had already spread. They didn�t have the basis for that research to happen.

Just as I was thinking that maybe I should develop the rifle for them, Hakuya said, �On top of that, we have attachable spells in this world. Some defensive items are better than others, but they have a spell that reduces damage attached to them. The reverse is also true, and a weapon will normally have a spell attached that increases its damage to break through that defense.�

�What the heck?� I said. �It sounds like a game of whack-a-mole��

�With all due respect, I believe that is the way technology advances,� said Hakuya. �And for the spells attached to weapons and armor, the greater the item�s mass, the more powerful they can be. In other words, in this world, the bullet is weaker than the arrow and the arrow is weaker than the spear.�

Does that mean that even if I develop the rifle, the tiny bullets won�t have much power behind them? I thought. A unit of riflemen is sounding less and less practical. Well, I don�t want to turn this country into a gun society, so I don�t really mind.

Hakuya continued, �In a world like this, there is a group on which magic and bombing by wyverns does not work, cavalry charges cannot get past, and because they are human-sized, they cannot be targeted with cannons. This group in black armor slowly advances forward. From their enemies� perspective��

��that�d be mildly horrifying, yeah,� I said. �They�d look like the armies of Hell.�

In an open field battle, they�re probably invincible, I thought. If I could fight in somewhere like a hill or swamp with bad footing, or if I could lure them somewhere with loads of traps and break their formation then surround them�

But these ideas all relied on me fighting a defensive battle. It was difficult for the attacker to choose where to fight. In that sense, I could see why they talked about their every step expanding the territory of the Empire.

�Besides, the Empire has other powerful units in addition to the Magic Armor Corps,� Liscia said, glaring out towards the enemy. �They have the griffon knights, which rival not just wyvern cavalry, but dragon knights in power. They have a unit of mages that overwhelmingly outnumbers and outclasses ours. They have a combat-trained unit of rhinosauruses. If we�re fighting the Imperial Army, it means taking all of those on at once.�

Why, yes� yes, it would, I realized. The enemy had more than just the Magic Armor Corps.

It was the shallow thinking of an amateur that had let me believe that if I could pick the location of the battle, I could win.

��We really are no match for the Empire, huh?� I said.

�Souma�� Liscia looked concerned, so I gave her a smile.

�It�s not going to happen yet,� I told her. �Eventually, I�ll build this into a country that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.�

I clapped my hands, giving the signal.

�Now then, how about we go and welcome Madam Jeanne?�

They were in the audience hall in Van.

In this space, with colors and decorations much more ostentatious than those in Parnam, the younger sister of Empress Maria of the Gran Chaos Empire, Jeanne Euphoria, and the eldest son of Sovereign Prince of Amidonia Gaius VIII, Julius, stood on a carpet several steps below where I sat on the throne.

So this young man was Julius. He looked to be in his mid-twenties � a beautiful man with calculating genius, like Hakuya, but Julius came off as even colder. He seemed to be suppressing his emotions, but in his eyes I could see his enmity towards me flickering like a pale blue flame.

In contrast, Jeanne was truly magnificent. This was enemy territory for her, so the courage she had shown in coming here with no bodyguards, only Julius in tow, deeply impressed me.

As we greeted these two, we were arrayed with Liscia and Hakuya on either side of me, Aisha behind me diagonally, standing by as a bodyguard.

Seeing that, Jeanne cocked her head to the side. �This is a surprise. I had expected our meeting to have a large number of soldiers watching.�

�If I brought too many soldiers to the meeting, it would only make you two uneasy, wouldn�t it?� I asked.

�I see,� she said. �You�re a courageous one.�

Jeanne said it as if she was impressed, but inside, I was smiling wryly.

It was just that I had read a historical chronicle (whether it was Records of the Grand Historian, or Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I don�t remember) in which a certain ruler had welcomed an enemy envoy with an attitude similar to Jeanne�s. That envoy had said things like, �Is it a show of respect in your country to place so many troops with you just to meet with one person?� and �Or are you a coward who doesn�t feel safe without his soldiers protecting him?� It had humiliated that ruler, and I�d just happened to remember it, but� I decided not to let Jeanne in on that fact.

�Of course, with that one behind you, you must feel quite safe.� Jeanne perceptively looked at Aisha. Perhaps it was because they shared something in common as warriors, but she had accurately judged Aisha�s ability. �She�s a fine warrior, I can tell. I would ask for a match with her, but it might prove difficult for me to win. You have a fine vassal, Sir Souma.�

��Thanks,� I said.

There was no way for me to tell how serious she was with her praise, but judging from how tense Aisha looked, Jeanne was not to be underestimated as a warrior, either.

�You, as well,� I went on. �It�s very courageous of you to face the king of another nation without bringing an entourage of guards. Did you not worry that I might have you assassinated here?�

�I have come as an envoy of peace,� Jeanne smiled. �Why should I need fear I would come to harm?�

I could tell she was quite the actor. She might not have guards with her openly, but perhaps covert operatives had slipped in to keep watch over her. Even now, somewhere we couldn�t see, they might be competing fiercely against Juna and her marines.

Next, I looked at Julius. �This is our first time meeting. I am Souma Kazuya.�

��I am the Sovereign Prince of Amidonia, Julius.�

Not hiding the hostility in his eyes, Julius gave himself that title. He must have inherited it on the death of Gaius VIII. With us occupying Van, he likely hadn�t been formally crowned yet, but I (as a provisional king) was in the same boat, so I didn�t point it out.

�Now then, let�s hear why the two of you are here,� I said.

Julius immediately opened his mouth. �Let me get straight to the point. I want you to return Van at once.�

�Sir Julius�� Jeanne looked troubled by his outburst, but Julius continued, not caring.

�Our nation is signatory to the Mankind Declaration. In the text of the agreement, it says, �The moving of national borders by force will be deemed inadmissible.� The Elfrieden Kingdom has occupied Van by means of force. As such, in accordance with the declaration, I have come here with Madam Jeanne, an envoy dispatched by the Gran Chaos Empire, to seek the return of Van and the surrounding area.�

�That sounds awfully selfish.� I rested my elbows on the arms of the throne and my cheeks on my palms, glaring down at Julius. �You started this by invading Elfrieden first. First you attempt to expand by force, and then, when you lose, you turn to the Mankind Declaration for protection, clinging to the power of the Empire to seek the return of your territory. Don�t you think that�s pathetic?�

�The decision to invade Elfrieden was one my father, Gaius, made on his own,� Julius said stiffly.

�You accompanied him on the campaign, so you share in his crime,� I said. �Besides, before we start negotiating the return of your territory, isn�t an apology for invading my country in order?�

�Urkh��

�Sir Julius,� said Jeanne. �Sir Souma is right. We are in the position of requesting that he return your land. We have to start with you showing your sincerity.�

Julius seemed deeply mortified by the thought, but with his one lifeline, Jeanne, pressing him to do it, he grudgingly, ever so grudgingly, bowed his head. ��While the invasion of your country was solely the decision of our former ruler, Gaius, it was my own lack of virtue that kept me from stopping him. Allow me to apologize for that.�

It didn�t sound like much of an apology, but it seemed it was all that could be expected.

Julius continued to speak. �However, it is your country that is now infringing on our borders. As signatories to the Mankind Declaration, it is our right to request that the Empire work to return our territory to us.�

��So says Julius, but what�s the Empire�s take on it?� I asked, turning the conversation over to Jeanne.

She shrugged. �The Empire would prefer not to help Amidonia, who are really only getting what they deserve� but, as signatories to the Mankind Declaration, we have no choice but to respond to their request.�

�Basically, you are saying that the Empire will request that we return all occupied territories, including Van?� I asked.

�That would be what it means, yes.�

Yeah, I thought. I figured the Empire would take that position. It�s a little irritating seeing Julius act as if it was a matter of course that they would, but this is all within the range of what I expected. So, let me give them the answer I expected to give, too.

�I refuse.�

�Wha�?!� Jeanne gasped.

Julius was at a loss for words momentarily. Maybe he hadn�t expected such a clear rejection. However, he immediately rallied and took on a furious expression, saying, �Are you sane?! Thinking to defy the Mankind Declaration!�

�My intention isn�t to defy the Mankind Declaration,� I said. �However, I can�t abide the way Amidonia does things. First you invade Elfrieden territory, and then when we launch a counter-invasion, you whine about us changing the border by force. That doesn�t stand up to reason.�

�That�s� It was all decided by the former ruler Gaius, on his own�� Julius sputtered.

�That�s pure sophism, and you know it, don�t you?� I asked.

Julius seemed at a loss for what to say, at first, but then he responded, �Say what you will, it will not change the fact that the people of my country are living under your occupation. I, as the ruler of this country, must liberate my people.�

That was his argument. Liberation from occupation, huh�

�I question whether the people of Van want to be liberated,� I said.

�What?� Julius sputtered.

�Sir Julius,� I said. �Did you not see the streets of Van on your way here?�

In response to my question, Julius�s eyes went wide, and he immediately glared at me. �Van is the city that birthed and raised me. I know it better than you.�

�Do you now�? Well, what do you think of the color of Van now?� I asked.

�The color?� he asked hostilely. �I did see a number of houses with their roofs and walls painted in garish, tasteless colors, but what of it?�

Yeah� Well, maybe it wasn�t unfair to describe them as tasteless.

�We each have our sense of aesthetics, so I won�t comment on that,� I said. �However, Sir Julius. If the people were choking under the yoke of our oppression, do you think they would want to make their roofs and walls more colorful?�

I chose my next words carefully, so as not to drive Julius into a rage.

�If a ruler is oppressive, the people will try to act in a way that doesn�t stand out. That�s because, if they were to catch his eye by doing something showy, there�s no telling what kind of disaster might befall them. So the more oppressed the people, the less you will hear them complain. They don�t show their feelings or attitudes, keeping their true feelings bottled up deep inside their hearts. They would never dream of doing something like painting their roofs and walls in showy colors.�

There, I paused for a moment to look Julius in the eye.

�Now, tell me, what color were the colors of Van like when you and your father were here?�

In response to my question, Julius clenched his jaw. Of course he did.

When I�d entered Van, the color I�d sensed here was gray.

The labyrinthine streets, not even properly divided into districts, had had only houses with gray walls and earthen roofs, without the slightest hint of personality. Even though they hadn�t been part of a unified color scheme, they had all appeared standardized because the residents of this city had not been free in spirit.

�Between Van under my rule, and Van as it was under your rule, which really looks more like it�s �under occupation�?� I asked.

�You� Are you trying to say we were oppressive?� Julius shouted.

�Yes, because it�s a fact that you were,� I said. �It looks like most of your national budget was going to military expenses. The taxes your people pay are supposed to be returned to the people in the form of welfare. Instead of maintaining your city, or your roads, or supporting industry, you bled your people with heavy taxes that only went into the military. What is that if not oppressive?!�

The congress danced at a dizzying pace.

�How did your harvest fare in the Empire this year?� I asked.

�Thankfully, this year most of our crops have performed well,� said Jeanne. �Our wheat crop, in particular, was quite fruitful. How were things in Elfrieden? I had heard you were facing a food crisis.�

�Our yields have been steadily improving,� I said. �Partly thanks to the replanting effort having begun in time, I don�t believe we have any fears of a food crisis any longer. That said, I do have some misgivings about the levels of our food stores. Even if the harvest is good this year, if we were to have a crop failure next year, or the year after, there could be a relapse of the food crisis.�

�It�s a problem that every country shares, I�m sure,� said Jeanne. �There�s little that can be done but to pray for a good harvest.�

As Jeanne and I spoke, bureaucrats from both the kingdom and Empire were going about their business quietly, but busily nonetheless.

Some were frantically keeping a log of the proceedings. Once committed to paper, a verbal agreement was as good as a contract. They listened intently, ensuring no word was missed.

Others were confirming that there was a mutual understanding of what those words meant, in order to ensure that nothing was misconstrued. There were also those thrusting the documents they had prepared in advance towards one another, comparing the goods and materials which each nation had an excess or deficit of. Because we shared no land border, it would be difficult to engage in direct trade, but if both sides shared that information, then something might be worked out through a third party.

The scene was truly a battlefield.

Hakuya was scrutinizing the documents presented to him, while Liscia acted as my aide.

Only my bodyguard, Aisha, stood erect and motionless, but she probably didn�t want to have to deal with the numbers. With the large number of people present, she was paying close attention to her duties as my bodyguard, but she looked fed up with it all.

�It hasn�t been like this in a while, I thought.

The way things were going so blindingly fast reminded me of the days when I had just taken the throne.

Normally, in foreign affairs, even if the heads of state only meet for ten minutes, behind the scenes there have been bureaucrats from each country negotiating for weeks, perhaps months.

Things were this busy because it hadn�t been possible for the kingdom and Empire to hold talks ever since the appearance of the Demon Lord�s Domain. Incidentally, the first thing Jeanne and I had agreed to was the resumption of shuttle diplomacy between the Gran Chaos Empire and the Elfrieden Kingdom.

�Speaking of foodstuffs, I found those lily root dumplings most delicious,� said Jeanne. �I believe the primary ingredient was the rootstalk of the bewitching lily. I would like to hear how you go about harvesting them.�

�I�m happy to tell you,� I said. �From what Poncho was telling me, he learned the method from a mountain tribe inside the Empire. If you enlist their help, it should be simple to do.�

�Oh, my. There was a tribe like that inside the Empire?� Jeanne asked. �Even though it�s my own country, I must shamefully admit, I did not know.�

�That�s just how it goes,� I said. �It can be hard for anyone to see what�s lying at their own feet.�

The same went for our country. I mean, when I�d put out the call, �I don�t care what it is, if you have a special talent, come and show me,� I�d had quite a number of people show up. If I kept digging, there were probably more such people to be found.

In order to develop this country, I�ll need to find them, I thought to myself.

While drinking the coffee Serina had prepared for me, I looked to Jeanne. �Now, since I gave you information on the lily root dumplings, I�d like some information in return.�

Jeanne, who was drinking black tea, laid her teacup down on its saucer and tilted her head to the side questioningly. �What information might that be?�

�I think food for food is a fair trade,� I said. �Are there any ingredients used in the Empire that aren�t commonly eaten elsewhere?�

��In that case, I know just the thing,� Jeanne said, a mischievous smile on her lips. I dunno, she just looked like she had an incredible ace up her sleeve.

Then, Jeanne confidently said, �Monster meat.�

��Say what?� I asked.

�It�s possible to eat monster meat.�

Monster� meat? Wait, seriously? I thought.

�The monsters you mean� They�re the ones from the Demon Lord�s Domain? Not from dungeons?� I asked.

�Yes,� said Jeanne. �They tasted surprisingly normal.�

�You ate them yourself?!�

That�s more wild than I�d have expected from her neat, pretty appearance, I thought. But, still, she�s eaten monsters from the Demon Lord�s Domain� huh. When I heard about the kobold that spared Tomoe and the mystic wolves, I thought negotiating with the Demon Lord�s Domain might be an option, depending on the situation� Oh, but, there�s both �monsters� and �demons,� right? If I remember, kobolds fall under the demon category.

I hesitantly asked Jeanne, �You didn�t happen to eat� a kobold, by any chance, did you?�

When I did, Jeanne reacted with shock, quickly shaking her head, �Perish the thought! I only ate animal-like monsters! I wouldn�t go around eating demons, with their human-like bodies.�

�No, it�s just I�m not familiar with the distinction,� I said.

��I see,� Jeanne said. �The Elfrieden Kingdom doesn�t share a border with the Demon Lord�s Domain, after all.�

Jeanne nodded, satisfied. �Very well. This is something of a side note, but allow me to provide you with the information our country has on the Demon Lord�s Domain, as well as demons and monsters.�

She began to slowly explain it all for me.

22nd day, 10th month, 1546th year, Continental Calendar

It was noon on the day after I forged a secret alliance with the Gran Chaos Empire.

Jeanne and I met with Julius once more in the audience chamber.

As we all stood in the same positions as the day before, Hakuya, who stood in front of me and to the side, stepped towards Julius and presented him with a piece of paper detailing the decision made in yesterday�s talks. �The Royal Army will leave Van and return home to the Elfrieden Kingdom.�

Julius�s haughty expression showed that he saw this as the natural conclusion, but when he heard what came next, his face turned a different color.

�As a condition of this, the Principality of Amidonia is ordered to pay war reparations to the Elfrieden Kingdom,� said Hakuya. �This is to be separate from any ransom negotiated for the return of prisoners of war.�

�That can�t be right!� Julius rounded on Jeanne. �Madam Jeanne! What is the meaning of this?!�

�The meaning of it�?� Jeanne shrugged. �Why, I do believe I have negotiated the return of your land, as requested?�

Julius couldn�t seem to accept the outcome. �Is this some sort of joke?! War reparations? It makes it seem like we are a defeated nation!�

�Given your current situation, it�s hard to say otherwise,� said Jeanne. �You have lost your capital city, after all.�

�No! We haven�t lost yet!� Julius shouted. �They�ve only taken a single city!�

��Then you�re free to do as you please,� said Jeanne. �The Empire will be washing its hands of the matter. You may make peace or make war, whichever you please.�

Julius groaned, at a loss for words.

Seeing his reaction, Jeanne sighed. �As for that city� I have some heavy doubts that you can write off your capital as just one city being lost, but I believe you turned to us for assistance because you were in no position to retake the city yourself, yes? In that case, you have lost the war. The Empire, under the Mankind Declaration, has provided a means for you to restore the changes in your borders. We can intervene no further.�

�But, war reparations�� Julius complained.

�Sir Julius.� Jeanne turned a cold look on him, one that seemed to push him away. �This matter has saddened my sister, Maria, deeply. You have invaded a sovereign state by taking advantage of a loophole in the Mankind Declaration, which was made to unite all mankind in the face of the threat posed by the Demon Lord�s Domain. As the head of that pact, we cannot let it go unchallenged.�

�That was� our former sovereign, Gaius�� Julius sputtered.

�Even if it was,� said Jeanne, �you still bear the responsibility for failing to stop him. Regardless, in order to ensure that no other signatory of the Mankind Declaration engages in such foolhardy actions, I believe harsh consequences are necessary. I will have you set an example for them.�

Uwah� She�s wording it all politely, but basically what she�s saying is, �I�m going to make an example of you to keep the other signatories in line,� huh? I thought.

Julius stood there trembling with his hands balled into fists, his face a contorted mask of rage and anguish. ��And what if I refuse?�

�I�ve already told you that,� said Jeanne. �You are free to do as you please. The Empire will wash its hands of the matter, and the Principality of Amidonia will be expelled from the Mankind Declaration.�

Julius gasped in shock. �Wait! If you do that, our country will��

�Yes,� said Jeanne. ��If they are not a signatory to the Declaration, it�s not a violation if we attack them.� Which is to say, your� Pardon me, your father�s interpretation will be able to be applied to Amidonia, as well.�

The Principality of Amidonia was surrounded by four nations on its four sides. To their west was the mercenary state of Zem, which professed to eternal neutrality despite dispatching mercenaries. To their south was the Republic of Turgis, a non-signatory state with a national policy of northward expansionism. To their north was the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria, which had a unique set of values that differed from its neighbors. And lastly, to their east was the Elfrieden Kingdom.

Setting aside what we might do ourselves, if they lost the protection of the Mankind Declaration now, it was entirely possible that the other three would gobble them up.

Their former ruler, Gaius, had maintained his country by joining hands with the Empire, forming a contract with Zem for their mercenaries, intimidating the Elfrieden Kingdom under its previous timid leader, Albert, and displaying his military might to the countries to the north and south. He�d had the capacity to carry out a balanced foreign policy. Could Julius be said to have the same talent?

Even if he did have the talent, did the young Julius have the kind of authority he would need to take the necessary steps?

The inheritance of authority is best done gradually, while the previous ruler still lives. However, Gaius was no more. Julius now had to deal with the difficult problem of managing the threat of foreign powers externally, while also keeping his own vassals under control internally. If, during that very important process, his country were removed from the Mankind Declaration, he would lose the ability to rely on the Empire�s authority and would quickly find himself in checkmate.

Julius understood that, so he bowed his head to Jeanne, his face full of bitterness. ��I will accept your plan.�

�A wise decision, Sir Julius,� Jeanne said.

Julius looked mortified, but I couldn�t allow myself to show mercy here, so I did not stir.

With that matter settled, we moved on to negotiating the specific amount.

We demanded two years� worth of Amidonia�s national budget, divided into annual payments over a period of ten years, with the stipulation that it must be paid in Imperial coinage. In other words, they would pay twenty percent of their national budget to us every year for ten years.

Julius, of course, objected, but Jeanne convinced (coerced?) him to accept it. The point was to deprive Amidonia, which had spent half of its annual budget on military expenses, of its military funding. As long as they reduced military spending, I didn�t think it would be impossible for them to pay it, but would Amidonia be able to do that?

�Madam Jeanne,� I said. �If there are any delays in payment��

�Indeed,� said Jeanne. �The Empire will support the Elfrieden Kingdom in its annexation of Van.�

�Urkh�� Julius looked frustrated, but he couldn�t say anything.

With that confirmed, I made a proposal. �However, Madam Jeanne, I could see them delaying payment while they harden the defenses around Van. Even with the Empire�s consent, it would be a hassle to have to take the city again. As such, I would like something of equivalent value as collateral.�

�Collateral?� Jeanne asked.

�An item that we will hold on to until such time as the reparations are paid,� I said. �If the reparations are not paid, we will gain ownership of that item. Of course, if the reparations are paid properly, the item will be returned.�

�I see� So, what do you want?� Jeanne asked.

�A Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel.�

�Wha�! Our country only has one of those!� Julius roared.

With the current level of technology, they couldn�t create another. If it were valued as an asset, it was probably equal to a year�s worth of Amidonia�s national budget.

But still, I said, �You�re not using it all that much anyway. Where�s the harm in letting us have it?�

�Don�t be absurd! Do you mean to incite our people to revolt?!� Julius shouted.

�It�s a simple matter of changing the frequency,� I said. �That�s all it would take to keep you from receiving broadcasts made by Elfrieden.�

�Urgh� Well, yes�� Julius looked anguished, but he accepted it surprisingly easily.

They had been using the convenient device for little more than a declaration of intent at the beginning of each year, so Julius the militarist probably didn�t realize its true value. It might be that he only recognized it for its material value. As I was thinking that�

�Sire. May I have a word?� Hakuya said, then whispered something in my ear. When I heard what he had to say, I furrowed my brow.

�That�s� mostly just to satisfy your own interests, isn�t it?� I asked.

�Whatever are you saying?� Hakuya asked. �Knowledge is crystallized wisdom.�

��Well, fine,� I said. �Sir Julius.�

��What?�

�As an additional piece of collateral, we would like to take the books in this castle�s archives.�

That was what Hakuya had proposed. We would take custody of Amidonia�s books gathering dust in Amidonia�s archives.

In this world, paper was still precious, and books were not in wide distribution. It was entirely possible that Amidonia had books in their archives that Elfrieden did not. Moreover, in the case of books, it would be possible to copy them while we had them in our possession.

Julius snorted with contempt. �Very well. But don�t touch anything else. I won�t stand for you taking our weapons or armor.�

�We already sold off a bunch of those to raise funds for the transportation network here, you know?� I said. �We spent that money on this city, so even if you ask for it back, we can�t comply.�

�Urgh. Then don�t touch them any further!� Julius snapped.

��Very well,� I said.

The weapons were more important than the books, huh? It was the right decision, given that he was surrounded by countries he couldn�t let his guard down around, but he didn�t seem to understand how scary it was that the collected writings of his people, the crystallization of their wisdom, would be leaking out.

When I looked to Jeanne, she must have been thinking the same thing as me, because she wore a wry smile.

Now, with the matter of reparations settled, we decided to settle other matters.

�I want my the soldiers of my country who were taken prisoner by the Elfrieden Kingdom returned,� Julius demanded.

�Very well,� I said. �However, you will have to pay a ransom for those belonging to the nobility or gentry.�

��Understood.�

�In addition, we have investigated and composed a list of war criminals who attacked villages and engaged in looting during your invasion of our country,� I said. �Any prisoners who are on those lists will be judged under the laws of our country, and so we cannot return them to you.�

The extreme measure thought up by Hakuya, using the fictional monster of the flame pierrots to induce people to evacuate, had succeeded in getting most of the people out of the path of the Amidonian forces. However, that didn�t mean there had been absolutely no casualties.

The armies of the principality seemed to have dispatched scouts in all directions, and those unfortunate enough to encounter them had been killed. I would see to it that they paid for the innocent blood of my people they had spilled.

�We will also demand that those whose names are on the list and yet remain in your country be turned over to us,� I said. �Only once this is completed can we begin to return prisoners to you.�

��Fine,� said Julius shortly, accepting the list of war criminals from Hakuya. �By the way, is Roroa among the prisoners to be returned?�

Roroa? Who?

�I�m not familiar with the name,� I said. �Who�s that?�

�Roroa Amidonia. My unworthy younger sister. She should have been in Van when the fighting started.�

�Your younger sister?� I asked. �When the gates of Van were opened, we allowed any who wished to leave to do so. I think Margarita was about the only one of any status who stayed. I haven�t received any reports that we captured a member of the royal family.�

��That�s fine, then,� Julius said, cutting off the topic as if no longer interested.

His sister was missing, wasn�t she? He seemed awfully blas� about that fact. Wasn�t he worried?

�If you�d like, I could have my people look for anyone who�s spotted her,� I offered.

�That will not be necessary.�

�Not necessary?� I repeated.

Hakuya whispered in my ear, �Most likely, he is concerned about a succession crisis. My investigations indicate that Princess Roroa is one of the few in the Amidonian royal house who has the support of the civil officials. Having given preferential treatment to the military, Julius is not popular with the civil officials. He must fear that they would support Madam Roroa against him.�

�Even though, with Gaius gone, she�s one of his few remaining relatives,� I whispered back.

�It is a common occurrence in royal families,� he whispered.

�I understand that, but still� I don�t want to understand it,� I whispered back.

Succession wars had not been uncommon in Earth�s history. Even in the Elfrieden Kingdom, when Liscia�s mother Elisha had ascended the throne, the conflict between her relatives had nearly led to the extinguishing of the royal line.

If I recalled correctly, Machiavelli himself called for the purging of political opponents. However� as one who had known the loneliness of losing all of his family, I couldn�t help but feel he should treasure his one little sister. It might have been na�ve of me, but it was something I couldn�t give up on.

�Oh, that�s right,� I said. �I mentioned Margarita a moment ago. We would like for her to remain in the kingdom. Given she cooperated with us to maintain order in Van, I suspect you would be hard pressed to decide what should be done with her.�

�General Margarita Wonder, is it?� Julius seemed to think for a moment. �If you will release five of the nobles you hold prisoner in exchange, I can accept that.� he said.

He must have been calculating her value as a prisoner, and he�d judged that, compared to a general he wouldn�t know what to do with, a reduction in the ransom for vassals who were actually loyal to him was more beneficial. Calling for five people to be exchanged in return for one was a shrewd decision.

�Very well,� I said. �I�ll accept those conditions.�

��She was a good general, yes, but good enough for you to want her so badly?� Julius asked dubiously.

I smiled wryly. Julius, only able to judge people�s value by their potential as assets in war, wouldn�t understand Margarita�s true value. As a singer, as a host, Margarita had become indispensable when it came to producing programs for the Jewel Voice Broadcast.

Well, I was under no obligation to explain that to him, so I kept quiet.

The adventurers� guild.

They would buy relics or materials harvested from monsters found in dungeons explored by adventurers, who made their living doing so. They also were an intermediary for quests that involved things such as dangerous beast eradication, protection of merchants, and slaying of monsters that came out of dungeons.

Because adventurers traveled around many countries, the adventurers� guild was independent from the states it operated in.

A party was visiting the branch of the guild in Parnam. The party consisted of the hot-blooded and handsome swordsman Dece, the baby-faced, slender female thief Juno, the brawny, macho brawler Augus, the gentle, affable young priest Febral, and the quiet, shapely mage Julia.

�Dece�s party, right?� the receptionist asked. �Your reward for the villager escort quest is here.�

The girl at the reception gave them a perfunctory greeting and a bag full of silver coins. The bag bulged slightly, making Juno and Augus�s eyes glimmer.

�We�ve got more than a couple months worth of earnings here, don�t you think?!� Juno asked excitedly.

�Even split five ways, it�ll be a lot, won�t it?!� Augus exclaimed. �Now I can get some new knuckle dusters� No, maybe something even higher quality!�

Standing beside the two who were blinded by the prize money, Febral tilted his head to the side questioningly. �Even if we�re being paid on an individual basis, not as a party, this reward seems too high for the quest. Was there some sort of special bonus applied?�

The receptionist grinned and nodded. �Yes. This quest was issued by the royal castle. It said, �What is believed to be a new breed of monster, the flame pierrot, has appeared to the south. We would like to request your assistance in escorting the residents of nearby villages as we evacuate them.� But, with the untimely invasion by the Principality of Amidonia, we received reports that many of our people had encountered forces from the principality.�

�Oh, that,� said Juno. �I encountered them, too.�

The receptionist nodded. �Fortunately, because the people of the villages were evacuated, they were able to minimize the harm to citizens of the kingdom from principality troops. However, because of the unexpected trouble this meant for the adventurers, the castle has issued a special hazard bonus. That would be the extra amount you see there.�

�I see,� she said. �That makes sense��

Dece and the others accepted their reward money, heading over to a table in the cafe and bar that was set up inside the guild.

Once the money was evenly split five ways, Dece asked Febral, �So, about what she just told us� What do you think?�

�You mean about the unexpected hazard pay?� Febral asked him back, to which Dece nodded.

�The towns and villages that just happened to be being attacked by the flame pierrots just happened to be on the route the principality�s forces took, and because we just happened to be evacuating the residents human loses were kept to a minimum� I mean, isn�t that all a little too convenient?� Dece said.

��You�re right,� said Febral. �Perhaps what the kingdom was on guard against was the principality�s army all along. Could they have hurried to have us evacuate the residents because they were anticipating an attack?�

When Febral presented that theory, Juno tilted her head to the side. �Hm? But, I saw the flame pierrots myself when I was with Mr. Little Musashibo, remember?�

�They looked like mannequin torsos with torches for heads, right?� Febral said. �That sounds pretty easy to make, doesn�t it?�

�Were they made-up, thennnn?� Julia asked in a relaxed tone, to which Febral nodded.

�Yes. That sounds highly likely. The king must have had some reason for it.�

�Heh. Not like it matters to us.� Augus wrapped his thick arm around Febral�s neck. �The intrigues of countries are no business for adventurers. What�s important for us is that we complete the quest, and that we make good money for it. Am I right?�

Dece smiled wryly. �You�re right. Rather than fret over it, let�s think about what we�re going to do with all this money.�

�For tonight, how does a feast sound, hmmmm?� Julia said gently� and then it happened.

A roly-poly something-or-other came in through the guild�s entrance. In its hands was a naginata, over its back a wicker basket, over its face a silk covering from under which peeked two adorable acorn-like eyes and bushy eyebrows. Who was it?! Was it a big moth cocoon?! Was it an egg monster?!

�Wait, that�s Mr. Kigurumi!� exclaimed Juno the moment she realized it.

When Little Musashibo entered the guild, he tottered over to the receptionist and handed her something. It was� a letter?

�Oh! A delivery, I see,� said the receptionist. �Thank you for your service.�

��� (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs up.)

Having delivered the letter, Little Musashibo turned to go, his job done, but Juno wasn�t going to let that happen.

She leaned on the top of his head. �Hey, long time no see. You�re back from down south, too, I see.�

��� (�J-Juno?� Little Musashibo reacted with surprise.)

Little Musashibo, who had shrunken slightly under Juno�s weight, flailed his arms around.

Juno stayed on top of Little Musashibo, rubbing his cheeks teasingly. �Thanks for the save back there. The principality almost got me.�

��� (�No, I�m just glad you were okay,� he said, clapping her on the back.)

�Ahaha! But, now I think about it, weren�t you in more trouble than me, walking around all alone like that? I�ll bet you were there on the same quest, so you could have relied on us for help, you know.�

��� (�I�I�m honored to hear it,� he said, bowing his head repeatedly.)

The rest of the part watched this exchange unfold with rolled eyes.

�How do they even make a conversation work like that�?� Dece wondered aloud.

�Could it be� love?� suggested Febral.

�Oh! You�re starting to believe Julia�s theory now, too, huh, Febral?� said Augus.

�Hee hee,� giggled Julia.

While the four of them were talking about it, the receptionist, who had been reading the letter, called them over. �Oh. You over there. You took the villager escort quest, didn�t you?�

�Hm? Yes, we did� Did something happen?� Dece asked.

The receptionist grinned. �It looks like there�s another additional reward for you from the castle. It was in the letter that just arrived. �The work of adventurers saved the lives of many of the people of this country, and so, to reward their hard work, a small banquet will be held at the castle, which they are most welcome to attend.� That�s what this says.�

�A banquet at the royal castle?� Dece furrowed his brow. When they had already received hazard pay, a banquet seemed lavish.

�I don�t wanna go,� Juno said, clearly uninterested, as she continued to lean on Little Musashibo. �The castle sounds like a stuffy place. We�d look so out of place there.�

�Heh heh heh. Are you sure you want to say that?� the receptionist chuckled and said in a confident tone. �The banquet is being held at Ishizuka�s Place, you know?�

��Did you just say Ishizuka�s Place?!�� Augus and Febral gasped.

�You�ve heard of it? Augus, Febral?� Dece asked.

The two of them nodded eagerly.

�We haven�t just heard of it � it�s the talk of the town,� said Augus. �There�s a restaurant with amazingly delicious food in the castle, they say.�

�From what I�ve heard, it�s a restaurant that King Souma and the Minister for the Food Crisis, Mr. Poncho Panacotta, set up inside the castle,� said Febral. �I hear it was made to see if people in this country would be able to accept the dishes eaten back in King Souma�s old world.�

�Yes, yes, yes, that�s right!� For some reason, the receptionist was getting very excited as she spoke. �There are various dishes there, but all of them are quick, cheap, and tasty. It�s the best. However, with it being inside the castle, and only open at night, you can�t eat at it unless you work there. Just once, when I accompanied the guild chief to the castle, I had the opportunity to eat there� Slurp, the taste was unforgettable.�

When he saw the receptionist wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth with an enraptured look on her face, Dece was weirded out. �Are you all right? You�re sure there�re no weird ingredients in that food, right?�

�I�m sure it�s probably fiiiine,� said Julia. �It�s food fit for a king, after all.�

Juno tried asking Little Musashibo, who was underneath her, �You want to come, too, Mr. Kigurumi? You took that quest, too, right?�

��� (�Oh, no, not me�� he said, sticking his harms out in front of him and shaking his head.)

�What? Come aloooong,� pouted Juno. �If you don�t, I�ll pull you out from inside there.�

��� (�N-No, stop, please!� he said, flailing his arms and legs around.)

Juno kept manhandling Little Musashibo. In the end, she forced him to promise he would attend the banquet.

It had been a few days since we�d returned from to the royal capital Parnam from Van.

Right now, I was beneath Castle Parnam in front of the dungeon. With only candlelight for illumination, it was gloomy. While you likely could infer this from the fact it was inside the castle, a lot of people of high status had been put in here. Most of the inmates were political prisoners.

I was in that underground dungeon, facing a certain individual across a set of iron bars.

After some silence, I spoke to the person in the cage. �This is our first time meeting in person, I believe. I am the provisional king, Souma Kazuya.�

�It is an honor to meet you,� said the beastman. �I am Georg Carmine.�

With those words, the former General of the Army, the man with the face of a lion, Georg Carmine, bowed his head deeply.

While I was seated in a chair, Georg sat directly on the dungeon floor like a general from the Warring States Period might sit when greeting his master.

�I congratulate you once again on your recent victory,� Georg said, his head still bowed.

Georg had been imprisoned here a few days before our return. Up until then, he had been under house arrest at his former castle Randel, so he must have been gathering information.

�Raise your head,� I said. �It�s hard to talk when you�re like that.�

�Ha ha!� Georg laughed.

I looked straight at Georg as he raised his face. He had a muscular physique and stood nearly two meters tall, so even though he was kneeling, his eyes were at roughly the same level as mine while I sat in a chair. On top of that, the ethos he exuded as a veteran warrior made him appear all the larger.

Magnificent. That was the word that best suited this warrior.

What I felt while talking to him over the Jewel Voice Broadcast is nothing compared to this� I thought.

I struggled not to be swallowed up by the atmosphere that surrounded Georg. This feeling was similar to what I�d felt when Gaius had been closing in on me. This man had an incredible sense of presence, and yet he was the youngest of the three dukes. Castor was around 160, while Excel was over 500.

�Aren�t the apparent age and actual age of the three dukes kind of reversed?� I asked. �Oh, and mental age, too.�

When I said that, Georg gave a hearty laugh. �You could be right. Generally, they say that the longer-lived a race is, the longer it takes them to develop mentally and physically. For most the long-lived races, if you take their actual age, multiply it by around one hundred, the oldest a human or beastman generally lives to, then divide by the longest that race live to, you get a good estimate of their mental age.�

I see, I thought. In this world, where in Japan we might say �Cranes live for a thousand years, turtles for ten thousand,� they could say �Dragonewts live for five hundred years, water serpents for a thousand,� when talking about long life. (Though, in this case, they actually do live that long.) In other words, taking Castor as an example, 160 * 100 / 500 = 32. If I look at it that way, his impulsiveness makes sense, maybe� Wait! Huh? Hold on?

�By that reasoning, Excel�s mental age should be over fifty, shouldn�t it?� I asked.

��There is an exception to every rule,� said Georg.

�Don�t blatantly look away.�

Apparently even Georg, who didn�t seem like he had to fear anyone, was hesitant to touch the topic of Excel�s age. I could relate.

After talking carrying on with that sort of aimless conversation for a while, I cut to the heart of the matter. �I had a lot I�ve wanted to ask and hear from you once we finally got the chance to meet.�

�Ask away,� said Georg.

�Before that,� I said, �won�t you meet with Liscia?�

Georg silently closed his eyes.

It seemed that just once after returning to Parnam, Liscia had asked to meet with Georg. However, Georg had shouted at her (or, to be more precise, he�d had the jailer relay the message) and chased her off.

�What business does a woman who will soon be queen have visiting a convict?!� he had shouted.

Liscia had an overly serious personality, so she�d taken those words to heart, and never attempted to visit again. Then, as if seeking a distraction, she�d immersed herself in work.

�She�s putting on a tough face, but� I know she�s not fine,� I said.

�The princess and I had our last parting during the ultimatum,� said Georg. �There is no need for words between us now.�

Morning, one week (eight days) after we returned to Parnam.

In the castle�s governmental affairs office, all that could be heard was the scratching of my pen and the shuffling of paper as Liscia passed documents to me. I had been getting work done while in Van, but not only had the workload not decreased after returning to Parnam, if anything it had grown.

Now that the system of three dukes had collapsed, I needed to reorganize the army post-haste.

In order to build a relationship of equals with the Empire, I needed to increase military expenditures to counter the threat of the Demon Lord�s Domain. In other words, to strengthen the military. That plan for strengthening the military was the one I had spoken of during the ultimatum to the three dukes, the unification of the armed forces.

When I looked at the history of the other world, an army�s strength or weakness depended heavily on its mobility. In other words, how fast it could get where it needed to go, and whether it could deploy the needed firepower.

The reason we�d won a crushing victory over the Amidonian forces recently had been that we�d been able to reach the battlefield before our opponents. Because we had arrived a day ahead of the enemy, we had been able to fight the exhausted forces of the principality with a well-rested Royal Army. Had we arrived simultaneously, our exhaustion would have been roughly the same, and while the forces of the principality would still have been outnumbered, they would have dug in and fought harder. If that had happened, the fight would have been much more difficult for us.

In order to achieve that mobility we needed, it would be necessary to roll out a transportation network, and, at the same time, eliminate the divisions between our Army, Navy, and Air Force, to create a system that worked under a single command structure to immediately move all of our forces. That system would be a unified armed forces.

The Forbidden Army, Army, Navy, Air Force, and, lastly, the troops that were nominally part of the Forbidden Army, but were the personal troops of the nobility, would all be dismantled and reorganized as one force to be called the Elfrieden Defense Force (EDF).

In organizing that EDF, I had to be cautious of resistance from each branch of the military, but with the recent uprising, the Army and Air Force had lost their influence. The temporary heads of each force, Glaive and Tolman, were both cooperative, so they would pose no problem.

Furthermore, the Navy had sided with us and therefore had not lost their influence, so by appointing their Admiral, Excel, as Supreme Commander of the EDF, we could expect very little resistance. Excel wasn�t keen on being enshrined as the Supreme Commander, but I had made her accept the position under the condition that it was just until Ludwin gained enough experience to handle the role.

That was enough for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, but the real headache was going to be the nobles� forces.

They were part of the Forbidden Army, but the fact that command over them lay with the various nobles made them hard to deal with.

In this world with wild beasts and monsters (though, before the appearance of the Demon Lord�s Domain, these had only existed in dungeons), thieves, pirates and bandits, there needed to be a certain amount of policing power in every area.

That was why the landed nobility trained personal troops, which they were obligated to use to maintain stability inside their fiefs.

However, in this country, the numbers they had were excessive. It was the effect of the king-before-last�s expansionist policies.

At that time, battlefield achievements had been the shortest route to glory and advancement, so the nobility used to levy commoners from their fiefs to bolster the ranks of their personal forces. Despite the fact that, while conscripting amateurs might raise their manpower, if it led to a fall in productivity, it was pointless. Eventually, when the former king, King Albert, hanged tack from his predecessor�s expansionist policies, the nobility still maintained their enlarged forces.

That was why, now, I was stuck with the task of dismantling their forces down to the bare minimum required for policing. Those who had a primary trade outside of soldiering would be given severance pay and released from service, while those who sought to join the EDF would be able to undergo testing to enlist.

While the organization would be decided on by Excel, Glaive, Ludwin, and the other military officials, they had looked over my proposal and found they had no choice but to give it their stamp of approval.

While we worked, Liscia and I were silent. There was an awkwardness between us.

�No, I was likely the only one feeling awkward. Liscia was acting the same as always.

That day, even as I�d told her that Georg Carmine had committed suicide in his cell, Liscia�s expression hadn�t changed in the least. Her face had been emotionless, and my report had only elicited a quiet �I see��

It wasn�t that I thought she would lose her composure. It wasn�t as if I thought she would blame me for it. Liscia wasn�t that kind of girl, and I was well aware of it.

But I hardly expected her to be able to go about her daily routine this way, like everything was normal. I thought she would look at least a little distraught. There was no way this wasn�t painful for her, no way it wasn�t heart-wrenching, but when I saw Liscia acting like nothing had changed, I couldn�t find the words to say to her.

It would have been easier if she�d lashed out at me a little�

�Why didn�t you spare Duke Carmine?!�

�Yeah. No, that wouldn�t have been any better.

Just imagining Liscia insulting and demeaning me was enough to depress me.

If she would just punch, and we could forget it all after that� But, no, the only one that would make feel better was me. Honestly, what was I thinking? After running my mouth like that to Georg, could I not even protect the heart of the girl closest to me?

�Souma,� she said.

�Huh? What?� I raised my head, and saw Liscia looking at me with her head inclined to the side questioningly.

�Your pen�s stopped, you know?� she asked.

��Oh, sorry.�

That�s no good, I thought. I have to keep it together.

I went back to work. Right now, I have to focus on taking care of all the little tasks in front of me.

While I worked with that thought in mind, there was a knock at the door. �Come in,� I said, and the head maid Serina entered.

�Pardon me,� she said. �The preparations are complete, and your presence is requested.�

�Right.�

We stopped working, and I donned my royal cape and headed towards the audience chamber. Today was a day for rewarding those who had distinguished themselves in the war with Amidonia.

�Glaive Magna,� I said. �Your loyalty was truly remarkable. In recognition of that loyalty, I grant you Randel and its surrounding region to rule.�

�Yes, sir,� Glaive said. �It will be my pleasure.�

�Very good. In addition, while this is only provisional, I also grant you some of the powers Georg held as General of the Army. Until they are folded into the EDF, keep them in good order.�

�Yes, sir,� he said. �I swear I will do my utmost to meet Your Majesty�s expectations.�

In front of me as I rose from the throne, giving commendations in a grandiose tone, Hal�s old man, Glaive Magna, bowed deeply. We weren�t broadcasting this, so I wasn�t keeping up with stiff formality, but there was a secretary in the corner dutifully recording my every word, so I had to act kingly. That was to ensure that future generations who read the records didn�t look down on me, or so my chamberlain Marx had sourly told me, but� honestly, I didn�t really care what people would think of me after I died.

In the war with the Principality of Amidonia, the Elfrieden Kingdom might not have gained any territory, but we had secured hefty war reparations. Furthermore, we had been able to collect ransoms from Zem for the return of their mercenaries, and I�d been able to confiscate the corrupt nobles� land and assets. The dismantlement of the Carmine and Vargas duchies had been decided on, too.

For all of those gains, there was little need to reward the troops. Most of the troops mobilized had belonged to the Army and Air Force. They were under suspicion of treason, and this had been a battle to clear them of that suspicion, so no rewards needed to be paid.

Additionally, for those who had taken a wait-and-see approach to the conflict, the nobles whose forces were part of the Forbidden Army, I didn�t need to pay for any rewards to them, as they hadn�t participated. It meant they had missed out on a good opportunity, but that was their problem, not mine.

The only ones who need to be rewarded were the Navy and my directly-controlled forces in the Forbidden Army. Those of the nobility or knightly class in either force would be given land, but that would come from the former fiefs of the corrupt nobles and the dismantled Carmine and Vargas duchies. Those who were of lower status would be given a cash bonus.

And so, today, I was to give personal rewards to those who had contributed the most. It was standard to give titles in the peerage and land, but if they wanted something else, they were welcome to negotiate for it. If it was within my power as king, and a suitable reward for their efforts, it would be granted. If they wanted cash or rare items in the possession of the royal family, that was fine.

Long ago, there had been a knight who�d used this system to request the right to marry a princess he was in love with. There�d also been one who�d used it to request a corrupt noble be brought to justice. This was a situation where you never knew what crazy requests might come flying, so I opted not to air it over the Jewel Voice Broadcast.

This time, the people to be rewarded were as follows:

The turncoat from the Army who had led them in the battle with Amidonia, Glaive Magna.

The Lord of Altomura who had stalled for time and delayed the Amidonian forces, Weist Garreau.

The commander of the marines who had, likewise, delayed the Amidonian forces at the Valley of Goldoa, Juna Doma.

As well as the one who sent reinforcements during the battle outside Randel, the chief of the dark elves who lived in the God-Protected Forest, Wodan Udgard. Sir Wodan was Aisha�s father.

Normally, the Admiral of the Navy, Excel Walter, would have been first in both rank and in terms of her contributions. However, she was foregoing any recognition of her achievements for herself in order to seek clemency for the two Varguses, so she wouldn�t be receiving a reward.

Also, before giving the aforementioned five their rewards, I formally gave Aisha, who had been defending me as my self-declared bodyguard, the newly created post of kochiji.

If I were to explain what that changed, it was that before she had been like a mercenary I was paying out of my own pocket money, but now she was a proper knight with a salary.

Incidentally, her title, kochiji, came from the a bit of wordplay on the nickname of Cao Cao�s bodyguard Xu Chu, read Kochi in Japanese. The original�s name was written �Tiger Fool� and meant �a fool who is strong like a tiger,� so I chose to write hers with the character for �Eastern Wind� instead.

�Not that there was much point in me obsessing over how it�d be written with kanji in this world.

In addition to that appointment, I gave Aisha a gauntlet from the treasury in the castle that was enchanted with a spell that reduced physical and magical damage (it was called the Iron Wall Gauntlet, apparently). To be honest, I had wanted to give her a shield, as it suited the image of her position better, but Aisha used a two-handed greatsword, so I�d opted for this instead.

Aisha held the gauntlet tight to her breast, stuttering and slurring her words through her tears. �Ohh� Your Majesty� Th-Thank you sho much!�

�I�m glad to see she�s happy and all, but isn�t that a bit of an overreaction?

Everyone watched her with wry smiles.

That day, when Souma the provisional King of Elfrieden welcomed new candidates to be his queen, there were two people in other places holding talks over the Jewel Voice Broadcast.

Elfrieden�s Prime Minister Hakuya Kwonmin was speaking to the image of the younger sister of Empress Maria of the Gran Chaos Empire, Jeanne Euphoria, projected by the simple receiver on a desk.

�Your signal is clear,� said Hakuya. �It looks like the simple receiver you sent us is in good working order. Thank you very much, Madam Jeanne, for going out of your way to have it delivered by griffon.�

�My sister understood how important the hotline Sir Souma was talking about establishing will be,� Jeanne said. �With this, the Kingdom and Empire can coordinate as need be. It�s only natural we would hurry to get things in place.�

The Jeanne on the screen smiled broadly.

After the conference with Amidonia, Jeanne had reported back to her sister, Empress Maria, about Souma�s proposals: A secret alliance with the Elfrieden Kingdom, establishing a hotline between the two countries, and the exchange of plenipotentiary ambassadors from each country, as well as the establishment of embassies for them to be stationed at.

Hakuya had assumed that Maria wouldn�t refuse these ideas, and, as he�d expected, Maria had gladly approved all of them. In fact, she had even rolled around in bed laughing as she did.

�I�ve never seen my sister like that,� Jeanne said. �She must have been very pleased.�

�Pleased�?� Hakuya asked.

�To find someone who shares her values� a person who understands her, if you will,� said Jeanne. �There aren�t many of them inside the Empire. People who are able to understand my sister, that is.�

�I see.�

Geographically they were west and east, ideologically they were an idealist and a realist, and yet Maria and Souma, who appeared to be polar opposites, understood one another.

That might be interesting, thought Hakuya.

�With a response like that, I want to arrange for my sister and Sir Souma to be able to talk over the broadcast as soon as possible,� said Jeanne.

�They�re both very busy people at the moment, and it�s hard to make their schedules agree,� Hakuya said. �When things eventually settle down, let�s arrange a time for them to talk.�

�Yes, absolutely.�

After that, they made small talk (Including venting their frustrations about their respective leaders) for a little while, then Jeanne said, �By the way, there�s been something bothering me for a while now. I see many books behind you there, Sir Hakuya. Where are you now?�

��Oh, these are books we have on loan from Amidonia as collateral against the war reparations,� he replied. �There are a good number of them that I want to have copies made of before they have to be returned. I was working on categorizing them until just a little while ago.�

�The Prime Minister himself is sorting them?� Jeanne asked in surprise.

�Of course, I have people to help, but it�s something of a hobby of mine,� said Hakuya. �I actually like to sort books. I divide them into categories, line them up in order, sometimes flipping through one that catches my attention, then derive pleasure from looking at the well-ordered bookshelf when my work is complete. Books are human wisdom. The progress of a country. When I think of them arranged before me on a shelf, available for me to read whenever I please��

When she saw Hakuya wax eloquent about books, Jeanne�s eyes opened wide.

If you mentioned the name Hakuya, the pride of the kingdom, the Black-robed Prime Minister, he was famous as one of the geniuses discovered by Souma, the man who had used his trickery to make sport of Gaius VIII of the Principality of Amidonia.

Having met him herself, Jeanne had had an impression of him as a clever individual. However, when Hakuya spoke about books, his eyes were those of a young boy. That gap made Jeanne�s heart skip a beat.

��I take it you like books?� Jeanne asked.

Hakuya came back to his senses. He quickly regained his usual clever expression, but the tips of his ears were a little red. ��Pardon me. I can get carried away when it comes to books, you see��

�Hee hee. I feel like I�ve seen an unexpected side of you��

�Is it that unexpected?� Hakuya asked. �I think I would make a better librarian than a Prime Minister, personally.�

The reason Hakuya had received an audience with Souma to begin with was that his uncle had said, �At your age, you need to stop sitting around doing nothing but read books. Go do something useful to society!� and entered him into the If You Have a Gift event�s Gift of Wisdom section without asking for permission.

He had won that competition, and when he�d had his audience with Souma, he had been charmed by the young king. Thinking that, just maybe, Souma could get this country that was on the verge of failing back on its feet, Hakuya had given up being a bookworm and volunteered his services, only to find that at some point he had become the Prime Minister.

The truth of the matter was, while Hakuya did want to support Souma�s reign, he had meant to do it as an advisor to Souma and the then-Prime Minister Marx. However, that Marx had gone and recommended him as a better Prime Minister than himself. Thanks to that, Hakuya couldn�t read the books he wanted to, and his days had become very busy.

�Hmm� Then if we were to arrange a post for you as Chief Librarian of the Imperial Archives, would you come to our country?� Jeanne asked. �I imagine our archives have a more extensive collection of books than the kingdom�s.�

�Ahh. That is an alluring proposal, yes.�

�But you can�t do it?� Jeanne asked.

�Had you asked me before I volunteered my services, I�m sure I would have jumped at the offer without a moment�s hesitation,� he said.

Nowadays, Hakuya thought these busy days weren�t so bad. There had been a time when, for Hakuya, history was a thing to be found in books. However, now he felt it was a thing that they themselves would make. When he was serving under Souma, the one trying to push this country forward, he felt like he himself was one of the characters in history. It wasn�t a bad feeling.

�But now, I wish to move forward into a new era alongside His Majesty and the others,� he continued. �Then, once I raise my successor, I hope to become a historian and record what happened in these times.�

�A comfortable retirement, huh�� Jeanne said. �That may be a luxury in the times we live in.�

She was most likely right. The times were too hard to allow for an easy retirement.

The threat of the Demon Lord�s Domain was slowly encroaching from the north, and various countries were forging alliances to advance their own goals, or opposing one another. For Hakuya to have his quiet retirement, all of that would have to be resolved. As for whether that was possible, even with all of Hakuya�s wisdom, he couldn�t see the answer to that.

�Well then, I will be looking forward to our next talk, Sir Hakuya,� she said.

�Yes. Let�s speak again sometime, Madam Jeanne.�

The transmission cut out on Jeanne�s side.

Whew� Hakuya exhaled, then rose to his feet. He reached out to the pile of Amidonian books.

These precious books had been paid no attention while they were in Amidonia, and were now sorely in need of repair. If Hakuya hadn�t taken custody of them, some of these books might have been lost forever.

With a sigh, Hakuya reached out and picked up one book. As soon as he did�

�Prime Minister.�

There was a man in black clothes kneeling in one corner of the room. There was a black cloth wrapped around his face as well, and he looked like he was melting into the darkness of the closed off, dimly lit room.

Hakuya asked the man, �How are the preparations?�

�They proceed apace. However�� The man seemed to hesitate.

Hakuya furrowed his brow. �Did something happen?�

�The thing is� I feel as though things are going entirely too well,� said the man. �Almost as if there was the will of another actor in play here��

�I see��

Hakuya dismissed the man, then flipped through the book he had picked up.

When he had taken the books in Amidonia�s archives as collateral against the war reparations, Hakuya had had a certain expectation. He had expected there would be family registers and materials regarding rights and ownership. Those sorts of writings tended to be in the archives in a nation�s capital, after all. To have those books in hand was to grasp the heart of the nation itself.

When he�d advised Souma to take the books as collateral, it had been because the Amidonian royal family was more inclined towards military matters, and he�d hoped they wouldn�t realize the importance of them. However, contrary to Hakuya�s expectations, there was only one book of that variety in the collection he�d seized.

That book, the one Hakuya held now, was on the recent genealogy of the royal family of Amidonia. When he flipped through it, there was a folded piece of paper stuck between the last page and the cover.

When Hakuya unfolded the piece of paper, he saw there was a drawing of a small animal with black circles around its eyes holding down one of its eyelids as it stuck its tongue out at him.

When he saw that, Hakuya blinked a few times, then chuckled to himself. �I see. There would have to be someone like this in Amidonia, yes.�

�What is it, teacher?� a sudden voice asked.

Hakuya turned and saw Tomoe there, looking at him blankly. He was embarrassed to have been caught with his guard down, and he cleared his throat loudly to mask it.

�Why, little sister, I�m sorry I didn�t notice you there.�

�No, I just got here,� Tomoe said. �I came in because it seemed like you were done talking. You looked like you were having fun, right? What were you looking at?�

�Oh, this?� Hakuya showed Tomoe a picture with a little animal drawn on it.

Tomoe held the piece of paper up to her face, then held it at a distance, then held it up to the ceiling to look at it, before finally tilting her head to the side. �Was this animal what you found so funny? I�ll admit it�s cute.�

�It�s a drawing of an animal called a bronze raccoon.� Taking the piece of paper back, Hakuya patted Tomoe on the head and said, �They are commonly said to play tricks on people.�

Early in the 11th month, 1546th year, Continental Calendar � Midnight

It happened in the domain of a certain noble within the Elfrieden Kingdom.

In the manor of the important noble who was lord of that domain, twelve shadowy figures were holding a secret meeting in the darkness.

�What do the rest of you make of this summons?� one of them asked.

�Of all the nobles in the land, our fourteen families have been summoned. Most likely� the kingdom has caught on to us.�

�There have been reports of the black-robed one�s dogs sniffing around us, as well.�

�Then, the intent of this summons is��

��to make an example of the others, no doubt.�

�To make an example? It isn�t a trap?� one suggested in a hysterical voice.

Another laughed dryly. �Heh heh heh. Unlike the nobles who have engaged in corruption, we haven�t been caught doing anything. With no crime to condemn us for, that king and the black-robed one cannot bring us to justice.�

�I see� That is why he is making an example of the others.�

�Indeed,� one of them agreed. �To keep us in line by making us think, �Tomorrow, that could be me.��

�Two of the three dukes have fallen, and those nobles who didn�t participate in the recent war have lost their influence. If he can just keep us quiet, there will be nothing left to stop that king.�

�Hmph� All as the king planned,� one of them said. �Or was it the black-robed one?�

�It doesn�t matter which of them it was. But, if we look at it from another perspective, we can say that this was the best the king could do against us.�

�Heh heh heh, you are quite right,� another chuckled. He added, with a sneer, �That is why, for now, we must lay low. We must act in a way that will not anger that king, that will not give him reason to punish us. No, if anything, we must cooperate with what the king does.�

�It galls me to do it,� another one said irately.

�It�s no matter� I doubt it will take long,� the sneerer replied. �Once all obstacles have been removed, I am sure that king will rush forward with revolutionary policies at an even faster rate than he has been. Reform taken too quickly will breed resistance. We need only support those people from the shadows. The more of them he executes, the more that king will be seen as a tyrant, and that will only breed more resistance.�

The other men nodded, impressed by the man�s words.

�I see. He cannot keep at it for long, then.�

�Indeed. When the time comes, we will push the king from power and place someone more malleable on the throne.�

�When that is accomplished, we can take things back to how they were under King Albert�s reign.�

�The momentum is with that king for now. We mustn�t be caught in it. In order to wait it out, we must do as the king demands for now. But, in due time��

The men laughed darkly.

Then one of the men raised a question. �What do we do about the houses of Jabana and Saracen? Haven�t the heads changed?�

�Leave them be. If they displease the king and can no longer maintain their houses, that is their concern, not something for us to get involved in.�

�Of course. Now, gentlemen, I ask you to all follow the plan we just agreed on.�

�Yes. To take back our era.�

���To take back our era.���

This place was the child care center that had been in the castle for a long time now. It was mostly a place where people who worked in the castle, such as the maids, left their children.

�King, play with uuuus!� one child yelled.

�King, let us ride on your shouldeeeers!�

I said nothing.

Sitting on the carpet, an adorable little wolf-eared boy of around three was playing with a human girl. Meanwhile, a cat-eared girl who was around the same age had occupied my lap and was rolling around on it. The cat tail that grew out of her rear end was swishing back and forth.

�Hmm, I can�t get up now, so just climb up on your own,� I said.

��Aye!�� the kids cried.

The two who had been fooling around together started climbing up my back. Yeah, they were pretty darn adorable. I had gotten used to them hanging over my shoulders and touching my face all over now.

�Hee hee. You really are popular with the children, Your Majesty.� The birth mother of my beloved little sister Tomoe, Tomoko, watched us with a smile as she folded the children�s laundry.

When we�d practically forced Tomoe to become my adopted little sister-in-law, we had also had Tomoko take up residence here to work at the nursery school. By the way, the little boy who was using his slobber-covered hand to touch my face right now was her eldest son (Tomoe�s real little brother), Rou.

�Big brother,� Tomoe said, �I�m happy that you�re playing with Rou and his friends, but are you sure its okay? Won�t Big Sister get mad at you again�?�

Tomoe, who stayed here to help her mother when she didn�t have to do work negotiating with rhinosauruses, was busy soothing a baby. When I thought about it, Tomoe was still only ten years old. What a good, reliable kid she was.

�It�s fine,� I said. �I don�t have a massive backlog of work to get through anymore. Besides, I�ve left my Living Poltergeists in the governmental affairs office to keep up with the work.�

�Oh, I see,� said Tomoe. �You can play the day away, then. Isn�t that nice, Rou?�

�Aye!� Rou raised his hand up straight.

He�s so cuuuute.

I really liked kids. I could watch them toddling along with their little steps all day. It stimulated a protective urge inside me. When my grandma and grandpa had been alive, I�d helped out with book readings at the local preschool, after all.

After I had played with the children for some time�

�That�s an incredible look for you, Master.�

When I turned to see who had called out to me, Carla was standing there. In a maid outfit.

�No, I don�t want to hear that from you, Carla,� I said.

��I suppose that�s fair.� Carla said, slumping her shoulders. Really, when I looked at her�

�It�s terrifying how badly that maid uniform suits you.�

�Please, don�t tell me� I feel the same way.�

Carla was a dragonewt to begin with, so she already came with more accessories than your average person. She had a tail, dragon wings, and little horns. If you made her wear a maid uniform on top of that, it was too many character traits piled onto one person, and she beamed with too much personality.

�To top it off, isn�t the skirt on that maid outfit awfully short?� I asked.

�D-Don�t look,� Carla said, holding down the front of her skirt.

The maids in the castle wore classical maid outfits with long skirts, but with the one Carla was wearing right now, it looked more fit for working the floor of a maid cafe. The skirt only went down to just above her knees, and it was an airy dress type maid outfit. It made her figure stand out all the more.

�Urgh� the head maid� said to wear this one�� Carla muttered, flustered.

�Ahh. I thought it might be Serina�s handiwork.�

The head maid, Serina, was a talented maid, but she did have a sadistic side reserved for cute girls like this. Apparently she enjoyed making them wear embarrassing outfits, then watching the girls go through the shame and agony of it.

What was more, the stronger-willed a girl was, the more she enjoyed �buwwying� them, which meant Liscia and Carla were right in the middle of her strike zone. Liscia had told me stories with a distant look in her eyes.

Buddha save both of them.

�But, still� Has it been a week since then?� I asked. �Is your training period as a maid done now?�

�T-Training� Urkh� Ah�� Carla clutched her head.

No, seriously, what happened to you? I wondered. Weren�t you just trained in the basic skills you�ll need as part of the maid force?

�The� The whip��

�Whip?!�

�She used the whip� to hit me��

�It was that hard?!�

�What�s more, it was a special one, with a magic spell on it,� said Carla. �It wouldn�t leave a mark where she hit me� But. It struck half with pain and half with pleasure.�

What�s with that whip?! That�s not for disciplining, it�s for breaking them in, isn�t it?

�According to the head maid, �The pain keeps you from giving in to the pleasure, while the pleasure keeps you from bearing the pain by tickling your ribs.� While I may have fallen to become a slave and a maid, I won�t let myself be reduced to being useless, so I was determined to learn my job properly, but� that whip scares me. Maybe it would be easier if I could have given into the pleasure��

�That is because the maid force are the master�s dogs,� a voice said pleasantly. �We have no use for a perverted sow.�

Thank you for buying How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom III. This is Dojyomaru. I have one page for the afterword this time. Now then, what should I use it for?

Well, I suppose I�ll touch on the content of this volume just a little. Oh, this is going to involve spoilers, so if you�re reading the afterword first, please come back when you finish the main story.

Now then, this volume includes about one-third of what was labeled as the Post-War Arc in the web version. It�s the section that addresses what Souma will do with the capital of the Principality of Amidonia, which he occupied in the previous volume, as well as what he will do with those who rebelled against him. I believe both the good and bad points of this story come out especially strongly in this volume, and I am thinking with some trepidation about how it will be received by readers as I write this afterword. That miniature pseudo-thesis that received mixed reviews has all been included here, after all.

Now then, that girl who might best be called a �seriousness breaker� will start to really get involved in the story next volume. What�s more, what�s more, I�m planning to fix the pits that were written out of sequence in the web serialization into a proper chronological order, so I hope you�ll join me again next time.

Finally, I give Fuyuyuki, who has once again drawn lovely pictures for us, my editor, the copywriter, and all of you, the readers out there who support me, my greatest thanks.

This has been Dojyomaru.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 3

by Dojyomaru

Translated by Sean McCann

Edited by Emily Sorensen

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author�s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright � 2017 Dojyomaru

Illustrations by Fuyuyuki

All rights reserved.

Original Japanese edition published in 2017 by OVERLAP, Inc.

This English edition is published by arrangement with OVERLAP, Inc., Tokyo

English translation � 2017 J-Novel Club LLC

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author�s intellectual property.

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Ebook edition 1.0: August 2017